ClaimedbytheCaptain (10 page)

He seized her by the hair, tearing at the roots. “Touch it,”
he repeated. “Do what I said, you little whore.”

Jason’s name tore from her throat again. The desperate sound
seemed disembodied as it echoed through the cabin.

“He’s not coming,” the giant said through clenched teeth.
“It’s just you and me.”

A loud crack exploded through the small chamber. The door
shuddered. Another thundering blow against the wood splintered the frame. The
final crash set the heavy wooden panel slamming open.

Jason filled the doorway. Light glinted off the gleaming
pistol in his hand. The thinly restrained rage in his expression would have
given pause to the most courageous of men. The hulking man tensed. His rough
hands captured her with a forearm clamped against her throat, her back pressed
against his chest.

“I just wanted to have a little fun, that’s all, Cap’n,” he
managed, the slight stammer in his words betraying his fear of Jason Kane.

“Take your hands off her.” Jason pronounced each word
slowly, the harsh intensity in his voice betraying his urge to tear the man to
pieces. He leveled his pistol at the giant’s forehead.

The man’s arm tightened against her windpipe. Cathy gasped
against the pressure. “I’ll break her neck.” He barked the threat. “It don’t
matter none to me. You’ll kill me in any case.”

Jason shook his head. “Let her go, and you have my word you
will not be killed.”

The man’s thick arm loosened a fraction of an inch. “I don’t
fancy spending time with the lash either, Cap’n.”

Jason’s jaw set in a rigid line. His hands clenched into
fists at his side. He fixed his gaze on her face. “Do you trust me, Cathy?”

The giant’s grip tightened against her throat. She nodded.

Jason came closer. “Let her go, Jones. If you do not release
her immediately, I will throw you to the sharks.”

“She might trust you, but I don’t,” the big man ground out.

An emotionless mask slipped over Jason’s features. “You have
two choices. Release her now, or I will put a pistol ball in your brain.”

The arm around her neck relaxed. Cathy tore from his
control, bolting to Jason. He pushed her behind him, his attention focused on
the crewman who’d dared attack her.

“I should kill you.” Jason’s voice was low and dangerous. He
crossed the room with long strides. He seized the front of Jones’ filthy shirt
and met his stare.

“I didn’t think you’d care if I had a little fun with her,”
Jones stammered.

“You were wrong,” Jason said as he slammed his fist into the
sailor’s jaw.

Jones staggered back to his feet, clutching his chin. A
trickle of blood streamed from his mouth.

Jason smiled. His knuckles connected with the crewman’s jaw
in a scathing uppercut. “Very wrong.”

The man’s shaggy blond head slumped forward. Knees buckling,
he crumpled to the ground in a monstrous heap.

“Take him to the hold,” Jason addressed the crewmen who’d
arrived in time to watch Jones collapse in an incoherent heap. “I’ll deal with
the bastard later.” He enfolded Cathy in his arms. “Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head, meeting his dark gaze. She began to
speak, but the thud of heavy footsteps seized her attention. Taylor burst in.
“Did the cur harm her?”

She blinked at the show of emotion from the usually
unflappable quartermaster.

“I’m not hurt.”

“You’re sure, Miss Catherine?”

Seeing the concern in his expression, Cathy smiled. “I’ll be
fine.”

The ship lurched beneath her feet again. She coiled her arms
around Jason’s back, clinging to his strength as the wind howled with the
storm’s wrath.

Jason met the unspoken questions in Taylor’s eyes. “For the
time being, Jones is being held below. I need you on deck to oversee the men. I
will join you shortly.”

“Certainly, Captain,” Taylor replied crisply. “You obviously
have this situation well in hand.”

And then they were alone. He captured her in his arms and
carried her from the tiny room to his cabin. Jason kicked the door closed
behind them, deposited her on the bed and knelt at her side. His brow furrowed
as he studied her.

“You could have been killed,” he said, sweeping a stray
tendril behind her ear. His full mouth tightened, as though the thought caused
him pain.

She pressed her palm to his face, wanting nothing more at
that moment than to soothe the tense set of his jaw.
Ridiculous, this urge
to comfort him.
Cathy drew her fingers over his skin. The growth of new
beard provoked a delicious tingle from her fingertips to her belly.

“I am very much alive and unharmed. I’m not as fragile as
you may believe.”

He shook his head then, a flicker of appreciation lighting his
gaze. “I’d never think you fragile. Delicate and beautiful, but resilient.”

Frantic shouts from the deck filtered through the sturdy oak
door. Jason brushed his lips over the bridge of her nose. “I must go now.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“Stay in the cabin while we ride out the storm. You’ll be
safest here.”

She coiled her arms around his neck and tugged his head
down, claiming his kiss. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

* * * * *

Lying under the bedclothes, Catherine shut her eyes against
the night. If only she had some way to wash the scent of her attacker from her
body. She could still detect his essence, marking her skin like a brand.
Perhaps Taylor would be able to fetch her some fresh water with which to
cleanse herself in the morning. For now, she tried to focus on the far more
pleasant sensation of Jason’s warm body nestled beside her own.

The clock chimed the midnight hour, but sleep had not yet
claimed her. Jason lay sprawled on his back. Long, deep breaths marked his
slumber. Exhaustion had overtaken him moments after he crawled into bed and
gathered her in his arms.

He’d led the crew through the worst of the storm. Now
Virginia’s
Avenger
cut a smooth path through the calmed waters. Leaning on her bent
elbow, she rested her chin on her upturned hand and stared down at him. Free of
its arrogant expression, his face seemed softer, younger. She brushed her
fingers over his lips, needing that gentle contact. Her heart yearned for a
connection to him that would endure beyond this voyage. He’d brought her here to
destroy her, but instead, he’d taught her the undeniable ecstasy of surrender.

She drew in a breath, smiling to herself as she caressed his
shadowed jaw. She’d fallen in love with him. She would surrender everything to
be with him, her body, her love, her soul. There was no turning back from the
longing Jason stirred deep within her. But she knew one thing with great
certainty. He would break her heart.

Chapter Nine

Cathy awoke to the ocean’s gentle sway and the first rays of
dawn. She stretched like a lazy cat, rolled onto her side, and placed her hand
on the empty expanse of the bed where Jason had lain. A tiny pang of regret
fluttered in her heart. Had she really been foolish enough to believe she’d
awaken in his arms?

She swung her legs off the side of the bed. A pitcher of
fresh water had been placed by the basin. Taylor’s work, most likely. Gritting
her teeth against the water’s chill, she soaked a clean cloth and went about
the task of cleansing herself. Finally satisfied she’d washed away the stench
of the man who’d caught her against his stinking body, she dressed and brushed
her hair. As the bristles stroked through the thick waves, the door opened
quietly.

Jason entered soundlessly, his steps as light and lithe as a
panther. He met her gaze for a heartbeat, but didn’t come to her. Instead, he
stalked to the porthole and stared out to the horizon for a long moment.
Cathy’s breath caught in anticipation. The grim set of his features did not
bode well for her happiness.

“After last night, I began to think about your presence on
this ship.” His voice, low and gravel-edged, sliced through her. The note of
regret in his words did not ease the sense of foreboding that twisted Cathy’s
belly in knots. “When I left you this morning, I came to a decision.”

She lifted her chin defiantly as she rallied against the
rising fear within her. Had his tender seduction been nothing more than a ruse
to lull her into willingly satisfying his sensuous appetites? Did he plan to
sell her to the highest bidder now that he’d had his fill of her?

“What fate is in the cards for me now?”

Jason remained silent, playing with her as a cat plays with
a plump young mouse. He could see the fear in her eyes, Cathy realized as her
heart sank.

Finally, his gaze locked with hers and he spoke. “I’ve
decided to take you home.”

His words should have brought her troubled mind relief, but
they stung like a slap. He’d spoken softly with no trace of malice, yet the
bitter reality remained. He planned to discard her. She clasped her hands
together until her knuckles whitened. The rush of tears welling in her throat
nearly destroyed her forced composure.

“I reversed the ship’s course this morning,” he continued.
“Soon you will be home, and I will retain a bit of my soul.”

Cathy fought the wave of agony building within her. “Why?”
she asked, though she already knew the answer.

Jason raked his hands through his dark hair. He turned away
from her and stared out the cabin window. “Bringing you on this ship was a
mistake,” he bit out the words. “I see that now.”

His raw confession inspired a frisson of hope. He was not
immune to caring for her, she thought. She came to him, reaching out to press
her hand to the hard plane of his broad back. His muscles tensed beneath her
touch. Her fingers massaged his taut flesh until he relaxed.

“You will be in danger if you take me back. My father has
powerful allies.” She struggled against an overpowering sense of dread,
steeling herself to speak the truth. “He will see you dead. You can’t take me
back.”

He turned to her then, taking her gently by the shoulders.
To her surprise, a rakish smile graced his handsome face. His hands moved
lower, resting on the curves of her hips. “I’d think you would relish the
thought of me swinging at the end of a rope.”

“No, never…” The words burst impulsively from her lips. She
lowered her gaze, realizing she had betrayed her feelings to her captor. “It
wouldn’t be proper to enjoy the thought of a hanging.”

He tipped her chin up, his eyes sparkling with devilish
charm. He was even more handsome when he allowed himself to smile, she decided.
More handsome, and far more dangerous. “Ah yes, I keep forgetting that you are
a respectable woman.”

Cathy blushed beneath the intensity of his gaze. She should
despise him. But she couldn’t. Not when his every touch, his every smile,
rippled currents of warmth through her, conjuring hopes and dreams she knew she
was a fool to entertain. When he stood before her, his expression relaxed of
its cynical mask, she knew she would sacrifice the life she’d known to stay
with him.

She forced herself to look away. Her heart was already
splintering into thousands of tiny shards. “I doubt I could consider myself
respectable,” she whispered the words, the memory of her wanton reaction to
this man too vivid to push aside.

He framed her face in his hands, brushing her lips with his
fingertips. “You are a fiery woman. Any man would appreciate such passion in
his bed.”

“You cannot return me to my father.” Surprising herself with
the strength in her tone, she faced him with courage she didn’t know she
possessed. “You can’t do this.”

He took a step back and stabbed his hand through his hair.
“I can and I must.”

“I know what my father did,” she confessed. “I know why you
hate him.”

“I can’t keep you here.” Jason reached for her once more.
She thought he would kiss her, but he simply took her hands in his own and held
them while he studied her face. “Your father’s treachery cost me a great deal.
But I need to salvage what’s left of my soul before it’s too late.”

“Jason…”

He pressed two fingers to her lips. “I should never have
taken you in the first place.” She counted the heartbeats as he stood silent,
the moments seeming like an eternity. “I cannot keep you here. My decision is
final.”

She shook her head in desperate denial, but his mouth curved
into a rueful smile, and he kissed her with a longing she knew he tried to
deny.

His long fingers wound through the strands of her hair. “One
day, when you are settled with a man who can give you his name, a home and his
babe in your belly, you will understand why I must return you.”

He kissed her again, more deeply this time. When he released
her, his face was etched with pain.

“I don’t want another man.” Swallowing hard against the
bitter lump in her throat, she coiled her arms around his neck. She loved him.
She could no sooner face a life without his passion, without his possession,
than she could endure a journey across the Atlantic in a row boat. “I want
you.”

He shook his head slowly. “Ah Cathy, I know you believe
that. But in time, you’ll long for another life…the life you deserve.”

“The only thing I’ll long for is you.”

He tipped her chin up. His lips brushed the bridge of her
nose. “My mind is made up.”

She broke away from him then, raking him with her gaze. He
couldn’t pretend he didn’t want her. She had no intention of leaving him
without a fight. “Acts of noble sacrifice do not suit you, Captain Kane.”

His dark brows quirked. “One cannot sacrifice what does not
belong to him.”

Cocking her head, she settled her hands on her hips. “I
belong in your bed. In your arms. You know I speak the truth.”

He turned away from her then, crossing to the porthole with
long, sure strides. “You want to believe that, Cathy. But your place is not
with me.”