The sight had become a strange part of his evening ritual.
Tonight, he found her cabin empty.
He cursed. During the wee hours of the morning, where could she be? And why the hell couldn’t she stay where he told her to?
With a sharp snap of his wrist, Drex donned his vest, then strode out into the companionway. Climbing the stairs two at a time, he swore the moment he got his hands on Lilli, he’d make her understand that he’d given her orders to stay in her cabin to protect her. Didn’t she understand that his men weren’t gentle or kind?
He stomped down the passageway. Blast her. What tangle had she wound herself in now?
Hot annoyance coiled through his veins, enough, he decided, that he might be able to forget her tempting curves once he found her. At least long enough to throttle her.
As he stepped onto the deck, he heard a muffled scream. High-pitched.
Definitely female.
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He tried running to the sound, but the wind distorted its direction. He ran anyway, praying he’d find her safe, unharmed.
A tight knot of dread filled Drex’s chest as he traced the deck from the bow and the port side of the ship, working his way aft. Nothing.
He raked a stiff hand through his long hair and sprinted for the larboard. If anyone had touched her, Drex vowed he’d make the man wish to God he had not—ever.
One long stride after another ate up the deck beneath his feet, along with his hope of finding her unharmed. God, what if she really needed him and he failed to find her in time?
Forcing down the wild beat of panic in his heart, Drex retraced his steps and listened for the slightest sound.
He heard her scream again.
This call sounded desperate. Fearful. Her cry made his churning heart pump ice in his veins at double speed.
He ran faster, rounding the aft of the ship and darting up the larboard side again. In the dark, between a pair of longboats, he spotted two struggling forms, the larger one pinning the smaller one down—and a torn pink dress cast aside like seaweed littering a beach.
He ran like a man on fire. With a savage grunt, he pulled his blade free, grabbed her attacker by his hair and yanked the man to his feet, shoving the knife at her attacker’s throat.
Talbot.
“Damn you!” Drex cursed.
Without retort, the crewman lunged back at Drex, knife in hand. He ducked and countered with a solid gut punch that had Talbot clutching his abdomen.
The bastard’s blade skittered to the deck. Drex leveled a kick to the man’s face.
Talbot fell to the deck, cursing and clutching his bleeding nose.
Drex threw Talbot’s knife overboard, sheathed his own, and bent to Lillianne’s shaking body.
He scooped her up in his arms and held her cold, delicate form against him. He thought of nothing, only felt a piece of his heart tear when she
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clutched at his neck and held on as if he was the only thread holding her between life and death.
He heard the odd rhythm of Hancock’s shuffle, and shouted for his first mate to summon the rest of his on-duty crew. Within moments, reinforcements arrived, taking in the discarded dress and naked stowaway with round eyes.
“Hancock,” he instructed. “Lock Talbot up in the hold. I’ll join you there shortly.”
Drex watched with cold satisfaction as Hancock and three others yanked Talbot to his feet and dragged him away. For the first time ever, he could honestly say he looked forward to a man’s whipping.
A sob sounded in his ear. Soft, almost silent, as if Lilli were trying to hold her feelings inside. The sound ate at his heart.
“Shh,” he whispered, groping for the right words to calm her. He stroked her hair, which had fallen loose during her struggle. “I won’t let him hurt you again.”
He felt her jerky nod against his neck and held her tighter.
“Look at me,” he instructed softly.
She didn’t move at all, except to eke out another quiet sob.
“Lilli, honey,” he whispered. “Look at me. Tell me if you’re hurt.”
Finally, slowly, she lifted her head to regard him with a wide gaze eyes drenched in tears. The dark spikes of her lashes framed dilated emerald eyes that saw him…but didn’t.
God, he had no idea what was wrong, what that bastard had done to her.
Drex feared the worst, and the images running in his head damn near made him sick, but he had to find out.
On trembling legs, he carried her across the deck and down the ladder to his cabin. Once inside, he eased the door shut and set Lilli on his bed. She looked tiny and pale against the giant black dragon that dominated his coverlet.
The urge to protect her rose strong.
Lilli lay on her back, staring at the wooden ceiling with sightless eyes and drenched cheeks. He lowered himself to the bunk beside her and reached for
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her hand. Her skin was ice cold. He covered her, then wrapped her against his body.
“You’re okay now, Lilli. Talbot’s gone,” he assured.
No response.
Trying to suppress panic, he maneuvered himself closer and pulled her into his arms. She stiffened momentarily, then after glancing at him, she relaxed again.
“What happened?” he asked in the darkness.
Lilli said nothing for a moment. He stroked her hair and held her tighter. A few moments later, she snuggled against his body and sighed.
“W—why did he…?” Her broken whisper stopped on a shudder.
Drex drew in a breath, looking for the words to explain man’s savagery.
“You humiliated him in front of his shipmates. He wanted to humiliate you in return.”
She shuddered. “I tried to stop him. He only said he wanted to get a piece of what you had been keeping to yourself. When I told him you—you had not…”
She inhaled raggedly, slicing him with both fury and a fierce need to protect her. Drex held her tighter.
“He laughed,” she choked. “And called me a lying slut.”
“Did he force himself—”
“No,” she interrupted, as if she couldn’t bear to hear the rest of his question.
Thank God. Relief shook him, and he held Lilli a little tighter. Talbot would definitely pay, not just for disobeying a direct order, but for shattering Lilli’s peace of mind. But that could wait. Right now, his terrified stowaway needed him.
That thought warmed a dangerous place in his heart as he felt her curl up against him, body to body, like a kitten.
* * *
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Christina awoke to the feel of a strange pillow. Hard, like satin steel. A pillow that moved.
Jarred out the last remnants of sleep, she opened her eyes. The sight of the captain in slumber, illuminated by thin morning light through a murky window, filled her vision. The man wore his mask in sleep tonight. She couldn’t deny that his scrap of black silk, combined with the dark beard and golden earring he sported added a dimension of power and mystery. The shimmering red vest half-covering his bronzed chest added to the image.
Last night, he’d come to her rescue just like a knight of old. Why?
Easing away so she wouldn’t wake him, she rose and discovered she was clothed only in his shirt, which carried his scent. Once, she would have blushed hotly at the thought of the Black Dragon’s eyes touching her near-naked form. Oh, she might still blush a little today, but adventure and adversity—and the memory of his comfort—made her see the event differently now.
Last night, she had gotten her first real taste of life on her own. An unpleasant one, to say the least. With a frown, she decided she had not handled herself well. Shouldn’t a woman of the world have been able to escape Talbot?
Leaning on the captain afterward like a child… Another slip in her modern-woman mode of thought. She had actually allowed him to carry her. No, welcomed it. Such behavior when she wished to rely solely on herself would never do.