The Gambler (37 page)

"You know what I mean! It's not a real marriage! It's all a sham."

He remained silent for a moment, tightening his jaw and waiting for discipline. He had tried to disavow his feelings for her, but there had been no hope of that, and when he'd touched her the last time, he had fully given in to his desire, hoping against feeble hope that some small part of his love would be returned.

But now her expression warned him of the truth, so he kept his own features and his tone carefully smooth. "And what do you call last night?"

"A mistake!" Her answer came very quickly. She turned now, striding the few paces to the wall. "Oh..." She laughed, but the tone was very tight. "It was pleasant enough. But surely you don't think I'll be bound to you for eternity because of one rash moment."

Raven squeezed his fists, tamping down the blistering memories of passion and more. Damn her! Damn her for being the better gambler, for holding all the cards. "I seem to remember two rash moments."

She laughed again. "Don't be silly. You know exactly what I mean."

"No. I don't think I do."

Her face was pale and he wondered if she'd quit breathing. "
You
said we'd have it annulled. I thought we both understood the situation."

"Well..." His teeth hurt. "I'm rather slow on the uptake sometimes, Charm. Perhaps you'd better explain the... situation." Involuntarily he took a step forward.

She bumped sharply against the wall, holding her breath and jamming one hand into the pocket of her gown. "Don't come any closer!"

He stopped abruptly. It seemed he'd heard that warning a thousand times. If he'd learned anything, he'd learned that it was unwise to crowd her. Yet, every fiber in him wanted to shake her until she admitted the truth—that she'd felt the same internal storm as he. That she loved him, would never feel complete without him. She must feel it! She must!

"Damn it, Charm!" he swore, advancing.

"I'm warning you!" Her voice was scratchy, and the terror in her eyes was apparent.

It cooled something inside him slightly, allowing his fists to loosen a bit and his breathing to slow. "You slept in my arms," he said quietly. "You
slept."
He forced himself to move backward, toward the door, toward clearer thought. "Whether you want to believe it or not, you trusted me, Charm. Me, and nobody else."

Outside the door Raven drew a deep breath and swore in silence. An annulment! Dammit! Of course, he'd planned to annul the marriage, but it had seemed different when it was
his
idea. And besides, that was before. Before he felt her beneath him. Felt her quiver of... Damn! His strides were quick and steady now, bearing him as far away as the confinement of the steamer would allow. He needed air, needed space, needed... pants, he realized suddenly, and seeing one of the
Belle'
s mates, stopped him to ask how he might acquire a change of clothing.

"I'm surprised at you, Joseph, wantin' to get rid of my gift," Clancy chuckled from behind him. "And they look so fine on you."

Raven turned. Although every bit of good sense in him said to greet Bodine with feigned good humor, he could not oblige. Sweeping his hand upward, he grabbed the other's throat and propelled his thrashing body through the scattering crowd to the railing behind. "Get the hell out of my life, Bodine," he growled.

"Joseph! Joseph!" squeaked the other, his hands clawing at Raven's grip. "You think I'm following you? I didn't know you was on this boat."

Raven vaguely heard the squawks and gasps of the crowd behind him, but for once his patient self-control had snapped. He squeezed his hand. "You used to be a damned good liar, Clance. And not a bad swimmer. Hope you've been practicing that skill." He pushed backward.

"While we appreciate the spot of entertainment, gentlemen," said a carefully cultured voice from behind, "I fear there's insufficient room for fisticuffs aboard my vessel. Therefore..." The sound of a handgun cocking was perfectly clear to Raven's ears. "I must insist that you continue your dispute on land."

It would take little more than a shove to propel Clancy over the side, just a push and a curse, and it would feel so good. But Raven had spent his life controlling his fondest desires and did so now. He eased his hand open and backed away, though he found it impossible for a moment to unclench his teeth.

"Mr. Scott, isn't it?" asked Fields.

Raven nodded, not taking his eyes from Clancy.

"Yes. I thought I remembered you. A gambler, I believe, but not usually so... disruptive."

"This man tried to kill me!" croaked Clancy dramatically.

Fields turned slowly. "And who might you be?"

"Clancy Bodine. And he tried to kill me."

Fields's blue eyes turned to Raven again. "Was that indeed your intent, sir?"

"He's a madman," said Clancy, apparently appealing to the appalled crowd. "You'd best throw him off."

"And your story?" the English captain asked Raven.

"He seduced my sister," Raven lied smoothly. Perhaps Clancy's mere proximity brought out the liar in him. But whatever the reason, he hardly had time to launch into a litany of all the crimes Clancy had perpetrated against him in the past. And saying he had abducted the woman whom Raven had abducted first didn't seem to be the perfect plan. Besides, he couldn't say exactly why Clancy was there, although he could easily assume it was for no good. So Raven puffed out his substantial chest, looking affronted. "And now he hopes to steal the affections of my beautiful wife." He glanced about the crowd. Beautiful women were a rare and precious commodity in this part of the world. Rare, precious, and carefully guarded. "I suggest you ask your captain to refuse passage to this scandalous womanizer," he said, remembering the captain's stunning companions from the past.

"Womanizer!" Clancy's tone was amazingly sincere, considering he'd never spoken an honest word in his life. "Ask Joseph here how he come to marry the gal."

Raven squeezed his fists and remained still. "That's none of your affair, or anyone else's."

"The hell it ain't," argued Clancy. "He screwed—"

Raven's fist hit Clancy squarely in the jaw. There were gasps and shrieks of dismay but no one was more surprised than Raven. He'd always thrown his punches carefully, not like an undisciplined schoolboy.

"Use that word in reference to her again and I'll kill you, Bodine," he said softly. "I swear I will."

Clancy remained upon the floor, his jaw slightly ajar and his expression astonished. "You're in love with her!"

Every muscle in Raven's body vibrated with need. It would feel good to hit him again. "Get the hell out of here."

"You are!" Clancy said and throwing back his head, laughed aloud. "Who would have thought ten years ago that the bitter little Raven boy would fall for a—"

Raven lunged, but in that moment his arms were caught by burly men with dangerous intent.

"Cool down, boy," the larger of the two giants warned, "or we'll cool y' down."

The crowd milled nervously.

"Now folks, the show is over," said Captain Fields seriously. "Go about your business, and we'll be underway in a short while."

There was the shuffling sound of regretfully departing feet. Raven, however, barely noticed, for his attention was riveted hard and fast on Clancy's surprised features.

"Now gentlemen," said the captain softly. "It's like this, either you learn to get along during this little journey, or you both disembark here. You understand me?"

Raven gritted his teeth but forced his fists to loosen and his muscles to relax. Clancy, on the other hand, scrambled to his feet with his usual easy grin.

"Of course we do, Captain. Me and Joseph, we're just havin' us a little fun. We're pals really. Go way back."

They were surrounded by silence, and then, "Good, then I trust you will do more talking and less swinging. Yes?"

"Of course," Clancy said with a shrug, but Raven remained mute, still feeling the bitter burn in his gut.

"Yes?" the captain asked again.

"Yes," replied Raven finally, not taking his gaze from his adversary.

"Good," said Fields. "Then I'll buy you each a drink and give you one last warning. Disturb the peace on the
Yankee Belle
again and you'll find the journey back much more tiresome and damp than the journey out."

"Yes sir," said Clancy with an effusive smile.

Raven only managed a nod.

The table between them was too narrow for Raven's peace of mind. Clancy sat across from him, placing his whiskey glass against the bruise on his jaw and shaking his head. "Tell me the truth."

Raven swished the amber liquid, which he'd not yet tasted. "Why?"

"For old time's sake." Clancy fingered his jaw then winced.

"That's
what I did for old time's sake," retorted Raven, impassively nodding toward the other's bruised chin. His temper had cooled, though the tension was still there, lying just beneath his skin, waiting, contained, but not controlled.

"Do you love her or is it just the money?"

The tension increased a half-turn, though Raven was hardly surprised by the other's knowledge regarding Charm's true identity. Clancy was a lot of things; stupid wasn't amongst them. Still, it wouldn't hurt to pretend he didn't understand the other's meaning. "What money?"

Bodine grinned. "It's not like you to underestimate me, Joseph. If you'd been thinkin' clear you would have at least disguised the girl."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Once I knew you'd left the room, it was easy to figure where you was headin'. All I had to do was ask around about a young beauty and her baggy-legged escort." He chuckled. "When you was workin' fer me, you wouldn't a made such a mistake." He shifted the whiskey glass to his jaw again. "She's sure distracted you. Must be a hell of a—"

Raven rose without thought, without time for intent, but Clancy lifted a hand and stifled his grin. "God, I love to see you riled. You this coolheaded during poker now too?"

There were few things he could have said that would have been more sure to settle Raven back into his seat, for coolheaded thinking was something Raven valued above most everything else. Something he seemed to have lost and needed to retrieve.

"I know she's Chantilly Grady, Joseph," Clancy said now. "Suspected it soon as I saw your interest in her, of course. But once I started talkin' to Jude..." He grinned. "The old man can't hold his liquor worth a damn. You'd be surprised at the stories he'll tell when he's drunk." He paused, studying Raven intently before continuing. "'Course... he didn't touch nary a drop once we was on yer trail. Sober as a toothache. Just like you when the stakes is high. Yep." Clancy leaned back in his chair, drawing a deep breath and grinning. "The things he told me would make yer head spin."

Though Raven wanted nothing more than to learn all he could of Charm, though he felt like shaking the stories from Clancy, control was of the utmost importance now. He swirled his liquor again and tried to pretend he didn't care. "The money's mine, Bodine."

Clancy cocked his head and grinned. "Not if I get her there first."

The grin Raven offered was less congenial and far more predatory. "You think they'd pay
you
for returning
my
wife?" He laughed, thinking Clancy would understand only one thing. Greed. "Not likely, old man. She's mine—lock, stock, and inheritance."

Clancy remained silent for a full three seconds and then, "Damn! You're even slimier than I thought. God damn! I've always admired that about you, Joseph. Now me, I'm slimy, but you
know
I'm slimy, while
you,
you've got just enough clean to make a body wonder. Goddamn! So what's she worth?"

Raven smiled, slowly, calculatingly. "It's none of your affair."

"Damn! That much! Damn!" He smacked the table with the flat of his hand. "And you played it so damned close t' the vest. I was honestly believin' you cared fer her."

"Of course I care for her." Raven carefully raised a brow, keeping his expression very solemn, just as he would have if he were lying. "I adore her. Who wouldn't? Tender little thing that she is."

Clancy's gaze fell to Raven's chest. He knew a wound was hidden there. He laughed. "Damn me, if I didn't raise you right. Well, Joseph..." He lifted and drained his glass in a sort of toast. "You win."

*

On the deck above, Charm lurched away from the rail. She'd regretted her behavior in their room, but the old terror had tormented her for a time, gripping her in its terrible grasp and forcing her to say what she had said.

But another fear had driven her from her haven. Fear of loneliness, of failure, of losing the one person whom she could trust, if she but dared take the chance. And so she had flown across the deck in search of him. She'd reached the rail only moments before, just long enough to hear his words.
Tender little thing that she is.
He lied of course, easily telling Clancy and herself that he did not care for her. She was, after all, only a means to an end.

The words of tenderness. The gentle hands. They were all a ploy, nothing more than a trick to gain the trust of the bloodthirsty killer woman. She felt sick to her stomach. She had to get off, get away!

"Hey!" She could hear Clancy's voice clearly, then the scrape of his chair as he rose to his feet. "Wasn't that your blushing bride now?"

Raven's curse was just as clear, but already she was running, racing toward freedom. Faces blurred as she fled, down the steps, toward the exit. But the ramp had been lifted and the steamer was moving.

No! She glanced frantically toward land, but already she heard the thunder of feet behind her. There was no time to lose! She scrambled up the railing, ready to jump, but suddenly she was plucked down and swung away in Raven's tight grip.

"Let me go!" she screamed, thrashing wildly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Let me go," she said, her voice huskier now.

"Settle down," Raven ordered, his arms tight bands around her, pinning her arms to her chest and her back to his torso. "I'm not going to hurt you. Let's go to the cabin. Discuss things."