Taming a Savage Gentleman: Taming the Heart Series Read online

“Is someone going to get that?” Loudoun called irritably while the sailors continued their work, ignoring him completely.

  “You’d better get it yourself,” Tom called. “There’ll not be a meal for some time and you’re not looking very well.”

  Loudoun gave him a seething look but rose and stumbled across the room.

  Honestly, the man deserved far worse.

  6

  Flora tried to keep her eyes in check, but they simply wouldn’t listen. They followed Tom wherever he went no matter how she told them not to.

  His every movement was fluid, subtle power and grace making her long to run her hands down the length of him.

  “How pedestrian,” Loudoun whispered next to her.

  Her jaw dropped open and she heard her mother gasp next to her. “What?” she managed to rip her eyes from Tom to look at Loudoun.

  He sneered back. “You heard me. Lusting over some commoner with a tiny bit of power in the middle of nowhere.”

  Anger bristled along her skin. She rarely backed down from a challenge and she wouldn’t now. “Who should I be lusting after? The drunk who nearly drowned me last night?”

  “Flora,” her mother hissed.

  “Very well, Mother.” She straightened her skirts.

  “If I drank a bit much it was because I was forced to witness as I was cuckolded.”

  She snorted, a most unladylike sound. “You have to be married to be cuckolded. We’re not even engaged. We, sir, are still courting. At least we were.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll not find a better husband than an earl. Even with your holdings.”

  Her back was rigid as she glared at him. This was Loudoun’s issue. He considered himself better than everyone else.

  “Yes, but can I find a better man than you?” She was sitting straight up now, her voice rising with every word.

  With a strength and speed she didn’t know he possessed, he grabbed her upper arm and yanked her towards him. “It doesn’t matter now. You’ll be mine one way or the other.”

  She pushed down the fear at his physical violence and tried to yank her arm away. “Unhand me. I am not yours to command.”

  “I will no-” Loudoun suddenly let go.

  Tom was there, on Loudoun’s other side, and he whispered furiously into the other man’s ear. Loudoun went pale but Flora couldn’t hear what was said.

  Sighing, her mother mumbled, “This might be awkward.”

  “Why is that?” she asked. She knew, or she thought she knew, but she wasn’t going to let fear of uncomfortable interactions keep her from doing what was best.

  Her mother’s hand fluttered as though the answer was too obvious to be said.

  “How is your head, Mother?” Flora scooted away from Loudoun, deliberately changing the subject.

  “Much better, thank you, dear.” Her mother reached for her hand, and taking it, whispered, “Stay close to me.”

  “Tom said the same,” she mumbled.

  “Excellent,” her mother replied.

  Tom finally straightened, and giving them a terse nod, left to continue arranging the supplies.

  “Are you up for a little exercise?” Flora turned to her mother.

  “That sounds lovely, dear. What did you have in mind?”

  “Perhaps, we could sweep? The room is warming and I find movement might improve my spirits.” She didn’t add that she also wanted some distance from Loudoun. Besides, she always thought better when she moved. She desperately needed to think about the events of the last day.

  Her contact with Tom only had her thoughts more jumbled. She didn’t even know if he wanted her. But either way, she had to decide what she wanted for herself. A man who stayed out of her way or one who had real strength.

  She didn’t have time to think on it further as the two sailors who had been leering at her earlier returned with the first load of wood. She located a broom and began sweeping away the dust in the far corner of the room.

  Loudoun remained by the fire. She heard one of the sailors tersely grumble. “Out of the way.”

  “Feck off,” Loudoun responded. She blushed, and the sailor barked something unintelligible back. Though she didn’t hear Loudoun’s response, a dialogue ensued. They had several exchanges and for some reason that made her more nervous than the arguing.

  Tom was watching them too, from the crates and barrels of food. “You two,” he called. “More wood.”

  Flora sighed with relief and did her best to remove the layers of dirt from the floor. She kept busy, helping the cook prepare a meal. Her mother, still not fully recovered, sat by the hearth for much of it but the work warmed Flora. When her mother began to shiver, even next to the fire, she stripped off her cloak. “Here mother, use this.”

  “Thank you, dear.” Her mother huddled under the double cloaks and fell asleep.

  Flora tried not to be too worried. But as the storm raged on and night fell, she couldn’t help but wonder what she would do if left alone in this world.

  TOM WATCHED Flora with a great deal of admiration. She worked all afternoon, cleaning, cooking, laying out beds for sailors, which were mostly just blankets. They didn’t have enough wood to spread out to the rest of the castle so most of them would sleep on the floor.

  Once the storm had passed, he would assess the damage to the ship. The best case scenario, however, was that it would take a day or two to repair the ship. Hopefully he’d be able to salvage some lumber but if he had to craft any, it would take much longer. Trees were scarce on the island and his tools primitive at best.

  He didn’t have supplies for that long of a stay and his crew needed to get moving. They were already restless.

  He sent two more sailors to scour the shore for firewood and lumber, he didn’t dare leave Flora to do it himself.

  His eyes wandered to her again, as she wrapped her mother in her own cloak and settled her on the makeshift bed. It was a nice gesture, but she would freeze without a covering of her own. His need to protect her came as a surprise. He had only ever been like this with his family. But Flora wasn’t his family. At least not yet.

  Raking his fingers through his hair, he wondered how he had he gotten himself into this. The more important question was, did he even want to get out of it? He should. It would be best for Flora to marry a member of the peerage. Not Loudoun, of course, but not some second son of a second son either. Looking at her again, she had her arms wrapped around herself as she huddled closer to the fire.

  Striding across the room, he saw her gaze lift and lock with his, her entire face lighting at the sight of him. He’d told himself he didn’t want to marry but when she looked at him like that…

  Loudoun was nowhere to be seen and he’d half a mind to discover what mischief the other man was up to, but Flora’s comfort was more pressing.

  She looked up as he walked towards her and her smile nearly took his breath away. He could see that smile every day for the rest of his life. “You’re freezing.”

  Flora shrugged. “She needs it more.”

  He slipped his arm around her, pulling Flora to his body. Pulling his own cloak off, he draped it over her shoulders. “Press against her. You’ll warm her and yourself.”

  She gave a nod as her forehead rested on his chest. “What will you do?”

  “I’ll be just on the other side of you as soon as I finish,” he whispered into her hair.

  “Tom,” her voice was hesitant. She lifted her face off his chest to stare into his eyes. “Thank you. For everything.”

  Bloody hell he wanted to kiss her. She was so soft in his arms, those sea blue eyes shining up at him with a light he didn’t quite understand. But he knew he wanted her to always look at him like that. And that was scary as hell and so bloody exciting all at once. “You’re welcome, love.” His hand trailed down the curve of her back. “Try to get some sleep.”

  Letting her go, he walked away but his body was cold without her softness pressed against him. He wanted to hold her. Hell
, he wanted to feel her naked again and then he…

  Forcing himself to stop thinking, he returned to the table where he had set up blueprints for The White Lady.

  While he wouldn’t tell Stew or Phil, who were out searching for lumber, he’d most likely be able to deconstruct some of the planking within the ship to make the repair. The question was, from what part would he farm the wood?

  But his eyes kept wandering back to Flora.

  Finally, giving up, he crossed the room. He sat next to her, where she lay sleeping on a blanket. He pressed his leg against her back, the heat of her warming him. Most everyone was asleep, so he picked up a single curl and let it slip across his palm.

  He chuckled to himself about how wrong his first impression had been. This woman was miraculous, and part of him almost hoped they were caught. Because then, he’d have to marry her and the decision would be taken out of his hands.

  He’d keep her safe no matter what.

  7

  Flora watched as Tom carried lumber collected from the beach and loaded it into the dinghy. Carl picked up spare pieces along the beach. It had been a great relief to see The White Lady still afloat this morning, shimmering in the morning sun. “How long do you think it will take to fix?”

  She would spend the day with him. He’d claimed she was too accident prone to be alone but the crew was still openly glaring at her and she was sure he was worried to leave her at the castle unattended.

  “Hopefully we’ll be done today, but no more than a few days.” He gave her a wink.

  Her breath caught at the wickedness of the gesture. Her thoughts careening over other naughty actions he might take. They certainly involved the feel of his body against hers. She swallowed hard. “I suppose we could have stayed on the ship.”

  “Perhaps.” He looked up at the boat. “We unloaded half the cargo and all the people. The weight alone might have sunk it.”

  “Oh, I didn’t think of that.” He was so capable, strong. He’d kept her safe when she was helpless to do so herself. It was far more comforting than she’d ever imagined.

  He gave her a grin. “Barrett told me that you are quite business-minded. Something about expanding the fields and doubling the profits?”

  “That is easy.” She stood, unable to contain her excitement. “I simply listened to the farmers and had the soil assessed then made the small investment into--” She stopped suddenly, giving a sheepish smile. “But most likely rather dull.”

  “I don’t think so.” He put the last of the wood into the dinghy. “I think it’s magnificent.”

  She blushed then. “Thank you.”

  “I’ve been working on ships my entire life and they’re what I know, but my brother has the head for business. My sister, on the other hand, says the trees speak to her. She married the laird, Gavin Campbell, who supplies our lumber and she hand picks all the masts.”

  “Her laird doesn’t mind?” She inched closer. This was what she wanted. A husband who understood her gifts and celebrated them rather than being intimidated by them. Or at the very least, stayed out of the way. She had thought Loudoun would be too busy drinking and gambling to take an interest but on that count, she’d been terribly wrong.

  The more time she spent with him, the more she realized he would want the power for the sake of having it. And likely ruin her hard work in the process.

  “Gavin? Mind? He loves it about her. I didn’t understand this at first, but it takes a strong man to respect a woman’s talents rather than be threatened by them.”

  Flora’s heart rose to her throat. It was like he was speaking her inner most desire. If she could have, she would have thrown herself into his arms. Desperately she wished to find a man like that and Tom’s words made her wonder if he could be that to her. But she held back. With the crew he demanded respect and commanded with absolute authority. She didn’t want a ruler and she was afraid that was how he would be with her.

  “Climb in,” he gestured.

  She lifted her skirts with her hand to maneuver her way over the side of the dinghy and around the piles of wood, but he swept her up in his arms and set her on the seat. His hands on her body made her breathless “Thank you.”

  Slowly he stepped away, his hands lingered at her waist, as if he were reluctant to let go. “Of course, my lady.”

  “Call me Flora.” She looked away, biting her lip. His sudden formality worried her, though she told herself it shouldn’t. Clearing her throat, she asked. “So, will you return to build boats?”

  “Likely not.” It was his turn to look away. “They don’t need me. To the Maddox family I’m next to useless. I’m just the spare.”

  Flora blinked. It was the first time he had looked anything other than completely confident. Without thinking, her first thought tumbled out of her mouth. “You can’t be serious. You’re the most competent man I’ve ever met.”

  “You think so?” He raised one eyebrow, giving her a devilish grin.

  Her breath caught again. “I know so. Without you to save me, I’d be…”

  He waved his hand to dismiss her words. “Someone else would have fished you out.”

  But she shook her head, inching closer to him. “But it was you. Always you.”

  “That may be the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Holding her gaze, he reached for her hand. “I’m glad you came with me today. Do you think your mother will be all right?”

  Flora nodded. “Mary’s with her.”

  He turned toward Carl who was still combing the beach. The old navigator was tasked with chaperoning for the day. “Come on, Carl. We’re leaving.”

  Rowing out to The White Lady, Tom tied off the boat. “Climb up first.” He grinned as he steadied her. She began scaling the rope ladder, safer knowing he was just behind her.

  She made it on to the deck, watching the busy sailors who had already arrived to work. Marveling at the men’s ability to spring up and down a rope ladder while carrying wood, she tried not to stare at Tom.

  While still quite cool, as the last of it was loaded onto the ship, the men began taking off their shirts. Her efforts to look away forgotten, her eyes locked on Tom’s tan muscles when they came into view, his massive shoulders and tapered waist making her ache with longing. Her cheeks filled with color but Tom winked and smiled as he removed his shirt. “The hull’s holding a lot of water. If we take them off, it’s one less thing to dry out later.”

  “Of course,” she said, embarrassed by her open assessment. The only thing more obvious was the fact that she was now staring off at some point in the distance, unable to look him in the eye. In the morning light, even this island was beautiful with waving grass and a sprinkling of shrubs and trees. Then she noticed something, three men standing near the water, their heads bent together.

  She looked back at Tom as she bit her lip. His eyes pierced hers and then travelled to where she had just been looking. Staring down the water’s edge, he caught sight of the men. Pulling out a spy glass, he opened it and assessed the men.

  “Who is it?” one of the sailors asked.

  “Phil, Stew, and Lord Loudoun.” Tom’s lips thinned into a straight line.

  “Now that’s a group up to no good, I tell you,” Carl responded.

  Flora wrapped her arms around her waist. Most of the sailors had stopped shooting daggers her way. With the bright sun and a plan for repair, the crew was largely in good spirits. But Stew and Phil had spent most of the morning with their heads bent together, grumbling and not so subtly casting dark glares in her direction.

  “Kent, keep an eye on them, would you?”

  “Aye aye,” the sailor called and disappeared over the side to start his watch.

  SLOGGING THROUGH KNEE-DEEP WATER, they nearly had the hole sealed up. It wasn’t as big as Tom feared but they had to remove this water before sailing.

  He climbed back out of the hatch, stationing himself near the rail in their bucket brigade. Flora sat in the shade of the sail watching his eve
ry movement. He could feel the intensity of her gaze and it heated him even more than the sun or the work.

  Closing his eyes for a second, he tried to block the view of her out. Her pull was growing stronger while his will to fight it weakened. Part of him wanted to take her and be damned with consequences.

  But that meant marriage. And while the same dread that usually came with the word did not spread through him, he still wasn’t eager to enter such a relationship.

  Nor would she want a commoner for a husband. It would be exactly like it was with his family. He wouldn’t be good enough and he’d know that every day.

  Now, if the night he spent in her room was discovered. That was different. He would do the right thing by her. He’d be saving her in a way.

  “You’re falling behind,” a sailor named Skip called.

  By way of answer, he swung his hand at the man’s head, who just dodged out of the way.

  “Someone’s got their knickers in a bunch,” Skip responded.

  He grimaced and looked back at Flora who was now gazing over the water rather than at him. That was the issue right there. He was rough around the edges, prone to picking fights and hitting men before he reasoned with them.

  Running his hand through his hair, he tried not to curse. Another unattractive quality of his. Of course she didn’t want a man like him. Cursing and hitting. And he didn’t want any woman at all. Easy enough.

  But he’d keep her safe. No matter what, he’d protect her.

  “Hey Maddox,” another sailor called. “When do we head back? Cook’s got to have some grub by now. I’m half starved.”

  “How much water is left?” He called down, trying to keep from letting out a string of curses.

  He swung down and out of sight of Flora. He needed his concentration and to curse without her hearing. “Bloody bullocks,” he cursed. “You’re going to be a lot hungrier if we’re stuck on this island without food.”

  The man took a half step back. “No need to look like that. I was just saying we could be here all night and not get all this water out. We need more men.”