ClaimedbytheCaptain (2 page)

Chapter Two

Cathy’s head throbbed. The image of the dangerous stranger’s
smile of triumph had invaded even her dreams. She forced her eyes open. The
villain had removed the gag and bindings. Did he believe she’d be afraid to
attempt escape, or had he eliminated that possibility?

She threw off the scratchy patchwork quilt covering her body
and swung her legs over the side of the mattress. Squinting to adjust to the
dim light, she scanned the chamber. Dark wood paneling. A single spindle chair.
A desk constructed in a stark, unembellished style, so different from her
father’s elaborate furnishings. The moon’s rays through the single round window
provided the only hint of brightness and beauty. The slender beams danced over
an oak chest scarred by years of use.

Her hands smoothed the elegant gown she’d chosen for her
father’s ball. The creamy-white silk now bore several dirty stains and a tear
along the seam, slashing from the high empire-waist to the hem. The dress was
ruined, she thought with a hint of despair. Staring down at the rended fabric,
she shivered as the remaining logic she possessed reminded her quite ruthlessly
that the destruction of her gown was the least of her worries.

She dangled her stocking-clad feet off the bed. The wooden
planks beneath her toes creaked as she stood. The floor rocked beneath her, a
sudden, violent motion. She swayed back and forth for a moment until a sharp
jolt flung her back onto the bed.

A horrified cry hovered in her throat. She was on a ship.
Was this stark chamber the captain’s cabin? Her mind raced as she tumbled from
the bed and bolted to the door.

The solid oak did not budge. She’d been locked inside, a
prisoner. It seemed Jason Kane intended to keep her for himself, at least until
he tired of tormenting her.

How long had she been here? By now her father had surely
noticed she was missing. A search party would be dispatched. But how would they
find her at sea?

Cathy pressed her cheek against the wood. Tears stung her
eyes. Even if she found a way to open the door, where would she find refuge on
a ship? She was trapped, utterly at the mercy of the devil who’d abducted her.

A shiver of fear crept along the length of her spine. She
was being watched.

She heard him before she saw him. “Sleeping Beauty has
finally roused from her slumber. And without so much as a kiss.”

He reclined in a leather wing chair. The amused curve of his
lips infuriated her.

“You!” Her whispered accusation echoed like a shout through
the cabin. “You’ve done this.”

Jason Kane rose and came to her. Cathy trembled with the
desire to claw the smug satisfaction from his handsome features.

“I’ve locked you in for your own protection,” he said in a
tone so matter-of-fact, he might have been explaining the logic underlying a
business venture. “I doubt the men in my crew would hesitate before slaking
their appetites on such a beautiful woman.”

She folded her arms over her chest like a shield. “Unlike
you?”

His eyes gleamed like onyx, cold and hard. “I’ve no
intention of forcing you.”

“So it’s a ransom you’re after,” she said softly. “My father
will pay you, but then he will see you hang.”

He shook his head. A predatory gleam lit his eyes. So near
she was aware of his every breath, he swept his thumb over her bottom lip.

“I seek revenge, Catherine.”

His words, steel wrapped in velvet, mesmerized her. He
towered over her, the raw power he exuded like nothing she’d ever encountered.
He could kill her right then and there. She spun away, pressing her palms
against the door. The taste of terror rose like bile in her throat. Kane placed
his hands on her shoulders, gently, his breath warm against her nape.

He wants me to plead. He wants to see my fear. You can go
to hell, Captain Kane.

She summoned her courage and squared her shoulders. “I have
done nothing to earn your wrath, sir.”

“You will be paying your father’s debt, Catherine.”

She swallowed hard, determined not to cower before him. “My
father owes you nothing.”

He shook his head. “In due time, I will explain my reasons.
But for now, you need only to know I’ve claimed you as payment for a debt long
owed.”

Catherine steeled herself against the terrified murmurs deep
within her. “Do you plan to kill me, sir?” Her voice was quiet but unwavering.

He cupped her chin. His thumb stroked her bottom lip, his
touch almost tender. The pirate studied her for a moment, seeming to ponder her
question. “You are lovely, Catherine. Much lovelier than I was told.” His words
were a caress. His fingers laced through her hair. He pulled her to him,
capturing her mouth with surprisingly gentle possession. The warmth of his lips
intoxicated her, the sensual exploration stirring heat deep within her core.
Her knees wobbled, threatening to rebel. Shameless, she leaned into his
muscular length, drinking in the heady scent of a male in his prime.

Kane released her abruptly. His eyes gleamed with feral
pleasure at the intensity of her response. “Does that answer your question?”

Her heart racing, she struggled to catch her breath. The
scent of his musk and the warmth of his touch ignited a fire within her. Was she
truly wanton? She’d been kissed before. In truth, she’d lain with a man before.
Despite her father’s watchful eye, she’d learned more than the correct manner
in which to enter income and expenses from the unassuming bookkeeper he’d hired
to manage his accounts. Now the memory of that sweet yet tentative man paled
beside the brazen pirate who’d stolen her right from under her father’s nose.

He drew back from her, standing at arm’s length. His black
silk shirt outlined his muscular torso to perfection. His gaze fell upon her
mouth and her pulse quickened as thoughts of his plunder coursed through her.
She dragged in a breath, then another, banishing the primitive thoughts to a
place deep in the recesses of her mind.
He is a savage, a black-hearted
scoundrel intent on revenge.
The yearning he’d conjured within her only
intensified her terror.
Even my own senses betray me.
She was at the
mercy of a man who would ravish her then cast her to the sharks when he tired
of her. She could not succumb to her most primitive instincts. She must resist
him.

“You don’t want me yet, Catherine,” he said, his voice low
and raw. “But you will.”

Catherine inched away. Her legs wobbled as the cabin floor
undulated with the ship’s movement beneath her feet. She steeled herself. She
would not surrender to his touch again.

He captured her in his arms with one stealthy motion. His
raw laugh sent a new wave of fear crashing through her brain. His mouth laid
claim to hers, his tongue plundering her defenses, destroying her resolve to resist
him. He tasted of rum and spice, the blend further stimulating her senses. His
lips moved to her nape, teasing the sensitive flesh with his teeth. A soft moan
escaped her lips. Caught in a whirlpool of sensation, she fought the senses
threatening to drag her under, to sweep her beyond the point of hope, of
survival.

Her hand slipped to her hair, seeking and finding the
mother-of-pearl pin that secured her upswept tresses. As thick as a quill, the
elegant hairpin spanned the length of her ring finger. Wielded with a careful
aim, it would serve as a passable weapon.

Kane continued his relentless conquest of her senses. Her
thoughts swirled in a blur of passion and fear. He meant to destroy her. She
had to create a chance to escape. If she struck at his throat, the pin would
disable him. An image flooded her senses. Kane’s lifeblood seeping from the
wound, his flesh torn, perhaps beyond healing. Revulsion filled her. She’d
never purposely brought harm to anyone and now she contemplated killing a man.

There is no choice.

Twisting against his unyielding length, she wrenched free of
his hold. Her arm arced upward, the pin slicing through the air. At the last
instant, her stomach clenched. She faltered. Cursing her weakness, she shifted
the course of the pin away from his throat, plunging the sharp point into his
shoulder, piercing the vulnerable flesh above his collarbone.

Kane’s sharply indrawn breath betrayed his shock and pain.
His fingers curved around the handle of the pin she’d embedded in his flesh.

“Well done, Miss Farrell,” he drawled. “It seems you have a
great deal more spirit than I gave you credit for. Taming you will be more
interesting than I thought.”

Her knees threatened to buckle. Kane’s velvety tone did not
disguise the menace in his meaning. His mouth flattened to a stark line. The
color drained from his features as he tore the pin from his body. Holding the
makeshift weapon before him, he examined it, his gaze fixed on his blood
streaked along the slender shaft.

“I must remember to have you by my side should we encounter
the British,” he remarked casually. He glanced at his shoulder, his gaze
lingering for a moment over the deep crimson surrounding the jagged circle the
pin had torn in the fabric. “The king’s navy would never expect such ferocity
from a woman.”

His fingers closed around her arm. He brought her to him,
holding her with a surprising lack of violence as he threaded a hand through
her hair. Arching his dark brows, he removed another pin from the unruly
tresses.

“Shall I search you for weapons? What other surprises do you
have hidden under that flimsy gown?”

Cathy pressed her lips together. She’d be damned if she’d
answer his taunting inquiry. Seeming to read her thoughts, Kane smiled and
caressed the curve of her cheek.

“Don’t worry, love. My plans for you will prove infinitely
more interesting than murder.”

And then he was gone. The heavy door swung shut behind him.
She heard the key scrape the lock, and then silence filled the small chamber,
clinging like a fog as she faced the fear and the longing he’d awakened within
her.

* * * * *

The sun’s rays streamed through the porthole, dancing over
Catherine’s face. She’d managed to fall into a troubled sleep, and now, huddled
beneath the quilt, she hugged her knees to her chest, praying she’d escape this
nightmare she knew to be all too real. How long had it been since Jason Kane
left her locked inside the chamber? The night had passed, and he’d left her
unscathed. Perhaps ransom was indeed what he sought.

A thunderous knock jolted her to awareness. “Are you
clothed?” A gruff, unfamiliar male voice called through the door.

A shiver trickled along her spine. Kane’s words about his
crew and their likely reaction to a woman in their midst echoed in her brain.
Her arms clutched her legs more tightly, as if she could shield herself.

Best not to let the bastard think I fear him.
“Of
course I’m clothed,” she responded with more spirit than she felt.

She heard the bolt slide open. A mountain of a man with a
mop of shaggy blond hair ducked through the portal. Avoiding her eyes, he
placed a tray of food on the small table in the corner of the room.

He kept his gaze directed firmly at the ground. “The cap’n
would have my head if I came in here when you weren’t decent.”

The hulking man’s uneasiness at the mention of the captain
unnerved her. Dear God, what was going to happen to her? If this giant quaked
at the very mention of her captor, how would she survive the blackheart’s
wrath?

“I appreciate your care for my modesty.” Her voice was
barely more than a whisper.

He raised his eyes at her words. “I’m more concerned for my
own skin.” Spoken bluntly, the words choked raw from his throat. “The cap’n
doesn’t share what’s his.”

She rose from the bed and struggled to gain her footing on
the unstable floor, clinging to the bedpost to steady herself.

“Your captain intends to see me dead. Can you help me?”

Sad resignation marked his expression as he shook his head.
“I’d like to keep my neck just the way it is.”

Foolish to appeal to instincts the man doesn’t possess.
The hulk doesn’t have a chivalrous bone in his body.
Perhaps another tactic
would garner his assistance. Cathy released her grip on the bedpost and drew
near enough to smell the dried sweat on his unwashed body. Steeling herself to
ignore the rancid odor, she set her mouth into a pensive pout, placed her hands
on her hips and leaned closer. His beady eyes widened as his gaze lit on the
bare flesh of her bosom she displayed. “My father is a very rich man,” she
whispered. “I will pay you.”

“Sorry, missy, but you’ve already been claimed. You’re the
cap’n’s now.” The giant turned away.

Bitter tears of frustration welled in her eyes. “I don’t
belong to the captain. I belong to no man.”

He merely pointed at her food. “I’ve brought you something
to eat.”

“I won’t touch it.” The urge to throw the tray of food at
the repulsive man nearly overtook her good sense. “It’s probably poisoned. I’d
rather starve.”

“Eat it, missy. You’re a bit thin for the cap’n’s taste.
You’ll want to please him. Things will go easier for you if you do.”

“I have no intention of…pleasing him. He’s nothing more than
a common criminal.”

The hulk appeared to deliberate the truth of her statement.
He shrugged. “He’s not intending to give you up. You’d best face that fact.” He
paused for a moment, seeming to consider his words carefully. “Cap’n Kane is a
fair man, but he can be brutal if crossed. It will be better for you if you
don’t provoke him.”

“You are afraid of him.” She spoke the words as a
condemnation.

Regarding her with expressionless eyes, he ran a massive
hand through his hair. “Not afraid. But I respect the cap’n. He’s the master of
this ship, and his word is law. Now he is your master.”

Chapter Three

Cathy stared at the untouched plate. Her stomach had begun
to demand nourishment, but the idea of choking down the bland, unappealing fare
twisted her belly in knots. She speared a small bite, lifting it gingerly to
her mouth. The boiled oats had settled into a thoroughly unappealing gray
paste. Forcing the food past her lips, she chewed quickly and swallowed, trying
her best to ignore the thick, gummy texture.