by Merry Farmer
The betting finished, and the men laid down their cards, William first. He had three tens. Lewis went next, putting down a perfect spade suit flush with jack high. Allen cursed and threw his cards on the table without revealing what they were.
“I need a shot of what you’ve got, Mr. Milton,” he growled, holding his empty glass out for Milton to pour. As soon as he’d downed the shot, he stood. “Gentlemen, it’s been a pleasure, but you’ve done me in for the night. Cheers.” He raised his glass, said a quick word to Lewis, promising to find him with the cash he owed the next day, bowed goodbye to Domenica, then headed out of the cabin.
“Well, wasn’t that exciting.” Domenica broke the silence that followed. She sent a heated look around the table to the remaining players, landing on Albert. Something changed in her eyes as she gazed at him. It was as if she wore a mask with the others, but gave him a peek at something more. That only fanned the flames of the fire growing in Albert.
“Shall we continue?” Milton said, gathering up the cards and shuffling.
The game took on a new intensity. The tension that spilled around the table left less room for flirting, much to Albert’s regret. But with the increase in the size of bets that were being made and the way money started to change hands, he needed his wits about him.
Domenica seemed to feel the same way. Her eyes took on a new focus as the cards were dealt, and rather than making double-edged jokes and seeking to distract the other men with her wiles, she straightened her back, held her cards closer to her chest, and played like a professional. Even when she ran out of money.
“I.O.U.s are open to everyone, no?” she asked as Milton and Lewis folded during a particularly tense hand.
“Yes,” Albert answered, rearranging his cards. It took all his effort to keep his face implacable. He was holding a straight flush, four through eight of hearts. It was a beatable hand, but only under extraordinary circumstances.
“Good.” Domenica reached for one of the pieces of paper, still sitting where Allen had been. Lewis handed the fountain pen across to her. With a smile, she wrote only two words on the paper: One Night.
“What is that supposed to mean?” William asked, his snappishness a sure tell that he was holding good cards.
“I am betting what I have, Lord William,” she said, feigning innocence. That innocence quickly melted into a tempting smile. “Fifty dollars a night was my standard charge.”
Albert sucked in a breath, the need to protect Domenica warring with suspicion over what she was up to…and the heady desire to win at all costs. William caught on to the bet a moment later. A predatory grin spread across his face. That grin told Albert his cards were good. Good enough to make William think he had Domenica cornered.
“In that case,” William drawled, “I call.”
“I wish I could,” Lewis said, throwing down his cards with a grin. He glanced to Albert, his grin widening. “Captain?”
Albert glanced at his cards. He looked across the table to William. The young whelp wore a grin as if he knew he’d bested ‘the old man’ to win the best prize of all. What cards did the man have?
He peeked at Domenica. What was she holding that made her think she could risk herself? Surely, she would never bet a night in her bed if she thought there was even a slim chance of William winning. The fear that he’d seen in her eyes when she’d walked into the room and the shake of her hand told him everything he needed to know about her feelings where William was concerned.
She nudged him under the table, shaking him out of his thoughts. Her eyes flickered down to his cards just enough to make Albert question the way he’d been holding them. Had she seen what he had? Did she know he would win the hand? Had she deliberately bet herself, knowing he would win her?
The possibility spurred him to action. As casually as he could, he counted out the money he would need to call her bet, tossing it to the center of the table without a word. He turned to her, burning with desire to know what she was up to and more.
With a triumphant smile, Domenica laid down her cards. “Three aces.” She glanced to him, her eyebrow twitching slightly.
She knew what he was holding. A mad rush of desire flooded him, and wild imaginings of all the ways he would claim his prize blasted through his brain. But they weren’t there yet.
“Four nines,” William declared in a loud voice, his eyes bright with lust. He reached for Domenica’s I.O.U. slip. “It’s a shame you—”
Albert reached out and clamped a hand around William’s wrist, keeping him from touching the paper. He met the young bastard’s eyes with the fire of victory in his gaze and laid down his cards. William’s eyes snapped wide with fury, and he snatched his hand back.
“It’s a shame how the young are always firing off prematurely, isn’t it?” he asked Domenica as he swept his winnings toward him, her I.O.U. on the top of the pile.
Domenica’s low, sultry laugh had the hair on the back of his neck—and other things—standing up. “Age and experience make for excellent endurance, don’t they, Capitán?”
Her eyes flashed. Her cheeks flushed. She nibbled her lip ever so slightly. Albert practically shook with needs he’d ignored far too long. Risking embarrassment, he stood.
“Gentlemen,” he said, too much gravel in his voice. “I think it’s time I leave the game.” He used the excuse of scooping up his winning to bend over and hide what would be obvious to everyone around the table.
“And seeing as I’ve lost what I have to bet….” Domenica stood as well, turning a look of open invitation to Albert.
Milton chuckled. “Go on, Captain. Claim your winnings.”
Albert sent him a quelling frown, but he couldn’t hide the fact that claiming his prize was the only thing he could think about just then.
“Good luck, Captain,” Lewis added, laughing. “And Godspeed.”
Only William glared at Albert. Beyond losing most of his money, William was clearly fuming at losing Domenica. Albert didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him. He would have done everything short of murder to keep William’s hands off Domenica, even if he had won.
The only thing to do was to ignore the whelp completely. He offered his arm to Domenica instead. “Miss Ortega.”
“Capitán.” A grin spread across her sweet face that made Albert question whether he’d died and gone to heaven. He escorted her away from the table and toward the door.
“A few more hands, gentlemen?” Lewis asked as they left, teasing laughter in his voice.
Albert caught one last look at William seething before stepping out into the corridor with Domenica, his prize.
CHAPTER 3
I t was all Domenica could do to contain her excitement as Captain Tennant escorted her down the cramped corridor, up a narrow stairway, and along the slightly wider hallway where most of the first-class cabins were located. The poker game had been far more enjoyable than she’d expected it to be, and the outcome had left her aching in the best way.
“Who would have thought that a man as distinguished as you could be so ruthless when it comes to cards?” she teased him, leaning into his arm and breathing in the spicy scent of him. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d looked forward to nocturnal activity with a man. But Captain Tennant was different. He wouldn’t turn into a cruel, greedy tyrant once the door was closed, she was certain of it.
He slowed his steps as they neared the door to her room. The victorious grin he’d worn since winning the hand faded. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he said, turning to her.
Domenica blinked at him. “Why would you think I wouldn’t want to?”
His answering smile was warm and strangely full of regret. “A beautiful woman like you, on the verge of starting a new life? I can’t imagine any reason why you would want to bed a tired old sailor like me.”
Domenica’s heart squeezed with emotion. She rested her hands on his chest, brushing imaginary dust from his lapels. “I see no old sailors here.”
�
�No?” Some of the seductive heat returned to his voice, and his hands brushed her sides, settling on her hips.
“No, Capitán.” She slid her hands up to his shoulders, then threaded her fingers into his greying hair, leaning closer. She liked the strands of silver around his temples, liked the gentle lines around his eyes. They told her he had smiled frequently in his life. “All I see is a man in need of a woman.”
She felt him take in a breath as her chest pressed against his, felt the heat pour off him as she brought her mouth close to his. Any other man would have turned aggressive by now, taken what he wanted from her without a care. Her capitán was patient, studying her, waiting to see what she would do.
She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to strip the formal clothes from her capitán’s strong, virile body. She wanted to taste every inch of his skin, kiss him until they were both mad with passion. He must have felt the same way. The way his eyes smoldered as he circled his arms around her, pressing her close, revealed everything.
A door opened farther down the hall, sending a jolt of shock through Domenica. She jumped away from Captain Tennant, and he snapped straight. The uniformed figure that stepped into the hall headed in the other direction. He almost ignored them, but a casual glance down the hall turned into a look of surprise, and he paused.
“Carry on, Smith,” Captain Tennant said, his voice gruff.
“Aye-aye, captain,” the crewman said, hurrying on with a poorly-concealed grin.
They waited until Smith disappeared around the corner. Captain Tennant took Domenica’s hand and marched down the hall. Domenica almost said something as they passed the door to her cabin. The captain knew where he was going, though.
They reached a door about three-quarters of the way down the hall, and Captain Tennant drew a key from his pocket to unlock it. As soon as the door opened, he swept Domenica inside, closing the door behind them.
The cabin was delightful, paneled with wood and decorated more like a home than a characterless hotel room. Photographs of far-off places hung on the walls. The narrow bed was draped with a quilt. A carved, mahogany desk rested against one wall and a matching wardrobe against the other. Two large portholes above the bed looked out over the blackness of the Atlantic at night.
Domenica took it all in with a quick smile of approval, then pivoted to throw herself back into her capitán’s arms. He backed against the closed door, sliding his arms around her as she lifted herself to her toes to kiss him. She wasn’t coy or teasing either. She slanted her mouth over his, taking what she wanted, threading the fingers of one hand through his hair while bracing her other hand against the door.
He growled low in his throat as he returned her kiss, a sound that thrilled Domenica down to her toes. His hand dropped to grasp her backside as well as he could through the layers of her skirts. Her bodice felt far too constrictive. She wanted to tear away the clothes that separated them, feel his skin against hers. Until she could get what she wanted, she poured every ounce of that impatient passion into their kiss.
The urgency that poured off the captain matched everything Domenica felt. He was bigger than her, stronger, taller, and yet the intensity of his kiss was a perfect compliment to what she was feeling. He teased her with his teeth and tongue, drawing sighs of pleasure from her that she usually had to fake. There was nothing even remotely pretend about how badly she wanted the man in her arms, though.
All at once, he stopped. His breath came in desperate pants, and he leaned heavily against the door. “I mean it,” he said, shifting to cradle her face with both hands and to look her in the eye. “I won’t let you continue if you see this as some sort of obligation for losing a hand of cards. I’m not that kind of man.”
His words set her heart fluttering like a girl with her first crush. The sensation was so new that Domenica wanted to laugh. “I can assure you, Capitán,” she said, unbuttoning his jacket. “You are exactly the kind of man I long for.”
She fumbled the last button. That wasn’t what she had intended to say. She’d meant to be tempting and to tell him he was the man she wanted to be with that night. The truth of the words that left her lips sent shivers of vulnerability through her, and with that, fear.
But when she looked up into his eyes, the tender heat of his gaze pushed the fear away. He leaned forward, shrugging off his jacket and casting it aside, then started on the buttons of his shirt. A thrill of victory zipped through her, and she reached for the buttons of her own bodice.
The act of undressing for a man had always been an awkward but necessary precursor to what her patrons had paid for, but as Domenica peeled away the layers of her clothes under the hungry gaze of her capitán, it took on a whole new meaning. She slowed down, tugged at each piece of her clothing as if drawing out the anticipation. The captain followed suit, revealing his broad, muscled chest and strong arms as seductively as she did. That fact brought a grin to her lips, which turned into an excited giggle in no time.
“You’re laughing,” Captain Tennant said, smiling.
“It’s not what you think.” She shrugged out of her bodice and pushed it down to her waist, reaching for the ties of her petticoats.
“No? Then what is it?” He peeled his shirt off over his head and tossed it aside.
Domenica wanted to run her hands over his firm chest and abdomen, and lower, but he beat her to it, working the front of his trousers loose. Her eyes stayed glued to his action. “It is excitement,” she said in a whisper. “Anticipation.”
“What are you anticipating?” He slowed his motions down to a crawl.
Domenica bit her lip, wondering if he was teasing her to hide something disappointing or to add more excitement to something fantastic. She pulled the tie of her petticoats loose, letting the entire mass of her skirts drop to the floor and stepping out. He finished with his trousers, pushing them down over his hips.
The thick, hard length of his cock stood straight and proud. She drew in a breath, licking her lips. More potent than the sight of him in all his glory was the flash of uncertainty in his eyes, as if he wasn’t sure he was much to look at. That vulnerability fanned the flames of her desire beyond measure.
“Oh, Capitán,” she said, stepping toward him and sliding her hands across his chest and the soft, dark hair that covered it. “You are beautiful.”
She kissed him lightly, then raked her hands down his sides, around the powerful muscles of his backside, and over his hips to take him in hand. He groaned and flinched as she stroked him up and down, slowly, wanting to bring him as much pleasure as she could. She knew her way around a man’s body, knew what made him ache with pleasure, what would bring him to the edge quickly, and what would prolong the desire. For once, she wanted to make the moment last as long as possible.
“How long has it been?” she whispered against his ear, not out of jealousy, but because she needed to gauge exactly how his body would react. Men who had not known a woman for a long time tended to overexcite quickly, and yet older men sometimes needed more stimulation.
“Too long,” he answered, sliding his hands up the front of her corset and starting on the hooks. “Much too long.”
So he said, but he knew how to undress a woman. He undid her corset and let it fall to the floor, then tugged her chemise up over her head. The only regret she had was that she wore warm, serviceable drawers and wool stockings instead of the kind of dainty, frilly things men liked to look at. But that didn’t seem to matter, and within seconds they were both naked.
Her capitán closed his arms around her and spilled across his bed with her, but rather than letting him cover her and slide between her legs, she rolled until she was on top, straddling him.
“Isn’t this interesting, mi capitán.” Her dark hair draped over one shoulder, and her breasts hung heavily between them.
“Very interesting, Miss Ortega,” he answered in a rough growl. He raked his hands up her legs and over her hips to her sides. She expected him to cup and knead her breasts, bu
t he surprised her by sweeping back down to her backside and running his fingers along the cleft between her legs. He pulled gently, spreading her in a way that made her want to bear down on him, taking his full length inside of her there and then.
She resisted the urge, kissing him, first on the lips, and then blazing a trail across his neck and shoulder and down his chest. She flicked one of his nipples with her tongue, taking a moment to tease and suck before continuing downward. His gut tightened as she kissed and licked lower and lower, but he didn’t force anything, didn’t attempt to flip her over and claim her. He was patient, not, she sensed, out of some belief that she owed it to him to give him pleasure first, but because she had indicated she wanted to take the lead. He was letting her. He was letting her use him for what she wanted.
That and the giddy feeling it engendered in her made Domenica bold. It made her want to fill him with pleasure like he’d never known. A man as noble and considerate as her capitán deserved to be driven mad with passion.
She kissed his hips, noting the coiled tension of his efforts not to move under her ministrations. She slid a hand between his legs to gently cup his testicles, rolling them enough to cause him to swallow a moan of pleasure. Then she lifted his erection, kissing the tip. He drew in a sharp breath, but she didn’t stop there. She licked him, closed her mouth around just his head, circled her tongue around the sensitive flare of flesh. She was careful, teasing, giving him just enough pleasure to tempt him. And still he held himself back, gripping the bedsheets and closing his eyes. A sultry groan escaped from him, but he did not, as she half expected, thrust deeper into her mouth to bring an end to the sweet torture she knew she was inflicting.
That made her heart race, even as it melted with something that went far beyond physical pleasure. Her admiration for the powerful vulnerable man who had put himself completely under her control grew by the moment. She drew him farther into her mouth, taking him deeper, easing out, then swallowing more of him. His breathing grew harder and shallower, but he held out, even though his hips began to twitch with impatience. His willpower and endurance had her quivering with need without him even touching her.