Once a Mistress (6 page)

Diana knew the exact instant when Marcus spotted Scroggins. The pirate sneered and gave a brutal thrust, causing Alex to jump back.

“‘Tis a beautiful morning to die,” Marcus hissed. “Any last requests?” Not by the flicker of an eyelash did he betray the man creeping up behind his opponent.

Alex parried the next thrust. “My only request is to see your bones rattling in the wind!”

Marcus laughed. The sound sent a shudder down Diana’s spine. After a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, she pulled forth from concealment the blade she had stolen from Marcus’s cabin. She clenched her fingers around it as the shadow that was Scroggins crept past her hiding place. She braced herself, then with a cry of alarm she leaped at the seaman.

Alex glanced over at the commotion. Diana stood toe to toe with a scarred member of Marcus’s crew, waving a blood-stained dagger before the stunned seaman’s eyes. The cur was swearing and clutching his arm to his chest. Blood trickled from between his fingers.

A stirring of air alerted Alex as Marcus took advantage of his momentary distraction and slashed at his mid-section. Alex whirled away, but a hiss of pain escaped his lips as the pirate’s sword sliced across his ribs. The wound throbbed, but at least he still lived. He came out of the turn to meet Marcus blade to blade.

Diana kicked away the henchman’s dagger as it clattered to the deck. She winced as the blade pricked her bare foot, but she never took her eyes from Scroggins.

“Ye poxy slut! Ye cut me!”

“And I’ll cut you again, so don’t test me.” She held the dagger at the ready just for emphasis.

Scroggins narrowed his eyes. “Ye’re just a wench,” he sneered. “Ye need a man to show ye who yer master is!”

He lunged at her and grabbed both her wrists. A cruel twist made her fingers spring open. She gave a small moan of denial as the knife tumbled to the deck.

Scroggins laughed. Fear spiked up from her gut, and her pulse thundered in her ears. As she saw the triumph that glimmered in his squinty eyes, she knew Scroggins thought she was trapped. Something cold and unemotional settled into her soul. Not taking her gaze from his, she grabbed his sleeves for leverage and slammed her knee between his legs.

His yowl of pain echoed like a dying thing as he released her and fell to his knees. She kicked him in the chest with her foot. With a pitiful cry, the seaman crashed to the deck. He curled into a ball, his hands cupped protectively at the juncture of his thighs.

Diana stepped away from him and scooped up her dagger. Another glance revealed the sailor still where he fell, apparently stunned. She took a deep breath and silently thanked her father for teaching her how to defend herself. Remaining near the fallen man with dagger at the ready, she looked to Alex.

A few feet away the two pirates continued their battle. Marcus fought like a madman, his slashing sword a weapon of fire as it reflected the hues of the rising sun. Alex parried each vicious blow, but every one cost him a step backward until his spine bumped the rail of the ship. Marcus surged forward. With a clang of steel, the two men grappled for the advantage.

Diana put her hand to her throat as each strained to win, blades locked, Alex trapped against the side of the ship. She took a step toward them with the idea of helping Alex. Then Marcus stumbled backward, propelled by the force of Alex’s booted foot in his stomach. She could not help but smile as she saw how her rescuer had used the side of the ship for leverage in order to accomplish the maneuver. As Alex regained his footing he winked at her. Then Marcus’s roar of rage reclaimed his attention.

Marcus rushed Alex. Seconds before Marcus’s sword would have pierced his flesh, Alex dodged to one side. Marcus slammed against the rail. Before the pirate could regain the breath that had whooshed from his lungs, Alex grabbed him by shirt and seat and shoved him over the side.

A moment later a wail and a splash reached their ears. Alex turned from the rail, his black hair damp with sweat and falling in a tangled mass to his broad shoulders. He lowered his sword and approached her with a cocky grin.

“Your taste in men has not improved. Must I ever rescue you from your bad judgment?” He sheathed his sword and nudged the fallen seaman with the toe of his boot. “Though this was very nicely done.”

“Thank you so very much,” she retorted, his obnoxious comment redirecting all her fear and frustration onto his arrogant head. “I cannot tell you how much your praise means to me.”

“How can you be so shrewish at so early an hour?” he asked with interest.

“I have had a terrible night.”

“Well, your morning will be much better. Come, let’s away.”

She pulled her elbow from his guiding grasp. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Folding his arms across his chest, he raised an eyebrow. “You are the most ungrateful female I have ever met. This is the second time I have rescued you, only to feel the bite of your tongue for my efforts.”

“As before, sir, I was about to extricate myself before you appeared.”

“Indeed.” Male indulgence underscored his words.

Diana fumed at his patronizing tone. “You need not speak to me as if I were a child, Alex. Or shall I call you El Moreno?”

“Call me what you wish. And give me that.” Before she could protest he took her dagger and tucked it into his own boot.

“How dare you? I saved your miserable life, yet now I cannot be trusted with a blade?”

“Your tongue is sharp enough. And any woman who would not leave Marcus’s ship is, indeed, a fool.”

“I did not say I would not leave the ship. I only said I choose not to leave with you.”

“You were not given a choice, my sweet.” Directing his attention to the decks behind her, he put two fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him to the rail of the quarterdeck.

“What are you doing?”

“Hush, woman.” His dark gaze touched on her lips before he raised his eyes to hers. “Lest I find a way to silence you.”

His sensual promise awakened a tremor of response in her untried body. Well did she remember the power of his kiss. She did not think she could handle the confusing emotions he inspired on top of everything else that had happened. Out of self-preservation, she slowly nodded.

He turned to face his crew.

Alex looked out over the lower decks of the ship. His men had gathered in response to his signal, having incarcerated the surviving members of Marcus’s crew in the hold. They looked up at him in expectation.

He stood silent for a long moment, then drew his sword and speared it into the air. “Well done, my friends! Marcus is ours!”

A rousing cheer answered his words. John McBride, Alex’s first mate, pushed a seething, dripping Marcus to the front of the crowd.

“Captain!” McBride called out. “We fished a little somethin’ out o’ the water. Even the sharks won’t eat it!”

Roars of laughter echoed across the decks. With rope binding his wrists in front of him, Marcus glared as if he would strangle every man there. Alex smiled with deep satisfaction as he met the hate-filled gaze of his enemy.

“Clap him in irons, McBride. Let him enjoy the hospitality of his own rats.”

McBride tried to lead Marcus away, but the pirate shook off his hold. “This is not over yet, El Moreno!”

Alex leaned over the rail. “It is for you.”

Marcus once more resisted McBride’s determination to see him away. He looked at Diana. His lips curved in a slow, terrible smile. “We will meet again, my dear. Believe it.”

Alex expected her to quail. To his amazement, Diana stepped forward and closed her hands over the rail. “If we do,” she said in a clear voice, “‘twill be at your hanging.”

Marcus sketched a little bow, then looked at Alex. “Enjoy the whore, you Spanish bastard. Just remember—I had her first.”

With a wave of his hand, McBride signaled two burly men, who grabbed the pirate and dragged him away. Marcus continued to glare at the two of them until he disappeared below deck.

Alex glanced at Diana. “You are a brave woman,” he murmured.

“I was terrified.”

“An intelligent woman as well.” He grinned and shook his head. “But we really must do something about your affinity for such disagreeable companions.”

“Absolutely.” She eyed him from head to toe and then turned away.

He chuckled. “You must admit, I am a better choice than Marcus.”

She shrugged. “One pirate is the same as another.”

Her casual insult chafed like a splinter beneath his skin. He had saved her life, yet she treated him as if he were the one intent on harming her.

Shoving his sword back into its scabbard, he reached for her. “Come with me.”

She resisted as he tried to lead her to the ladder. “Where are we going?”

“Must you plague me with questions?” Alex jerked her forward. She fell against his chest, grabbing his shirt for balance. The garment, slashed from his battle with Marcus, tore open to expose the bare skin of his midsection. Still clutching the strip of black cambric, Diana looked up into his face, her expression a picture of maidenly horror.

“Ah, Diana,” he said with false innocence. “Your lusty appetites astound me. I would gladly have disrobed had you but asked.”

“Oh!” Diana dropped the swatch of material as if it burned her. “As if I would ever ask such a thing!”

“Perhaps you might. Someday.” He took her arm. “Now, you may walk with me to my ship like the lady you are, or you may share quarters with Marcus in the hold. ‘Tis your choice.”

“You are vile.” Her nose raised in haughty disdain, she preceded him to the ladder. Chuckling, he followed.

They descended to the lower decks. McBride awaited him in the waist.

“Orders, captain?” The mate fell into step behind his captain as Alex led Diana across the deck.

“Take a few men and secure the ship,” Alex replied. “Leave Fernandez in command here. I need you back on the
Vengeance
.”

“Indeed I will, sir.”

“And cut loose the grappling ropes as soon as you can,” Alex added. “A storm’s blowing up, and I don’t want the
Vengeance
dragged under by this barge if it hits.”

“To be sure.” With a nod, the wiry, red-haired Irishman hurried across one of the planks balanced between the two ships. Alex made to follow, but Diana brought him up short.
 

Her gray eyes widened with apprehension as she stared down at the sea below them.

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t let you fall.”

“I cannot tell you how much that reassures me,” she snapped.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “There is always the alternative. I am certain Marcus would be glad of the company.” She gave him a look of disgust, and he laughed. “That is what I thought. Now come.” Tugging her behind him, he mounted the plank.

Diana burned with chagrin as Alex led her about like a spaniel on a lead. She wanted to protest but dared not test him further. He won every challenge.

She followed him across the plank with small steps. Her stomach rolled as she viewed the choppy water beneath them. She looked up with haste and fixed her gaze on his broad back. How could he stroll such a narrow board with such confidence? He seemed totally in control of his environment, certain that he could handle any problem that arose.

So where did that leave her?

It had not occurred to her to be afraid of him, since he had once before refused the opportunity to do her harm. But that had been in the garden of her home, where one cry from her would have brought armed men to her rescue. Fear trickled along her spine as a new concern grew in her mind. What was to prevent Alex from abusing her now? On his own ship, no one would stop him.

The thud of his boots hitting his own deck jerked her from her musings. He took a moment to help her down from the plank, then he led her across the main deck and up the ladders to the quarterdeck. The man known as McBride already waited there.

Alex gave her a hard look as he released her by the outside rail overlooking the ocean. “Stay here and cause no trouble. My men are not the sort of lily-livered buffoons you are used to. If they see a woman unattended, they will act according to their baser natures. Do you understand, or must I say it in less respectable terms?”

“I comprehend you quite well. It is what I expected.”

“No doubt.” With one last warning look, he crossed the deck to confer with the first mate. Even wounded, the man moved with the grace of a tiger.

As Diana watched him, a fluttering sensation sprang to life in her stomach. This man had a wild, untamed side that both frightened her and intrigued her at the same time. He glanced up from his whispered conversation and met her eyes for an instant. The contact lasted only a brief moment, but its effect lingered in her trembling limbs. Then he returned his attention to the first mate.

Disturbed by the intensity of her response, Diana turned her attention to the open sea. She had no interest in the low-voiced conversation going on a few feet away. Instead, she occupied herself with plans for escape.

Alex glanced at Diana again and frowned. He didn’t like her contemplative expression as she stared out to sea. He would wager his ship that she was plotting something. From her fearless demeanor, one would think she was abducted by pirates every day.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered.

“Captain? Did ye say somethin’?”

He frowned at McBride, who regarded him with a puzzled expression. “No.” With effort, he pulled his thoughts away from Diana Covington. “Did we profit well from the contents of Marcus’s hold?”

McBride chuckled. “‘Tis true we lightened his load a bit.”

“Excellent. Divide the shares then, but none for me. I claim the woman as captain’s share. That should keep the peace amongst the men.”

“Agreed. They will not be missin’ a woman when their pockets are full o’ gold.”

“That is my intention. I have no desire to punish any member of my crew whose lust might overwhelm his common sense. But if I have to, I will.”

“I don’t think ‘twould come to that. There’s not a man aboard who would dare touch the captain’s woman. ‘Tis not worth the risk o’ losin’ a hand.”