know to take this man to your bunk,â Alberto said, taking the liberty to swing the door aside, revealing a semi-dark room, occupied only by a long, thin bunk. Discarded, uneaten food lay scattered across the floor, along with more strewn, empty wine bottles. One lone whale oil lamp flickered in pale goldens on the cabin's outside wall. Alberto screwed his nose up, wiping it with the back of a hand. The aroma of this cabin was one similar todried urine and feces, making his stomach almost turn. His eyes tilted in wonder. âAnd this is your cabin? It isn't as clean as I imagined ⦠or as fully furnished.â
Grace swung her hips smoothly as she walked on past him, making her fully gathered blue silk dress rustle enticingly. Her hair shone in rustic coppers as it bounced atop her shoulders and her lips moved seductively as she talked. âA bunk is all that is required for my services,â she said. She pulled at his hand, urging him onward. âNow isn't that right, darlin'? And a maid I'm not. Who worries about a bit of filth when there are more interestinâ things to set a mind to wanderin'?â
When she had succeeded at getting Alberto inside the cabin, she shut the door and turned to him, slowly tantalizing him with her lips and fingers as she began to unbutton his shirt.
âYeah. I'm sure,â he mumbled, then couldn't help himself when he yanked her into his arms, smothering her with kisses on the fullness of her lips, then down-ward, to brush his tongue across her breasts. She was right. There were more things of interest in this cabin to make one forget any ugliness about it. She was here. His heart thundered inside him .. . anxious. . . .
She giggled noisily, pulling away from him, teasing him with her eyes. âWhoa. Slow down,â she purred, reaching back to unfasten her dress. She stepped out of it, slow but sure, all the while watching him and how he was openly panting after her. âWell?â she added. âYou gonna do it with your breeches on?â She stopped long enough to touch him where his swollen member throbbed against the tight confines of his breeches.
âNo,â he said, laughing awkwardly. âGuess not.â His fingers busied with unbuttoning his breeches, thenstepped from them as she continued to shed her clothes, until she stood nude before him, appearing eager, readyâ¦.
He wanted to hurry with his attack, yet she looked so lovely with the whale oil lights reflecting onto her skin of ivory. It was as though a sunset was in this room . . . casting warm glows of gold rippling down the front of her. âYou are so breathtakingly beautiful,â he whispered, reaching to touch her. His breath began to come in short gasps as she leaned into him, fitting her lower bush of hair against his erect manhood.
âYou can have me now if you want,â she whispered, tilting her chin upward, so his mouth could hit the target she was offering.
Alberto lunged toward her, not knowing which part of her he wanted to touch first. She was all woman . . . so fully blown. .. .
âLet's lie down,â she encouraged, taking him by the hand, leading him across the room.
He followed after her, breathing hard. He didn't hear the door open behind him, but soon felt hands other than Grace's grasp him by the wrist. âWhat the hell . . . ?â he shouted, then felt a point of a knife scraping against his backside.
âJust shut yore mouth, sonny boy,â the unseen man drawled.
Alberto tensed, quickly recognizing the voice. It was Sam. The man who had stepped on Alberto's hand just only moments ago when Alberto had been trying to fill his pockets with his winnings from the card game. A prickly sensation flooded his senses, throwing caution into his thoughts. âWhat are you doing here?â he snarled, but uttered a low moan when the blade of theknife left a thin trail of blood down his back.
âJust do as you are tor, and we'll see
K. Sterling
Jacquie Rogers
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley
Shiloh Walker
Elizabeth Moynihan
Mary Balogh
Tara Fox Hall
Jonathan Maberry
Jane Hunt
James Kakalios