Iris Johansen - Dark Rider

He was striding toward her down the deck.

Cassie didn't turn away from the sunlit sea but watched Jared approach from the corner of her eye, bracing herself. He looked completely His Grace, the Duke of Morland, today, his expression impassive, his manner imperturbable. Perhaps it would not be as bad as she had feared.

"Good morning." His tone was silky. "I trust you slept well?"

"Well enough."

"You lie." She suddenly became aware of the controlled ferocity beneath the smooth facade. "You're pale and pinched, and I'd wager you didn't sleep a wink all night. I can't tell you how much that pleases me.

"How very inconsiderate."

"I don't feel considerate. I'm angry and impatient, and I'd like nothing better than to throw you to a passing shark. Look at me."

She kept her gaze on the sea.

"Look at me!"

She reluctantly obeyed. Faint dark circles were smudged beneath his ice-blue eyes, and the skin was stretched taut over his cheekbones. Sleeplessness may have diminished her, but it had sharpened him. He seemed to glitter like a drawn sword in the sunlight. Impossible, she thought wearily. The restless night she'd spent dreading this encounter was making her imagine things.

"Were you ill?"

"No."

"I didn't think so." He drew a deep breath and his hand reached out to grasp the rail. "Then why didn't you come to me?"

"It was time for it to end." She looked away from him. "We'll soon be in England."

"Very soon. Tomorrow."

"Really? I thought it would be a few-" She broke off as he grasped her shoulders and jerked her around to face him. "Let me go!"

"End?" he said through his teeth. "You had no plans for it to end with the voyage. Should I remind you? You were going to stay close and use me for your own purpose."

"The situation has changed. I've decided it's best I no longer couple with you."

"Best for whom? Not for me and, by God, not for you, either. You want what we have as much as I do."

"It's true that I find coupling with you enjoyable," she said haltingly. Then she met his gaze directly and deliberately used his own words. "But I can't let it matter to me."

His grasp tightened on her shoulders. "You find it more than enjoyable, dammit."

"As Lihua said, you're very good at pleasure making. I've had no experience with other men, but I believe she's right." She swallowed. "But we both know that's not important."

"If it's not important, why shouldn't it go on?"

"Because I find it distracting. It's time I walked away."

"And what if I won't let you?"

"I've learned enough about you to know you will not force me. Brutality offends you."

"Who knows?" He smiled without mirth. "I might learn to like it."

She shook her head. "Not you. Even when you were most angry with me, you did me no harm."

"So you're going to give up your plan of turning me from my chosen path?"

"Of course not. But that doesn't mean I have to remain in your bed. It's clear I cannot sway you in that manner. You told me so yourself." She paused and then said in a rush, "But I'm not sure I entirely believe you. I think you'll find it much harder to kill my father now."

"Don't count on it."

She had to count on it. She had to believe she had accomplished something and those last weeks of madness were not pure self-indulgence. "And though I'm your hostage, I doubt if you'll throw me into a dungeon once we reach Morland. As long as I'm free, I have a chance to save my father."

"And use me to do it?"

"I've never lied to you about my intentions."

His lips twisted. "No, you haven't. Use me and walk away. Isn't that the way of it?"

"Yes." She wished he would leave. Every minute he stayed, the pain grew more and more. "That's the way of it."

"But you're not walking, you're running like a scared rabbit."

"If you choose to think so."

"I know so." His gaze blazed down at her. "And I'm not going to let you do it. You'll be back in my bed within a week."

She shook her head.

"You will." His voice deepened with intensity. "You will ."

His determination was beginning to shake the little composure she still retained. "How are you going to make me? I suppose you could threaten to take Lani to your bed again."

"Dammit, you know I don't want Lani. This is between the two of us. You'll come to me because that's what you want to do, what you have to do. You need what we have together." He smiled grimly. "And I'll be waiting for you. My chamber at Morland is much larger than the cabin, but you won't notice the difference. It will be the same for us."

The same heat, the same urgency, the same wild mating. She shivered at the memory. No, she could never go to him again. It was too dangerous. "Let me go."

After a moment, his hands suddenly loosened and dropped to his sides. "Not for long. I told you once I'd never let you walk away from me."

She stepped back and drew a shaky breath. This painful scene was almost over. He had not given up, but he had accepted rejection for the present. "Watch me.

She strode down the deck toward her cabin, her spine straight, her head held high. She could feel his gaze on her and was tempted to glance over her shoulder. She knew what she would see: anger, frustration, and that unshakable confidence and determination. The confrontation had been difficult enough; she didn't want to carry that vision away to haunt her.

She had done it. The bond was broken. She had banished any possibility of betrayal.

She had only to keep to her resolve, and everything would be fine.

"I must say I much prefer this method of deboarding, Jared," Bradford said as he watched Cassie carefully lead Kapu down the gangplank to the dock. "My nerves would have been horrendously strained if she had to swim ashore."

"I'm glad you approve." Jared smiled sardonically. "I'm sure we would all have hated to cause you any discomfort." He turned away from the rail. "Are you ready?"

"More than ready. I'm weary of this mariner's life. When you return your hostage to her homeland, you'll have to do it without me. I wish to stay on dry land for the foreseeable future." He followed Jared toward the gangplank. "You do intend to return her to her island, don't you?"

"I haven't thought about it. Certainly not when she might still prove of value."

"In what capacity?" Bradford murmured.

Jared had been waiting for the attack; it was long past due. "Say it."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I've been wondering when you'd get around to voicing a protest."

"I never waste my time. Once the seduction was a fait accompli, it would have done no good to try to intervene. You would have merely told me to jump overboard."

"It was not a seduction. She came to me."

"And you didn't try to convince her to stay?" He shook his head. "Of course you did. You used every wile and allure you could muster to keep her. A blind man could have seen it."

"Why not?" He smiled recklessly. "She said she wanted to use me. I was merely being accommodating." His smile faded. "You've made your protest. Let it alone. Don't interfere, Bradford."

"I'm afraid it may become necessary." He nodded at Lani, who was starting down the gangplank followed by several seamen carrying boxes and portmanteaus. "A new ingredient has been thrown into the mix. If you had not been caught up in your own concerns, you would have realized it."

"What do-" Jared's eyes widened. "You've bedded her?"

"No, but it's my most earnest hope to do so." He met Jared's gaze. "However, I may have to wait until the lady consents to wed me."

Jared inhaled sharply. "Bradford… no."

"Yes." He held up his hand as Jared opened his lips to speak. "And it's you who will not interfere. I will not have it."

Jared had rarely heard that steely firmness in his tone. "You're a fool. She's Deville's mistress."