“Had I taken you to my quarters straight away,” he said, “every man on my ship would’ve known I was compromised. Putting you in that hold with Madwulf…”

“I was your enemy. You were doing your job.”

“I regret it. Listen to me, Bennett. I will never forgive myself for allowing Madwulf to touch you and…” His hand clenched in my hair. “The admiral. What you endured in that monster’s custody—”

“Cracked but not broken. That’s what you said.” I kissed his seething mouth. “I lived, Ashley, and I’m stronger for it. Thank you for coming for me.”

An angry sound vibrated in his chest, and he leaned back to caress his thumb around the shape of my mouth. “Your lips are dry. You’re dehydrated.” He shoved to his feet and stepped a few paces away, probing the trees that fringed the shore. “We’ll find fresh water in those woods.”

His white breeches, now brown with dirt and sand, frayed at the waistband and calves. Bloody gashes glistened through ripped holes. Scrapes, gouges, and other reddening bruises marred his muscled torso and arms. He donned no shoes or weapons. Nothing but the breeches and all that carved brawn. I couldn’t imagine the strength and balance that was required to pull my limp body into the longboat without oversetting it.

Stripped down to his skin and tattered rags, he looked like a warrior of the Roman Empire. Fashioned of iron and ferocity, his masculine beauty alone would excite a hungry crowd. He needed naught a weapon, for he was one. The breadth of his shoulders and the well-thewed power in his arms and legs attested to his competence in battle.

The man had pulled me from the ocean, right out from beneath a burning, sinking warship. He’d more than earned my respect.

Gradually, I dragged my gaze from his magnificent physique and found him regarding me. “What?”

“You’re staring.”

“I’m admiring.”

He took my hand, and my body shivered from the heat of his touch. Then he bent to lift me.

“Wait.” I pushed against his chest, stopping him. “I’ll walk.”

“You have a concussion.”

“You’re not a doctor, and besides, while I slept for the past however many hours, you didn’t shut your eyes once. Am I right?”

“I’ll sleep when we find water and food.”

I stood, fighting a sudden onslaught of vertigo. With a hand shielding my eyes, I marked the location of the morning sun. “We’re on the eastern side of the island. The southern tip, you said?” I started the walk toward the tree line.

“Yes.” He drifted right up against my side as if expecting me to fall. “Where are you going?”