Free Once a Mistress by Debra Mullins Page A

grateful that I decided to garb you at all.” His tone was as smooth as silk and simmered with seduction.
    She trembled, literally trembled at the rumble of desire that darkened his voice. Her redhead’s complexion betrayed her once again as heat crept into her cheeks. For an instant she could only stare at him, lost in those dark eyes where forbidden fires burned, her heart pounding like that of a rabbit trapped by a wolf.
    No, not a wolf. A cat. A jungle cat like the one she had seen once, the pet of a foreign nobleman who had done business with her father. That creature had moved as smoothly as Alex did, its obsidian fur so sleek that her hand had itched to stroke it. She had even reached out to do so when the cat had turned its jeweled eyes on her, green eyes that had reflected the emeralds and diamonds in the collar around its throat. There had been something untamed in that gaze, though the cat had appeared docile, that made her withdraw her hand and back away.
    And she should back away now, she thought, as the tension stretched between them. But there was nowhere to go. Ignoring the trembling in her limbs, she took up her shield of bravado and used it to defend herself against his potent allure.
    “I am only too happy to be rid of these vile clothes. Now please have the decency to turn your back.”
    His laughter echoed throughout the cabin, the attractive sound making her pulse skim faster through her veins. “Decency? In a pirate? My dear, my reputation would never survive such a slur.”  
    She sent him a look of scorching annoyance. “Hang your reputation! And hang you too!”
    He raised one eyebrow. “A very likely possibility, my dear.” As if he had suddenly tired of the game, he turned away and opened one of the cabinets built into the wall. Ignoring her completely, he poured some brandy into a silver goblet.
    Using the brief respite to change her clothes, she moved behind one of the high-backed chairs and turned her back on the rogue. It was with great relief that she shed Marcus’s shirt and quickly shrugged into the robe. For modesty’s sake, she left on the breeches.
    Alex turned around just in time to see her smooth feminine back disappearing into black silk. He noticed that the only garment she had shed was the tattered shirt. For a moment his hand tightened on the goblet as he considered reaching beneath that robe and relieving her of the damnable breeches as well. Then he relaxed his grip and went to hand her the brandy.
    “You have had quite an ordeal this night. Drink this; it’ll warm you.”
    Diana stared at the amber liquid and wrinkled her nose at the pungent smell. “I don’t drink spirits.”
    Alex stepped closer, intentionally brushing her body with his. “Drink. Or mayhap you would prefer that I warm you another way.”
    After one glance at his face, she took the cup from his hand. She took a hesitant sip, then choked and quickly handed the goblet back to him.
    Alex took the cup from her hand, enchanted by the becoming flush pinkening her cheeks. His body hardened as he considered how she would look wearing nothing except the rosy hue of that blush. Tightening his fingers around the goblet, he tossed back a healthy portion of the brandy, then deliberately ran his tongue over the rim of the cup.
    Diana stared in rapt fascination as his tongue touched the spot where her mouth had been. In that instant, with his black clothing, white teeth and pink tongue, he reminded her more than ever of a jungle cat. He played with her now, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he planned to devour her as well.
    She fought to keep her voice calm. “What do you intend to do with me?”
    He slowly traced the rim of the goblet with one finger as he appeared to contemplate the question. “What do you expect me to do with you?”
    “What all pirates do,” she answered with a flippancy belied by the pounding of her heart. “Hold me for ransom.”
    “That is a possibility.” He gazed steadily at