Bound by Decency (29 page)

Turning back to the sea, Drake’s curled his hands around the rail. His knuckles gleamed white in the light of the moon. “
India
is harmless. You needn’t concern yourself with her safety.”

“And if you’re wrong? If Alex decides
India
is a threat
?”

Drake’s back stiffened like someone pressed a hot brand into his side. In a nearly inaudible voice he replied, “I’ll handle it myself.”

Good then. Cain had already killed one man to protect
India
. He had no desire to make the practice habit. If Drake were willing to punish Alex should the need arise, then Cain needn’t worry about shredding friendships by
f
laying open a throat.

“The maps, Cain,” Drake urged.

Aye the maps. Tucked away inside his cabin with
India
—the last place he wanted to go when he wouldn’t be allowed to finish what they had begun. He steeled himself with the setting of his jaw and descended the stairs.

351

Bound By Decency

28

S
he would not be afraid.

As
India
lay in bed looking out the wide window at the lapping dark waters, she vowed again she wouldn’t fear Nightshade, even if he did run with the devil himself. She hadn’t been afraid of Cain. Though in truth, had she known who her captor was on that rainy night, she might have been. However, she was too angry with his lackeys for fear to register once she stood aboard
The Kraken
.

She hadn’t feared Drake. She hadn’t feared a single seaman, with the exception of Slater. She refused to become a coward now.

Cain would keep her safe, as he had since they had met. She burrowed deeper into the quilts and smiled to herself. As he had tonight while they walked amongst the brigands who lined the docks.

The only thing she needed to concern herself with was how to stop Cain from sailing for
France
. She supposed she could slow him down with little trouble. A trip up the rigging to cut holes in a few sails would delay his arrival. Although the canvas could be mended, he would grow tired of the chore. She could toss a portion of their rations overboard. That would force him to resupply, which could easily require a week, depending on what she offloaded.

Indeed, she could find many ways to delay Cain’s arrival. But
delay
only put off the inevitable, and it was the
inevitable
she must change.

The door opened, diverting her from her thoughts. She rolled over as Cain entered and turned up the light. “That didn’t take long.” Scooting her body toward the window, she patted the space on the bed she’d occupied. “I kept it warm.”

His gaze canvassed her from neck to toe, then
lifted
to linger on her breasts. The light in his eyes
burned
bright
with appreciation
. “I assure you, I’d like nothing more.”

“But?”

Grimacing, he gestured at his desk. “I have maps to study.”

India
rolled to her belly and propped herself up on both elbows. “Must you find Nightshade as well as rescue him?”

“No, I’m tasked with finding
Triton’s Jewel.
” The chair scraped heavily against the floor as he pulled it out to take a seat. “She was stolen. They sailed her north, away from
Nassau
, presumably to regroup and outfit her to their preferences. Which requires a suitable hiding place.”

A lock of hair tumbled over her shoulder. She twined it around her finger and examined the ends. Beneath the quilt, she crossed her ankles. “Is there a likely place she’d head?”

“Aye,
South Bimini
, where casks can be filled in freshwater pools.” He tapped the map, as if coming to the discovery himself. “Right in the path of the Spanish as well, once they are restocked.”

“What will you do when you find her?”

“Attack her of course,” Cain answered with a touch of impatience. “Recapture her.”

Cocking her head,
India
studied the shadows that fell across his face as he bent back over the map and picked up his quill. “Yes, Cain, but what will you
do
?”

Confusion creased his brow. Slowly, he
returned
the long plumed quill
to
its well of onyx ink. “What is your meaning?”

India
swept the covers aside and slung her legs over the mattress’s edge. She bent over, picked up his large shirt, and pulled it on.
Fastening
only the last several
buttons
, she crossed to his side. “Where is Bimini?”

Cain tapped a large land mass due west of the nautical star that marked
Nassau
. “This is where Alex is, near Morgan’s cave. We’ll arrive shortly after dawn.” He moved his finger northwest to a small black dot close to the
Florida
point. “This is
South Bimini
. It will take us around eleven hours to sail there. I cannot imagine they’d take
Triton’s
Jewel
on to
Florida
, as she is well recognized by the Spanish.” His finger shifted to a larger island directly east of
Florida
. “
Bermuda
is filled with the Navy. They will not take her there.” With a decisive tap of his finger on
South Bimini
, he cemented his plan. “We’ll sail around the
Biminis
until we find her.”

India
pushed his hands aside and rolled up the map. “And you will do what? Sail at her head on? Fire from the mouth of the cay? Aim to sink her? What will you
do
, Cain?”

****

T
he cogs within Cain’s mind turned slowly as he grasped the meaning of
India
’s repeated query. He stared at her, feeling very much like a young boy taken to task for not completing his chores before embarking on a lark in the pond. He had not thought so far ahead to formulate the best strategy. Indeed, he had assumed Alex would govern the details concerning the recapture, the potential for devastating loss, one Cain wasn’t willing to assume. If his plan failed and
Triton’s Jewel
suffered irreparable damage, Alex would have his head. Better to allow the captain to sink one’s own ship.

But
India
’s arched brow and the intense way she held his gaze, made bowing out of the matter impossible. She expected answers. In the back of his mind, he sensed this discourse was some sort of test. Over what exactly, he couldn’t say.

When he didn’t answer fast enough for her liking, she cocked a hip against the desk and crossed her arms. The impatient gesture lifted her breasts. In the deep ‘v’ that her unfastened buttons created, he caught the high swell of soft flesh. He tore his gaze away before the image could wreck havoc on his mind and lifted his eyes to hers.

“If you strike head on, she’ll see you coming.”

“Aye. She’ll see us in either fashion.”

“But will she know you are after her, or will she assume you are someone else seeking to restock before you move on?”

He considered the question. Without knowing who stood at the helm, he couldn’t be certain whether his Roger would deter an attack. The mutineers had ousted Alex, proof enough of their brevity. Or foolery, perhaps. Who was to say they wouldn’t arrogantly attempt to overtake
The Kraken
?

He made his decision in a snap. But curious what
India
might suggest, he leaned back in his chair and tossed an ankle atop his desk. “What do you have in mind?”

She eased to sit beside his foot. “If you wanted to
destroy
her, the advantage lays with the cove. She can only go one way—past you. Her hull would be full of holes before she could strike full sail.”

He lifted his eyebrows, impressed. What a curious mind his little wren possessed. Not only must she sate an unquenchable desire to know everything, she comprehended far more than some men who had been born at sea. How quickly she grasped the finer details. Like her ability with mathematics, she made what took years for some to understand look like a game for children.

“Agreed,” he murmured.

“If you draw her out to sea, you can bait her close. Allow her to approach from the stern. As she comes forward, strip her of her sails. Then she becomes a sitting duck.”

“And her cannons? What of them?”

India
shrugged. “Arm yours with balls of lighted pitch, and she will be more worried about fire.”

“Fire is a bit risky.” Otherwise, well done. All except for the part where she suggested to allow
Triton’s Jewel
to approach from the stern. They should come at her head, use the ship’s construction to their advantage. He gestured at the windows opposite from where they sat. “Do you see guns in here?”

“No.”

“Correct. There’s more distance from those windows to the first demi-culverin than there is from the head of the ship to the first basilisk—which is a heavier gun as well.” He lowered his foot and leaned forward to pick up a small wooden
replica
of a ship. With one finger, he traced the outline of the hull. “We are stronger at the head. Approach bow to bow and we protect our vulnerable areas.”

“No,”
India
murmured. She held her arms in front of her, mimicking two ships in a line. “If this one is behind.” She shook her left arm. “And this one is ahead.” She shook her right. “Then when the second approaches the first, the first slowly comes about.” With a slight bend of her elbow, she emulated a ship’s turn. “Cannons strike to sails before the second can follow the change of course.” Repositioning her arms, she placed her fingers pointing toward one another. “If you come head to head, either one can make the turn and see it coming with enough time to react.”

Cain frowned at her. She proposed sound theory, but practice beckoned a different outcome. “Risky.”

“Mathematics,” she quipped with a grin. “And a touch of human nature.” Sliding off the desk, she dropped into his lap.

Every muscle in Cain’s body tensed with awareness. At arms’ length he could convince himself she wasn’t half dressed. With her straddling his lap, he couldn’t hope to ignore the meager attire she wore. He slid his hands up her
lithe
thighs and settled them at her hips. “Human nature?” he murmured as he bent in to press a kiss against her throat.

“If I’m facing you, I anticipate your actions.”

“You do, you say?” He raked his teeth down her delicate skin. At the hollow where her neck and collarbone joined, he nipped.

“Yes,” she murmured huskily.

Cain nudged aside her gaping collar and swirled the tip of his tongue over the spot he had bitten. A shiver coursed through her. Her thighs tightened around his.

“I am prepared for whatever you might do.”

Prepared was she? The double entendre tempted him beyond all measure. Closing his eyes, he allowed her to engulf his senses. Alex,
Triton’s Jewel,
and strategy became meaningless compared to the sweet fragrance of
India
’s skin. His mouth moved lower, and as he dipped his tongue into the deep crease between her breasts, he slid his hand to the juncture of her thighs. Moisture met his fingertips.

India
moved against his hand. His cock responded, swelling to accommodate her silent request. God’s teeth, she made it impossible to think of anything but how he ached to be inside her. He removed his hand before he could succumb to the desire that boiled in his blood. Brushing his lips across her mouth he murmured, “We don’t have time for all the things I would like to do to you.”

Reluctantly he let his hands fall away.
Tonight
, he reminded himself. Tonight when Alex was aboard and he could lock the door and refuse to answer.

India
looped her arms around his neck and gave him a playful grin. “Do we have time for a kiss?”

Cain chuckled. “I suppose we could manage one kiss.”

Her lips caught his, playful and light. He
parted his
and met the foray of her tongue. The dark flavor of spice and spirits clung to her mouth, but beneath the distinctive taste of rum lay something richer. Something stronger. Something that was
India
’s alone and held a greater power than any fermented drink.

As he tangled his tongue with hers, a foreign pleasure fisted around his heart. This was what it was like to know a woman. Really
know
a woman. He had not made love to her in the final ultimate way that befit man and woman, and yet he knew her more intimately than if he had. He had come to understand not only her body, but her mind as well. And God help him, he craved more.

More of whatever it was about her that he wanted to capture and hold on to until he no longer had breath in his body. The part of her soul that united Teddy and Cain and made him feel as if he could name without question where his place in life existed.

It existed with her. Saint’s teeth, he was falling in love.

The discovery so shocked him, he abruptly terminated the kiss. He couldn’t be in love with India Prescott. Absurd—they were as different as a doubloon and a pound. Two entirely different coins
,
minted in two entirely different countries
,
with two entirely different values.

Desperate for a bit of fresh air that might unclench the fist around his lungs, he eased her
off
his lap and to her feet. “I need to be on the deck.” He rose, before he could change his mind. “You should rest. You’ll need it to meet Alex.”