Surrender the Heart by MaryLu Tyndall Read Free Book Online Page A

to grab hold of some of its crystalline light for itself.
     
    Noah released a sigh. Everything was going well, everything save one tiny detail.
     
    Rap rap rap
.
     
    “Enter.” Noah expected Luke with the watch report, but instead of the thud of heavy boots, the swish of silk sounded. He spun around.
     
    “Thank you, Mr. Boone.” Miss Denton nodded toward the purser as the sailor’s eyes met Noah’s uncomfortably before he scrambled down the corridor.
     
    “Such a narrow hallway.” She gestured behind her. “How do you endure such cramped quarters?”
     
    “The hallway is called a companionway, Miss Denton.”
     
    She nodded and swept the cabin with her gaze. “So this is where your chamber is located.” She approached Noah’s desk, leaving the door ajar.
     
    “My
cabin
, yes.”
     
    “Ah yes, I knew that.” A dark red stain marred the white bandage swaddling her head, marking the position of her wound. Brown curls dangled on top of the cloth and crawled from beneath it as if they refused to be restrained. The ship bucked. Her eyes widened as she flung out her arms to keep her balance. Curves rounded the folds of her silk gown that glistened in the candlelight.
     
    Shaking off a sudden wave of heat, Noah averted his gaze. “I believe I told you to rest.” He circled his desk, fighting back his annoyance at her presence, and poured himself a glass of port.
     
    “I did.” She glanced across his cabin again, only this time her eyes seemed to soak in every detail before they returned to him. “All day, as a matter of fact, Mr. Brenin.”
     
    “I am called
Captain
aboard my ship, Miss Denton.”
     
    “Very well, I will call you whatever you want as long as you returnme to Baltimore as soon as possible.” The lift of her chin and smug look on her face brought him back fifteen years to a time when she was naught but a spoiled girl flaunting her wealth before a poor merchant’s son.
     
    “You are in no position to order me about any longer, Miss Denton … or should I say
princess?”
Noah grinned and sipped his port. The sweet wine slid down his throat, warming him.
     
    Her eyes narrowed for an instant, but then she waved her hand through the air. “You may call me princess if you wish,
waif.”
     
    The word struck him with the same shameful twinge it had when he was a boy.
     
    Her golden-brown eyes snapped his way. “You did naught but tease me as a child.”
     
    “And you did naught but belittle me.” Noah leaned back on the top of his desk and crossed his boots at the angle.
     
    She bit her lip and began twisting a ring on her right hand.
     
    The look of fear on her face softened the bitter memories of their youth, and Noah released a sigh. “Perhaps we should set aside our childish ways.”
     
    “Would that you had decided to do so before you abandoned me in Baltimore.” Her sharp tone stabbed him.
     
    “I had no choice. Business before pleasure, you know.”
     
    “Pleasure, humph.” Marianne leveled a stern gaze upon him. “You looked as if you’d prefer the town stockade to attending your own engagement party.”
     
    Noah finished his port and set the glass down. How could he deny it?
     
    A shadow passed over her face, and she looked away. Noah groaned inwardly. He did not wish to hurt her. In fact, it took all his strength to stop from explaining his boorish behavior. Yet perhaps his reasons would hurt her even more. No, the idea to break off the engagement must be hers and hers alone—to spare her reputation, and perhaps her heart.
     
    But what to do with her now? The thought of being forced toendure her company for months made his stomach curdle. Yet perhaps he could use this time to his advantage. Noah ran a hand over the back of his neck and watched her as she struggled to maintain eye contact with him, despite the trembling in her bottom lip. Yes, he would have plenty of time to convince her that he was the obnoxious cad she believed him to be and that life