Stealing a Lady's Heart: A Regency Fairytale (Fairfield Fairytales Book 1) by Tammy Andresen Page B

the rock.  Graham hurled himself up beside her.  She scooted herself back into his arms. The heat of his body instantly warmed her.
    They could see a few of the marquess’ men, but none of them made any attempt to swim towards them. On the rock, Will could easily pick them off with his bow. The soldiers were defenseless. They headed for the shore, hoping to survive the swim. Charlotte wondered how they were going to make it.
    Tom jumped back into the water. He had already collected several boards and he grabbed four more as they floated by. “If we can collect enough wood, I can make a raft.”
    Nick and Will jumped back into the water as well. Will grabbed a length of rope that was floating by while Nick grabbed a few more boards. Graham started to get up to help his brothers, but Charlotte looked at him pleading with her eyes. “Don’t leave me.”
    “It’s all right,” Tom called. “Keep her warm. We’ll start a fire as soon as we hit land.”
    “What will we start a fire with?” Nick pushed two more boards onto the rock.
    “I have flint in my toolbox of course.” Tom rolled his eyes at his brother. He climbed back out of the water and began constructing the raft.
    Tom worked with amazing speed and skill. Will and Nick continued collecting supplies from the wreck. Within half an hour, Tom had fashioned a serviceable raft.
    Will and Nick pushed out of the water and on to either side of the small raft.  Tom climbed on the front.  Graham stood, still holding Charlotte, and his brothers steadied him as he maneuvered from the rock to the raft. 
    “The tide should carry us in, but these two long boards can serve as paddles to speed the process.” Tom handed one to Will and the other to Nick.
    The wind blew damp ocean air towards the shore, but Charlotte felt warmer than she had all night.  She was sandwiched between four large men on a tiny raft.  They blocked the wind and radiated an amazing amount of heat. Graham still held her tightly in his grasp as she sat in his lap.  Despite the danger, she had never felt safer in her entire life.
    The group moved easily to shore.
    Tom jumped off the front of the raft and pulled it up on the beach for the rest to disembark. Then he began taking apart the raft.
    “Are you sure you want to take the time to do that?” Nick yelled over the surf.
    “The raft is a giveaway of our location if more men come. Plus we might need the rope.  We will scatter the wood or burn some of it to dry out.”  Tom continued to work as he talked, handing any dry pieces to Nick.
    Will began digging a hole with his hands to bury some of the wood.  The rest they would let the ocean carry away.
    “Can we risk a fire?”  Will asked.
    “I think we might have to,” Graham answered.  Now that Charlotte was not trapped between the brothers she was shivering again in Graham’s arms.
    “Without m-m-me here, you w-w-w-would be able to g-g-g-go without a fire,” she chattered out.
    Graham chuckled, “Without you, we would be warm in our beds.” He squeezed her tighter. “This is much more interesting.”
    “Speak for yourself,” Nick laughed as well. “I don’t get to spend the evening holding a beautiful lady.”
    Charlotte blushed. In that moment, she had never been happier to have met any people in her life than she was the Fairfields. She suddenly couldn’t imagine her life without them. She looked at Graham. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to leave his arms.
    The raft disposed of, the group went inland. Once they hit the cover of trees, Tom started a small fire. The three brothers stripped off their wet boots and shirts and laid them to dry.
    Charlotte turned to Graham, who was still holding her. “Are you going to take off your shirt?”  Her voice pleaded in a way that she hadn’t intended.
    A sly smile slid onto Graham’s face, “I think we’ll leave our clothes on.” He scooted closer to the fire.
    Disappointment coursed through Charlotte. She had never felt