She cried out. “It’s … too … much.”
He froze, his fingers stilling their excitation. “Yes, it is,” he said thickly. With one quick movement he fell backward and then rolled over until he was astride her. He plunged wildly, almost brutally, in a fever of passion. The pace was unbearable. Silver was lost in heat and desire. Then it was over, exploding with the same fiery force as before.
His breath was coming in gasps as he looked down at her. “You see,” he said, meeting her eyes. “This is what we’ll have together, and you cannot deny you want it.” He bent down and gently kissed her lips. “Can you, Silver? And this is only the beginning; it gets better and better until it’s a fever in your blood. I intend to make sure you never recover from that fever.”
But what of him? Silver thought with sudden jolt of pain. She had no doubt that he could enslave her senses with this physical pleasure, but would she have the same power over him? What if he tired of her? Men tired easily of women’s bodies, but she had never known lust before meeting Nicholas. What if she were one of those foolish women who could not know lust without love? And if she became his mistress, she would almost certainly bear his illegitimate children. She would bring the same shame and hurt to her child as her mother had brought to her. The thought sent a wild thrill of panic through her.
He moved off her and then lay down beside her, pulling her into his arms. “You’ll come with me to Russia.” His voice was soft, coaxing. “Say it, Silver.”
Perhaps she was already starting to love him, she thought frantically. The signs had been there, but she had refused to read them. No, she must not love him.
“Say it, Silver.” His long, graceful hand gently stroked her hair.
She reached desperately for something, anything to break the spell. “Will you stop looking for Dominic if I go with you?”
He stiffened against her. “You’re bargaining? No, Silver, that’s not negotiable.”
“Then there’s no reason for me to go to Russia.” She tried to keep her voice careless and unconcerned. “My life is here and I have things to do with it.”
He was silent for a long moment. “It appears I must increase my efforts at persuading you.” His lips brushed her temple. “It’s fortunate that I have time and intimacy on my side, isn’t it? And when at last we get back to St. Louis to see if Dominic has taken the bait, I think you may change your mind.”
“You’re still not going to let me go?”
His arms tightened around her. “No, did you expect me to?”
“No, I didn’t expect this to make any difference. I know you regard the taking of a woman as unimportant.”
Then why did he feel as if he had been lifted and torn from everything he had ever known? he wondered. Why was he experiencing anger, tenderness, and bewilderment now, when he had never felt these emotions toward any other woman?
“Very wise,” he said. “Then you won’t be disappointed to know you’re still a prisoner.”
“And you won’t be disappointed to know that I have no intention of staying a prisoner.” She nestled nearer, her eyes closing. “Nothing has really changed.”
His hand stroked her hair with exquisite gentleness. “No, nothing has really changed.”
She was nearly asleep when she remembered something. “Your scars … I dug my fingernails in your back. I didn’t hurt you?”
“The scars are old. They no longer bring me pain.”
No, she thought drowsily, it wasn’t the scars on the outside that brought the lasting pain.…
* * *
“Wake up, Silver.” Nicholas was kneeling beside her, pulling her into a sitting position. He slipped her arms into the sleeves of his shirt and rapidly buttoned it. “Lord, you spoke truth when you said you slept soundly.”
“Why do I have to wake up?” she asked, yawning.
“It’s dawn and a boat has been launched from the Rose. I believe we’re about to be rescued.” He stood up and began dressing quickly. “I realize you probably have no objections to being found nude, but I find I have a distinct aversion to the thought of any man except me seeing you unclothed.” He frowned. “Though that shirt is scarcely modest. It doesn’t even cover your knees.”
She blinked sleepily. “Sorry.”
He suddenly chuckled as he finished fastening his trousers. “I believe I may enjoy waking you from a sound sleep under other circumstances. You’re amazingly docile on awakening.”
She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and looked out at the river. A rowboat was drawing near to the shore and she was able to identify Valentin and Mikhail manning the oars of the craft.
She stood up and walked down to the bank. She waved and called cheerfully, “Good morning. Do you have a bucket in the boat?”
The prow of the boat bumped against the shore and Valentin jumped out on the moss-covered bank. “Just a bailing bucket.”
“That will do.” She turned to Nicholas. “Will you …”
He sighed. “I should have known you’d wake up hungry. Can’t you wait until we get back to the Rose?”
“Of course, but this is for later.”
Mikhail and Valentin gazed at Nicholas blankly as he crossed to the boat to fetch the bucket.
“What are you going to do?” Valentin asked.
“Raspberries,” Nicholas answered succinctly. “Stay with her.” He disappeared into the shrubbery.
“Raspberries?” Valentin repeated.
Silver nodded. “Huge, wonderful raspberries. We’ll have them for lunch or dinner with cream. They should be even better that way.”
Mikhail and Valentin exchanged glances and then suddenly broke into laughter.
“Why do you laugh?” Silver asked in puzzlement. “Truly, they’re very, very good.”
“I’m sure they are.” Valentin said, trying to subdue his laughter. “Let’s just say it wasn’t what we were anticipating. When you jumped overboard last night and forced Nicholas to pursue you, we didn’t think we’d find him meekly picking raspberries at your command.”
“What did you expect?”
Valentin sobered. “To find Nicholas ready to strangle you.”
Mikhail spoke gently, his gaze searching her face. “You are well?”
Sudden color rose to her cheeks. “Of course I’m well,” she answered, not looking at him. “Nicholas was very kind.” She turned away abruptly. “And he’s not as meek at this moment as you may believe.” She smiled over her shoulder. “He likes raspberries too.”
Lee Bassinger moved back into the shadows of the boiler deck and watched with no expression as Mikhail Kuzdief leapt onto the deck from the rowboat and then leaned down to lift Silver Delaney up beside him. So Savron had caught his little captive, he thought as he observed Nicholas Savron and Marinov climb onto the deck. Perhaps she had spoken the truth and she wasn’t a whore after all. Whatever she was, she was important to Nicholas Savron. No man jumped into a river to pursue a female unless she held value for him.
He felt a surge of savage satisfaction. The key. She was going to be the key just as he had thought when he had first seen her. His hands tightened on the rail until his knuckles turned white as he remembered his humiliation at that bitch’s hands. Yes, he would use her to punish Savron and then he would break her and throw her away.
He could make no move while on the Rose, but in another day they should reach Memphis. They would have to stop to take on coal and it should be no problem to arrange to have Silver Delaney taken by his own men, particularly since she appeared more than eager to escape Savron.
Anticipation was a sharp pain within him as he turned away and began to stroll down the deck toward the saloon. Tomorrow. This goddamn charade was almost over. He had only to wait one more day.
“Why are we having dinner in the stateroom?” Silver asked as she sat down opposite Nicholas at the damask-covered table. She spread her napkin on her lap and dropped her lashes to veil the hint of mischief in her eyes. “Have you decided I’m n
ot presentable enough to mingle with your other guests?”
“I decided I didn’t want every man at the table ogling you and remembering what you looked like with nothing but a wisp of cloth covering your privates,” he said tersely. “I haven’t forgiven you for that, Silver.”
“I didn’t ask for your forgiveness.” She smiled at him. “I think you’re just being selfish and don’t want to share the raspberries with them.”
His frown faded and a reluctant smile touched his lips. “That too.” He looked down at his plate. “Talk to me.”
“What?”
“Tell me about yourself.”
She looked at him in puzzlement. “What do you wish to know? I’ve already told you what is important.”
“You’ve told me only that you’re a half-breed,” he said with barely leashed violence. “For God’s sake, that’s not the only thing you are. You have a mind and a soul.”
“People aren’t usually concerned with anything else,” she said simply. “I know what I am inside but they don’t want to see. You didn’t want to see either. You wanted only my body.”
Nicholas felt a sharp pang. What she said was true. He had been so captivated with the challenge she presented, he had disregarded everything else. “Well, I want to see now. Did you like it at Mrs. Alford’s?”
“No, I hated it. They thought me savage, and I thought them stupid. Even the lessons were stupid. Finger-painting and needlepoint and how to curtsy. Rising Star taught me much more from her books than any of those girls learned at the academy.” Her face lit with a reminiscent smile. “Rising Star knew so much, she had many books and she was always reading. She was far more clever than Mrs. Alford.”
“Her husband must have been very proud of her.”
Her smile faded. “Joshua? Joshua was ashamed because she was an Apache.” Her lips tightened. “He killed her.”
Nicholas’s gaze rose swiftly to her face. “Murder?”
“She was with child and he told her he did not wish it. She rode away from Killara and died when her child was born.” Her voice lowered fiercely. “She was strong. If she had wanted to live …” Her gray eyes were suddenly glittering with tears. “She was gentle and kind but it made no difference. Her skin was not white and they killed her for it. She told me once that the way to live in a white man’s world was to take on his ways and and become what he wished you to be. She was wrong. No matter what she did, the Delaneys would not accept her as one of them.”
The pain was naked in her face and he was experiencing a reflection of her agony within himself. He tried to think of something to distract her from that poignant memory. He lifted his wine goblet to his lips. “Did you like nothing about your schooling?”
She didn’t answer immediately, and it was evident she was trying to gather her composure. “I learned to play the piano. I love music.” She made a face. “When I was first learning I was terrible, and Mrs. Alford would come in and try to make me stop. She said the noise was disturbing the other students.”
“But you wouldn’t do it,” Nicholas guessed.
“I knew I would get better and I needed it.”
Nicholas could understand how she needed something of her own to shelter her from the loneliness and prejudice surrounding her, even if it were only music.
“What type of music do you prefer?”
She smiled eagerly. “Everything. I like everything from folk songs to Beethoven. It’s wonderful how music makes everything take on beauty and sparkle. Do you like music?”
“Very much. I’d like to hear you play sometime.”
He should have known Silver would take delight in music. Anyone so sensual would naturally be attuned to the pleasures of sound. “We have some fine young composers in Russia now. I think you’d enjoy hearing their music. There’s a young man named Rimsky-Korsakoff who shows great promise.” He looked down into the ruby-red depths of his wineglass. “St. Petersburg can be very gay. Concerts, ballets, balls—”
“You’re trying to persuade me to go to Russia,” Silver said bluntly. “I told you I wouldn’t go. I leave Mrs. Alford’s shortly and I intend to continue my studies.”
“What studies?” Nicholas asked impatiently. “You’ve already said you know more than the other women at the academy. Perhaps you wish to perfect your skill at needlepoint?”
“I’m going to go to a university and study medicine.”
“You intend to be a nurse?”
She stiffened. “I’m going to be a doctor.”
“Women do not become doctors,” Nicholas said flatly.
“They do now.” Silver set her plate aside and reached for the crystal dessert bowl in which the raspberries were swimming in rich cream. “Why should I be a nurse when I can be a better doctor than most I’ve seen in the profession. It’s not reasonable.”
“They won’t accept you at a university,” Nicholas said gently.
“I’ll find a way.” Silver dipped her spoon into the raspberries and met his gaze across the table. “Because I’m not Rising Star, Nicholas. I won’t pretend to be what I am not and I’ll let no one rob me of anything I choose to keep.”
There was no challenge in her expression, and Nicholas realized that she was speaking with absolute sincerity. He experienced a sudden thrust of pity mixed with respect and admiration. Poor little firebird, she didn’t realize what a difficult task she’d set for herself. Or perhaps she did and was so accustomed to the struggle for acceptance that she could perceive nothing different in this battle from the ones that had gone before. “I could help you.”
She laughed with genuine amusement. “Instead of a house and jewels, you’re going to buy me with an entry to a university?” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t take it from you. I want the victory to be mine.”
He hadn’t thought of using his influence as a carte blanche. He had wanted to help her and had made the offer impulsively. My God, what was he thinking? He wanted Silver in his bed, under his protection, not struggling in a university thousands of miles away from him. Silver’s plan was all foolishness anyway. She would be hurt and snubbed beyond anything in her present experience. No, she’d be much better off under his protection, where he could guard her from both the outside world and herself. “Then it looks as if I’ll have to find a more tempting prize to dangle before you,” he said lightly. “Would you consider a fine piano?”
“No, thank you.”
“Pity. Have you finished your dessert?”
She ate the last berry and set down her spoon. “Yes, why?”
“Because I’m about to seduce you and I wouldn’t dare interfere with one of your primary pleasures.” He stood up and came around the table, pulling her to her feet and into his arms. “Before offering one in its place.” His head came down and his lips hovered over her mouth. “Open your lips, love. I want to taste you.”
She opened her lips and his tongue entered, caressed, and explored. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest and she seemed to be holding her breath. He caught her tongue in his mouth and sucked it gently, tasting the textures. His body was hardening and he knew he couldn’t wait much longer. He lifted his head. “You taste of raspberries and sugar. So sweet.” He was unbuttoning her shirtwaist. “Come to bed, Silver. There are things I want to show you, things I want to do to you.”
She leaned against him, gazing up into his eyes. Such beautiful eyes, she though dreamily. Dark with mystery and hinting at wonderful secrets. “What do you want to show me?”
He pulled off her blouse and threw it aside. He found he was too impatient to bother with anything more. Lord, he had scarcely touched her and he was ready. He lifted her swiftly in his arms and carried her to the bed.
“Do you remember that picture I showed you?”
Silver felt her heart suddenly jerk with excitement. “Are you going to do that to me?”
“Among other pleasurable things.” He laid her on the bed and began to strip off his clothes quickly.
?
??Will I like it?”
“Oh, yes, love.” He looked down at her and smiled. “First we’ll have the main course, and then we’ll have a lagniappe.”
“Lagniappe?”
He came to her, all supple bronze muscle and golden mane. “It’s a word I learned in New Orleans,” he whispered. “It’s a word I like very much.”
“What does it mean?”
He pulled her camisole down to bare her breasts. He drew a shaky breath, his golden head bending forward until his warm breath was feathering a nipple. “Something extra,” he said thickly. “Lagniappe means a little something extra.”
Silver gazed out the window at the bustling wharf below. Since they were taking on only fuel and not passengers here in Memphis, Nicholas had said they would be on their way in a matter of hours. She would probably have no opportunity to escape again before they reached New Orleans, she thought absently. Then the placidity of the thought suddenly sent a shock through her.
But there was no chance of escape now, she assured herself quickly. Nicholas had carefully locked both doors before he had left the stateroom to join Robert, Mikhail, and Valentin in the pilot house. She was merely being sensible not to be upset over a circumstance she couldn’t change.
One hand clenched on the peach-colored velvet of the curtains. She was lying to herself. She had been captivated, seduced by the hot, dark hours in Nicholas’s bed last night and this morning. She wanted to let herself be brought once more under that sensual pleasure spell. But it was even worse than that. She wanted to stay with Nicholas. He was the magnet that drew her and caused her to cling to captivity. He was the reason she was giving up so tamely.
Yet she mustn’t give up. Etaine needed her and Silver must not let lust keep her from returning to her.
The sound of a key turning in the door that led to the deck startled her. Nicholas? But he had just left.…
“Good morning, Miss Delaney.” Lee Bassinger stood in the doorway, a faint smile on his lips. “I’m glad you’re dressed. We won’t have much time.”