He shrugged. “So I’ve been told.”
Her brows drew together and for a moment she looked adorably perplexed. “So, which is it then?”
He arched his brows in a silent question.
“Are you greedy or selfish?”
He laughed. “You are a very direct lady, do you know that?”
She mimicked his shrug. “So I’ve been told.” Her eyes seemed to light with some inner fire when she laughed, and those flames flickered hypnotically with mischief and curiosity.
The sight was mesmerizing.
Beautiful.
He reached a hand out and cupped her chin gently. “That look right there. That is why no other lady could hold a candle to you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise before she blinked the expression away. “You’re avoiding the question.”
He dropped his hand with a laugh. “So I am. Let’s see. Am I motivated by greed or selfishness? I only keep a small percentage of the loot I intercept or commandeer so that rules out greed, eh?” He grinned. “I suppose that makes me selfish.”
She laughed. “You sound far too proud when you admit that.”
“Should I be ashamed that I’ve unabashedly chased my dreams for a decade?” He still grinned, but he gave it thought. “You know, I’ve only recently realized just how much of an affect my actions can have on those around me. So in that sense, yes, I do feel ashamed at my selfishness. Although, I’ve never forced anyone into helping me.”
He hadn’t, he reminded himself. His brother had taken it upon himself to help Marcus when he’d first set off to help free enslaved peoples and deal out his particular brand of justice. Even his brother’s wife had made her choice to help as well.
Minerva bit her lip and leaned forward slightly as though hanging on his words. “But?”
“But...” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. It was not every day that a lady forced him to stop and think about his life decisions.
It had certainly never happened in a cave while he was trying to cajole that same lady into helping him catch a smuggler.
The thought brought with it a wry smile and he forced himself to answer her as truthfully as he could, for he suspected it was her own mind she was trying to sort out. “I suppose times have changed,” he said. “Those I care about have made life choices that have taken them down a different path, and now it is time for me to make changes as well.”
She tipped her head to the side. “What sort of changes?”
He smiled in response. “Suppose I were to tell you that this was my last mission as a...privateer?” The word did not come easily, he still wasn’t quite used to it, but Minerva merely nodded.
“Is that true?”
“It is.”
“So when you sail off in your ship, where will you head?”
Something seemed to click inside of him. Or perhaps something fell into place. Over the past year since his last injury had forced him to face his own mortality and the next phase of his life, he’d done little but think about what to do next. He had ideas, but nothing had called out to him...
Until now.
Until her.
For the first time in years, he felt it. The call. The siren song of a new desire, a new adventure.
A new beginning.
Did it make sense? No.
Was it reasonable? Definitely not.
But he’d learned long ago that opportunities like these were few and far between. And once missed, they never returned. Fate was fickle and fleeting, and all too often one was called upon to leap without looking.
Her brows hitched higher. “Well, Marcus?” she asked. Her voice was breathless, and he wondered if she could feel it, too. This precipice on which they stood, the opportunity that lay before them begging to be grasped.
She shifted closer. “Well?” she asked. “What grand adventure awaits you next?” Her lips were parted, her eyes dazed. Had she any idea herself just how much she craved adventure? Did she have any inkling that his greatest wish was to give it to her?
He would show her the world if she would let him, and she...
Well, he suspected she could be the one thing he hadn’t known he’d ever wanted.
A home.
“What adventure comes next?” he repeated. He reached for her and tugged her close, loving the way that she leaned into him without fear or hesitation.
“That, my dear, depends entirely upon you.”
Chapter 8
This was insanity.
Minerva held her breath as she watched Marcus’s eyes darken as he leaned closer.
This was lunacy.
His strong arms wrapped around her, his upper body stable and comforting as he tilted his head down slowly as if to give her every chance to protest.
She did not protest.
How could she? Her mind went blank as sensations and emotions took over, drowning out any hope of reason.
This is happening. That was all she could think.
Her lips parted as he moved slowly, so very slowly. Closing the distance between them, his gaze held hers hostage until the very last moment when his lips closed over hers.
Warmth flooded through her at the contact and her heart went wild in her chest like it was celebrating.
She clung to his shoulders, his arms, her fingers trying to find purchase as she pressed against him even closer, his body giving off a heat she hadn’t known she’d been missing.
Her whole life she’d been seeking this warmth, this comfort, this feeling of being exactly where she was meant to be.
It was dizzying. His kiss. This odd certainty. The way her body seemed to mold itself so naturally to his. The delicious heat that coursed through her as his arms tightened and his throat seemed to rumble with pleasure.
For all his muscles and his strength, his kiss was surprisingly gentle.
Not that she had anything to compare it to. But while his lips were firm and warm, his touch was light as he glided his mouth over hers, tasting and teasing.
