Page 19 of The Rogue’s Embrace

After they had finished the bottle of wine, the two of them sat on the weather deck and gazed at the stars. "There is the Estrella Polar. See? It never moves from being due north,"

said Lisandro.

Maria didn't reply. She had been quiet for the best part of an hour, and it worried him. She was a woman not normally taciturn in nature.

"Maria, we will make it. Try not to worry about Spain or what will happen once we make land," he said.

She gave him a tight smile, then pushed back on the cargo crate and got to her feet. Her small nod was accompanied by an, "I expect you are right."

He rose, picking up both the empty bottle and their cups. "Come on. I think you need a good night's sleep. In the morning, things will look better."

They headed down to the main deck.

At the door to her tiny cabin, Maria stopped. Her gaze dropped to the floor and she toyed nervously with her Santiago pendant. Lisandro itched to take hold of her hand. Please look at me.

"Buenas noches, Lisandro. I hope you sleep well,"

she said, not meeting his gaze.

Maria turned and went into her cabin, leaving a frustrated Lisandro staring at the door long after it had closed.

He had been hoping to move their friendship forward this evening, to see if the seed of affection which had begun to grow in his heart was possibly shared by Maria. Instead, the night's conversation had revolved around her father, her possible impending marriage, and the secret identity of those who had kidnapped her.

Of course, she is worried about her family. Don't be selfish in thinking only of yourself.

Maria was also clearly concerned with what might lie ahead on the road from Bilbao to Tolosa.

Her mostly silent mood this past hour added to his growing doubt about his ability to win her heart. He had come to view Maria as more than just the woman he had helped rescue. She affected him on a deeper level than mere friendship. He wanted to take her to his home at Castle Tolosa—to make love to her, and for her to never want to leave.

Listen to your own advice and try and get some sleep. See what the morning brings.

After retrieving his blanket from the hammock, Lisandro sat and removed his boots. He hung them from a hook on a nearby upright post before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and lying down. The canvas sides gently wrapped around him, creating a makeshift cocoon. He was safe from tumbling out, but that was where his love affair with the hammock began and ended.

All that swinging did not make for a comfortable sleep. His head didn't particularly enjoy the constant rocking and rolling motion of the boat, and the hammock did little to settle him.

He would much rather be back in his giant ancestral bed in Castle Tolosa. A bed which was ten feet across by nine feet deep. It was smaller than the famous Bed of Ware in England, but it was still magnificent. The only thing it currently lacked was a permanent female occupant, something he wished badly to address.

I want her sleeping safely in my arms every night.

During the nights on the sea thus far, Maria had displayed a habit for wandering out from her tiny space and pacing the floor for a time before going back to bed. She never spoke to him during those nocturnal journeys—she simply hummed softly to herself, muttered a few things under her breath and then retired to her cabin, not to be seen again until morning.

I wonder if she will sleepwalk again tonight.

Lisandro was on the verge of drifting off when the screaming began.

"Nooooooo! Let go of me. Let go. Please!"

He attempted to sit in a hurry, which only resulted in the hammock flipping and tossing him onto the floor. Lisandro landed with a heavy thud. "Oof."

"No. No. I want to go home. Get off me!"

Lisandro scrambled to his feet. He yanked the cabin door open and dashed inside.

Maria was sitting upright, her arms wrapped tightly around her body, her head bowed. All the while she was pleading with an invisible enemy to let her go.

He raced over to the bed, and taking Maria by the shoulders, he tried to rouse her. "Maria. Wake up! Maria."

She whimpered. Her eyes opened as she lifted her head and stared at him, her gaze unfocused.

"Maria, mi corazon, it's me. Lisandro," he said.

Her hand gripped the side of his sleeve and she pulled him toward her. "I knew you would come, mi amor,"

she whispered.

He searched her eyes; a pang of disappointment speared his heart when it was clear she was not fully awake.

Of course, she is still asleep. She is dreaming of her imaginary lover. Not me.

For a second time, he gently shook Maria, trying to rouse her from her stupor.

"Maria, wake up."

To his surprise, her grasp on his jacket tightened.

"I am awake,"

she replied.

"Where are you?"

he asked. It seemed the only sensible thing to ask, the one way he could be certain that she wasn't simply answering him in her sleep.

"I am on the Night Wind, sailing with you to Spain. I had a nightmare and you woke me with your words,"

she replied.

Taken aback, Lisandro sat on the edge of the bed. If Maria had been awake since he had spoken, then she would have heard him call her sweetheart. It also meant that she had been conscious when she used the words my love in answer to him.

She lowered her head for a moment, but not quick enough to hide the blush which stained her cheeks.

Lisandro was torn. He wanted her. The need to make her his had been slowly building over the past week. No. That's not the truth. Be honest with yourself.

The burning desire for her had flickered to life the first time he had set eyes on Maria at the wedding ball in Zarautz. And while the knowledge of who she was had forced him to take a step back, she had still been the woman who had haunted his dreams from that night on.

He was also very much aware that she was a vulnerable young woman, far from home and in his care. To take advantage of her under the current circumstances went against all that he had been raised to accept as being honorable.

And yet, even as he pulled back, she would not release him from her hold.

The nightmare of being trapped in a tight space had gripped Maria with its icy fingers yet again. Since she was a child, she had suffered from these sleep terrors.

Their roots went deep, firm in the memories of an accident that she couldn't bring herself to ever forget. The only saving grace of them being that at the end, someone had always come to rescue her. Until now, that person had been Se?or Perez, the man who had actually hauled her out of the bottom of the well on the Elizondo family estate.

His place in her dream had now been taken by another—Lisandro. He had risked so much to free her from the kidnappers that of course it made sense that he should be the one to feature in her mind's eye as her life's hero.

But even as she tore her gaze away from him, her cheeks burning, Maria knew her emotions were so very different when it came to Lisandro. She had fallen for him. The words "mi amor"

had been spoken from her heart.

"Maria. Look at me," he said.

She braced herself for the inevitable kind brush-off. For Lisandro to give her a speech about them being just traveling companions; and anything else that might grow between them would have to wait.

I don't want to hear that I am pushing things too fast. I know my heart.

As she lifted her gaze to meet his, Maria offered Lisandro a gentle, forgiving smile. Whichever way he chose to let her down, she would understand.

"You called me ‘my love.' Did you realize that?" he said.

"Yes. And I meant it. Though it's alright, I?—"

Lisandro's mouth slammed down on hers, silencing her. He swept her up into a deep kiss which spoke of longing and need. His lips worked over hers in their heated embrace.

Oh, heaven. I never thought a kiss could be like this.

Maria gripped the front of Lisandro's jacket and pulled him closer, determined that he was not going to be holding the reins completely by himself. His tongue touched hers, then retreated. When he came seeking once more, she met him halfway and their tongues began a long, luxurious dance. She never wanted this to end.

A sudden lurch of the ship had them drawing apart. Panting heavily, they sat staring into one another's eyes. Maria was certain that the expression of surprised delight on Lisandro's face was matched by her own.

"Tell me if I have gone too far," he said.

"Not far enough,"

she replied.

Their lips met once more, and time simply drifted away. Maria held nothing back and her heart rejoiced as Lisandro wrapped her up in his arms and deepened the kiss.

I want this, I want you.

Whatever the future held for them; she would hold onto the memory of tonight.

As the kiss ended, Lisandro whispered, "Te quiero siempre."

Maria nodded. If she had her way, his words would become reality. She would be his always.

"Will you hold me until I fall asleep?"

she asked.

"Yes."

Under the blankets Lisandro wrapped Maria up in his arms. They snuggled together, and for the first time in many weeks, Maria finally enjoyed a deep and restful sleep.