First Comes Desire. Tina Donahue

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      Her rapier point nearly rested on his throat. “If you’re incapable of moving, my blade shall.”

      It already had. Any closer and she’d shed his blood. Before he died or they both did, Tristan looked up.

      She was young, surely no more than twenty or so, skin fair and flawless, eyes lushly lashed, though he couldn’t determine the color. They seemed too dark to be blue, too fair to be brown. Her features were elegant, lips full and rich, overall surprisingly exquisite.

      His mouth went dry.

      Only her clothing disappointed. A cap covered her hair, though a few dark tresses had escaped. She’d hidden her womanly form in canvas trousers, a patterned shirt, and short blue jacket. The mild breeze ruffled her clothes, pressing them into the alluring swell of her unbound breasts.

      Despite his disquiet and confusion, he smiled.

      Bewilderment swept her face, and then she frowned. “On your feet now or I’ll run you through where you lie.”

      He settled his fingers carefully against the flat part of her blade. Only his thumb rested directly on the cutting edge. He pressed. Steel sliced into him. Blood ran down.

      She made a face.

      “Go on, run me through.” He pressed harder. “I’ll assist you in keeping your blade steady.”

      She remained perfectly still, not even breathing.

      He guessed she wasn’t prepared to murder him after all, though what she would do remained a mystery. He eased the point from his throat, held the flat part, and reeled her in. Her wrist was tantalizingly close. A quick move, along with a firm grip and he’d have her beneath him.

      Panic swept her features. She tugged.

      He put on a show and gasped loudly.

      Mewling like a wounded kitten, she looked at his hand.

      His fingers were intact, rather than severed. He’d released the blade in plenty of time, proving she was an innocent at this and foolhardy for having challenged him.

      He chuckled.

      Three men hurried from behind and raised their blades to his chest. A fourth man strode into view. He removed Tristan’s pistols, cutlass, and dagger.

      The men said nothing and made no move on their own, appearing to serve rather than using her as a decoy. Each looked to be in his late twenties, dressed like mariners or pirates. In the Indian Ocean, there was little distinction.

      To Tristan’s knowledge, there had never been a genteel Englishwoman on the account and surely not one functioning as ship’s captain. However, he’d been absent from his homeland since seventeen-twelve. Perhaps in the last five years, beautiful young women had taken to bolder goals than being a pleasure source to men. “Pity.”

      “Pity?” She looked down her nose at him. “Because you’ve yet to lose your fingers to my blade?”

      He closed his book. His men weren’t in a position to help him. None ordered to keep watch. He’d left the task to his friend and quartermaster, James Sullivan. Most likely, James was still alive, since the young woman wasn’t brutal. However, he wasn’t here nor had he sent out an alert as to these intruders.

      Tristan lifted his face to her men. “Who is she?”

      Before they could answer, she directed her blade to his throat. “I said, on your feet.”

      “State your purpose and I may consider your sweet request.”

      The man next to her snickered.

      She gave him a withering look. “Quiet.”

      He fell silent but didn’t lose his smile.

      Poor girl handled this badly. A man would have killed the fool to warn the others. In this part of the world, it often took violence to secure obedience and respect.

      She withdrew her blade. Her glare, however, didn’t soften. She wanted Tristan quite dead, even if she wasn’t the one who would spill his blood. Odd.

      “My ship has no valuable cargo.” He gestured to the vessel. “It’s not yet fit for sea, so what could you possibly want other than to have me on my feet?”

      “I’ll see you back in England and hanged.”

      “You want to send me to the gallows?” He couldn’t hide his shock. “Why?”

      “Tell me what you’ve done with Peter.”

      Ah, she searched for a man. Her long throat and satiny flesh showed no signs of Peter’s mark in the recent past. Despite her loose clothing, Peter’s seed wasn’t growing inside her, unless she had yet to swell with the man’s child.

      Her eyes filled. “Where is he?”

      Her distress surprised Tristan. There were six men named Peter in his crew, none worthy of her. She was young, lovely, and apparently educated. Too good for those beasts.

      “Montgomery.” She gestured to the man who’d previously snickered.

      He was her largest crewmember, his weight in jiggling fat.

      She stepped aside. “Make him talk or you’ll answer to your master.”

      “Yes, miss.” Montgomery clamped Tristan’s shoulder.

      Miss? Master? This was odd. Once Montgomery felt comfortable in his superior role, Tristan offered a swift punch to the man’s jaw.

      He staggered back on the sand.

      The other men pressed close.

      Before they ran Tristan through, he spoke to her. “If you want to know what happened to Peter, order your men to back off. Do it now.”

      She gestured for them to withdraw.

      “What’s Peter’s last name?”

      “Fletcher.”

      Another surprise. “Peter Fletcher, my cabin boy?” The lad was fourteen and innocent when it came to women. “How do you know him?”

      “Coward.”

      Tristan bristled, but tempered his anger. Youth and inexperience had caused her careless words. When he’d been her age, he’d also despised pirates. Going on the account hadn’t been his choice or James’s, but a man did what he had to in order to survive. “There’s no need to fear for the lad’s safety. He’s quite well.”

      “Where is he? What have you sent my brother to do?”

      Everything fell into place, her outrage and sorrow making sense. Peter had spoken of a mother who’d died from the pox when he was quite young and a clergyman father who’d succumbed to the fever three years ago. The boy might have also mentioned a sister.

      She СКАЧАТЬ