Eden's Pass (28 page)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The floor-length white draperies fluttered in the breeze, carrying the ocean air through the room and bringing a smile to Finn's lips. The bed was soft, the pillows were soft, and the small hands kneading her breast were soft. A sense of peace filled her as she gazed down at her son, Aidrian, busily nursing at her breast.

She looked up. Iñigo hovered in the doorway, watching. She smiled at the look of wonder on his face, a look which had yet to fade, even nearly a month after the child’s birth.

Iñigo had fallen in love with the tiny boy with the dark blue eyes and shock of ebony hair. Aidrian had claimed his heart the moment he emerged, and she had the feeling he looked forward to spoiling his son in the coming years.

Clearing his throat, he stepped over the threshold. “Am I interrupting?”

Finn looked up, shifting Aidrian, a flush sweeping into her cheeks. “Of course not. Do come in.”

He smiled at her discomfort. “I mind not. Waiting, that is.”

“Don’t be silly. It’s not as though this is a sight you haven’t seen before now.”

It was his turn to flush as his eyes instinctively lowered to her bared breast. “Aye, but it’s a whole new purpose being served.”

She patted the tick beside her. “Sit, Iñigo. And mayhap I’ll even allow you to hold him.”

He chuckled, doing as he was told, moving to sit beside her. He held out a hand. “I’ve something for you, love.”

Tears pricked her eyes as her mother’s gold cross glinted in the sunlight before her. “Where did you…? How did you…? I was afraid it was gone forever.”

Iñigo fastened the chain about her throat. “And there it will remain. It was the reason I was able to find you on Barbados. A fruit vendor, Finn? I held on to it, deciding I would return it when the moment was right. Well, that moment is now.”

“It’s the only thing I regret as much as my actions that night,” she whispered, reaching up with her free hand to catch the cross and hold it tight. “Thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me, love. Just know the next time you even
think
of bartering this, I will take a switch to you.”

“I would never be foolish enough to try it again.”

Iñigo fell silent, his eyes darkening slightly. Before she could ask what troubled him, he said, “Remember you, the eve you asked me about my aversion to the lash?”

“I do. You refused to answer me.”

Iñigo sighed, catching the cross from her grasp. He stared at it, watching it glint and spark in the light. “María was my wife, Finn. I was but a score and she was only a few months younger, and we’d been married only several weeks. We set up house in a small village on the northern coast of Hispaniola and one morning, I exchanged words with a neighbor, heated words which led to blows.

“I thought nothing of it at the time. Fights broke out between men, it wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. But this time, it was different. This man was from a powerful family—very wealthy—and I was less than a peasant in his eyes. I shamed him by besting him, whetted his appetite for revenge in the worst possible way.”

Her belly tightened. “Your wife?” she murmured, remembering the heated passion with which he’d told her of his refusal to rape, or to allow any of his men to do such a thing.

“Aye. She went missing for three days, disappearing whilst on her way home one evening. Three days before I finally found her.” He cleared his throat, eyes still focused on the cross. “I accidentally happened on a small shack not far from the ocean, much like the one where I found you.” His voice grew low, his eyes darkening with fury. “It was terrible, what she’d been subjected to. He never faced what he’d done, having taken to the oceans. It wasn’t long after I left home to take to the seas. I made it a personal quest, to dispense the justice Ramírez avoided.”

Finn curled her fingers about his wrist. “The
Oceania
?”

“Aye. The Ramírez family was one of the shipping giants, and I took the greatest of pleasures in blasting her flagship from the water and slaughtering her crew. The gem in the Ramírez crown was captained by Eduardo Ramírez, the very same bastard who destroyed María. Unfortunately for me, Ramírez survived.”

“Oh, Iñigo…”

“She died in my arms in the squalid shack where she’d been subject to unspeakable torture.” His voice trembled slightly. “I have never forgotten the sight of her, back flayed to the bone, blood—” He cut himself off with a shake of his head. “I know you do not wish to hear this, Finn—”

“It’s important I hear it, Iñigo,” she interrupted softly. “It’s why you are the man you are. I would be a fool to think there have been none before me. It’s a surprise, hearing this, learning this about you, but I am not angry or betrayed.” She brought her hand up to rest against his cheek.

He sighed, reaching up to comb his fingers through his hair. “I had made it my life’s goal, destroying all Ramírez holds dear. I sought and defeated any captain in his employ. Any ship sailing under his name, I took great delight in sending to the bottom of the ocean—the
Oceania
, the
Magdalena ,
the—”

“
Smiling Jack
?”

“Aye.” His expression softened as she smiled up at him. “And the satisfaction was only temporary. Until I encountered Beauregard's ship. I had no idea what treasure the
Smiling Jack
carried. And I do not mean those moldy, waterlogged crates in her hold.”

Her stomach flopped, but it was a delicious flop, one that filled her with a happiness she’d only recently discovered. Now, everything made perfect sense and she felt infinitely closer to him. Snuggling into him, she murmured, “I thank you for sharing with me.”

He held her gaze for a long moment, but said nothing. He cleared his throat, leaning over, to trail a fingertip along Aidrian’s cheek. “Hungry little man, isn’t he?”

She smiled, allowing him to change the subject without argument. “Always.”

“What about you, love? Have you eaten?”

She nodded. “Adeline brought me a tray earlier and hovered at my elbow until every last morsel was eaten.”

He grinned. “That’s because she is terrified of me and I made good use of it when I instructed her to bring it to you.”

Finn shook her head, but couldn’t help her smile. “You are terrible, Spaniard. If it weren’t for her and Ennis, things could have ended much differently.”

Iñigo's grin faded. “Aye. You are right, love. But you owe a debt of thanks to Diego. He was the one who made me see through my own bullheadedness. And, I must admit, he owed you a whit of thanks as well. Surprisingly, he seems to have gone sweet on Adeline.”

“Surprises you, does it?” she asked, shifting Aidrian to her right breast and pulling her chemise back into place. “I’ll have you know, amongst those at Eden’s Pass, she was one of the loveliest of ladies.”

“Oh, I meant not that she is unattractive,” Iñigo amended, tracing his forefinger down her cheek. “I suppose it’s simply that she pales in comparison to you, cabin boy.”

Finn laughed. “Please. The cabin boy Finn is dead, I am afraid. I find I far prefer being Fiona now.”

“As do I. Imagine my horror when I realized I was falling in love with my cabin boy.”

“And you fully expect me to—” Finn stopped suddenly as his words penetrated her skull. Lifting her eyes to his, she whispered, “What was that you said?”

Iñigo's eyes softened to molten gold. “Aye, Finn. Imagine the surprise of the dread pirate Captain Sebastiano when he realized he was falling in love with a boy.” His fingers splayed over her cheek, caressed her as he continued, “
Te quiero, mi querida Fiona
.”

She frowned at him. “English, please?”

He gave her a gentle smile. “With pleasure, my lady. I love you, my darling Fiona. I vowed I would never utter such silly words again, but somehow, they no longer seem quite as silly. I do think some of your dreaminess has rubbed off on me.”

“Dreaminess?”

He nodded. “Aye. You are a dreamer, my love. And before you can argue, know this. I would not want you any other way. I love you for that dreaminess, Fiona, for your spirit and the fire burning brightly within you. I thank God each day for crossing paths with you and bringing you into my life, for bringing this little angel into my life. I never knew how I needed both until it happened.”

“Does that mean you married me not out of honor, then?”

He leaned in to brush her lips with a kiss. “No. It was my excuse and it served me well until I could no longer deny what it was I felt for you. You needs understand, my lady, I vowed I would never allow myself to love a woman again. I would never be foolish enough to risk that loss again. I fought as best I could to deny that which stared me in the face.

“Then you left and what I felt took me by surprise. I was angry, of course. But I was more worried than anything. I was faced with the very real possibility you were gone forever and it terrified me to my soul. More than anything else.”

“Oh, but let us not forget, you had Honoria.”

Iñigo's brow furrowed, but then smoothed and he smiled. “There is nothing to forget about her.”

She gave him a long look. “And you expect me to believe that nonsense? I know she shared your bed, Spaniard. I know that is why you sent me off to mingle with your men—to have a whit of privacy. With
her
.”

Husky laughter rose to his lips. “Finn, I sent you off to enjoy some time with your friends. There was no ulterior motive and I did
not
sleep with Honoria. Even if she had not chosen to take her leave of us, you would have naught to fear. True, I will admit I used her—ah—interest to whet your jealousy, but I neither dallied with her, nor did I wish to dally with her.” At her scowl, he leaned close to nuzzle her. “It was childish, I suppose, but I did it because you were most amusing when you tried hard to hide your jealousy.”

“I was
not
jealous and what do you mean, you did it apurpose?” she sputtered, jerking back to glare at him as she toyed with the notion of shoving him off the bed.

His arched eyebrow told her flatly he did not believe her. “I suppose you ought to rethink your anger, love,” he replied, his voice light and teasing, “If I
had
slept with her, it would have been only because you’d left. Up until then, she held no interest for me. I was far too fascinated by my adorable little cabin boy.”

“Do not lie. You were repulsed by me.”

“Only when I knew you to be a boy. And you can hardly fault me for that.”

She smiled. “No. I don’t suppose I could. It was beyond foolish of me. Running away as I did, I mean.”

“No. It’s what I should have expected. You would never settle for anything less than what you wanted and it was my idiocy which almost forced your hand. We are very much alike, my lady, and I would have done the same thing.”

She smiled as he kissed her again. “Aye. I suppose you are right,” she murmured when he pulled away. “And it was
my
idiocy which very nearly ruined everything. Had I but admitted it myself, I could have spent the rest of the time convincing you why you simply
had
to love me in return.”

“And I’ve no doubt you’d have done your damnedest to do that.”

“Oh, of course.”

“And what of captaining your own ship?” he asked softly, reaching down to stroke a fingertip along Aidrian’s pink cheek.

Finn chuckled. “Somehow, I do not think I belong at the helm of a ship.” She lifted her eyes to his. “And I
know
I’ve no desire to bind myself flat again.”

His eyes sparkling with mischief, Iñigo said, “I will give you command of one of my ships, Finn. And mayhap one day I will allow you to sail from here to one of the nearby islands.”

She shook her head. “I thank you, but no. I have no need to wander any longer. I’ve all the freedom I ever dreamed of right here. Though, I would like to learn a bit more where swordplay is concerned. I was doing quite well, and would hate to lose what I’ve already learned.”

“Going to try to best me again, Finn?”

“Hardly. I know better now. But I must confess, it
was
rather nice, when you pressed up against me that way. Very nice, indeed.”

“Is that so?”

She nodded. “I would need another sword, though. Since you sent mine to the bottom of the ocean. Would you be agreeable?”

“I will see to it that you have the finest steel on the island. I’ve always felt badly about striking yours from your hand. You were quite impressive with it. Especially for a woman.”

“I’m not so certain that is a compliment.”

“It is. I was impressed when I thought you a boy, but stunned when I learned you were a woman. Yours is a natural talent. I should hate to see it fade. If you wish to learn more, I am most willing to teach. But there will be a price for my lessons, you understand.”

Finn rolled her eyes. “Dare I ask what that price will be?”

His grin was alive with mischief. “Trust me. You will not complain.”

“Is that so?”

“Absolutely.”

She mulled it over for a moment, smoothing her hand over the top of Aidrian’s head. “Well… I
did
vow absolutely fealty, did I not?”