reached out and lifted her onto his lap. „Come to me.“ His
voice was soft, urgent, as irresistible as the haunting melody of
Pan’s flute.
His hands cupped her hips as he slid her slowly down the
rigid stalk of his manhood. Her knees braced on the cushions
of the seat on either side of him. His hands left her and gently
began to rub at her insteps as he let her feel every bold inch of
his dimension within her.
She bit her lower lip to keep her delirious jolt of pleasure
unknown to him. But it was to no avail; he did know, Nicholas
always knew.
Her hands clutched his shoulders as he began a fiery
rhythm that turned her mindless with a fever of ecstasy. She
couldn’t repress the low moan that trembled deep in her throat.
„Let go.“ Nicholas’s voice was a silkening crooning in her
ear. „This is where you belong. This is what you want. Say it,
Silver.“
„No!“ Her fingers went up to tangle in his hair. „No.“
„Say it!“
„Yes!“ Her fingers clenched again in his hair. She was
panting, her breath coming in little sobs. „But it doesn’t
matter, it means nothing. Do you hear me? It doesn’t mean
anything!“
He went still. Then, slowly, his hands cupped her cheeks in
his two hands and tilted her head back to look into her eyes.
She had expected to see lust, perhaps triumph, but there was
something else in his glittering eyes that bewildered her.
Sadness. „I know,“ he said softly. „But that’s all you’ll give
me.“ His lips brushed her own with exquisite tenderness.
„Firebird.“ He closed his eyes and for a moment she thought
she saw a flicker of pain on his face. Then his eyes opened and
he smiled crookedly. „So I’ll take what gifts I’m allowed as
I’ve always done before. Perhaps you’ll find it to be a fair
exchange.“
Then he was clearly done with conversation as he began to
thrust with a force and power that held an odd element of
desperation.
She was still lost in a haze of delight and lethargy when he
moved her to the seat opposite him again. He swiftly put his
clothes in order and then leaned forward to carefully fasten the
buttons on her velvet bodice and arrange her filmy skirts
around her. His features were set and curiously grave in the
moonlight streaming through the window into the carriage. „I
have some questions to ask you about Dominic Delaney.“
She gazed at him in disbelief. „Why do you think I would
tell you anything now when I wouldn’t before?“
„Because they aren’t the same questions. Valentin thinks
I’ve made a mistake, but I have to know, dammit. You’re
becoming too – “ He broke off, searching for words. „He may
be right; the Randall Agency was wrong about your having a
lover. They could be wrong about what happened at Hell’s
Bluff.“
„I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t been
back to Hell’s Bluff in four years.“
„It happened four years ago,“ Nicholas said tightly. „You
were there with Dominic Delaney and Elspeth MacGregor.
You – “
The carriage came to a halt as Mikhail reined in the team.
He called, „We are here.“
„Damn,“ Nicholas muttered, and opened the door of the
carriage. He stepped down on the cobblestone street
overlooking the levee and walked quickly toward the hitching
post where Mikhail was tying the horses.
Mikhail turned. „I will go tell Robert we are ready to leave.
You will want to carry Silver down to the Rose. She might cut
her feet on these rough stones.“
Nicholas’s frown faded and a smile of amusement curved
his lips. „I’ll see that her delicate toes never come in contact
with these coarse stones. Trust me.“
„I trust you,“ Mikhail said gravely. „But I know you and
she does not. You have not been kind to her. It is no wonder
she ran away from you.“
Nicholas expression became shuttered. „I kept my promise
to you.“
Mikhail nodded. „But you have made none to her. She is a
woman who has no one, a woman who belongs nowhere. Such
a woman needs promises.“ He paused. „Though she may never
tell you she does.“ He turned away. „She has great pride.“ He
didn’t wait for an answer but started down the slanting levee,
his bootheels clicking loudly on the cobblestones.
Nicholas gazed after him, then turned and crossed the few
paces back to the door of the carriage. He opened the door and
stood looking at her. Sensual Scheherazade. Fierce warrior.
Lonely waif. Silver.
She frowned in puzzlement. „Why are looking at me like
that?“
„No reason.“ He held out his arms. „Come. Mikhail is
worried about you cutting your feet. I promised him I’d – “
Pain.
His head exploded with white-hot agony. „What…“
The pain struck again!
Darkness.
„Nicholas!“ Silver frantically slid across the seat. He was
falling to the ground!
„Good evening, Miss Delaney.“ Lee Bassinger stepped
forward, a coil of rope in one hand and a pistol in the other. „I
can’t tell you how glad I am to see you. I’ve been waiting here
on the wharf a long time for Nicholas to bring you back to us.
Now, stretch out your hands so that I can tie your wrists. I
have no intention of letting you get away again.“
„No,“ she said. Nicholas was lying still and white on the
cobblestones. „Is he dead?“ Her voice was faraway, only a
wisp of sound. „Have you killed him?“
„He’s alive.“ His shrewd gaze searched her face. „You
seem uncommonly concerned for a lady who has done nothing
but try to escape from the man. It’s foolish of you to reveal
such a weakness for Savron. It makes things too easy for me.“
He leaned down and pressed the barrel of the pistol to
Nicholas’s temple. „Give me your hands or I’ll blow a neat
little hole in his highness’s handsome head.“
She drew a deep, quivering breath and then, slowly, she
held out her hands to be bound.
10
„Where is she?“ Nicholas whispered, gazing up at Valentin
and Mikhail. He sat up on the bed, ignoring the blinding pain
that jagged through his head and threatened to fling him back
into the darkness. „Were we followed from that damn circus?“
„We don’t know. When you didn’t follow him to the boat,
Mikhail came back up the levee. He found you unconscious
with tw^o lumps as big as ostrich eggs on your head.“ Valentin
paused. „The carriage was gone and so was Silver. We thought
perhaps she might have demonstrated her opposition to your
plans for her.“
„No!“ Nicholas swung his feet to the floor. Christ, he was
dizzy. „It must have been one of her friends from the circus. I
have to get back there.“
„It wouldn’t do any good.“ Lee Bassinger stood in the
doorway of the stateroom, the omnipresent smile on his lips.
„Miss Delaney is accepting my hospitality at the moment.“ He
strolled into the room. „I do hope you’re feeling better,
Savron. I really hated to hit you on the head, as I wanted you
to be able to think clearly when I offered my terms.“
„Terms?“ Nicholas asked coldly. „The only terms I may
accede to involve the precise manner in which you meet your
end, Bassinger.“
„So arrogant.“ Bassinger’s tone was almost approving. „Do
you know that’s what drew me to you that night at Madam
LaRue’s? You wore your damn arrogance like an ermine-
trimmed cloak and everyone was fawning all over you. The
great Russian prince with the whole world at his fingertips.