The assault force came to a screeching halt.
"Beau!" Kate said incredulously. "You're not supposed to be here."
Daniel started to chuckle. "I didn't think you'd stay out of the action for long. Where are the guards?"
"Trussed up below in the crew quarters," drawled Beau. "I'd suggest you have them taken ashore and dumped in the nearest alley. We don't want to be accused of kidnapping as well as piracy. Incidentally, I dispatched them with considerably more style than you were displaying. I swam up to the anchor line and climbed it hand over hand a la Errol Flynn. While you, on the other hand, charged up that gangplank with all the tactical finesse of the marines at the Bay of Pigs." Beau shook his head disparagingly. "For an ex-mercenary you looked regrettably unprofessional."
"You're supposed to be with Julio." Kate stepped forward to stand before him. "Damn it, why aren't you, Beau?"
"Be quiet, Kate." There was a thread of steel beneath the softness of Beau's drawl. "You might say I'm a bit upset with you at the moment. I didn't at all appreciate being left behind. I found my jump into the sea from the Cessna less than enjoyable." He ran his hand through his still damp hair. "I'm beginning to feel practically amphibian since you came into my life." His lips tightened. "And I most particularly disliked waiting here wondering what trouble you were getting yourself into at the inn. I've been close to mayhem for the past hour."
"All that was hardly my fault," she said defiantly. "You were supposed to fly to Santa Isabella with Julio."
"So he told me," he grated through his teeth. "I don't take orders as well as your friend Julio. In fact, I don't take orders at all. It's time you learned that, Kate."
She drew a deep shaky breath. She should be used to having him angry with her by now. There was no reason for the abrasive pain she was feeling at his biting anger.
"If you'll excuse the interruption"-Daniel's tone was laden with irony-"do you suppose it would be all right if we postponed all these recriminations and got under way? I gather you started the engines, Beau?"
Beau nodded, his gaze still on Kate's visored face. "I thought I'd have everything ready to go when you showed up." His brow knitted in a frown. "What the hell are you doing in that crazy getup? You look like a Hell's Angel reject."
"Daniel said it was more Colonel Sanders," she said. "Who was-"
"It's a disguise," Daniel broke in with exasperation. "Now that we have that settled, may we please sail?"
Beau's brows lifted. "Who's stopping you?" he drawled, a little smile tugging at his lips. "You can't expect me to do absolutely everything. After all, you're the captain, Daniel,"
Daniel grimaced before he turned away with a flurry of terse Orders that sent his men at a dead run to their stations. "I'll try to contribute my little effort to the cause," he said over his shoulder. "Providing the two of you will get the devil out of my way!" He strode swiftly away, ratling more commands with machine-gun forcefulness.
Beau's gesture had a mocking panache. "You heard the man. I suggest we go to my cabin and let Daniel get on with his work. I have a few words I want to say to you. Very choice words."
She took off her helmet and ruffled her hair wearily. "I'm sure I've heard them before. I think we should help Daniel and the men get the Searcher out to sea. I don't want to ruin everything now that we've gotten this far."
"We'd only be in the way." His hand on her elbow was guiding her toward the oak door to the passageway leading below deck. "Daniel has his crew trained to clockwork precision. He tolerates my help on the odd occasion when I insist I want to do my bit, but under pressure like this he'd probably throw us both overboard if we got in his way."
Casting a glance at that dynamic giant on the bridge she could well believe it. There was nothing left of the lazily good-natured man she'd come to know. The vitality and power of total command were surrounding Daniel in an almost visible aura. "Perhaps you're right."
Beau was holding the door for her and she started reluctantly down the stairs. Lord, she didn't want to have a confrontation with Beau right now. The tension and the anxiety of the evening had drained her of everything but a heavy lethargy. Beau, on the other hand, seemed to be as charged with electric energy as ever. "How long will it take to get out of Castellano territorial waters?"
"Not much over a half-hour if we have the wind with us." He opened the door to the cabin, his hand brushing the light switch on the wall. "The auxiliary engines are used principally for maneuvering and docking. They don't give us enough power for any dazzling degree of speed." He shut the door behind them. "And we may need that speed if our little flit is discovered when they come to change the guard on the ship."
"Change the guard?" Kate's eyes widened. Of course they'd change the guard. Not only on the ship but at the inn. "I never thought of that."
"That doesn't surprise me." He took the helmet she was holding and tossed it carelessly on top of the chest. "It seems to be your modus operandi to leap into trouble without giving it a second thought." His fingers were swiftly unbuttoning the white sport coat she was wearing. "It's a constant source of amazement to me that you've survived as long as you have."
"I had enough to worry about without trying to imagine every little thing that might go wrong," she said defensively. "I managed to do…" She broke off and looked down bewilderedly as he finished unbuttoning her coat. "What are you doing?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to tear your clothes off and rape you." He pulled her coat off her shoulders and down her arms. "Not at the moment anyway. I just want to get you out of this blasted 'disguise.' " The jacket joined the helmet on the chest. "It reminds me what a complete idiot you can be with no effort whatsoever." His fingers were running briskly through her short curls that were crushed from the contact with the helmet and his voice was suddenly uneven. "Such a damn reckless idiot."
His eyes were liquid gold in the hardness of his face and the tousled bronze lock of hair on his forehead sea-darkened to deep brown. She felt a sudden desire to brush that lock tenderly back into orderliness as a mother would to a dear but untidy child. She hurriedly pulled her gaze away and unconsciously braced herself. She mustn't touch him. He thought her insanely impulsive, but she wasn't foolish enough to risk that. "Then you're well rid of me, aren't you?" she asked with an effort at lightness.
"You seem to be a little thickheaded, Kate." His hands held her shoulders lightly, but she could feel their leashed strength. "I'm not rid of you, nor do I intend to be. Do you think I'd go through all the hell you've put me through if I intended to let you get away from me?" His lips tightened. "No way." Her chin lifted defiantly. "I thought I'd made my position clear. I don't need your help or your charity. Once out of Castellano territorial waters you can have Daniel drop me off anywhere you like and be on your way. We'll consider the bargain settled."
"Oh, will we?" His voice was dangerously soft. "And what if I decide that you haven't fulfilled the terms of our charming bargain? I was prepared to declare it null and void but if that's the only way I can control you I'll reinstate it in full force. You were to stay with me as long as I wanted you, remember?"
Her lips curved in a bittersweet smile. "But you don't want me. Not really. I'm some kind of rehabilitation project for you. You want to pat me on the head and send me off to Connecticut to-"
"I don't want you?" His eyes were molten gold now. "I told you what you do to me. What does it take to convince you, for heaven's sake?" His face clouded stormily. "Oh, what the hell!"
Then she was in his arms and his lips were on hers in a kiss that was more a hot brand of possession. They touched, devoured, and absorbed with a passion that was devoid of the tenderness he'd shown before. His tongue parted her lips and plunged into the sweet warmth waiting for him beyond. She could feel his hands on her shoulders tightening with unknowing force and the sound he made deep in his throat was a growl of hunger. He tore his lips away and buried them in the curls at her temple. His hands were rubbing and kneading her shoulders with rhythmic urgency and she could hear his breathing grow harsh in her ear. "I want you." His voice was muffled in her hair. "You could arouse me even if I were a eunuch in one of those Mideastern seraglios Daniel was telling me about." His tongue delicately stroked the erratic pulse at her temple. "I sat there on that damn platform all afternoon in a rage. I was worried out of my mind and I was still wanting you. I kept remembering how hot and tight you felt around me and the way your skin shimmered gold in the sunlight. I remembered how you fit me, every curve clinging and caressing like a glove of butter-soft chamois." He drew a deep shuddering breath. "Oh yes, I want you, Kate."