Sapphire Dream by Pamela Montgomerie Read Free Book Online Page A

plight tore at him.
    Hegarty must have read his thoughts, for he moved between them. “Get you back on the bunk, lassie. Yer brew’s await’n and ye’ll drink it now.”
    But Brenna Cameron wasn’t one to follow orders meekly. She held Rourke’s gaze as if grasping a lifeline. “Please.”
    Hegarty threw a hand in the air as he turned to him. “Ye let her on deck and yer crew will be all over her like dogs on a bone. Ye’ll be slappin’ ’em all in chains and then how will ye set this ship to sail?”
    Hegarty was right. He couldn’t risk it. She was dressed like a sailor and had no manners to speak of, yet even so there was something wholly feminine about her. A lush-ness to those slender curves that made his hands long to touch her again. She filled his senses. Stirred his blood.
    And had him vowing he’d not let his crew near her again. “Ye’ll remain here until we make port, lass. We’ll be at sea but another day or two, if the weather holds.”
    He watched frustration and dismay chase themselves across her expressive features. She released her breath on an angry sigh, then turned away. Hegarty ushered him out and closed the door behind him.
    Though she remained hidden in his cabin for the rest of the day and well into the night, she haunted Rourke’s every thought. Her courage in the face of near-certain death, not once but twice. Her strength. Her vulnerability. The warrior’s gleam that lit her gaze, and the desperation that laced her words.
    Above all he saw her face. That bonnie, green-eyed siren’s face.
    The face of his doom.
     
     
    Brenna woke to the sound of anxious shouting and the frenzied pounding of feet overhead. She sat up and shoved her hair out of her face, her sleepy gaze pulled to the little wooden birds swaying at the ceiling even as the strong, musty smell of the ship teased her nostrils.
    The pirate ship.
    Damn.
    This nightmare just wouldn’t end. And it wasn’t even morning yet. The light coming through the window was soft and new. Dawn, just before sunrise.
    The sounds above grew more frantic. The number of boots seemed to have multiplied.
    What was going on? Her eyes widened as hope lifted her high. Maybe someone was chasing the ship.
    Police.
    She swung her feet over the side and ran for the window even as a voice overhead yelled, “We’ll be dashed upon the rocks!”
    The captain’s strong voice carried clearly in reply. “Unfurl the mainsail and foresail. Tack south by south-east, Mr. Jenkins.”
    “Aye, Captain.”
    The hope that had lifted her so suddenly dropped her with a thud. Thick fog obscured her view, but she could make out the dark lump that had to be the coast.
    Suddenly, she understood. They’d drifted too close to shore. This was the chance she needed. This close, she could easily swim to freedom, even with the water freezing. But she had to get out of the cabin before the ship sailed. Which meant now .
    She needed a plan. An idea came to her and she raced for the water pitcher and tossed the contents into the corner, then ran for the door, praying the plan worked.
    “Help!” she cried, pounding with both fists. “Help me!”
    Her hands were nearly numb by the time she finally heard the lock click. Hegarty opened the door, the expression on his leathery face more suspicious than concerned. “What ails ye, lass?”
    Brenna opened her mouth, but the words got caught in her throat, so she pointed frantically toward the corner where she’d dumped the water. “A leak!” she managed. “Water’s coming in!” Hegarty’s eyes grew round and he scurried toward the corner. Without a backward glance, Brenna dashed out the door.
     
     
    “The sails are catching, Captain! She’s moving.”
    Rourke felt the pressure on his chest give way as fog rolled across his ship. They were not going to founder upon the rocks after all. He watched the two sails fill with wind, at last.
    “Rourke!” Hegarty’s voice carried over the hurrahs of his crew.
    He turned