Darkest Dreams (3 page)

Having little choice, Alexander offered me his arm, and I set my gloved hand on him. Once again, I could discern none of his emotions or feelings. His mind was like a gray mist where I could see nothing beyond dark shadows, no thoughts and no images, just strong nebulous emotions. Being next to him sent little jolts of fire through me though, wreaking havoc on all of my senses. It was no wonder my sight was rendered useless with him.

He stiffly led the way to the ship, taking care that we didn't step to close to the edge of the rocking gangplank, and my heart sank at his reserved manner. It was so different than before. When we first met this summer, I had felt such intense interest from him, so much so that were he a pirate I had no doubt he would have kidnapped me and taken me captive aboard his ship.

“What's her name? It must be something special, I should think.”

“I don't know her name yet,” he replied. “What would you name her, Miss Andrews?”

I didn't hesitate to answer. “A name is very important and must have a great history behind it. Which of the world's legends or myths do you find heart in? The Druids, the Norse, the Greeks from ages past, or the more recent tales of King Arthur and his knights?”

“Since I'm in the company of Andromeda, I'll be the gentleman and say Greek since Andromeda was a Greek princess.”

His choice secretly pleased me, despite his diplomatic reasoning. “Iris,” I said softly as the name for the dark horse came quickly to me. “The goddess of the rainbow, a symbol of the union of earth and sky, for the horse looks as if she could fly when she runs.”

“Interesting.” We'd reached the top of the gangplank. He moved to the starboard deck first, then, surprisingly, reached for me, placing both hands at my sides to help lift me over the rail and cargo. I was aware of every sizzling inch of his fingers and palms pressed so firmly against my waist. Heat flashed through me as he set me on my feet, much closer to his person than I should be in public or private. “And according to some the mother of Eros as well.” He gazed directly into my eyes before releasing me. The heat burning there left no question that he was still attracted to me. I gasped at the connection and the sensations sliding through me as I realized his reserved manner was but an act. “Excellent choice, Miss Andrews. Iris it is, and I'll hope to name the foal Eros.”

The seductive tone of his voice went straight to my head with dizzying force. I wasn't sure how I navigated my way across the deck.

Suddenly, before we had quite reached her, the mare reared up again and broke free of her handlers, charging right at us.

“Damn,” Alexander said as he scooped me up. In that moment, I saw into his mind as he jumped onto the bags of rice waiting on the deck. The image of a naked blonde woman, bound in his bed, flashed before my eyes. My breath caught then flew away with the vision as he deposited me out of harm's way and grabbed one of the ropes trailing behind the mare. She instantly reared up, pawing the air, but he held on, tugging gently on the rope and whispering soothing words to the frightened animal. She pranced nervously in place before butting him with her head. When she appeared to be quieting, Alexander grasped her halter, continuing to gentle her with his voice. I had no idea what he whispered in her ear, but I did know one thing.

The bound woman in his bed had been me.

Chapter Two

The image Alexander had of me in his mind dazed me. Surely it was his thought I'd seen and not mine, for though I'd had the pirate with his captive notion on the gangplank, I'd never imagined myself bound and naked before. I stared up at him, watching him calm the frightened mare with a velvet but iron hand, wondering what to make of the situation.

I couldn't go into an outrage, for I didn't want him to know I had read his mind. Yet how could I ignore something so…so…outrageous? And why wasn't I running from the ship screaming as if the devil were at my heels?

Shutting my eyes, I recalled the image again, realizing that I had been smiling in it, as if welcoming the situation! Impossible. I popped my eyes open and slowly moved closer to his side. He'd calmed the mare adeptly. That the horse hadn't suffered any injury I counted as much a testimony to the man's persuasive skills as a miracle.

My response to him was thankfully delayed by the arrival of several sailors who'd been in charge of the horse. They approached slowly, taking great care to keep from frightening the horse again. One ruddy sailor with legs as bowed as his girth had an awed look on his face; he clearly worshiped Alexander. The mare nuzzled Alexander as if he were sugar, or a sweet apple of temptation. She clearly welcomed her captor and his control. The whole incident had been mesmerizing to watch. His deep-toned voice was so soothing, his movements so slow, so patient, his touch so tender and caressing that one would have to be made out of stone to stand against him.

Both the horse and I were made of flesh and blood, but unlike the horse, I'd found Alexander's touch inflaming rather than calming. I had a difficult time reconciling the man before me with the naked image he'd had of me, so much so that I truly began to wonder if
I
had imagined it myself.

“We're right sorry, Captain Black,” one of the sailors muttered, poking his hat back onto the last tuft of hair growing atop his balding head. “She's a tightly strung one for sure.”

I glanced about, wondering to whom the man thought he was speaking. Alexander surprisingly answered.

“You'd be high strung as well, Davey, if someone set you asea with a babe in your belly. But you'll settle, won't you girl?” Alexander said, running his palm down the mare's neck. She snorted and flicked her tail, a mild protest that had very little bite behind it. “You can all go back to your docking duties. I'll take charge of her. And tell Captain Jansen there's to be an extra round of rum for you all tonight.”

The men let out a rowdy cheer before dispersing on the deck.

“Captain Black?” I blurted out the question with very little finesse the moment we were relatively alone. I think my mouth even hung open a bit, for the name sounded so…so…pirate like?

“It's my ship,” he said. “On occasion I take her for a sail. There's nothing like the sea and the stars to fill a lonely n—horizon.”

There's nothing like the sea and the stars to fill a lonely night,
was what he'd been about to say. I was sure of it.

What about a lonely life?
I found myself wondering, then shook off the thought. Considering the misery that many less fortunate than my family suffered, I'd no right to this morning's grumblings. I straightened my shoulders and smoothed the skirt of my striped satin day dress only to feel my finger catch on the pocket. Glancing down, I found Aphrodite's ring caught upon the material. The serpent's emerald eyes winked up at me as I freed it, reminding me of exactly what my purpose was in seeking out Alexander today—
Trojan Horse
.

He brought his horse a few steps closer to me. “Iris, meet Miss Andrews and thank her for your name.”

“Hello, beauty.” I moved to the now docile horse, slipped off my lace glove, and brushed my fingertips along her soft mane. “Welcome to your new home. My name is Andromeda, but you and your master can call me Andrie.”

“I'm not sure how wise that would be,” Alexander said.

Looking up, I found he'd moved in closer, to the point that my skirts brushed his thigh and his heat touched my skin despite the cloth and the space separating us. A sharp tingle took that heat deeper inside me to places that made my cheeks burn. He was so close that were I to turn his way, my breasts would press…I shook my head.

Whatever was wrong with me? My thoughts kept running down wildly improper paths.

“And why would that not be wise, my lord?” I shifted enough to meet his gaze, noting that the shadows lurking beneath the vibrant green depths of his eyes had grown darker than they'd been earlier this summer.

His focus dropped to my lips for a long moment before he stepped away, taking my breath with him as he looked out over the sea.

“Blackmoor! You devil! You didn't say a word about buying a Friesian! Mrs. Killdaren just told us. The beauty must have cost you a king's fortune.” Shouting up from the docks was Lord Ashton with Mr. Drayson, friends from the Killdaren brothers' university days who spent their summers in Dartmoor's End. Lord Ashton, pale of complexion with golden hair and lively blue eyes, embraced fashion in the same manner that Alexander thwarted it. Mr. Drayson, more subdued, had a strong jaw and serious features that were softened by his curly brown hair and warm brown eyes. Behind them came the entourage of my sisters, the Earl of Dartraven (a watered-down version of his son), and Sir Warwick, a gray-haired, gray-eyed gentleman with a barbed wit, who lived on a neighboring estate. He used a monocle and walked with a cane, but only for decoration. Unlike Sean, whose injury required a cane for balance and mobility.

Alexander waved back. “Stay there. We'll be down in a minute, and you'll see just how much of a beauty she is.” Our time of relative privacy had ended, and the expression of relief on his face was far from flattering.

He had no intention of explaining his remark, and my opportunity to speak to him about cataloguing artifacts had passed. Once we reached the docks, the hustling activity was too disruptive for Iris, and Alexander immediately suggested that everyone move to a quieter spot, just past the town, on the road to Killdaren's Castle and Dragon's Cove.

Cassie and Gemini wanted to stroll by the shops lining the way, so we decided to send the footmen ahead with the carriage and the gentlemen's horses, except for Iris. Alexander apparently didn't want anyone but himself to touch her. He protectively led his new mare over the cobblestones, speaking to her gently as he strode past the streetside vendors. Here the salty breeze of the sea mingled with the pleasant and unpleasant scents of fish, fresh meat pies, sweaty bodies and perfumed candles. The sound of our booted steps on the boardwalk grew louder as those we passed lowered their voices to whispers. Cassie, Gemini and I drew as many curious looks from the owners and patrons of the shops we peered into as Alexander and Iris were getting from those on the street. The town, ever in awe of the cursed Killdaren twins, didn't quite know what to make of the fact that the mysterious Sean Killdaren had abruptly wed—a parlor maid no less. Many had yet to grasp the fact that Cassie, a journalist in her own right, had only taken a position as a parlor maid to investigate Mary's death. And I had no doubt that seeing her now in the company of Sean's estranged brother would give wing to even more rampant rumors. None of them particularly kind.

“Look at this new store, Andrie! It's full of antiquities.” Gemini rushed ahead, letting out a squeal of delight. With my eyes focused on her, I bumped into a rumpled and soiled man who was exiting the cigar shop. Tobacco from the unlit pipe he held spilled on my shoulder.

“Are you blind?” he asked, brushing at the flakes on my dress as if I had offended him and he had a right to touch me! The minute his hand connected with my shoulder, I saw her dying, a dark-haired woman, and this man had had his hands around her throat. They were in a small boat, and she was struggling, her doe eyes begging for life.

“You killed her! Strangled her,” I cried.

The man stared at me in horror for a second, then whispered in a choked voice, “Who are you? How did you know?” Crying out as if struck, he turned from me and ran.

“Wait!” I shouted, stumbling after him. He dashed ahead of me and onto the street just as a carriage came rushing by. The driver swerved, but it was too late. The man went down beneath trampling hooves and spinning wheels. He lay in the dirt, unmoving.

“Good God!” Alexander, who stood nearby me on the street, grabbed my arm, but I couldn't “see” anything. My whole spirit was shuddering from what had happened.

“Andrie!” The roar in my ears made Cassie's cry seem as if it had come from a long way off though I knew she'd left the boardwalk and stood right next to me. I heard everything, saw everything, but it was as if I were frozen. “Andrie, talk to me. What happened?”

I saw Gemini approach with the other men behind her. “Whatever is the matt—” She glanced to where the people on the street were shouting. “Dear Lord!” Then she reached out for Cassie and promptly fainted.

Cassie caught Gemini with Lord Ashton's help. I couldn't speak past the lump of horror lodged in my throat. It seemed as if I couldn't even blink. My eyes burned. The man, who now lay twisted and bleeding on the cobblestones, had been so filled with anger that he'd strangled his wife to death. I'd seen it all and felt it all in a single touch, in a single image.

“She spoke to the man after he bumped into her, and he ran into the street,” Alexander said to Cassie. “Did she know him?”

“Bloody hell of an accident,” Sir Warwick muttered, stirred from his habitual ennui. “The chap didn't even have a chance to dodge. I saw it too.”

“There are ladies present, Warwick,” the Earl of Dartraven admonished. “Has someone sent for the doctor?”

“I'm afraid there is nothing a doctor can do. Looks as if the man has broken his neck,” Lord Ashton said, his expression one of offense that anyone would intrude so upon his day. “I see Constable Poole headed this way.”

“Drayson, take care of Iris for me.” Alexander handed the mare's reins to his friend, then grabbed my hand, squeezing my fingers with concern. “Miss Andrews, did you know the man? I heard you cry out something like Lou Tiller or Miller or something. Can you tell us?” He spoke as soothingly as he had to Iris when she'd panicked on the ship. His hand slid to my back, urging me a little closer to him. The comfort and the heat broke the icy fear that had been freezing me.

“Oh, God,” I whispered, feeling dizzier by the minute. I didn't want anyone to know what had happened, and I didn't want to speak to the authorities either.