by Colette Gale
Someone was shouting commands. The massive white sails rose, filling immediately with a healthy sea breeze, and she felt the vessel shift.
“Jane!” Zaren’s voice was louder and filled with distress.
She dragged herself to her feet and ran to the rail. “Zaren! I have to leave! They have my papa! I’m going back to London!” She cupped her hands around her mouth, screaming as loudly and clearly as she could. “I will come back!”
“Come with you!” He was already past his hips in the water.
“Oh, yes! Yes! Hurry!” she screamed, hope rising inside her. “Wait!” She whirled, looking for someone to command. “Stop! Wait for him!”
Zaren had dived into the ocean, and she saw him swimming furiously after them. His powerful arms and legs cut through the water like a machine, and she stood, clutching the rail. “Please! Wait! Stop the ship!”
Darkdale was there next to her, and he seemed suddenly, inexplicably, satisfied and relaxed. “He’ll never catch up to us.”
“Won’t you make them stop?” Jane begged, turning to face him. She reached for his arms, grabbing at them, ready to plead…but the expression in his eyes froze her.
“He can drown for all I care.” Instead of pushing Jane away, he reached down and took her by the chin. “Either way, now I have you all to myself.”
She wrenched away. “You do not!” Spinning back to the rail, she looked out again, anxiously searching for Zaren.
His bobbing head was so far away…becoming smaller and more distant by the moment. He had no chance of catching them. Her heart cracked and a wave of grief washed over her. Swim back, Zaren. Don’t drown. Please go back.
“I’ll come for you!” she shouted, knowing he couldn’t hear her. “I love you! I’ll come back for you!” She spun back to Darkdale, tears glistening in her eyes. “How dare you leave him. You will never touch me again.”
He looked down at her with strange smile. “I feel quite certain you’ll change your mind about that.”
Jane’s breath caught. “What do you mean? Never mind. I want to see my papa.” She whirled away, but a strong hand yanked her back.
“Your papa isn’t here.”
“What?” she cried. All feeling drained from her body, leaving her cold and numb. “No! You told me—”
He was shaking his head. “I told you the ship came for him—and it did. But he was smart enough to escape deep into the jungle with that fat woman of yours. He knows what will happen if he gets back to London. He’s already been convicted of murder, and it’ll be the noose for him.”
“You tricked me!” She could hardly breathe…it was as if the world was falling away beneath her feet. Why would he do this? “You told me he was here—being taken away.”
“Not at all, Jane. You merely assumed he was on the ship. Everything I told you is true…and the one thing I didn’t tell you is that I have the evidence to clear his name.”
“You do?” Her heart thudded in her chest. Hope lifted her heart…just a little.
“I do. That is why I was going to return to London—but it’s even better if you come with me. Together, we can prove he’s innocent.” He smiled down at her, then reached to brush away a curl that fluttered in the breeze. “You and I.”
Jane swallowed hard. There was something in his eyes that made her uneasy. “Thank you, Mr. Darkdale. I—”
“But, of course, if I’m to save your papa from the hangman’s noose, then you must do something for me.” Now his eyes filled with heat and his fingers curved under her chin again. “I’ve become obsessed with you, Jane Clemons. Wholly enamored.”
“I won’t marry you,” she said, stepping back, away from his hand. “I love Zaren.”
He chuckled softly. “I don’t require your hand in marriage, Miss Clemons. I merely require you in my bed, back in London.”
“What?” Heat rushed up over her throat to her face, and all at once her knees felt unsteady. She gripped the railing. Her mouth had gone very dry.
“It’s very simple, Jane. If you wish me to save your father’s life, you will become my mistress. My very accommodating, very submissive mistress.”
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Coming Soon!
the next installment in
Jane’s Erotic Adventures in the Jungle
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Full-length novels by Colette Gale:
UNMASQUED: An Erotic Novel of The Phantom of the Opera
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MASTER: An Erotic Novel of The Count of Monte Cristo
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BOUND BY HONOR: An Erotic Novel of Maid Marian
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Colette Gale is the pen name for a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with more than twenty books in print.
