The Pirate's Jewel (9 page)

He tucked the metal file he had brought to pick the lock
in the waistband of his breeches. In the sleepy hours between midnight and
dawn, he allowed himself to go without a coat, rolling up his shirt sleeves
against the balmy southern nights. The gentle creak of the riggings blended
with the faint sound of wind and wave. A calm night afloat could rock a grown
man to sleep like a newborn baby. Surely it would lull one overconfident
troublemaker into slumber.

Nolan hovered in the shadows at the entrance of the dark
cabin until his vision adjusted. Moonlight filtered through the portholes like
water poured from a pitcher, creating a blue-black halo around the bunk where
Jewel slept. The night was exceptionally warm. Bedclothes lay tangled around
her feet. To his relief, she was dressed in the same clothes she’d worn when he
saw her last. Stealing the map from her was bad enough; he hadn’t planned to play
the voyeur by gawking at her in the nude. But that didn’t stop a small seed of
unwanted disappointment from sprouting in the center of his chest. He tore his
gaze from Jewel and headed for the desk.

She would have hidden the map someplace unusual. He knew
enough about her to realize conventional wisdom eluded her. He turned away from
the desk. With the excuse that it was only part of the task at hand, he stared
down at Jewel. He knelt and listened to her deep, relaxed breaths. He could not
recall the last time he’d slept so peacefully.

Yes, he could. It must have been his fifteenth summer. He
had been part of Bellamy’s crew for almost a year. That was the point when the
gilt wore off, revealing the jagged metal edges of the life he had chosen. That
was the year Bellamy stopped cajoling him like a boy and started treating him
like a man, and in doing so expected him to do manly things. Expected him to
give up boyish lusts for treasure and adventure and to take up adult lusts for
women, greed, and glory. Adventure became synonymous with bloodshed, preferably
someone else’s.

That was also the year he’d lost his virginity to a Spanish
whore on Tortuga—and his map to Bellamy Leggett. Bellamy had hoped Nolan would
be so thrilled with the experience of losing himself in the warmth of a woman,
he would be concerned with nothing else. For a while, Bellamy had thought
right, but then Nolan had come up for air and realized he’d been betrayed.
Trying to get the map back from Bellamy spawned their first battle. A few
broken ribs, a black eye, and a stab wound to the thigh later, Nolan understood
his predicament.

Bellamy was stronger, wiser, and a hell of a lot meaner
than Nolan. The years dragged on, but nothing was ever the same. Not that he
hadn’t fornicated, drunk, and looted his share during those years, but any
pleasure he reaped was tainted by an aching guilt. Nolan knew the difference
between right and wrong with the clarity of an adult rather than the besotted
eyes of a child. His justification that the world was unfair because his father
wanted him to be a clergyman rather than a sailor no longer held. The point
came when even Nolan could no longer deny the dark streak that curled inside
him: a trait inherited from his grandfather, and one his father had tried to
squash with everything from forced hours of solitary prayer to beatings.
Finally, the ache of remorse grew so strong that Nolan would have cut out his
own heart to banish it. Instead, he defeated his mentor and Jewel’s father. And
this woman had provoked the surge of self-righteous power that made that
possible.

Nolan studied Jewel, surprised at how much younger she
appeared in sleep. She’d stirred a longing in him those years ago, from the
moment he and Bellamy had first walked into the Quail and Queen past the supper
hour. The tavern catered to wealthy planters and merchants rather than
cutthroats and thieves, but Bellamy always liked to rub elbows with his betters
just to prove to himself and everyone else that there was no such thing. Jewel
had taken their order, drawn to them without having to be called over, while
the other barmaids and patrons stared warily. Even then, her eyes had glowed
with the excitement of serving the two strangers. She’d laughed easily, and
Nolan felt tongue-tied in her presence. Though he’d had vast experience with women
at that point, it was never with one who couldn’t be purchased.

Bellamy had enjoyed the encounter, had even encouraged
Nolan to try to get her alone, but Nolan knew even then that he’d not taint
anything he cared about in such a way. When Bellamy asked her to meet them later,
Nolan had insisted they step outside. It was his first serious challenge to
Bellamy’s authority. That he’d discovered Jewel was Bellamy’s daughter only increased
his need to keep her from the life and man he knew. After everything, he didn’t
regret his choice—though she’d never understand.

With her dark lashes flush against her cheeks and her lips
slightly parted in sleep, he found it momentarily difficult to remember her as
anything other than a girl in dire need of protection. And despite the
determined, headstrong woman he’d encountered today, he must see his mission
through. The urge to touch her stretched to his fingertips, but he resisted. He
was here for one reason only.

Taking the map from her was necessary to ensure her safety.
She would try to find someone else to help her, and Nolan knew only too well
the way most pirates treated women. They wouldn’t bargain for her prizes. They
would brutally take her and her map and her smiles. She wouldn’t laugh so
easily after that. He doubted she would laugh at all.

She shifted, her face turning toward him. Nolan sat back
on his heels, expecting her to wake. What would she do if she found him gawking
at her? Probably smile at him with her confident grin, letting him know she had
him right where she wanted him.

Her change in position revealed the sheathed sword at her
side. Sleeping with a weapon didn’t do a hell of a lot of good if one slept
like a rock. Nolan had learned to sleep with a knife, but by then it was too
late. Bellamy already had the map.

Nolan got to his knees. Since she slept with the blade,
he’d wager the map was on her person or in the bed. Her pale, bare feet
reflected the moonlight. Her slender ankles appeared dusted with pearls. Nolan
forced his gaze away and ruled out boots as a hiding place. Guilt crept up on
him. Pilfering the map from her was akin to kicking the cane from beneath an
old man. If Bellamy had had a conscience, he might have felt the same way when
he’d sent Nolan to gorge himself on Tortuga’s decadence.

Jewel wouldn’t understand any more than Nolan did, but
that was just as well. Better to keep her at a distance. Nolan looked her over
once more, not knowing where to start. He rubbed his palms against his cloth-covered
thighs, wiping away the urge to touch her. With his thumb and index finger, he
lifted the tail of her shirt, brushing her skin no more than a smithy would
touch a burning piece of iron. He dipped his head to take a quick look
underneath.

He swallowed hard. Her breasts were dark slopes, soft
curves with hidden secrets. Slowly, he lowered the shirt, and then remembered
he’d forgotten to look for the map. He shook off the wave of lust tightening
his loins. It was a natural response. He was a man in his prime and he hadn’t
had a woman in five years. God, had it been that long? No wonder Jewel made him
crazy.

He glanced under her shirt again. This time he avoided the
sight of her breasts and was rewarded by a hint of white cloth sticking out
from her waistband. Was it a reward or a punishment? Being forced to unfasten
her breeches to get the map would definitely be torture. He worked a worn
button through its hole and gingerly folded over the flap to reveal the map
bound to her lower abdomen by a cloth wound around her hips. Even if he had the
will to continue, which he realized he didn’t, he couldn’t pull the map out
without waking her.

He sat back on his heels. This wasn’t going to work. Of
course, he could just physically take the map from her even if she did wake,
but he didn’t want to do that. Though sneaking into her room and stealing it
while she slept wasn’t all that much better.

Nolan leaned over Jewel to study her face. She smelled of
fragrant soap that brought to mind white flowers. Magnolias. He remembered
seeing the blooming trees in Charles Town. Their thickly sweet scent choked the
air. He leaned closer. Breathed deeply. He could almost taste the sweet
fragrance on her skin. Nolan swiped his hand over his mouth. The desire to press
his lips to her skin overcame him like a summer squall—dark, heavy, and
violent. Suddenly, his lust for the map paled in comparison. The salt, wind,
and fresh air had weathered his hard-won control over his baser instincts. He
sat back on his heels, closed his eyes and forced himself back into the man
he’d trained himself to be.

When he felt a brush against his cheek, he started violently,
almost falling on his backside.

Jewel propped herself up on one elbow. Confusion clouded
her eyes. “What’s wrong?” That suspicion, or even fear, wasn’t her first
reaction proved she wasn’t nearly as prepared to be the lone woman on a ship
full of men as she thought. The flap of her breeches fell forward, finally
gaining her attention. She touched the bindings with a frown. “I never
suspected you would sink that low.”

Nolan got off his knees. He should leave the cabin immediately,
but the challenge and accusation in her eyes forced him to stay. She had no
idea of the man she was dealing with, and at the moment neither did he. He sat
on the side of the bed, forced her back down and braced his hands on either
side of her. “I warned you. Even I don’t know my limits.” He bent his head and kissed
her.

The first, soft brush of her lips against his brought a rush
of forbidden pleasure that shoved away the small voice in the back of his head
that railed against this.

She inhaled sharply. Probably from the same shock that
pounded in Nolan’s chest. He hovered above her, only touching her mouth with
his, but that was enough. Her lips remained pliant and responsive to his gentle
pressure. One taste, one brush of his tongue against her lips and he’d stop,
leave the cabin. She met his second graze by pressing into him and brushing her
tongue shyly with his. His body reacted with a surge of lust as strong as if
she had taken him in the palm of her hand. He abruptly pushed off the bunk and
surged to his feet. After he took a step back, he stared down at her, his heart
pounding hard in reaction to the contact.

She gazed at him with luminous eyes and a wet mouth. He
thought of Bellamy, promises he had made to himself, the impending revolution,
anything to take his mind off continuing what he had begun. Jewel remained
uncharacteristically silent. Nolan warred between believing it was because she
was too shocked by his actions and that she wanted him to continue. He took another
step toward the door and away from convincing himself that a quick coupling
would do them both good. He’d certainly feel better, at least in the short run.
Perhaps afterward she’d give him the map and forget about finding another
captain to take his place.

Nolan shook his head to dislodge his dangerous thoughts.
Apparently, his struggle to be a changed man, the son his parents had wanted, a
man society could tolerate, was far from complete. He reached the door and gripped
the handle. “There are much more valuable things inside your breeches than the
map. Next time I’ll take it all.”

He exited the room as quietly as he’d come. Outside the
portal, Nolan paused to catch his breath like a man who had just escaped a
fatal accident. Yes, he’d slipped off a precarious beam, but he’d caught
himself. What twisted fate was in store for him with Jewel? Nolan dismissed the
thought, fearing he already knew.

Jewel chose the jade green dress woven with a pattern of
small white roses to wear for her meeting with Nolan. Opening the bundles
Parker had delivered to her on their return from going ashore in Newport had
been one of the happiest moments of her life. Never had she imagined possessing
such finery. Even her fantasies of finding Captain Kent’s treasure had not
equaled the reality of running her hand over the silk brocade gowns. To see
herself in Nolan’s small shaving mirror, she’d been forced to stand on the
bunk, but even that glimpse assured her the gown’s effect was transforming.
Even her freckles appeared less glaring.

Of the two dresses, the green one was her favorite. She
lingered outside the galley where Nolan waited, hating that the pleasure of the
clothes would immediately be ruined by her and Nolan’s biggest battle yet.

Even though she feared the gowns were purchased for the
sole purpose of her imminent departure from the ship, she couldn’t help but be
thrilled with the quality and thoughtfulness of his purchases. No one had ever
given her so lovely, or extravagant a gift. Or any gift, for that matter. She
forced herself not to think about the kiss last night, or about whether the
gowns were a token of atonement or something else altogether. Nolan suddenly
deciding to make her his mistress because of a stolen kiss, even as heated as
it had been, seemed unlikely. The idea that he was determined to leave her in Newport
was not only more likely but preferable, because that would be easier to
fight—and she wouldn’t have to give up the gowns.

Nolan’s continued silence unnerved her almost as much as
his wary gaze. Hoping to keep their encounter on a light note for once, Jewel
held out the ends of her skirts and twirled. When she faced him again, she felt
her cheeks flush. “Thank you, Nolan. It’s the nicest I’ve ever had.”

“You had to wear something and I was in a hurry. Glad it
fits.” He stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth. “Please sit. We have something
important to discuss.”

She tried to sit on the long bench with detached grace. If
she’d thought for a moment the kiss they’d shared swayed him to change his mind
about sending her away, his gruff dismissal of her pleasure indicated
otherwise. He continued to eat with hardly a glance her way. Keeping her
expression placid grew more difficult. But she’d walked into this galley with
her heart in her eyes and been thoroughly ignored—she wouldn’t show her
feelings again. She could be as cool and aloof as Nolan. She had to be.