Sea of Desire (45 page)

Merideth carefully opened the nursery door.
Tiptoeing across the room, she leaned over her daughter, giving her
cheek a kiss. She was fast asleep. At five she was inquisitive,
with black hair like her father’s and a ready smile. She loved to
walk down by the river, collecting insects and plants.

Next Merideth moved to John’s bed. Named for
Jared’s brother, John was three and never still. Reaching under the
mosquito netting, Merideth straightened his tangled blanket and
brushed her lips across his forehead. Then she left the children’s
room for her own.

A single candle on the washstand tried to
brighten the shadows in her bedroom and failed. But Merideth was
too tired to light more. Today she’d overseen the loading of rice
and corn to be sent to Patriot families whose property had been
confiscated by General Tarleton. Because she was British and
daughter of an earl, the British trusted Merideth. In their
condescending manner, the British officers in charge at Charles
Town forgave the privateer’s widow the peccadillo of her marriage
and allowed her to travel freely and to keep her property.

But if they ever found out what she did when
she traveled—the ammunition and foodstuffs she managed to get to
the American army—her title would mean naught. But so far they
didn’t seem to suspect. Perhaps out of homesickness, British
officers even visited, finding the mistress of Royal Oak charming
company. It was hard to maintain the ruse.

Taking the wooden pins from her hair,
Merideth let the golden curls fall about her shoulders. She was
glad she could help her husband’s people—her own people—but the
charade was wearing, and she was growing tired.

With a sigh she unhooked her simple gown of
sprigged muslin. It fell to the floor and she stepped from the
circle of skirts, picking it up and draping the dress across a
chair. Dressed in her shift, she splashed water from the pitcher to
the bowl and wet a scrap of linen. As the first flash of lightning
lit up the sky outside the tall casement windows, Merideth touched
the damp cloth to her neck.

“Don’t stop there, Lady Merideth. Take off
the shift too.”

The sound of the voice coming from the
shadowy recesses of the room made Merideth stiffen. She dropped the
linen. It landed in the water, splashing silver droplets of water
across the polished wood.

“Untie the ribbon,” came the next command,
and Merideth had no choice. Slowly she reached for the pale-blue
bow that held the gathered neckline of her shift taut. Her fingers
pulled. The ruffed décolletage spread. When it grew wider than her
shoulders, the fine gauze hesitated, then whispered to the floor.
Merideth shut her eyes as the shift skimmed down her body, leaving
her wearing nothing but the dented locket.

“Now turn around.”

She did. Her limbs were trembling, but she
held her head high.

“And come here.”

Lightning flashed again and she saw him
sitting on a chair beside the bed, his long legs spread out,
crossed at the ankles. He wore no coat, and his shirt, shining
white in the grainy light, was open to reveal the thick hair on his
chest. Merideth swallowed as she walked toward him. His britches
were tight, revealing the large raised ridge of his manhood.

When she approached he opened his legs, and
Merideth moved into the V. He leaned forward, touching his open
mouth to her stomach, and Merideth’s hands surged through his raven
hair, pulling him closer.

“You shouldn’t have risked coming,” she said,
then could say no more. For his lips had moved lower. Her head fell
back and her knees grew weak, but by this time he’d cradled her
buttocks with his large hands.

“I can’t stay away from you.” His breath
fanned across the tight curls at the apex of her thighs. “Would you
really want me not to come?”

She could barely think for wanting him. She’d
always wanted him. There were times Merideth thought she might die
from the deep desire she felt for him. But there were other things
to consider. “I want you safe.”

“And I am safe, Merry. Right here in your
arms.” He nudged. His tongue probed and Merideth cried out.

“I dream of that sound,” he said. “You’re
with me, and I hear you, taste you, and I wake up so hard I
ache.”

“Oh, Jared.” Merideth dropped to her knees,
her head against his chest. Her cheek rubbed his skin and she
breathed in the manly smell of him. “Take me with you this time. Me
and the children.”

“Nay, I won’t have you on the
Carolina
. ‘Tis too dangerous.”

She looked up, her blue eyes shining with
unshed tears. “But—”

“Listen to me, Merry.” Jared’s hands
bracketed her face. “We devised this scheme of pretending I’m dead
to keep you and the children safe. I want no retributions on my
family for things I might do. Besides, there’s to be a change.
There’s a convoy of forty British ships in Charles Town
harbor.”

“More British?” There didn’t seem like there
could be any more.

“Less.”

“Less?”

“They’re leaving, Merry. The British are
withdrawing from South Carolina.” He reached down, pulling his wife
onto his lap. His hand splayed her hip, his face was buried in the
rich gold of her hair. “It’s not over yet. But with the French
helping us defeat Cornwallis in Virginia, and Charles Town free, it
can’t be much longer.”

“Oh, Jared, I’m so glad.”

“Soon, Merry, I’ll be able to stay here with
you and our two children.”

“Three,” she corrected, turning to see the
expression on her husband’s face when he realized what she was
saying.

“You mean...?” His hand curved around to her
stomach.

“Yes, and I was going to have a difficult
time explaining how a respectable widow managed to get herself with
child.”

Jared laughed as he stood, gathering Merideth
into his arms. In three strides he was beside the tester bed.
“Probably because her husband isn’t really dead. And he loves his
wife so much he can’t stay away from her.”

Outside, lightning flashed and thunder
roared, but in the bedroom—the bedroom once used by the pirate and
his wife—Merideth and Jared Blackstone didn’t even notice the
storm.

*** THE END ***

Dear Reader

I hope you enjoyed the second book in the
Charleston Trilogy—tales of the Blackstone men. I loved writing
about Merideth and her dark, dangerous privateer, Jared
Blackstone.

The Revolutionary War era is one of my
favorites. Researching the period with all its different facets is
so interesting. I never tire of learning about the brave men and
women who forged our country.

The Blackstone family is fictitious—though I
certainly hope they seem as real to you as they do to me—but many
of the people and events in this book are historically true.

Benjamin Franklin, of course, did much more
than experiment with electricity. His diplomatic endeavors in
France during the war greatly helped the eventual American victory.
He was a fascinating man with many varied interests—including the
ladies—and I tried to portray him accurately. And yes, he really
didn’t worry about spies. If anything, he considered details of his
negotiations with France reaching English ears a bonus. And when it
was discovered that the English had sent a representative to
discuss peace with Franklin—a fact he didn’t try to hide—the French
decided to speed up negotiations with the Americans.

Privateers like Jared Blackstone also made a
great contribution to the cause of liberty. They helped “even the
odds” by harassing British shipping and capturing countless prizes.
Much of this, as the book indicated, was done in and around
England. But privateers also sailed from ports like Charles Town,
and it was there, to home, that Jared brought Merideth.

Charleston, like her native sons and
daughters, is beautiful and proud... a survivor. During the years
after the pirate Gentleman Jack Blackstone (from
Sea Fires
)
wooed and married Miranda, before Jared and Merideth settled down
in Charles Town, the city experienced fires, killer storms,
plagues, and enemy occupation. But she endured.

In
Sea of Temptation,
the third book
of the Charleston Trilogy, Jared and Merideth’s great-grandson,
Devon Blackstone, is a blockade runner during the American Civil
War. Like his ancestors, he’s a man of the sea and a rogue... a
hero in the true Blackstone tradition. Fearless and charming, Devon
doesn’t know what trouble is until he meets abolitionist Felicity
Wentworth and the group of children she’s come south to rescue.

I truly hope you enjoy the Charleston
Trilogy. The Blackstone men and the women who love them are very
special to me. Please let me know what you think. Contact me on my
website,
www.christinedorsey.com
,
or follow me on
Facebook
and
Twitter
.

Read on for an excerpt
from Book 3 in the Charleston Trilogy,
Sea of
Temptation
.

June, 1862

Charleston, South Carolina

He hated black.

Devon Blackstone leaned his hip into the
sharp-edged windowsill and smiled at the irony. A Blackstone hating
black. But it seemed every time he returned home more bright silks
were shed in favor of morbid black by Charleston’s daughters.

He absently watched the woman struggling
along on the street below. She was swathed in widow’s weeds, the
heavy material covering her completely. Another casualty of the
damn war.

“Such a waste,” he mumbled, grimacing when he
realized he spoke aloud.

“What did you say, honey?”

“It was nothing.” Devon glanced over his
shoulder to where Lil sprawled enticingly across the bed. The
gossamer veil of mosquito netting was pushed aside and she beckoned
with her finger, her red lips forming a provocative pout.

“Come back to bed and you won’t have time to
talk to yourself.”

Devon’s chuckle was devilish. “I think
perhaps I’m talking to myself
because
of the time spent in
your bed.”

“Complaints from the infamous blockade
runner?” Lil lifted a smooth bare shoulder, letting the sheet fall
from her rounded, pink-tipped bosom.

“I think you know better than that.” Devon
forced himself to look away. “But if I climb back in that bed
neither of us will come up for air for the rest of the day, and I
do need to pay my respects to my grandmother.”

“I saw Mrs. Blackstone last week, did I tell
you?”

“No.” Lil hadn’t done much talking since
Devon showed up at her place of business this morning. The
Intrepid
ran the blockade of Federal ships last night. As
usual, the danger and excitement stayed with Devon as they docked
in Charleston. And as usual, Lil was only too happy for Devon to
release some of that excess energy with her. He still felt tense,
like a boiler with its safety vent blocked, but he didn’t think
another round in Lil’s bed would help.