Time for Love (9 page)

Nicholas knew Turner also carried a knife, but he didn’t think she would use it. No, if this fight turned deadly, it would be at Duff’s insistence.

Yet, even as he looked for an opening to put an end to it, he found himself enjoying the spectacle. Were she a man, he would have relaxed and cheered them on with the rest of the crew. He had never seen this type of fighting and marveled that a woman displayed this type of skill. He would never have believed it possible were he not seeing it for himself.

A fierce desire to see Alex—he could no longer think of her as Turner, Turner was a young boy, Alex was a fully grown woman—naked came unbidden to his mind as he watched her bend in ways he’d never thought possible. His body tightened as her movements gave evidence to the lithe body hidden beneath her disguise. His imagination filled in what her clothing concealed, and he marveled that he had not realized her true nature from the start.

He had assumed from her delicate frame she was younger than she claimed, but now he felt like an idiot for not realizing only a woman could have such purity of features. He longed to see her in appropriate clothing. He imagined she would be quite beautiful.

She moved gracefully around the deck, her whole body involved in the fight. For not only did she punch with her hands, she kicked with her feet and contorted her body in a variety of ways to evade Duff’s attempts to reach her. With each strike, she cried, “Key-Yah!” in a loud voice that carried across the deck and emphasized each blow Duff received.

Fear mixed with pride as Nicholas watched her block a blow with her arm while simultaneously stepping away, causing Duff to stumble forward right into the foot she’d brought up to kick him in the sternum, sending him flying once more onto his arse.

He slid several feet across the deck, before coming to a stop against the mainmast. A snarl curled his lips, and he wiped spittle from his chin as he pushed up, bracing himself against the mast. He staggered forward, seemingly having difficulty keeping to his feet. Until he got within striking distance.

Nicholas’s thoughts abruptly returned to the present as the crew gasped as one. He took an involuntary step forward, then came to an abrupt halt in surprise.

With a flurry of movement the crew would no doubt recount for many years to come, the fight came to an abrupt end.

Duff let fly a punch that seemed sure to connect with Alex’s head when suddenly, her head was out of range. Her body inverted. Her hair trailed along the wood planking. One hand touched the deck, and her upper body seemed impossibly close to her left leg. With a loud shout and grunt of effort, her right foot connected with Duff’s chin, knocking him to the ground. She leapt onto the prone man, landing another blow to his face.

Nicholas watched for movement, but she appeared to have knocked Duff unconscious. She stood and stepped back, only just then realizing they had drawn a crowd. A becoming blush spread across her cheeks as her gaze found his, and their eyes connected. A bolt of heat shot straight to his lungs and restricted his breathing until a movement behind her drew his attention.

Duff rose behind her, the knife in his hand aimed at her unsuspecting back. Even as he ran to intervene, he knew he would be too late.

Chapter Seven

April 18 (41 Days Remaining)

Alex gasped in great lungfuls of air as she stood over Mr. Duff’s prostrate form. She hadn’t realized how nervous she’d been until this moment. The tide of rage and adrenaline that had kept her going slowly ebbed away, leaving her shaking and weak.

The sound of cheering brought her back to reality with a crash. She looked up to see the entire crew applauding as they made their way toward her from the various vantage points from which they had watched.

Heat spread across her cheeks as she looked around shyly, eager to know what Nicholas thought of her skills. She searched for some sign he was impressed.

Their gazes connected for a brief moment. She wasn’t sure whether she imagined the heat blazing from the depths of his gorgeous hazel eyes before his gaze drifted past her. As he started toward her, his look became one of mingled fury and fear, which warned her of the danger she suddenly sensed from behind.

She jumped to the side, simultaneously turning toward the threat. She was quick, but not quick enough, and the blade sliced through the thick padding of her disguise to the flesh of her stomach.

She stood in shock as Nicholas appeared at her side, having managed to knock Mr. Duff unconscious with a single blow. How could such a large man move so fast? She pressed a hand to her wound and swayed.

Nicholas held out a hand to steady her. “Are you injured?”

She gathered herself enough to form a reply. She wanted nothing more than to fall into Nicholas’s strong arms, but it wasn’t going to happen. No room existed for a show of weakness given her current deception. She put on a brave face and managed a weak smile.

“I’m fine. Just a scratch.” She could see the concerned and skeptical look in his eyes. She wasn’t fooling anyone. She looked around to give herself time to think and spotted Evelyn standing anxiously a few feet away. “I suppose I should clean it up a bit though. If you don’t mind, perhaps I should go below and have Evelyn take a look at it?”

She bit her lip as she waited for his reply. If he allowed it, she had some hope that punishment for their crime wouldn’t be too severe. If he was angry, he wouldn’t give them time together. Besides, he had allowed her to fight Mr. Duff. He’d looked almost as sickened as she’d felt about what could have happened to the poor girl.

Her side stung where she pressed her shirt against it. Nausea threatened. She couldn’t stand here much longer. Plus, she needed a moment alone with Evelyn to find out whether Nicholas or Mr. Grayson had given any indication of the punishment they planned. Flogging was a common punishment for more serious crimes aboard ships of this day, but Nicholas was not the kind of man who would inflict such punishment on a woman. If worse came to worse, she would reveal her deception. Besides the fact she didn’t think she would be able to handle being flogged, she certainly didn’t want her secret revealed in such a way before the crew.

“Good idea. Mr. Grayson, help Mr. Turner to my cabin. I’ll help the young woman gather what supplies she requires and bring her down shortly.” Nicholas scrutinized the crowd, many of whom jostled each other to get a closer view. “Show’s over. Everyone return to your duties.”

He motioned to two burly sailors standing next to the still unconscious Mr. Duff. “See that he is locked up. I will deal with him later. Unfortunately, we need him. For now.”

The two men nodded before they picked up Mr. Duff, none too gently, and carried him off.

Alex clutched at the hand Mr. Grayson held out. He winced as she squeezed with all her strength. She needed to take her mind off the pain.

“For now?” she gasped out.

Mr. Grayson nodded, and they made their way, slowly, to the captain’s cabin.

“Yes,” he said. “Were a carpenter not a necessity on a journey such as this, it’s doubtful Mr. Duff would survive much longer. As it is, we may have need of his skills, and the captain is making sure the crew knows a more fitting punishment will come, even if it must be delayed for the duration.”

“They’d kill him?” she asked. “How’d they know so quickly?”

He frowned and scratched at the five o’clock shadow covering his jaw. “They watched. The captain himself couldn’t have torn them away from the spectacle.”

She shook her head. “No. I mean, Evelyn.” The effort of talking drained her energy. She leaned more heavily on Mr. Grayson’s arm. “Who told?”

He braced himself against her weight and snorted. “No one. They are as yet unaware of what occurred in the hold. They merely think you decided to defend yourself. His despicable show of cowardice during the fight is what has earned their wrath.”

“Oh.” Men are strange creatures.

****

Mr. Grayson left Alex alone the second he saw her safely ensconced in a chair. To distract herself from the pain, she inspected Nicholas’s cabin as she waited for Evelyn. Since her serving duties ended with carrying dinner to the door, she’d never made it all the way inside.

The comfort level was not what she would have expected.
The Reliant
was a merchant ship. The design screamed it in the details. While everything was clean and in immaculate condition, it was also simple with little ornamentation. This room looked nothing like the rest of the ship.

The room, larger than she had imagined, had been the setting for a few of her tamer fantasies concerning the gorgeous captain. Most of them involved the captain being so overcome with desire for her they never make it to his bed.

The massive bed in question stood off to the left, covered in a beige and brown comforter, with a pile of pillows that made Alex groan with longing. She’d been sleeping in a hammock slung up in the crew quarters and missed the comfort of a real bed.

A large screen protruded from the wall—no, from the
bulkhead
—to the side of the bed. It would block the bed from the rest of the room when open, but it was folded back at the moment, so she had a clear view.

The comforter was flipped back as if waiting for Nicholas to slip naked between the sheets, stretching his large, well-muscled form luxuriously against the soft fabric and…

And she put that train of thought firmly from her mind before she made a fool of herself flinging into Nicholas’s arms the moment he walked in the door.

She rose from her chair and stepped closer to a curving wall of windows that dominated the opposite side of the room. The glow of the moon and stars reflected off the water, creating a dazzling light show that took her breath away. The sun had finished its descent during the fight, and the stars had come out to take its place. She hadn’t realized the fight had taken quite so long. No wonder she was exhausted.

Catching her reflection in the windows, she grimaced. Her hair hung in lank strips around a pale face. Streaks of filth and a touch of blood accented the gauntness of her cheeks. Her hand clutched her side. She released the pressure slightly, pleased to see the bleeding had stopped.

It still hurt.

Her clothing was ruined. Blood drenched the side of her shirt around a hole torn in the fabric. She could see the binding, which was holding together better than her shirt due to all the padding that disguised her slim waist. Her clothing hung loosely. She’d added additional holes to her belt loop to keep her pants up. The change in diet from her normal frozen dinners and fast food to the very simply cooked ship’s fare combined with the change in daily activity had caused her to lose weight.

Blood and dirt covered her pants. She didn’t think she would be able to salvage any of it, and her other clothing wasn’t in the best shape either. With so few items of clothing to wear, they had all taken a beating. She’d ditched her neon pink panties when she’d narrowly escaped being caught with them while she attempted to get them clean. The only positive thing was her appearance fit with the rest of the crew. All the dirt and grime helped to hide her feminine features.

Good thing she didn’t have a mirror. She hadn’t felt self-conscious about her appearance until now. It dashed her erotic visions of Nicholas being overwhelmed by her beauty. All she’d attract like this were bloodhounds. What dog could resist her stench?

Turning away from the windows, she almost knocked into an enormous desk. A few heavy objects clustered in the corner, but it was mostly cleaned off at the moment. She imagined Nicholas used the knick-knacks to weigh down the charts stored in a handsome storage cabinet to one side of the windows.

The desk did double duty as a dining table. The captain took his meals in his cabin with the first mate and often some of the other higher ranked members of the crew. Several chairs were pushed to the side near the cabinet, in addition to the one behind the desk.

She selected one to sit on and hissed at the renewed stinging in her side. What was keeping Evelyn with the bandages? Surely she should have been here by now!

If she weren’t so exhausted, she could pass the time with one of the books jam-packed on the shelves that covered the bulkheads. She’d always thought literacy wasn’t exactly widespread in this time. Instead, she’d found Nicholas’s books were a kind of library for the crew’s use. She’d been tempted to borrow one but hadn’t had enough free time to bother.

The books contributed to the masculine feel of the room. Most had fancy dark leather binding with gold lettering on the spines, but those that weren’t seemed to be covered in cardboard or something, she couldn’t really tell without looking closer. And she wasn’t sure she could manage to get up, let alone stand around examining the bookshelf.

The books were intimidating, actually. She would need to have her PhD just to peruse the titles. She certainly couldn’t picture throwing any of them in her bag and heading to the beach. On the other hand, they gave off a sense of peace and tranquility that made the room comfortable and welcoming. The garish coloring and sensational covers of modern paperbacks would have ruined the effect.

Alex twisted in her chair to see more but gasped as her clothes rubbed against her cut. She wanted to remove her clothes so she could get a sense of the damage but was afraid Nicholas would return with Evelyn at any moment. She couldn’t be half-dressed when he came in. Instead, she faced forward and wondered what kept them.

****

Nicholas led Evelyn to the cargo hold. He wanted to speak to her privately without a chance someone might overhear. She followed him without question, only the stiff set of her shoulders indicating her nervousness.

As he closed the door behind them and turned to face her, a wave of irritation washed over him. She stood huddled against the far bulkhead, looking at him with eyes opened wide with fear and a hint of resignation.

His anger left him as he realized her fear would be justified. He did not intend to punish her, but how could she know that? Most captains would be certain to bring some punishment to bear in such a situation. His shoulders twitched in memory, and he could practically feel the lash of the starters across his shoulder blades. The bosun’s mate on his first ship had been fond of prodding everyone with those short ropes, whether they were working diligently or not.