She suddenly realized the muscles of his stomach were clenched and locked beneath her palms. Heat burned in her cheeks as she jerked her hands away. "You're very rude. I was only trying to help."
"If I didn't believe that, you'd be under me, not over me." He sat up and said wearily, "Run along back to your village and stay there."
Stung, she jumped to her feet. "I certainly don't want to remain with you. I've spent too much time here already." She moved toward the stallion. "And Kapu was right to dump you onto the sand. I should have let him pound you into it."
"But you didn't." He rose to his feet. "As I said, you have a soft heart. It's a very dangerous fault in a woman who wishes to maintain her independence." He met her gaze. "Not to mention her untouched state."
She found her anger ebbing as she stared at him. Why was she still standing there? She should leave him as he had ordered her to do. She certainly didn't want to stay with him.
A warm breeze lifted his dark hair from his forehead and molded the material of his shirt against his body, the same wind that was caressing her naked breasts and causing the hair at her temples to brush across her cheeks. She became acutely aware of the salty scent of the sea, the rhythmic sound of the waves rushing against the shore, the grainy roughness of the sand beneath her bare feet. The air seemed suddenly thick and hard to breathe.
"Go on!" he said sharply.
Her hands shook as she mounted Kapu. She was about to turn away when she noticed how pale his stern face appeared in the moonlight. She hesitated before asking, "You're sure you're unhurt?"
He drew a deep breath and said with great precision, "I'm not hurt, Kanoa." An unexpected smile banished the grimness from his face; then he inclined his head in a bow. "I won't say it's been a complete pleasure, but it's certainly been interesting making your acquaintance." He stepped forward and slapped Kapu's rump. "Run along."
The startled stallion lunged forward.
"And, dammit, if you won't cover yourself, stay away from the shore until we're gone," he called after her. "Some of my seamen won't care how old you are."
She was several yards down the beach before she glanced over her shoulder. He was standing where she had left him, gazing after her.
He smiled faintly and lifted his hand in farewell.
She didn't return the gesture. Staring ahead once more, she urged Kapu to go faster. The episode that had taken place had been most unsettling, and she wanted to put time and distance between herself and the Englishman. He had no role in her life, and yet for a moment he had seemed to have the power to dominate it.
Most disturbing…
"Well, I see you've found something to interest you."
Jared turned from watching the girl flying down the beach on the back of the black stallion to see Bradford strolling toward him. "I take it you grew bored with waiting."
"I finished the bottle of brandy," Bradford said mournfully. "Most distressing. I should have noticed that it was only half-full."
"Three-quarters full," Jared corrected. "I wonder you can still walk."
"No, you don't. You know that I seldom get that foxed."
It was true. His uncle had an amazing capacity. He was always a little drunk, but Jared had seen him under the table only a handful of times. "You should have come with me to see King Kamehameha instead of staying on board. They served a heady brew that you would have appreciated."
He grimaced. "Too primitive. I prefer good French brandy."
"I enjoyed it."
Bradford nodded. "But that's because you also have a primitive side to your nature. I noticed it while we were in Tahiti." His gaze went to Kanoa, who was now almost out of sight. "Fine horse. Beautiful gait."
Jared should have known Bradford would notice the horse first.
"I can't tell much from this distance," Bradford went on, "but the woman appears equally fine." He slanted a sly glance at Jared. "I thought you were getting along quite nicely. What did you say to her to make her run away?"
"She isn't a woman, she's a child," Jared said curtly.
"They grow up fast here in the islands."
"But I have no desire to be the catalyst."
Bradford's brows raised. "Good God, you sound positively virtuous."
"She's just a child," he repeated. But one with a strange mixture of qualities-wary and eager, impulsive and caring, bold and yet uncertain.
"Then what was she doing stroking you?"
Christ, he had hoped Bradford had not witnessed that. He would enjoy the explanation far too much. "She wasn't-" He stopped and then admitted, "Her horse threw me."
Bradford stared at him in astonishment. "Indeed?"
"Yes."
He started to laugh. "Amazing. You haven't been thrown since you were a boy. Have you finally found an animal who doesn't appreciate you?"
"Possibly." He shrugged. "I didn't prepare him enough."
"Why not?"
"What difference does it make? I was careless."
"You're never careless. Not with horses." He gazed at him speculatively. "Why?"
"How do I know?" Bradford was right-the impulsive action was not at all like him. It had been evident the stallion was high-strung and dangerously unstable, he should have talked to Kapu longer, soothed him, let him grow used to his touch before mounting him. He deserved that toss and was lucky not to have been trampled. If the girl had not been there, he would have paid heavily for that impulse.
Bradford's gaze went back to the girl and horse. "Pretty?"
Pretty? He didn't suppose so. Except for the thick mane of shining dark hair that flowed nearly to her waist, Kanoa's features were too bold and striking for her to be called pretty. Her jaw was too firm, her lips full and a little pouty, her brows winglike over huge dark eyes that dominated a triangular face. Those eyes had challenged him, and yet he had sensed something fragile and vulnerable about her when she had looked up at him with desperation. He repeated, "She's a child."
Yet not completely a child. Though small, her naked breasts had been perfectly shaped, the nipples dark and pointed…
Bradford chuckled. "That's not what I asked. She must have been a veritable Venus to have you so besotted you can't answer a simple question. Did you find her at Kamehameha's court? Maybe I should have gone with you."
"I didn't go to Kamehameha to find a woman."
"But you found one anyway." Bradford sighed blissfully. "I must admit I've enjoyed our sojourn in this paradise. Beautiful women who give pleasure and no guilt. Can a man ask for more?"
"It seems he can. French brandy."
"Ah, yes, but every paradise has a serpent. This one is fairly innocuous." His gaze returned to Kanoa. "But you shouldn't have been so selfish. Why didn't you invite her to the ship so that we both could enjoy her?"
The flare of hot resentment Jared felt was as startling as it was totally unreasonable. He and Bradford often shared women, and these island beauties had proved eager for the diversion the two men offered them. "For God's sake, why don't you listen? The only thing that child wants between her legs is her damned horse." He turned on his heel and strode down the beach toward the cove. "Forget her. We have more important things to do."
"Not so fast," Bradford complained. "I may not be drunk, but I'm not so steady that I can run."
Smiling affectionately, Jared slowed his pace. "I was thinking only of your dire need for brandy. The sooner we get back to the ship, the sooner you can tap a fresh bottle."
"Well, perhaps I can run… a little." He fell into step with Jared. "Did Kamehameha tell you what you wanted to know?"
"Yes." He felt a return of the excitement that had surged through him when the King had so casually given him the information he had been striving to learn since that hellish night in Danjuet. He had traveled to Paris and Marseilles, then had spent almost a year in Tahiti following Deville's trail before arriving on the islands. It had seemed almost unbelievable that the long search had ended. "He's here."