Dark Rider

Five

"It's not a wise move," Bradford told Jared as the longboat drew close to the Josephine. "You should leave the girl here."

"I need a hostage." Jared smiled mockingly. "As the lady pointed out to me."

"She's not a lady; she's little more than a child."

"She won't remain that way long," Jared said. "Life has a way of forcing us all to grow."

"Life or Jared Danemount?"

Jared didn't answer.

"You intend to bed her."

"Do I?"

"Was it the ropes? She didn't know, Jared."

"It wasn't only the ropes."

"I was afraid it was more." He sighed. "I could see it coming."

"How perceptive of you."

"It's not wise," Bradford repeated. "You'll regret it."

"Why should I?"

"Because you're a just man, and you'll find it difficult to make the daughter pay for the sins of the father."

"I'll steel myself. And may I remind you that she's committed a number of sins against us on her own."

"Enough to provide you with an excuse to force her to your bed?"

"I didn't say I'd force her," he said, stung. "I don't force women to couple with me."

"Not as yet." Bradford tilted his head as if in thought. "There may be other ways, of course. She will be completely in your power. Perhaps if you refuse to feed her, you could starve her into submission."

"I will not starve her," Jared said between his teeth.

"Or you could stake her out on the deck for the seamen to ravish. I'm sure your bed would appear very appealing in contrast to that experience."

"You know I'm not- Good God, I've never seen you this protective over a woman."

"She's very brave. I like courage. It's the one quality that is instinctive, undefiled by what we're taught. It comes from the heart and not the mind." He smiled. "But don't worry about me. When I get drunk enough, I'll forget all about gallantry and helpless innocents. I'm sure it's only a temporary aberration anyway." He looked back at the shore. "Maybe it's this place. Golden and clean and without a sense of sin…"

"And a king trying his best to find weapons to kill his nearest neighbors. Napoleon builds armies and so does Kamehameha."

"How do you intend to avoid the issue of guns after you dangled the carrot in front of the King?"

"Sail away before he knows our intention. Which is why any questioning we do must be done with the utmost care."

"You don't think she's telling the truth?"

"Actually, I do. I think she'd do anything to save Deville," Jared said. "But she wouldn't want to do it from thousands of miles away. She would want to make sure of his safety from close quarters."

"You appear to be very knowledgeable about a lady you've known only for a few days."

He did know her. He knew that bravery of which Bradford was so fond. He knew her impulsiveness, her stubbornness that was laced with bravado, and most of all, he knew that damnable loyalty. "Well enough. A good deal has happened in those few days."

"And you think she's desperate enough to risk anything to help her father."

"Don't you?"

Bradford shrugged. "I prefer not to think at all. It's much more comfortable in these circumstances. Make your own decisions… and your own choices."

"That's my intention."

"But do remember to supply me with a bottle of brandy on the night you decide to ravish her. Screams are as disturbing to me as thinking."

"I'll remember," Jared said through his teeth. God in heaven, would Bradford never stop pricking him?

Bradford beamed. "Excellent."

"You're going to leave me here alone in this savage land?" Clara asked from behind Cassie.

Cassie carefully folded her gray gown and placed it in the large portmanteau. Clara had been glowering and muttering since she had been told of their departure, and Cassie had been expecting the attack all day. She supposed she should be grateful Clara had held her tongue until it was almost time to leave. "The king will protect you. If you wish to return to England, petition him to find a ship that will take you."

"I suppose it's what I should expect from you. Where is your gratitude for the hours I've spent serving you and your father?"

"My father isn't here. If you wish gratitude, wait until he returns."

"And you?"

Cassie gave her a level glance. "You've never given me understanding or kindness. Sometimes I've felt as if you hate me. Should I feel gratitude for hatred?"

"You need me. Take me with you."

"I've never needed you. I have to help my father. You would get in the way." She closed the case and fastened the buckle. "It's not going to be an easy time."

"It's that heathen strumpet," Clara spat. "You would take me except for her. Ever since she came here, she's been twisting you into an image of her sinful self."

She must not lose her temper. Only a few more minutes and she would be gone. "I sincerely hope you're right. I could have no better example than Lani. I'll be fortunate if I'm half as good a woman."

"She's a whore."

"Be quiet!" Cassie's control broke, and she whirled on Clara with blazing eyes. "I don't have to permit this any longer. You won't malign Lani to me."

"No?" Clara's smile was malevolent. "Then I'll go to that whore of Babylon and tell her what I think of her. You think she's such a good example? Wait until you get out into a world not populated by savages. They will scorn and laugh at you and see her for the harlot she is. I wish I could see it." She headed for the door. "Yes, I think I'll go to your precious Lani and let her feel the edge of my tongue. She will- What are you doing?" She clawed at Cassie's arm encircling her neck from behind. "Let me go!"

Tightening her grip, Cassie dragged Clara toward the open armoire. It was no easy task. Clara was surprisingly strong, and she was struggling fiercely.

"What do you think you're doing?" Clara's elbow whipped backward and struck Cassie in the stomach. She temporarily lost her breath but held on. Just a few more steps…

She gathered all her strength and flung Clara into the armoire.

"Cassandra!"

Cassie slammed the door and turned the key.

"Let me out of here!"

"No more, Clara. It's not going to be easy for Lani to leave her island and her people. I won't have you making it worse for her." Cassie brushed back a lock of hair and moved toward the bed. The seaman had loaded the other cases into the wagon; she would have to manage this one herself unless she wished Clara discovered before she left. It should prove no burden. She felt as strong and confident as Hercules. In one gesture she had broken the shackles of a lifetime of oppression and abuse.

"I could die in here," Clara cried out. "What if no one finds me?"

"What a pleasant thought," Cassie murmured. She was tempted to let Clara struggle with that frightening idea for a while but relented. "I'll tell Uma to let you out after we leave." Oh, what the devil. Why not make her just a little uncomfortable? "But you're not always kind to Uma, are you? Just last night you insulted her, and you know how we savages can be. She may decide to leave you there for a while."

She smiled happily at Clara's screech of outrage. The solid oak doors of the armoire were thick, and Clara's scream couldn't be heard for more than a few feet. If Cassie could get out of the room before Lani came looking for her, Clara might be imprisoned for hours. Unfortunately, Lani wouldn't care if Clara deserved the punishment or not; she would probably release her.

Cassie was dragging the portmanteau down the hall when Lani appeared. "That's too heavy for you to handle alone. Why didn't you call me?"

"It's not too bad. I thought I could do it myself."

"Is this the last one?"

Cassie nodded. "Where is Uma?"

She gestured. "Standing beside the wagon waiting to say good-bye. It's almost time to go. Have you said your farewells to Clara?"

"Yes."

"She's been seething like a volcano since we told her we were going. Was she difficult?"

Cassie smiled. "No, actually she was quite… subdued."

"She's riding the horse," Bradford murmured, his gaze on the little party coming toward them on the beach, Cassie mounted on Kapu and behind her a wagon driven by one of the sailors. "I didn't expect her to bring the stallion."

Neither had Jared. The scarlet rays of the setting sun glowed satin on Kapu's ebony back and lit Cassie's upswept hair. She was dressed in a black riding habit and looked as annoyingly prim as she had appeared last night.

He took a step forward as she reined in before him. "You intend to take the horse?"

"Of course. Who would feed him with Lani and me gone? He won't let anyone else near him."

"Lani?" For the first time he saw the Hawaiian woman in the back of the wagon.

"You didn't expect me?" Lani jumped down, and without waiting for an answer, she turned to the sailor on the wagon seat. "Unload those trunks, and be very careful not to spill that basket of grass. Cassie wants no sand in it."

The sailor scowled and muttered something beneath his breath.

"Now," Lani said so softly the steel in her tone was barely discernible. "Be quick, if you please."

To Jared's surprise the burly sailor obeyed.

"Why are you bringing grass?" Bradford asked with interest.

"Kapu's journey here from England was not a pleasant experience," Cassie said as she dismounted. "I'm hoping he'll settle better if his food tastes and smells familiar."

"Excellent idea."

Lani studied Bradford. "Are you sober enough to help with the trunks? We must hurry. Cassie wants to get the horse on board before darkness falls."

"I'm always sober enough to help a lovely lady." He plucked the smallest valise from the bed of the wagon. "As long as the task isn't too strenuous."

"I'm sure you won't overstrain yourself with that piece. I could have lifted that valise when I was a child fresh from the cradle." She frowned. "Cassie tells me you act as captain of this ship."

He bowed slightly. "I have that honor."

"Then I'll learn how to do it myself. I've no confidence in you, and I've no desire to be run aground or sunk because you decide to blind your senses with strong liquor."

"You needn't worry. I'm always sober when there's a challenge in the offing."

"I don't trust you. You'll show me the navigation maps when we board." She turned to Jared. "Two hostages are better than one. You have no quarrel with my coming?"

"Why should I? A man's mistress could be a greater draw than a daughter. I just didn't anticipate your eagerness to sacrifice yourself. Come ahead. Welcome." He paused. "As long as you don't get in my way."

"I won't get in your way." She moved toward the longboat. "If you walk the path of peace."

Which nullified the first words very neatly, Jared thought dryly. He turned to face Cassie and watched her stiffen, then brace herself.

"I'm taking Kapu," she said defiantly. "I know he'll be a great deal of trouble, but I'll not have it any other way."

"You seem to have a strange idea about the privileges of hostages. They don't make demands."

"I'm taking him," she said flatly. "You can argue all you please. He goes-"

"I'm not arguing." He took a step nearer and touched Kapu's muzzle. "I thoroughly approve. It will give me the opportunity to persuade you to sell him to me. I have only one question."

"Yes?" she said warily.

"How the devil are we going to get him on board? There's no dock here, and the ship's anchored a good half mile out in the bay."

"Oh, the same way he was taken off the ship when he was brought here. I still have his halter." She moved to the back of the wagon and pulled from its bed a web of leather-bound canvas straps and iron rings. "We fasten this around Kapu's middle and you attach it to a pulley on the deck of the ship and we pull him out of the water."

"How simple," he said caustically.

"Not simple but it works."

"Providing you can get the horse to swim that far out and then keep him from killing himself or us when we try to attach the ropes to the straps."

"It's the only way." She unfastened Kapu's saddle and pulled it off. "I can do it. Kapu and I swim out farther than that when we play together."

Jared frowned, still absently patting Kapu's muzzle. "But if he panics, you won't have the strength to hold him."

"Yes, I will. I'm very strong."

Jared shook his head. "You go on board with Bradford. I'll do it."

"No!" She stepped forward, putting herself between Jared and the stallion. "He's my horse. I'll do it."

"For God's sake, I'm not trying to take him away from you. You're mad if you think I'd enjoy going for a swim with a fear-crazed animal. I'm merely saying it's only reasonable that the strongest rider do the task." '

"He's my horse." She turned her back on him and grabbed Kapu's reins. "Take his saddle and go back to your ship and set up the pulley. I'll stay here with Kapu until I see you wave. If it's dark, light a lantern and swing it three times."

His lips tightened. "You're not staying here."

"Are you afraid it's not safe? I'm not going to run away. You're taking Lani to your ship. Do you think I'd leave her?"

"No, I'm not afraid you'll run away. Dammit, it's too dangerous. You can't-"

"You're wasting time." She slung the halter over Kapu's back and began fastening the leather straps. The stallion neighed and shifted uneasily. "Kapu's already getting nervous."

"Not nearly as nervous as he'll be when we try to fasten those ropes to him," he said grimly. "You'll be lucky if he doesn't crush you against the ship. I have a chance of keeping him away but you- What are you doing?"

"Taking off my clothes." She finished unbuttoning the jacket and shrugged out of it, revealing only a thin cotton chemise. "This riding habit is too heavy. It will drag me down once I'm in the water.'" Her skirt dropped to the sand and she stepped out of it. Her hands went to her petticoat.

"Wait!" He cast a glance at the longboat, where the four sailors were watching with delighted grins and Bradford with an expression of startled bemusement. Only Lani's expression was impassive. "You can't strip naked here."

"I most certainly can." The petticoat fell to the sand, and she held on to Kapu while she took off her boots and stockings. She stared at him with impatience. "Why are you so upset? You've seen me wearing less."

But somehow that nudity on the beach had not been as provocative or stirring as the sight of her standing here in those flimsy undergarments. He was acutely aware of the curve of her small breasts beneath the thin cotton chemise, the contrast of smooth golden skin against the soft white garment. The curve of her bare calves beneath the drawers. He was readying, and, goddammit, he knew his arousal was being echoed by those gaping seamen in the boat. He wanted to step forward and bundle her back into the riding habit, veil her from their eyes, from any man's eyes. He gestured furiously toward the longboat. "But they haven't seen you, blast it."

"Not me, perhaps, but Lihua and the others."

"You're not Lihua."

"I'm no better or worse. I feel no more shame of my body than she does in hers. It's you and those others who take and then try to heap shame on us."

"I haven't taken anything from you yet," he said curtly. "I just want you to put that habit back on."

"I won't do it." She shrugged. "But I don't have to take off anything else. The chemise and drawers are light, and I may need whatever protection they offer."

"What protection? That cloth is thin as cobwebs. Put on the habit."

She glared at him. "Would you rather I drowned?"

"I'd rather you kept your clothes on and let me ride the blasted horse."

"That's not a choice. I told you that I was going to do it."

"Because you're too stubborn to admit how dangerous it is for-" He broke off as he realized she wasn't listening to him. She had made up her mind and was closing him out. He muttered an imprecation, snatched up the discarded habit and saddle, and turned on his heel. "Go on. Ride the damn horse. Dive into the sea as naked as Venus. Let him crush you. Why should I care?" He strode down the beach toward the longboat.

"I take it you lost the battle," Bradford asked as Jared climbed into the boat and tossed his burden to a seaman. "She wouldn't listen?"

"She'll be lucky if he doesn't kill her," he said savagely.

"Kapu loves her," Lani said. "He won't hurt her."

"Even when he's mad with fear?"

"She's given him patience and love and care for two long years," Lani said quietly. "He will know she means him well."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Jared glanced back at the woman on the shore. She was standing beside the horse, talking quietly to him while she stroked his mane. She looked small and frail and infinitely breakable beside the big stallion. He tried to hold on to his anger, but he could feel it ebbing out of him, replaced by cold fear. "Christ."

The sun had gone down, but it was still twilight when Cassie saw Jared wave from the Josephine. That was good, she told herself. Kapu would be less nervous if he wasn't swimming in darkness.

Maybe.

She took a deep breath and pulled herself onto the stallion's back. He shied nervously, and she instantly bent over and whispered in his ear. "Easy. It's going to be fine. I wouldn't let anything happen to you. We're just going for a swim." She nudged him gently forward into the surf. "You like the water, remember?"

He might like water but Kapu didn't like ships. He had too many memories of neglect and starvation and a master who wandered drunkenly down into the cargo hold to beat him. When she had first seen Kapu after he had been brought ashore, the fresh whip marks on his body had filled her with anger. It would be a miracle if he submitted meekly to having the ropes put on him.

But it had to be done. She couldn't leave him here. "It won't be like the last time," she murmured as he reached deeper water and began to swim. "No one cared about you then. We're together now. I'll take care of you."

His ears were back, listening, but she could feel his muscles tense beneath her thighs. He sensed this was not like their other swims.

A quarter way to the ship.

He didn't know their destination. If she could keep him turned slightly away from the ship until the last minute…

She lifted her head and saw Danemount leaning over the rail, watching, his expression grim. But he always looked grim and intense.

No, that wasn't true. That night on the beach he had been sensual and free, and his smile had lit his face with pagan recklessness.

He had been happy because he had found her father.

Halfway to the ship.

She whispered to Kapu, "Just stay with me. We can get through this."

He neighed softly as if he understood.

Surely that was a good sign. It was possible he might have forgotten his experience on the ship. It had been two years, and she had made sure he had known only kindness since then.

Almost there.

She kept Kapu's head turned away as she angled toward the ship.

"That's right," Danemount said quietly. "Edge him just a little closer. The rope can't reach him yet."

What did he think she was doing? she thought in exasperation.

"Two feet closer. Just a yard or so more and the rope-"

Kapu jerked his head sideways, toward the ship.

Dear God!

She could feel his muscles bunch beneath her thighs as he saw the ship less than four yards away.

"It's all right," she said frantically. "It won't hurt you. I won't let it-"

He went wild! He screamed with rage and dived under the water, his legs thrashing wildly.

Cassie's mouth and nose filled with salt water as she fought her way off Kapu's back. She grabbed wildly for the reins.

Missed.

Reached again.

Leather! Her grasp closed on the reins as Kapu surfaced, pulling her with him.

"Drop the reins!" Lani's voice.

But she couldn't drop them. It was her only way of controlling Kapu. They would both drown if-

Blinding pain streaked through her shoulder. She had struck the side of the ship.

"Let go, dammit!" Not Lani, this time. Danemount, she realized. He was in the water, only a few feet away. "I have the ropes to fasten him. Let go of the reins before he kills you."

He had the pulley ropes. "Give me one of them," she gasped.

"Get away from him. I'll do it."

"He'll drown before you fasten both of them. You take one side and I'll take the other. We have to get him out of the water."

His eyes blazed at her. "Get him out of the water? Swim to the ladder and let them pull you up."

"We don't have time to argue. He may decide to strike away from the ship. Give me one of the ropes."

"Damn you!" He threw one of the pulley ropes to her. "Stay away from his legs."

She dived below the water, trying to avoid Kapu's flailing hooves. She could dimly discern the white canvas webbing of the halter. Where were the steel rings?

Her lungs were bursting as she fought to hold her breath. She could see Danemount on the other side of Kapu, his hair billowing about his face like seaweed. She felt a sudden surge of confidence. Together they could do it; together they could do anything.

The salt stung her eyes as she searched desperately for the ring that-there it was!

Kapu's hoof narrowly missed her head as she dived beneath his belly and passed the rope through the ring.

Hurry. She had to hurry. Her breath was almost gone.

Once through the ring and then back. Knot. The knot had to be very secure to hold his weight.

Done!

She fought to the surface.

No Danemount. Panic iced through her.

No, there he was, surfacing about ten feet away.

"Did you-" She broke into a fit of coughing.

He nodded as he drew in great gulps of air. "You?"

She nodded.

He waved his arm to the men on the deck. "Take him up."

She moved closer to Kapu. He was going to be so frightened. "It's all right. I'm here. It will be over in a moment."

"Stay away from him," Danemount said.

"I can't. He needs me."

"He'll need you more when he's pulled on board the ship." He added grimly, "He may explode once he's out of the water. We may all need you at that point."

He was right. It was more important that Kapu sense a friendly presence when he reached the deck of the ship. She struck out for the rope ladder.

Danemount reached the ship before her and was already climbing the ladder.

She heard Kapu's terrified squeal behind her as he was lifted from the water by the pulley. She forced herself not to look back as she climbed the ladder. Soon the stallion's ordeal would be over. They would be together on the ship, and she could comfort him and make him feel safe again. Dear God, she was weary. Now that the task was done, all the strength seemed to be seeping out of her.

Danemount reached the deck, turned, and lifted her the final two rungs. He was no longer the sleek, fastidious nobleman, she thought dully. His shirt and trousers were plastered to his lean body, and his long hair hung in wet strands about his face.

"All right?" he asked tersely. When she nodded, he didn't give her another look but instead went to the rail to watch Kapu's ascent.

"How's your shoulder?" Lani was there beside her, wrapping her in a blanket.

"My shoulder?" That's right, she had rammed it against the hull. Only now was she aware of a painful throbbing. "It's not bad."

"It doesn't seem to be bleeding anymore."

"Bleeding?" she repeated, startled.

"There was blood on the water when you surfaced. That's when Danemount dived overboard. He swims very well… for an Englishman." She added grudgingly, "And he has courage. Not many men would have been willing to risk being maimed by Kapu to fasten those ropes to the halter."

Cassie scarcely heard her. Kapu was being lowered to the deck. He wasn't struggling; he appeared frozen with terror. She dropped the blanket and hurried to the rail.

"Stay back," Danemount snapped. "Look at his eyes."

She could see what he meant. Kapu's eyes were glittering with panic. She stopped before the stallion, who was still suspended a few inches above the deck. "Put him down."

"Not yet."

"I said put him down. He's afraid. He hates this."

"He'll savage you."

"He won't hurt me. Not now." She reached out and touched Kapu's muzzle with a loving hand. "Is there a stall prepared for him?"

"Yes." He jerked his head toward an open doorway several yards down the deck. "There's a ramp leading down to the cargo hold."

"Then put him down and leave us alone. I'll lead him to the hold when he's ready."

For a moment Danemount didn't move. Then he motioned for the stallion to be lowered the final few inches. "Stand back and leave the halter on him until he's calmer."

She didn't answer as she stepped forward and buried her face in Kapu's mane. The horse was trembling but stayed still beneath her touch. She began to talk to him.

She was only vaguely aware of the others moving away.

"The worst part is over," she crooned. "It will never be this bad again. Soon I'll rub you down and feed you your grass. But not yet. We'll just stay here and get used to the feel of the ship and being together. You don't have to move until much later…"

Bradford glanced over his shoulder at the woman and the horse as he walked with Jared along the deck. "I think you should know that you're never going to get that stallion away from her. She's besotted with the animal."

"Do you think I don't realize that? She almost died for him today."

"I just thought I'd mention it. I didn't want you to have any false hopes. By the way, the two of you worked quite well together to save him. Does it foster a feeling of comradeship in your breast?"

"Not a whit."

"I think it will. It's almost impossible to ignore such a bond."

"The only things I can't ignore at present are your erroneous pronouncements and these sopping-wet clothes." He glanced about him. "And where is our other guest? In her cabin?"

Bradford nodded toward the forecastle, where Lani was standing quietly looking down on Cassie and Kapu. "Watching over her charge. She's very protective. A fine quality. You should appreciate it since you apparently have it in abundance. What a splendid gesture. My heart was quite touched when you dived into the sea." He snapped his fingers. "But of course-it wasn't due to your concern for the girl herself. It was the horse and the possibility of losing a hostage."

Ignoring the mockery, Jared looked back over his shoulder. It was fully dark now and he could see Cassie only as a gleam of white and Kapu as a stiff, unmoving bulk. There was no telling how long it would take to bring the horse to a state calm enough to be moved, and Cassie would not hurry him even if it took all night.

"Shall we set sail?" Bradford asked.

The movement of the ship would only make Cassie's task of quieting the stallion harder. "Not for a while. There's no hurry. I'll tell you when."

"For God's sake, get out of that stall. Do you want him to trample you?"

Cassie raised her head from the straw to see Jared standing in the doorway of the cargo hold. The candle in his hand cast shadows on the planes of his face. Shadows… He was always half in shadow, she thought. The outer shell sleek and glittering, and beneath… darkness and mystery. She raised herself on one elbow. "He won't trample me. He's much calmer now."

"And what will he do once we set sail?" He moved forward to stand at the door of the stall. "Will he still be calm when the ship is no longer rocking like a cradle but skittering and pitching?"

"That's why I'm here." She sat up and brushed her hair back from her face. It was stiff and wiry from the salt water, and too dry. So was her skin. Everything about her felt parched and taut, and she thought longingly of the coconut oil they had packed in Lani's trunk. "I've been waiting for you to up anchor. Why haven't you done it?"

"My apologies. I foolishly thought that you might need a little time to get the horse adjusted." He hung the lantern on the post beside the stall. "I told Bradford to up anchor and set sail in a quarter hour. I hope that will be satisfactory?"

"Yes." She was too weary to bristle at his sarcasm. Besides, he had done her a great service by helping to save Kapu. "I only wondered."

He raised his brows in surprise. "No stinging retort? Are you quite well? Perhaps it was your head and not your shoulder that was damaged."

"I'm not always argumentative. You're the one who-" She stopped and then said, "You see. It's you who sting. I'm trying not to be unpleasant."

"Why on earth?"

"Kapu." She lowered her eyes and said haltingly, "Not that I couldn't have managed by myself, but you made things a good deal easier."

"Thank you."

Sarcasm again, and she felt shamed. His action had been both brave and generous and deserved a generous response. She lifted her gaze and met his directly. "All right. There's a possibility I might not have been able to get the ropes onto Kapu. You helped me and you have my thanks."

He was a silent a moment and then said, "No thanks are necessary. I acted on impulse. I saw a fine horse in danger and did what had to be done." He smiled crookedly. "So you needn't dilute your hatred with gratitude."

"I don't hate you." The words had tumbled out, but she suddenly realized they were true. Her emotions toward Danemount were confused, but hatred was not among them. "Not yet. But if you hurt my father, I'll hate you. I'll hate you and I'll hurt you."

"Only an eye for an eye? I'm surprised you're being so magnanimous."

"You believe you're doing what's right. Lani taught me that I had to try to see both sides of an argument. She even made excuses for Clara."

His expression hardened. "I don't need excuses made for me."

"Because you've always lived a perfect and righteous life?" she flared. "It must be splendid to be able to cast the first stone."

"I wasn't the one who cast the first stone. It was your father."

"You can't be sure. You have no proof." She drew a deep, ragged breath. "I will talk no more about this with you. It does no good."

"On the contrary, it completely purged you of that annoying flash of gratitude. You must be much more comfortable now. You can be as-" He broke off when the ship suddenly dipped and swayed. Kapu neighed and half reared! "On your feet and out of that stall! We're putting about."

Cassie scrambled to her feet but inched closer to Kapu instead of leaving the stall. "Shh, it's all right. It's going to be fine." She put her arms around his neck. "You'll get used to it."

"Keep talking to him." Jared stepped into the stall with them. "But stay away from those hooves." He began to stroke Kapu's head and talk in the same low, soothing tone as Cassie.

The stallion was quieting, Cassie realized in relief. He was responding to Jared in the same magical fashion as he had that night on the beach. Strangely, unlike that night, she felt no resentment-only gratitude. Together they were calming Kapu, making him safer. She was aware of that same bond with Jared that she had felt in the water when they were trying to get the pulley ropes fastened.

It was over a quarter of an hour before Kapu was calm enough for Jared to step away from the stallion. "I don't suppose you'll feel safe enough tonight to leave him and go to your cabin?"

She shook her head. "I'll stay here. The straw is soft. When I first got him, I slept in the stable for more than a month."

"May I point out that you hadn't fallen down a mountain or been dashed against a ship?" He shrugged when she didn't answer. "I didn't think so." He sat down on the straw in the far corner of the stall.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll stay awhile." He grimaced. "Not a month. I'm not that much of a Spartan. Only a few hours to make sure the progress we've made isn't ruined by any rough weather. Sit down." When she didn't move, he added impatiently, "For God's sake, sit down before you fall. I'm not in the least tempted to ravish you at the moment."

"I know that." She settled herself in the corner farthest from him. "You'd have to be extremely lacking in taste to desire a woman who looks like a bit of stringy seaweed."

"Maybe I like seaweed." He leaned back against the wall. "I've been known to have more perverted appetites."

"Really?" she asked curiously. "What?" Then, as she saw him smile, she added quickly, "Lihua says most foreigners are perverted and that they should realize the direct way is best."

"Indeed?" His brows lifted. "I don't recall Lihua ever complaining of my perversions. She must have realized how brutal I'd be if she angered me."

"You know she thought you-" She stopped when his smile widened.

"A God?"

"Lihua has little judgment."

He clutched his chest with a mock groan. "What a sharp thrust." His smile faded. "Though I tend to agree. She should certainly have used better judgment in discussing such subjects with you."

"Because you think what you do is sinful? It's all right to perform such acts but not to subject them to the light of day?"

"Oh, I enjoy subjecting them to the light of day. Morning is a particularly felicitous time to-"

"You know what I mean," she cut into his sentence. "You think Lihua and the other islanders are sinful, but you take advantage of that sinfulness."

"You've made that accusation before." He asked quietly, "You're calling me a hypocrite?"

"What else is there to call you?"

"I don't know. Perhaps you're right," he said wearily. "I admire the islanders, and I envy their honesty and openness, but everyone is raised to think his own way best. It could be that some part of me does condemn them for being different from me. But that part is not my mind or my will."

When she had made the accusation, she had been seeking to put up barriers between them and had not wanted him to answer with such simple honesty. First gratitude, and then the bond of shared danger, and now she was beginning to understand him. Dangerous. She searched desperately for a way to distance herself. She said tartly, "Well, it's certainly not your lower parts that condemn their difference."

The gravity vanished from his face as he threw back his head and laughed. "No, by God, that part of me is totally mindless. I accept everything with no prejudice whatever." He met her gaze. "As you will learn to do."

She felt a tightness in her chest and that curious sensation of breathlessness. She said unevenly, "But you'll not be the one to teach me. You don't really want me. You only want to punish my father."

"The hell I don't want you. Deville has nothing to do with this."

She was shaken by the violence in his voice. "Of course he does. Otherwise it makes no sense."

"Carnal pleasures seldom do. Passion can strike out of nowhere. You should know that since you must have seen it every day on your island."

She had seen it, but it had always happened to Lihua and the others, not to her. She shook her head in disbelief. "It's not true. I'm not beautiful like Lihua or Lani. I'm not the kind of woman for whom a man conceives such a passion."

"Shall I convince you?" He leaned forward, his eyes blazing recklessly in the dimness. "I lied, you know. You're right, you look like a scrap of flotsam. You're dirty and tired. You have straw clinging to your hair and body and salt coating you from head to toe. You should have no appeal at all for me. Do you know what I'd like to do to you right now?"

She moistened her lips. "No."

"I want to take off that chemise and lick the salt from your breasts." His eyes fastened on the damp cotton veiling the swell of her breasts. "I want to taste you. I want to pull at your nipples with my teeth. I want to make a feast of you." His gaze never left her body. "And I think you want me to do that, too."

Blood was pounding through her veins. She felt on fire, her skin tingling. "No," she whispered.

"Look down at yourself."

She didn't have to look down, she could feel her breasts swelling beneath his eyes, her nipples hardening and pushing against the soft cotton barrier. "It doesn't mean anything. It's just… I'm startled."

"You're ready," he corrected softly. "Beautifully ready."

"I couldn't be." She swallowed to ease the tightness of her throat. "Not with you."

"Because you regard me as your enemy? It doesn't make any difference. Not in this."

"Of course it makes a difference," she said fiercely. "I'm not an animal. I have control of my body. I wouldn't let myself-" She broke off and then said, "Go away. I don't want you here."

"Unfortunate." He leaned back against the wall. "But I'm not leaving until I'm sure the stallion is settled. After all, nothing has changed. I told you I have no intention of ravishing you tonight. You've had a bad time, and I find myself deplorably brimming with the milk of human kindness. Most unusual."

He was wrong. Something had changed. Her body had betrayed her, was still betraying her. She felt weak and vulnerable and needed time to rebuild her defenses. "I don't need you. Go away."

He didn't move.

She closed her eyes, but she could still feel him staring at her.

"But I'm not so filled with sympathy that I won't give you something to think about." His voice was soft and sensuous. "One of the times I'm going to take you will be in a stable. You'll be naked and feel the faint abrasiveness of the straw against your breasts and belly as I move inside you. Have you ever seen a stallion mount a mare?"

She didn't answer.

"Of course you have. You're planning on having a horse farm of your own. Did the mating excite you? The drive, the hard thrust, the joining…"

She felt a tingling between her legs as she remembered the sight of that mating. Don't think of it. She was not an animal, a mare for the mounting.

The hay smelled clean, and she was aware of it prickling her skin through the thin cotton. She was acutely aware of him only a few yards away: man… stallion.

"Did the mare scream when he entered her?"

"Yes," she said hoarsely.

"But she wanted it, didn't she? She backed toward him?"

"Of course she did. She was in season."

"Like you. You're in season, aren't you?"

"No…" Her lids flicked open to see his eyes fixed on her with glittering force. The air seemed heavy and hard to breathe. "I told you that I'm not an animal."

"We're all animals in that final moment. I guarantee you won't care whether I'm an enemy or friend when I'm inside you."

His tone was so confident, it frightened her as much as the image his words brought to mind. Jared inside her, riding her as he had ridden Kapu, those hard, muscular thighs holding her still while he… "Go away," she whispered.

He shook his head.

"Then don't talk to me. I don't want to hear this."

"I think I've said enough."

He had said too much, and she must not think about any of it or its effect on her.

You're in season, aren't you?

She had denied it, but perhaps that was the reason her response had been so powerful and beyond her control. Before she had even seen him, she had been aware of the growing sensuality of her body. Yes, that was it, she grasped at the explanation eagerly. He wasn't the cause. He could have been any man. It was just her time for mating. He was more sensual than any man she had ever encountered, and surely it was natural that she had responded. But response did not mean surrender. "Stay or go." She carefully kept her tone indifferent. "I don't care. I shall only ignore you."

He smiled. "Will you?"

She looked away from him and fastened her gaze on Kapu. Damn him. So confident, so comely. Even when she didn't look at him, she could feel him there. She could remember the line of his thigh outlined in the closely fitting trousers, the careless grace, his mouth…

I want to lick the salt from your breasts.

No, not again. She would not feel like this. He was not the cause. She desperately reiterated the thought over and over like a chant to ward off demons. It was only her time for mating.

It was not him.