somewhere deep within her. She had wanted to reach out and
touch him, run her fingers over the clean outline of his upper
lip and then up the broad plane of his jaw and perhaps – What
was she thinking? Of course she did not want to touch him.
She had always found it difficult to touch any person with
affection.
Yet, if she had wanted to touch Nicholas Savron, it could
mean only one thing. Lust. She was beset by the same malady
that was common to all young animals, the same fever that had
driven her mother to lie with Boyd Delaney. Fear shivered
through her as she remembered how strong had been the
response of her body as she stood before Nicholas. She had
never dreamed how terribly strong that response could be. She
must fight it. Who should know better than she how dangerous
lust could be? She had lived all her days on the fringe of life as
punishment for her mother’s yielding to that siren call. But she
was stronger than her mother; she’d had to fight to prevent
herself being crushed by the contempt of both Apache and
white. She could close her ears to that siren call even when
sung by a golden warlock.
Good Lord, the man was actually a danger to Dominic. A
Russian prince could not be Durbin’s pawn as she had first
assumed, but Dominic had made many enemies during his
years on the run. It was entirely possible Savron could be one
of them. He wanted to use her only for his body’s pleasure and
to get the information he wanted from her. She had no
intention of letting him reach either goal.
No, under no circumstances would she ever see Prince
Nicholas Savron again.
3
„My word, what have we here?“ Lee Bassinger straightened
away from the rail, his pale green eyes avid with curiosity as
he watched Mikhail Kuzdief stride up the gangplank. The
blanket-wrapped burden slung over the Cossack’s broad
shoulder was squirming and kicking vigorously, and a swath
of long, silky dark hair suddenly became visible as the blanket
loosened. „What, or should I say who, have you brought for
our friend Nicholas? I would have thought he’d have enough
feminine companions to choose from without importing
more.“ His thin lips curved in an empty smile. „I suppose it
could be that he prefers unwilling women occasionally. Well,
so do I. Perhaps we could share her.“
Mikhail did not answer, and his glance brushed Bassinger
as if he didn’t exist when he strode past him down the deck
and then up the wide staircase toward the staterooms.
Bassinger’s gaze followed him, the smile on his face never
wavering until Mikhail disappeared from view. Then he turned
back to look at the gleaming lights of the city. Interesting, He
knew very well that Savron did not force his bed partners. All
the bastard had to do was smile at a woman and she would
perform acts Bassinger had to use a whip to persuade the little
pullets to do for him. Why, then, had he sent that huge bull to
bring this woman to him against her will?
A flicker of excitement touched him and his hands
tightened on the rail. A weapon at last? He wasn’t a patient
man, and having to smile and be civil to Savron and his coterie
had caused the hatred to fester within him until it almost
choked him. Yet he had learned a long time ago that deceit was
a quality that must be fostered if a man was to have everything
he wanted in life.
And he would have everything. He may have been born
dirt poor but he had fought his way this far and he wasn’t
about to let a fop like Savron take anything from him. He
would have the Mississippi Rose again, and his highness
would be punished for humbling him.
He consciously relaxed his grip on the rail and
straightened, the smile returning to his face. There was always
a key to be found to bring a man to his knees, and his instincts
told him that Mikhail had carried that key on board the Rose
tonight. It was only for him to wait and watch until he had the
opportunity to use that key.
Mikhail threw open the door to Nicholas’s cabin and strode
into the stateroom. Nicholas rose easily to his feet, his gaze on
the bundle over the Cossack’s shoulder. „Good, God, Mikhail,
did you have to use two blankets? She must be smothering
under there.“
„I should have used ten,“ Mikhail muttered as he strode
across the room and dropped his burden on the bed. „And I
should have let you come with me. I should have let an army
come with me.“ He unwrapped the blankets with two quick
jerks and Silver tumbled free, rolling over to the opposite side
of the bed. Her wrists were tied behind her back and a
handkerchief gagged her mouth, but her eyes blazed up at
them as she continued to struggle to free herself. Mikhail
tossed the blankets on the floor and reached over to pull the
gag from Silver’s mouth, quickly jerking his hand away as her
strong white teeth snapped at him. „She is a wild animal.“
There was a curious note of pride in his expression as he gazed
down at Silver’s face. „If I had not taken her by surprise, I do
not think I would have been able to overpower her. She is a
fine, strong warrior.“ He carefully brushed a strand of hair
from Silver’s eyes, his expression gentle. „It is all right now.
No one is going to hurt you.“
„But / will hurt you.“ Silver glared up at him fiercely, still
struggling desperately against her bonds. „You can’t do this.“
„It appears that he can because he has.“ Nicholas strode
forward to stand over her. Her long hair was lying in wild
silken disarray against the peach-colored velvet of the spread
and he felt a sudden thrust of desire tighten his groin. He had
been sitting there imagining how she would look lying on his
bed, and the reality was even more erotic than his vision.
„Though not without some effort.“
„You!“ Her light eyes were glittering with rage as she
began to curse him with venom and amazing proficiency.
He lifted a brow. „My, my, she’s quite talented isn’t she,
Mikhail? The last time I heard a vocabulary so explicit was
from my groom at the estate on Crystal Island. Should we
release her, do you think?“
„Only if you wish to relieve yourself of a few fistfuls of
excess hair,“ Mikhail said dryly, gingerly touching his own
tousled red mop. „Before I got her hands tied I was sure she
would strip me bald. Best wait until you have talked reason to
her.“
„Reason?“ Silver struggled to a sitting position. „There is
no reason connected with this outrage. It’s madness, as I’ll
soon show you.“
„I’m sure you’ll try.“ Nicholas smiled. „And it will be
fascinating to watch your attempts. I may even be sorry to see
you depart after you tell me where your uncle has disappeared
to.“
„You’ll be sorrier to see me stay,“ Silver hissed. „Do you
think I’ll let myself be trussed up and served to you like a
turkey for Christmas dinner?“
„The trussing is only temporary. I’ll untie you as soon as
we get far enough away for it to be safe.“ He tilted his head,
listening. „Hear the paddles? Since I gave orders to cast off as
soon as Mikhail came aboard, that should be very soon. I have
no liking for bondage of any kind.“
„You lie! And my presence here is proof of it.“
A flicker of anger crossed his face. „I believe you’re
beginning to annoy me. So far you’ve cursed like a sailor,
threatened me, and called me a liar.“
„Let me loose and I’ll do more than that to you. I’ll stick