Romancing the Pirate 01 - Blood and Treasure (9 page)

“That I would.”

“Indeed. Thus far, it has been safe with you in your locked cabin. However, I don’t want to make an exchange in haste upon your leaving.”

“Then, we should discuss this exchange further. Dinner, again?” Even as she said it, she surprised herself. She found that she wanted to be with him, this precarious man, for just a little longer before they parted ways forever. Her curiosity may very well kill her. No matter, his lure pulled too strong.

The arch of his eyebrow nearly undid her. “What a brazen proposal, but a splendid idea. I should look forward to another evening in your company. Come. I’ll see you to your quarters.

CHAPTER 5

Zane had been anxious to dine with the bonny lass since their earlier stroll. That little firebrand riled him by her brassy intensity. He had no right to be angry with her. She would readily accept Blade’s kiss. And in full view of his crew! Insulted, he wanted to wipe the longing from her face. Maddening! Yet, he couldn’t deny the spark he felt when she was near. When she took him by his arm, liquid heat surged through his body. She teetered so close to a point of no return, for them both. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to strangle her or ravish her.

He wanted to keelhaul Blade, too, for his indiscretion. But then, ’twas his own damn fault. Blade’s weakness for a lovely lady was his ultimate disability. One day his friend would lose his life over his insatiable peccadillo, most likely with his trousers down. No, Zane could only blame himself for leaving Blade in charge of Lianna. He hated that it bothered him so. ’Twas beyond his comprehension he should even care. Never had the affection of a woman come between them. Bonny girls came and went, but their respect for one another as mates remained steadfast. A pang of jealousy gutted him, the foreign emotion he did not welcome. Zane would rather die before he allowed himself to be covetous over a woman.

No, he put that little folly between Blade and Lianna behind him.

Taking liberty with a rum bottle, he felt quite good. Maybe even a little coltish. He had high hopes the evening would hold promise.

He and Blade sat at the table laughing at old tales that never seemed to die.

“After his wife kicked his sorry arse out of the house, that poor drunk barnacle was found the next morning snogging a hog in the pig sty.”

“Snogging a hog!” Blade pounded his fist on his knee. “Stop! You’re going to make my spirits come out my nose.”

Henri carried in trays of food and added to the mirth. “They say for years ole George wouldn’t so much as eat a slice of bacon.”

Their thunderous laughter stopped abruptly when Henri dropped a tray, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets. Both men turned to see Lianna who, with Jason, just crossed the threshold of the door.

Zane’s rage returned two-fold.

Lianna had dressed in the magnificent emerald green gown from the dresser drawer. She loved the feel of the crisp material fitting snug against her curves. The bodice pressed her breasts up to overflowing, the gold brocade beautifully fringing her bronzed skin. Making do with the soft-bristled brush in her cabin, she wore her hair in a slightly messy coiffure with long wayward tendrils trailing along her neckline. She had pinched her cheeks so as to bring out more of the rosy color resulting from the afternoon sun.

She felt stunning, even with her eye still looking like a squashed fig. She wanted these rogues to find her undeniably fetching, spawned by a daring motivation that had been brewing inside of her. She had never really cared before about creating a yearning desire in the company of men. But now, well, she decided that the right kind of attention felt completely intoxicating. She held her back straight with brimming confidence.

Blade closed his mouth long enough to whisper. “Oh shit.”

For several long moments no one said a word. Lianna suddenly became very flustered, the walls closing in on her.
Swirling black clouds again?

Zane shot to his feet. Knocking his chair back, he threw his liquor bottle to the floor. She jumped as it shattered into dozens of pieces.

“What is the meaning of this?” He waved a hand at her clothes, his face red with fury.

“I…” she stammered.

“Answer me!” He bellowed so loud her ears ached.

“I found it in the dresser. I thought it would please you.” Her voice barely reached a squeak. What the devil had gotten into him?

In two strides, he towered beside her.

“Please me? Please me!” He grabbed her arm, squeezing it tight. “You treacherous liar. You put that dress on to rally me.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
He’s gone mad!
His fingers dug into her, hurting her, and she grew more than a little terrified. “Let me go.”

Blade got to his feet. “Zane.”

By the pulsing veins of Zane’s brow, his head might explode, but not before pulverizing her first.

Blade cautiously moved forward. “Zane.”

“Do you mock me, woman?” Zane shook her, his eyes violent. “Do you?”

Her hair fell free from its pins as she struggled against his grip. Terror gave way to her fight instinct. Breaking free one arm, she bashed him in his jaw. “Let me go!”

Blade pulled Zane back a step. “Calm down, brother. I don’t think she knew.”

Zane yanked his shoulder away from Blade’s grasp. “Take it off!” He snatched at the front of the gown, ripping it down, exposing her corset. “Now!”

“Lay another hand on me and I’ll scratch your bloody eyes out,” Lianna hissed.

Henri wrestled to stand from picking bits of food and broken glass off the floor and stepped forward. “Capt’n, allow me to take the lass to her quarters.”

“Aye.” Zane growled low. “Get her out of my sight.” He wheeled around, his broad back to her. “Jason! Where’s my rum, boy?”

*****

Lianna broke down and sobbed after Henri helped her to her room. “Why?” She sniffled back her runny nose. “Why is he so angry?”

Henri offered her a handkerchief. She blew her stuffy nose and handed it back to him. He frowned at it, repulsed, took it by fingertips, shrugged, and put it back into his pocket. “The Capt’n, he just lost his head.”

“I’ll say. I thought he was about to kill me.”

“Aye, he was.”

Startled, Lianna looked up at Henri.

Henri groaned and sat down beside her on the bed. He fiddled with his pink beard bows. “’Tis the girl, the one this here cabin belongs to. The Capt’n never loved someone as he loved her. Not even his own mother. But alas, the witch betrayed him.”

“What happened?” Lianna dried her tears. Her interest in this mysterious woman was about to be satisfied. She leaned in close as a young maiden might while listening to a friend’s prattling gossip.

“Three years past, we landed a merchant ship off the coast of Jamaica. It’d been no wonder we took her so easily. Most of the crew had plum gone missin’ and the few left were wranglin’ a girl, trying to subdue her, tyin’ her to the mast. They were havin’ one helluva of a time. Seems the young lass had schemed to nearly commandeer the whole sloop.”

Henri chuckled under his breath. “Said she was on a mission to avenge her father’s death by findin’ the bastard who led him to his capture. She was convinced ’twas the capt’n of that ship. She managed to plug a nasty hole in his leg ’fore she was overcome. We got there just in time.”

“She sounds like a tough girl.”

“Aye, she was. She’d been passin’ herself off as a lad and could wield a sword better than most. Once she realized who we were, she refused to leave the
Rissa
. She pulled her weight in ship duties, though, even cleanin’ out the bilge. Well liked, she was, by all of us, ’specially the Capt’n. She’d been a part of the crew for the better part of two years.”

“What did she do to betray Captain Fox?” Lianna kept the torn fabric held up covering her chest, listening intently.

“She was a resourceful one, that girl. Used the Capt’n’s trust, stealin’ from his coffer to finance her ventures in destroyin’ all who had a hand in her papa’s death. She didn’t need to steal from him, though.” Henri looked to the ceiling, shaking his head. “He lavishly provided for her, saw to it she had what a woman desired. But he couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted. Revenge. Wouldn’t help her get it, either. Said ’twasn’t his battle to wage. Guess that festered in her.

“Anyhow, she seduced the Capt’n in that very dress.” He pointed his thumb at the ripped gown. “In Havana, last March. So spiteful, that lassie, she had him arrested by the local authorities for ravishin’ her. We lost several men that night durin’ his escape. He hasn’t forgiven her.”

“How dreadful.” To have someone he loved accuse him of a scandalous crime he had not committed must have deeply hurt. He’d have been hung. It pained her to imagine his anguish. “What was her name?”

“Sadie. Sadie Greene.”

Lianna mouthed an O, understanding why he went into a tirade. “That explains the newspaper article I found in the bottom drawer, under the dress,” she said.

Still, she was not Sadie Greene. He had humiliated her for someone else’s actions. And he had been a hairsbreadth from making her fish food.

“Ma’am?”

Lianna retrieved the paper. “Yes. About the execution of twenty-three pirates in Kingston including a Joseph Greene. That must be her father.”

“Aye.” He took the print, pretending to read it. He didn’t fool Lianna. The flat squint in his eyes gave him away. He couldn’t read.

“That was her father, all right. Died alongside Capt’n Luke. He was a bugger, that one.”

“But why has he kept up this room? It even has fresh flowers.”

“I told ye, he loved her. I reckon she still has a place in his black heart for the… M’self, I can’t see goin’ to all the fuss over some tart.” Henri scratched at the back of his head and cleared his throat. “Anyhow, we don’t talk about her lest we get the receivin’ end of the cat.”

Lianna reached over and retied a bow that had come loose on Henri’s beard. “Thank you, Henri.” She smiled as his cheeks flushed.

“I guess I’ve lost Captain Fox’s favor.”

“Just get out of that dress.”

Henri laid the newspaper on the dresser and walked to the door, then turned back. “Give him what he wants, Miss Whitney. Ye’d be wise. Whatever it may be. Ye’d be wise.” He locked the door behind him.

*****

Zane stood just outside Lianna’s door, his hand on the latch. The time had come to get her off his ship, before she caused any more trouble. The old mariner’s superstition about women at sea bringing bad luck crept into his mind. He never believed it, but now…

Two nights ago, he was ready to have her whipped and pickled then fed to the fish for wearing that green gown. It had taken him this long to bring his anger down to a simmer. Of course, he had overreacted. She had no way of knowing what that dress meant to him, the pain it caused him, of how it represented a weakness in him—or how incredible she looked in it. He was a selfish bastard, he knew. He had wanted to see her on her knees begging him for his mercy. He had none to give. He’d had to stop, rein in his developing angst against Lianna, and force himself to filter through his raw emotions. He healed the wounds left by another, he was stronger now. The scar stemmed thick and would not be easily ruptured.

He seethed, grinding his teeth and all too ready to dispatch himself of the wench. Groaning, he didn’t know how much longer he could suffer her.

*****

Lianna yawned as she sat at the writing table playing a game of cards. They must have made their arrival at Tortuga for the ship fell still. She had tried to get some sleep, but ’twas hard to slumber with her very life at stake. She was close to relinquishing the one possession she had in bartering for her chance to live another day. She believed her captor would keep to their bargain, but then that was before she angered him on a grand scale. At any rate, ’twas only a matter of time before she would see what she wrought.

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the door crashing open. Zane strode in and stopped inches before her.

The air around him crackled with intensity. His rigidity unhinged her, his eyes malicious under his thick dark lashes. He wore two braces with four pistols, a red silk sash at his waist wrapped around the hilt of his cutlass and his hand rested on the blunderbuss hanging from his hip.