Drake paused halfway through pouring a whiskey and eyed the amber liquid mournfully. He stared at the door to his ship’s quarters and straightened when the footsteps came to a stop. The door burst open.

“Julianna?” He hadn’t been sure who it might be but he sure as hell had not expected Julianna to barrel into his quarters tonight—or any night for that matter. After what he’d told her, she should be keeping her distance.

“Why did you not tell me?”

She stormed into the room. Her hair was caught up in a wild knot of black silken strands. Several skimmed her cheeks. Her cloak billowed out around her as she stomped across the room at the rear of the ship. He stood behind his desk, not far from the windows. She covered the space in mere seconds to thrust a finger at him. “Why did you lie to me? Did you find it amusing? Me ranting away when you knew that you were a smuggler all along?”

“Ah.” He lowered the crystal decanter to the table and faced her head on.

“Yes, ah. How could you not say anything?”

He folded his arms. “What did you wish me to say?”

“That...that you were a smuggler!” Two bright blotches of red blazed on her cheeks, highlighted by the golden glow of lamps. “You should have told me. If you had, I would have... I would never...that is...”

“Would have? Would never have?” he taunted, letting a smirk dance on his lips. At least if she was furious with him, she’d leave him in peace.

She opened her mouth then shut it, balling her fists at her sides before lifting her chin. “How could you involve my brother in this? He could be hung.”

Drake made a dismissive noise. “No one will hang him. You two are from money after all, are you not?”

“That is beside the point. And my father would never save him from the gallows. He’d likely take delight in his disowned son dangling from a rope,” she spat.

“Do you really believe I could persuade Knight to do something he does not wish to do?”

“I...” She huffed out a breath. “You must have. Knight is a good man.”

“And I am not,” he finished for her.

“Apparently not. To think that I thought...” She shook her head. “It does not matter now.”

“Whatever you thought, you thought wrong, Princess. I’m a smuggler.” He spread his arms. “Through and through.”

She peered at him. “You have no defense for yourself?”

He lifted his shoulders. “I like money. Smuggling makes money.”

“Who else is involved?” she demanded. “Who else have you dragged into this?”

“As I said, I did not drag anyone into this. Knight joined us of his own free will.”

“Us? There’s more, is there not?” She paused. “The men you spend time with...” she lifted a hand to her mouth. “Not the earl surely?”

Drake forced a laugh. “Of course not.”

Her eyes widened. “He’s involved. Good lord, you involved an earl in your smuggling? But why? Everyone thinks so well of him—he cannot need the money surely. And his wife? Does she know?”

“Princess—”

“What of Louisa? Does she know you are all smugglers? Does she know you’re putting her at risk?”

“Princess,” he warned again.

“I have to warn her, I have to—”

“Julianna, damn it.” He grabbed her arm and tugged her into him. “You will tell no one.”

She wriggled against his hold. “If you are doing something wrong, I have a duty to inform the authorities.”

Drake groaned inwardly. The damned fool woman was going to put them all in danger. He pushed a hand through his hair and tugged out a chair. “You came here for an explanation, did you not? Now sit and I’ll explain.”

She opened her mouth to protest then apparently changed her mind and sat. Staring up at him, she opened her palms. “Go on then. Explain how you became a smuggler. Explain why you have entangled good men and women in your mess.”

He eyed the untouched whiskey and moved back to lean against the window frame. As much as a good stiff drink would help, he did not need Julianna thinking he was drunk and speaking falsehoods.

“Many of the locals know of the smuggling. Most do not know the Earl of Redmere or his brother are involved.”

“Louisa knows?”

He nodded. “And assists at times to hide us or our goods from the customs men.”

“But why would she put herself at risk like that? I know Louisa, she’s a good woman, she would never—”

He held up a finger. “Will you let me explain or not?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Fine.”

“Red—the earl—put together our small group because his brother could not get a commission as he had always hoped.”

She scowled. “That makes no sense.”

“Princess,” he said, “you have no patience. It makes perfect sense.” He gestured to the ship. “This is all owned by the earl. Under the pretense of shipping goods, we also smuggle. And under the pretense of smuggling goods, we also aid the war effort.”

“The war effort?”

“Information, spies and goods need to be snuck into France on a regular basis. Smugglers still operate in France, particularly with the embargos on French wine and goods. You can hardly arrive on the French coast as a merchant...but you can as a smuggler.”

“So...you are a captain, who ships goods”—she ticked the words off on her fingers—“who pretends to be a smuggler. Who also really does smuggle, but at the same time you take spies and the like to France.”

Drake chuckled. “Well, when you say it like that...”

“So the earl recruited you?”

“He knew of me from a friend. A washed-up captain with little to do with his time and a fortune lost to the winds. He gave me a purpose and a way to continue to help.”

“And this is endorsed by the government?”

“Endorsed is a strong word. If we were discovered, they would deny all knowledge.”

She stared at her hands for a moment then lifted her head. “Why did you not just tell me all of this?”

He smirked. “Would you have thought any better of me? What was it you said about smugglers? That they are the dirt of the earth?”

“Yes, but you are doing something good.” Julianna stood and came around the desk. “I wish you’d told me,” she said softly.

He shook his head. “I could not. It is not just my secret to tell. The lives of the men who man my ship and your brother and Nate and Red are in my hands too. All you could have known was that I smuggle, and where would that put me in your estimation?” He ran a hand over his bristled chin. “No better than your fiancé, I’d wager.”

“He is not my fiancé. He never will be,” she said determinedly. Eyeing him, her gaze softened. “I suppose you are right. If I had known, I never would have—” She paused and glanced away.

“Never would have?”

She looked back at him, a gentle smile curving the edges of her lips. “Fallen for a rogue.”

A flourish of triumph burst through him, making his heart soar. He tried to summon a response, but his mind wanted to take the time to wrap itself around the words. Julianna had fallen for him. Or was falling for him. Or...well, whatever it was, it was enough. He was a fool to ever push her away. He needed the woman more than air. More than the damned sea.

“You mean that?” He stepped close, narrowing the gap between them.

She licked her lips and nodded, lifting her chin to look him directly in the eye. There was trepidation there, a tiny tremor in her body, but not a glimmer of a lie. Courage and determination shone brightly in her gaze. Christ, how he loved this woman.

He curved a hand over her cheek and she closed her eyes, offering herself to him. Drake eyed those petal-pink lips, took in the fan of her dark lashes across her cheeks. He could hardly believe he deserved such an offering, but he’d be damned if he wasn’t going to take it. Julianna had burst into his life and twisted him upside down and inside out.

“I’ve never met a woman like you,” he murmured.

“Just kiss me,” she said, eyes still closed.

He chuckled and lowered his mouth to hers. He let his lips skim hers, following the curve of her lips and dancing from corner to corner. Hand to her other cheek, he cradled her face and tilted his head to lay his mouth fully over hers. She released a satisfied sigh.

He kissed her again, harder this time. Julianna wound her hands around his neck which closed the gap between them for good. Her lithe body aligned with his, making him groan. She opened her mouth to him and teased him with her tongue.

Drake took what she offered, clasping her to him and kissing her fiercely. She tasted better than the finest whiskey. Every kiss added satisfaction while stoking the fire in his belly and sealing in his mind something he’d known for a while—he could never get enough of her.

Rocking her hips into him, she spread her hands down his back. A shudder ripped through him when she found the hem of his shirt and pressed her hands up and under, her soft fingers working over his muscles. His arousal grew agonizing.

He drew back, slowing the kiss until he could pull away and rest his forehead against hers. He rubbed a thumb across her cheek. “Julianna...Christ...”

“Why did you stop?”

“Because your kisses make me addled, Princess. I cannot think straight.”

“Nor can I,” she admitted.

“I might be a rogue, but I would not take advantage.”

“How are you taking advantage, Drake? I am here, willingly. You know that you could never force me to do anything I do not wish to do.”

He smiled. “Yes, I do know that.”

“Then take me to bed.”

He considered saying no. Considered trying to be a gentleman. But the rogue in him could not deny her. He swept her up into his arms, kicked open the door to his bedroom quarters and laid her down on the bed. She fit perfectly against the red and white sheets, her dark hair splayed about her. She watched him as he laid down beside her, angling himself on one hip to view and fully appreciate her.

Running a finger down her nose, across her lips, along her neck and pausing at the dip of her breasts, he shook his head to himself.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You are too fine for me.”

“Nonsense.”

“It is true. I cannot fathom how a man like me deserves such a woman.”

“Enough talking.” She put a finger to his lips and pushed him back with a hand.

Drake pulled her roughly onto his lap as she slid over him. A growl escaped him at the feel of her soft body under his hands and the heat of her juncture against his agonizing erection. His fragile thread of self-control was on the brink of snapping.

Sitting, he thrust hands under her hair, tugging until the ribbon around it loosened and sent silken strands spilling over her shoulders. He put hot kisses to her neck then he pressed his lips to hers and she gasped.

He gripped her tightly as her hands wound around his neck in an attempt to pull herself closer. As his tongue tasted hers, he worked his hands up her body, brushing against her breasts. She whimpered. He stroked her hardened nipple and released a groan as he relished the feel of her soft breasts.

“Drake,” Julianna gasped.

He halted his movements. It took every ounce of willpower he had but he stilled his hands as he nipped at her lips. Death would be nothing compared the torture of having Julianna in his hands but not being able to do anything with her.

She pressed her breasts up against him and wriggled on his lap. “Drake.”

“Princess, you must be trying to kill me.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I want to take this slowly. I need to take this slowly.”

She shook her head. “There will be time for that. Drake, please...”

He seized her hands as they pulled at his shirt while she continued her torturous wet, balmy kisses down his neck. God’s teeth, what had he unleashed? He should have known Julianna would be a siren in the bedroom too. Though he could not quite figure out if she was beckoning him to his doom or his salvation. Either way, he had little choice. In his wildest dreams he had never imagined he would be worthy of a woman such as this.

“We must go slow,” he insisted, drawing in a ragged breath that singed his lungs. He kept his fingers clamped around her wrists.

There was nothing he wanted more than to take her in his arms and make her well and truly his. He felt an intense, primeval need to mark her as his property, but she was an innocent and he’d be damned if he hurt her with his roughness.

His hands rasped over her arms, her breasts and thighs as she tugged at his top, sliding her hands beneath the open collar. He hissed as her hands connected with his skin and left a burning sensation as they pulled away to tug once again at his shirt. Drake moved back, instantly mourning the loss of her body pushed up against his, and pulled off his shirt in one swift movement.

Julianna’s throat bobbed, her lips parting. She brushed her hands gently over the planes of his chest and he tensed. Closing his eyes, he clenched his teeth, and tried not to think about how often he’d imagined this. If he did, he’d lose control in an instant.

He rolled her over on the bed and placed her underneath him. He took in the sight of her sprawled on his bed once more, her breasts rising and falling, her mouth already swollen from his kisses. He pushed her gown higher until his fingertips brushed the tops of her thighs.

“So damned soft.”

She squirmed in anticipation.

Grabbing the waist of his breeches, she pulled him down onto her. He kissed her forcefully before moving his mouth down her neck, working his way to her still confined breasts. He kissed the rise of her flesh, his fingers pushing under her back to tear at the laces on the back of her gown. Drake pulled desperately at the hem of her gown, pushing it up over her hips while still kissing her skin. Pulling away briefly to tear the garment over her head, he gazed down at her.

Vulnerability shone in her gaze. Yet she offered herself to him, lifting her breasts. A smile teased his lips at the wanton sight she offered, still bound in her stays with her thighs naked and her legs parted. He’d take away any trepidation she felt in just a moment, but he had to embed this in his mind. If, by some chance, he never got the chance with her again, he had to remember this forever.

She reached for him, drawing him down. Once he sealed his lips over hers, he was gone. He pushed her breasts up and out of her stays and caressed her skin with rough motions, paying attention to every part of her body, placing blistering kisses on her neck, her breasts, and her inner thighs.

Easing upward, he fisted a hand in her hair and tugged, giving him perfect access to her neck. He sunk his teeth into her skin, nipping and sucking, aware he’d be marking her. She whimpered and dug her nails into his back.

Julianna lifted her hips. He could not help but rock forward.

“Christ, but you’re wet.”

She nodded, biting down on one lip. He rocked again, and she moaned. Keeping her hair tangled around one hand, he tugged her head back and moved forward again and again, teasing them both. Each movement sent blistering pleasure simmering through him and he had no doubt from the parted lips and gasping breaths he did the same for her. He ground his erection hard against her. It was damned torture but worth every aching second as he ramped up her pleasure.

Drake slipped a hand between them, finding her wet juncture and sliding a finger between her folds.

“Princess,” he growled. “I can’t hold back.”

A strangled whimper emanated from her. “Don’t.”

He buried his head against her neck, nipping her lobe while clasping her thigh. She lifted into him, latching her legs around his body. His eyes near rolled into the back of his head at the feel of her so damned hot and ready for him. Raising his head, he met her gaze.

One thrust. That was all it took. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened in a silent gasp. One long, deep thrust. There was no going back. He stared at her, all too aware the startling realization had to be written on his face. His siren had claimed him. He loved her.

And now he needed to claim her in return. He drew back and thrust again. Her fingers dug into his rear. She called his name, the sound strangled. Another hard thrust. The rhythm claimed him, just as he knew it would. He could no more hold back than he could dictate the tides.

“God, Princess...” Thrust. “I...” Thrust. “Love.” Thrust. “You.”

She didn’t reply. He did not care. Even if she never loved him, he’d treasure the moment when he took her as his.

Her hands gripped at his body, digging into him as he took them to new heights of pleasure, tracing the curve of his spine and clutching at his buttocks as they moved in unison, panting and crying out. She tensed against him as she called his name, her body clenching around him. The abyss took him. He clenched his eyes shut and groaned out his pleasure.

“I love you,” she whispered in his ear as they lay still joined, fighting for air.

Drake laid his forehead on hers and closed his eyes with a small smile. Her brother be damned. Tomorrow he was searching out Knight and demanding Julianna’s hand.