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other pirate?
The pirate turned to the man in Roger s body.  Gentleman Pirate indeed, Bonnet.
 Go back to hell, Teach.
The pirate laughed and then with a sudden whoosh of wind, all the spirits
vanished.
Gwen lunged, grasping at the spot where her grandmother had been only to fall
sprawling in the floor. Pain shot through her knees and wounded hand. A sob racked
her shoulders and she slumped against the Persian rug and cried.
She became aware of a big, warm hand stroking her back. Anger flared. Not only
had he stolen her husband s body, he d fucked her! Now, because she d brought the
bastard back from the dead, her grandmother s soul was in the lurch.
Gwen could control it no longer. With catlike speed, she pushed herself up and
slapped the man who d inhabited Roger s body as hard as she could across the face.
Her hand stung and she stared at him, shaking with rage.
Surprise flashed in his eyes but he remained motionless, naked and on one knee
beside her.
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Watchkeeper
How could she have been so easily fooled? She d just indulged in the most intimate
positions with him. Had she really not known? But Gwen had known something was
different. She had simply wanted to believe so badly that Roger could care for her,
she d ignored her intuition.
Slapping him had done little to relieve her anger so she lifted both hands to
pummel him again. This time, he seized her wrists and then hauled her body against
his. She struggled but his hold was too tight.
One big hand held both her wrists while the other dragged her petite body into his
lap as he sat. She writhed against his unyielding grip and body, grunting and groaning
until she was finally exhausted.
Her shoulders shook with a sob and then he cradled her against him, loosening the
hold on her arms.  What s your name, witch?
She sucked in a breath.  Where s my husband? What have you done with him?
 His spirit vacated the body. I had nothing to do with it.
Fury blazed.  So you just decided to steal his body?
 Your spell drew me here, he said.
Her mind grappled with everything at once. He d said spell, not ritual. But her love
spell had been meant for Roger. How had it lured some dead dude to her? It didn t
make sense. She struggled again to no avail.  How? she demanded.
A little chuckle from him infuriated her further.  You re the witch. You tell me.
She squeezed her eyes shut trying to calm down, to assimilate all the information,
and then she opened them and pinned him with a stare.  Who are you?
 Stede Bonnet.
Stede Bonnet was a name she d heard before. She d come across it when she was
researching Charleston for her second honeymoon destination. The Battery Carriage
House Inn faced White Point Gardens and Bonnet had been hanged here for piracy, his
corpse left in a gibbet until the bones bleached in the sun, in the early 1700s. A ragged
breath left her body in a rush. I ve brought back a dead pirate?
 Tell me your name? His voice was soft and gentle.
She drew back just far enough to look into his eyes.  Gwendolyn.
His gaze moved over her face as if he were trying to fit her name to it. He nodded.
 Gwendolyn.
The sound of her name on his lips made her insides tighten and Gwen was all too
aware of his hands around her arms and legs and very aware she was wearing
nothing except a robe and pearl-garnished bra and panties. She lowered her lashes and
at once, she was assailed with the sight of his naked body.
Roger had always been handsome but in a cold, conservative way. With Stede
Bonnet s energy inside his body, she hated to admit it but he was overwhelmingly
gorgeous and her traitorous body was having a very difficult time resisting him.
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Debra Glass
He fingered the fabric of her robe.  Do I have any clothes? Stede asked.
Gwen blew out a sigh. She debated refusing him. If he dressed, then he could skitter
out the door and she d never see him again. Granny s soul would be lost and Gwen
would be left with nothing. But could she keep him here, naked, for almost a day?
Something warm and fluid spiraled downward inside her. Would it be so bad to
use her feminine wiles to entice him to find the treasure and save her grandmother s
soul?
No. It would serve her better to keep him here by other means. Like threatening
him with the stun gun in her suitcase.
 You have clothes. She stood and rifled through Roger s suitcase, selecting a pair
of jeans and a gray T-shirt. Trembling, she retrieved the stun gun from her own suitcase
and slipped it in the pocket of the robe.
 These are queer breeches, he muttered.  What manner of toggle is this?
Gwen turned and the sight of him wearing nothing but the jeans with the fly
unzipped and gaping to reveal a patch of black curls stole her breath. She swallowed,
her gaze locked to where his hands held the fly open.  It s a zipper. Her voice left her
mouth in a breathless rush.
 Show me.
She shook as she took the two steps to close the distance between them. She gripped
the slider and drew it up, the back of her hand brushing the dusting of hair that led
from his navel downward. Her gaze grazed his and she started to turn away but he
caught her shoulders and held her there.
 What time is this?
 It s the twenty-first century.
A muscle in his jaw twitched.
She had to find out how much he knew. An eighteenth-century man wouldn t be
capable of driving a car to escape but he was certainly capable of running.  Do you
have any concept of how long you ve been here? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]