Lady Vixen (17 page)

Instinctively
Nicole knew what he wanted, and she experienced a warm wave of tenderness when
she felt him catch his breath and stiffen as her untaught hands explored the
essence of him. A half groan came from him as she continued, and he felt his
need for her growing, until he knew that soon he must have her—or shame
himself!

Slowly
he laid her back on the bed, his mouth exploring hers with growing urgency.
Nicole was too caught up in too many new sensations of the physical to have
even one coherent thought in her head. When his hand gently probed between her
legs, she gave a leap of half-fear, half anticipation, but Saber stilled it and
said against her mouth, "Don't move, love . . . don't fight me,
sweetheart. It'll be good... I promise."

With
a shudder Nicole melted against him, and he shifted slightly, his fingers
gently and expertly easing the way for his possession. He moved between her
thighs, holding her legs apart with his knees and, releasing her mouth for a
second, muttered thickly, "Let me in, love, let me fill you and lose
myself in you."

Dazed
and in the grip of such frenzy of longing, Nicole barely heard him—she felt her
hips raised and the first swelling pressure of his entrance. He took her
gently, so gently there was just one small moment of pain, and then he slid
full-length into the softness between her thighs. In a welter of shock and
arousal she could feel her body expanding to take him, to accommodate this
intrusion of her body. Kissing her, he whispered almost tenderly, "So, my
little one, you were a virgin after all." But then that slightly caressing
note vanished and he said in a half-guttural, half-groaning voice, "Ah,
God, I don't know if I can hold back—I want you too badly." His mouth
captured hers and his body, despite his words, mindful of her inexperience,
began to rock against hers until he could stand it no longer—and he thrust
hungrily and almost painfully into her. Though he tried not to hurt her, Nicole
wasn't quite ready for the sudden, almost brutal movements of his body and she
cried out in pain.

Hearing
it, Saber compelled himself to lessen the force of his movements, but the soft
body beneath him was driving him to fill her, to take her as he had never taken
a woman in his life. Driven by something he didn't understand, he wanted to
brand her with his possession, to take her with such intensity that she would
be forever his. And Nicole, unaware of anything except the hard body joined
with hers, was suddenly, feverishly caught up with him, her body rising to meet
the thrust of him, her hands holding him closer as if she could not have enough
of him. And when at last the incredible emotion had spent itself in a wild
flurry of exquisite pleasure, Saber cradled Nicole's shaking body in his arms.
She was exhausted from the storm he had aroused and was confused at how easily
she had succumbed to his lovemaking. She hadn't thought once of Allen, and now
she guiltily remembered that it was supposedly for Allen that she had given
herself to Saber.

She
lay there in his arms, aware of a certain discomfort between her legs, and
suddenly her heart was filled with sadness. Saber had been gentle, she couldn't
deny it, but it still couldn't erase the feeling that what had passed was
something she would never be proud of. She told herself that she had done it
for Allen, and she didn't begrudge it to him—she owed him her life and this
seemed a small price to pay. And yet there was the nagging thought—had it just
been for Allen that she had given herself to Saber? She couldn't answer it and
she didn't want to face what might be the truth. Uneasily, she moved away from
Saber's relaxed body and after a few minutes fell into a fitful doze, but she
couldn't sleep. And so perhaps twenty minutes or so later, the ache of unshed
tears in the back of her throat, she sat up stiffly, ignoring Saber who lay on
the bed beside her, one hand flung out on her pillow, where he had been
teasingly playing with her hair.

"Where
are you going?" he asked idly.

"I—I—don't
know. You've had what you wanted. There's nothing more you could take from
me."

Saber
only smiled, his eyes gold and warm as they played over her face. "Oh, no.
You, I shall want again and again for some time. I'm hungry for you again
already, did you know that?"

She
looked at him, then quickly averted her eyes from the growing proof of what he
said. Lying there beside him, her mind in confusion, she came to a decision.
Allen would hate the bargain she had made and she knew that she couldn't
continue it. She had already given this man her innocence. She could give no
more and wanted no more, afraid of what it would reveal about herself.

Unaware
of her turmoil, Saber was running a caressing finger down her spine, his mouth
sliding on her shoulder. "Come to me again, Nick," he said huskily.

"No,
never!" Nicole spat, suddenly sickened by the sordidness of it all, and
she leaped away, her eyes dark with shame. "It was a stupid bargain I
made. I cannot stay as your mistress. I thought I could, but I find that even
to save Allen, I cannot turn myself into a common slut.. . especially not one
of
your
common sluts!"

Saber's
mouth tightened and he felt fury take him by the throat at her notion that it
might end as easily as that. "Rest easy about your bargain!" he
snarled. "I have no intention of releasing Allen Ballard and nothing you
can do will change my mind." At her look of disbelief, he laughed softly,
"I never
said
I would let him go, did I?"

"B-b-but
you—you . . ." The words trailed off as she desperately sought to recall
precisely what he had said.

"I
said, 'Why not?' I'll admit there is an implication there. But, brat, you
should have made certain before you assumed I had agreed."

Some
of his fury died at the stunned expression on her face, and almost gently he
added, "He's not in American hands in New Orleans at the moment, so you
could say I kept the bargain. But hear me, Nicole, I will not free Allen—at
least not immediately. When I decide he can cause no more trouble, I'll
consider it."

"But,
you promised!" Nicole protested heatedly, not really quite comprehending
what Saber was saying.

"So
did you!" he shot back. "You promised to be my mistress as long as I
wanted you—but you were going to back out, weren't you?"

"That's
different!" she retorted defensively.

Saber
snorted. "The difference escapes me, I'm afraid. And despite the fact that
events are not turning out quite as you planned, I have kept my end of it.
Allen is still alive and as yet he is not in the calaboose in New
Orleans."

"You
double-crossing, monstrous beast! You deliberately misled me!" Nicole
cried angrily, the topaz eyes gleaming with sparks of fury. "You know that
I thought you would free him after tonight!"

"And
you would be gone in the morning, wouldn't you?" he growled dangerously.
"Gone to join your confederate, after so cleverly gulling the
Captain."

Nicole
was genuinely appalled that he thought her capable of such double-dealing. In a
small voice she asked, "Could we please forget about Allen and the
bargain? Could we just pretend that I changed my mind? I don't want to be your
mistress, Saber . . . and Allen has nothing to do with it."

"But
you're going back on your word, aren't you? You gave your word, remember?"
he snapped coldly.

"So
did you—and you haven't kept it either. You knew I assumed you would let Allen
go free tomorrow. So you're breaking your word too!"

"Not
quite!" he said with an icy smile. "I never gave my word. You did and
now you're breaking it! Well, let me tell you, brat, I don't like people not
paying their debts to me! We'll forget about your bargain all right! We'll
forget about it, and I'll treat you like I should have when I first discovered
your little treachery." Viciously his arms snaked out to capture her. And
in that moment before he erupted out of the bed, the thought crossed his mind
that women were all alike—liars, cheats, and betrayers—and this one was no
different from the first woman who had caused him to be banished and sold into
the British Navy.
Sluts
—every last one of them!

Nicole
had seen his eyes narrow with intent a second before he moved, and she
scrambled behind the table where they had eaten. A chill of apprehension slid
down her spine as he advanced. She sensed that some strange emotion drove him,
an emotion that she was only part of, and with growing dismay she watched his
approach.

The
black hair was tousled from her caressing fingers and the wavering candlelight created
sinister shadows over his bearded face and tall body. His eyes were cold and
icy and the tight line of his mouth told her that nothing short of murder could
save her.

Slowly
they circled the table, hunted and hunter, and searching frantically for escape
or some way of halting him, Nicole's eyes fell upon the goblet he had used
during dinner. With a quick movement she grabbed it and smashed the top off in
one downward crack against the table; she was left with the stem with which to
hold it and the jagged edges to fight with.

A
grim smile flickered through the gold eyes and he laughed softly. "Do you
think
that
will stop me?"

Nicole
nodded vigorously, her eyes huge with grim determination.

"It
won't, you know," he said coldly. "I intend to have you, and
nothing
will stop me!"

He
lunged across the table, and Nicole had to leave its protection. Now there was
nothing between their naked bodies but the goblet's glittering edge. She held
it as she would a knife and cautiously backed away from him. Her heart was
thumping madly in her breast and she felt almost dizzy. She must have been
insane to have even suggested such a monstrous bargain and even crazier to have
let things go so far. And as Nicole continued to back away his mouth went hard,
and the gold eyes glittering icily, he charged. Nicole, startled by his sudden
movement, stumbled into a chair and was unable to regain her balance or protect
herself. Saber caught the hand that held the goblet and twisted her arm behind
her back. Propelling her across the room, he shoved her face down into the
softness of the bed.

The
pain in her arm was excruciating, and for a moment, with her face buried in the
feather mattress, she thought she would be smothered. But then the cruel grip
was released, and before she could do more than draw in a great gulp, his hands
captured her hips, and he partially lifted the lower half of her body from the
bed. She struggled to escape, but he had one arm wrapped around her waist,
holding her securely, and with a shock of disbelief and an odd tingle of
anticipation, she felt his other hand slide between her thighs. Knowing
instinctively what he meant to do, she fought even more wildly, unwilling to
give in to the giddy ache that was stirring in her loins, but her actions
aroused him further. His arm left her waist, and with both hands gripping her
hips, he entered her suddenly from behind.

Helpless
to free herself, not even certain that she wanted to be free, Nicole was only
aware of his big body driving into hers, and with horror she experienced a
shocking burst of pleasure as he continued to thrust himself deep within her.
And then this half-savage, half-exciting possession was finished as Saber gave
a guttural growl of carnal satisfaction and withdrew from her. Her ravished
body sank down onto the bed. Between her legs there was a throbbing ache, and
in her brain a raging fire clouded rational thought. Dimly she heard Saber say
flatly, "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that and I should not have lost my
temper . . . but, Nick, I'm afraid you brought it on yourself." His cool
uncaring ignited her turbulent feelings, and with a feral snarl, she reared up
and swung blindly in his direction with the broken goblet.

Saber,
though he moved with the speed of a striking snake, could not escape unscathed.
Her wild slash caught him diagonally on the ribs, down across his stomach and
groin, ending on his thigh. It wasn't deep, but blood was seeping from the
jagged wound. He backed away from her, but Nicole stalked him like a maddened
animal, intent upon destroying that portion of him that had so recently taken
her virginity.

Saber
eyed her warily. That she had every intention of castrating him was
obvious—that she would enjoy it was even more apparent. Cautiously he stepped
back, keeping away from the razor-sharp piece of crystal. His eyes never left
hers as they moved around the room, their roles being reversed—
she
the
hunter and he the hunted!

But
Saber was not without an agile brain. He would let her draw near; then at the
last moment he would twist away from her weapon. Over and over again he danced
out of her reach, cleverly leading her exactly where he wanted.

Infuriated
further by his actions, she swung more frantically. Suddenly careless in her
fury, her eyes left his— and in that moment he snatched up his silken robe.
Whirling the robe like a matador's cape, he swung it around her arm, entangled
her hand and rendered the goblet useless. Immediately he closed in on her and
imprisoned her in his arms, one hand clenched tightly around the wrist of the
hand that still clasped the weapon. "Drop it, Nick!" he commanded,
but Nicole only increased her exertions. Saber held her fast, his grip growing
stronger and more painful as they fought.