Iris Johansen - Dark Rider

Ku'aihelani.

Floating, blissfully drifting, sunlight…

She must not say it out loud. He must not know.

She moved closer and whispered, "There were no sailors on deck tonight."

He kissed her temple. "Yes, there were. Just not on this side of the ship. I told them I'd throw them overboard if I caught them within view of this cabin."

That he had made sure he had his way even while giving her victory was characteristic of him. "Unreasonable," she answered him softly. "They've already seen-"

His lips covered hers. "Shut up," he said roughly when he lifted his head. He parted her thighs and moved between them. "They won't see you again. No one will."

"If I choose, they will. You cannot-"

He entered her again with one deep thrust. "They won't." His hips lifted and fell as he started that wild, pagan rhythm. "Dammit, is this the only way I can keep you from arguing?"

Argue? She couldn't even remember what she had been saying. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip as he cupped her buttocks with his palms and lifted her with every thrust. The tension was building, becoming unbearable…

Her spine arched as she convulsed. She cried out as wave after wave of pleasure struck her.

Ku'aihelani…

"Lani, look at the porpoises!" Cassie leaned over the rail and pointed. "They're following the ship. Do you remember the first time you took me swimming with the porpoises at Hanlua Bay?"

Lani chuckled. "How could I forget? You almost drowned. You wanted to follow them forever."

Cassie smiled as she watched the sleek gray bodies cleave through the water. "It was wonderful… so much love and joy. I felt like one of them."

"Unfortunately, you don't swim well enough to become a porpoise, so you'll have to live on shore. At least you have Kapu." A smile lingered on Lani's lips as she shook her head. "Though I've often wondered if the reason you insisted on swimming with Kapu was that you wanted him to join you and the porpoises in some underwater playground."

"Don't be silly. I wouldn't be so childish. I know nature has rules that can't be broken."

"One part of you does, perhaps, but another believes that you'll find a Ku'aihelani where porpoises and horses frolic together and all is right with the world."

"Do you see that baby? Isn't he wonderful?" Laughing, Cassie glanced at her. "And I don't think that's so bad a dream."

"No, it's beautiful." She paused. "But you must be wary of what you dream."

Cassie's smile faded as she realized Lani was no longer talking about porpoises. It was bound to come. Lani had kept her silence for the last four weeks, but Cassie had been aware she was uneasy.

How strange those weeks had been. Persephone. She had scoffed at Jared's comparison, but sometimes she had felt as if she were balanced between sunlight and darkness. During the day she and Jared almost ignored each other. They seldom spoke, merely nodded in passing like strangers. Even at the supper table they never conversed directly. Only when she entered his cabin at night did the pose of indifference vanish and she was drawn into the dark, carnal world ruled by Jared. She need not worry as long as she kept the two worlds separate. "My dreams are exactly what they were before I boarded this ship."

"And all goes well with you?" Lani asked. "He pleases you?"

Heat scorched her cheeks as she remembered Jared the night before, his head between her thighs and his tongue darting, plunging. She swallowed. "He pleases me."

"And I know you please him. When you aren't looking, he stares at you as if he wants to devour you."

Cassie's glance shifted back to the porpoises. "Isn't that what we wanted? To make him want to keep me close once we reach England?"

"Yes, that's what we wanted." The note of uneasiness was still in Lani's voice. "But I still think it would have been better if I'd been the one to couple with him. I don't like-"

"What?"

"I should have known you'd dive into carnal pleasure the way you do everything else. You're too intense." She made a face. "It's like the porpoises-I'm afraid you may drown."

Cassie reached out and covered Lani's hand on the rail. "I won't drown."

"Not while I'm here to rescue you." Lani sighed. "But I'm afraid it's too late for me to take your place. At this point I doubt if he'd accept Venus as your replacement in his bed." She smiled with an effort. "I feel in the mood to play a game of cards. Shall we?"

Cassie shook her head. "I want to watch the porpoises for a while and then go down and check on Kapu."

Lani nodded. "I thought as much. I suppose I'll have to find Bradford to substitute." She turned and strolled away. "He's usually willing to accommodate me if he's not too deep in his cups."

Cassie turned back to the porpoises. Bradford was not only willing but eager to do anything Lani wished, she had noted. He was almost painfully anxious to please and accepted Lani's sharp jabs and cool words with equanimity. Yet Cassie had an idea Lani enjoyed Bradford's wry wit. During the past weeks the two had established a guarded relationship that was almost as unusual as the one Cassie and Jared shared-No, what was she thinking? There was no comparison. Blazing heat, instead of coolness. Civilized banter, instead of tense, explosive ejaculations.

Someone was watching her.

She glanced over her shoulder. Jared was standing on the bridge a few yards away. She inhaled sharply as she saw his expression. Though fully dressed and impeccably groomed, this was the sinuous, naked savage who waited for her in his cabin, not the elegant daylight stranger. Lord of the Underworld, not the Duke of Morland.

When you're not watching, he stares at you as if he wants to devour you.

She could feel her body ripen, ready, as she gazed helplessly up at him. It was not supposed to be like this. She had thought she could keep the lines drawn, but they were merging, melting. Sunlight and darkness… one.

Something flared in his face, and he took a half step toward her.

No! Panic seared through her. The lines must be forced apart and kept apart.

She turned her back on him and stared blindly out at the porpoises.

She heard his low exclamation. She tensed, expecting him to come to her in spite of the rejection.

He did not.

A few minutes later she glanced over her shoulder.

He was gone.

But it was not over. Her rejection had been too blatant, and she would pay for it later.

But not now. Now the barriers were still in place. He had not been allowed to come out of that secret darkness to dominate the daylight.

Cassie stopped in the doorway in surprise. Not even the dim glow of a candle lit the cabin.

"Come in," Jared said.

"I can't see you," she said as she took a hesitant step toward him.

"I know, but I can see you. Shut the door."

Now that her eyes were becoming accustomed to the darkness, she could discern him on the bunk across the cabin-a paler silhouette against the deeper shadows. She shut the door, and an immediate uneasiness rippled through her. Now she could see nothing at all. "Light the candle," she said.

"Afterward." She could hear the rustle of movement across the cabin. "I don't want you to see my face at the moment."

"Why not?"

He was there before her, untying her sarong. He threw it aside. "It might frighten you."

She took an involuntary step back but collided with the door. Smooth, cool wood pressed against her naked back and buttocks. The darkness sharpened every sense: the sound of his breathing, the scent of him, the warmth of his body only inches from her own. He was looming over her, and she was suddenly acutely aware of the power of his body and the fragility of her own. "I've never been afraid of you."

"You've proved that by coming here tonight. I was wondering if you would."