He smiled. 'According to you, I am.'
Olivia stared up into intense blue eyes and felt certain her heart would burst from her chest. Her mind faltered, stumbling over the shocking revelation that the notorious Captain Phoenix was claiming to be her husband.
She backed away from him in a rush, and he reached to steady her when she started to fall. A whimper escaped as his touch burned her skin. The day's events had shaken her, but it was the gorgeous face of the infamous pirate that made her legs feel weak.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, and his presence sucked all of the air from the tight confines of the cabin. His black hair was unfashionably long, and the darkness of his skin betrayed how much time he spent outdoors. He was wild, untamed-a man of the elements.
She'd watched, fascinated, as he'd swept onto her ship and took command of it within moments. Phoenix had executed the attack with brilliant precision-not one man was seriously injured, and no one had been killed. Having spent most of her childhood on her father's ships, Olivia recognized skill when she saw it.
The way he'd used his sword and barked commands, the way loose tendrils of his hair had blown across his face, the way his breeches had delineated every stretch of his muscular thighs-she'd never experienced anything so thrilling. So exciting.
Until he'd touched her.
Then she'd discovered what excitement truly was.
Now she watched, mouth agape, as his long, elegant fingers went to the open collar of his shirt and plucked at the laces. Phoenix tugged the billowing linen from his breeches and drew it over his head.
'Good grief,' she gasped, startled by the heat that tore through her veins and flushed her skin as his chest was revealed to her. Her breasts grew heavy, the tips aching.
Phoenix smiled, well aware of the effect he was having on her. His body moved with arrogant grace, powerful muscles rippling beneath tautly stretched skin. Dark hair spread lightly over his chest, tapering to a fine line that traveled down his stomach to disappear beneath his waistband. His arms bulged as he shook out his shirt and stepped closer.
She'd never seen a bare-chested man. Even on her father's plantation, the workers were required to remain clothed, her doting father's way of shielding her maidenly sensibilities. Despite this lack of knowledge, she was certain no other male could claim Phoenix's magnificent form.
Olivia snapped her mouth shut and waited until he was close enough so she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. It took everything she had to resist touching him, to resist burying her face in his chest and breathing him in. He smelled wonderful, a sun-warmed and salted male in his prime. His hands came toward her, his hot gaze dropping to the exposed curve of her breast.
'Hell's teeth!' he growled as the edge of his blade met his aroused cock. Incredulous, Phoenix looked down at her hand, then again at her face. He released a slow, wary breath. 'I wouldn't recommend castrating me, sweetheart. One of your duties, after all, is to bear my heirs.'
She inhaled a shuddering breath. 'I do not believe for even a moment, Captain, that you are Lord Merrick.' But the idea was not distasteful. Romantic notions and girlish fantasies-
Phoenix met both of those and so much more. Her father would never have approved of this man, a pirate worlds apart from the carefully selected earl she'd been told to expect. The pirate would not be to any father's taste, but he suited her secret desire perfectly.
Phoenix's brow arched in sardonic amusement. 'But you cannot be certain. Have you ever met your husband?' Her hand shook nervously, and he winced. 'Steady, love,' he cautioned. 'You may one day desire the appendage you are so grievously threatening.'
'The only appendage of that nature I'll be desiring is my husband's,' she retorted.
She watched his grin come back in full force, revealing a dimple on the left side of his lush mouth.
'I'm relieved to hear that.' His voice was deep and seductive, purring like a predatory cat. 'I wouldn't be agreeable to an adulterous wife.'
'I am not your wife!' she snapped, flustered by his charm and her response to it.
'If what you say is true, then you are indeed my countess. And despite-,' he shot a pointed glance at his blade, '-your charming introduction, you are not displeased with me as a spouse.'
'How can you say that?'
'I didn't. Your nipples did. They are hard and aching for my touch, pressing so delightfully against the bodice of your gown.'
With a horrified gasp, Olivia covered her breasts, and he easily plucked the wicked knife from her fingers. He handed her his shirt. 'Here. Cover yourself until I can locate your trunks. I have no wish to display your bountiful charms to my men. We've been at sea for months, and their control is stretched.' He eyed her appraisingly for a long moment and then chuckled. 'Bold as you please,' he murmured.
She stiffened, wondering if Phoenix found her deportment unappealing, and was disturbed to realize that she cared if he did. All of her life, she had accompanied her father on his frequent trips to London. With a child's awareness, she'd quickly discerned that Polite Society disparaged them because of their common background and her father's work in trade. To protect her feelings, Olivia had learned to disregard the opinions of others. But the pirate's opinion mattered. More than it should.
'I've learned to care for myself,' she said defensively.
His dimple flashed again, momentarily stunning her wits. 'I'm not complaining,' he assured her. 'Your father is well-known to me, sweet. I am aware that he is a busy man. I'm pleased you acquired some independent thought and intrepidness.' He moved toward the door, apparently unaffected by the attraction that seared her senses.
'Wait!' she cried. Unreasonably, she didn't want to be left alone. His crew was a coarse lot. They'd pinched and groped her, tugged at her hair, and ruined her gown. Intrepid she might be, but a glutton for punishment she was not. 'You cannot leave me here alone!'
Phoenix paused on the threshold, his features softening. 'No one will come into this cabin without my permission. You'll be safe here.'
She shook her head in denial. Her hands began to shake as they clutched his shirt against her chest, the garment still warm from his body and scented of his skin. 'Don't leave me.'
'I must go,' he replied gently. 'I have to give orders to my crew, secure your ship, and locate your belongings.' He frowned. 'Where is the proxy?'
'It was returned to England with the solicitor immediately after the signing.'
'Who signed for me?'
Olivia started at his angry tone, and the first seeds of doubt entered her mind. 'Lord Dunsmore,' she answered softly.
His eyes narrowed. 'And you didn't find it odd that your husband didn't come for you himself? You never wondered why he was unable, or unwilling, to at least sign the proxy even if he couldn't be bothered to marry you properly?'
Her bottom lip quivered at his sudden vehemence, and she bit it to hide the betraying movement. But Phoenix was too perceptive. With a muttered oath, he came back to her. His thumb brushed across her mouth, freeing her lip from her teeth. His gaze remained anchored to the spot where he had touched her. Olivia couldn't breathe. Her lip burned.
'You are a beautiful and desirable woman,' he murmured. 'Why settle for marriage with a man sight unseen?'
'I'd hardly call marrying a marquess 'settling,'' she whispered against his thumb.
He stiffened, and dropped his hand from her. 'For the title, then.'
Olivia shook her head. The title was important to her father. All she'd ever wanted in a marriage was passion, like her parents were reputed to have had. 'It was my father's wish that I marry Lord Merrick. I could not defy him.'
She was all that her father had. To disappoint him or sadden him was more than she could bear.
Phoenix searched her face for a long moment. Then he turned and left the cabin without another word, taking with him all of the crackling energy he exuded.
