Captain and a Corset (19 page)

“One we’d better plan on winning or the dogs just might tear the prey apart.”

Decima’s tone was dark and fit the moment all too well.

***

Jordon Camden pushed his slumbering concubine away from him, then stood up. He rolled his shoulders and stretched as the early morning breeze blew across his bare skin. His current home had a lovely secret that allowed him to enjoy his collection of females in true Ottoman fashion. The front of the house looked normal enough, but the back was built into an open terrace that faced the Caspian Sea. Lengths of sheer silk hung from the arched openings to the patio, the colored-glass lanterns from the night before having burned out. A soft tinkle of a bell warned him that one of his pets was nearby. A red-haired Scottish girl offered him a robe. He stopped and let her clothe him.

“You may join me tonight.”

Joy lit her blue eyes. She pressed her hands together and bowed. He chuckled on his way to where his pigeons were gathering for their morning meal. He did enjoy seeing obedience in her eyes, but he admitted to missing the defiance she had spat at him for the last year.

Knowing that she was now a truly submissive conquest was all the more reason to ensure that someone had a reason to gift him with another pretty amusement. He detested boredom.

He walked past the gardens and the fountain until he came to where the birds were eagerly enjoying the kitchen scraps put out for them. He watched them, looking for new arrivals. He caught one and pulled the small pouch off its talon. No one opened the messages except for him. He was master of his empire and information—the selling of which was what kept his empire thriving.

Once he’d inspected all the birds, he left with their messages clasped carefully in his hand. The flowers were blooming, but he didn’t let the sweet morning air tempt him into lingering outside. There was money to be made.

Navigators were so very rare after all. A healthy female of breeding age was even rarer. He entered his office and looked through a few of his ledgers. He stopped when he found the information on Janette Aston Lawley. What drew his attention was the notation of Dr. Nerval. The man had been a client from time to time and had a reputation for paying well for information on the location of rare individuals such as Navigators.

He’d never promised Captain Aetos exclusivity.

***

Bion was gone when she woke.

Sophia stretched and paused when she saw her glasses placed carefully beside her. “It does seem that the good captain is feeling better,” she muttered to herself. “Or at least he’s intent on proving he is.”

She opened the door of the wagon and made her way down the steps. She turned around to the back side of camp for a moment of privacy before facing the day. But Bion was waiting for her, his expression one she recalled very well. The man was not pleased.

“Do not disappear on me, Sophia.”

She stopped close enough to him that their conversation wouldn’t drift. “You are the one who was missing when I woke this time.”

Not even a hint of remorse flickered in his eyes. “I was discovering where we are and you are my trainee.”

His tone was condescending, but she was too distracted by the idea of returning to London to quibble with him. “So where are we?”

“It isn’t good news.”

“Well, it can’t be any worse than what’s already happened.”

His lips twitched for a moment, revealing the man she recalled from last night.

Your
lover, you mean.

Fine, her lover. During the day it was hard to see him. Bion had his expression controlled just as tightly as he might have while standing on the bridge of one of his beloved airships.

“You aren’t going to abandon your hopeful attitude, are you?” For just a moment, his tone was playful. “I believe we have crossed over into Russia, which is a problem because Russia is moving closer to war in a quest to claim land from the weakening Ottoman Empire.”

“Are there no Solitary Chambers here?”

“Very few, and Abraham is intent on making it farther north now that spring is giving way to summer.”

The gypsies recognized no borders. All around her, they were getting ready to move on. They were tinkers and traders and sometimes musicians for festivals. During the spring and summer, they would follow the merchants on their ways to open-air markets and circuses.

“I am grateful for his help,” she stated firmly. “I’m not sure what I might’ve done if he hadn’t come along.”

“We don’t blend in, so we can’t stay with them.” He nodded, seeming to reassure himself that his logic was sound. “As much for our protection as theirs. Be ready to leave the caravan when I tell you it’s time.”

His on-guard stance swept away the last of her happiness. It had been so simple to relax during the night, but she realized that she’d really just been naïve.

As an Illuminist, she needed to watch out for herself, not depend on Bion. To travel north with the caravan would be foolish.

“You’re right,” she admitted, the admission squeezing her heart a little.

The caravan got underway, giving her the privacy to deal with her emotions without Bion noticing. Being lovers did not mean she didn’t have to make her own way. Even as that idea brought her heartache, it filled her with a sense of pride. Her future would be something she earned. The matrons of society’s upper crust were very fond of preaching about how young ladies enjoyed security, but the same walls were also a method to keep women from achieving the same positions as men. She smiled because she knew that those matrons would never have the opportunity to shred her reputation. Their opinion meant nothing in the Illuminist world and Sophia was going to be a Navigator.

She’d bloody well earned the right.

***

He was being an ass and he knew it. Bion let the label sink in as Sophia settled into the seat beside him. She was struggling with her emotions, her eyes full of uncertainty. But only the strong survived.

Tender feelings could translate into death so easily when fate turned her nose up. Captain Aetos would have gladly used Sophia’s kindness against her. Training her entailed stripping away anything that might hamper her survival. It was his duty.

So why did he feel like such an ass?

***

The caravan stopped outside a small village the next night. They parked their wagons in a circle and began to cook an evening meal. Sophia went with the other women to pull fresh water from the river. But Bion reached out from behind a tree to stop her from returning to the camp with them.

“We need to leave.”

“Now?”

He lifted the yoke off her shoulders and left the buckets where they landed.

“Yes, now. Anyone watching us will think we’ve retired and not miss us until morning. With any luck, there will be a Solitary Chamber in the next village.”

“What if Captain Aetos is there instead?”

Bion motioned for her to begin walking away from the Roma camp. “He might as easily be coming up the road behind us.”

It felt odd to be leaving the caravan, and yet, she hadn’t known their hosts for very long.

“Stop looking back, Sophia. I assure you, there is at least one man among them willing to sell us out for the right price.”

“Well, that is a very harsh way to put it.”

“And you don’t care for how it wounds your pride? As a Navigator, you need to always control your impulses and carefully weigh the consequences of your actions.” Bion peered at her over the rim of his glasses. “It was foolhardy of you to impair my abilities while in such precarious circumstances.”

She propped her hands on her hips, his words stinging. “Do you mean to tell me you are going to quibble over the timing when you have been waiting for years for a Root Ball?” Bion’s face tightened. He was fighting to contain his emotions and that stung her too. In fact, it felt as if he’d delivered a harsh slap to her cheek. “You should be thanking me,” she declared.

“Impossible.” Bion’s tone cut through her attempt to maintain her dignity. “Once again you have failed to grasp my level of dedication to duty. I would never place my needs above the mission goal. You allowed the desire to please me to interfere with sound judgment.”

“You might wear an Illuminist pin, but you still think that because I am a woman, I need a protector. Well, I dealt with things quite well while you needed protecting.”

She almost broke through his stern exterior. Something flickered in his eyes that hinted at his true feelings, but he made a slashing motion with one hand before she decided just what it was.

“You do need a protector, Miss Stevenson, and I plan to perform my duties without fail.” He stared forward, denying her the chance to see his expression. The gravel crunched under her feet as they made their way up the road.

“Oh yes, you are a man of action. You’ve proven that time and again.”

Only today the action was breaking her heart. At least the sun was going down, offering her darkness to hide the tears flooding her eyes. She blinked them away, satisfied at least with the fact that none slid down her cheeks. There were few people on the road now and those who were hurried to make it to their homes before the night made it too difficult to find their way.

They were no different, and yet, the darkness was no longer something to shut the windows against. Now it was the time of day when she could at last take off her glasses and be at ease.

It was also the time of day when Bion might be her lover—if only until sunrise.

“It should be on the east end of the village.”

“Have you been here before?” she queried as Bion tugged her along behind him with a firm grip on her wrist.

“I grew up in Russia and have a good recollection of most of the major Solitary Chambers.”

In spite of the darkness, the man was still in his stubborn, commanding form. She twisted her hand up and over his wrist, breaking his grip. He stopped and glared at her.

“I am not a child to be pulled around.” She continued past him, offering him a contented smile as he glowered at her. “I understand that Russia is a very large country. How could you recall a single village?”

“Because there are not many Solitary Chambers here. The czar is not fond of secrets,” Bion answered. “Still, he has gained little for the number of our Chambers he’s burned.”

“Burned?” She hesitated and Bion captured her wrist once more.

“Did you think I was hurrying you because I long to be rid of your company? Quite the opposite in fact. The promise of a private bedroom draws me like a lighthouse.”

For just a moment, his tone held a teasing note. She fought off the urge to giggle, horrified as a soft sound made it past her lips. Only simpletons giggled.

Bion answered her with a soft chuckle. “I do believe that was a challenge, my sweet.” He stopped and surveyed the road where it split in front of them. His fingers gently massaged her wrist, sending little ripples of delight up her arm. He shot her a look that was hard to decipher in the darkness. “I’ve yet to enjoy your charms in a bed that wasn’t owned by a ruthless pirate or a gypsy.” He tugged her close, his warmth wrapping around her like a cloak. She wanted to snuggle against him. The impulse was so strong, it hurt to resist it. Bion leaned over to place a kiss against her throat. “Let’s find our brethren and a bed free of impending peril.”

“Yes.” She was breathless and unsure of which of his suggestions she was agreeing with. Her thoughts had clouded so quickly, frustrating her with how fast he reduced her to naught but a creature ruled by her passions.

He made a growling sound that cut through the fog holding her wits hostage. His pleased tone was impossible to miss. She broke his grip once more.

“You are entirely too sure of yourself, Captain Donkova.”

She walked past him, intent on using action to clear her thinking. A firm slap landed on her backside, earning him a hiss as she jumped with surprise.

“No gentleman spanks a lady,” she protested.

Bion Donkova grinned at her, the starlight illuminating his teeth. “Yet as you have so often noted, I am a pirate.”

“What happened to your sense of duty?”

He shrugged and pointed. A few paces away were a pair of doorways with the seal of the Illuminist Order painted on them. Her shoulders suddenly felt lighter and every muscle in her body began to ache. Bion hooked an arm around her waist, his teasing demeanor vanishing. She looked away, fearful that he’d transform into the stern taskmaster again, the man who knew so much more than she did, the one she couldn’t quite seem to best.

“Easy, Sophia.” He held her close for a moment, placing a soft kiss against her temple as she shuddered. Control was slipping through her fingers like sand, the days of uncertainty taking their toll now that safety was so close at hand.

“You’ve done as much to bring us here as I did,” he admitted. His voice was gruff and she lifted her face so their eyes locked. He cupped the side of her face. “And I do appreciate the gift you managed to bestow on me, even if I could not say thank you until I knew you were safe.”

She shivered but not from the cold. It was emotion and the certain knowledge that she stood on even footing with him. For sure, she didn’t expect him to tolerate it for long, but she realized she didn’t want him to. Part of her enjoyed being possessed. At least by him.

“Let’s see if anyone is home,” he muttered, sounding as reluctant to end the moment as she was.

***

The street might have looked deserted, but a wise man learned at a young age to be unnoticeable—at least in a country such as Russia, where men were still bound to the land as serfs. Sergey was no different. He might have been named for an important man, but he himself was very common and a serf. He made his way as best he could, for tonight there was a man willing to pay for information. Sergey watched the couple, feeling a stirring of pity for them. The fact that they were lovers was clear. It was there in the way the man touched her and in the trusting way the woman leaned against him.

Sergey stiffened. Pity would see his children crying in the winter when he had nothing to feed them. One man’s misfortune was another’s gain. There were men who paid well for information, and it was easier to produce than working all day in the coal mines.