FREE! In The Arms of My Enemy (Completed!) Book 1

The Kiss

William felt a vein pounding in his neck as he struggled to hold his breath in the captain's tight quarters. The captain, Edmund, and Miss Lottie were purple in the face from trying to hold theirs too. Although the space was large compared to any of the passenger's rooms, it felt cramped with all five people and the smell. Miss Atwell, for her part, raised her chin defiantly as if she didn't notice the wretched scent, but William was gratified to see an embarrassed tinge to her cheek.

"Dearly beloved," the captain began, stopping to cough and gag. "We-we are gathered here today to—" he broke off and buried his nose in his sleeve, took a deep breath, and continued in a rush. "To celebrate the union of this man and this woman." He again buried his nose into his sleeve to suck in a gasping breath.

Miss Atwell's blush deepened and she inched away from the group, ever so slightly. William struggled not to laugh. Even though he couldn't breathe, he couldn't help but find humor in the situation.

"Marriage is a sacred union—" The captain broke off, turning to the side to dry heave. "Oh, forget it!" he shouted, standing up straight again. "Just say 'I do' and let's finish this!"

"I do," William said eagerly, glancing at Miss Atwell.

She glared up at him defiantly.

"But I was going to say a poem!" Miss Lottie protested, a handkerchief to her nose. "It's tradition—"

"Blast it all, woman!" the captain cut her off. "We're all suffocating! Miss Atwell, please say 'I do' so we can get out of here."

"No," Miss Atwell said, placing a hand on her hip. "It's my wedding. We're doing it properly."

The men groaned in unison. William knew she was only doing it out of stubborn pride.

"Oh." William grinned down at her. "Now you wish to have a proper wedding?"

"Yes, I do—" 

William grabbed her around the waist and kissed her soundly on the lips before she could realize that he had verbally trapped her.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," the captain said hurriedly. "If you'll excuse me—" He pushed past them and threw open the door. Everyone sighed in relief at the blast of fresh ocean air.

Everyone except for William and Miss Atwell.

William's hands were still around Fidelia's waist, and he could feel her draw a shuddering breath. They stared at each other in silence. Although he had only meant the kiss as an end to the ceremony, the feeling of her lips against his still lingered in his mind.

Her emerald eyes glowed up at him, and her lips parted.

Something deep inside him stirred.

"Fidelia, I—" Saying her Christian name made his chest tighten, and he pulled her closer ever so slightly.

Her eyes flashed that banshee fire that chilled his bones, and she yanked away from him. "How dare you!" she said and slapped him across the face. She hiked up her skirts and fled from the room.

William stared after her, his hands feeling the chill of the air in her absence. What had he just done?

***
Rain pounded against the deck of the ship and waves crashed against the side like battering rams. William sat safe in the shelter of the quarter deck's overhang and watched Fidelia standing in the center of the main deck, defiant against the stinging droplets of rain. The main deck was the only one without a mast rising from the middle, and the cannons lining the bulwarks on either side had been lashed down tightly. Everything was in place, safe against the storm, except for his wife.