Then all I had to do was wait.“ His grip suddenly tightened

with bruising force on her hand. „God, I could have strangled

you for making me sit there and wonder what had happened to

you. You could have been raped and thrown into the river and

no one would have ever known.“

„I know you’d prefer to do any raping yourself.“

„I’ve never raped you,“ Nicholas said tersely. „And we

both know it. You wanted – my God, what are you wearing?“

They had come into the pool of light formed by the lantern

on the carriage and Silver glanced down at the flame-colored

costume. „It belongs to Fatima, who performs as one of the

Caliph’s Dancing Daughters.“ Silver forwned as she

remembered something else. „I’m barefoot and now my feet

are dusty. You could have given me time to put on my shoes.“

„Your feet aren’t the only thing that’s bare.“ Nicholas’s

gaze was on the silken flesh overflowing the low square

neckline. „You don’t have much more on than you did when

you wore that damn bed curtain. For God’s sake, what do I

have to do to keep you decently covered?“ He strode toward

the carriage, dragging her along behind him. „This blasted

heathen shame-lessness has got to – “

„Hello, Silver.“ Mikhail smiled down at her from the

coachman’s seat of the carriage. „That is a pretty costume. We

have been very worried about you. I told Nicholas you would

not let anything happen to yourself, but he would not listen.“

Silver felt a sudden glowing warmth spread through her as

she gazed up at his rough-hewn face. She had not realized

until this moment how much she had missed the gentle

Cossack. „There was nothing to worry about. It was a hard trip

but – “

„Later,“ Nicholas interrupted as he opened the door of the

carriage. He lifted her and almost threw her on to the cushions

of the seat. „Let’s get back to the Rose.“ He climbed into the

coach, slammed the door closed, and dropped into the seat

opposite her. „You’re evidently glad to see Mikhail, at least.“

„I like him,“ Silver said calmly. „And I don’t like you.“

He flinched. „No, liking has nothing to do with what we

feel for each other. I have no use for so tame an emotion

anyway.“

The moon emerged from behind the clouds and the

darkness of the coach was flooded with a pale, pearly half-

light. She wished fervently that it had remained dark. She did

not want to see how the rays shimmered and frosted

Nicholas’s golden hair to silver and played upon the supple

muscles of his body. How they brought a soft luminence to his

white linen shirt and outlined the brawny muscles of his thighs

in dark tight-fitted trousers. She had a fleeting memory of how

those thighs had felt holding her effortlessly in place while he

moved wildly in and out until – No, she mustn’t remember. It

was over.

She desperately pulled her glance away from him and

looked out at the moonlit darkness beyond the window. „How

is Valentin?“

„Almost as worried about you as I was.“ Nicholas leaned

back on the seat, his eyes fixed on her with an intensity she

could feel even though she was no longer looking at him.

„And much more inclined to be charitable. Do you know what

I wanted to do with you after I found you?“

„You’ve already told me. You wanted to strangle me.“

„That was the last item on my list. The others were far

more lewd in nature. I lay in that bed on the Rose and

remembered what I’d done with you, and thought about what I

still wanted to do.“ He paused. „A hundred times I wanted to

send for a woman but I never did. You seem to have worked

some kind of spell over me. It’s not a confession that I make

with pleasure.“ His tone hardened. „I will be no woman’s

puppet ever again.“

Again? It seemed impossible that Nicholas had ever

yielded to any woman’s power, Silver thought with a strange

wrenching pang. Who had – No, she would not wonder. „You

should have sent for your whore, I wouldn’t have cared what

you did.“

She felt the savage anger vibrate from him in the close

confines of the carriage and experienced a sudden tingle of

excitement. She heard him draw a deep breath as if struggling

for control.

A few minutes passed and she could feel her nerves tighten

and the tentative excitement grow. Why didn’t he speak?

„Perhaps you weren’t so selective,“ he finally said sjlkily.

„It was an impossibly hard trip for a woman. I’m sure there

were men eager to help you for a… for compensation.“

For a moment she was tempted to lie to him, to tell him he

was not the only man who could please her. It would anger

him, it would cause that tension she felt in him to explode. The

thought excited her. Then she realized what she was doing and

was disgusted with herself. She would not lie. „I needed no

help and took none.“

She could feel a little of the tension flow out of him as he

relaxed. „That was very wise. I would have been quite

incensed with you if you’d given your favors to any other

man. So incensed I would probably have put you over my

knee and spanked your bottom until you couldn’t sit down for

a month.“ He paused. „Afterward.“

Her gaze flew back to his face. „Afterward?“ Her voice

sounded strange, breathless. The excitement was blossoming,

growing. Her breasts were lifting and falling with the

shallowness of her breathing, her sensitive nipples rubbing

against the soft velvet of her bodice.

„I’m not such a fool that I don’t realize what’s of first

importance to both of us.“ His voice was thick. „Just as you

do. Do you think I don’t know what you’re trying to do to me?

You wanted me angry enough to take you without your

consent so that you could have your pleasure and still nurture

your resentment.“ He slowly shook his head. „No, Silver,

you’re going to have to admit that you want me as much as I

want you, that you can’t even wait until we get back to the

Rose for me to take you, that you want me here and now.“

„Here?“ She could feel her eyes widen and the color rise to

her cheeks.

„Why not? We have a good forty-minute ride until we get

to the levee, and I’ve done without you for almost two weeks.

I have no intention of waiting any longer. Merde, I almost took

you on the pallet in that damn circus tent.“

„I have no intention of giving you anything you want.“

„Because you’re angry with me for taking you away from

your friends? But you won’t be giving me what I want, you’ll

be taking what you want. Do you think I don’t know you by

now?“ He suddenly leaned forward and he began swiftly

undoing the tiny covered buttons that closed the flame-colored

velvet bodice.

„No, I…“ But he had been too quick and the bodice was

pushed aside to reveal the swollen fullness of her breasts. Then

he was leaning back in his seat again, his gaze hot and intent

upon her. „There. I’ve been watching those pretty breasts

shake and quiver ever since Mikhail started the carriage

moving. I thought at times you’d fall out of that little jacket,

but unfortunately you never did.“ Then, as she made a motion

to close the jacket, he said sharply, „No, I’m not touching you,

I’m only looking at you. We both know how much you like me

to look at you.“ He leaned forward and took her hands in both

of his. „I like that costume, it appears to be a singularly

convenient garment for our purpose. Tell me, do you have