Rebecca turned to face the captain. “Ready. How do I look?”
When she heard his sharp intake of breath, her fears evaporated like drops of water on hot pavement in the summer sun. His eyes roamed over her body. She fought the impulse to cover herself. She suddenly felt naked under two hundred pounds of cloth. She raised her head and met his gaze. Her heart plunged to her stomach. He was devouring her with his eyes.
“The dress does not do you justice, Mrs. O’Neill.”
“Mrs. Reed,” Rebecca corrected, hoping desperately to divert his attention from the dress.
“I stand corrected Mrs. Reed. Now turn about so I may fasten the laces.”
Rebecca felt Ben’s hands moving up her spine, his knuckles resting on her back as he stretched and pulled the laces together. Why in blazes does the barest touch, through cloth nonetheless, send my heart racing?
Rebecca lost all focus when Ben’s fingers reached the top of the dress and brushed across the base of her neck. Before she had time to recover, Ben drew his thumb over her skin along the edge of the dress. She struggled to catch her breath.
“Relax, Mrs. Reed.” His words caressed her skin as he spoke. “Lift your hair so I may tie these off.”
He is torturing me and surely knows. If I live through this day, I’m going to kill him. Rebecca’s silent vow brought a small amount of satisfaction.
Ben spent an eternity tying the bow, and then lazily, ever so softly, dragged a finger up her neck to the base of her hairline. Rebecca sucked in her breath and dropped her hair. She thought she heard him stifle a chuckle. He leaned closer and whispered, “You have beautiful hair. I can’t get the smell of it out of my mind.”
As he eased back, he ran his fingers through her hair and turned her around to face him. Rebecca was certain every emotion she felt would be reflected in her eyes.
“Ben?” she asked softly.
He grazed his thumb over her cheek, never taking his eyes off of hers. There was such tenderness in his touch. Rebecca wanted. She didn’t know what she wanted. Something. Something to. To what? She felt Ben take her left hand, running his fingers over hers and turning her grandmother’s ring around her finger. She thought of her parents and her grandparents, how happy their marriages had been, and she wondered for just a moment if she could be as happy with Ben. Her eyes misted over and she reached up with her right hand to brush away a tear. Ben practically threw her hand from his.
“I’m sorry,” he said while moving away from her. “I did not think.”
Rebecca had no clue what he was talking about, but she felt the chill whip through the cabin as Ben changed once again into her warden/captain. She held back the sobs pressing to be released. She searched his eyes and saw remorse and, maybe, shame. What had happened?
Could this all be a bad dream? How was she to know? Rebecca had far more questions than answers. Tisbury, Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard The last thing sixth-grade teacher Rebecca O’Neill wants to do during the final week of her summer break is chaperone twenty-five kids on a six-night, seven-day trip aboard the schooner Shenandoah. But after a desperate phone call from the school principal, she doesn’t have a choice.
Worse, the ship is rumored to be ‘haunted.’ Five years ago, during the Holmes Hole student cruise, teacher Melissa Smith complained about hearing voices and seeing visions, then disappeared without a trace-from the very same cabin where Rebecca will be staying. Everything seems normal on Sunday as Rebecca boards the impressive Shenandoah. But as she sits in Cabin 8, she hears hushed voices that don’t sound like they’re from this century.
Mike, a crewmember, insists he believes the crazy Island story that Melissa time-traveled to Colonial Boston. His eerie interest in constantly tracking Rebecca’s whereabouts rattles her nerves. Her first night onboard, Rebecca drifts off to sleep…and wakes the following morning with memories of a secretive conversation about a battle with Britain. Monday night Rebecca crawls into her bunk after an adventurous day of sailing, swimming, and overseeing students.
She’s startled awake when a man grabs her and yells, ‘Stowaway!’ Dragged in front of Captain Benjamin Reed, she looks up into the most gorgeous brown eyes she’s ever seen….
A Vineyard Romance. Romance, history, adventure. Get swept into the exciting Winds of Change series. Book 1, Winds of Change.
Worse, the ship is rumored to be ‘haunted.’ Five years ago, during the Holmes Hole student cruise, teacher Melissa Smith complained about hearing voices and seeing visions, then disappeared without a trace-from the very same cabin where Rebecca will be staying. Everything seems normal on Sunday as Rebecca boards the impressive Shenandoah. But as she sits in Cabin 8, she hears hushed voices that don’t sound like they’re from this century.
Mike, a crewmember, insists he believes the crazy Island story that Melissa time-traveled to Colonial Boston. His eerie interest in constantly tracking Rebecca’s whereabouts rattles her nerves. Her first night onboard, Rebecca drifts off to sleep…and wakes the following morning with memories of a secretive conversation about a battle with Britain. Monday night Rebecca crawls into her bunk after an adventurous day of sailing, swimming, and overseeing students.
She’s startled awake when a man grabs her and yells, ‘Stowaway!’ Dragged in front of Captain Benjamin Reed, she looks up into the most gorgeous brown eyes she’s ever seen….
A Vineyard Romance. Romance, history, adventure. Get swept into the exciting Winds of Change series. Book 1, Winds of Change.
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Genre - Romance, Christian
Rating – G
More details about the author
Website www.lisabelcastro.com
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