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Tess looked at the great meaty hands and the knife in his belt and sed Then she began to pull off her gloves If he attacked Alex, her only weapons were her nails and her feet ‘This brute—’

‘This little lady ca for soot all uppity on me’

‘And you are?’ Alex sounded allove and tossed it to Tess

‘I’m the second mate of this ’ere ship and I don’t take any nonsense, not from bits of skirt what don’t know their place and not froers, neither’

‘H nonsense,’ Alex rerowl He bunched his fist and hit the man square on the jaw The sailor went down like a felled tree, hitting his head on the handrail as he went

‘Damn’ Alex shook his hand ‘I hope I haven’t killed hiistrates’ He sounded like hiain

He gave the unconscious e in the ribs with one booted foot ‘No He’s breathing’ Alex stepped over the sprawled figure and frowned down at Tess ‘Are you all right? Did he doto wake uptackle’

‘No’ She blinked at hiure in front of her with the dangerous-sounding ehammer of a blow ‘You hit him very hard’

Alex shrugged ‘He deserved it and if you give a lout like that a tap, all you do is erous Nohere can we stow him?’

‘In there’ She pointed at the open door

Alex dragged the unconscious man inside, then hunkered down, felt the sailor’s head, rolled back an eyelid and pushed him onto his side ‘He’ll do’

Tess sat down on the bottoh the deck was going to co that leering creature had made her stomach heave, but Alex Alex had been wonderful