Desire In His Eyes by Kaitlin O'Riley Read Free Book Online Page A

wanting to haul her back to his cabin and give her the spanking of her life and watching her climb the rigging in mute fascination, Harrison remained rooted to the spot. He could not take his eyes off her. She reached the mizzen topsail and glanced below her with the brightest smile he had ever seen. The force of her smile almost knocked him senseless. The men clapped and cheered her on from below. Juliette waved in response, while clinging to the rope with only one arm. Harrison caught his breath. If she fell he would never forgive himself.
    In an instant, he raced to the other end of the ship, his heart pounding. She was so slight; a strong and sudden gust of wind could knock her clean off the rigging and send her plummeting into the ocean. He yelled up to her.
    “Juliette, get down from there right now!”
    “Hello, Captain Fleming!” She called to him cheerily and gave another little wave with her hand.
    “Hold on with both hands!” he cried, his heart filled with a wrenching fear. Good lord! The woman was completely unpredictable and her capricious ways would get her killed.
    Her rich laughter floated down around him, infuriating him. Terrifying him. Harrison turned to the group of sailors standing around, looking up at the wild show Juliette was providing for them. These were his sailors. His men. His crew. Some of them had been with him for years. Yet here they stood, not doing their jobs, staring in fascination at their beautiful little stowaway. They were caught in the spell of the minx on his mizzenmast.
    He lifted his head up to her. “Come down now, Juliette,” he ordered in an authoritative tone. “You’ve had your fun.”
    She had the audacity to stick out her tongue at him. His men roared with laughter and cheered raucously. It was complete insubordination from a woman in front of his own crew. A mixture of anger and fear filled him at the sight of her dangling so dangerously high above him.
    He eyed the men carefully and demanded, “Who the hell let her get up there in the first place?”
    Robbie hung his head in embarrassment. “I did, Captain.”
    “It wasn’t Robbie’s fault though, Captain,” Frank Hastings spoke up. “He warned her not to go up there. We all did. Short of holding her down, there wasn’t anything we could do to stop her.”
    Even knowing as little about Juliette Hamilton as he did, Harrison reasoned that they were more than likely right. That willful, headstrong woman did just as she pleased. Aggravated nonetheless, he glanced back up at Juliette, still atop her perch on the mizzenmast. He turned his attention to his men, who knew him well enough not to question the look he gave them now. “Get back to work all of you. I’ll get her down myself.”
    They scurried away attempting to look busy, but he knew they kept an eye on the drama that was about to unfold. What would Captain Fleming do with their pretty stowaway after she deliberately defied an order?
    Harrison leaned against the wall of the coach house, below which were his quarters, crossed his arms over his chest, and waited. He would not go up after her for fear his presence would prompt her to do something even more reckless and foolish, causing her to lose her balance and fall. Unless she called for his help, he would not go up. She had to come down some time. And he would be waiting for her when she did. Then he would teach her a lesson about obeying orders that she would never forget. First however, he gave a silent prayer that she would not fall.
    Finally realizing that her adoring audience had fled and there was no one left below her but him, she flashed a smile. It was not a victorious smile, but one of genuine joy and it occurred to Harrison that she truly was not afraid. She waved again, and brushed the hair from her eyes. She turned her face toward the sea and looked toward the horizon.
    She was beautiful.
    Obviously she loved being up there, which stunned Harrison. At last, he saw her sigh and slowly