Elusive Flame

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

  “My father finally had to put ol’ Sawney down after he went blind. I’m sure it was from all of those thorn trees he was inclined to take me through. At times, he just got it in his head that he didn’t want to be ridden and would try to get rid of me any way he could.”

  “Oh, I can remember one of those times very distinctly, and listening to you only affirms the fact that my father had cause to worry.”

  “Aye, he did, but I was determined to master that ol’ brute. In the process, I nearly killed myself.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t,” she murmured.

  Her soft gaze and warm smile were what a man could dream of in a lonely port far away and yearn for through months on end. How could he take her truly to wife and then be able to leave her?

  At the conclusion of the meal, Beau pulled out a pair of trousers, the kind that he usually wore when he worked. Unfastening the more costly ones that presently clothed him, he cast a glance toward Cerynise as he warned, “You might want to turn away if you have any reservations about watching a man change his clothes. I need to go back on deck, and I’m sure as hell not going to run to another cabin every time I lower my pants. My men would certainly think that odd, considering our newly wedded state.”

  Cerynise coolly presented her back. “Have you become angry with me again because I rejected your proposal of intimacy? Or do you usually snarl at all the women you marry?”

  Beau laughed shortly. Having already come firmly to the awareness that being within close proximity of his wife aroused every mating instinct he was capable of feeling, he was not in the best of moods. When he saw no hope of her yielding to anything else he had in mind, how could he even think of being gracious. “If you’re going to be my wife even for a few weeks, my dear, you’re going to have to get used to my cursing, if that’s what you mean. Sailors are prone to say what’s on their minds without giving thought of a woman being within earshot.”

  “So, are you going to instruct me in your seaman’s vernacular?” In the lengthy silence that followed, her teeth tugged nervously at her bottom lip as Cerynise awaited his reaction to her gentle goading. She had challenged him often as a child; how could she stop now?

  Beau slowly perused the stiffly erect form of his young wife as he stripped off his shirt and trousers. Of course, she had no concept of the pain it caused him to curb his male instincts and refrain from seeking appeasement with her. Nor did he have any idea if telling her the truth would help his circumstances, but he was not above trying. “What I’d really like to do, my dear, is to instruct you in something far more pleasurable. Since you’re not in favor, you can expect me to be a little on edge when I’m around you. A man can hardly look at a beautiful woman without imagining her naked in his arms. In your case, I need not wonder. It has dwelt on my mind since your first night here in my cabin.”

  “When you bathed me, you mean?” she prodded.

  Beau nearly dropped his jaw in surprise. She was carefully keeping her gaze fastened on the far wall, he supposed, but he sensed that she was just itching to savor his shocked expression. “How did you know?”

  “I saw a long hair on your tub which looked very much like mine.”

  Beau buttoned his trousers as he approached her. “I had to do something, Cerynise. You were chilled all the way through, and I didn’t want you to catch your death. In recent years I’ve seen a man succumb to the frigid weather after he tried to return to our ship from shore leave. You were so cold, I was afraid you wouldn’t make it through.”

  “Is it safe to turn around now?”

  “Aye.”

  Deliberately Cerynise faced him and immediately felt heat flooding upward from her neck to the crown of her head. He was naked from the waist up, and the sight of those wide square shoulders and the hard muscular chest narrowing to a taut waist made her breath wane in awe.

  “You’re n-not dressed,” she stuttered in confusion, discomfited by the sight of such manly grace and beauty.

  Noticing the scarlet blush imbuing her cheeks, Beau settled a curious stare upon her as he approached. “Haven’t you ever seen a man without a shirt before?”

  “Perhaps when I was a child, but only my father.” She focused her gaze elsewhere. “Beyond that, I can’t remember.”

  “Look at me, Cerynise.” When she refused, Beau caught her hand and clasped it to his chest, holding it firmly there against her efforts to draw away. “You see? I’m flesh and blood. Nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Her eyes lifted hesitantly, meeting those of emerald green. They seemed to burn with a fire of their own, fanning a flaming heat deep within her. “My encounters with half-naked men are a rarity I cannot deny.” She passed her gaze shyly over the muscular expanse. “But if I were to guess, I would say that you come close to being perfect.”

  Beau chuckled softly. “Eh, now? Look who’s giving pretty compliments.”

  “’Tis true,” she sighed, her mouth quivering upward in a tentative smile.

  He moved her hand upward near his heart, over a male nipple, slowly across his chest and then downward to the top of his trousers, all the while watching her eyes growing increasingly limpid with what he could only imagine was desire. He stepped near enough to touch her with that bare expanse and tilted his head aslant as he slowly lowered his lips towards hers. He saw her mouth part to welcome his. It was all the excuse he needed. Suddenly she was in his arms, and he was crushing her hard against him. He explored her mouth with heady delight, his kisses attesting to his ravenous greed. Behind her back, his fingers began to pluck apart the fasteners, deftly loosening the placket of her gown down to her hips until he was able to sweep it forward over her shoulders and arms. The garment slid past her petticoat with a gentle swishing rustle as he drew away to indulge his gaze. Her diaphanous-clad bosom rose tautly above her corset, awakening a memory of when he had hurriedly stripped away her wet clothing. At the time, he had been far too anxious about her condition to indulge his manly appreciation for her feminine form. It was only later, after he had become confident that she would revive, that his memory had taunted him with visions of the soaked chemise clinging to her round breasts and lithe form, whetting his hunger no small degree. It was no different now.

  Beau smiled down into those darkly translucent orbs that eyed him almost warily, conveying her timidity and uncertainty. Beneath his lengthy stare, she made an effort to cover her breasts, causing him to shake his head.

  “Let me look at you,” he urged softly, gathering her hands into his. He brushed fleeting kisses upward from her wrist to a fair shoulder, drawing soft, wavering sighs from her lips. His own traced her silken skin in a slow descent until they reached the tantalizing fullness pressed brazenly above the lace of her camisole. He saw her eyelids flutter as he caressed the swelling mounds with warm kisses, coming nigh to the clothed peaks but prudently avoiding them for the moment. His playful dallying reversed itself, sliding upward along her throat. Then he straightened to his full height and, watching her face carefully, lowered his mouth toward hers. He saw no sign of resistance in the offing. His tongue coyly teased hers until she joined the playful merging, awakening his delight as she flicked her own shyly across his mouth. His kisses grew more dedicated to strengthening her response, delving deeply, drawing her tongue inward, and nearly devouring her lips in a tantalizing frenzy as his mouth covered hers.

  Cerynise felt as if her whole being would melt, but her heart began to drum a faster rhythm as he pulled back to allow his fingers to leisurely stroke along the top of her chemise, working the undergarment downward provocatively until the uppermost part of a delicate pink sphere peeked up at him above the lace. Fascinated by its softness, he rubbed the silken texture gently with a fingertip, causing the beat of her heart to race in quickening excitement as his stroking caresses began to move infinitesimally lower. A sharp catch in Cerynise’s breath accompanied the moment the tiny nodule thrust into view, for his thumb was instantly there, gently brushing across it and then moving around t
he pink flesh that encircled it.

  The gratification Beau felt for having come so far without being halted brought an accompanying sigh from his own lips. His head dipped downward, and her breath was snatched inward in a sudden gasp of surprise as his open mouth claimed her nipple. A flaming fire began languidly stroking across the pliant crest, awakening an insatiable hunger deep within her, until a muted moan was wrenched from her lips. Her head fell back in ecstasy as she yielded herself completely to the sensual delight that he awakened within her. Vaguely she was aware of her corset being loosened behind her back, and then her petticoat accompanying its descent to the floor.

  Her hair was plucked free and fell in shimmering waves over her shoulders. His hand followed its silky, cascading length down her back until it reached her pantalettes. It slipped inside, moving over her naked buttocks, stroking the delectable fullness until Cerynise felt driven to press herself tightly to the hardness beneath his trousers. Then, of a sudden, she was being lifted up into his arms. In three long strides, Beau was at his bunk, laying her upon it, and jerking down the covers beneath her. He swept the last of her clothing from her, and then stood back to doff his trousers, making no effort to turn away. Cerynise’s eyes widened at his bold manly display, but in the next moment he was pressing alongside, kissing her face, her breasts, and nibbling at her waist and hips.

  “I want you,” he murmured huskily, sliding his hand downward over her body and then sweeping it upward again between her thighs. Cerynise started in surprise at his intrusion and tried to roll away, but with soothing words and sultry kisses he cajoled her to relax until she opened herself to him. He was infinitely gentle as he searched her womanly softness, and before long her senses were reeling in ecstasy. Strange fires were lit and began to flare upward from her loins, making her writhe as the sweeping sensations began to course through her body.

  Cerynise felt driven to roll on her side and face him. Soon their lips and tongues were blended in a wild exchange of fevered kisses. Fairly besotted by them, she pressed close to his muscular form and lifted a slender thigh over his hip. The fiery blade pressed forward to caress the moist womanly softness until the slow, teasing strokes along the outer fringes evoked sensations that caused them both to gasp in sensual delight. Awakened to an unbridled brazenness, Cerynise began to caress and kiss her husband’s tautly muscled chest. Her fingers fluttered shyly over small hard nipples and around the male breasts. In the next moment Beau was catching her hand and moving it downward over his chest until he closed it around the hard shaft, drawing a startled gasp from her. He murmured near her ear as he caressed her face with kisses, and she timidly complied with his instructions until she was snatching his breath. The thrill of pleasing him augmented her nerve, and she became bolder, appeasing her own curiosity while driving him to heights that Beau had never known were possible to obtain before entry. Perhaps there was something to be said after all about making love to a wife instead of a well-versed woman of the world.

  An urgent knock sounded on the door, drawing a startled gasp from Cerynise and a sharp groan from Beau. He passed a hand across his brow, silently cursing the one who had been callous enough to intrude upon them at this most untimely moment.

  “What do you want?” he snarled, rising up on an elbow and casting a glare toward the portal.

  “Sorry, Cap’n,” Billy Todd called contritely through the barrier. “Mr. Oaks sent me down ta tell ye there be a man from the magistrate’s office what’s come aboard ta see yer papers an’ check yer shippin’ dates. He says till ye’ve settled yer dispute with Mr. Winthrop, he an’ his men’ll be keepin’ a close eye on the Audacious ta make sure ye don’t try ta skedaddle.”

  Beau was sure he could have committed mayhem upon Alistair Winthrop right then and there if the man had been within reach. “I’ll bring the papers up in a moment.”

  Cerynise drew the sheet up to cover herself as Beau heaved a laborious sigh and swung his long legs over the side of the bunk. He sat there in deep frustration with an elbow braced on a knee and his forehead propped against his hand. He couldn’t believe that he had come so far to be forestalled at the very threshold of pleasure.

  Turning on the bed to face Cerynise, he kissed her with undiminished passion. “Wait for me here,” he whispered against her lips and then smiled down into her eyes. “I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

  Cerynise searched his face, not knowing what to say. The knock on the door had done more than startle her. It had awakened her to the realization of what she had nearly given him. He had, after all, made no pledge for the future, and although they were married now, he would undoubtedly want his freedom upon their arrival home. And if he asked for it, she entertained no doubt that she’d give it to him, for she would never dream of holding him against his will, no matter how deeply she might be hurt.

  Better to keep him at arm’s length, prudence whispered. Then you needn’t worry that he’ll leave you with child.

  Cerynise felt rather brazen watching her new husband dress, but if there was nothing more to be gained from their marriage than these small, intimate moments, then she would reap as many as she could before she closed the door in his face. That was coming soon enough.

  Six

  “WHAT DO YOU mean, you’re not going to bed with me?” Beau railed at his young wife. “You were there just a little while ago. So what has changed since I went on deck?”

  Cerynise had winced at each word he had shouted and couldn’t help but tremble before his glowering stare. She had anticipated his rage when she stated her position, but she hadn’t imagined that it would come in such thunderous tones. “Will you please lower your voice, Beau,” she begged. “You’ll have the whole ship knowing our business.”

  In a vivid display of temper, Beau snarled and sent his log sailing across the cabin. It hit the corner of the locker, sending sheaves of papers flying helter-skelter before it plummeted to the floor. “I don’t give a damn if the whole world hears us, madam. All I want to know is what happened to make you change your mind while I was up on deck talking to that dolt of a constable!”

  “If you’ll lower your voice, I’ll tell you,” Cerynise quietly assured him. “But if you continue shouting at me, I’ll leave this ship and let you sail to the Carolinas without me.”

  Beau snorted cantankerously and stalked to his locker, where he knelt and began gathering up his receipts and documents. When he had left the cabin some moments earlier, he had felt as if his entrails were being drawn out through his belly, so caught up in the heat of passion had he been. To say that he was now acutely disappointed with his wife’s declaration would have vastly understated his distress.

  “I know that you don’t really wish to be married, Beau,” Cerynise began nervously and abruptly quailed at the glare he tossed at her over his shoulder. Gathering her courage, she forced herself to continue, but now there was definitely a shakiness in her voice that she could not subdue. “If I allowed you to have your way with me and, as a result, got with child, your freedom would be jeopardized. I don’t ever want you to feel as if you’re tied to me simply because you may be pressed to do the right thing by your offspring. Therefore, if you’re still willing to take me to Charleston, I believe it would be better for us both if there was some distance between us. If I could have another cabin…”

  Beau had the greatest desire to throw his log again in roweling frustration, this time to the opposite side of his cabin, but he restrained the urge to vent his wrath upon the already battered book. Instead, he unleashed it upon his winsome bride. “Damnation, woman! Didn’t I tell you before there’s not one left in this whole ship that isn’t stored neck-deep with cargo?”

  Cerynise wrung her hands, knowing she wouldn’t be able to resist him if he plied her again with his persuasive wooing. He could steal her will away with no more than a soft, nuzzling kiss. “I’ll need only enough space on the floor to spread a blanket and a place to wash and dress.”

  Beau mumbled a foul c
urse, and then, without saying a word, he marched to the cabin door, yanked it open and roared through the passageway, “Oaks!”

  From there, he went to his desk and slammed the log down flat on top of it. His eyes seething with fury, he gave her a withering glare that clearly conveyed his rampant disgust with the situation in which he found himself. Then he began to pace about with fists tightly clenched, his wrists folded one over the other behind his back as he awaited his second-in-command.

  Cerynise watched him warily. In the nine years he had been on his own, Beau Birmingham had changed in ways she was just beginning to fully comprehend. Only the superficial traces of the boy whom she had remembered so well now remained. He was a more determined man than she might have once imagined he would become, one who had only to glance at her to make her keenly aware of his ire. He had grown accustomed to his authority and to issuing orders that were readily obeyed. By agreeing to marry him, she had entered an area under his control. As her husband, he had an absolute right to keep her ensconced in his cabin and make love to her if he so desired. Except that she had balked, and now he was having to deal with something that closely resembled mutiny in the ranks.

  Footsteps swiftly descending the companionway brought their attention to bear upon the open portal, where a brief moment later the panting first mate appeared.

  “You bellowed, Captain?” Stephen Oaks asked with a jocular grin.

  “Aye!” Beau answered caustically. “Set some hands to removing the cargo from the cabin next door.”

  Oaks seemed suddenly dumbfounded. “Where shall I put it, sir?”

  “Anywhere!” Beau growled, throwing up a hand in a gesture of impatience and irritation. “Preferably in the other cabins if there’s room.”