Beautiful Disaster (A Pirate Romance book, Historical Romance)

Beautiful Disaster

By Heather C. Myers

This book is a work of fiction and is copyrighted © to Heather C. Myers 2015.

This cover design was created by Desiree DeOrtoro 2015.

To Kylee, my forever and ever

Chapter 1

Isabelle Daniels headed up the stairs to the apartment she currently shared with her boyfriend Zach.  She had been living with him for the past month after Izzy had - as she preferred to be called - suggested it.  The two had been together for three years now.  In fact, last weekend had been their anniversary, but due to Izzy’s flight, they had missed celebrating it together. 

Well, spring break with the family was quite lovely and fun, but she decided to head back a few days early and surprise Zach.  He had been really busy with his midterms and was looking forward to spring break when he found out Izzy wouldn’t be with him.  She hated leaving him, but her family was quite important, especially since she rarely ever saw them.  They lived in Oakland, California – Northern California. 

Izzy always knew she was born to live in Southern California, like Orange County or Los Angeles.  So when she was applying for colleges, UCLA and UCI were her two top choices.  When she got into UCLA, she couldn’t have been happier.  Then, just before spring break of her second semester, she met Zach and everything fell into place. 

As soon as Izzy headed into the apartment, she turned on some Lady Gaga, and began to walk around the apartment, preparing everything for that night.  Izzy wasn’t addicted to making love or anything of that nature, but she was particularly fond of the act with her significant other and wanted to… well, to put it frankly, she wanted to get some.  It was seven o’clock-ish; Zach would be getting back from work any time now, so she had to hurry.

First thing was first; get into that cute lingerie thing she bought up in San Francisco.  It was light pink, and while Izzy wasn’t
that
fond of the color, Zach always liked it on her.  When she saw it in the store, she just had to have it.  After she slipped it on, she headed into the restroom, and frowned at her reflection.  Immediately, she released her dark blonde locks from a rather messy bun and was about to brush it, when she paused.  Maybe the whole sex-hair thing would work… Mix cute (i.e. the
pink
) with sexy (i.e. the hair).  After quickly putting Chapstick on her lips, she danced out of the room, twirling as she did so.

Next, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of 1984 Chevalier wine and two wine glasses.  She was about to open it with a cork screw when she realized it had already been opened.  Izzy frowned, tilting her head to the side.  Zach knew she was saving this for a special occasion.  Oh well.  Don’t get upset over something silly, at least not tonight.  Although, make-up sex was always good… She shook her head.  No.  It’ll wait.

Finally, there were candles to attend to, and for the next twenty minutes, she spread vanilla candles around the apartment, and then lit them.  When she was finished, she shut off all the lights so only the flames cast a humming glow.  Okay, now to position herself on the couch that exudes a saucy invitation as well as a mysterious seductress.  She sat on the couch and crossed her legs, leaning forward and letting her chest tilt forward for the best possible angle of her chest.  No, no.  It didn’t do well with her tummy.  Okay.  She threw her legs on the couch and sprawled out.  No, she couldn’t lie down because her boobs would fall all weird.  It was these times when she hated plastic surgery because the women that had fake boobs would always lay down and their tits always stuck up perfectly and… Okay, no time to get upset.  What if she sat up slightly, her arm resting on the arm of the couch, her other arm subtly touching the side of her thigh… Yes, this could work.  Okay, now arch the back so her boobs stuck out quite nicely, and suck in the stomach.

Wow.  She must look hot.  How could she not?

And yet, it was nearly a quarter until eight and Zach still wasn’t here.  How long was she supposed to hold this?  And…

Oh my God, is that more cellulite?  Shit!  How am I supposed to be a sexy kitten with cellulite?!

Izzy shook her head.  Okay, not the time to think about it.  Zach had been with her for a few years and loved her for everything she was.  Including cellulite.  Of course.  Okay, so it was bullshit.  She just couldn’t think about it now.

“Well
hello
, love.”

Izzy’s eyes snapped up and saw a man standing before her.  A very unfamiliar, very disheveled, and was that him that smelled so… awful?  He had dark, almost black hair that was short and yet so shaggy that it fell into his dark eyes.  It was hard to make out anything else about him, except his clothes which were definitely not the style.  Hanging on his torso was what appeared to be a tunic that was probably white once… when he first bought it.  Dark trousers hung on the lower half of his body, reaching just past his knees.  On his feet were tan, leather brown boots that even in the darkness look quite worn. 

It was then that Izzy realized she probably should be scared.  Some man, ten,
fifteen
, years older than she was, was standing in her living room, ogling her like she was some piece of meat.  Well, it wouldn’t have been a problem if it was Zach, now would it.

“Who the fuck are you?” Izzy asked, narrowing her brown eyes.  Where the fuck was her intuition?  On a vacation?  Back in Oakland?  Wherever it was, it wasn’t with her, or maybe it was because her body was slow in reacting.

“You’re a saucy thing, aren’t you?”

He had an accent.  A low, slurred yet oddly articulate English accent.  Oh.  Well
now
she got it.

“Did Bex send you?” Izzy asked, crossing her hands over her chest substantially increasing her bust line; a point this man noticed even in the darkness.  She smiled a very amused smile.  “Okay, I get it.  You’re supposed to be Johnny Depp from
Pirates of the Caribbean
, right?  Well, at least your eye color was right this time.  Jack Sparrow with blue eyes.  Are you kidding me?  Anyways… although, where’s your beard and beads and dreadlocks?  And your hat!  He’s never supposed to go anywhere without his hat.  You should know better.”  She paused.  “Now, this has been fun, and tell Bex I say she’s a naughty minx, but I’m trying to get laid right now and, quite frankly, we’re in a slightly compromising position.  I mean, I don’t want my boyfriend thinking I’m cheating on him!”  Izzy laughed at the ridiculousness of it.  Maybe she was suffering from jet lag.  No, jet lag wasn’t possible now, was it?  She flew from Northern California to Southern California, not across time zones.  “Anyways, you should be going.  What’s your name?”

The man had been peering at her quite oddly, his head taking on the familiar tilt that Izzy was used to.  “Clover,” he told her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  “Johnny Clover.  I’m quite surprised you haven’t heard of me, actually.  I’m quite famous… err… infamous.  One of those words.”  He flailed his hand nonchalantly.

“Oh, you’re good,” Izzy said with a sly smile, and then began chuckling.  “Your
name
is Johnny.  Nice.  Well, this was fun, Mister – or do you like Captain?  Either way, we’ve had fun, but I really must insist that you leave.”  Here she looked pointedly at him, insisting silently that the joke was over and it was really time for him to leave.

“Oh, right, ‘cause of the whole boyfriend thing, right?” he asked, looking at his fingernails now.  “What, exactly, is a boyfriend?  I mean, I would assume it is obviously a mate who happens to be male, but…”

“Okay, I get it,” Izzy said, feeling her patience wearing thin.  “You’re good at being a pirate.  You’ll never break your character.  Blah, blah, blah… But really.  Leave.”

“Well, love, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Johnny said, dropping his hand.  “Actually, I don’t know what any of this is.  One day, I’m sitting on me ship, smokin’ freshly rolled tobacco, lookin’ out at the ocean, admiring the horizon and whatnot, and now I’m here, in a room filled with… things that I know naught of.  By the way, where’s that music coming from?  And who’s singing, exactly?  Because the last time I checked, it was just you and me in here.  Actually, if you could tell me where I am, that would be great, love.  Very helpful and all that.”  He flashed her a surprisingly charming smile, but Izzy was unmoved.

“Seriously, get out of my house before I call the police,” Izzy said, bringing her legs around so they now touched the cool, wooden floor.  Her eyes were narrowed into his.  “My boyfriend is going to come home any second and you’re going to screw us both over if you just don’t get out of here.  Look, I’ll even throw in a big tip, hmm?  How about that?”

“I can’t
go
anywhere, actually,” Johnny told her seriously.  His voice had grown even lower, which would have been quite sexy had it not been for the fact that he was some stranger in her house that Izzy assumed was bordering on crazy.  “I don’t know where I am.”  And drunk, obviously.  Was that alcohol she smelled on him?  “I only know that I was on the Caribbean Sea, about to pull into New Providence (best drinks in the Caribbean, you know) and now here I am.  Though I must say, the view has gotten much lovelier.”

“God, are you hitting on me?” Izzy asked, and subconsciously crossed her arms over her chest.  “Wait.  Are you telling me that you came from some other… time?”

“Well, I’m not sure,” Johnny said, placing both hands on his hips.  “What
time
is it here?”

“It’s the twenty-first century” Izzy said.

Johnny clapped his hands together and his eyes lit up triumphantly.  “Well, there we go!” he exclaimed.  “We have it!  See, I come from the seventeen hundreds, you know.”

“Of course,” Izzy said flatly, rolling her eyes.  She stood, not caring that she was barely dressed anymore.  She just wanted him out of the house.  “You have got to be shi-“

At that moment, Izzy heard a key enter the lock and open it.  There was Zach and he was not alone.

Chapter 2

A very unfamiliar woman was clinging onto Zach, as though she owned him.  Her face was flushed, her dark hair was rustled rather messily, and her full lips looked swollen, as though she had been kissing very, very passionately.  Both the woman and Izzy’s boyfriend were breathing heavily, and as Izzy stared blatantly at the two of them, she realized his arms were around the woman’s waist.  The man claiming to be some pirate named Johnny from the past had been entirely forgotten.  Was Zach… Had they been… No, they couldn’t be… Izzy actually shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts.  Not Zach.  Not her Zach of
three
years.  No way.

And yet, what else could it possibly be?

“What the fuck is going on here?”  Izzy had finally managed to find her voice, and looked between this stranger and her boyfriend, the man she had given her heart.  There was a cool breeze that had blown in, causing an array of goose bumps to prick her skin.  Immediately, Izzy colored from embarrassment.  This was not the way the night was supposed to go.  There wasn’t supposed to be some random stranger in the house, nor was Zach supposed to be with
another woman
.  He was supposed to come home, see her sprawled seductively on the couch, and they were instantly supposed to make love for the rest of spring break.  And if it wasn’t good enough (which it always was), he would have proposed.

Things never turned out the way they were supposed to.

“Who is this?” Izzy asked, gesturing at the young woman, who seemed to be looking away quite guiltily.  Izzy hated to admit it, but the woman was beautiful.  She was taller than Izzy, with longer legs too.  She had big blue eyes, the kind that made men fall in love with a mere glance, and lips that rivaled Angelina Jolie’s but managed to fit her face and not look tacky.  Her body was a bit more athletic, so everything was more toned than Izzy’s body.  Even completely red, this woman was a knockout.  How could she blame Zach for choosing this woman when she was so…

No. 
Don’t feel sorry for yourself.  Who
cares
if this woman is Angelina fucking Jolie herself.  There is no reason Zach should have gone after her. 

“Isabelle,” Zach said, causing Izzy to inwardly roll her eyes.  He
never
called her Izzy, despite the fact that she didn’t actually want to be referred to by her full name.  It was like he wanted to appear esteemed and older, which had always annoyed her.  “You’re home early.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Izzy retorted.  “You never answered my question, Zach.  What the fuck is going on here?  What this fuck is this?”

Zach’s eyes dropped down to study his girlfriend, as though he suddenly realized what Izzy was planning.  At that moment, Izzy realized that she was yelling in only her underwear and immediately tried to cover up the majority of her chest by crossing her arms over them.  A rough coat was suddenly placed over her shoulders, and she suddenly remembered Johnny Clover or whatever his name was, was also there as well.  God, she had to be humiliated in front of two complete strangers, didn’t she.  No matter.  Izzy slid her arms through the sleeves and, with shaky fingers, buttoned the coat up.  She was hit with a scent of smoke and salt and something else, something masculine.  It wasn’t actually a bad aroma…  The coat clung to her loosely, and reached just past her knees.  She actually felt comfortable.

“Who are you to ask
me
questions, Isabelle?” Zach asked cuttingly, his sapphire blue eyes flashing at Johnny.  “It would seem
we
interrupted
you
.”

“Oh yes, of course,” Izzy said with a roll of her eyes.  “I just love seducing strangers who smell like cigarettes and haven’t showered in a long time and taking them home to the apartment I share with my boyfriend who I expect will walk in at any time but decide to fuck him anyways.”

“Hey!” Johnny exclaimed, his dark brown eyes troubled.  “I resent that.  I don’t smell
that
bad.  Although the last bit, I’m quite opened to.”

Nobody seemed to be paying him any attention.

“You never know,” Zach said, obviously flustered.  “I know all the games you girls play.  Maybe you wanted to break up with me but didn’t want to actually want to do it, so you staged this whole thing so I would break up with you.”

“That’s more of a guy thing to do, you tool,” Izzy said flatly.  “Have you even read the
Cosmo
articles I asked you to read?  And anyways, I wasn’t fucking him.  I was hoping to surprise you!”

“Well, you did surprise me,” Zach told her, now fumbling over his words.  “Listen, Isabelle…”

Was
he
going to break up with
her
?  After everything he put her through?  He could at least give her the dignity to throw him out.

Quickly, she pointed at the door, though the coat was so long that it masked every part of her hand save for the very tip of her index finger.  “Just get out, Zach!” she exclaimed, a bit more shrill than she originally anticipated.  “And don’t come back, okay?  We’ll sort out your things and everything later.  But you need to get out!  And… and…”  It was hard for her to actually say it. 
Three
years and this is what she had to show for it?  “And we’re through.  We’re over!”  With that, she walked over to him, pushed him and his strange woman outside, and slammed the door.  Izzy let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, and on second thought, quickly locked the apartment so Zach couldn’t come back in.

“Well done, love,” Johnny said, making her jump slightly.  He was clapping now.  “Bravo, good show, and all that.  I take it
that
was a boyfriend.”

“No,” Izzy said, shaking her head as she sat down on the couch.  “A boyfriend is someone who loves you and cherishes you and respects you and who doesn’t cheat on you with long-legged whores.”

“I, too, noticed she had long legs,” Johnny said, placing his finger on the tip of his chin as he sat down next to her.  “You know, I’ve never seen such clothing before.  If I’m being honest, I prefer your fashions to the ones I’m used to.  Covers up much too much, you know.”

Izzy rolled her eyes.  “I’m kicking you out of the house too,” she told him.  “I’m just waiting to make sure Zach and his...”  She couldn’t come up with a better word than whore, and didn’t want to repeat herself.  “Well… I’m waiting until they’ve gone.”

“You know,” Johnny said, his voice suddenly very low and he scooted next to the young woman so his knee gently grazed hers, “the best remedy for this sort of…
situation
, I’ve found, is to release all of the emotions I’m sure you’re feeling in a physical sort of manner.”  He coyly wrapped his arm around Izzy’s shoulder, and though Izzy tried to refrain, her lips curled up into a smirk.

“So, you’re familiar with love?” Izzy asked him, tilting her head up so she could get a good look at him.  “You know, deep true love?”

“’course I am,” Johnny said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.  “Ladies were constantly throwing themselves at me.  Quite pitiful, actually, but what could I do?  I was –
am
– an attractive young man!  I have to give the ladies what they want.  And there’s plenty of me to go around.”  He still had yet to release his arm from her.

Izzy rolled her eyes once again and gave her stranger a flat look.  “That’s not love, you know,” she told him.

“Well, what you have, well
had
if we’re being technical – wasn’t love either,” Johnny told her firmly.

“And how’s that?” Izzy said, shrugging off his arm and leaning back into her couch, trying to get comfortable.

“Love is in the way you look at each other,” Johnny said knowingly, almost as though he was a teacher instructing a student.  “Even when you’re mad at each other or you’re sad or whatever.  When you look at someone, anyone, it makes no difference, right?  But when you look at the man – or woman, I don’t discriminate – you
love
, there’s no hiding it.  It’s like they say; eyes are the windows to the soul.  They do say that still, don’t they?” he asked, unsure.

“Yes, they still say that,” Izzy said with a sigh.

“And for good reason!” Johnny continued.  “It’s obviously one of the universal laws that still remain true today!  You can’t hide love, love, at least not from your eyes.  And, to be honest, you two were not in love with each other.  Maybe at one time you were, but not now.”  He paused, and then looked at Izzy seriously.  “Now, darling, be a dear and point me in the general direction of where you keep the wine.  You do have wine, don’t you?”

“Johnny,” Izzy began, giving him a look.

“Yes, love?” Johnny asked, and flashed her another one of his charming smiles.

“Get out of my house.”