by Kari Miller
“Salvador! What the hell was that?” Charles yelled at him from across the room while making sure the door was secure.
“That whore crawled into bed with me!” he barked back as he went to take a seat on the edge of his bed.
“She what!” Alex responded with disbelief.
“Yes. And me thinking I was dreaming of my wife, she almost succeeded in her vial seduction.” Salvador spat out.
“Dear Lord” Charles exclaimed. “Did you…” Charles started and then trailed off.
“Gods no! Even in my sleep I could tell that something wasn’t right.” Salvador defended himself.
“What kind of establishment is this?” Alex wondered out loud.
“I’ll talk to the Owner.” Charles stated as he unlocked the door and stomped out.
Ed walked over to the door and slammed it shut, re-locked it and then stood guard.
“I swear I never gave any signs that I was looking for company tonight!” Salvador felt the need to defend himself.
He felt sick to his stomach and felt that he had somehow disgraced his marriage vows. The thought of hurting Katherine made him sick, causing him to dash to the chamber pot and emptied out the contents of his stomach.
“It wasn’t your fault. You were asleep Salvador and corrected the situation as soon as you figured out that it wasn’t a dream.” Simon tried to reassure him when he had stopped retching his guts out.
“Hell” was all he could utter as he made his way back to the bed.
A brief knock on the door and Charles command to open it caught his attention.
With him walked in the Owner. He looked frightened and repentant.
“Does that whore belong to you?” Salvador asked flatly, not caring if he picked a fight.
“No. She is a local whore but not one of mine. I’m not sure how she got into your room.” The owner responded, sounding nervous being surrounded by six angry Englishmen.
“Will her Master give us trouble?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know - if he does you will know shortly. I am sorry for what has happened but I do not want anymore trouble in my establishment.” He managed to say.
Salvador ran his hands through his hair and saw that they were shaking.
“Send me up a bath, I need to wash that filth off of me and then we will leave.” Salvador ordered the owner without looking at him.
“And make it quick.” Peter pitched in.
The owner left without saying anything and his brothers grunted as they shuffled off to their own accommodations to pack up.
An hour later, the Captain had been woken from a deep slumber and all the men were making their way back to the ship.
Salvador still felt sick over what happened and the brothers knew it. Every once in a while he would receive reassurance that there was nothing he could have done about it and it wasn’t his fault. He had to admit that he felt much better knowing that he had put a stop to it before it went any further. In fact, even if he hadn’t of woken he was convinced that there would be no way he could have performed the task being that even in his dreams he knew the difference between his wife and any other woman.
By the time they boarded the ship, dawn had already come and the crew members that were left on the boat were stirred awake to go find the remainder of their mates so they could head out.
Chapter 29 - A Waking Nightmare
Katherine didn’t know why she woke, but she did not feel anymore rested than when she fell asleep. A cool breeze caressed her cheek and the smell of rain wafted into her chamber. Her first thought was Salvador and then it was their child that was growing at a healthy rate within her. Instinctively placing her hand on her increased belly, she wondered what Salvador would think of her now that her body was changing. Would he find her less desirable? She couldn’t help but think back to when he had warned her before he left that when he returned he expected her to be as big as a house – or else! Katherine smiled at the memory as she soothed her belly with her thumb.
A shadow moved from the corner of her eye and she turned her head in that direction. She could tell by the steady breeze that it was windy outside and admired the dancing shadows that played on the walls and ceiling for her. Another movement caught her attention from the foot of her bed and the first wave of icy shivers pass through her as alarm bells started to go off in her head.
“Sarah?” She called out weakly as she sat up to take a closer look into the darkened corners of her chamber, there was no answer.
Instincts told her that she was not alone and her sudden panic gave her pause for fright. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear that there was something or someone beside her bed. Being too frightened to turn her head to look, she opened her mouth to let out a scream, but before any warning could pass through her lips she gasped as a cloth was shoved in her mouth and another one placed over her nose. Katherine instinctively started to thrash about as the hand that covered her nose with the cloth pulled her back into a solid wall of muscle. She tried to rip the hand from her face but was losing her strength quickly as she quickly spiralled towards darkness and nothingness.
Katherine heard herself grunt as her pounding head came to life. When she tried to open her eyes, she saw the room spin and quickly closed them as a wave of nausea hit her. She tried to bring her hands up to her temples to massage the throbbing, but to her horror she found them bound behind her back. She gave out a sound of dismay as she attempted to open her eyes again, this time the room did not spin as fast and she noted she was in a room she had never been in before. Quickly shutting her eyes to ward off the nausea, she was startled as bits and pieces of the night before came back to her. She remembered being woken up by a faint breeze and then having the eeriest feeling of not being alone as she watched the shadows. She remembered then, the gag and the hand that smothered her breath. Not daring to open her eyes again, she tried to listen to her surroundings. She could hear muffled voices of people above her and the hollow sound of wood as it creaked and moaned under their steps. The sheets below her were rough and smelled of sweat and mould. She moved her legs and was grateful that they were not bound nor was she gagged anymore.
The throbbing in her head had started to cease and she tried to open her eyes once more. This time she was rewarded with blurred vision rather than a dreadful spin. The room was lit by the small porthole in the wall across from her and from what she could tell; the room was no larger than her dressing room at home. There was just enough space for a small stove, a chamber pot in the corner, the cot she was on, a stand-up wardrobe and a small round table with a chair. The walls, ceiling and floor were made of wood and the room lacked any personal touches. Judging by the port hole, she had to guess that she was on a boat of some kind.
Katherine felt her heart pick up as the situation she was in played out in total. Whoever had gagged her had somehow managed to knock her out and kidnap her to where she is now and if she was indeed on a boat then that would lessen the chances of being rescued. One thing she knew for sure was that if she were on a boat, it most certainly wasn’t moving which gave her hope. Her mind swirled with tangent thoughts as she rolled onto her side and tried to sit up without letting the nausea have its way with her. Who would do this to her? What did they want? Did they plan to ransom her to Salvador? How did they get her out of the house and off the estate without alerting the guards?
She managed to sit up and felt only a slight dizzy spell before she stood up. She didn’t realize how thrown off her balance would be with her hands bound behind her back and almost fell over before she was able to right herself. She turned around and stood on her tippy toes to try for the handle, but the door was locked. Her suspicion was confirmed when she peeped out the port hole and found herself staring into the murky waters of the bay. The sun had been shadowed by rain clouds, throwing a depressing shadow into her room.
Katherine jumped and fell into the chair behind her when the door suddenly opened. As she tried to recover from her initial
shock, she made the mistake of lifting her head to meet the very familiar eyes of Lord Pennington.
She wanted to scream at him and demand for him to release her. She wanted to cry out all the questions that buzzed around her head. She wanted to claw out the cold and ruthless eyes that sent unwelcome shivers down her spine! But all she could do was glare at him with her silent hatred in shock and confusion.
“Ah, it pleases me that you remember who I am.” He said with nonchalance as he shut the door behind him and leaned against it.
Katherine could only scowl at him, trying her hardest not to let him see how very frightened she really was.
“Come now my pet, don’t you want to know why I have gone through the trouble of bringing you here?” he continued with a knowing smirk.
“I can only assume you mean to ransom me, which makes no sense considering you have more than enough wealth and already own most of Oxford.” She replied coolly.
“I suggest you keep your assumptions to yourself and find out from the source.” He chuckled out, clearly enjoying himself.
“Fine. Why am I here Lord Pennington?” she gave in, keeping her voice steady and cool.
“Do you have any recollection of meeting me prior to the ball you attended recently?” He asked in a casual manner while examining his nails.
“You know I did and had I known you were one to hold a grudge, I wouldn’t have dismissed you from my thoughts the moment you walked away.” She replied with distaste.
She knew that she should not goad him and try to figure out a way to get him to release her, but her temper was getting the best of her.
He looked up at her and stayed her with an icy glare.
Katherine tried to stand as he took two steps to cross the room. He had grasped her shoulders before she could move.
“It should have been my ring on your finger, not that maniac devil of a mans!”
He spat out in anger as he painfully dug his fingers into her skin.
“No, even my Father wasn’t so desperate as to allow a marriage between us!” She cried out to him as she tried to twist away from him.
He easily hulled her out of the chair and pulled her against his chest.
“Your wrong and I have the contract to prove it! He promised you to me upon his death! Salvador had no right to steal you from me!”
“NO!” She cried out in disbelief.
Her father couldn’t have been so cruel! He knew that she was terrified of Pennington and even threatened to run away if he ever let him near her!
“Yes!” he growled out. “It’s no matter, until I can obtain an annulment, you will be safely tucked away to await me.” He sneered at her.
“No, let me go!” Katherine cried out as she started to struggle in earnest.
“I think not. It’s not as though I don’t have the pick of the ton, but you must understand that I hate to lose in any business opportunity or investment, and you my dear were a great investment indeed.”
Katherine’s fear could not be hidden now. Whether his contract was legal or not, with her being legally married to Salvador and carrying his child, there was no way that Pennington could obtain an annulment. If she lost the baby however…
“Captain Sebastian will be escorting you to your temporary home very shortly, but I find myself wanting to sample my future bride beforehand.” He informed her as his eyes swiftly ran over her person.
Katherine blanched. Was he was going to rape her?
She tried to lift her feet to throw his balance off but that only made him hull her closer. It wasn’t until she felt the rigged outline of his erection against her belly that she realized her struggles were only exciting him.
She sobbed out a cry of despair as she stilled her thrashing and closed her eyes. He was so much stronger than her and she needed to save her energy for an opportunity that could gain her the upper hand.
Tugging her backwards by her hair he bent her over his arm and buried his face into her neck and licked it, sending her stomach reeling as she felt the nausea returning. She realized then that she could use that to her advantage. If she could hold off long enough, she could find the opening that she needed to empty her stomach onto him.
She cried out as her nightgown was torn from her neckline down to her stomach. He didn’t hesitate to grip one of her breasts in his hand while his wet mouth came down to suckle on the other breast.
“Don’t do this” she cried out between sobs.
Straightening himself up, he pulled her back into him. With one arm he crushed her against his erection and with the other he gripped her chin in a painful vice that would leave bruising to lift her face to his.
She feared the look of triumph on his face. When she looked at his mouth and saw the spittle on the edge of it, her stomach revolted. Just as he brought his face down to hers, she let lose the nausea that had been threatening her since she had woken up.
When the spell was over, she opened her eyes and had to smother her grin when she saw that he had tried to release her in time but had failed. The contents of her stomach were leaking off his chin and streaming down his neck. The front of his shirt was completely soaked through and the smell in the room had turned rank with sickness. His hands were up in the air as though he was surrendering and the look of disgusted horror on his face was priceless. She looked down at herself and was pleased to note that not one drop had hit her or the floor, other than light splatters. She also noticed that her gown was torn and exposing her breasts, which thankfully he was too horrified to be concentrating on at the moment.
She turned and dove for the cot, turning her body towards the wall to hide her chest and burying her face into the pillow to hide her silent laughter. She knew that her shoulders were shaking from the laughter and her breathing was irregular, which could easily be mistaken as silent sobs.
She heard the door open, close then lock behind her.
~
Salvador must have fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. The ship was quiet all around him and Charles was snoring from his cot. He quietly got up and slipped out of the cabin to make his way to the deck. It was night and the sky was clear and shimmering with thousands of stars. Only a couple of men littered the deck as he made his way towards the railing. Leaning against it, he felt a sudden urge to be home. He had wanted to be home since the moment he set foot outside of it, but for some reason this urge had panic and fear laced with the urgency. Something was terribly wrong, he didn’t know how he knew and knew that it was an irrational panic but he had learned to trust his instincts.
Making his way to the upper deck, he gave a silent prayer of thanks when he found his Captain at the wheel.
“Captain Roberts, I need you to pick up speed.” Salvador ordered him.
“Is something amiss?” his captain returned with a furrowed brow.
“I’m not certain,” Salvador started, not wanting to admit that he was acting upon a gut feeling “but I need you to make great haste.” Salvador threw over his shoulder as he walked away and made his way below deck.
~
When Charles awoke, he found Salvador pacing the closed cabin like a caged animal. The last time he had seen Salvador so wound up was when they found Simon at his Uncles Estate after he ran from his home. Salvador had wanted to find Simon’s Mother and wring the last breath from her worthless life with his bare hands. Simon had been curled up in the corner of his bed and rocking himself for comfort. When Ed tried to place a hand of comfort on Simon’s shoulder, he had cried out for Ed not to touch him and then had broken into sobs of despair while all they could do was sit with him and offer their company and nothing else as support. When Simon had finally passed out, they had to drag Salvador in one of the guest rooms and hold him down. When they finally released him, he ranted and raved about the cruelties of the world and paced like a caged animal, stopping every so often to glare at the door, only to resume pacing - knowing they would not let him loose.
Salvador was pacing in the same m
anner again and Charles wasn’t sure if he should pretend to sleep or disturb him.
“I know you’re awake” Salvador grumbled without breaking pace.
“Well, that’s a relief.” Charles responded, trying to sound as though nothing was amiss.
“Something’s wrong Charles, I know it!” Salvador informed him without even looking at him.
“Care to clarify?” Charles responded carefully, slowly sitting up as though any sudden movement might tempt the beast to spring.
“I don’t know!” Salvador cried out as he flung his arms in the air with frustration. “I feel as though we are racing the clock and if we lose then the damage will be irreversible! I don’t know if it’s Katherine, Rachel or Angel but I know that it has to do with one of them.”
Charles had learned years ago never to doubt Salvador’s instincts. As eerie as it was, he was always dead on. Now he felt himself starting to panic. Salvador would get feelings that would make him uncomfortable, but this had to be the first time one of his instincts brought out a reaction like this.
“My God! It’s like I’m choking on air! The pit of my stomach is raw and I have enough adrenaline in me to swim back if need be!”
“Do I need to round up the boys?” Charles asked cautiously.
“No. Keep them away from me; I don’t want them to worry.”
“I’ll go speak with the captain to try and get this ship to move faster.” He offered as he stood up.
“I’ve already done that. I can’t tell if it worked because I haven’t stopped pacing long enough to feel the difference in speed.” Salvador said in a frustrated tone while running his fingers through his hair.
“Are you hungry?” He asked hopefully, not thinking Salvador would really eat.
“No.”
“I trust your instincts Salvador and believe you will need your energy for when we reach the shore. You’ve slept well today which is exactly what you needed; now you need food.” With that, Charles left the cabin to see what he could scrounge up for a meal at this late hour.
