Stupid, stupid, stupid…
Luc's steps set a drumbeat for his thoughts. What had he been thinking, touching her like that? Yes, she'd had her hand on his arm, but that was within the bounds of propriety. Touching her lips was not. Especially since that one contact had made the rest of him envy the tip of his finger. The sun had blazed in her eyes, making them more golden, and she'd seemed ethereal, which had made her irresistible. He'd long ago come to recognize the desire for a woman who matched him in a unique and fundamental way—different from the rest of the human race, but hidden among them, a ruby among the rocks. But she couldn't be that gem for him. His life was not his own, as the appearance of La Belle Rouge had reminded him. If the captain had wanted to stay hidden, he would have.
