An Officer but No Gentleman(30)

She listened to every word said about Jimmy and felt touched that he was so well loved and had died at such a young age.

After wiping away her tears with her fingertips a few times, Jaxon pressed his handkerchief into her hand. Had she still been pretending to be a man she would have been fighting herself not to cry, but now she felt no shame in it. She used the handkerchief to dry her eyes until she felt the tears stop. She tried to pass it back to Jaxon, but instead of taking it, Jaxon’s big hand engulfed hers, holding her hand for the remainder of the service.

Afterwards, the men lingered on deck. It was only a few minutes before the dinner bell would ring. During the service he held her hand to comfort her, but she didn’t understand why he continued to hold it afterwards.

She turned toward him. “What are you doing?” She gave his hand a little squeeze.

“You told me to announce you’re under my protection,” he answered.

Charlie’s shy smile drew his attention to her lips, they were pink and full. Suddenly, his mouth lowered to hers.

If she had any expectation of what kissing Jaxon Bloodworthy would be like, she would have thought his kiss would have been crushing and rough. Instead, he gently pressed his lips to hers, coaxing her lips apart with his rhythmic motion. The moment his tongue touched hers, a wave of emotion flooded her being. Her breath caught and color stained her face.

She had no awareness that every conversation stopped and every eye watched. Her heart beat so hard, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. Nothing about kissing Morty had prepared her for this. Deep in her core, she felt a yearning she only vaguely understood. Pushing away from him, she raised a hand to her mouth.

“Oh, my God,” she murmured, her eyes wide with surprise. “Oh, my God.”

Suddenly, she felt like she had just entered a secret society—one she hadn’t known existed until that moment. She was confused. Charlie had been exposed to the baser aspects of sex, but she never knew a kiss could make her knees weak. Weren’t those the words Morty had used? That was exactly what she felt.

She stretched towards him again.

“No.” He stepped away from her, releasing her hand. “I’ve made my point. Any more would be superfluous.”

Hurt flashed across her expression. She was embarrassed to her toes. He didn’t actually feel anything for her. He merely kissed her to tell the crew she was under his protection. What a better way to do it, than to make everyone think she was his woman. She should be grateful. No sailor would ever accost her if they thought their captain had claimed her as his, especially if their captain was as intimidating as Jaxon Bloodworthy.

Charlie had not been aware of Daniel’s approach until he grabbed Jaxon’s arm. “Have a care for the girl’s reputation, brother,” he said in low menacing voice. “Her ruination could be yours as well.”

“I did not know you had designs on her yourself,” Jaxon said flatly as he shook off Daniel’s hand.

“I don’t,” Daniel said. “I only feel responsible for my part in her being here.”

“She is not your responsibility.”

The brothers stared at each other for a brief moment. Unspoken words passed between them. Jaxon’s mangled countenance bore no more emotion on the outside than if he had closed a door. But Daniel knew his brother well enough to know when he was troubled. Had it hurt Jaxon when Charlie pulled away and said, Oh, my God? He didn’t think the girl had been repulsed by his brother, but maybe that’s the way Jaxon had taken it. Daniel knew enough to know there was nothing he could say to help Jaxon. He would have to wade through what he was going through alone.

Daniel turned to Charlie. “May I escort you to dinner?” He offered his arm.

She spared a glance at Jaxon. When he did not offer to escort her himself, she accepted. “Thank you,” she said quietly, setting her hand on his arm the way she’d seen land-women do.



Jaxon turned on his heel and stepped to the railing, unconsciously rubbing his gimpy leg. He couldn’t say why he did it. He just wanted to kiss her so he did. In his mind’s eye, he relived the kiss. He had pretended to be unaffected afterwards, but he was far from it. He hadn’t let her kiss him again because he was barely holding on to control himself. Another kiss like that and he was likely to take her right there where they stood.

Jaxon looked out over the water. “‘Oh, my God,’ is right, baby,” he said under his breath. How was he going to protect her, when he was her biggest threat?





10



“He’s off brooding somewhere,” Daniel said to Charlie when he saw her glance at Jaxon’s untouched plate of food for the umpteenth time. “My brother carries the weight of the world on his shoulders whether he needs to or not.”