It was the sound of that sob, wanton and hungry, that shocked her from her paralysis. She pressed hard upon his chest, but he held her there tightly. She beat against him desperately, but he did not free her. Her head fell back and she met his eyes. They were dark with a brewing tempest, frightening to behold. “Don’t play with me, girl, so help me!”
“Play!”
“Don’t tempt, lady, and for the love of God, don’t tease!”
“I have not! You are the puppet master here, pulling the strings like an almighty god! You seized me! You imprisoned me, and you give out orders like a tyrant king. You are a master of torture. You taunt until I am insane. I fear rape, I fear death, and you play with me like a cat with a mouse!”
He touched her cheek, his eyes still stormy, his features tense. She strained against him, but his thumb fell over her damp and swollen lips.
“Was that, milady, a threat of rape?”
“Please…”
“You made a promise. Perhaps you do mean to fulfill it.”
She jerked from him, falling to her knees, reaching for the towel. He came down beside her, resting upon the balls of his feet. “It seems that I am the plaything, lady. You cling to me in the night, and trust in my goodness. In the darkness I could take whatever I desired, couldn’t I, Lady Kinsdale?” Her head was down, but he lifted her chin.
“I was kidnapped—”
“Answer my question.”
“All right!” she shouted. “It would be easy for you then. So easy. I’ve oft wondered why you didn’t…”
“Rape you as you clung to me in terror?” he demanded sharply.
“Yes!” she whispered. Tears came to her eyes, glazing them. He would not let her free.
He shook his head slowly. “I will never have you that way, milady. Coming to me in fear of the darkness. I will have you only when you turn to me because desire, not fear, guides you.”
Her eyes widened.
“I will never desire a pirate!”
A slight smile touched his features. His finger rode slowly, sensually over the bare slope of her shoulder.
“If I willed it, you could be coerced into desiring me this very moment,” he said softly. Then he rose abruptly, and she felt very small as he spoke down to her. “You are right, milady, on one account. I am a master of torture, and it is myself that I so abuse. I will depart, until you are safely clad.”
He turned smartly upon a heel and left her. Slowly she rose, her body on fire, her limbs quaking. She was lethargic at first. She could scarce will herself to move.
She touched her lips with her fingers, and she started shaking all over again. She could feel his lips still, she could feel his hands upon her.…
He was coming back. He had said so.
She dove into her trunk. She had one nightgown left within it. Soft blue flowered cotton with satin ribands about the puffed sleeves and waist. The cotton was gossamer, sheer but strong.
She plunged quickly into the gown, and none too soon. There was a sharp rap upon the door, then the Hawk entered once again. For a pirate, he was absurdly regal, striking in his outfit of black, from his elegantly cut coat to the plume that danced upon his hat. Robert entered behind him, and the pirate captain gave his mate the ledger. “Care will be taken, the gravest care,” he said.
Robert looked her way and nodded. Then he smiled nervously, finding her eyes meeting his. “Supper comes, my lady,” he told her.
She didn’t care. She wanted only to escape the presence of the Hawk.
“I am not hungry,” she whispered. Robert nodded vaguely, watching her, then his eyes narrowed as he looked at the Hawk again. The pirate captain had taken his chair behind his desk, and seriously studied figures within a second book.
Skye crawled into the bunk, far against the wall. The two men continued to talk about cargo to be bartered, bought, or taken. She closed her eyes. Their voices droned on.
She drifted to sleep, hearing their conversation like some lulling sound. Sleep was sweet, and sleep was good, until the darkness suddenly intruded upon it.
She was trapped. She pushed and shoved and she could not escape. It had come to choke her, the darkness. She could not breathe, she could not swallow, she could not summon the air to scream.…
