by Maura Seger
Chuckling wryly, he acknowledged that his own need was at least as great. The straining tautness of his trousers made that only too clear. Gently grasping her hips, he moved her against him, letting her feel for herself what she did to him.
Erin gasped softly. Their earlier lovemaking had not dispelled her fascination with the mysteries of male sensuality; on the contrary, she was more enthralled by him than ever. Of their own volition, her fingers gently traced the power of his virility. She delighted in the growl that broke from him.
With boldness that surprised them both, she unfastened the button at his waist and the first two below it. But beyond that she could not go. Storm laughed indulgently as he finished the job for her and slid the snug trousers off. Her pantaloons followed quickly, leaving no barrier to the impassioned touch of skin against skin.
Lifting her swiftly, he strode across the room and lowered her onto the sleeping mat. The glow of smoldering embers cast passion-twined shadows on the wall above them. Their bodies came together eagerly, reaching as one for the shimmering peak of fulfillment.
Drawing out her pleasure to the utmost, Storm waited until she was writhing beneath him before at last entering the silken haven of her body. Erin accepted him joyously, arching to meet each thrust. They moved in perfect unison, the very rhythm of their heartbeats merging. As the world shattered around them, their souls soared together, finding a freedom beyond all boundaries of human existence.
Deep in the night, they woke to make love again slowly and languorously, exploring each other's bodies with near-worshipful intensity. The hush of the dark hours shimmered with the force of their joining.
Storm's whispered words of carnal passion and loving need would have shocked Erin in any other circumstances. But wrapped in the cloak of gentle darkness, she responded without restraint until, inevitably, they drifted to sleep again in each other's arms.
The moon had long since set, and no pale hint of light yet marked the line between sky and sea when she stirred reluctantly. A wind rank with foreboding rippled through her dreams. She moaned softly, burrowing closer to the warm security of Storm's hard body.
He woke instantly, gathering her to him. "Erin . . . are you all right?"
Befuddled by sleep, she blinked dazedly. "I think so ... I must have had a nightmare. Something . . . frightened me."
Work-roughened hands caressed her soothingly. "Hush, now, there's nothing to be scared of. Everything's all right." Whatever painful phantasms had been conjured up by her secret mind fled beneath his gentle touch. But she was still grateful for his protectiveness and the feeling of utter safety he imparted to her.
"Would you like a drink of water?"
Erin nodded sheepishly, only too aware that she was acting like a little child. Storm didn't seem to mind. Oblivious of the cool night air penetrating the room, he left the bed and went over to a small table near the door, where a stone pitcher and cups were laid out.
Barely half-awake, Erin lay back against the pillows. Her eyes fluttered in a futile effort to stay open. She was almost asleep again when Storm returned, but without the water. Dropping down on the mat beside her, he pressed an urgent hand to her shoulder. "Don't move. There's someone in the corridor."
Erin's eyes shot open. The tender, gentle man of moments before was gone. In his place was a ruthless warrior whose taut body radiated strength and whose pewter gaze shone with grim determination.
When she tried instinctively to speak, he covered her mouth with his hand. "Stay quiet. He's coming this way."
Though she could hear nothing but the thudding of her own heart, Erin obeyed. She shrank down under the covers as Storm moved swiftly back to the door. There was no time for him to reach his swords before the panel slid open and a dark figure enshrouded in black entered silently.
Icy shivers of terror raced through Erin as she struggled against the almost irresistible urge to scream. Any hope that the intruder might simply be a servant vanished instantly. No member of the household would dare to enter Storm's room without permission, much less do so in the dead of night.
The man, whoever he might be, had only violence on his mind, as evinced by the short length of chain stretched out tightly between bis hands. Only her absolute trust in Storm allowed her to lie unmoving beneath the covers as the would-be assassin approached.
He was barely a yard from the bed when Storm moved. Hurling himself across the room with a speed and agility that would not have seemed possible in so large a man, he seized the intruder in a grip of steel. Caught off guard, Storm's target still managed to react instantly. Dropping the chain from one hand, he struck out with it, catching Storm across the back.
Erin screamed as the blow tore open his skin. She leaped from the bed just as Storm grabbed for the chain and managed, only because of his immense strength, to rip it from the man's hand. They faced off in the center of the room, both crouched like wild beasts.
The intruder moved first. With a blood-chilling cry, he leaped at Storm, slashing out at him with hands and feet studded with razor-sharp metal points. Evading the deadly weapons, Storm counterattacked with a kick that landed squarely in the man's chest, momentarily knocking the wind out of him and throwing him off balance.
Recovering quickly, the man lashed out with one black-shrouded arm, at the end of which glittered a small, lethal knife. Storm only just managed to avoid having a vein or artery slashed before he landed a chopping blow with the side of his hand. The sickening sound of a bone breaking reverberated through the room.
As the man reeled back, reaching with his remaining arm for yet another of the arsenal of weapons apparently secreted on his person, Takamori and several guards raced in with their swords drawn. Erin hastily scrambled back under the covers as the intruder was seized and roughly bound, his black mask stripped away to reveal a young, feral-eyed Japanese who spit defiance at his captors.
Takamori shouted a warning to the guards holding him, but it was too late. Before anyone could move to prevent it, the attacker bit down hard on something concealed in his mouth. An instant later his body writhed in its death throes as the potent poison did its work.
Storm gazed dispassionately at the slumped body of the man who moments before had come close to killing him. Glancing at Takamori, he said, "Ninja, I presume?"
Takamori nodded glumly. "No one else could have gained entrance to such a well-guarded house or carried such weapons as we see here. I should have expected this. My lack of foresight has seriously endangered you."
Storm shrugged dismissively. "I'd hardly call this little scratch serious."
"Well, I do," Erin insisted. Rising from the bed, thoroughly wrapped in a quilt, she marched over to him. "I want you to sit down right now and let me take care of it."
Takamori grinned sympathetically as Storm glared at her. Though she came no higher than his shoulders and should have been overpowered by his rampant nakedness, Erin didn't bat an eyelash. Settling himself with poor grace, he yielded to her ministrations.
Odetsu, who had hurried into the room just as the ninja's body was being removed, sent servants scurrying for hot water and bandages as Erin slipped behind a screen to pull on a robe. She returned with the quilt in her hands and insisted on tucking it around Storm despite his protests that he was not an infant to be coddled.
"Just be quiet and let me take care of you," Erin hissed, out of patience with his male bravado. The gray tinge beneath his tan worried her, as did the steady seeping of blood from the gaping slash across his back.
Horror at his injury almost overwhelmed her. She had to take several deep breaths before her hands were steady enough to clean and stitch the wound. As gentle as she was, she knew she must be hurting him. But Storm neither moved nor made a sound. When she finished securing the bandage in place, he smiled at her reassuringly.
"Don't worry, love," he said softly. "It takes a damn sight more than that to lay me low."
Erin wasn't convinced. She felt he was underestimating the effec
ts of his struggle with the ninja and wanted him to get back into bed to rest. But Storm vetoed that at once.
"No time. We've got to be on our way."
At her bewildered look, Takamori explained, "The ninja was part of an elite group of paid assassins hired for their immense expertise in finding and destroying their quarries. Davin-san is too modest to admit it, but very few men have ever survived an attack by one of them. Nor is it often possible to elude them. They are renowned for being able to penetrate any fortress, no matter how well-guarded, and if necessary, they can kill using only their bare hands or ordinary objects you would never guess might be lethal."
"Do you know who hired him?" Erin asked shakily. Though she fought to remain calm, she could not hide the trembling of her slender body.
Odetsu put an arm around her comfortingly. "There is little doubt he was sent by the shogun. Failure is unacceptable to the ninja. Once word of Davin-san's survival gets out, more will come. Instead of trying to defend against them here, we would be far wiser to withdraw to a safer, more secret location."
"But where? If the ninja are so adept at reaching their victims, what place would be safe?"
All eyes instinctively turned to Storm. Bare-chested, with a sheen of perspiration showing against his burnished skin and a lock of chestnut hair falling across his forehead, he managed to look rakishly confident.
"I think it's time we put the Rising Sun to sea."
Chapter Fourteen
"Are you warm enough?" Storm asked, wrapping his arms more snugly around Erin and drawing her back against the wall of his chest.
She nodded contentedly. Since he had deemed none of her own clothes adequate to protect her from the frigid onshore wind, she was engulfed in one of his greatcoats. The lapels framed her face beneath a saucy knit cap, while the sleeves completely engulfed her hands and the hem fell well below her ankles. She could not walk with any degree of grace, but then, she had nowhere in particular to go.
The steady swaying of the deck beneath her feet was reassuringly familiar. Above her she could hear the rippling thrum of the Rising Sun's sails. When completely raised, the more than an acre of canvas required three masts to hold it and was supported by miles of rigging.
Under full sail the sleek clipper ship could attain a speed of sixteen knots an hour, making her one of the fastest cargo carriers plying the Pacific trade. But the magnificent vessel that had been their home for several weeks was going far more slowly, with only the jib and mizzen sails in place.
Off in the distance, in between the bulks of the other vessels sailing in their convoy, Erin could make out the rocky coast of Kyushu, the southernmost island of Japan. This early in the new year, the ground was dotted with snow and even the water looked forbiddingly gray.
She supposed the bleak scene and their uncertain circumstances should dishearten her. But instead she felt adrift on an island of peace and serenity. The impression was deceptive, as she well knew, but she intended to cling to it as long as possible.
"Is Odetsu with Takamori?" she asked, watching the flight of a seagull toward its evening's nest.
Storm nodded. "The last time I saw them, they were both putting Saido to bed. Takamori was telling him a story about one of the legendary samurai."
"He treats the boy like his own son."
"I hope before too much longer he will be."
"Would Odetsu's family object to their marrying?"
"I don't see how they could," Storm said. "Ever since she fled from them before Saido was born, they have considered her to be dead. Since they're allied now with the Satsuma clan, I suppose an effort will be made at reconciliation. But Takamori won't let their feelings influence him one way or another. He is determined to have her for his wife."
"More determined than ever, from what I can see. Since we learned of the murders of his brothers and uncles, Odetsu has been the only joy in his life."
Storm nodded somberly. News of the killing of leading members of the Satsuma clan caught in a trap of the shogun's devising had reached them shortly after they sailed from Yokohama. Takamori bore his grief stoically, but there was no mistaking the fact that his need for the beautiful young noblewoman who loved him so devotedly was greater than ever.
"Takamori is not the only man in a hurry to marry," Storm reminded her gently. His chin rested against the ebony silk of her hair as he breathed in her fragrance. The thought of the small but comfortable bunk waiting below in their stateroom •flitted through his mind.
He smiled as he remembered how he had awakened that morning to find her satiny nakedness snuggled against him, her face still slightly flushed from their lovemaking and her moist lips temptingly parted.
For a man who prided himself on his self-control, he had embarrassing little around her. Despite the knowledge that he was expected on deck, the temptation to kiss her awake had proved too much for him. Half an hour later he had ruefully slipped from the bunk while she turned over as contentedly as a well-stroked kitten and went back to sleep.
Rather to his surprise, he had found her napping that afternoon. At dinner, she had skipped the usual raw fish and deep-fried vegetables, apparently struck by a craving for pickled ginger and soybeans.
He was about to ask if she thought she might be coming down with something when Erin turned in his arms. "I am glad to hear you are still interested in making an honest woman of me, sir."
"Of course I am," Storm declared. Frowning slightly, he asked, "You haven't really been concerned that I might not?"
Erin shook her head, reaching up a hand to gently trace the hard line of his mouth. She trusted him far too much to have any doubts about his intentions. But she still couldn't resist the urge to tease him. "Meg always told me that gentlemen had only one use for ladies of easy virtue, and that had nothing to do with marriage."
"The redoubtable Mrs. Gilhoully is not what I would consider an expert on the behavior of gentlemen, or for that matter, men of any sort." Skeptically Storm asked, "Was there ever a Mr. Gilhoully, to your knowledge?"
"I don't know," Erin admitted. A giggle escaped her as she added, "But between theN two of us, I rather doubt it. You see, once, when I was sixteen, I got up the nerve to ask her about what is generally referred to as 'the marital act.' Meg was plainly horrified by my curiosity, but nonetheless felt compelled to reply, if only to keep me from asking anyone else. What she told me bears little resemblance to what you have so kindly instructed me in these past weeks."
"Ah, you see, it's all a matter of having the right tutor. Now, I happen to be an unusually patient, forbearing man, more than ready to indulge a promising student."
"Only this student," Erin reminded him tartly. "The rest of the world will just have to get along without your expertise."
"Is that a possessive note I hear?"
"More than that. It is plain old-fashioned jealousy. I would happily scratch out the eyes of any woman who did more than glance at you."
Storm shook his head in mock dismay. "Let it never be said I was responsible for a lady being injured. I will just have to devote myself to you heart and soul."
Erin laughed softly, burrowing her head into his shoulder. "And body, too. Don't forget that part."
His chuckle followed them downstairs to the cabin they shared. Nestled into the prow of the ship, it was small and compact, but surprisingly well-appointed.
Paneled in mahogany with brass and copper oil lamps carefully secured to the walls, the cabin boasted a double bunk, ample storage space for clothes and books, and a large table secured to the wood-plank floor near the portholes. There was even a potbellied stove to provide some warmth on the frigid winter mornings. But Erin preferred the more dependable heat of Storm's long, hard body.
"I hope Odetsu and Takamori are as comfortable," she murmured as he gently removed his coat and hung it back in the closet. Because the Rising Sun occasionally carried passengers, there were several cozy cabins available. Takamori was accustomed to the Western furniture and outfitt
ings, but for Odetsu they were both novel and a bit disconcerting.
"She's much too polite to say so', but I suspect she's finding it awkward to sleep in a bed raised off the floor and to sit on chairs."
"Saido, on the other hand, is delighted by everything. I think he spends every waking hour on deck learning the arts of seamanship."
"He has less trouble communicating with my crew than I do," Storm admitted ruefully, referring to the difficulties of dealing with a roster comprising Japanese, Americans, and Europeans of all nationalities.
Unfastening the pearl buttons of her blouse, Erin glanced up at him. "You seem to like children."
"I haven't been around them much."
"But I see you with Saido, talking to him and teaching him things."
"I enjoy doing that." Sitting down on the edge of the bunk, Storm began to pull off his boots. "Maybe because he really isn't my responsibility. Actually having a child dependent on you for everything must be rather frightening."
In the midst of removing her skirt, Erin hesitated. "Does that mean you aren't anxious to have children of your own?"
"I never thought about it one way or the other. Before the war, I guess I just presumed that I'd marry and have a family. Everybody did. But since then, there hasn't been any opportunity." He broke off, looking at her cautiously. "Do you want to have children?"
"Very much."
"Oh . . . well, then, maybe we'd better give it some consideration. After we've been married awhile, of course." A rueful laugh broke from him. "Come to think of it, I'd forgotten about doing anything to prevent you from conceiving. I'll have to start being more careful."
Erin's eyes widened. Wrapping a warm robe around herself, she asked, "You mean there's some way to avoid pregnancy?"
"Several. But you needn't be concerned about that."