Page 34 of Any Duke in a Storm

Breath shuddering, Lisbeth looped her arms around his neck and dragged her aching breasts over his chest. “Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?”

It was a rhetorical question. She pushed up and crashed her mouth to his.

Fuck everything he’d ever said about staying away. She tasted exactly as he’d imagined. Sunlight and honey with a squeeze of bitter orange. Sweet and tart. Ripe but spicy, like mangoes doused in hothouse peppers. Raphael deepened the kiss, desperate for more of that delicious contradiction, wanting to lose himself in the taste and sensation that tore at his senses. His tongue delved hungrily, tangling and dueling with hers, as if she, too, could not get enough of him.

It was heady and intense, the force of the desire burning through him almost impossible to contain. Anyone could see them, and Raphael did not care. He groaned as those ruthless, purposeful hands wound into the loose fabric of his shirt and threaded through his hair, holding him in place like the siren she was. Lisbeth kissed like she fought—bold and powerful, giving up no quarter that she’d earned. Nails scoured at his back, the willing give of her soft lips at his front making him frantic.Wild.

She bit at his lip and the bite of pain served as a reminder of just who she was. No one to be underestimated. Savage. Vicious. A Valkyrie whose embrace meant death. A whimper broke free from her as he teased the upper ridges of her mouth and sucked on her soft bottom lip.

The kiss was brief, a handful of seconds at most, butit felt as though it’d lasted forever, a strange permanence imprinting upon him like a tattoo only he could see. Kisses did not feel like agony and bliss all in one. But hers did. Her lips consumed and caressed, devoured and worshipped. Theybranded.

When they broke apart panting, his lips were tingling and swollen, the slight taste of copper pennies on his tongue. Had his bloodthirsty Viking drawn blood? Lisbeth’s green eyes were molten, her pupils blown wide. Her mouth was full and reddened, and she lifted a finger to the full curve of her bottom lip. She looked as disordered as he felt…as though the embrace had taken her by surprise.

“Why did you want to kiss me?” she rasped, after checking that they did not have an unwanted audience, though Raphael was sure that Narina would have seen her share of taboo activities in the tavern in Bridgetown.

“You wanted to kiss me, too,” he said.

The truth was Raphael didn’t know what had possessed him. Oh, he knewwhy. He’d wanted to kiss her since the first time they’d met when she’d burned into his life like a beautiful comet. But normally he had more self-control, and Lisbeth had made it clear that she wasn’t interested. One moment they’d been bickering, jealousy and resentment bubbling between them, and the next, they were locked at the lips, dueling for dominance in a different way.

Raphael was saved from having to answer when a whistle and a shout came from the other side of the rocky outcropping leading to the next bay. “Ship, ahoy!”

He put a hand to his brow, shading against the growing sunlight, and tried to see if the ship was one of his. The flags for entry flew in the proper sequence—black on top, red in the middle, and yellow at the bottom—and a bell tolled before they were hoisted down. The yellow jack was a recent addition, usually used to warn other ships of contagion via yellow fever. It kept the more curious ships, including ones belonging to the authorities, away.

Raphael did not recognize the dark-blue frigate as one of his, and his hopes fell.Damn!The longer they stayed here, the more danger Lisbeth and Narina were in, and he couldn’t put them on a ship captained by someone he did not trust. Or worse, someone loyal to his uncle.

“Before I forget, theSyrenis in Tampa,” he said quietly. “They’re safe.”

She frowned. “Tampa? I thought you said Nassau.”

“They were in Nassau briefly, and then they left for Florida.” Raphael stared at her, seeing something like surprise and then understanding flash in her eyes, before her usual neutral look replaced the last. One day, he’d uncover some of the secrets she was hiding. “Any idea why they would go there?”

“No.” It was an untruth. She was an excellent liar, but he was learning to read her. The nearly imperceptible twitch of her eyelid gave her away.

Raphael raked a hand over his hair. It wouldn’t be long before someone on the island recognized Lisbeth. The smuggling world was small. Dubois would be unforgiving if he suspected that she was a spy in their midst, especiallyone with a reputation like hers. They might be a society of thieves, but there were rules in place. A captain had toearnhis way to access the upper echelons and Bonnie Bess had not done that. She’d circumvented the system. Raphael had helped bring her in, but that would not save her, were her true identity to be discovered.

“Captain Saint,” a young boatswain’s voice yelled out from over the pier as he climbed into sight. “The Prince wants to see you.” His gaze flicked to Lisbeth. “And he said to bring your woman. In the main house.”

That could not be good, but refusing the summons would only increase suspicions. As much as he wanted to protect Lisbeth, they still had to play a part. It was the whole reason he hadn’t cut off Dubois’s fingers for daring to touch Lisbeth, while pretending that he didn’t care if his uncle made a move or not. If he showed that he actually cared, it would be seen as weakness and used against him.

“Is it trouble?” Lisbeth asked in a low voice.

“I don’t know. I don’t recognize the ship that just entered the bay. Could be one of Dubois’s or one of the other captains’.” His gaze roved over her, brows tightening with worry. “When we go in there, you need to draw as little attention to yourself as possible. Unbearable task, I know,” he added with a wry grin.

“I can be unnoticeable,” she said with a scowl.

“Can you?” He lifted a palm to cup her jaw, his thumb skating across the softness of her cheek, eyes tracing the pale-gold hair tumbling in loose waves down her back. She was dressed in a homespun jade cotton dress, embroideredwith deep red flowers, but even in the simple clothing, she shone like a luminous pearl.

While she looked softer and younger without the guise and face paint of Bonnie Bess, she was hardly a woman that others did not notice. What they didn’t realize was how deadly she was. She was like the blue-ringed octopus that hid in coral reefs and tide pools. Beautiful and alluring, its painless yet lethal bite had enough venom to kill twenty people. “You underestimate what people see when they look at you, Viking.”

She lifted a blond brow. “A girl in a dress?”

“Abansheein a dress who can steal their weapons and gut them inside of a minute.” His hand fell back to his side as he blew out a breath. “We cannot be sure that someone will not know your face. Someone could have seen you in Bridgetown or Tobago before that.”

“What do you propose?” she asked.

“You need to let me do all of the talking. You and Narina need to remain as inconspicuous as possible.” He shook his head as he glanced at the girl. “I was going to suggest letting her go back to the cabin or the doctor’s house, but we can’t take the chance that she will be safe. I prefer both of you to be close, if things take a bad turn.”

“Do you suspect Dubois to have ill intentions?” she asked, her gaze scrutinizing his face as if digging for truth. But he had nothing to hide.

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