Sea of Desire (7 page)

With a quick glance toward the door to the
adjoining room where Miss Alice snored peacefully—she was one
grown-up who needed her sleep—Merideth slipped from the nursery.
Most of the servants were accustomed to her little forays while her
nanny slept, so no one stopped her. And no one noticed when she
slipped out of the massive front door.

As she ran along the cliffs, the sea-scented
air blowing in her face, Merideth grew more and more excited about
the morrow. A visit from Papa. He was always such fun. He brought
presents, but more important, he sometimes took her with him when
he visited neighbors, or allowed her to sit with him in the big
dining room. Wonderful adventures.

She found the steps by accident. Crude
stairs, hacked in the rocks. Leading down to the beach. To the
water.

Hesitantly at first, she climbed down. She’d
never gone beyond the cliffs by herself, and wouldn’t even be this
far if Miss Alice knew about it. The steps were weathered, some of
them worn away almost entirely by the salt-water-charged wind. And
they were overgrown with bracken and tangles of ivy. But the
farther down she went, the more anxious to reach the bottom she
became.

“Ouch!” A thorn pierced her skin, but
Merideth stuck her finger in her mouth and kept going. The beach
was wide and sandy, and the waves broke with sparkling white
foam... a silent invitation. With a squeal Merideth stuck both
hands into the surf and swirled them around. When her sleeves got
wet she pulled them out, fanning her arms in the spring air. It
wouldn’t do for Miss Alice to find out she’d come down here.

Racing across the sand was fun. Merideth did
it several times, chasing the seabirds, the black-headed gulls and
puffin, who pranced along the shore. Out of breath, she bent
forward, hands on knees. And that’s when she saw them.

The caves.

Dark and mysterious. Compelling.

Merideth took a deep breath and walked toward
the gaping mouth, drawn as she never was before to explore
something beyond her narrow world.

At first it was fun. Light from the outside
flirted with the darkness, sending shivers down her spine and
raising gooseflesh on her arms. But as she moved deeper into the
cave something happened. The thrill turned to disquiet, then panic.
The air smelled rank, and the ground beneath her slippers seemed
slick. She slipped, a scream erupting from her slight body. The
sound echoed off the walls and was followed by another sound. An
eerie, scary sound like a thousand fans swishing the air. Then came
the squeaks, louder and louder.

Merideth crouched on the floor, covering her
head. “No!”

“No! No!”

Jared twisted around when she screamed. What
the hell...? Before he knew what she was doing, Lady Merideth
grabbed hold of her mare’s mane and dug her heels into the animal’s
ribs. Wild-eyed, the frightened horse whinnied, throwing its front
legs into the air. The reins were yanked from his hand, and he
nearly lost his seat grabbing for them.

How she stayed in the saddle he didn’t know,
for the horse bucked again, then took off down the beach, sending
sand flying from beneath its hooves.

With a flick of the reins Jared was in
pursuit. The mare acted crazed... or was it the rider. “You’re
going to kill yourself!” Jared yelled, a touch of panic in his
voice. She was heading toward the rocks at the end of the
crescent-shaped beach.

Digging his heels into his horse’s side,
Jared leaned forward, coaxing every bit of speed from the animal.
Oh, to have one of his family’s thoroughbreds beneath him! But this
was the constable’s horse, and though he appeared to have heart,
the speed wasn’t there. Still, Jared was gaining on her. Given
another ten rods, he’d overtake her.

But he didn’t have another ten rods. The
rocks loomed, grotesque and shadowed by the gathering twilight.

His bay’s nose inched alongside the mare. “A
little more,” Jared urged, his body low and straining. “Just a
little more and we’ve got her.” But time had run out. With a lurch
Jared threw himself forward and to the side. His arms outstretched,
he grabbed hold of Merideth, knocking her from her horse. For one
frantic moment they flew through the air, clutching each other,
then with a thud they landed on surf-packed sand.

The jolt knocked the air from Jared’s lungs
and sent his ears ringing. He landed on his back, Lady Merideth on
top of him, her hair covering his face. He lay still a moment,
trying to decide if he was in one piece. His body ached, but he
didn’t think anything was broken.

Lady Merideth was alive. He could hear her
breathing, feel the beat of her heart next to his.

“Are you all right?” Jared ran his hands down
her arms and back. She sucked in breath and raised her head. Her
response was weak, but certain: “Yes... yes, I’m fine.”

She was fine. She was fine? Anger flowed
through Jared at her words. Anger stimulated by a crisis just
ended. When he’d leaped from his horse, he wouldn’t have bet on
either of them surviving. He had only done it because he’d thought
the odds were better than smashing against the rocks. And now all
she could say was she was fine?

“What in the hell got into you? Are you
crazy? You could have gotten yourself killed!” His hands cupped her
shoulders and he gave them a shake. “You could have gotten us both
killed.”

She was trembling. Jared let out his breath
on a frustrated sigh and studied her face. Her hair formed a
curtain about them, blocking most of the light, but he could see
her eyes. They were wide and crystal blue... and frightened.

Jared had seen her reaction to her father’s
death and to being abducted at knife point. Both had scared her,
but there was never this uncontrolled fear in her eyes. The harsh
edges of his anger blurred. “What is it? What’s the matter with
you?”

Merideth shook her head. Emotions rolled
through her in undulating waves. She struggled to contain them.
“I... I can’t go in there.”

“Where? What the hell are you talking about?”
Jared shifted to lift her off him.

“No! No.” Her voice held a hint of its
earlier panic. “I can’t. Please don’t make me.” Rolling over on her
back, Merideth raised her arms to cover her head.

“What the...?” He grabbed her wrists, pulling
them away from her face, and positioned himself over her body. His
voice softened. “What is it? Where don’t you want to go?”

“The caves,” she whispered on a sob as tears
rolled down the side of her face.

Her reaction didn’t make sense, but then
neither did his. She was his hostage, and his life depended upon
getting out of England as quickly as possible. She was also a
traitor, and he wasn’t completely convinced she didn’t have
something to do with her own father’s death.

But he couldn’t stop himself from comforting
her.

Jared touched her cheek, surprised when she
turned her face into his palm. “Don’t cry.” He repeated the words
tenderly as his fingers brushed sand-strewn hair from her
forehead.

Her weeping slowed and her eyes closed. Jared
thought her asleep and started to pull away, but her voice stayed
him. “Don’t let them get me.”

“I won’t,” Jared promised, wondering what he
was vowing to protect her from. But his arm curled around her
shoulder as he added, “You’re safe with me.”

She seemed to take him at his word, for Jared
noticed a slight smile tilt the corners of her mouth, and she
snuggled deeper into his embrace. He lay for long minutes holding
her. Breathing in her flowery scent and feeling her soft body mold
to his.

Night was truly upon them when he stood,
gathering her up in his arms, and headed for the caves. She was
sound asleep, doing nothing more than sighing as he carried
her.

Jared’s mind raced with the things he had to
do. Build a fire... a signal fire. And hope against hope that the
Carolina
was still around to see it. That she hadn’t been
captured by the British frigates that cruised these waters. Or that
the crew hadn’t given up on him and sailed back to France.

Chances were good that one or the other had
happened. He’d missed the rendezvous day by nearly a week, but he
was going to try. Jared started into the cave with his sleeping
bundle, but paused. Placing her out of sight was the logical thing
to do while he gathered wood for a fire, and tried to find out what
had happened to their horses.

But, good Lord, she was frightened of the
caves. In the end, Jared laid her in the sand near the entrance.
Chiding himself for his foolishness, Jared wandered off toward the
bramble-covered rocks.

Merideth opened her eyes slowly. It was dark
and she was outside... near the sea. Memory drifted over her,
making her jerk to sitting.

“Oh.” She covered her mouth to muffle the
groan of pain. She felt battered and bruised all over. But there
was no time to worry about that. Rustling noises to her right
sounded and Merideth turned her head, searching through the
darkness. He’d built a small fire. She could make out Jared
Blackstone’s shadowy form standing over it.

As stealthily as she could, Merideth pushed
to her feet. Skirting the caves, she made her way to the steps
carved into the cliff. She could still hear him, and he seemed to
be closer than before.

Merideth’s heart pounded, and she couldn’t
believe her captor couldn’t hear it as she started up the steps. At
first she moved slowly, conscious of every rustled leaf, of every
broken twig. But when she heard his hearty curse, and realized he’d
discovered her gone, she grabbed up her skirts and climbed as fast
as she could.

If she could only make it to the house and
get inside before he caught her, she might have a chance. Thurston
would be there, and though he could do little against Mr.
Blackstone, there
was
her father’s pistol. In the library.
If she could only get to it. If she could only...

The worn-away step. She wasn’t concentrating
and she’d forgotten about the worn-away step. The small cry that
escaped her as she fell seemed to echo in Merideth’s ears, and she
knew it was heard by the man pursuing her. Jagged rock cut into her
knee and her breath caught on the pain. Hair fell across her face,
and her hands clutched at the coarse marram grass woven into the
side of the cliff.

Sobbing, Merideth pulled herself up, yanking
her sleeve free from a prickly blackthorn bush. Fabric tore as she
scrambled to the next step... then the next.

She could hear him behind her now, growing
closer with each pounding footfall of his boots against the
carved-rock stairs. Her raspy breathing sounded in her ears, her
head pounded, as she fought her way up over the top.

The terrain was flat now, easier to traverse,
and with her last reserve of strength Merideth bounded toward
Banistar Hall.

But her pursuer was faster, and before she’d
traveled five rods he was so close his mumbled curses singed her
ears. Something grabbed her legs, and the next thing Merideth knew
she was sprawled on the soft grass, a hard male body on top of
her.

“Let go of me!” Merideth tried to flail at
his restricting weight, but he easily caught her wrists, pinioning
them above her head.

“Stop it! Just be still.” Jared tightened his
grip when she tried to squirm free. “I’ve had enough of your lying
and deceit.”

“Lying and deceit?” Merideth spit hair from
her mouth. His broad chest loomed above her, and her every breath
skimmed her breasts against him.

“
Don’t put me in the caves
,” he said,
mimicking her earlier plea, his voice thick with disdain. “I should
have remembered whom I was dealing with.”

Merideth stopped struggling. The moon was
out, casting an eerie glow on the bodies entwined on the top of the
cliff. “What do you mean, whom you’re dealing with?”

“Traitors are rarely to be trusted.”

“Traitors! I’m no traitor!” Merideth jerked
her knee upward with considerable force. His groan was satisfying;
the added weight of his unsupported body was not. Merideth couldn’t
move, could hardly breathe. He was going to kill her, squash her,
and there was nothing she could do about it.

“What... what are you going to do with me?”
Her question was a breathy whisper.

Jared shifted some of his weight to his
elbows, but was careful to keep her hands and legs restrained. “Do?
Well, unless you wish to tell me who the spy is, I plan to take you
with me.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Oh, I think I can.” Jared certainly hoped he
could... hoped he could get
himself
away at least. “But then
the decision is yours. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll leave
you here when I go. If not...” Jared left the rest to her
imagination.

“But I don’t know any spy.” Merideth
squirmed. He no longer was cutting off her air, but she found the
feel of him on her... unsettling.

“Then I’m afraid you’re going with me.”

“That’s kidnapping.”

“Aye. But then for someone who would have
hanged today for a murder he didn’t commit, that doesn’t seem such
a dastardly crime. Besides, my great-grandfather was a pirate. He
kidnapped beautiful women all the time.”

“I’m sure your great-grandmother loved
that.”

“Actually she did. She was one of them.”

Merideth could see the flash of his white
teeth in the moonlight. She could only imagine the dimple. She lay
very still, thinking of it and wondering why everything seemed
different. She was still pinned to the ground. Her wrists were
still held captive in one of his hands. But she could feel his eyes
on her, and it made her skin tingle.

His face moved nearer. Merideth could feel
the whisper of his breath on her cheek. And then, before she knew
what he was about, his lips pressed to hers.

Resisting was her first reaction. She yanked
at her hands and her body arched, trying to push him away. But it
only made the contact more intimate.