"Please don't hang me," she said again. It was all she could say. Wade shook his head, then seemed to make up his mind and walked toward her. She didn't flinch when he reached her and gently took the knife out of her hands, though part of her thought she should be scared. She wasn't. He tossed the knife onto the floor and wrapped his arms around her waist. Then Wade pulled Julianne close to him and she could smell him: fear, courage, power, lust.
"You saved me, love," he managed to say. Then he kissed her deeply. For just a moment, the world stood still. For just a moment, she forgot that he was a captain and she was a stowaway. For just a moment, she was just a woman wrapped in the arms of a man. For just a moment, and then the moment ended.
Wade pulled away and looked at her questioningly. She bit her lip, waiting for the question, but it didn't come. Instead, he leaned down and pulled the map out of Rupert's pocket. Then he walked behind Julianne and peered into the corner where she had been sleeping. He took note of the blanket and the small parcel of food, and then he came back to her.
"Please," a tear slid down her cheek. "I know I'm not supposed to be here." Julianne thought of her brother, Nelson, and his bravery. She thought of his strength and courage. She thought of how he had risked everything to prevent her from becoming Vince's wife. She thought of the way he had always protected her.
"Tell me who you are," Wade said firmly. He did not touch her. Julianne knew that he was not asking her to tell him: he was commanding it. She couldn't give up Nelson. She couldn't tell Wade who her brother was. Even if she had to die, she wouldn't let her brother be forced into death alongside her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again. The tears came faster now, though silently. "I'm running away."
"From Darnial?" Wade asked, but Julianne shook her head.
"Gunthry," she squeaked out.
"You've been on my ship since Gunthry?" Wade raised his voice and his hand, as if to slap her, but as Julianne cringed and shrank away, he dropped it to his side. Instead of slapping her, he balled his hand into a fist, trying to calm himself down. The Dark Lovely had not been to Gunthry for several weeks. Julianne knew he was probably frustrated that he had been tricked for so long.
Julianne nodded.
"Why are you running away?" Wade asked her, his voice still stern.
"I was supposed to be married," Julianne told him. "My betrothed is evil."
"All men are evil."
"Not like this," she insisted, shaking her head slowly. "He's already had three wives and most people in my village believe he beat all of them to death. It was my only choice." Her eyes looked sad. "I couldn't let that happen to me."
Wade took a step closer to her and lifted her chin softly. Julianne sucked in her breath sharply at his touch, remembering the way he had plunged his cock deep into her, remembering the way he had kissed h
er when they were alone.
"Who knows you're here?" He asked, and Julianne bit her lip. She couldn't give up her brother, but Wade already knew. He had seen them together, earlier when he assumed that she was a whore.
"Nelson," he sighed, shaking his head.
"You can't kill him," Julianne insisted, grabbing Wade's hand in desperation. "Please."
Wade looked into her eyes again, and then he looked at the man on the floor.
"You saved my life," he told her. "So I will spare yours, but I cannot spare Nelson's. He betrayed me. He violated his oath."
Wade turned to go, but Julianne grabbed his arm, surprising Wade with her strength, and pulled him back to her. His eyes looked torn and pained as he looked down at her, watching her.
"Wouldn't you have done the same?" She asked him. "If it was your sister?"
Wade dropped her arm.
"Sister?" He asked. "You're not his lover?"
Julianne burst out laughing for just a moment, then bit her lip softly, remembering the seriousness of the situation.
"Definitely not," she said. "I may be adventurous in many ways, but not that one. We're twins."
Wade watched her face, studying her, as if trying to figure out what to do. Obviously unsure of the right choice, he grabbed her arm and pulled her from the storage room.
"Come, darling," he said. "The free ride has ended."
**