Master of Seduction (12 page)

Jack backed across the bed and watched in satisfaction as she climbed aboard, too intent on his defeat to mind where she was going. She pulled her weapon back from him and caught the pillow against the carving on his canopy. A loud rending of fabric was quickly followed by a shower of goose feathers.

Jack smiled in triumph. “I win.”

And before she could realize his intent, he pulled her against his chest and gave her the kiss he’d been wanting to give her since she’d first started posing him.

Her arms closed around him as she opened her lips to allow him to explore the sweet honey of her breath.

“Spoils to the victor,” he whispered as he deepened his kiss.

She laughed deep in her throat, exciting him even more.

“And vengeance to the victim,” she whispered before she shoved him back and unsheathed the sword from his hip. She moved slowly from the bed, all the while holding his sword before her. “I want you to take me home.”

Conflicted emotions tore through him. One was the lust that still pounded in his loins, another a cold splash of treachery. Had all of it been a ploy so that she could trick him?

He’d never been one to tolerate such, and yet he couldn’t quite believe she’d orchestrated the entire match. Nay, no doubt she had merely seized upon the opportunity.

Either way, she wasn’t about to get what she wanted. Jack answered to no one save himself and no one would ever dictate his life again. “I really can’t.”

“I know how to use this, Jack,” she said in warning. “And I
will
use it unless you take me home.”

Jack moved from the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. With studied nonchalance, he approached her. “Had you wished to see my sword, my lady, all you had to do was ask. In all honesty, ’tis what I’ve wanted to show you since the night I danced with you at your father’s ball.”

She arced the blade toward his throat. “I’m warning you.”

He should probably be terrified, he thought, but then he’d had great swordsmen corner him in similar fashion numerous times in his life. They had never trapped him and it would take more than this slip of a woman to do so now.

Jack moved slowly to his walking cane, which was propped between his chest and the wall. She didn’t flinch as he picked it up and rolled it between his hands. Still, he noted the suspicion on her face as she waited for him to try something to disarm her. “Aye, you do look as if you’ve held a man’s sword in your hand before.”

Anger flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t yield to her temper.

“I take it your father gave you sword lessons along with your reading, writing, and arithmetic?”

He pulled the thin épée from its cane sheath. He’d teach her to pull a sword on him! Swinging it around to disarm her, he was momentarily baffled as she parried his thrust with an expert move.

Astounded, Jack advanced only to have her take the upper hand. He actually took a step back from her approach. “You really have been taught.”

“I was taught
well
,” she said smugly.

His sword flashed in the light as she brought it down against the épée in his hand. He had seen few men her equal. She thrust at him and he barely sidestepped the move. He twirled around as she passed behind his back. Jack grabbed her in his arms, trapping her in his embrace. Her mouth opened in surprise and he planted a fierce kiss on her lips.

Lorelei shrieked in indignation, then stomped his instep. Pain exploding up his leg, Jack pulled back with a hiss. He barely parried her next move as he hopped away from her.

“That was vicious,” he said, forcing himself to focus on something other than the agony of his toes.

She didn’t respond verbally, but the lunge she took at him spoke loudly enough.

Jack dipped his blade below hers and wrested the sword from her grasp. Releasing the hilt of his own so that both swords hit the wall to his right with a loud clatter, he took her extended right hand in his own and pressed her back against the wall.

Her breasts heaved against his chest as she struggled to calm her racing breath. In spite of the fact she had just tried to skewer him with his own sword, he smiled.

“I much prefer to fight with pillows,” he said, then dipped his head to kiss her lips once more.

Lorelei’s head swam as much as her emotions at his touch. He had defeated her. It had been years since anyone could claim that, and yet this pirate had swept her sword from her hand with ease.

And now his kiss was melting her control in the same effortless way.

What was it about this man that made her crave his touch so?

It was his charisma and charm, his masculine aura of authority. Like some wild, untamed beast, he fascinated her. Here was a man of raw, unmitigated power. A man who lived by his own terms, not those dictated by others.

He took what he wanted and made no apologies.

Right now he wanted her. And if the truth were known, she wanted him right back.

Terrified by that knowledge, Lorelei pulled away from him. “Please, let me go.”

In his eyes she could see her tiny request gave him pause. He released her. “I can’t take you home, Lorelei.”

“It was worth a try,” she whispered.

“And a noble try it was, too. I’ll certainly grant you that.” The humor faded from his face. “I’ll let this episode be forgotten. But never, ever cross swords with me in front of my men.”

“I understand.” And she did. Her grandmother had told her numerous stories of how important it was for a captain to maintain the respect and control of his crew. That was one of the reasons she had waited until they were alone to attempt it.

Jack retrieved the swords, then locked them inside his trunk. “Who taught you to fight?”

Lorelei chewed her lip as she debated what she should tell him. Deciding the truth couldn’t hurt her any, she sighed. “My grandmother.”

His face was a mixture between disbelief and incredulity. “Your grandmother?”

Savoring his uncharacteristic look of surprise, she confessed the whole of it. “She was Anne Bonny. I’m sure you’ve heard of her.”

He started to laugh, but then something made him change his mind. “You’re serious?”

“Aye, very.”

Respect shone in his eyes. “Did she teach you anything else?”

“Aye, to be wary of pirates, especially those named Jack.”

This time he did laugh. “Well, that certainly explains your daring passion. I bet you’re the perfect image of your grandmother.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“And yet you would marry a British lord. How do you think that would make your grandmother feel?”

“Proud, actually,” she answered. “She regretted the actions of her youth until the day she died.”

“Regretted her freedom at sea?” he asked as if the very thought was inconceivable.

“’Tis what she always said. But in all honesty, I think she loved it more than she ever dared let on. I think what she truly regretted was losing Calico Jack.”

“Your grandfather?”

“Aye. She loved him terribly.” Lorelei sighed, her heart aching for her grandmother’s loss and the suffering her grandmother had endured after she’d returned home to Charleston. “She said she never should have disobeyed her father, that she should have stayed at home dutifully rather than give her heart to a pirate. ’Twas the worst mistake of her life and she paid for it every day.”

Jack’s frown deepened. “I can’t believe she would ever regret her days at sea.”

“I can. I saw for myself the sadness in her eyes.”

“Perhaps the sadness was from the fact she left the sea behind?”

Had she not felt so sorry for her grandmother, she could have almost laughed at Jack’s male persistence. At his inability to believe not everyone loved the sea as much as he did. “Nay, I know better. Had she wanted to return to the sea, she could have. Her father even offered her the opportunity.”

“She refused?”

She nodded.

He crossed the room to stand before her. “So, to atone for
her
mistakes, you’re willing to make your own?”

“I don’t understand.”

“You can’t marry Justin.”

She looked up at him. “Why?”

“Because he’s not right for you. He’s selfish and cold, and in time that life will devour you.”

“You don’t know him,” she insisted.

“I know him better than you think. I saw the way he treated you. Like a possession to be guarded. He even endangered your life to advance his own career.”

“I was the one who agreed to go to the tavern.”

“But he shouldn’t have asked that of you.” Jack touched her face, his fingers sliding along her cheek in a gentle caress that sent heat tearing through her. How she ached for him in the most improper way! “He should never have exposed you to that rough and dangerous crowd. I’ve seen those kinds of men do things to women that would give you nightmares for the rest of your life. Every time I think about how close you came to peril, I want to beat Justin to a bloody pulp.”

“He wouldn’t have let harm befall me. I know it.”

“But he did,” Jack said, his gaze probing hers. “You’re here with me now. He couldn’t stop me any more than he would have stopped that man who accosted you. Justin isn’t the right man for you, Lorelei.”

There was so much earnestness in his eyes, and something more. Something deeper that called out to her. “I asked you the night of the party what sort of man would you suggest for me, and you turned and walked out. Why?”

He froze his hand against her cheek. “Unlike Justin, I’m honest with women. I don’t promise love everlasting. I promise only what I can deliver.”

“Which is?”

Sighing, he dropped his hand from her face and moved away from her. He stopped in front of his armchair and looked out the windows of his cabin. When he spoke, she could barely hear him. “A wonderful time in my bed, and a note in the morning when I leave.”

How typically male. Her grandmother was right. A woman could never count on one to abide by his word. They would say anything to get what they wanted, then leave the first chance they got. “That is so shallow, Jack.”

“That is reality, I’m afraid.”

“Reality?” she scoffed. “
Love
is real. Lust is—”

“Liberating.”

“Fleeting!”

He looked back at her, his face and eyes empty. “And love isn’t?”

“Nay,” she breathed, trying to make him see the truth of her words. “Love is wonderful.”

He snorted. “Love is a weapon used to destroy.”

“That’s not true.”

“’Tis more than true. The only one in life you can count on is yourself, and only a fool would allow another person to have the ability to destroy them.”

How could he be so blind? So unwilling to see the truth of life. The truth of love.

“What about Kit?” she asked. “I know you love the child. Do you doubt it?”

She narrowed her gaze on him as she thought of another way to make him see her point. “And what of Kit’s mother? He told me you loved her more than your life.”

In that instant she had an epiphany. “That’s it, isn’t it? You mourn for her as my grandmother—”

“I told you I didn’t know his mother,” Jack inserted, cutting her off.

Confused, she tilted her head slightly as she thought over what Kit had told her.

Jack took three steps until he stood before her. The rage in him terrified her. He was angry and cold, and she had no idea why.

“Let me tell you of love, Lorelei. Kit’s mother was a prostitute in some port I can’t even recall. When I turned her offer away, she asked if I preferred little boys. Her own little boy to be precise.”

She couldn’t have felt any worse had he struck her. Was he serious?

“What?” she gasped.

“I was as appalled as you are,” he said, his lips curled in disgust. “I, who have traveled the world and have seen every nightmare imaginable, was laid low by her offer. So I bought him from her for a silver guinea.”

“But Kit said—”

“Kit doesn’t know the truth,” he said as the anger fled his face to be replaced by sadness. “I never told anyone the truth of his mother until now. And for an obvious reason, I would keep the truth from him. I may be a pirate who will sooner or later wind up at the wrong end of a noose, but I sure as hell am better than what his mother had planned for him.”

He swallowed and stared straight at her. “Now I ask you, where was
her
love for her child?”

“She was obviously deranged,” Lorelei said, unable to believe anyone could do such a thing to a small child, let alone her very own. “My father would die before he allowed anyone to harm me.”

“I’m delighted for you,” he said, his voice cold, empty. “In my world such loyalty doesn’t exist.”

She reached up and touched his face, wishing there was some way she could make him see the world through her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m sorry that you believe that, because love does exist.”

“Then believe it if you will. I can only hope Justin, unlike his father, is man enough to honor his obligation to you.”

“Why do you hate the admiral so?”

“My reasons are infinite,” he said with conviction. “And they are my own.”

“And you’re not one to share the intimacies of your mind, are you?”

“Nay.”

Lorelei ground her teeth in frustration, wishing she knew some way to reach him. But he didn’t want to be reached and until he did, there was nothing she could do except make peace with him.

“Then come, my doubting pirate,” she said, dropping her hand from his face and taking his arm. “If I can’t defeat you with my sword, then allow me to capture you with my brush.”

Lorelei placed him back on the bed. He looked perfect in that spot. There was a casual, sensual quality to Jack; even while reclining he radiated power and authority. She didn’t know if she could quite portray that on canvas, but she was eager to try.

Seizing up her palette and paint, she began mixing the colors to see if she had any talent for human form.

And so the afternoon went. Jack lay on the bed watching her intently while she attempted to portray his personality on canvas.

A soft breeze whispered through the cabin while the sounds of the sea and crew echoed through the room. It was strangely peaceful and soothing.