Busbee, Shirlee

by Lady Vixen

  Gravely, the feeling of detachment fading only slightly, she stared back at his harsh bearded face. An animal desire emanated from him, further disturbing her calmness.

  "Look at me, Nick," he commanded quietly. Capturing her chin, he forced her to meet his eyes. His voice betraying his rising anger, he snarled, "When I kiss you, damnit, I want to know I'm kissing a woman not a stiff-lipped spinster!"

  He crushed her mouth with his, forcing her lips to open. Plundering and searching her mouth, holding her chin firmly in his grasp, allowing her no respite from his hungry assault. Shaken by the naked urgency of his mouth, Nicole was helpless against a sudden surge of frightening desire that struggled into life throughout her body. Unable to help herself, her lips became soft and responsive under his. Feeling her surrender, Saber released his hold on her chin, his fingers gently caressing her jawline and neck before his hand slipped down her shoulders and spine, leaving a tingle of awakening awareness in its wake.

  Nicole felt as one possessed, as if another creature, a hot-blooded, sensual animal, had entered her body. Her arms reached out with a tranced will of their own to embrace Saber. Her hands, commanded by her own need, caressed the dark head and then daringly slid down to explore his long, lean body, the broad back with its scarred ridges and the arms with their iron-smooth muscles. His own hands were like tongues of fire as they skimmed delicately over her, his mouth no long plundering, yet still hungry and demanding as it wooed her into desire. She was sinking in a sea of new sensations, no longer thinking sanely, only filled with a fiery longing that was burning brighter and more vibrant with his every touch. His hard body seemed to drive her deeper into this yearning for possession—the fine rasp of his chest hair against her breasts, the strength of his legs as they pressed to hers, and the symbol of his very manhood between them, warm and throbbing.

  As his growing desire blotted out coherent thought, Saber was no longer in control of his emotions. No longer could he only lightly touch and explore the silky flesh so near his. Forgetful of her possible virginity, his hand blindly sought the satin softness between her legs; his fingers thrust without warning within her.

  At that first ungentle touch between her thighs, Nicole's whole body stiffened with shock. Memories of Saber with other women suddenly flooded her mind, and she knew she couldn't go through with it. Her thoughts banished the passion that had so recently engulfed her, and tearing her mouth from Saber's, she squirmed away, managing to evade his hands. Half lying on the bed, half kneeling on the floor, she stared back at him as he frowned at her, his eyes still glazed with desire. Earnestly trying to explain to him the motives behind her sudden reversal, she stammered, "I—I—can't! Please understand!"

  Her words seemed to stun Saber, and for a long minute he stared at her, obviously unable to take in what she was saying. But then he remembered her possible virginity and his whole manner changed; his eyes were suddenly warm and compelling as they rested on her apprehensive face. "Hush, sweetheart. Come to me and let me teach you. I won't hurt... I promise. Ah, God, Nicole, let me love you," he said huskily, and disarming her with gentleness, he gathered her unresisting body next to his. For several seconds they lay together, Nicole conscious of the hard length of him next to her naked body, and when he kissed her, his lips moving in soft sensual rhythm across hers, she felt herself again slipping into the intoxicating headiness of desire. His hands explored the slender curves and hollows, this time slowly, maddeningly, caressing her, touching her gently. Giddily she tried halfway to fight free of the web he was spinning around her, but her body was already trapped in the awakening desire he so skillfully wrought. A small feverish moan escaped her when his lips left her love-bruised mouth and slid slowly to her hardened nipples. She was not prepared for the delicious pleasure his teeth created as he gently bit the tender flesh, sending a shiver of pure animal desire down her spine. His hands moved with sensual power over her skin, gently fondling the nape of her neck, down her spine and over her hips, luring her beyond the point of rational thought. He pulled her to him so that they lay side by side, her breasts brushing the coarse silk of his chest, and deliberately he made her aware that he was full and ready for her. Swiftly he took her hand and, ignoring her startled protest, guided it to him.

  Instinctively Nicole knew what he wanted, and she experienced a warm wave of tenderness when she felt him catch his breath and stiffen as her untaught hands explored the essence of him. A half groan came from him as she continued, and he felt his need for her growing, until he knew that soon he must have her—or shame himself!

  Slowly he laid her back on the bed, his mouth exploring hers with growing urgency. Nicole was too caught up in too many new sensations of the physical to have even one coherent thought in her head. When his hand gently probed between her legs, she gave a leap of half-fear, half anticipation, but Saber stilled it and said against her mouth, "Don't move, love . . . don't fight me, sweetheart. It'll be good... I promise."

  With a shudder Nicole melted against him, and he shifted slightly, his fingers gently and expertly easing the way for his possession. He moved between her thighs, holding her legs apart with his knees and, releasing her mouth for a second, muttered thickly, "Let me in, love, let me fill you and lose myself in you."

  Dazed and in the grip of such frenzy of longing, Nicole barely heard him—she felt her hips raised and the first swelling pressure of his entrance. He took her gently, so gently there was just one small moment of pain, and then he slid full-length into the softness between her thighs. In a welter of shock and arousal she could feel her body expanding to take him, to accommodate this intrusion of her body. Kissing her, he whispered almost tenderly, "So, my little one, you were a virgin after all." But then that slightly caressing note vanished and he said in a half-guttural, half-groaning voice, "Ah, God, I don't know if I can hold back—I want you too badly." His mouth captured hers and his body, despite his words, mindful of her inexperience, began to rock against hers until he could stand it no longer—and he thrust hungrily and almost painfully into her. Though he tried not to hurt her, Nicole wasn't quite ready for the sudden, almost brutal movements of his body and she cried out in pain.

  Hearing it, Saber compelled himself to lessen the force of his movements, but the soft body beneath him was driving him to fill her, to take her as he had never taken a woman in his life. Driven by something he didn't understand, he wanted to brand her with his possession, to take her with such intensity that she would be forever his. And Nicole, unaware of anything except the hard body joined with hers, was suddenly, feverishly caught up with him, her body rising to meet the thrust of him, her hands holding him closer as if she could not have enough of him. And when at last the incredible emotion had spent itself in a wild flurry of exquisite pleasure, Saber cradled Nicole's shaking body in his arms. She was exhausted from the storm he had aroused and was confused at how easily she had succumbed to his lovemaking. She hadn't thought once of Allen, and now she guiltily remembered that it was supposedly for Allen that she had given herself to Saber.

  She lay there in his arms, aware of a certain discomfort between her legs, and suddenly her heart was filled with sadness. Saber had been gentle, she couldn't deny it, but it still couldn't erase the feeling that what had passed was something she would never be proud of. She told herself that she had done it for Allen, and she didn't begrudge it to him—she owed him her life and this seemed a small price to pay. And yet there was the nagging thought—had it just been for Allen that she had given herself to Saber? She couldn't answer it and she didn't want to face what might be the truth. Uneasily, she moved away from Saber's relaxed body and after a few minutes fell into a fitful doze, but she couldn't sleep. And so perhaps twenty minutes or so later, the ache of unshed tears in the back of her throat, she sat up stiffly, ignoring Saber who lay on the bed beside her, one hand flung out on her pillow, where he had been teasingly playing with her hair.

  "Where are you going?" he asked idly.

  "I—I—do
n't know. You've had what you wanted. There's nothing more you could take from me."

  Saber only smiled, his eyes gold and warm as they played over her face. "Oh, no. You, I shall want again and again for some time. I'm hungry for you again already, did you know that?"

  She looked at him, then quickly averted her eyes from the growing proof of what he said. Lying there beside him, her mind in confusion, she came to a decision. Allen would hate the bargain she had made and she knew that she couldn't continue it. She had already given this man her innocence. She could give no more and wanted no more, afraid of what it would reveal about herself.

  Unaware of her turmoil, Saber was running a caressing finger down her spine, his mouth sliding on her shoulder. "Come to me again, Nick," he said huskily.

  "No, never!" Nicole spat, suddenly sickened by the sordidness of it all, and she leaped away, her eyes dark with shame. "It was a stupid bargain I made. I cannot stay as your mistress. I thought I could, but I find that even to save Allen, I cannot turn myself into a common slut.. . especially not one of your common sluts!"

  Saber's mouth tightened and he felt fury take him by the throat at her notion that it might end as easily as that. "Rest easy about your bargain!" he snarled. "I have no intention of releasing Allen Ballard and nothing you can do will change my mind." At her look of disbelief, he laughed softly, "I never said I would let him go, did I?"

  "B-b-but you—you . . ." The words trailed off as she desperately sought to recall precisely what he had said.

  "I said, 'Why not?' I'll admit there is an implication there. But, brat, you should have made certain before you assumed I had agreed."

  Some of his fury died at the stunned expression on her face, and almost gently he added, "He's not in American hands in New Orleans at the moment, so you could say I kept the bargain. But hear me, Nicole, I will not free Allen—at least not immediately. When I decide he can cause no more trouble, I'll consider it."

  "But, you promised!" Nicole protested heatedly, not really quite comprehending what Saber was saying.

  "So did you!" he shot back. "You promised to be my mistress as long as I wanted you—but you were going to back out, weren't you?"

  "That's different!" she retorted defensively.

  Saber snorted. "The difference escapes me, I'm afraid. And despite the fact that events are not turning out quite as you planned, I have kept my end of it. Allen is still alive and as yet he is not in the calaboose in New Orleans."

  "You double-crossing, monstrous beast! You deliberately misled me!" Nicole cried angrily, the topaz eyes gleaming with sparks of fury. "You know that I thought you would free him after tonight!"

  "And you would be gone in the morning, wouldn't you?" he growled dangerously. "Gone to join your confederate, after so cleverly gulling the Captain."

  Nicole was genuinely appalled that he thought her capable of such double-dealing. In a small voice she asked, "Could we please forget about Allen and the bargain? Could we just pretend that I changed my mind? I don't want to be your mistress, Saber . . . and Allen has nothing to do with it."

  "But you're going back on your word, aren't you? You gave your word, remember?" he snapped coldly.

  "So did you—and you haven't kept it either. You knew I assumed you would let Allen go free tomorrow. So you're breaking your word too!"

  "Not quite!" he said with an icy smile. "I never gave my word. You did and now you're breaking it! Well, let me tell you, brat, I don't like people not paying their debts to me! We'll forget about your bargain all right! We'll forget about it, and I'll treat you like I should have when I first discovered your little treachery." Viciously his arms snaked out to capture her. And in that moment before he erupted out of the bed, the thought crossed his mind that women were all alike—liars, cheats, and betrayers—and this one was no different from the first woman who had caused him to be banished and sold into the British Navy. Sluts—every last one of them!

  Nicole had seen his eyes narrow with intent a second before he moved, and she scrambled behind the table where they had eaten. A chill of apprehension slid down her spine as he advanced. She sensed that some strange emotion drove him, an emotion that she was only part of, and with growing dismay she watched his approach.

  The black hair was tousled from her caressing fingers and the wavering candlelight created sinister shadows over his bearded face and tall body. His eyes were cold and icy and the tight line of his mouth told her that nothing short of murder could save her.

  Slowly they circled the table, hunted and hunter, and searching frantically for escape or some way of halting him, Nicole's eyes fell upon the goblet he had used during dinner. With a quick movement she grabbed it and smashed the top off in one downward crack against the table; she was left with the stem with which to hold it and the jagged edges to fight with.

  A grim smile flickered through the gold eyes and he laughed softly. "Do you think that will stop me?"

  Nicole nodded vigorously, her eyes huge with grim determination.

  "It won't, you know," he said coldly. "I intend to have you, and nothing will stop me!"

  He lunged across the table, and Nicole had to leave its protection. Now there was nothing between their naked bodies but the goblet's glittering edge. She held it as she would a knife and cautiously backed away from him. Her heart was thumping madly in her breast and she felt almost dizzy. She must have been insane to have even suggested such a monstrous bargain and even crazier to have let things go so far. And as Nicole continued to back away his mouth went hard, and the gold eyes glittering icily, he charged. Nicole, startled by his sudden movement, stumbled into a chair and was unable to regain her balance or protect herself. Saber caught the hand that held the goblet and twisted her arm behind her back. Propelling her across the room, he shoved her face down into the softness of the bed.

  The pain in her arm was excruciating, and for a moment, with her face buried in the feather mattress, she thought she would be smothered. But then the cruel grip was released, and before she could do more than draw in a great gulp, his hands captured her hips, and he partially lifted the lower half of her body from the bed. She struggled to escape, but he had one arm wrapped around her waist, holding her securely, and with a shock of disbelief and an odd tingle of anticipation, she felt his other hand slide between her thighs. Knowing instinctively what he meant to do, she fought even more wildly, unwilling to give in to the giddy ache that was stirring in her loins, but her actions aroused him further. His arm left her waist, and with both hands gripping her hips, he entered her suddenly from behind.

  Helpless to free herself, not even certain that she wanted to be free, Nicole was only aware of his big body driving into hers, and with horror she experienced a shocking burst of pleasure as he continued to thrust himself deep within her. And then this half-savage, half-exciting possession was finished as Saber gave a guttural growl of carnal satisfaction and withdrew from her. Her ravished body sank down onto the bed. Between her legs there was a throbbing ache, and in her brain a raging fire clouded rational thought. Dimly she heard Saber say flatly, "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that and I should not have lost my temper . . . but, Nick, I'm afraid you brought it on yourself." His cool uncaring ignited her turbulent feelings, and with a feral snarl, she reared up and swung blindly in his direction with the broken goblet.

  Saber, though he moved with the speed of a striking snake, could not escape unscathed. Her wild slash caught him diagonally on the ribs, down across his stomach and groin, ending on his thigh. It wasn't deep, but blood was seeping from the jagged wound. He backed away from her, but Nicole stalked him like a maddened animal, intent upon destroying that portion of him that had so recently taken her virginity.

  Saber eyed her warily. That she had every intention of castrating him was obvious—that she would enjoy it was even more apparent. Cautiously he stepped back, keeping away from the razor-sharp piece of crystal. His eyes never left hers as they moved around the room, their roles being reversed�
�she the hunter and he the hunted!

  But Saber was not without an agile brain. He would let her draw near; then at the last moment he would twist away from her weapon. Over and over again he danced out of her reach, cleverly leading her exactly where he wanted.

  Infuriated further by his actions, she swung more frantically. Suddenly careless in her fury, her eyes left his— and in that moment he snatched up his silken robe. Whirling the robe like a matador's cape, he swung it around her arm, entangled her hand and rendered the goblet useless. Immediately he closed in on her and imprisoned her in his arms, one hand clenched tightly around the wrist of the hand that still clasped the weapon. "Drop it, Nick!" he commanded, but Nicole only increased her exertions. Saber held her fast, his grip growing stronger and more painful as they fought.

  "I won't," she panted, twisting her slender wrist in its iron embrace. "I won't!"

  Saber's hold became even more intense, and Nicole knew he'd break her wrist if she didn't let go. The pressure was nearly unbearable and then suddenly it was over. They both heard the sickening sound of the bone cracking, and she sagged against him, the goblet sliding from her numb fingers.

  A great sigh of relief escaped Saber as he felt her go limp, and almost gently he lifted the defeated Nicole in his arms and laid her on the bed. Her wrist was aching in a dull, pounding fashion, and as she lay there, she felt foolish feminine tears gathering. I won't cry, she thought furiously. Her humiliation was great enough without dissolving into a flood of tears. She lay on her side, ignoring him, curled in a tight woeful curve of misery.

  Saber, his face expressionless, stood gazing down at her, prey to a multitude of emotions. Confusingly he discovered he wanted her—again, now! Mixed with desire was a flicker of tenderness and a feeling of sharp regret at his treatment of her. And incredibly, he admitted to himself, he felt an odd satisfaction that she had told the truth about her virginity. Deeply annoyed by his conflicting thoughts, he turned impatiently away from her.