Enthralled

by Ann Cristy

  A noise woke her hours later and she sensed immediately that it was very late. The bumping sound came again, and she sighed. Chazz Herman and his guests were staggering around outside her cabin, probably on their way to bed. Someone was saying, "Shush," but they made little attempt to lower their voices.

  "Aw come on, Chazz honey, I can get you in the mood," came a woman's slurred voice. "I know you don't like us to come to your cabin, sooooo why not come to mine?" The thick voice had a familiar ring to Teel, who was suddenly wide awake as she strained to hear the conversation beyond her closed door.

  "Dammit, Elise, I've had enough. Now go to bed or get off the Deirdre." Chazz's voice wasn't as slurred as Elise's, but he had obviously been drinking too. To Teel's sensitive ears he sounded like someone picking a fight.

  She let her pent-up breath out in a whush when she heard Elise's retreating staccato steps. Her muttered expletives grew fainter and fainter.

  Teel gasped as someone suddenly opened her cabin door. She slid down further under the silk sheets and closed her eyes, feigning sleep. Then she sensed Chazz standing over her, staring down at her, and knew his lion's eyes were fixed on her as though she were prey. They seemed to have the power to see through her subterfuge, to X-ray and catalogue her thoughts. Just when she was sure he would say something, or perhaps pull the sheet from her naked body, he turned and left the room.

  She heard a thud and a mumbled curse. He must have stumbled against the doorjamb.

  For long moments she didn't move. Then, the sound of the lapping of the water on the hull that came through the large, open porthole was muffled by sounds from the larger cabin next to Teel's. Chazz seemed to prowl the cabin for hours, muttering to himself and slamming into furniture. Finally he fell quiet. For a long time the only sounds Teel heard were the creaking of the ship as it slid through the waves and the splashing of the water against the sides. She felt certain Chazz was asleep.

  Teel willed the motion of the Deirdre to lull her to sleep. But, what seemed eons later, she was still wide awake. Suddenly she wanted to get up and move about. Though still weak, she was determined to find fresh air, to put her muscles into motion. She sat up and shrugged on a terry robe that lay on a chair next to the bed.

  For a full minute after she rose, she was sure she couldn't take a step. But the stars and circles dancing in front of her eyes finally dissipated, and she was able to take a firm footing on the shifting floor. One step. Two steps. Three steps. She looked over her shoulder to see how far she had come from the big double bed. She was halfway to the door. Three more steps and she reached it. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped out into the passageway, which was wider than she had imagined. The staircase leading upward was as broad and twice as steep as any in a house. Would Chazz call it a ladder in nautical terms, Teel mused as she calculated the distance to the top, which seemed farther than the summit of Mount Everest, and determined to climb it. By the time she reached the last rung, she was breathless and reeling.

  The boat seemed to sink and rise through massive swells. Teel knew she might have a rough time keeping her footing even with the full moon to guide her. In her weakened state she wasn't able to control the pull and thrusts of her body as the ship surged onward.

  "You damn little fool!" Without warning two hands came round her, lifting her up and back against a man's hard chest. The fingers tightened under her breasts as Chazz sought to steady himself and hold her at the same time. "Are you trying to kill yourself? I couldn't believe it when I woke up to hear you moving around." He started to turn her away from the rail.

  "No." Teel's hands flailed outward. "I want to breathe. I want to walk a little and breathe." Tears rolled down her cheeks and her head lolled on her neck. Chazz's hand loosened under her breast and came up to press her head back on a hard shoulder.

  "All right." He sounded amused, and the slight slurring of earlier was gone. Chazz Herman had a hard head. He put her down but did not release his firm hold.

  Teel reached out, wanting to hold onto something, her hands weak as she tried to grasp the smooth oak rail. She took deep, reviving breaths and closed her eyes in delight as she felt the salty sweep of air into her lungs. "Oh, the night is so wonderful." Teel wasn't aware that she had spoken aloud until the reedy sound was pushed back to her ears on the heels of the wind.

  "It is beautiful," he agreed, his voice husky in her ear.

  For a moment Teel stiffened, thinking she felt a light caress at her neck. Then she was sure she was mistaken. It was only the wind. But how strange to have her body tingle like that. She walked slow, precise steps across the undulating deck, relying on the arms around her for the support she needed. Although her legs wobbled a bit at the unaccustomed effort, she was elated when she reached the stem area. But as she began her return journey, her knees buckled. At once she was swept high into heavily muscled arms.

  "Enough for you this evening, Sister Terese Ellen," Chazz murmured hoarsely. "Why the hell did you have to be a nun?" he added, ending with a muttered curse as Teel tucked her head into his broad shoulder and closed her eyes against a sudden giddiness.

  "Tired," she muttered into his neck.

  "Are you, angel? I wish I were. You seem to have the opposite effect on me." He buried his face in her hair.

  "Hair's a mess." Teel's lips were so dry that she had to push the words through them.

  "But I bet it's gorgeous when it's washed. That chestnut color must take fire." He took the stairs easily and pushed open her cabin door with his shoulder, then lowered her to the bed, pushing the now sweat-soaked terry robe away from her body.

  The cool air made Teel shiver. She was hazily aware that Chazz had left her for a moment and returned with a fluffy towel. He dried her body with long, gentle strokes, soothing her. When he leaned over to brush the damp tendrils of hair from her forehead, she reached up two limp arms and clung to his neck. His surprise at her move aided her in pulling him down. It was he who held back when Teel's mouth moved over his, her lips and tongue an invitation.

  "God," he groaned, lifting his head for a moment. Then his mouth came down again, the penetrating pressure a revelation.

  Teel enjoyed it for mere seconds before she fell asleep.

  The next day, Teel remembered little of what had happened the night before. She'd gone up on deck for some fresh air, and then Chazz had appeared. She vaguely recalled a sensation of having his strong arms around her, then nothing.

  Darby told her cheerfully that she was allowed on deck. He had asked a crewman to carry her up to a chair. "Not that you aren't as slim as a reed and as light as a feather and that I couldn't do it myself," he said, "but—" he shrugged, giving her an owlish grin—"why should I strain myself?"

  "Why indeed!" Teel's tone had an amused tartness.

  "You're a tall one, that's for sure, and with your hair washed and a shower behind you, you look half decent. Not that I like leggy gals with hair the color of a bay horse, mind you."

  "Thanks."

  "But your skin isn't so bad, and you have a nice long neck like a filly should. Why them nuns let you keep your hair so long, I'll never know. I always thought nuns had short hair under them wimpoles." Darby turned away to reach for a sweater for her.

  She was glad he couldn't see the blush burning her cheeks. She pressed her hands there to cool them before he turned to look at her again.

  "Chazz has been trying to contact your aunt on the ship-to-shore radio," Darby informed her. "Once he does, Sister, you'll be on your way again." He held the sweater out to her.

  “Oh? Ah—thank you. It's very nice. Where did you find all these clothes for me? So many of them are in my size too."

  Darby shrugged, jerking his head in the direction of the guest cabins. "Them." He chortled. "Chazz just burst in and took what he wanted. Why not? He paid for most of them, that's for sure."

  Teel was aghast. "I don't like taking other people's clothes," she exclaimed. "Especially if they don't choose to give
them up."

  "You have eyes like liquid jade when you're angry, Sister," Darby commented. "Sure and you must be Irish."

  "I'm everything. A little Irish on my father's side, but I'm also Swedish, German, and Dutch. My father's grandmother was Spanish, and I had an uncle by marriage who was Armenian. He sold Oriental rugs in upstate New York. So, you see, I'm a real melting pot."

  Darby looked momentarily disappointed, then his brows lifted. "But the best part of you is Irish," he declared. "I can feel it."

  Teel's laughter rippled across the cabin just as the door opened. The sound died abruptly as she faced an indolent Chazz Herman, a thin black cigar held in his white teeth.

  "You must be making her better, Darby," he said. "That's the first time I've heard the sister laugh." He pushed himself away from the door frame and extinguished the cigar in a convenient silver ashtray. His walk, more a lope than a stride, Teel decided, carried him to her bedside in an instant. He leaned over her, a muscle in the right side of his jaw working, and she had to struggle not to dive under the covers. His lips jerked upward in the semblance of a smile, as though he had read her thoughts and fears and already dismissed them. "I've come to carry you up on deck," he told her.

  "The sun is shining and the air is balmy. Before noon we'll be dropping anchor at a little island I know. You can swim if you feel well enough."

  "I don't want to swim. I want to go home. My aunt will be worrying about me." She coughed to clear the dryness from her throat. "You don't have to wait," she added.” One of the crew is coming to carry me on deck." She knew her words were terse and impolite, but she felt smothered by him, threatened by Chazz Herman. It was unbearable strain to be in his company.

  Chazz's mouth closed shut as though he had just bitten through bone. His eyes had a hard sheen to them as he looked down at her. She shivered under the cold heat of that look. "I'm the one who's carrying you on deck, Sister." He spat out the words, harsh mockery in his voice. Then he bent, stripped the silk sheet from her body, and stared down at her as she lay there clad in a light cotton shift.

  "Now, Chazz—" Darby came forward with an outstretched hand.

  "Quiet, Darby." The command ricocheted off the walls, seeming to turn the serene turquoise room an angry, metallic color. Chazz swooped down and swung Teel up into his arms, his gold eyes daring her to defy him.

  She wanted to level him with insults, but she couldn't form her lips around the scathing words bursting inside her head.

  "That's right. Sister, keep quiet." An alien fury seemed to emanate from him. His strong arms clasped her body.

  She made a mental addendum to her previous thought. She felt not only threatened by him but downright menaced. What fuel burned him? she thought, caught between panic and anger. For some unknown reason she had roused as fierce an antipathy in him as he had in her. Perhaps anger responded to anger and grew.

  Whatever the reasons, Teel knew she would never be comfortable with this man, that they could never be friends. She would be balanced precariously as if on the edge of a knife until she could escape the Deirdre and leave its owner behind forever.

  The days that followed were golden, warm, and relaxing. The constant ministrations of the crew left Teel feeling thoroughly pampered aboard the Deirdre. After Chazz had first brought her up on deck, he had occupied himself elsewhere, which relieved her. If only she could talk with her aunt instead of getting second-hand messages through Darby, then everything would have been perfect. She knew Aunt Tessa was fine and on her way home to Albany, but Teel longed to reassure her personally of her own safety.

  Often the Deirdre anchored at sand beaches on obscure islands whose names Teel forgot the moment she heard them. Otherwise they cruised through crystal-blue waters. Teel didn't much care where they went. Her most important concern was her returning health, her only unsettling worry that of seeing Chazz Herman. But since days had gone by without his appearance, she was at least partly successful at putting him out of her mind.

  "Darby"—Teel was resting in a lounge chair on deck— "that lunch was delicious. Would you tell the chef I love fish pan-broiled in lemon like that?"

  "I hate to give him any more compliments," Darby retorted impishly. "Rowan will be getting above himself."

  Teel laughed, delighting in the Irishman's company.

  "We're going to anchor at Moon Bay today," he told her. "It's very beautiful there. Chazz wants to do some diving." Darby lifted the tray from Teel's lap. "You won't be able to dive, but you can sunbathe and swim."

  "Darby," Teel groaned. "I must get back to work soon. My vacation will be up in a couple of days. Besides, I should get in touch with my school and let them know I'm all right."

  "Not to worry. Chazz took care of that after he called your aunt. He says, among other things, that he discovered you have more vacation time coming to you. He wants you to have a nice rest on board the Deirdre."

  Teel jerked upright, wondering what Chazz had said to the school and her aunt and angry at his high-handedness. "Who said he was in charge of my life?" she demanded. "I'm not one of his lackeys."

  "Aww now, Sister, you've hardly been treated like a lackey." Darby grinned at her glowering face, then ambled off with her tray, whistling out of tune.

  Teel gazed across the sapphire waters. "He still has a hell of a nerve," she whispered, clenching and unclenching her hands on the arm rests. "I'm not ungrateful for his care of me," she murmured to herself, "but I'm damned if I'll allow myself to be manipulated by a... a womanizer." She took a deep breath and lay back to rest. She would need all her strength to tell Chazz Herman just what she thought of his methods the next time she saw him. Not that she wanted to see him. She did not. She yawned, not wanting to think of him.

  They anchored well off the beach at Moon Bay. The crescent-shaped harbor with its swath of white sand leading to the clear blue water was a tropic jewel. As she leaned over the rail, Teel could see almost to the bottom of the bay. Fishing boats, sail boats, and power boats with water skiers swaying behind them all decorated the bay with creamy wakes.

  Off to one side was a section delineated with orange flags that Darby explained was for diving. Neither power boats nor sailing vessels were allowed in this area. Only a few craft designated as diving boats moved within it.

  Darby helped Teel down the ship's ladder into the dinghy, not even allowing her to carry the string bag that held her personal belongings. He assured her that Rowan had made a nice lunch for her.

  Darby pointed to a cabana on the beach that several crew members had set up for her. "It's there you can sit when you come out of the water," he explained, scowling at her. "And don't be forgetting that your skin is still sensitive, so use the lotion and don't sit in the open too long." He cocked his head. "But I will be saying that your skin has a nice golden color. Ah, but it is your hair that is the most beautiful, with them red and blond streaks in it."

  "You're a flatterer, Darby," Teel accused him, laughing.

  He cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Now, Sister, don't you be shy about swimming. That's a nice one-piece you have. No one will know you're a nun."

  "Nuns swim, Darby." Teel smiled at him as he spread out a blanket for her. She didn't tell him that she had often posed in bikinis during her stint as a model because the photographer thought her narrow-hipped, long-legged look perfect for bathing-suit ads. Not even to Darby would she reveal that she was not a nun. As long as she was on Chazz Herman's yacht, she felt safer in the disguise.

  Darby sat with her for a few more minutes, reminded her of the suntan lotion, told her to swim near other swimmers, and pointed out a crowd of people. "I'll be back later in the afternoon, Sister," he told her.

  Teel called to him as he turned away. "Is Chazz diving with his other guests?"

  Darby made a face at her and nodded, then left.

  At first Teel just lay back on her elbows in the shade of the cabana, watching the skiers and the swimmers. She didn't want to look toward the orange-flagged are
a. Several times she shaded her eyes and scanned the more remote section of the beach, where several divers came in and out of the water. Could the one in the orange bikini be Clare? Was one of the other women Elise?

  Finally, even with the cool breeze filtering through the cabana, Teel felt too warm. Standing up, she lifted her arms to coil her long hair on top of her head and fixed it there with two bone pins. She looked down at the almost transparent metallic green lycra suit stretched over her body, noticing the prominent hip bone that emphasized her recent loss of weight. Her firm, round breasts strained against the material, the nipples clearly visible. No, Aunt Tessa would not think this an appropriate garment—not for her niece and certainly not for a nun. Teel smiled to herself as she thought of Aunt Tessa, then lifted the water goggles and placed them over her eyes just before entering the water.

  The ocean felt cold on her overheated skin, but refreshing nonetheless. She reveled in the gentle waves. Wanting to avoid other swimmers, she headed diagonally away from the cluster of people. At first she stroked easily, content to get the exercise, but soon the colorful underwater world drew her attention, and she dove repeatedly to get a closer look. She was searching the bottom for an unusual crustacean formation she had just glimpsed when a dark shape angled rapidly down toward her. A shark! Panic engulfed her as she twisted abruptly, kicking wildly upward. As her head broke the surface, she gasped for breath.

  "Hey! What is it? Do you have a cramp?" Chazz held her arm easily and pushed back wet tendrils of hair that had fallen forward on her face.