A Pirate's Bounty (10 page)

She explored his skin and he trembled beneath her touch, loving the way she boldly and tenderly caressed him. Tugging at his belt, she somehow managed to remove it and then shimmied his pants down over his thighs and he kicked them to the floor.

She nipped at his neck, licked his lobe and pressed kisses to his face.

“This is our last night together,” he said breathily, and kissed her lightly on the lips. Their bodies molded together so perfectly. If he could, he would never leave the bed, content to lie in the warmth of her arms forever.

“Let it not be our last night,” she murmured, bringing a knee up and caressing his hip with her calf, her toes trailing down his thigh.

“There is no other way,” he said, rubbing a hand over her silky lithe leg.

“Yes, there is.” She brought up her other knee and lifted her hips, cradling his hard cock between the wet and hot folds of her sex.

“How?” he asked, pressing his own hips forward until the tip of his cock pushed into her opening.

“Oh,” she moaned and lifted her hips more, her body begging for him to move deeper inside her.

“Tell me, Faryn, tell me. I want to know how I can keep you forever.” He pressed his forehead to hers and drove all the way inside her. The tip of his cock buried deep and the walls of her sex squeezed him tight.

“Yes, keep me forever,” she whispered, pressing hot kisses to his shoulder and neck. She rocked her hips up and down, her fingers scratching down his back. “If we could only stay like this.”

“Oh yes,” he moaned, pulling out and plunging deep.

Her moans increased, and talking ceased as she succumbed to his lovemaking. He pounded his pelvis against hers, lifting her buttocks to sink in deeper still.

Soon the sounds of their moans, the friction of their sex and the creaking of the bed echoed in the room.

And then the final culmination, as her body shook and she arched her back, head falling back, and he too let go, coming deep inside her.

When their breathing had returned to normal, Wraith lay down on his back and pulled Faryn to lie atop him so he could stroke her silky hair.

“You did not tell me,” he said.

“Tell you what?” she asked, her voice warm like that of a sated woman.

“How can we make tonight last forever?”

She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his chest. “Let us go to the king first, and not my father. Then we can at least prolong our parting. That is, unless…” But she trailed off.

He stiffened. Would she reject him now? How he desperately needed her! His heart ached with the thought of not being near her. “Unless what?”

“Unless there is a way to never take me home again. I could stay with you. Here. On the ship.”

The thought had not occurred to him to keep her forever. Once they’d made his statements to the king and cleared his name—he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He’d never made plans that far in advance. Over the years it had only been that he needed to seek revenge on those who’d destroyed him.

“Do you not wish to return home?”

She looked up at him, confused. “Wraith, my family has sold me to the only man who would have me—a vicious and vile man. Who thankfully you have dispatched.” She crossed herself. “I should never wish him dead but I cannot help it, as he for sure would have seen me returned to the earth. They will only sell me again and this time to someone worse. I will not return.”

He didn’t want to promise her anything, because he wasn’t sure if even with his proof the king would believe him. It could be that the good king enjoyed taking the tariffs from his land, that they lined his coffers quite well and he would rather see Wraith convicted and guillotined than return what was rightfully his.

If such were the case, Wraith wasn’t sure he’d be able to escape…at least not with a pulse.

“We shall travel together to the king and see what he declares upon seeing my proof of innocence. I cannot promise you anything until then, Faryn. But know this, I would have you with me always, and I shan’t take you to your father’s home.”

Chapter Eight

The cabin was dark, except for a light orange-pink light that shafted through the porthole to dance on the opposite wall—dusk. Faryn watched the tiny sparkles of dust that danced in the streak of light but dared not move.

They’d docked this morning before dawn in the caves and waited until evening. Men had already begun making their way to level ground, where they’d secure horses and ride all the way to Paris to see King Louis XV.

“My lady, the cap’n awaits you.”

Faryn nodded and followed the crewman from her cabin to the dinghy that was soon rowed to shore. She followed the wiry man through a break in the rock to a concealed pathway that led up the side of the cave. The rock beneath her feet was slippery and she placed each foot very carefully, thankful for the new leather boots brought to her earlier in the day.

They reached the top of the cliff and she scanned the area, now completely covered in darkness. Even the moon seemed hidden.

“This way,” the sailor whispered and tugged on her arm. They didn’t walk long before coming upon Wraith and his small entourage, the clouds covering the moon moving in just enough time to gleam on her lover, almost as if revealing him there just for her.

He gave her a wicked smile that sent shivers of anticipation along her limbs and memories of the hours they’d spent alone and naked swirling in her mind.

“We are in luck,
chérie
, for the king is in Carcassonne and not Paris. Our trip will be less dangerous and only one night instead of four. Let us make haste.”

She mounted the horse he indicated and they took off at a quick pace. He’d warned her it would be a rough journey to the king, and having not ridden in several months, she wasn’t exactly ready for the bone-jarring pace. Much more difficult was the fact that it was night and she could barely see in front of her, let alone the ground. They did not travel on the main road but through fields and forest.

Under the cover of darkness was the only way to travel, especially with a price on Wraith’s head. Although Faryn doubted anyone would recognize him. Years had passed since he’d openly set foot in France, and under his current guise he looked not so lordly, and quite the pirate.

Tight black breeches clung to long, muscled legs, which in turn clutched the horse he’d absconded with from a local stable. He’d forgone a jacket and wore only the black linen shirt he was partial to. At his hip was his belt outfitted with weapons and on his hands black leather gloves. A black captain’s hat sat atop his head, only slightly larger and more intimidating. His jaw was clenched tight, his eyes scanned the area. Faryn had trouble not drooling when her gaze kept drifting—without her control—over his body. She watched the muscles ripple beneath the fabric of both his breeches and his linen shirt, the moonlight making him all the more mysterious and enticing. His thick arms, bunched and taut, as he wielded the reins of the horse. Without thinking, she licked her lips, imagining running her arms over the ridges and contours.

“My lady!” shouted Churl from her right.

She glanced ahead just in time to see what he warned her of. Her horse headed straight for a fox hole in the ground. She tightened her grip on the reins and tugged left, within seconds clear of what could have been a disaster.

Her heart pounded in her ears and her breath had all but ceased. Wraith glanced at her with a frown but didn’t stop his progress.

An accident was the last thing she needed, it would only solidify in his mind that he should not have brought her, as his preference was returning her to her family. That could not happen under any circumstances until she’d had time to speak to the king herself—although she prayed she never saw her family again.

She kept her vision forward and did not chance to look at Wraith again, else she come within seconds of tragedy once more and destroy their mission for good.

By the time the sun made a pink line on the horizon the following morning they’d reached the walled city of Carcassonne. They easily entered and their horses were taken to the stables. Somehow Wraith managed to get them two adjoining rooms in the king’s castle. He had said that Louis XV was particularly fond of him but Faryn couldn’t help but fear it was a trap.

* * * * *

A light knock sounded at her door. She moved away from the window she’d been gazing out of and opened the adjoining door to Wraith’s room.

“Faryn,” he said softly, and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle caress. “You are not asleep yet?”

She shook her head. “I am too nervous.”

“I am glad you have yet to slumber, I’ve learned something.”

“Come in,” she said, tugging his hand.

He slipped into her room and drew her to the bed, where they lay down together, her head on his chest.

“The king will see me today, in secret. I had thought he would make me wait days, to agonize over our meeting, but he is preparing to see me after his morning mass and he breaks his fast.”

She drew imaginary circles on his chest. “Wraith, that is wonderful.” Then perhaps they could get back to the life they’d carved for themselves on the ship…if he would have her.

“There is more.” But he didn’t go on.

“What is it?” she asked, fearing what he would say.

“Your father and mother are also in residence.”

She sat up, any bit of sleep that ebbed on the outskirts of her mind completely gone. “What?”

“He seeks to beg the king’s favor in rewarding him with the marquisate. I suppose he feels he deserves it since the king has not rewarded anyone with it. I understand your father works the lands now and provides knights to the king for it, yet the majority of the coin derived from it goes to the king’s coffers.”

“But they are your title and estates! Not his!”

“Yes.” Wraith looked resigned to the fact.

Anger sliced through Faryn. How could her father, the man who’d sired her, be so evil? And what of her mother? Was she also so evil, or did she have little to say, just watching from the dark corners as her husband wreaked havoc on mankind and got away with it? She had to remind herself that Wraith knew not what she did about her father’s heinous crimes against his family. He only knew the man to be a bad father, not a murderer too.

“I wish to come with you when you speak to the king.” She came to her knees to kneel before him, her eyes beseeching.

“I do not think it is a good idea.” Wraith shook his head, his lips set in a firm line.

“Wraith,” she implored, reaching out to grip his hands with hers. “I know you do not wish me to be in harm’s way but if the king is as you say, then I will be safe. At least then I will not be here where my father could find me if he gets word of our arrival. And…I could not let you go alone.”

He smiled at her indulgently. “You are worried about me, sweet one?”

“Yes.” She hoped that he would allow her to go along with what she’d said. But if he still said no then she would find a way to go anyway.

“I suppose it cannot hurt to have you with me but you must not interfere. Promise me.”

“I would not dream of ruining your chances at freedom.”

She said a silent prayer of thanks that it had been so easy to convince him to allow her to accompany him.

* * * * *

Wraith laid out the documents and evidence that he’d gathered over the years on a table in front of Louis. The king’s eyes lit on the ring. Faryn saw the note of recognition that flared in his eyes.

She did as Wraith had asked and remained in the corner. She still wore the gown he’d given her before they’d disembarked from the ship but at least she’d had a chance to wash the grime of their ride from her person and her hair was neatly pulled up, curls falling around her cheeks. But for all her decorum her insides were tied up in knots and she might have vomited if she’d eaten anything.

Wraith still looked the same as he always did to her—dangerous and delicious. But also calm and collected. He had a confidence about him that made others follow his lead.

The king had recognized him at once and his eyes had sparkled, even if his demeanor remained regal. He sat poised on his throne, glorious royal robes about him.

“I have seen this ring before,” the king said and his eyes locked on Wraith. “Haven’t you?”

Wraith slowly shook his head. “It seems familiar to me but I do not know whether ’tis from memory or from having stared at it so many times.”

“’Tis a nobleman’s ring. A man who is today at my court.”

Wraith’s gaze popped up from where he’d been gazing on the ring. “Here? Now?”

The king nodded.

Faryn opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. She cleared her throat of the cobwebs caused by anxiety. “Your Majesty,” she managed to squeak.

“Come forward, child,” he said.

She came forward and kissed his ring.

“Did you have something you wished to say?”

She nodded, still looking at the ground. She swore she could feel the air in the room tighten along with Wraith’s body. His anger was no doubt piqued at her now for interrupting.