Niko's Stolen Bride (16 page)

She frowned as she disconnected the call. The custom’s check as they entered the harbor had been perfunctory. Niko had taken control of the situation, collecting the passports for everyone on board. She had not seen hers since. He must have slipped it back into his pocket with his own.

She clenched her teeth, her narrowed eyes no longer seeing the beauty outside the windows. There was no way this was an oversight on his part.

Niko, that low-down sneak, had asked her so sweetly to wait for him, knowing full well that she couldn’t do anything else. The man was a manipulator, intent on getting what he desired, no matter what anyone else wanted. Well, he couldn’t control her.

Picking up the phone again, she called the airline back and booked a flight for late in the afternoon, then went to her cabin to pack her few belongings. The bed was still tumbled from the night’s adventures. Deliberately, she straightened the bed covers, trying to erase all evidence of her time with the man. The scent of their bodies clung to the sheets and she closed her eyes for a moment, breathing, remembering. Her small surge of anger was replaced by a sense of loss. For a moment, she was torn.

Was it foolish to deny herself the pleasure of one more night with him? Another memory to add to those she’d collected? Something more to drag out and wish for on the long, lonely nights ahead of her. The quote ‘better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’ sprang into her mind, but she shoved it away with sudden decision.

This wasn’t love. It was a complex tangle of hurt, need and gratitude caused by the abrupt end of her relationship with Frank. She was naturally attracted to Niko as any woman would be, but that was all. Anything more she might imagine was just the ricochet of her emotions, bouncing from low to high. Once her life was back to its everyday pace, this would seem the brief, unattainable dream it had been.

Niko returned an hour later. The golf cart that brought them back to the marina stopped for just a moment to drop its passengers then moved on with a quiet, unobtrusive purr.

George had more color in his cheeks and walked with a marked swagger. Niko kept a firm grip on his shoulder as he guided him across the gangplank, then turned him over to Eduardo’s care. As they entered the main cabin, Kara rose from the plush sofa. The younger man gave Kara an exaggerated wink as he passed.

“I will have a date tonight, I think,” he said, the words slightly slurred.

“Painkillers,” Niko said with a twitch of his lips as he watched the two men descend the stairs to the lower deck. “The emergency room doctor was a she. Attractive. Brunette. He wouldn’t stop hitting on her long enough for them to stitch him up, so they gave him a sedative to calm him. He also has a prescription he can use for pain over the next few days.”

Her lips firmed at his mention of another woman. It shouldn’t matter. Didn’t matter. It was the man’s sheer presence that scattered her thoughts into the winds. When he entered a room, he filled it with life, drawing her focus to him. She couldn’t stop herself from studying the firm line of his jaw and tracing the outline of his shoulders under the dress shirt. As her lips began to tingle with the memory of his kisses, she forced herself to think of George, frowning after the other men as they disappeared downstairs. “Will he be able to travel?”

“I think he’ll be more comfortable on land, so I’ve booked crews’ quarters for him and Eduardo. They’ll leave as soon as the Royal Bahamas Defense Force has finished their investigation.”

“The inquiry will take a couple of days, I suppose,” she said quietly.

He appeared to pick up on the undercurrents in her tone. He stepped closer and his own voice took on a wary edge. “The ship has to be repaired, as well. It would be dangerous to travel with the broken glass and bullet holes in the hull. In heavy seas, we could take on water.”

“Yes, I see.”

He continued, his eyes narrowed with tension. “I’m sorry, but you’ve probably guessed that we won’t be able to return tonight as we’d planned. Is that what is bothering you?”

She summoned a small smile, hoping she could keep her tone casual. “No, I’m not concerned. I’ve already booked a flight out for late this afternoon. If you’ll return my passport, I’ll call a taxi and be on my way.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Anger spiked at his words, quick, uncontrolled. She’d had enough of men deciding what was good for her. She stepped closer to him to punctuate her words. Her nostrils flared as she breathed deeply, picking up the scent of his aftershave. “You know I don’t want to be here. You promised I’d be back on Sanibel tomorrow morning.”

He raised a hand as if to reach for her, but dropped it back by his side. He shrugged, a careless, foreign gesture that spoke volumes. “Be reasonable. I could not have known what would happen.”

His lack of concern for his broken promise frustrated her even further. “You knew as soon as the attack was over that we’d be forced to stay in Nassau for days,” she said fiercely. “What was I? The entertainment?”

“Never.” His voice was stiff with affront, his jaw tight. “You know I thought you needed more time to recover before you faced Frank again.”

“So last night was a counseling session? You were helping me to adjust?” The words were harsher than she intended, but she refused to call them back.

“Last night was–” He broke off, his lips firming to a thin line. “Something I refuse to regret.”

“Well, I regret it,” she bit out, turning abruptly and striding to the window to look out with unseeing eyes. No, that was a lie. It was impossible to regret a moment of the sweet intimacy they’d shared, but in the light of day, it was clear it had been a mistake. Niko was turning out to be just as controlling as she’d originally suspected. The bright sunlight glinted off the brilliant white paint of the yacht anchored next to them. She narrowed her eyes against the glare. “It won’t be happening again. Not in this lifetime.”

“I would gladly wait a lifetime for the chance to touch your body again, but I don’t see why either of us should be denied that pleasure for so long.”

The words were soft, spoken just behind her. She flinched, not having heard him move. “I don’t intend to ever touch you again.”

“But it would be so easy to take what you want.”

She twisted to face him, a frown starting between her eyes. The look in his blue gaze was speculative. “What do you think I want?”

“The passport, of course. It’s in my back pocket. All you have to do is reach around me and take it.”

The words were simple, the action unacceptable. To reach into the tight denim of his jean pocket, she’d have to place her arms around him. It would be impossible to do so without touching him, without her chest brushing against his. To be so close, to press against his familiar firmness was a temptation she wasn’t sure she could resist. “I–I can’t.”

“Did you not enjoy our lovemaking,
kardia mou
?”

She wanted to deny it, but the words died on her lips. He was close enough for her to see the vein that beat in the strong column of his neck, though he held himself inches away from her, not pressuring her. It was pointless to try to convince him that she hadn’t been as involved as he last night. He knew as well as she did how easily and often she’d responded. She could feel the heat of his muscles, bunched, ready to take her into his arms. She wanted nothing more than to sink into his strength and let him help her forget her burdens for a few hours more.

“I want you to stay, Kara.”

The words were bald, the emotion plain on his face. She couldn’t doubt his sincerity, though she doubted his motives. While knowing that he desired her, perhaps more than Frank ever had, helped to stitch her ego back together, it wasn’t enough. She would not be a rich man’s plaything. “Leave me alone, Niko.”

He placed one large palm against the curve of her cheek and bent toward her. “I can’t do that.”

The softness of his lips was deceptive. His tongue delved into her mouth, opening her to him, asking for and receiving tact permission. It wouldn’t have mattered if she hadn’t given it; he’d have taken what he wanted. She didn’t want him to kiss her, but once he did, she didn’t want to resist the pleasure that spiraled through her. He eased closer, tucking her body against the firmness of his thighs.

A voice boomed suddenly from the back of the ship.

“Hello.”

The ship rocked slightly as someone stepped onto the gangplank.

“Defense Force. Anyone home?”

Kara felt Niko’s start of surprise, echoing her own.

“We’ll finish this later,” he said, his voice low with promise.

Kara sighed as he turned away. She had no control around the man. If she had the slightest hope of resisting him, she’d have to make sure that he never got within arm’s length of her again. And that would be a crying shame.

The two men who had arrived to take the report on the pirate boarding held themselves with impressive military bearing. They were dressed in uniforms of short-sleeved, royal-blue shirts with gold insignia on the epaulets and navy blue slacks. One man was tall with bulky arms and legs while the other was slimmer and a bit shorter. Both carried squat, powerful-looking automatic weapons slung on thick cords around their necks. Dark glasses shaded their eyes as they paced the boardwalk around the ship, surveying the bullet holes in the aluminum shell and the deep gouges in the paint left by the grappling hooks. One took photos of everything, making careful notes in a small book. The hooks and the short length of rope left hanging on the railing after George had cut the lines, were lying on the deck. They were photographed as well, then placed into a canvas bag that one of the officers pulled from the pouch secured at his side.

When they entered the cabin to assess what was left of the glass door that had been blown out, Kara edged closer to Niko and Eduardo. The sturdy weapons with their matte-black finish made her nervous, though they handled them in an offhand manner, as if they were no more than the small pistols carried by the police force in the United States. As if sensing her anxiety, Niko stepped between her and the officers, answering most of the questions himself.

They went below for a few moments to speak to George, although Kara wasn’t sure he would be of much help after the sedative he’d been given. Once on the main deck again, the men took possession of their passports, then called them one by one to the pilot house to give their statements. Kara had little to tell the officer since she’d seen most of the attack by way of the ship’s security cameras. The tape from the camera equipment was surrendered into their custody as well. Although they seemed genuinely concerned about the assault, they held out little hope that the culprits would be located.

“Pirates are fairly harmless in these waters,” the taller man said as Niko and he stood on the aft deck. “They’re usually only after cash. Since they fired at you, it’s more likely they were drug runners. They probably wanted the ship because it’s registered in Miami. Less likely to be boarded and searched while they’re hanging out in the Florida Straits waiting for a pickup.”

Kara exchanged a silent glance with Eduardo. They’d been very lucky to have escaped with their lives.

“You’ll make the call to the Piracy Reporting Center at Kuala Lumpur?” Niko’s tone was carefully casual, but there was a hint of steel underlying the words.

The other man inclined his head, then reached up to settle his navy blue beret on his head. The snazzy tilt to the beret was in direct contrast to the stern tempo of his reply. “Of course, Mr. Maragos. We report all activity to the International Maritime Bureau. We are in full compliance.”

Niko nodded and turned the conversation to a discussion of the best shipyard for repairs to the damaged hull. As the men stepped up on the gangplank to leave, Kara stepped forward.

“Wait,” she said urgently. She held out her hand expectantly. “Our passports?”

The taller man exchanged a silent glance with Niko before turning to her with a deferential air. “I apologize, Miss Sommers, but we must insist that you remain in the country until we have completed our investigation. Your passport will be returned to you in a few days.”

“But I have a plane reservation. I’m leaving this afternoon,” she blurted.

“I’m afraid not,” he said, the words authoritative. “Nassau is a beautiful island. I’m sure you will find some way to pass the time.” With a quick touch of his beret in farewell, he marched across the gangplank, his black combat boots slapping the boards with an accompanying echo that sounded ominous.

Kara watched as the officers strode down the dock, falling into perfect cadence with each other as if they’d been born to it. The relief of seeing them go did nothing to stem the mounting tide of her frustration. She rounded on Niko, who pulled his sunglasses from his shirt pocket and covered his eyes. Eduardo seemed to have melted into the dim interior of the main cabin.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

He didn’t bother to deny it. “His advice was good,” he said with a grin that she longed to slap off his face. “Take advantage of your time here. There are beautiful beaches. A few allow topless sunbathing, if you’re adventurous.”

She didn’t know whether it was true or if he were baiting her. Still, she rose to bite. “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” he said in low and fervent agreement. “Yes, I would.”