She was supposed to run along the shoreline pursued by five or six of the marauding sailors, their sole task in life to steal as much and rape as many girls as they could. Of course the story was written mainly to appeal to the male population, mainly consisting of exciting sea battles and skirmishes, but like all good stories there had to be some romance. Paul Forbes played the sea-captain, the winner of many fair maidens but wanting only one to the point of desperation.
And Stacy was that one, taken once by force before finally being wooed and married by her roving sea-captain. Of course, the way Jake Weston wrote it women had a very small part in the actual story, his main interest being in the actual sailing of the ship and the adventures encountered at sea. More women had been added to the story as a way of appealing to more of the public.
Now Stacy had to flee from them, caught by one but claimed as the prize of the captain. And she was dreading it, especially as Jake was standing with Martin Payne. Everyone who wasn’t needed for this shot had been sent back to the hotel, so at least she could be grateful for that. But it was Jake’s presence here that actually bothered her the most, his all-seeing eyes narrowed and speculative.
The first part of it went all right, with her running as if in fear of her life, her hair breaking free of its binding, her feet bare in the golden sand. The men fought over her as she fell, the captain finally moving forward to claim her for himself.
This was all shot in one sequence, the camera moving in for her ravishing among the rocks. She set her teeth as Paul Forbes bent over her, her eyes closed to shut out the gleaming sadism in his face.
Of course, both their reactions were ideal for the film, but her fear of this man was so great that she was shaking all over. His mouth on hers made her cringe, his hands on her body nauseated her. She struggled to escape him, but he had her pinioned beneath him, and she was aware that he was aroused at her dislike of him.
‘Fight, you little bitch,’ he encouraged in a savage whisper in her ear, so softly that it wouldn’t be picked up on sound. ‘Go on, fight me!’
‘God, you’re loathsome!’ she muttered vehemently.
His teeth gleamed down at her before he bent his head and bit her ear. Her cry of outrage and pain only seemed to incense him more and she felt the front of her dress rip. Her eyes widened with shock and surprise. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She had only agreed to do this scene at all because they had assured her there would be no nudity.
She was fighting in earnest now, scratching and clawing at him, the front of her dress in ruins.
Suddenly he was wrenched off her, then a fist landed in his face and knocked him to the ground. Jake stood over him, his face a picture of livid anger. ‘Get off her, you bastard!’ his teeth were savagely bared. ‘You filthy scum!’
Paul Forbes sat on the sand rubbing his jaw. ‘She was enjoying it, you fool,’ he scorned. ‘Her sort always do.’
Jake pulled him to his feet by the scruff of his neck. ‘You make me sick,’ he ground out. ‘You’re the lowest form of life!’
The actor laughed. ‘She likes a man to be rough with her. I would have thought you would have found that out by now.’
Stacy stood up on shaking legs, tears streaming down her face. ‘You lying—’
Jake turned to her. ‘It’s all right, honey.’ He pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders as she shivered uncontrollably. ‘Come on,’ he said gently, ‘let’s get you out of here.’
Martin Payne had joined them by this time, his face flushed. ‘What on earth is going on here? You can’t just interrupt a scene like this, Jake. We were in the middle of filming!’
‘Talk to me about it later,’ Jake dismissed.
‘But— Where are you going?’ Martin called after them as Jake gently led her away.
‘Where the hell do you think?’ Jake rasped. ‘And keep that swine away from me or I’ll kill him with my bare hands!’
&nb
sp; ‘But—’ Martin Payne was obviously out of his depth.
‘We haven’t finished filming.’
‘Oh yes, you have. Use what you’ve got. Stacy certainly isn’t going near him again.’
She was huddled against his side, a bundle of misery and embarrassment. Although there weren’t many people here, what there were were staring at them with unconcealed curiosity.
‘You’re a fool, Weston,’ Paul Forbes called after them mockingly. ‘She’s a better actress than even you realise. Do you really think I didn’t take her the other night?’ he gave a short laugh. ‘She enjoyed every minute of it!’
Stacy held Jake’s arm as he would have turned angrily back on the other man. ‘He isn’t worth it, Jake,’ she said dully.
‘Didn’t you hear what he said?’ he demanded roughly. ‘And for everyone to hear!’
‘What does it matter? It’s been said now, nothing you do or say can undo that.’
‘But he—’