Free Prisoner of Desire by Mary Wine Page A

help but be grateful for his stable frame, but she resented it as well.
    If she were back at the fort, she wouldn't need his assistance.
    If you were back at the fort, you 'd be locked in a cell...
    That thought gave her little comfort. However had her life turned so grim? Her life under
    Godford's rule was suddenly gleaming with appeal like a Christmas morning.
    "Mind your head, Captain!"
    Her captor covered her head with his forearm, hugging her tightly against him. Her face heated in spite of the dreary circumstances. Tears actually stung her eyes because it was possible this was the only embrace she might ever feel.
    Something hit the boat. The little vessel pitched from the impact, taking her along with it.
    Instinct took over, causing her arms to clutch at the only steady thing available. The brim of her bonnet crumpled against the wide chest of her captor. The boat dipped low but his stance never faltered. There was amazing strength in him. Maybe it was the fact that he was so much larger than she was or maybe it was the fact that she expected him to kill her.
    He reached down, plucking something heavy from the bottom of the boat. He slid one hand
    across her back, sending a bolt of heat down her spine. She felt every finger right through her corset. Goose bumps spread over her arms in response.
    "My apologies, but I've no desire to taste the ocean tonight."
    He dropped a thick rope right over her head. Another followed and he pushed them down her
    body with quick motions. The rope smelled faintly of dried salt, and it was wide as her fist. One loop hung below her waist. He pulled the top one back up so that it was beneath her arms.
    "Wait. What are you doing?"
    "Getting well away from the bastard you're engaged to." Deep satisfaction coated his words. In the dark she caught the first glimpse of his face. It was nothing but moonlight and darkness. The set of his jaw was solid. Their eyes met for a mere fraction of a moment, but a shiver shook her for what she witnessed burning there. Hard determination. This man was accustomed to being
    obeyed, and when that failed, he took what he wanted.
    "Hoist away!"
    The ropes around her tightened and pulled her right out of the boat.
    "Wait.. .no.. .release me..."
    Her words were lost as the loop below her waist caught at her knees and the one around her body held her weight under her arms. She bent just like a babe being cradled by its mother. Looking up, she followed the length of rope to where it was hanging down from one of the rails used for the sails. It ran through a pulley and down onto the deck of the ship. It jerked in steady motions, each one taking her higher. When she reached the rail she could see a neat row of four men using their strength to pull her upwards. Another man reached over the rail with a long pole that had a wicked-looking hook on the end of it. He angled it expertly to capture the rope holding her and pulled her over the rail.
    The men supporting her weight released her and she ended up lying on the deck with the rope still trapping her legs together. Her face burned scarlet when she struggled against her bonds only to end up on all fours with her bottom stuck up in the air. Pain shot up from her bent elbows and knees where they bore her weight against the hard surface of the deck. A few chuckles
    scraped over her ears before a sharp grunt silenced them.
    The arm of her captor hooked her around the waist yet again and she snarled as her temper
    burned past the last of her determination to behave with dignity.
    Dignity be damned. If she was going to die, at least she would face her fate with courage.
    "Make sail!"
    Her captor commanded the gawking crew at the same time he freed her from the coils of rope.
    Men began climbing the rigging and her heart froze.
    "No. Not while I am still here..."
    No one gave her any heed. The first men reached the yardarms, moving across them on confident feet. In the darkness it looked almost surreal, like a nightmare,