Page 16 of Dominating the Duke
Obadiah gave her an indulgent smile before breaking out in laughter.
11
JULY, 1826
EAST INDIA DOCKS, LONDON
Percy dropped the iron ball chained to his ankle and nearly hit his toes when theLady Muirgensuddenly lifted and dropped down sharply again. He knew from his experience over the last few days that this was about the time of the morning the tide turned, but this was the first time the ship had reacted so sharply.
The sensation following the ship's jerking against her lines seemed different from the other tide changes, however. Someone must have slipped her lines, and they were moving. Something peculiar, suspiciously resembling panic, fluttered in his chest. Where the hell were these pirates taking him? The panic was quickly replaced by indignation.
Who the hell did they think they were? Kidnapping a peer of the realm, a damned duke, by the saints? Even though he'd been missing for several days and no one had come looking for him, he was sure all of the forces of the Royal Navy and Army were undoubtedly combing the kingdom for him. A niggling voice down inside, however, asked why, if he were so important, was he still chained to a cannon ball aboard a ship headed who knew where. Damn that insolent pirate of a woman and damn all the clowes and choir birds that did her bidding.
He suddenly sat down on the floor of the cabin, because the rhythm of a ship at dock was calming compared to the rising and falling of a ship heading out to sea. In addition to all of his more important concerns, he now feared the mighty Duke of Chelmsford might cast up his accounts from the rich supper he'd enjoyed the night before.
* * *
El realized toolate that imprisoning Percy in the captain's cabin meant she'd have to share the space with a whining, spoiled nobleman whose face had turned a light hue of green. She hadn't counted on the annoying man being susceptible to seasickness. Now she'd have to nurse the bastard back to health before she could properly torture him.
She leaned over and gave him a light-colored chunk of something to chew. "Here, chew on this. You'll feel better."
The minute he sank his teeth into the raw ginger, he bellowed in pain. "This is hot as Hades. What in the name of all that's holy is this? Are you trying to poison me?"
"I don't 'try' to do anything, Your Grace. If I were to poison you, the next thing you'd see would be the gates of heaven, or wherever it is exalted peers such as yourself end up after their extinction."
He gave her an ugly look but continued to chew.
"You know, you've brought all of this inconvenience on yourself," she pointed out, her voice peevish in spite of her own vow to remain calm in the face of his threats and complaints.
He pushed the partially chewed ginger to the side of his mouth and looked like nothing so much as an indignant rodent who'd just stolen a tidbit of food from a pantry. "How so?"
"You didn't have to sneak about all three of my estates trying to prove I'm a criminal of some sort."
He pointed a shaky finger back at her while trying to continue to chew for the soothing effect of the ginger. "Bot shew are," he insisted.
El stood to her full height which was taller than most men, except Percy. "All right, Your Grace. Where is your proof that I'm an unfit business partner for your brother...that I'm a criminal?"
"Shur folt," he insisted, still apparently afraid to stop chewing. He finally swallowed the last of the wicked hot ginger. "You can't hide the truth. I saw that poor child. You're taking children off the streets of London and forcing them to work for you in your unspeakable, vile ventures."
"And just what would those 'vile ventures' entail?"
"I don't know." He swept his arms in a wide arc and would have looked righteous and vengeful if not for the loosely tied silky banyan which did little to cover the considerable amount of dark blond hair covering his chest which made her want to crawl down on the floor with him and run her nails through the warm pelt.
She finally followed through on her fantasy and once on the floor with her captive, covered his mouth with hers in a firm, lingering kiss whilst grazing the tender skin around his nipples with her nails. When she finally pulled away and sat back on her heels, his beautiful mouth hung open and his cock, having pushed through the slit in his trouser bottoms, was doing its best to move the damned banyan out of the way.
She rubbed her index finger around the dark red of his well-kissed lips and sucked the moisture into her mouth, closing her eyes whilst a look of pure pleasure washed over her face.
* * *
Percy lungedtoward his gaoler and forgot about the metal ball and chain trapping him in place. If Eleanor wanted to play this game while she held all the advantages, then he'd have to be creative.
"It's humiliating to think of yourself as a slave, isn't it, Percy?" She glided away, out of his reach and poured herself a glass of a fine red wine from Portugal. The label was one he knew well and kept stocked in his cellar.
"I spent time as a captive slave on a ship like this after you sent me to America." She held her glass up to the light streaming through a glass bevel in the top deck above them. After turning the delicate stem in her hand several times, she took a long draught and then walked to his side. She poured a few drops on her fingertips before dribbling the dark red liquid onto his lips. When he opened his mouth wide to swallow the small bit, she claimed him in another long kiss.
He gave up his feeble attempts to keep his cock under control, and she was so close, her rough tunic rubbed against the bare head of his penis. He gave up any pretense of civilized behavior. His cock had pushed through his pajama slit and out through the half-untied banyan toward the object of his wrong-headed worship.
She suddenly pushed him away and reached inside her tunic toward a pistol-shaped bulge. Scenes from his life ran through his head when he realized the woman who routinely invaded his dreams was probably about to kill him.