Love's Fiery Jewel (17 page)

Pulling her down the stairs behind him, Damien dragged her relentlessly down the small corridor toward
his cabin, and opening the door, roughly pushed her
inside. Following her inside, he slammed the door behind
him.

While she stared toward him in obvious hatred,
Damien returned her stare, his hands moving to his shirt
front. Slowly unbuttoning his shirt, he finally removed it
and threw it on the wide bunk in the corner of the room,
exposing the breadth of his naked chest as it heaved in
obvious agitation. His hands moving to the waist of his
britches, he began unbuttoning the buttons unhesitantly
until Amethyst gasped in a hoarse voice, "What are you
doing?"

A faint smirk appearing at the corner of his mouth, he
replied arrogantly, "I'm changing into my work clothes,
Amethyst, dear. If you wish to pretend maidenly
modesty, you may turn your back, because I intend
stripping down to the skin!"

Her face flaming, Amethyst turned her back abruptly
to his low snicker. Within a few minutes, Damien's low
amused tone broke the silence of the cabin. "It's safe to
turn around now, Amethyst."

Turning back to face him where he stood in rougher
garments that did nothing to lessen his virile appeal,
Amethyst's voice was filled with contempt. "You are a
beast, Captain Straith!"

Stepping forward in a quick, unexpected movement,
Damien crushed her against him in a tight embrace,
prompting relentlessly against her lips moments before
his mouth closed over hers," `You are a beast, Damien."'

Within minutes he was gone, leaving her shaken and
filled with the same puzzling sense of wondering
expectancy. The sound of a key turning in the lock
brought Amethyst sharply to her senses as she flew to the
door to turn the knob testingly. He had locked her in!
Pounding at the door in a fit of fury, Amethyst screamed wildly, "How dare you lock me in! Unlock this door this
instant, do you hear me? I demand you unlock this door,
Captain Straith!"

Waiting hesitantly for his response, Amethyst heard a
low amused voice from the other side prompt softly," `I
demand that you unlock this door, Damien.'"

She was still standing in open-mouthed amazement at
his audacity when she heard the unmistakable sound of
his footsteps turning and heading back down the
passageway and then ascending the stairs.

Frustrated beyond belief, Amethyst turned away from
the door, her eyes sweeping the cabin furiously. Neat and
spotlessly clean, it was of moderate size and furnished
sparsely with a broad, wooden framed bunk on the inside
wall on which the bedding was meticulously arranged to
provide a smooth, nautical appearance. A large desk and
chair dominated the far corner, over which a lantern
some two feet in height hung from a beam. A black stove
was bolted to the floor at the center of the room. A small
table, two chairs, and a large wooden sea chest completed
the furnishings. Enraged at being confined like a
prisoner, Amethyst stomped across the room to the
precisely arranged desk and raised her hand to sweep the
articles on its surface to the floor when she stopped
abruptly. Her brief experience with Damien Straith had
taught her one thing. Whatever her vengeful action, he
would top her with one better, and she was in no position
to put his anger to the test. She had to think... stop
reacting, and think. It was imperative that she see
William, for she knew instinctively should she not
appear at the plantation, nothing would stop William
from attempting to come to her. And if his condition was
as bad as it appeared, he might do himself irreparable
damage in the attempt.

"Oh, William... William..." Covering her eyes
with her hand, Amethyst mumbled forlornly, "What shall I do?"

Time moved slowly within the cabin, but within the
hour Amethyst had a plan. She would reverse her
strategy and pretend to go along with Straith's plans and
at the first opportunity would escape to Sheridan
Plantation and ask for sanctuary until Straith left the
island. It might prove an uncomfortable plan knowing
the older Sheridan's dislike of her, but it would
work... if only she could convince Straith...

The time was shortly past noon, judging from the
position of the sun outside the portholes when Amethyst
heard a heavy step outside the door. Quickly smoothing
her hair and dress, she stood expectantly as the key
turned in the lock, anxious to put her plan into effect,
only to see as the door opened, the man whom Damien
had greeted on deck as Barnes, bearing a tray of food.

His pleasant face creased in a small, apologetic smile,
he said softly, "I've brought your lunch, ma'am."

Striving to hide her resounding disappointment,
Amethyst said softly, "Where is Captain Straith? He's
still aboard, isn't he? I mean, he wouldn't leave me
here..."

"Oh, he's still aboard, ma'am. It's just ...well, the
captain doesn't usually bring trays."

"Neither does he usually hold women prisoner on his
ship... or does he?" Amethyst inquired, a new fear
born in her mind.

"Oh, no, ma'am," the young man hastened to assure
her, "The Captain doesn't usually have a need to hold
women prisoners.. .1 mean..." Stammering as his
face flushed unexpectedly, he continued, "I mean..."

Her expression wry, Amethyst said wearily, "That's
alright, you needn't explain. Thank you very much for
the food, sailor."

Turning away, Amethyst allowed the man his escape,
her teeth clenched angrily at the sound of the key turning again in the lock. Her eyes filling with tears, Amethyst sat
down to her lunch of sliced cold meat, cheese, and dark
bread. She had to get out of here. When would he come
back...?

Walking slowly down the narrow passageway toward
his cabin, Damien hesitated briefly in front of the door,
the key in his hand. There was no sound from within but
that meant little. The beautiful little virago inside must
have formulated some sort of plan by now. Hell, he
thought with utter disgust, what kind of a war was he
conducting anyway? It had been a long, hard day, during
which he had hardly been able to concentrate on the
work at hand, so intense was his preoccupation with the
girl/woman who awaited him in his cabin. What was
wrong with him, anyway? Well, she had had long enough
to cool off and he would attempt to reason with her. If she
still wanted no part of him... he raised his shoulders
with a resigned shrug, so be it. It had never been difficult
to find a woman with which to pass time.

Inserting his key into the lock, Damien opened the
door. To his disgust, his heart began a slow pounding in
anticipation of his greeting. But there was none. The
room was completely silent. Flicking his eyes around the
room suspiciously, his gaze came to rest on the bunk and
the slender figure reclining there. With a small smile, he
moved to stand beside the bunk, watching as Amethyst's
breast rose and fell in a slow, easy rhythm indicative of
true sleep, his eyes slowly drinking in undisturbed her
complete and devastating beauty. Unexpectedly, there
was a thickness in his throat and he swallowed hard
against the overwhelming tenderness welling up inside
him that refuted his attitude of a few minutes previous.
No, he would not let her go...Slowly reaching down, he
touched the long dark hair streaming across the pillow,
his hand tightening in the lengths as his eyes roamed the black fringe of lashes lying against her smooth cheeks,
the small straight nose, and came to rest on her mouth,
the lips parted in sleep to allow a peep of white straight
teeth beneath. Her throat was creamy white and smooth,
tempting him, the softness exposed in the demure square
neckline of her dress only hinting at the beauty lying
beneath. He had felt that softness beneath his lips last
night... He ached to hold her, to touch her.

Within a few seconds he had slipped out of his shoes
and lowering himself to the bunk beside her, was startled
to find her instinctively fitting herself against his side.
Fearful of waking her and disturbing the beautiful
moment, Damien pressed light kisses against her hair,
breathing deeply of her fragrance as his mouth moved
against her temple, the dark fringes covering her glorious
eyes, the small pointed chin, and finally, unable to resist
a moment longer, covering her lips with his to drink
deeply of the wealth within. Gently sliding his arms
under and around her, he pulled her close against him,
his heart pounding and throbbing in his ears as his mouth
sank deeper and deeper into hers. He was uncertain of the
exact moment of her awakening, but the gradual,
instinctive response of her body slowly lessened, her
body stiffening as his hand slid down the softness of
her throat to caress her shoulder and the fullness of her
breasts beneath. His hand had slipped over her ribcage,
past her waist, and was slipping further down in a gentle,
caressing motion as his mouth probed hers intimately,
searching, demanding an answering need that was
gradually being denied him. Suddenly she was fully
awake and fighting his embrace, her body twisting and
turning in a frightened rage as she fought to free herself.
Her eyes snapping wide with fright, she twisted her
mouth free of his as she said in a low, almost pleading
tone, "You cannot do this. No, I won't let you. Let me
free." But her struggles were to no avail when Damien quickly flipped himself over on top of her, pinning her to
the bunk with the weight of his body, holding the flailing
fists up above her head as he whispered softly, "Stop,
Amethyst. Stop this hysteria. I won't hurt you, I promise
you that." When her struggles continued he said again,
"Stop and look at me. Listen to what I have to say,
Amethyst. You needn't be afraid."

Catching her tearful gaze with his own, he held it fast
until her struggles ceased, desperately trying to ignore
the softness of her body beneath his and the wild longing
to claim her completely as his own.

Lowering his voice to a whisper, Damien looked
directly into her eyes, his lips grazing hers lightly as he
spoke. "If I free your hands, will you promise to listen to
me, Amethyst?" He could see the marks on her wrists
where he held her fast, and had no desire to hurt her.

Unable to speak, Amethyst nodded her head lightly
and swallowed hard, drawing his attention to her lips to
stir anew his insatiable desire for her. Forcefully moving
his glance away from her mouth, he said softly,
"Amethyst, don't be afraid of me, darling. I won't force
you into anything, you have my word on that. The idea of
our being together is too new for you to accept right now,
I realize that. But we were meant to be together, darling.
Of that I could not be more sure. You just need more
time..." Cupping her face with his hands, he covered
her mouth with short, lingering kisses, until she turned
her face aside to speak.

"No...no, Damien, please understand." Amethyst
was frightened past guile and stammered uncertainly, "I
couldn't ever... William and I...we...we're going
to be married..."

His body suddenly rigid atop hers, Damien's hands
slipped up to tighten in her hair, his face hardening as he
said with threatening vehemence, "Never! William
Sheridan will not have you! I tell you that now, Amethyst, so you may get that thought completely out of
your mind once and for all."

Again appearing to gain control of his emotions,
Damien slipped to the bed beside her, drawing her
toward him as he did. Kissing her lips lightly, he smiled
gently. "I'm going to take you home now, Amethyst.
Word has come that there will be a performance of
Othello tonight in lieu of the aborted performance last
night. You'll need some time to prepare."

Getting to his feet, Damien drew her up beside him.
"Come," he urged softly, "Tillie will be worried."

Despite her expectations, the performance had gone
extremely well. Having performed her various walk-on
parts without a problem, Amethyst had left the stage at
the conclusion of her intermission entertainment to
thunderous applause. She had been a great success, and
smiling gratefully at the enthusiastic audience, she raised
her eyes briefly to the box at the side of the stage from
which Damien stared inscrutably. He had had no reason
to ruin her performance tonight.. .he was quite
satisfied with the state of affairs between them at present.
Suddenly realizing the turn her thoughts had taken,
Amethyst took one last bow and walked off stage, her
pulse hammering. She mustn't slip into the trap of
believing that obeah nonsense. Damien himself had said
it was poppycock.

"Well, no matter," she consoled herself with a small
inner smile, "because tomorrow I will be with William
and out of Damien's reach."

This time Amethyst did not sleep past daybreak. In all
truth, she had hardly closed her eyes all night. Having
made the decision while on shipboard to escape to
William's plantation and claim sanctuary there, she had
had all she could do to maintain an outward semblance of calm as she waited for the evening to end. Patiently
enduring Damien's kisses and endearing words when he
took her home after the performance, she had steeled
herself against the wild response surging through her
veins. He was a master at the art of making love, she was
certain. So expert was he that the featherlight touch of
his hands against her body was barely noticeable until the
searing heat gradually building inside her stirred her
desire for more; the increasing pressure of his broad
frame seeming to envelop her completely in a cocoon of
pulsating desire as it drew her in, closer, tighter; the hard
maleness of him pressing against her in constant enticing
promise as he seemed to swallow her completely in his
embrace while making her yearn hungrily to be further
consumed; the cool translucence of his light gray eyes
burning with a strange, hypnotic light as they traveled
her face with an unspoken yearning that tore viciously at
her resistance, almost destroying it completely as he
crushed her endlessly against him; his sensuous mouth
working the final magic to complete the spell from which
she had almost lost her desire to escape. The trembling of
his massive frame as he released her at the door of her
home had been the final test of her will, and had been
matched only by her own trembling as she had closed the
door behind her. She had to get away! There was no
denying his power over her any longer, as well as there
was no denying her waning resistance.