Page 73 of Wild Hearts

He brought up his hand and hit her across the face. The impact knocked her cap off, and her tresses tumbled down and betrayed her.

"'Tis a lass!" cried Adam, his eyes going wide as he recognized Alexandria.

Huntly and Gordon began to laugh. "By Christ, this is priceless. We've got him by the short hairs now. This is a vixen, indeed, trapped in our lair," rasped Huntly.

"Cockburn's sister! Dishonoring her will be one of life's sweetest revenges," chortled Will Gordon.

"Nay, you don't," cut in Adam Gordon. "The prisoner is mine. I know what to do with her."

Alexandria looked into his dark, smoldering gaze and shuddered with apprehension. He jerked his head toward the stairs. No words were necessary. She took his meaning and moved meekly in the direction he had commanded. Bawdy laughter assailed her ears with every step she took. Adam shoved her into his chamber, and when the bar was secured across the heavy door, he sheathed his dagger and looked at her with deep admiration.

"By God, if you're not the bravest female I've ever encountered."

She was amazed at his reaction and blinked. "Do you really think so?" Clearly, she fascinated him.

"Does Cockburn allow his sisters to go on raids?"

"Of course not! I'm easily disguised. I have a twin brother," she boasted.

He shook his head in disbelief. He moved to lift a red curl from her shoulder, and her hand went immediately to her waist. His eyes opened wide as he realized she had a concealed weapon. He jerked her to him roughly and felt about her body until his hands came into contact with her small dirk. He pulled it from beneath her doublet and threw it across the chamber where it vibrated as it stuck in the wall. She thought he would hit her, but he laughed deep in his throat. His eyes told her clearly that her knowledge of weapons doubled his admiration.

"We are sworn enemies to the death!" she claimed seriously, her face so pale, the freckles stood out distinctly.

"That will add such spice to the encounter, I will savor it for a lifetime."

"You'll not rape me, you brute!" she swore angrily.

"I'm not going to ravish you, Alexandria, but I am going to make love to you," he promised, licking his lips. "I've thought about you many a night as I lay abed."

"I can fight like a lad," she warned.

"I do not doubt your strength or courage for one moment. You are yet a maid because of your tender years. Your maidenhead is the forfeit I demand from you as a Gordon."

She pulled away from him so swiftly, it wrenched the buttons from her doublet. It gaped apart, revealing her tender breasts to his avid gaze. She ignored her nakedness and gathered her strength. With her fist doubled into a tight knot, she jammed it into his diaphragm cruelly and felt the jolt all the way to her shoulder. The blow staggered him momentarily and knocked the breath from his body. While he was thus disabled, she sprang at him and raked her nails down his cheek. He gasped from the sharp sting of it and knocked her to the floor before she could reach for the other side of his face. He dropped his weight on her to pin her down, but like a wildcat she grabbed two fistsful of dark curls, and they rolled over and over across the room. She was panting from her exertion, and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

She struggled so fiercely, she came out of the doublet completely. Adam's eyes were drawn irresistibly to the rosy-tipped mounds exposed to him, so she took instant advantage and brought her knee up sharply between his legs. He prevented the blow from doing him an injury, just in time. He laughed at the sheer pluck of the little wench. In very truth, it was almost like fighting with another youth, so reckless was she.

Her blood was up now. She was hot and panting with such a passionate hatred, she would have killed him if she could have reached a weapon. He came full length against her to swiftly take her mouth in a long, hard kiss, and at the same time his hand came up to possess her breast firmly. Her eyes flew open, and she received the full impact of his gray, smoky eyes as he gazed deeply into hers. She tore at his chest, and his shirt came away in shreds, leaving his chest bare. In that moment there was something feral and very primitive in the actions of both male and female. He began to take his mouth from hers, but she reached up and took his mouth so savagely, it hurt him. He was throbbing hard now, so he opened his thighs and pulled her against his body, knocking the wind from her. Her mouth left his, and she fastened her teeth into his breast, until she tasted blood on her lips. He stripped off her breeches, then relieved himself of the same impediment. They stood naked and faced each other. They had sipped from the cup and tasted the heady brew, and it was not enough for them. She reached out a hand to touch the beautiful male weapon, and he crushed her to him, determined to dominate the strong-willed female. They sank to the floor with a moan.

Later, when the madness had receded a little and the white heat of their blood had cooled slightly, he lifted her gently and took her to his bed. He pulled her against the curve of his body and whispered, "Alexandria, I think I am in love with you."

"What are we going to do?" she asked miserably, as she realized the trap they had both fallen into, with little hope of ever being released.

When Paris reached the ship, a great weight was lifted from his shoulders when he saw Alexander. "How the devil did you get back so quickly?" Alexander had the same-worried frown as before. Finally, he said, "I never left the ship. It was Alexandria who went on the raid."

"Jesus and Mary," cried Paris. "Where's Douglas? Let's hope to Christ he hasn't hanged Johnny Gordon. Don't weigh anchor yet, I am afraid we have some unfinished business;" he ordered.

James Douglas had taken his prisoner directly to a secure cabin belowdecks. Paris went below and flung open the cabin door. "James, as you love me, do not harm that little swine, Gordon!"

"Why, I wouldn't touch a hair on his head. Our Johnny is going to bring us a king's ransom."

"Not this time, James, I'm afraid," said Paris unhappily. He explained things to his friend, feeling a damned laughingstock.

"I thought everything was going too well." Douglas laughed ruefully.

"I'll skin the little bitch alive when I get my hands on her, but in the meantime, James, I must put her safety first."

"We'll have to exchange this little snot for Alexandria. Let's hope to God they haven't discovered she is a wee lass."

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