Amazon Slave (26 page)

He nodded and after placing his glass on a table, made his way to the door. It burst open as soon as he had unlocked it.

Captain Wilde stormed into the room, his face as dark as the underbelly of a thundercloud. His eyes were alight with malicious intent and his hands were balled into fists. His breath was a broken pant that exploded in soft, menacing growls. He glared threateningly at Roderick until the younger man took a reluctant step backwards. Casting his gaze furiously around the room, he caught sight of Emily and stamped angrily towards her.

Emily remained in her seat, maintaining a mask of cool control.

‘I should snap your deceitful little neck like a fucking pencil.’

She raised her eyebrows slightly, as though she was considering the idea. ‘I don’t think that would be wise,’ she told him eventually. ‘Even over here, they do have some laws that forbid that sort of behaviour. I doubt you’d even be able to get away with it on board the
Amazon Maiden
.’

‘You’ve stolen my contract,’ he growled angrily. ‘Don’t you dare try and make shitty jokes with me after that. I ought to…’ He raised his open hand high in the air and glared furiously down at her. His anger was so great he was lost for words

‘Don’t even think about hitting her,’ Roderick said stiffly.

Captain Wilde turned to face him. His eyes were black coals of passionate hatred.

‘Hit her, and you’ll have to deal with me,’ Roderick said, trying to hide the nervousness from his voice.

A malevolent smile broke the captain’s lips. ‘That’s not a threat, son,’ he growled. ‘It sounds more like a tempting invitation.’

Roderick took a reluctant step backwards. ‘I’ll call the hotel manager,’ he threatened desperately.

‘You’ll have to call his replacement,’ Captain Wilde explained dully. ‘The manager’s in the corridor, nursing a broken nose.’

‘Thank you, Roderick,’ Emily broke in. She eased herself from her chair and walked boldly past the captain. Speaking carefully to Roderick and Judy, she said, ‘I want the pair of you to go to the bedroom for a while. Captain Wilde and I have some things to discuss.’

Judy had remained silent throughout the captain’s entrance. She had stared at the man, not bothering to hide her fear of his anger. Still holding him with a wary gaze, she asked Emily, ‘Will you be all right, alone with him?’

‘I’ll be fine,’ Emily assured her.

‘I’ll take good care of her,’ Captain Wilde said, the implication of a threat obvious in both his words and the way he said them.

Roderick stared unhappily at the captain, then at Emily. He could see the resolution in her face and knew there was no point arguing with her. ‘If you need us, we’ll be in the bedroom,’ he said slowly. He stared defiantly at the captain. ‘You’d probably defeat me in a fight –’

‘There’s no ‘probably’ about it,’ Captain Wilde said arrogantly.

Roderick sniffed unhappily and began again. ‘You’d probably beat me in a fight. But if Emily calls me back in here, I’ll make sure I hurt you.’ He held the captain’s gaze levelly.

‘Take Judy to the bedroom,’ Emily told him calmly. ‘And thank you.’

With a reluctant air, Roderick made his way out of the suite, Judy leaning against his arm for support. As they moved, they both kept their gaze fixed on Captain Wilde. The entire suite remained in silence until they had vanished into the bedroom.

‘You certainly know how to make an entrance, don’t you?’ Emily said sarcastically.

He reached for her hair and grabbed a fistful of her long tresses in one hand. Wrapping the hair around his fist like a rope he tugged hard and pulled her down to her knees.

Emily stifled a gasp of surprise, fearful that Roderick would come bursting back into the room, trying to be heroic. ‘That hurts,’ she told him tersely.

‘It’s meant to,’ he replied in the same strangled voice. ‘This is a prelude to my snapping your neck.’

She glared defiantly up at him. ‘If you’re going to hurt me, get it over and done with, then fuck off. I’m getting a little fed with up with the pathetic threats now.’

He struggled to contain his rage and she could see a reflection of the battleground on his face. He dragged her to her feet, using the length of hair he still held. Emily grimaced but remained silent. She was determined that whatever happened in this room, it was going to be between her and the captain. She was also adamant that she was going to be the one in control, regardless of the captain’s methods.

‘Why did you do it?’ he demanded.

She tugged her hair free from his grip and started to move away from him. He stopped her with powerful hands on her arms and she stared defiantly back at him. ‘I’m getting my drink first,’ she told him. ‘Would you care for a glass?’

He released her slowly, and nodded. With a glass in his hand, he repeated the question. ‘Come on, tell me. Why did you do it?’

She smiled softly to herself. The expression did not reach her eyes. ‘If you must know,’ she began, ‘I did it for three reasons. Firstly, I did it because I could. Back in England, I’m an executive with a company that specialises in corporate finance. Deals like this are how I make a living.’

‘You never said,’ he told her.

‘You never asked,’ she replied. ‘My second reason was for the money. My bonus is earnings related. If I secure this deal, the bonus will equal five year’s salary. I’m sure you’ll agree, that’s a powerful motive.’

He sipped at his glass and studied her carefully. ‘And the third reason?’

She smiled into his questioning eyes. ‘That’s the main one. The other two were just icing on the cake. The real reason why I did it was because I wanted to have my revenge against you. I wanted revenge and this contract was the best way I could think of hurting you.’

He shook his head and swallowed the remainder of his champagne. ‘Revenge,’ he repeated slowly.

‘I never forgave you for beating me on that first night,’ she explained. ‘I vowed then to make you pay for it. If they award me the contract, then I’ll consider it a fair exchange.’

‘You’ve done all of this because I tied to you to the mast and caned you?’ he repeated. He seemed to be having difficulty understanding the words. ‘But you enjoyed that,’ he reminded her.

Emily turned away, her cheeks colouring suddenly. ‘I don’t recall –’

He grabbed her arm, his fingers pressing tightly into the flesh.

Emily gasped, unsure if the sound was a reaction to the stinging pain he inflicted or the arousal he caused. She could feel her nipples hardening in the confines of her bra. The familiar tingle of excitement was building between her legs, and she dared not look at the captain for fear that he would see the obvious signs in her eyes.

‘You enjoyed it,’ he repeated.

‘I didn’t want to,’ she gasped, aware that her breath was ragged with excitement. ‘You made me enjoy it. I had to make you pay.’

He pulled her close to his chest.

She glanced up into his face and he kissed her. His mouth devoured hers with a brutal disregard for tenderness or caring. As they kissed, his fingers pressed tighter against her arms, inspiring a wealth of agonised delight. When he finally released her, it was only so that his hands could go to her breasts. His fingers stroked and caressed the orbs through the fabric of her blouse, forcing rivulets of pleasure to trickle slowly throughout her body.

Emily did not bother to stop him.

‘I honestly don’t believe you,’ he said, when their kiss eventually broke. ‘You don’t just enjoy being servile, you love it, don’t you?’

Reluctantly, she nodded.

‘So, why did you feel the need to avenge yourself?’ His temper, always on a short fuse, was burning at a furious pace.

‘I prefer being in control,’ she told him simply.

‘Bullshit!’ he snorted.

She ignored his expletive. ‘I’ve tried both sides of the coin,’ she explained. ‘I’ve had my arse whipped and I’ve drunk piss at your command. Admittedly, I loved both of those things. But I’ve also held the cane. I’ve tasted the power and I loved that even more.’

He considered her doubtfully. ‘You’re not the type to be dominant,’ he said, not sounding certain of the words even as he spoke them.

She grunted dry laughter. ‘Really? I’ve managed to get you in a rage over three dozen sheets of paper. I was in control when I did that.’

His sullen glare was not enough to mask the dull light of admiration that began to grow in his eyes. ‘But you enjoy submitting,’ he reminded her. ‘Aren’t you going to miss that?’

She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. ‘I think I can live without it. If I win this contract, I’ll be going back to England a wealthy woman. Roderick and Judy will continue to do exactly as I say. I think I’ll have everything I want in life.’

‘I doubt it,’ he said bitterly.

She turned on him with a questioning expression. ‘And what do you think I’ll be missing?’

‘This,’ he replied flatly. He grabbed her arms again and pushed her down, towards the chair. She fell awkwardly but managed to remain silent, save for a shocked gasp. Even though it was only a small sound, she glanced nervously at the bedroom door, fearful that Roderick would come bursting through.

With her attention distracted, the captain grabbed twin fistful’s of her hair. He pulled her head back sharply before releasing the tresses.

This time it took a lot more effort for Emily to stifle her cries. Her fingernails pressed into the soft pad of flesh above the ball of her thumb. As the desire to cry out increased, she pressed her fingers harder, wilfully resisting the urge.

He was pressing himself forcefully against her. She could feel the hardness of his erection and she knew he was as excited as she was. His fingers went to her breasts and he squeezed the orbs roughly.

With his mouth close to her ear he whispered softly. His warm breath tickling the flesh of her neck as he spoke. ‘Without me,’ he told her, ‘you’re going to miss the thrill of being properly dominated.’

‘I’ll learn to live without it,’ she told him defiantly.

He released her angrily, a frown of foreboding contempt creasing his brow. ‘I doubt you’ll think of it as living,’ he replied. ‘But it’s your choice. We can say our goodbyes over dinner this evening.’ He climbed from the chair and moved towards the door. ‘I think it will be the last meal we share together,’ he said calmly.

Emily glared at him as he stamped towards the door. ‘I hope it is,’ she said thickly as he disappeared from sight. Easing herself from the chair she went to the door and called after him. ‘I hope I never have to see you again after tonight, you lousy bastard. I hope I never see you again.’ Echoing along the empty corridor behind him, the words had a hollow ring.

‘Are you all right?’ Roderick asked, appearing by her side.

She grinned unhappily at him. ‘I’ll be all right after tonight.’

*   *   *

The words occurred to her again later that evening as she was about to board the
Amazon Maiden
. The party was in full swing by the time the three of them arrived at the boat. An angry blood-orange sun was slowly falling beyond the horizon. The sky was a kaleidoscope of rich vibrant colours, ranging from midnight blue in the east to pastel shades of lemon in the west. The handful of clouds that speckled the sky were huge boulders of dusky amaranth granite. Against this backdrop, the stiff white sails and thrusting prow of the
Amazon Maiden
looked more majestic than ever.

I’ll be all right after this evening, Emily told herself. She hoped it was true.

The melodic strains of a gay Tchaikovsky waltz, intermingled with chattering and laughter, bubbled merrily from the open door of the main hatch.

‘Emily! You’re here at last!’

Emily turned to the voice and was pleased to see Dawn rushing along the deck to greet her. She was dressed only in a loose wraparound blouse and a pair of cripplingly high stilettos. Her long tresses were held up this evening, giving her appearance an air of elegance that truly suited her. She rushed towards Emily and embraced her with warm welcoming arms.

‘The Captain’s furious with you,’ she whispered softly. ‘I don’t know what you did, but you’ve put him in the foulest mood ever.’

As though it was done to deliberately contradict her, the sound of the captain’s laughter echoed heartily above the music.

‘He sounds like he’s hiding it well,’ Emily observed wryly. She kissed Dawn chastely on the cheek and made quick introductions for the benefit of Roderick and Judy. Linking arms with the two women, she told Judy, ‘Dawn has the most amazing jewellery I’ve ever seen. When we return to England, I’ll be getting something similar for you.’

Judy whispered a quiet thank you, puzzled by Dawn’s muffled giggles.

The three women made their way towards the main hatch with Roderick in their wake. Before they could start on the companionway, Captain Wilde appeared from the pilothouse.

He looked as though he had started the evening in full black tie. However, the heat, and his disregard for formality, had helped his outfit to disintegrate into a pair of long dark trousers and an open shirt. An unfastened bow tie dangled from the open collar.

‘You’ve come full circle now, haven’t you?’ he growled, his stony gaze resting firmly on Emily.

Emily smiled courteously back at him. ‘Good evening, Captain,’ she said softly.

He held a glass in one hand and drained the amber contents with one long swallow. He casually tossed the glass overboard where it splashed into the river’s fast-flowing waters. ‘You came on board as stowaway to begin with,’ he recalled loudly. ‘Then you came back as member of the crew. Now you’re here as a bloody pirate.’

Emily tried to ignore his words, wishing she wasn’t blushing so profusely. ‘Are John and Alan here yet?’

He nodded. ‘Laura and Vincent are entertaining them in the saloon. I trust you’ll go down below and join them.’ He walked past the three women, his baleful glare fixed passionately on Emily.

‘Where are you going?’ she asked him sharply.

The captain placed his hand over Roderick’s wary shoulders. ‘Your friend and I are going to spend a moment out here to make our peace before we join you,’ he explained. ‘In spite of you being invited, I’d like this evening to go well, and that’s not going to happen if Roderick and I are squaring up to one another every two minutes.’