Free Once a Mistress by Debra Mullins Page B

her, his expression unreadable.
    “I thought that was the purpose of piracy.” She met his enigmatic look with one of her own. “To steal from others to make a profit. Gold is what you want, isn’t it?”
    His eyes took on a predatory gleam. “You have no idea what I want of you.”
    “On the contrary, you vile cur, you have made it quite clear that you want me in your bed. Well, I will fight you until the last breath!”
    “Will you?” An amused smile playing about his lips, he placed the goblet on the table. “Are you so certain then that I want you in my bed? Mayhap I have something else in mind.”
    “After that lewd display for your crew? Hardly!”
    “Some might consider it lewd…but you liked it.” He moved closer to her, crowding her backwards. “You are a passionate woman behind that shrew’s tongue, my dear. A man would count himself lucky to have you in his bed.”
    Her legs bumped the chair behind her. She was trapped. And still he approached.
    He placed his hands on her shoulders and forced her to sit. Then he leaned over her, gripping the arms of the chair with either hand and caging her with his body. “Why don’t you tell me what you want me to do with you?”
    His quiet words immobilized her. She watched him warily as her mind scrambled for a response to his audacious question.
    He gave a slight smile at her confused silence. “Have you no suggestions?”
    The husky purr of his voice slipped into her mind and conjured forbidden images to tantalize her. Out of her vivid imaginings, the memory of his kiss in the darkened garden loomed larger and clearer than all the others. She opened and closed her hands in her lap, remembering how it had felt to touch his muscular body while his mouth had moved on hers. She licked her lips to banish the disturbing memory.
    “Let me go,” she whispered.
    “Ah, my sweet. That is something I cannot do.” He stroked his hand across her cheek. “You are mine. And I intend to keep you.”

Chapter Six
    “You cannot keep me against my will.”
    He pushed her hair back over her shoulder. “I could make you beg to stay with me.”
    A quiver shot through her, sensitizing her body from head to toes, making her acutely aware of him, of his scent, his heat. The thought of surrender seemed more a pleasure than a price.
    “What were you doing at my home last night?” she challenged in a hoarse whisper, clutching at composure.
    He brushed a finger along her moistened mouth. “I was looking for someone.”
    At the gentle touch, her thoughts threatened to scatter. She struggled to keep her words coherent. “Who? Lord Chilton, perhaps?”
    “Perhaps.” Abandoning her mouth, he glided the backs of his fingers down her throat. “If I were seeking Chilton, I certainly found him, did I not?” He teased the edge of the robe, his fingertips just brushing the upper curve of her breast. “You seem to be well acquainted with my lord Chilton.”
    “He is my father’s business partner,” she whispered, barely aware of what words she spoke. Her entire being focused on the sensations bursting to life in her body. Her breasts tingled and grew heavy, the nipples tightening. Her heartbeat quickened. She pressed her thighs together as heat bloomed between her legs.
    “Obviously your father values him, else he would not be a suitor for your hand.” His fingers glided up and down the edge of the robe, each movement causing the garment to open a fraction further.
    Something penetrated Diana’s consciousness that his words were not quite right, but sensations lapped over her like ocean waves. She couldn’t think.
    “Well?” The robe fell partially open, catching on the tips of her breasts. He traced a finger down one soft, white mound, stopping just short of touching the nipple hidden beneath the black material.
    “He is nothing.” Her voice came softly and quickly. “He seeks to marry me, but…”
    “I can understand his eagerness. You are very beautiful.” Brushing