And if she refused? He would have to play his final card. It was unseemly, but each day he grew more attached to her. He would tell her that she could be pregnant. He hadn’t been careful with her. He’d meant to; he had been careful all his life. But it felt impossible to pull away from her. It felt…wrong.

 He didn’t think it had even crossed her mind. In so many ways, she was inexperienced. She’d never had to count days, never fervently hoped for one outcome or another. He would teach her—harshly—but it had to be done. There was no way he could walk away from her.

 Derek’s musings were broken when he saw her scampering across the bed toward him, book in hand. She looked absorbed in thought, and he tensed while scrambling up against the headboard, certain that her knee would unswervingly connect with his groin.

 Prepared for it, eyes closed and teeth gritted…he found only her breasts delicately pillowing across his lap. She lay perpendicular to him, the backs of her elbows touching his hip as she held the book open to read. He kept his eyes closed to better feel the luxury of her body.

 He’d had her several times last night, twice this day, and still, at his age, he immediately turned stiff. When he strained against her breasts, her lips tugged up. Not in exasperation at his continual lust, not even in amusement. He knew because he ran his hand up her leg and under her gown to part her. He felt her breath catch when he touched her silky wetness. She smiled because she was ready.

 And she wanted him, too.

 Nicole looked down at the man next to her. In sleep, his face had at last begun to mirror the increased relaxation she’d sensed in his whole demeanor. She thought he’d grown more contented in the last few weeks. As had she. So happy, in fact, that she didn’t believe she could deny Derek if he asked her again to be his mistress.

 Should she accept, she would break her word to her grandmother, and the news would devastate her father. She understood this. So why did her heart tell her it was right to be with this man for as long as she could?

 What would her mother do? She had always told Nicole to follow her dreams and let nothing stand in her way. Hadn’t Laurel given up everything to be with the man she loved? Hadn’t she lost her own mother over it? Her father would never disown her, but he would wonder why she hadn’t demanded marriage. Nicole wondered herself.

 She felt trapped in a curious position. She sensed that Derek was growing to love her. But she couldn’t decide if he was averse to marriage in general, or just marriage to her. Yet one thought recurred. Was she unthinkable as a bride merely because he was an earl and she apparently lacked a title, fortune, or roots?

 And if that was the case, why hadn’t she told him who she was?

 Chapter 23

 The bloody man’s grown larger, Chancey thought when he first arrived in Sydney and found Sutherland. Grown larger and lighter, as daft as that might sound. It was as if some burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Sutherland smiled. Often. Chancey pondered what had happened to him. Then Nicole rushed across the deck, laughing, to be swung up in Sutherland’s arms.

 Nicole had happened to him.

 The man was their enemy, but she’d obviously forgotten that fact. Surely he couldn’t be seeing her look at the man as if he alone existed for her, as if she loved him! Chancey cursed bitterly. They had to wed. From their closeness, he figured they’d have to wed very fast.

 He wasn’t fool enough to go storming the ship, not with Sutherland holding her, with his body language daring anyone to come near what was his. And besides wanting to kill the captain, Chancey had some bones to pick with a couple of his sailors. So he was glad to see that she had been seeing him off. Chancey’s hands clenched when the bastard gave her a long, lingering kiss. But when he pulled her in again to gently kiss the top of her head, Chancey decided with relief that the man wanted her for more than one reason.

 He followed behind Sutherland until they were out of earshot of the ship, then strode up to jab at his back. The man turned in a flash, his whole body tensed for a fight. Chancey just made out the slight look of surprise on his face before he concealed it behind a cold mask.

 “We’re gonna be talkin’ now.”

 In response, Sutherland gave a quick nod.

 The captain following him, Chancey ambled to a nearby pub, deserted at this time of morning. When they sat at a back table, he called for two whiskeys. He figured he needed one, and didn’t doubt the man before him did, too.

 He asked questions and, after a while, Sutherland loosened up and talked. Chancey learned of Sutherland’s belief that Nicole had poisoned his crew. He listened as Sutherland told him about the storm and about Tallywood. When necessary, he prompted the man with questions about Nicole, obviously his favorite subject, to keep him talking.

 When Chancey felt confident that she was safe and hadn’t been mistreated, he relaxed marginally. It occurred to him that he and the captain agreed on a lot of views. If Sutherland weren’t a reprobate drunk who’d seduced Nicole, they might have been friends.

 Suddenly Sutherland got that cold look on his face again, and Chancey realized he’d somehow revealed that this conversation was about to change course. The blighter didn’t show a hint of surprise when Chancey announced, “Ye’re marryin’ her tomorrow.”

 When Sutherland said nothing, he continued, “I let ye go once when I should o’ made ye marry her, but I’ll not make the same mistake again.”

 “As much as I would like to marry her—I can’t.” He ran a hand over his grim face.

 “Can’t or won’t?” Chancey ground out as he leaned forward. “I’ll kill ye if ye don’t make this right for her.”

 Sutherland didn’t back down, just spoke in a toneless voice. “I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” He paused, a bleak look in his eyes. “But there are circumstances at home that make a marriage to her impossible.”

 “Impossible? Nothin’s impossible,” Chancey spat out before he swooped his glass up to his lips. After a deep draw, he added, “Ye’ll just have to get around whatever obstacle stands in the way of marryin’ my lass—”

 “Impossible,” Sutherland said, more to himself than to Chancey.

 Chancey leapt out of his chair and began pacing by the table to try to get control, but his temper won out.

 “Damn it, Sutherland,” he snarled, “the only way that marryin’ Nicole would be impossible would be if—” He broke off, then sucked in his breath as sudden understanding washed over him. His shoulders sagged. He was stricken as much by his own conclusion as by the utterly dead look in Sutherland’s eyes.

 With a surge of rage, Chancey heaved him out of his chair and held him by the collar. But Sutherland did nothing. The bastard wouldn’t fight him.

 Finally Sutherland spoke. “I want to take care of her. I can give her a house and wealth and everything else she might ever want.”

 Chancey hit him so hard his fist vibrated from the force of it. Sutherland didn’t defend himself.

 “Blighter! So ye’ll make her yer mistress,” Chancey spat. “Spend two nights with the missus and the children, then a few with Nicole and any bastards she might get by ye?”

 “No. It would only be Nicole. I’ve never touched my wife.”

 That surprised Chancey, but it didn’t matter. “Ye have no idea how much ye’ve cost her. Seems she hasn’t seen fit to tell ye what she is. But I’ll tell ye that ye’re gonna have hurt more than her feelin’s when all this mess is over.”

 “What do you mean?” Sutherland asked slowly as Chancey released him in disgust.

 “I mean she had prospects, great ones. I know cause I seen ’em. Better than you can imagine.” Suddenly, Chancey felt very old and very sad. He sat heavily with a great exhalation of air, then took another burning drink. “Ye need to leave her alone. Just pack up and sail.”

 Sutherland cautiously sat when Chancey did, but his whole body tensed at the suggestion. “Just leave her? With no explanation?”

 “She could forgive herself for lovin’ ye without marriage, but unlike ye, it would kill her to know she’d committed adultery.”

 Sutherland winced, but asked, “What do you think it will do to her when I just disappear?”

 “It’ll hurt her to be sure. But she’ll get over ye.” Chancey pinned him with his eyes. “Ye have to do this.”

 “I can’t—not to her,” he said firmly.

 “Ye mean ye can’t do this for her because all ye care about is yerself. What do ye have to offer her?” Chancey abruptly stood again. “Ye’re nothin’ but a shell of a man anyway—and a drunk to boot. And that’s somethin’ for an Irisher to accuse.” He marched back and forth. “If ye break clean with her, in time she’ll forget about ye. She’s young enough to find another.”

 Chancey finally made out an unconcealable emotion on Sutherland’s face, and wished he hadn’t. It was as if raw pain surfaced to smother and kill any hope that had been there. It also signaled to Chancey that Sutherland accepted he was right, so he said nothing more.

 His face cold again, Sutherland spoke, “I want one more night with her.”

 Chancey shook his head sharply. “Not a chance.”

 “It’s the only way I’ll agree to this. And you have to take money to settle on her, to make sure she has everything she needs for the rest of her life.”

 “Ferget it.” He needed to get this drunken bastard, a married one at that, out of her life as soon as possible.

 The captain stood and turned to walk away. Before he got to the door, Chancey grabbed his arm. “One night. Ye do anythin’ to hurt my Nic, and I’ll gladly kill ye.”