Once a Mistress (8 page)

“Aye, cap’n! Show the wench who her master is!”

“Teach the uppity piece her place!”

“She’ll be walkin’ bowlegged for days when the cap’n’s done with her!”

The laughter added fuel to Diana’s temper. Bouncing ignominiously on the captain’s shoulder, she began cursing, casting aspersions on his dubious parentage and questionable masculinity. He descended with her into the bowels of the ship like Hades carrying Persephone into the underworld.

Reaching his cabin, he opened the door and strode into the room to drop her unceremoniously on the bed.

Diana bounced once on the mattress and came up fighting. Leaping to her feet, she glared at him as he went to shut the door. “How dare you tote me about like a cask of rum? I’ll see you hanged for this humiliation!”

“Indeed.” With a little smile, Alex turned away, apparently ignoring her threat.

“Oh!” Furious at his casual dismissal, Diana clenched her fists and whirled away from him, struggling to get her temper under control. She looked around the cabin and saw…the bed.

The walls of the cabin seemed to shrink as she stared across a sea of red coverlet to the elaborately carved headboard. While logic dictated that the bed could not be as huge as she perceived it, especially given the size of the cabin, nonetheless it seemed to dominate the room. She tried to look away. At the dining table with its carved armchairs. At the desk covered with neatly rolled maps and charts. At the flickering shadows dancing on the walls, cast by the candles that had been left burning.

Against her will, her gaze slid back to the bed. It seemed even bigger than before, like a dragon lying in wait for its next victim.

Unnerved by the silence, Diana glanced back at Alex. The expression in his dark eyes shook her to her core. No man had ever looked at her in such a way. So…hungrily. He made her feel as if he could see inside of her, as if he knew everything about her. Flutters of excitement danced in her belly, and she sought to squelch the shameless reaction. She could not possibly feel this way for such a man. He was a rogue. A thief. A pirate. He was the wrong sort of man altogether.

And she found him dangerously attractive.

“Put this on.”

She looked up just in time to catch the robe he tossed at her. The black silk slipped through her hands like water, and she marveled at the exquisitely embroidered flowers that twined along the back. It had obviously come from the Far East. She wondered if he had been there or if the robe had come into his hands by illicit means.

“You can’t stay in that rag.” With a wave of his hand, he indicated her torn shirt. “Until I find you something to wear, my robe will have to suffice.”

“You are too kind,” she sneered.

He glanced at her, taking in her appearance with obvious appreciation. “You should be grateful that I decided to garb you at all.” His tone was as smooth as silk and simmered with seduction.

She trembled, literally trembled at the rumble of desire that darkened his voice. Her redhead’s complexion betrayed her once again as heat crept into her cheeks. For an instant she could only stare at him, lost in those dark eyes where forbidden fires burned, her heart pounding like that of a rabbit trapped by a wolf.

No, not a wolf. A cat. A jungle cat like the one she had seen once, the pet of a foreign nobleman who had done business with her father. That creature had moved as smoothly as Alex did, its obsidian fur so sleek that her hand had itched to stroke it. She had even reached out to do so when the cat had turned its jeweled eyes on her, green eyes that had reflected the emeralds and diamonds in the collar around its throat. There had been something untamed in that gaze, though the cat had appeared docile, that made her withdraw her hand and back away.

And she should back away now, she thought, as the tension stretched between them. But there was nowhere to go. Ignoring the trembling in her limbs, she took up her shield of bravado and used it to defend herself against his potent allure.

“I am only too happy to be rid of these vile clothes. Now please have the decency to turn your back.”

His laughter echoed throughout the cabin, the attractive sound making her pulse skim faster through her veins. “Decency? In a pirate? My dear, my reputation would never survive such a slur.”
 

She sent him a look of scorching annoyance. “Hang your reputation! And hang you too!”

He raised one eyebrow. “A very likely possibility, my dear.” As if he had suddenly tired of the game, he turned away and opened one of the cabinets built into the wall. Ignoring her completely, he poured some brandy into a silver goblet.

Using the brief respite to change her clothes, she moved behind one of the high-backed chairs and turned her back on the rogue. It was with great relief that she shed Marcus’s shirt and quickly shrugged into the robe. For modesty’s sake, she left on the breeches.

Alex turned around just in time to see her smooth feminine back disappearing into black silk. He noticed that the only garment she had shed was the tattered shirt. For a moment his hand tightened on the goblet as he considered reaching beneath that robe and relieving her of the damnable breeches as well. Then he relaxed his grip and went to hand her the brandy.

“You have had quite an ordeal this night. Drink this; it’ll warm you.”

Diana stared at the amber liquid and wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell. “I don’t drink spirits.”

Alex stepped closer, intentionally brushing her body with his. “Drink. Or mayhap you would prefer that I warm you another way.”

After one glance at his face, she took the cup from his hand. She took a hesitant sip, then choked and quickly handed the goblet back to him.

Alex took the cup from her hand, enchanted by the becoming flush pinkening her cheeks. His body hardened as he considered how she would look wearing nothing except the rosy hue of that blush. Tightening his fingers around the goblet, he tossed back a healthy portion of the brandy, then deliberately ran his tongue over the rim of the cup.

Diana stared in rapt fascination as his tongue touched the spot where her mouth had been. In that instant, with his black clothing, white teeth and pink tongue, he reminded her more than ever of a jungle cat. He played with her now, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he planned to devour her as well.

She fought to keep her voice calm. “What do you intend to do with me?”

He slowly traced the rim of the goblet with one finger as he appeared to contemplate the question. “What do you expect me to do with you?”

“What all pirates do,” she answered with a flippancy belied by the pounding of her heart. “Hold me for ransom.”

“That is a possibility.” He gazed steadily at her, his expression unreadable.

“I thought that was the purpose of piracy.” She met his enigmatic look with one of her own. “To steal from others to make a profit. Gold is what you want, isn’t it?”

His eyes took on a predatory gleam. “You have no idea what I want of you.”

“On the contrary, you vile cur, you have made it quite clear that you want me in your bed. Well, I will fight you until the last breath!”

“Will you?” An amused smile playing about his lips, he placed the goblet on the table. “Are you so certain then that I want you in my bed? Mayhap I have something else in mind.”

“After that lewd display for your crew? Hardly!”

“Some might consider it lewd…but you liked it.” He moved closer to her, crowding her backwards. “You are a passionate woman behind that shrew’s tongue, my dear. A man would count himself lucky to have you in his bed.”

Her legs bumped the chair behind her. She was trapped. And still he approached.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and forced her to sit. Then he leaned over her, gripping the arms of the chair with either hand and caging her with his body. “Why don’t you tell me what you want me to do with you?”

His quiet words immobilized her. She watched him warily as her mind scrambled for a response to his audacious question.

He gave a slight smile at her confused silence. “Have you no suggestions?”

The husky purr of his voice slipped into her mind and conjured forbidden images to tantalize her. Out of her vivid imaginings, the memory of his kiss in the darkened garden loomed larger and clearer than all the others. She opened and closed her hands in her lap, remembering how it had felt to touch his muscular body while his mouth had moved on hers. She licked her lips to banish the disturbing memory.

“Let me go,” she whispered.

“Ah, my sweet. That is something I cannot do.” He stroked his hand across her cheek. “You are mine. And I intend to keep you.”

Chapter Six

“You cannot keep me against my will.”

He pushed her hair back over her shoulder. “I could make you
beg
to stay with me.”

A quiver shot through her, sensitizing her body from head to toes, making her acutely aware of him, of his scent, his heat. The thought of surrender seemed more a pleasure than a price.

“What were you doing at my home last night?” she challenged in a hoarse whisper, clutching at composure.

He brushed a finger along her moistened mouth. “I was looking for someone.”

At the gentle touch, her thoughts threatened to scatter. She struggled to keep her words coherent. “Who? Lord Chilton, perhaps?”

“Perhaps.” Abandoning her mouth, he glided the backs of his fingers down her throat. “If I were seeking Chilton, I certainly found him, did I not?” He teased the edge of the robe, his fingertips just brushing the upper curve of her breast. “You seem to be well acquainted with my lord Chilton.”

“He is my father’s business partner,” she whispered, barely aware of what words she spoke. Her entire being focused on the sensations bursting to life in her body. Her breasts tingled and grew heavy, the nipples tightening. Her heartbeat quickened. She pressed her thighs together as heat bloomed between her legs.

“Obviously your father values him, else he would not be a suitor for your hand.” His fingers glided up and down the edge of the robe, each movement causing the garment to open a fraction further.

Something penetrated Diana’s consciousness that his words were not quite right, but sensations lapped over her like ocean waves. She couldn’t think.

“Well?” The robe fell partially open, catching on the tips of her breasts. He traced a finger down one soft, white mound, stopping just short of touching the nipple hidden beneath the black material.

“He is nothing.” Her voice came softly and quickly. “He seeks to marry me, but…”

“I can understand his eagerness. You are very beautiful.” Brushing aside the material, he cupped one naked breast in his palm and caressed the puckered nipple with his thumb.

She gasped as heat streaked through her. She opened her eyes to find his face inches from hers, his dark eyes hot with need and something else. Something more deliberate. She glanced down at the hand cradling her breast, strength against softness, dark skin against light. What was he saying? Chilton. Chilton and Marcus. Dear God. Her father.

Clarity exploded in her brain. Her temper quickly followed, fueled by frustrated desire and the sting of knowing that Alex had been using her body’s responses against her.

“You bastard!” She shoved his hand away and jerked the edges of the robe closed. “You are trying to seduce me in order to gain information!”

“Not precisely.” Alex clenched the hand that had so briefly caressed her softness and straightened, smiling sardonically. True, he was guilty of the charge she leveled. But one action had served twice the purpose. He had indeed tried to seduce a bit of information from her, hoping to aid his quest. Yet his seduction had uncovered something else as well.

Though Diana had claimed that Marcus had not raped her, Alex had not been sure. However, she had not responded to
his
touch as a woman abused, but as one encountering her own sensuality for the first time. He would still have Birk examine her to be certain, but he breathed easier at this further evidence that she had escaped Marcus untouched.

Still, his sense of honor stung that he would stoop to such levels. Worse, he had enjoyed it. He had thought his own considerable experience would give him enough control to stop short of bedding her. But now he was not so sure.

He glanced at her, her flesh so fair against the dark material of his robe. Unable to face her accusing glare, he turned away and reached for the goblet of brandy. Even now he wanted to touch her again. And never stop.

Diana watched him turn away, a sliver of pain piercing her heart.
He hadn’t wanted her at all
.
 

She leaped from the chair, unwilling to spend another moment in the position of what might have been her ultimate humiliation.

“You do not even deny it,” she accused, disgust heavy in her voice.

“No.” He swallowed the last of the brandy.

She hissed out a breath. “You are no better than Marcus. At least he never lied about his motives.”

“Is that so?” Alex set aside the empty goblet. In two strides he stood before her. Gripping her arms, he pulled her to him.

“I warned you once before not to compare me with him.”

Too late she heard the dark passion in his voice even as her skin warmed in response to the touch of his hands. She licked her lips nervously. “Don’t do this.”

His gaze fixated on her mouth. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

“Please.” It was all she could say. Her voice trembled. She knew she should pull away from him, but her limbs seemed oddly heavy. “Please,” she said again, unsure if she were begging him to stop…or pleading for him to continue.

Cupping the nape of her neck in one hand, he gently touched her mouth with the other. Desire shot like a cannonball to her stomach, melting her knees and leaving her shivering.

“You’re so responsive,” he murmured.

Caught up in a sensual haze, she tried to recall that she had been stolen from her home, that the man holding her was a pirate. Confusing emotions surged through her. In reckless response, she caught the tip of his caressing finger in her teeth.

The action triggered something untamed to flare in his eyes. He took his hand from her mouth and speared it into her hair, holding the back of her head in both hands, his actions jerky, as if he had no control over them. He tilted her face toward him and lifted her to her toes.