"Go away. I must sleep."
And he did.
It was night when Judah awoke, and the light of lanterns danced on the walls of the cave. His mind was clear and he felt stronger. He turned his head and saw Dominique lying nearby on a straw mattress, her lovely eyes closed in sleep.
Judah watched her for a time, trying to fathom what had happened—why was he here, and why with her?
He slowly stood, taking pains not to wake her. He closed his eyes against the pain and then straightened to his full height.
Quietly, he made his way across the cave and out the entrance, standing on a wide ledge. He had no way of knowing whether it was a sheer drop-off or there was a path. He was a prisoner here as surely as if he had been placed in a cell, for he had no way to leave this cursed place.
"Judah."
He turned to find Dominique standing just behind him. He restrained the impulse to grab her shoulders and wrench her forward.
"When does the ignominious Colonel Marceau appear?" he asked, watching her eyes. Was that pain he saw in those shimmering depths?
With a careless flip of her elegant hand, Dominique whisked a strand of hair from her face. "As soon as you are able, I will guide you to a place where you will rejoin your crew."
"I do not trust you." An insolent smile curled his lips. "I wonder if you are capable of telling the truth?"
Fierce pride would not allow her to seek his understanding. "I, Captain," she injected, "can recite the truth as long as I am of a mind to. Or if it is your wish, I can quite successfully weave a tapestry of lies."
"So I've noticed. What I don't know is why." He watched her closely, trying to read the truth in her aqua eyes. "Did you betray me for money?"
"I did not betray you."
He wanted to believe her, but he would never trust a woman again, especially not this one. "Do not think that I will be so easily duped by you again."
She straightened her shoulders and merely looked at him.
"Are you finding it difficult to face your accusers, Dominique?" In spite of his anger, his lips caressed her name.
"You will believe what you want to believe, so I shall save my breath," she told him.
In a sudden move, he gripped her head between his hands, holding her still. "Then I will kiss the lies from your lips."
She tried to turn her head away because it was his anger talking, not love. "No, Judah," she pleaded. "Do not do this."
Against his will, he gravitated closer to her, laying his rough face against her smooth one. "You are like poison to me. I have prided myself on being a man of strength, but you were my one weakness." He was disgusted with himself because of his admission. "I cannot tear you from my heart, but I will exorcise your ghost."
His hands were rough as they went to her hair, and he loosened the pins so it cascaded down about her face.
"Judah no, not this way. I—"
He shook his head as if to clear it. "Perhaps another time. I find I am not as strong as I thought." He stumbled to his mattress and threw himself down, glad for the sudden pain that took his mind off Dominique.
She was instantly beside him. "You are hungry and must eat to regain your strength."
He raised up onto his elbow. His voice was low and oh, so richly male. "What have you to tempt my appetite?"
The words formed hoarsely on his lips, for she could tell by the fury in his eyes that he was not speaking of food.
"Chicken, cheese, fruit."
His lips curved into an almost smile, half wistful, half teasing. "That will have to do until something more tempting comes along."
She went to a basket near the back of the cave and carried it to him. Sitting down beside him, she laid out the food. "You will find everything quite delicious," she said, avoiding his gaze. "Ineaz prepared it for you, and she is a good cook."
For the first time he noticed that Dominique was wearing leather gloves. "Are you going riding?" he questioned.
She quickly moved her hands behind her back. "You should eat, Judah. You have taken very little sustenance since we brought you here."
"So good of you to care," he said, his words laced with sarcasm. Then his eyes dropped to the food she had spread before him, and he chose a succulent chicken leg, taking the meat between his strong teeth. "And who is this Ineaz that I have to thank for the feast?"
Dominique raised one delicate shoulder in a shrug. "Just one of the many people who have helped you."
"I can well forgo this kind of help." His tone was measured, his eyes without warmth. "I seem to have a vague memory of Ethan, then there was Tom in some preposterous yellow and green jester's attire. Was that real, or did I merely dream it?"
She couldn't keep from smiling. "It was not a dream. Tom was glorious. He even convinced Captain Marceau that he was of royal blood."
"The devil you say."
"I can assure you it is true. One day you will have to hear Tom's version of what happened."
By now Judah had hungrily devoured the chicken and reached for a chunk of cheese. "What happens next? Do we live here like primates, eating, drinking,..." he nodded to his bed, "mating?"
She raised her eyes to his and hoped he could not see the misery she was feeling. "You will not be here nearly so long as that. When you are stronger, I shall lead you to your ship."
He raised a doubtful eyebrow. "You will pardon me if I am skeptical. My past association with you has done little to inspire trust."
Dominique tossed her head, and her mane of dark hair swirled about her face like a curtain of midnight. "Well, Judah, I am all you have. Whether or not you trust me is of little importance, is it?"
He had never seen her looking more beautiful, although she was dressed in the ridiculous trousers and shirt that she had worn aboard his ship. "How is it that the hand that brought about my downfall is also the hand now held out to rescue me? You can see where I would be confused, Dominique. But tell me, all the same, what you have in mind for me."
She stared at him, hoping he would not know how her heart was breaking. "As soon as you are strong enough, we will leave here. Our trek will take us through the mangrove swamp to a small fishing village, where Tom and Ethan will be waiting for you. It is a difficult journey with steep mountains, deep gorges, and many waterways. Do you think you will be up to it?"
He was feeling stronger after having eaten, but he had not recovered enough to make the trek that she described. Even so, he would not allow her to see his weakness. "When do we leave?"
"We thought you would need a week. Do you find that satisfactory?"
He lay back on the mattress and closed his eyes. "What choice have I?" He turned his back, indicating that he no longer wanted to talk to her.
With a heavy sigh, Dominique gathered up the remaining food and placed it back in the basket. Then she left the cave and made her way down the slope to the makeshift pen where their two horses were kept. She mounted one and rode down the hill.
She did not return to the hideaway until after dark. When she entered the cave, Judah grabbed her, his hands biting into her shoulders.
"Where in the hell have you been?"
Dominique shrugged out of his grasp. She was weary, and had wounds of her own that still pained her. Her leg hurt her the most. All she wanted to do was crawl on her mattress and sleep.
When she brushed past Judah, he grabbed her arm. "Where did you go?" he asked once again. "Were you cavorting with my enemies?"
Vexed by his obvious suspicion, she glowered at him. "I had to make further arrangements to get you off this island, Captain. Just remember this, we are not on board your ship here and you are not in command. lam!"
Judah's body became rigid, his lips compressed in a disapproving line. He yanked her forward, then taking her hands in his, he noticed the fear in her eyes as she jerked them free. He was certain that she was hiding something from him.
"Remove your gloves," he said bitingly.
She twisted away from him and backed agai
nst the wall of the cave. "No. I will not."
In two strides, he was standing before her, blocking her between his body and the cave wall. "Give me your hand!" he demanded.
She shook her head, lacing her fingers tightly behind her.
"Dominique, don't make me force you."
"Why should it matter to you? It has nothing to do with you."
"You are concealing something from me," he said with certainty. "It appears to me that a glove would be a perfect place for a lady to keep something she wanted to hide."
"It is nothing like that," she said in a rush. "I merely. . . hurt my hands—"
Judah's mood appeared more temperate, and he touched her cheek, then allowed his hand to drift down her arm, to placate her. He heard her gasp as he took both hands in his, removing the gloves, first one and then the other. He examined each glove and found nothing. Then he glanced up at her and saw that she had pressed her hands behind her back.
She cried out as he grasped her hands, pulling them forward and then turning them over so he could see what she was hiding.
He stared disbelievingly at the jagged scars on each palm.
"My God, what has happened here, Dominique?"
24
There was anguish in Dominique's eyes. "As I told you, it has nothing to do with you."
He wanted to raise each hand to his lips and kiss them. She must have suffered a great deal, but how? Why?
She freed her hand from his grip. "You are probably hungry. I will get you something."
He was still puzzling over her injuries. Why did she not tell him how she had been hurt?
"I am not helpless," he said at last. "I took care of my own hunger."
"Very well," she said, going down on her knees at the basket. "I am hungry."
He watched her closely, trying to decide what was real and what was illusion. Was she holding him here so she could turn him over to the enemy, or was she helping him escape as she had said? He didn't know what to believe anymore.
"Where did you go today?" he asked.
She was taking a drink of water and paused to look at him. "To see a friend."
"And?"
"He warned me that the soldiers are combing the island looking for you and me. We will have to leave sooner than we thought. Will you be strong enough to start out tomorrow?"
He still didn't trust her, but he had no choice. "If you can make it, so can I."
She sat down cross-legged and peeled a banana, biting into it. "Then you had better rest because the journey ahead is an arduous one that will require strength and endurance."
He dropped down beside her, taking the banana from her and tossing it back in the basket. His eyes swept her face as if he could read truth there. She looked so like an angel, so beautiful, so desirable.
With an anguished cry, he bent forward and his hard mouth plundered hers, cutting off any protest she might have made.
At first Dominique tried to resist the desire she had for Judah, but her body went to his like a small bird being caught in the fury of a hurricane.
He broke off the kiss and took her hand, pulling her to her feet.
Knowing what he had in mind, she shook her head.
"You are no stranger to my bed, why do you hesitate?"
"It is best that we do not—"
He placed a lean finger to her lips, his eyes drawing her like a magnet. "Come to me. It has been so long since I touched you." His hand trembled as his fingers sifted through her hair. His eyes fastened on her lips. "I have dreamed and ached for you. It didn't seem to matter that you probably betrayed me."
She shook her head, but he merely smiled. "Have you missed me as I have you, Dominique?"
Suddenly she nodded in acquiescence.
They floated down to the straw mattress and she closed her eyes in surrender.
Dominique's body welcomed his with a longing that was like pain. Their lips touched and hot flames seemed to spark between them. Their hands met, laced, clasped, as if they were grasping for something they had once had but lost.
When she drew back, wanting to confess her love, his magnificent face, which had once reflected love for her, now seemed the face of a stranger. The blue eyes that had once softened with love were now cold.
His body stiffened, and so did his grasp on her hands. "How easily you overcame your resistance to me," he murmured, his words wounding her at the same time that his hands wreaked their magic as he stroked and caressed her into submission.
Her mouth followed his, and his kiss robbed her of any shred of resistance she might still harbor.
He could tell by the brightness of her eyes and the gasp that escaped her lips when he stroked her most private core that she wanted him. When he mounted her and slid between her thighs, she opened her legs, eager to receive him. With gentleness, he slid inside of her to find for himself and give to her unspeakable bliss.
Dominique pressed her face against his, having been made breathless by his heated passion.
Judah's voice came to her like the crack of a whip, stealing any illusions she might have that he still loved her.
"Don't make any more of this than it was, Dominique," he whispered in a deep voice, as if he guessed what she was feeling. "This was merely flesh satisfying the lust of flesh."
She rolled away from him and came to her feet, reaching for her discarded clothing. She swallowed several times before she found her voice. "There is a pond nearby, where I intend to wash every part of me that you touched."
He watched her walk away in her naked glory, wishing he could call back his cruel words. He knew he had hurt her and he knew why: he had once given her his love, and she had used it against him.
As Dominique swam in the warm waters beneath the tropical night, tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. Never again would she give herself willingly to Judah Gallant.
She did not go back to the cave but curled up on the downy soft grass and closed her eyes. The sounds of her beloved island finally soothed her aching heart. With precious sleep came reprieve from her tortured thoughts.
Judah was finding it difficult to sleep. He considered going in search of Dominique, but reason told him he would never find her. After tossing on the mattress for over an hour, he got up, left the cave and sat upon a protruding boulder that gave him a good view of the valley below.
It was dark and the stars glistened like thousands of fireflies. Leaning his head back and bracing it against the rock face, he closed his eyes. He could still feel Dominique's presence because she was so much a part of him. He relived the wonder of taking her body to his, and his desire for her flamed alive within him once more.
Would he ever get over wanting her? Needing her? he wondered torturously.
It was still dark when Dominique entered the cave to find Judah lying back on his mattress, his dark head resting on his folded arms. He looked at her and then turned away as if her presence was of no interest to him, but she saw the tautness of his jaw line, and the tension in his body.
"Have you eaten?" she asked, dropping a canvas pack on the floor of the cave.
"I'm not hungry," he said stiffly, reminding her of a little boy who had not gotten his way.
"I suggest that you fortify yourself, Judah, because what faces you will be more taxing to your strength than anything you can imagine."
He resented her having this power over him, and he could not have said why. "I will decide when I am hungry," he said, as if to demonstrate that he at least had control over his own food intake.
"Very well. Just remember you were warned." She dropped down beside him. "Remove your shirt please."
He sat up and looked at her though veiled lashes. "So early in the morning? Are your needs so insatiable?"
She flung her head back, reminding him of a stone goddess. "Captain Gallant, you will rot in hell before you ever touch me again. I merely want to apply repellent to your skin, but if you want to catch yellow jack or some such disease, it is on your head."
&nbs
p; He looked at the thick, tarlike substance she held out to him. "You don't have any on you."
"But I will. And so should you. The part of the island we will be traversing today is infested with mosquitoes. We will also be traveling through the swamp, which is worse."
He nodded, seeing the sense of her argument. He unfastened his shirt and turned his back to her without another word.
Dominique deftly applied the foul concoction to his back and shoulders, taking care not to aggravate his wounds, and trying not to think about the corded muscles that tensed beneath her fingers. At last she handed him the jar. "I will leave you to deal with the rest. Be sure you put a generous amount on your arms and face. I'll wait for you outside. I suggest you hurry; it will be sunup in two hours."
He didn't know if he wanted to shout at her or take her in his arms and hold her against his heart.
He did neither, because she left the cave.
When he joined her, her face was blackened with the repellent that made her aqua eyes stand out even more.
When she saw him staring at her, she managed a smile. "Not what one would wear to a fashionable ball, hmm, Captain?"
His lips dipped just the merest bit, almost into a smile. "I believe you would look good in whatever you wore," he replied without thinking.
"Why, Captain, a compliment." She tossed her head and spoke in a mocking tone. "I shall just treasure your warm sentiments until my dying day."
His eyes pierced hers, and he was white-lipped with anger as he resisted the urge to crush those taunting lips beneath his.
"If you will follow me down the slope, I'll take you to the horses," she told him. "We shall ride until we reach the swamp, and then we must go on foot."
Judah glanced to the east, where the sun was spreading its first streaks of red across the sky. "Surely there is a faster way to get to the sea than through the swamps," he stated, watching her closely.
"Our plans have changed, and we will be traveling to the south of the island."
"Why is that?"
"Because the French are looking for you, so we are forced to take the longest and most difficult way, where they cannot follow."
Siren's Song Page 19