Captain and a Corset (11 page)

Grainger sniffed and thrust his chin out. His features twisted in an odd manner before he yanked a polished knife out of his sleeve. “I created her and I shall control her. You will not take away my triumph!”

The tension was so tight in the air around her, she could practically taste it. She shuffled back, away from Grainger. His head snapped around in her direction and he reached toward her, his hand looking so much like a talon that she recoiled from it. The sunlight flashed off the knife blade, turning her stomach. He would spill her blood, she was absolutely sure of it. Someone grabbed her wrist, jerking her away from Grainger.

Sophia stumbled and looked up in time to see Grainger being thrown over the railing of the airship. His scream faded rapidly until only the hissing of steam could be heard.

“You there, stand steady.” Captain Aetos pointed at the man who had tossed Grainger overboard. He was every bit as large as Aetos and turned to face the rest of the crew.

Sophia clamped her teeth down so hard she tasted blood from her lower lip. Maybe she was still caught in the hold of the chloroform because she was certain the man she faced was Bion Donkova.

It couldn’t be. She was snapping under the pressure, her mind taking refuge in delusions. She was as mad as Grainger.

“I warned you that I give the orders aboard this vessel. That includes deciding who stays aboard,” Aetos informed Bion.

Bion shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. The pose was branded into her memory, sending a rush of relief through her that was squelched a moment later when she realized that Aetos was narrowing his eyes. The captain wasn’t angry over the death that had just occurred; he was furious at the thought of his authority being usurped.

Bion might just follow Grainger.

“You told me my duty was to keep the Navigator working at her station and I warned you that I look out for myself first. If she’s my ticket to a Root Ball, I’ll have an issue with any man who threatens her.”

“That doesn’t grant you permission to throw anyone off this vessel,” Aetos growled.

The captain’s razor-edged tone didn’t seem to bother Bion. He stood straight and unwavering, as the rest of the crew waited to see if there would be another man tossed overboard. Some of them appeared eager for the entertainment. Sophia’s belly twisted again.

“To my way of thinking, it does,” Bion answered. “I’m only working for you so long as I get my payment. Anyone who pulls a knife on the method of my earning that payment is someone I consider a threat, and I never let a threat go unanswered.”

Surprise registered on the faces of many of the crew. They looked toward their captain, waiting to see what he’d decide. The deck was silent except for the soft hissing of steam.

Aetos suddenly chuckled and slapped Bion on the shoulder. “You have a pirate’s heart, my good man. You should thank sweet Lucy for picking you out of the crowd for my crew. You’re right at home.” His tone suddenly hardened. “Providing you can do what you said you could. I want her working on the bridge.” Aetos shifted his gaze to Sophia. “Beat her, seduce her—I don’t care. As long as I see results. I’m going to enjoy surprising those Illuminist cargo ships. The profits will be high.”

The crew cheered, showing off their missing teeth as they smiled.

“Navigators don’t work like that. It takes time for their sight to come all the way in. She looks pretty young. I doubt she has full dimension sight,” Bion warned. “Besides, I don’t see a crystal array on the bow either. Her sight is worthless without the array to open the seams between dimensions.”

The crew quieted, casting worried looks back at Aetos again. Tension knotted the muscles along Sophia’s neck as she realized the game Bion was playing.

Aetos cursed low and long. Her cheeks heated at the profanity. She had to admit that the curses she’d heard previously were nothing compared to what her current situation might offer. The stain brightening her cheeks drew his attention.

Captain Aetos laughed. “I haven’t seen a female blush in a very long time—not since I buggered my best friend’s cousin in the hen house while her mother thought I was pitching hay.” He waved his hand. “Get back to your posts. I already have to waste one man on this fledgling Navigator. The rest of you will earn your keep or get off my ship!”

The crew jumped and scurried back to their positions. Some climbed the netting that secured the large balloons above them. They held binoculars to their eyes as they scanned the skies around them.

“Find out what she can do,” Aetos ordered. “I don’t suffer useless members of my crew. And leave getting an array to me.” He turned and surveyed his crew at their posts and paused to look back at Bion. “You did well enough today. Grainger was a damned nuisance, one we’re well rid of. You might live past dawn after all. She gets the small cabin on the port side since her eyes are delicate. You can share it with her—maybe she’ll decide she likes ruffians.”

“I do not,” Sophia blurted out. “And I shall not keep close quarters with any gentleman.”

“Well now, it seems we have an understanding,” the captain responded happily, flashing a grin at her. “No gentleman shall invade your privacy because there isn’t a single gentleman on this vessel.”

The crew hooted with laughter, more than one of them making obscene gestures that burned into her mind.

“Your vulgarities are revolting,” she protested. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was very much at the man’s mercy. Bion might be near, but he was also stranded on the Soiled Dove. Panic clawed at her, refusing to be banished no matter how hard she tried.

Aetos frowned at her. “I liked you better when you were biting your lip out of fear.” He moved toward her and stopped only a single step away. “If keeping you terrified keeps your mouth from annoying me with useless chatter… that can be arranged, Miss Stevenson. You’re a member of my crew, just as the fellow who just tossed a man overboard in your defense is. Up here, it’s in everyone’s best interest to remember your crewmate is your best friend”—his eyes narrowed dangerously—“your only friend. I’m captain of this vessel and I’ll use any means at my disposal to win the prize. The Illuminists are moving Deep Earth Crystals through the dimension gates and you will help me chase them down. Your only choice is how much motivation you will require to perform to my specifications. I promise you, my worst is far more revolting than having one gentleman invading your privacy. Now get back to your cabin. You’ll find glasses there to protect your eyes.”

“She’ll perform,” Bion promised. “I do my job so long as I get paid.” He reached out and closed his hand around her upper arm and pulled her away from the captain.

She should have been relieved—and she was a little—but the problem plaguing her was that she wasn’t sure who was more dangerous—Aetos or Bion.

She had a feeling she was about to find out.

***

“You’re damned lucky I was able to find you.”

Sophia turned around in the tiny cabin Bion escorted her to. “I know that,” she snapped, then she shivered, her body refusing to maintain any sort of composure now that there was a solid door shielding her from the outside world.

“I warned you there would be men willing to kill in their quest to own you.” He shook his head and moved the tattered curtain away from the tiny window the cabin offered.

“It isn’t as if I ran off,” she replied. “My dorm door was firmly shut, in accordance with the rules, I assure you.”

“Grainger killed four men to get you out of the Solitary Chamber.”

“He deserved to be thrown… over.” Her voice caught because it was shocking to realize how glad she was that the man was dead. It wasn’t ladylike, but it was there, inside her—a complete lack of remorse for the man’s demise.

Bion looked back at her, his eyes narrowing to target the telltale quiver shaking her limbs. He let out a long breath and stepped forward, gathering her into an embrace before she realized his intention.

“Guardian Pavola is damned lucky my instincts paid off. I think I might have been moved to violence the next time I saw him if I hadn’t found you.”

His arms tightened and she heard him inhaling the scent of her hair. She should have been offended. Instead, she leaned forward, nuzzling against his body, the scent of his skin sending a new wave of relief through her. She quivered, her body refusing to remain composed. She needed to be closer to him; it was a yearning that was almost desperate.

“At least I got to kill Grainger.” Bion released her slowly, as though he was forcing himself to open his arms.

Stepping back was the correct thing to do—but she loathed it. Her feet felt stuck to the floor and she felt the separation like cold water hitting her.

“I suppose I should thank you for that.”

Bion’s grin was menacing. “Except that you’ve never had to express gratitude for someone’s death before, Miss Stevenson?”

“You needn’t quibble with me,” she retorted. “Would you rather I was a woman of rough upbringing? One without a shred of kindness?”

“You’ll fare better here without compassion.” He withdrew to his favorite pose, crossing his arms across his chest. “These are exactly the sort of men the matrons warned you about.”

“As if I couldn’t deduce that for myself, thank you very much. I am not a child, Captain Donkova.” She expected at least a slight softening of his demeanor, just a glimmer of shame for his ungentlemanly behavior. Instead, Bion chuckled softly as one dark eyebrow rose.

“I am not a captain here.” His uncompromising gaze sent heat into her cheeks. “Continue to insist on how much of a woman you are, and I might indeed take notice, my sweet.”

“I am not your sweet,” she informed him tartly, that yearning making her itch to prove to him that she wasn’t what he thought she was.

“I could not disagree with you more.”

She was accustomed to his warnings, and orders, and dictates, but what she heard in his tone was a promise, and it unleashed a need that ripped through her like a bolt of lightning. It was shocking in its brightness, and just as uncontrollable. She remembered perfectly how much she enjoyed his kiss. She looked away from him, seeking a moment to clear her senses, but her gaze settled onto the lone bed in the room.

There was a menacing chuckle from behind her, rich with devilish intent. “Don’t you know all the really good pirates only have one bed in their cabins? After all, you are trying to impress me with your worldly knowledge.” He reached out and quite deliberately patted her bottom. She gasped and turned, ending up nose to nose with the man.

“This isn’t a time for jesting, Bion.” At last she managed to sound serious instead of sounding as if she was suffering from the vapors.

His eyes darkened and excitement twisted through her belly. It was an instantaneous reaction that stoked the memory of the way he’d looked when he’d kissed her.

“No, it’s a far more appropriate time to kiss you.”

Bion kept his promise. The words barely had time to register before he’d wrapped his arms around her once more. This time, he cupped her nape, tipping her head so that his mouth might find hers easily. She shifted, not truly pushing against him because he was the only thing in the cabin that she wanted to be near. But she couldn’t remain still either. She grasped his vest, crumpling the fabric.

That drew a groan from him—a soft, purely male sound of enjoyment that pulled her toward him even more. She wanted to kiss him, needed to hold on to him as the world around her shifted out of control. This kiss was deeper, harder, but she returned it with equal passion. They were like mirrors aimed at one another, each reflection being aimed back at the other over and over until it was impossible to think of anything else.

Yes, she understood what the sensations threatening to boil up from inside her were now. It was passion, desire, wantonness. And she wanted to experience all of it. The little girl who had so faithfully listened to the matrons was gone, burned away by the need inside her. Touching him was natural, and his scent more intoxicating than any wine. He pressed her lips apart, the tip of his tongue sweeping inside her mouth. It was intrusive but it also built the excitement. She mimicked him, sending her own tongue sliding along his and felt him shudder.

At last, his iron control slipped in response to her actions. The knowledge soaked into her, making her confidence swell. She slid her hands up his chest until she slid her fingers into his hair, holding him in place for her kiss as well.

Bion suddenly pulled back, holding her biceps to keep her from following him. His expression was hard, his dark eyes lit by something savage. A tremor shook him as he held her away from him. It was a maddening torment. His scent still filled her senses, his taste still lingering on her lips. She needed more, craved him. Everything that she had deemed important paled in comparison to what she wanted from him.

“Damn us both.” He uttered each word separately, as if composing a sentence was beyond his grasp.

It was a feeling she shared at that moment. Her mind didn’t want to function. Her only desire was to feel and experience. She frowned, shrugging to escape his grip. “Why do you say that? Just because I think you’re happiest behaving like a pirate doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy returning your kisses.”

“I want much more than a kiss, Sophia.” He slid his hands around her back, pulling her close again. He stroked her, his hand traveling along her spine until he cupped one side of her bottom. The touch was startling and unleashed a wave of excitement that fascinated her. He pressed her body completely against his, making it impossible for her to miss the hard presence of his erection.

That forbidden thing that she suddenly wanted to know everything about—penis, cock, manroot, and a dozen other terms, but it all boiled down to the hard length pressing against her belly.

“A hell of a lot more.”

He didn’t think she could stomach the topic. It was there in his tone, the sound of warning that grated on her nerves until taking action was foremost in her mind.

“So do I.”

Her cheeks colored, but it was arousal driving the blush now. His eyes glittered with challenge and it was exactly the diversion she craved—something that would overshadow everything happening to her. Something that would wipe every thought from her mind except for the feelings flooding her.