Free Destiny of the Heart (Viking Destiny) by K. Young

no sign of Kristen. It was as though she had
completely vanished. Even though he had dismissed the
thought before, he couldn't help but to again wonder if she had
a lover that she was meeting. His fists tightened at his side,
and the anger that was merely simmering below the surface
began to bubble over.
    He quickly tamped down the thought of her meeting a
lover, yet again. He didn't know why it bothered him so since
he had a mistress of his own, and he had refused her
marriage contract, but it bloody well did. The thought of
another man touching Kristen set his blood on fire and he saw
red. Derrick chided himself for his absurdity since he'd only
just met her, had in fact, been left for dead by her. But, since
he had no way of knowing whether Kristen was the sort to turn
him over to the authorities, he felt she could still pose a threat.
Still, he was less concerned with her posing a threat and more
concerned with not seeing her again. The very idea left a cold
spot in his chest that he couldn't explain, but he knew it was
important she be found.
    Jack chose that particular moment to enter the cabin.
He took one look at Derrick's bemused expression and began
laughing his head off. Derrick, in no mood for Jack's incessant
humor, cocked a brow and gave him a menacing look.
    “Are you quite finished?” He asked with his calm tone,
the one he reserved for when he was really angry.
Jack knew the tone for what it was, an invitation to stop
while he was ahead. Derrick blustering and yelling wasn't so
dangerous. But, this Derrick. Well, let's just say Jack had only
seen this from him twice before. The two times previously, the
unlucky fellow had spent the next several weeks laid up in
bed, not moving. Derrick was certainly in a fit to be tied, but
damn Jack if he didn't find it the funniest thing he had ever
seen. Still, he sobered, giving Derrick his mischievous grin.
“Not really, old boy. Deuced if I've ever seen you
looking so bloody pissed off.” Jack risked a chuckle.
“So, you're back to speaking properly, are you?”
“Ah, the crew isn't around, and it's not as funny when
you won't be annoyed with me for doing it.” Jack admitted.
“Did you find her?” Derrick knew the answer but asked
anyway. His Kristen was nothing if not resourceful.
“No, we searched, but she's right disappeared, she has.
She left quite a mess in her wake, I don't mind telling you.
Samson is out. She managed to puncture a vein and he's got
quite a bit of internal bleeding according to the doc. She got
her nails into Thomas' eyes pretty good, too. One of them is
severely damaged and he might have to wear a patch. I
believe he's quite happy about that part, actually. Lee's
alright, though. He will be bruised and have a right headache,
but beyond that he is top notch. You don't seem to look the
worse for wear, but you never know. She did manage to
smash a vase against your head, an expensive one I might
add. How d'ya feel, old man?”
Derrick smiled. Given the circumstances, he felt good.
His mood had improved considerably as Jack relayed all the
damage she had done. His little Kristen – and he'd really come
to think of her as his – was proving to be more fascinating by
the minute. She didn't know it yet, but she had most assuredly
sealed her fate that night. If it was the last thing he did, he
would find her again and discover all of the passions she
possessed.
Chapter 7
    Alice Daniels paced in front of the fire, the candles she
had lit shortly after midnight had burned to the bottom, and the
bottle of wine she had intended to share was almost gone. It
was well past the time in which Derrick said he would be
there, and he was never late. At first she worried that
something had happened to him. He didn't know that she
knew, but Alice was aware of his late night activities. While
most young lords spent their evenings lusting after the young
hopefuls of the season, Derrick spent his on the deck of a ship
preparing to smuggle