The tavern was loud, crowded and somewhat smoky, filled with all kinds of customers from every walk of life; sailors, businessmen, dancing girls, field hands – it truly made for quite a place to be working at. And the first night Kalinna had worked, it had been the shock of a lifetime. She had thought that all she had endured and witnessed while masquerading as a boy would help her adjust to life as a tavern maid. She had been very wrong.

Since arriving at the place nigh on five months ago, she had been grabbed, flirted with, spilled on, and had a number of kisses stolen from her. But there was nothing she could do about it, not if she wanted her plan to succeed. Which she most definitely wanted for there was no way, not in this lifetime, or any other for that matter, would she ever marry Andre Carlton.

Kalinna, Adele, Jeffrey and Marcus had completed their journey from Westgate Castle to the northern shipping port of Bellacomb just over five months ago. After selling the horses and meeting up with Jeffrey and Marcus’s cousin Becky, the four of them had acquired jobs in the tavern and inn where Becky worked, the Midnight Rose. The second part of their plan had been completed.

But life in the inn was not what any of them had expected. Though it had not been much of a stretch for Jeffrey and Marcus to adjust to their new situation, Kalinna and Adele had not had it so easy. The two women had never been subjected to serving others in their entire life, so assuming the role of an untitled, low-born maid proved a challenge.

Thankfully, Kalinna had gotten back on her feet in a matter of a few days, thanks mostly in part to the kindness and helpfulness shown by Marcus, Jeffrey and Becky. Adele, however, was not adjusting so well and still struggled to make it through each day.

Kalinna found herself keeping her fingers crossed and hoping that Adele was strong enough to survive for another month, when the ship that would transport them to England set sail. The Frenchwoman had known nothing outside of Westgate Castle and the servants who saw to her every need, so she was having a hard time adjusting to this new life. Kalinna, as well as Marcus and Jeffrey, tried to protect her as best they could, but that wasn’t always possible.

Becky, Jeffrey and Marcus’s cousin, therefore, was a godsend. The older woman, who was the widow of an English sailor, had taken Adele under her wing and made sure that the younger Frenchwoman was able to make it through each day. It was thanks to Becky that Adele was not exposed to the rowdy customers but rather, had the task of washing dishes and cleaning and preparing guest rooms.

Kalinna knew that Adele was trying to be strong and regain that spark of outgoing confidence that had caused her to form this plan in the first place. She was slowly starting to acclimate to her new surroundings, but Kalinna knew that above all else, Adele was battling homesickness. That in of itself had taken away that spunk that Kalinna knew the young Frenchwoman had.

Shaking away her thoughts, Kalinna adjusted her skirt and the blonde wig that hid her naturally dark hair and prepared for the long night ahead. She was not as lucky as Adele and had been given the job of serving customers. But after dealing with her father, none of the customers seemed to bother her all that much bar one.

His name was Stephen Montgomery, a French shipping captain that had set his eye on her the moment she had first served him four months ago. A big, burly man with a shock of dark hair, tattoos, and an earring in one ear, he made Kalinna quite uncomfortable. And he had made it perfectly clear that, one way or another, he would have her.

Adele and Becky knew all about her unwanted admirer and did their best to help her out when the man spent an evening drinking in the tavern. So far, nothing had come of the situation. But Kalinna knew she could be lucky for only so long and one of these times, the man would be pushed too far and she would have to pay the consequences.

She avoided him as best she could, but tonight she had the unfortunate task of serving him and a few of his crew members. She could only hope that his mind would be on other things but her. After all, she could not afford to cause trouble, which would surely happen if one more egotistical and overconfident male tried to run her life.

“Kalinna!” a booming male voice suddenly bellowed over the ruckus that was building in the common room. Without another thought, the young woman headed in the direction of the bar tap to see what Pierre Montague, the tavern’s owner, wanted of her.

“Yes Pierre?” she questioned as she stood in front of the large bar the tavern’s owner stood behind.

“Where is Adele? We need ‘er in the kitchen. Tonight is goin’ to be a busy night and we can’t ‘ave the dishes getting’ backed up and causin’ unhappy customers,” Montague practically barked as he filled up mugs of ale for one of the waiting barmaids who was servicing a table of businessmen.

“She’s not feeling well and is lying down for a bit,” Kalinna lied, wondering where on earth her friend could have gotten to in the past ten minutes since she had seen her last.

“Better not ‘ave gotten ‘erself with child,” Pierre growled with a frown, “I don’t want none o’ that happenin’ in me tavern.”

“She’ll be down in a few minutes,” Kalinna bit out through her annoyance. Pierre was fair, as far as bosses went, and she would be forever grateful for the jobs he had provided them with, however, there were times where Kalinna could not stand the man. The good thing was she would only have to stand him for one more month if everything worked out the way they had planned.

“Ye better be right Kalinna, for me charity only goes so far. If she be unable to keep pace ‘round here, I’m goin’ to have to find someone else to take ‘er place,” the tavern owner threatened. Kalinna wanted to sock him in the stomach.

“I’ll pass the message along,” Kalinna stated with a frown as she noticed Adele coming down the back stairs, her face somewhat strained, “Excuse me.”

Before her boss could reply, Kalinna was making her way through the kitchen to her friend’s side. Adele managed a wan smile, but Kalinna could see she was not, by any means, feeling herself. Kalinna immediately put her arm around the younger woman’s shoulders in comfort.

“What is it Adele?” the Englishwoman gently prodded as she steered her friend away from the loud noises coming from the common room, “Has something happened? Are you feeling okay?”

“I am sorry Kalinna, I’m just not feeling at all well tonight,” Adele stated in a shaky voice, an unhappy expression marring her features.

“Are you ill?” Kalinna questioned, a concerned look on her face.

“It is just my womanly time, but with all this work we have had to do, I feel so much worse than normal,” Adele confessed, blushing as the embarrassing words crossed her lips. Kalinna gave her an encouraging smile.

“Do not fret overmuch,” the older woman soothed as patted her friend on the shoulder, “I shall take over all your duties pertaining to the guest rooms if you can only manage with the kitchen tasks.”

“But what will Pierre say?” Adele asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I shall tell him that you are feeling a bit under the weather, but that together you and I will get all the tasks done,” Kalinna stated, a smile gracing her lips, even though she knew that with her tasks for the evening, she would be hard-pressed getting some of Adele’s done as well.

“Kalinna, you are too kind. I promise once we get out of this mess, I shall find a way to repay you,” Adele deftly stated as she gave the older woman a quick hug.

“Think nothing of it,” Kalinna responded, “It was you who helped me escape a fate of marriage to that awful man you unfortunately call brother. That is repayment enough in my eyes.”

At that moment, Becky, cousin of Jeffrey and Marcus came walking up, her steps quick and somewhat agitated. She immediately stopped next to the two young women.

“Tis gettin’ busy out there now,” Becky stated as shifted from foot to foot, “Pierre is shoutin’ up a storm askin’ where ye be Kalinna. Ye best be gettin’ out there and start servin’ for ye know Pierre don’t like his customers to be disappointed.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Kalinna replied as she adjusted her wig one more time before turning to head towards the open area of the tavern where customers sat at wooden tables as well as at the bar.

“And how ye be feelin’ lass?” Becky questioned, turning her eyes to Adele. Kalinna immediately turned around to explain what was going on. Adele beat her to it.

“About the same as before,” the young Frenchwoman responded with a small smile, “Kalinna has agreed to help with my above stairs chores and tonight I am just to keep up in the kitchen.”

“Are ye sure ye can handle that all?” Becky questioned, turning her eyes once again towards the older woman, “If ye want, I can help you since ole Pierre don’t have me runnin’ as much as ye.”

“That would be wonderful,” Kalinna responded with a bright smile, “We can quickly work together once there is a break in the crowd. I shall just let Pierre know what we are about so that he does not decide to flay one of our hides for not alerting him to the change in plans.”

“I shall go with ye,” Becky concluded as she looked searchingly at Adele one last time, “Are ye sure ye can take care of everything in the kitchen tonight lass?” Adele nodded her head in confirmation and Becky gave her a warm, encouraging smile before heading in the direction of the tavern’s main room.

“Let me know if you need my help at all in any of your other duties,” Kalinna instructed the younger woman before she followed Becky out into the common room.

As she entered, Kalinna saw that Becky was already talking to Pierre and explaining what was occurring with their tasks this evening. He did not seem too happy, but his scowl instantly left his features as his eyes lit on a new customer – a buxom woman who appeared to be in her late thirties. Immediately the newcomer headed over in Pierre’s direction and Becky was instantly forgotten. Shrugging her shoulders, the barmaid quickly made her way over to where Kalinna stood.

“He wasna happy at first, but it looks like he couldna care less now,” Becky said as soon as she reached Kalinna’s side, “Not since that woman came in.”

“That must be Lady Carmen, the elusive woman Pierre has mentioned the few times I have seen him too deep in his cups,” Kalinna commented, quickly assessing the red-headed siren who had stolen Pierre’s attention completely.

“Aye, must be her,” Becky agreed.

“Wench! We want some ale o’er ‘ere,” the deep voice of a man suddenly interrupted the two women.

“We best be gettin’ to work,” Becky said as she threw a glance in the direction of the man, who was with four of his comrades, “I shall meet ye by the stairs when there be a break in customers.”

“Certainly,” was all Kalinna got out before Becky hurried away to see to the impatient customers who had called out to her just moments earlier.

With a sigh, Kalinna quickly turned her attention to the rowdy room, which, despite the fact that the evening was still young, was almost completely full. It was going to be a long night, she was quite certain of that. And with the added tasks of Adele’s that she had taken on, it would certainly be a long while before she could rest easy for the night.

But it would all be worth it as soon as she could afford the passage that would transport her back to England. She could finally get away. Away from this godforsaken tavern. Away from the man who she knew was hunting for her right now. And finally back to Justin, her family and everything that she held dear.

No, a few long nights and stolen kisses were not going to keep her from that goal. That she was most certain of.

With that determination in place, Kalinna made her way over to the bar tap, intent on picking up an order for a table of business men that she had been serving. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the front door of the tavern open and a group of five men came in, a big burly man in the lead. Kalinna almost groaned aloud.

Stephen Montgomery scanned the room, his eyes lighting up as they found the familiar figure of Kalinna, the serving wench whom he desperately wanted, but who had thus far rejected his advances. With a promising grin sent in her direction, and knowing full well that she had seen it, he took a seat at one of the tables he knew she serviced. He was sick of her rejections, and he was bound and determined that tonight would be the night that she would no longer refuse him.

“What can I get you gentlemen tonight?” the object of his affections suddenly questioned as she appeared at the table, blonde hair cascading freely down her back.

Stephen felt his longing for the wench begin to stir as it did every night he and his men came into the tavern for a few drinks. Her beauty was immeasurable, her grace breathtaking, and her intelligence, though she tried to hide it, was obvious. She was the type of woman he would give half his merchant business to, and it baffled him as to why she refused him time after time.

Sure, where she had manners fit for a queen, he certainly lacked, but he was quite capable of giving her a comfortable living, away from the life of a tavern wench. Any other woman in the same situation would be grateful for his promise of a life without work. She, however, merely turned her nose up and spurned him every chance she got. He just didn’t understand it.

“A round o’ ale fer us all,” Stephen finally stated, his thoughts making him somewhat grumpy.

“Right away,” Kalinna stated, gritting her teeth as she noticed the burly man giving her a longing look; the faster she was away from their table, the faster she could breathe easier.

As quickly as she could, Kalinna made her way over to the bar tap, where she put her order in with Pierre and waited while he filled five mugs of ale. With a nod of thanks, she hoisted the tray of mugs up and made her way back to the table where the five men sat deep in discussion.

Methodically, Kalinna began to set the mugs of ale down at the table, holding her breath and praying that Stephen Montgomery would not try to detain her like he had done every other time she had served him. Her prayers went unanswered, for she soon found herself in his lap.

“My lovely Linna, why do ye continue to torment me so?” Stephen groaned into her ear as his hands roamed possessively over her frame. It took all of Kalinna’s might not to shudder in terror.

If she just held still and did not say anything, he would soon release her. That was what happened every other time he had lavished her with such unwanted attention. It was how he played this cat and mouse game with her…if she only played dead like a mouse, then he, the cat would soon lose interest and let her go…

He was a scary sight to behold. Blue eyes were clouded over, devoid of their usual shine. Lips were turned down into a frown, marring the normally handsome face into something a little more fearful. The man was agitated, unhappy, but most of all, restless.

Land was finally visible after weeks and weeks away from port, thrown on seas so turbulent they matched the mood of the ship’s captain. A captain who was more than ready to set his feet on the aforementioned dry land and continue the search for what his heart so desired. A woman – a woman who had stolen his heart and who just so happened to be betrothed to him.

Justin sighed for about the fifth time that evening. He was eager to lay anchor in this French port and start his search for Kalinna and the man who had stolen her away from him. He also wouldn’t mind coming face to face with the Frenchman she was supposed to marry and have a friendly conversation with him – one that would most definitely involve swords and a fight to the death, one in which he would come out very much alive.

“What is the plan once we lay anchor here?” Benton suddenly questioned, trying to ignore the pensive mood his friend had been in ever since Kalinna had disappeared.

“We start searching straightaway,” Justin practically barked, as if there was nothing more sensible than starting a search in the middle of the night, for it was very close to midnight.

“You are not being sensible,” Benton argued as he joined the captain as he leaned against one of the railings on the deck of the Christina, “You need sleep so that we do not go walking into a lion’s den when we finally locate Kalinna.”

“I do not need sleep,” Justin half-heartedly argued as a picture of the woman he loved flitted teasingly through his mind, “I need to find her and I will not rest until I do so.”

“Justin, we also have the investigation to think of,” Benton hesitantly reminded his friend, knowing full well it was not something Justin wished to hear about, “We cannot blow our cover, or else we may risk losing all leads in the investigation.”

“I do not care about some bloody investigation!” Justin hissed, his blue eyes suddenly flashing in anger, “I just want Kalinna safe. Only then will I think again about my duty to my country.”

“Justin, I know you do not want to hear it, but by blowing our cover in this investigation, we could end up placing Kalinna in more danger than she already is now,” Benton stated, hating that he had to pull that card in order to put some sense into his friend’s mind.

“Bloody hell,” Justin practically yelled as he ran a hand through his hair in agitation.

“I suggest that once we make port, we find a place to stay the evening and then we may start our search first thing in the morning,” Benton suggested as he sent a sympathetic look in his friend’s direction, “Port Bellacomb is a large port town. It’d be best to go searching in the morning at first light so that we may not find ourselves lost or at the mercy of some French gang.”

Justin sighed as he leaned on the railing of his beloved ship and rested his head in his hands. Benton was most certainly right about waiting until the morning to begin their search. After all, what other choice did he have at the moment? Kalinna, his love, his betrothed, was out there somewhere in this bloody French port doing god knew what to try and get back to England. The worst thing he could do was start a rash search for her and end up in some trouble and thus be unable to help her.

He was just so fed up with feeling so hopeless.

The Christina glided quietly into port and docked, her crew members immediately preparing for disembarkment, unaware of the pensive mood of their captain. They were to stay with the ship for the night while Justin, Benton, Anthony, Jackson and Benedict went ashore.

“Justin, the ship is secure and we’re ready to disembark,” Anthony stated as he joined his two friends near the ship’s wheel.

“Let’s go then,” Justin concluded as Jackson joined their group, Benedict close on his heels.

Quietly, after Justin had given strict orders to the crew that were remaining aboard the ship overnight, the small group headed away from the docks and into the heart of the port town, bags slung over their backs. They wove through streets crowded with whores and sailors, some alight with lamps, others ghostly dark and menacing. Benedict led the way, expertly weaving this way and that, taking first a right turn, and then a left, and then one more right before they ended up on a moderately kept street next to a good-sized inn that was neither shabby nor extremely well-to-do.

“These ‘ere be decent lodgings for the night,” Benedict stated as he motioned his four companions towards the front door.

“Looks good enough for me,” Justin agreed as he immediately strode after Benedict, leaving his three friends to bring up the rear of the group. They did so quickly, not trusting their surroundings, which were ever-menacing in the semi-darkness that was broken here and there by a few streetlamps.

Justin strode through the door of the establishment, which served as both tavern and inn, with Benedict at his side, Jackson, Anthony and Benton close on his heels. His eyes scanned the establishment, taking in the large crowd that was neither rowdy nor quiet, the barmaids that were flitting among the tables, and finally to a large, bearded man standing behind the bar tap who could be none other than the owner. He quickly caught the man’s eye before walking over.

“Ye be wantin’ rooms for tha night?” the man questioned, his French accent thick and partially softened by his enormous beard.

“Two,” was all Justin replied with before he pulled some French money from his pocked and placed it in front of the man. The bearded man’s eyes lit up as he quickly counted the money and realized that Justin was leaving him a generous sum that was more than what two rooms would cost for the night.

“Right away sir,” the man responded as soon as he had pocketed the money, “Becky will show ye to yer rooms. Tha names Pierre Montague and I own this ‘ere establishment if ye gentlemen be needing anything.”

“We’d like some dinner sent to our rooms if it isn’t too much trouble,” Justin politely stated as he suddenly noticed a serving wench appear out of nowhere, obviously the aforementioned Becky who was going to lead them to their rooms.

“O’ course. I’ll see what I can send up for ye’,” Pierre responded.

“My thanks,” Justin concluded as he turned away and motioned for his friends to follow him as the serving wench beckoned him in the direction of a set of stairs.

It was in no time at all that the five of them had gathered in one of their reserved rooms, intent on discussing what their plan for the next day would be and anticipating some hot food to fill their empty, growling stomachs.

It had been altogether too long since Kalinna had first been pulled into Stephen Montgomery’s lap. And she wasn’t liking it one bit. Every other time they had played this game, he had merely forced her to endure his company for a few minutes before surrendering her back to her duties with a leering smile in promise of something later. A something which she had managed to avoid thus far.

But something was different. Something about the man’s mood had her heart beating altogether too fast in her chest; a combination of fear and dread. Where was Pierre? He knew that she detested all the unwanted attentions she received and most especially those from Stephen Montgomery. And Becky? The older woman had come to her rescue many a times, but had yet to make an appearance to aid her.

She was starting to become really worried. A feeling that only heightened when she noticed Stephen draining the last of his ale, his eyes darting towards the staircase that led to the tavern’s rooms. Tonight, it appeared, was the night where he was done playing games with her.

“Come lass, it is time ye learned not to tease a man so much,” Stephen said in a low voice so that only she was privy to the comment.

“You sir…” Kalinna began, but was cut off as the beefy man grabbed hold of one of her hands and squeezed painfully. She couldn’t even finish her sentence as she was biting her lip to keep from crying out in pain.

“Ye’d do well to learn some obedience too,” Montgomery continued as he surged to his feet after setting Kalinna down.

Before she could utter a word in protest, Kalinna found herself being forcefully dragged towards the tavern’s staircase amidst the loud laughs and knowing leers of her captor’s companions. Pierre and Becky were still nowhere to be found, a fact she discovered in a last glimpse before she began her forced ascent to the rooms above.

“Don’ ye even think about screaming,” Stephen warned as he hoisted her up the last few steps, his face marred by an intimidating scowl, “I don’ wanna hurt ye if I don’ have to.”

Hurt her? HURT HER?!? He was already hurting her as was evidenced by the bruises that were already starting to form where he had grabbed her arm downstairs and by the way he was dragging her up the stairs. Her body ached from trying to resist him, from trying to pull away and flee in the opposite direction, but it was no use as he was at least twice her size.

But she’d be damned if she let some lowlife French trash defile her. She had already been through enough humiliation at the hands of her father, and then Andre, that her anger had built up to the point of bursting. If he thought she was going to go quietly, he had another thing coming to him.

With her mind racing at all the possibilities of how to escape him, an idea suddenly struck. Heaving a great, dramatic sigh, Kalinna pretended to faint. She landed on her back on the floor, the only thing stopping a dead fall being the arm that her captor held onto. Suddenly aware that his burden had become a dead weight, Stephen stopped and bent over his captive, surprise and a touch of concern lighting his features.

Kalinna waited. She continued to play unconscious until the right moment came along. Which presented itself not a minute later when Stephen let go of her arm to kneel down next to her.

Without a sign or so much as a twitch of her eyelids, Kalinna suddenly whipped her right leg out in a trip, causing Stephen to fall over backwards and land on his back, somewhat dazed. For Kalinna, it was all the time she needed to successfully complete her plan of escape. She quickly scrambled to her feet, and with her skirt in hand, took off running in the direction of the end of the hallway, where she decided to take a left turn instead of a right, knowing full well that the rooms on the left wing were all empty while those in the right were full. She intended to hide and hope that once Stephen regained his senses and came after her, he’d be too annoyed to figure out which direction she had taken and which room she had decided to hide in.

With her heart in her throat, Kalinna quickly opened the third door on the left and shut it with a bang, gasping for air. The run had overcome her senses and her tired legs wobbled underneath her. She needed to rest. She needed to sit down. She needed to…

Before she could even to finish her thoughts, much less manage a single step in any direction, a set of arms went about her body. She felt herself becoming trapped, her back caged against a wall of chest that was, without any doubt, most definitely male. A hand clamped over her mouth just as she was about to let out a terrified scream, a harsh voice next to her ear telling her to be quiet.

It was not like she had any choice in the matter. But she quickly realized that whoever held her captive was no friend of Stephen Montgomery’s.

“Linna, my lovely Linna, where are ye?” Stephen Montgomery called in a voice that was quickly becoming louder and angrier as he approached the room where she was currently hiding, “You canna hide from me ye stupid bitch. I ain’t through with ye yet.”

Kalinna’s eyes widened, her heart pumping rapidly at the Frenchman’s yelled words. She shivered as fear slithered, unwelcome and unwanted, down her spine. Her body suddenly felt light and her head spun and she realized that she was about to faint. A hysterical laugh started to bubble to her lips at the thought, for she had never before fainted in her life.

Oddly enough, it was her present captor that brought her back to earth. It took her a moment to realize that he had taken his hand away from her mouth and was now rubbing it soothingly at the nape of her neck; murmuring unintelligible words in her ear. She began to relax, her breathing returning to normal, thankful for the firm presence behind her that, from what she could ascertain, did not mean her harm.

As he stood there holding the terrified serving wench, Justin tried vainly to clear his mind. His body was responding to this woman, to her scent and her skin, like only one other made him respond. But the blonde hair was all the proof he needed to confirm the fact that this woman was not his beloved.

It must be the fact that she was so close to him, and he had not held Kalinna this way for so long that was wreaking such havoc on his senses. He was completely hard as she moved ever so slightly, her round butt coming into contact with that part of him that suddenly had a mind of its own. He almost groaned aloud in frustration and despair.

A soft sigh from his captive immediately brought him back to his senses, and Justin quickly pushed tantalizing images of Kalinna out of his mind and concentrated on the problem at hand. The woman was obviously terrified of the man who had come after her and did not want his attentions. Which, truth be told, Justin was not surprised about.

He knew the man – a French shipping merchant by the name of Stephen Montgomery. He’d had a run-in with the man a few years back when the lout had tried to pull the wool over his eyes and trade stolen goods for previously un-owned merchandise. The dispute had ended with Montgomery slipping out of port before Justin had a chance to call him out, and that was the last the he had seen of the Frenchman.

It was not like him to fight unnecessarily, but the protector in him had reared its head when he had felt this woman shake so much he thought she was going to faint from fear. There had to be a way to solve this so the poor wench would not be bothered by Montgomery again…

Justin was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t notice that his fingers, which were still rubbing the nape of the serving wench, had taken a life of their own. His mouth fell open in shock as the blonde hair he had been running his hands through suddenly became a rich, reddish-brown. Immediately, and without a thought, he grabbed a handful of blonde hair and pulled.

The blonde wig tumbled to the ground as reddish-brown hair fell free of the pins that had been keeping it hidden under the wig. Justin felt the woman stiffen in his arms and he immediately turned her around to demand an explanation.

But he could do nothing but gape as he came face to face with Kalinna…

Kalinna stared up into the eyes of the one man she had been dreaming about for the past few months. The one man she loved with all her heart, that she had been missing like crazy, that she wanted to kiss again and again and again until he physically had to stop her. There were no words to describe the rainbow of emotions that were coursing through her body, so she did the only thing she could.

She fainted dead away.

Reacting on instinct, Justin immediately caught her and swept her up in his arms. And couldn’t help but laugh as he carried her over to one of the beds in the room and set her down on it. His beautiful, strong, stubborn woman had done one thing he thought she’d never do and the one thing that she’d sworn she’d never do.

He soothed a hand over her hair as he sat on the edge of the bed, her head cradled in his lap. He was not about to let her go anytime soon, now that he had just found her again. It would take death or a life-threatening injury that would pull her from his side.

“Let me go! I know you have her!!” a female voice suddenly cried from right outside the closed door of the room. Justin looked up in surprise.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Justin heard Benton reply in a somewhat confused tone, “The only person in that room is my friend, and I assure you that he is quite alone.”

“You are lying! I know it,” the female voice continued, becoming quite emotional, “I saw her come this way not ten minutes ago, so do not try telling me that she is not in there right now. I know there are only two rooms down this wing that are being let for the night, and that they are both for you and your friends. Therefore, she has to been in one of the two, and seeing as how I checked the other, she must be in here.”

“Now hold on a minute…” Justin heard Benton begin, but the rest of his response was cut off as the door burst open and a furious dark-haired woman came striding through, her eyes shining with a murderous intent.

“Kalinna!” the newcomer immediately cried as soon as she took in the sight of the young woman on the bed, Justin cradling her head, “What happened? What have you done to her?!?”

“Kalinna?!?” Benton cried as he strode into the room and caught sight of his wayward cousin unconscious on his friend’s bed, “Justin, what is going on here? How did you find her? Is she okay?”

“Stay away from her,” the dark-haired young woman suddenly cried as she pushed against Benton’s chest in an effort to keep him from approaching the bedside where Justin and Kalinna were.

“Bloody hell woman,” Benton roared as he glared down at the slip of a woman that was trying to keep him from his cousin.

“Don’t you bloody hell me you damn oaf,” the young woman railed as she pushed against his chest, “I am a lady, and you sir, are acting like an ass.”

It took all of Justin’s effort not to burst out laughing at the scene playing before his eyes. It was rare that Benton’s temper got the better of him, but the fact that a beautiful young woman was able to do it was quite amusing to say the least.

“I…I…” Benton fumbled, a blush infusing his cheeks as he noticed the haughty tilt of the head and perfect speech patterns that confirmed that the siren before him was indeed, a lady.

“As for you,” the woman continued, turning her attention to the bed where Justin still held Kalinna, “I demand that you release her immediately or else I’m going to…”

“Justin, what is going on?” Jackson suddenly questioned as he and Benedict entered the room, followed shortly after by Anthony. Immediately, the young Frenchwoman lost her courage as she eyed the beefy newcomer who could easily break her in two.

All of a sudden though, her eyes suddenly sparked with understanding.

“Wait a minute…it’s you, isn’t is?” she began as she stared at Justin, “You’re the one she…”

“Justin…?” a groggy voice suddenly stated and all eyes immediately turned to Kalinna, who was slowly coming out of the faint that she had fallen into a few minutes before.

“I’m here,” Justin softly stated as he shifted and pulled her into his arms.

Kalinna opened her eyes and stared up into the blue ones she knew so well. She must be dreaming. There was no way that Justin was in the same room, holding onto her like he never wanted to let her go.

And then he kissed her.