7Clay’s arms wrapped around her sodden form, holding on to Sophia as firmly as he could without hurting her. As he sat on the ship’s deck holding her, the child crawled into her lap and promptly fell asleep. They’d wrapped blankets around him as well, but they all needed to get the wet clothes off before they succumbed to hypothermia.
A hard shudder tore through him when he realized how close she’d come to dying. Somehow, during the last month, this tiny but incredibly strong woman had wormed her way into his heart. He sat in stunned silence, staring down at her beautiful face. Silky black hair framed her skin—a rich, dark cream, and perfect. His chest felt hot and swollen as a powerful emotion extinguished the doubts and disbeliefs. He loved her.
He wanted to scream at the heavens. Noth
