His to Hold (Regency Scoundrels Book 1) (8 page)

“A sea battle is no place for a woman, in fact, if I were a superstitious man, I never would have brought you onboard this ship, as some think a woman is bad luck to be on a ship.” At his gruff words, a hard glint entered her brown eyes. She narrowed them slightly, and huffed out a large impatient gust of air that ruffled his hair.

*****

“Well, you could hardly avoid that, could you? Why pray tell, am I here, sir?

He sighed heavily. “Because I kidnapped you.”

“Exactly. And why am I here on this bridge of all places?”

He took a moment to reflect upon her words. “I am not in the mood to play games with you, Elizabeth, no matter how tempting they might be. Now be a good girl, and run down and lock yourself in your cabin.” He was unprepared for what came next.

In one blurring movement, she freed one of her arms and brought it back. She slapped him, open-handed across his cheek. Stunned, he stared at her, employing the last of his self-control to keep from flying off the deep end with her.

“Good girl?” she ranted, as he reaffirmed his grasp on her. “I shall have you know that I am one and twenty, and haven’t been called a good girl, for as long as I can remember.”

He knew she was being a bit liberal with her age. He knew she hadn’t yet reached her twenty first year.

“Well, perhaps it would be time for you to start being a good girl.”

“In that case, I cannot be your wife, sir.” She had him there.

“You will be safer if you return to your cabin, miss.” He was trying to stay calm. Even though she slapped him, and she was pushing him farther than anyone else ever dared.              

“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll stay here. I like to know what I am dealing with.” he turned her around, so that she could see Antonio’s ship in the distance.

“See that ship,” he said, pointing to the large vessel that was quickly approaching them. “It is called
The Destroyer
. And the man that commands it is known as Captain Blood. His Christian name is Antonio Tirado. He is known as the terror of the High Seas. If he boards this ship, you will not want to be around. He will show you no quarter, miss.”

“Well, I certainly don’t want to be down below, either. If he does board this ship, and he gets past you and your men, I won’t be any better off down there than I will be up here, will I?”

“He devours women.”

This time she shivered slightly, though the implacable expression she wore, still hadn’t changed.

“I am not afraid. I am with you. And you, sir, are enough of a blackguard and scoundrel to stand against anything the Spanish beggar might serve to us.” He admired the steel that ran through her, but he still felt uneasy about leaving her, so that she would be vulnerable.

“I pray you won’t be, once the battle begins.” He finally released her, and then turned away from her. It was at that point that he finally realized he hadn’t finished addressing the ridiculous getup she wore.

“What are you wearing?”

“As you see, sir, I am wearing trousers.”

“You look bloody ridiculous. A woman wearing trousers is a travesty.”

“But now I blend in.” He couldn’t stop himself. He burst out laughing, and felt euphoria race through him. The woman never ceased to amaze him.

“If you believe that love-starved sea men won’t be able to tell that you are a woman badly disguised, then you are sadly mistaken. Miss Elizabeth, a man would spot you a mile away as a woman. In fact, Antonio being the hot-blooded Latin man that he is has probably already spotted you. They are rather like bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out the fairer sex.”

She slanted her mouth into a look of disgust. “You sir, are a…”

“Don’t say it, Elizabeth,” he warned, his laughter died away as sobriety took hold of him. “As I’ve already told you, I don’t have the time. Seamus,” he barked out, as the Irishman looked over at him, having just emerged from the galley. “Take Miss Elizabeth back down to her cabin, and make sure she remains there.”

He could see that he was raising her ire, but at this point, he didn’t give one cockeyed hoot.

“The little miss will be well taken care of, sir,” Seamus said, reaching out to wrap his hand around Elizabeth’s.

“Take your hand off me!” She stared at him, in that beseeching way of hers, and damn it all, his heart felt sick. She shouldn’t be able to do this to him. He was a battle-hardened man, with principles, and women just didn’t have any place in the middle of a fight.

“Aye, I know she will.” He watched as Elizabeth turned her back on him, to walk proudly back down to the cabins.

“You know,” Ethan began. Mallory turned back to him. “I’d wager you have a better chance against Antonio than you do against, Miss Elizabeth.

Mallory groaned, and turned on Ethan. “Ethan, would you do me a favour?”

“Yes?”

“Please keep your thoughts to yourself!”

Elizabeth could not believe the indignity of her situation. She watched as Seamus dragged a chair over in front of her cabin door, and sat down upon it. Scowling, she folded her hands in her lap, and steadied her gaze at him.

“I shall not be told what to do!”

“As far as I’m concerned, what the Captain says is law. We may vote on some things on this ship, but taking care of you isn’t one of them. The crew knows where they stand when it comes to you. You’re a fine, respectable lady, and therefore, we are to keep our eyes and fingers off you.”

“But you are looking at me right now,” she pointed out, smiling serenely.

“The Captain trusts me. He knows I’m not going to pull a Roger on you. I’m a good morally honest man, and as you’re young enough to be my daughter…or even my granddaughter,” he shuddered at those words, “I shan’t touch you, and I’ll slit anyone’s throat who tries.”

“You, sir, are a pirate.”

“Aye. But I am an honourable, morally sound pirate,” he countered.

She bit her lower lip, and couldn’t help but smile. She was grateful to Rafe, for his concern about her welfare, but sometimes the man could drive her right up the wall.

“What if he needs help up there?” She felt useless, utterly and completely useless.

“You obviously don’t know the Captain too well. He won’t be the one needing help. But those bloody Spaniards sure as hell will. He’s going to give them a licking they won’t soon forget.” Seamus adamantly nodded his head, while he leaned back on the hind legs of the chair.

She couldn’t sit down. She was restless. She’d never liked the possibility of the unknown. How was she to know how capable Rafe was? She’d never seen a display of his prowess. Albeit it with her, and well, honestly she hadn’t given him a decent fight. And besides, there was something about Rafe that made her want to take care of him. Even though she should want to do him severe bodily harm, she didn’t. It had to have been his hypnotic eyes that were drawing her in, and capturing her beneath their spell.

“Miss Elizabeth, if you don’t cease your constant pacing, you’re bound to give me a roaring headache.”

She turned her head at the sound of cannon fire. After the cannon fire had dispersed, it was followed by an eerie silence, which caused goose bumps to emerge across her skin. She rubbed her arms, and dragged in a trembling breath.

“How notorious is this Captain Blood?” she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

“He’s a man without mercy, he is.”

“Oh, is that all?” she asked, laughing nervously. Now more than ever, she was worried that just maybe Rafe was going to have his work cut out for him. He’d said that he’d been at the Battle of Trafalgar, but she didn’t know how well he had fought there. Had he been a hero?

Damn, she should have asked him more questions. She stared back at Seamus, and dropped her eyes, to the weapons the man carried.

“Do you think I could borrow your pistol?” she asked hopefully, realizing that the man would be more apt to hand over his pistol then the cutlass that hung on his other side. Where had Rafe stashed the pistol Raleigh had given her? That would at least give her some kind of comfort.

“I’ll be the one taking care of you, little miss,” he whispered, a cheery glint entering his green eyes.

“This is not to be borne,” she whispered. She needed to be the one in control of her destiny, not some sea thief, who thought he’d stolen her to be his bloody wife. Filled with anger, she stormed toward Seamus, just as their ship rocked again.

“Move, Seamus.” It was not a request, but a demand. If, as Seamus said, no crewman was to put his fingers on her, then what kept her inside of this damn cabin? If Seamus did put his fingers on her, he’d be breaking his Captain’s direct order.

Smiling craftily, she pushed Seamus, and knocked him off balance, since he was rocking back on his chair. Another shudder rang through the ship, causing Elizabeth to nearly lose her own equilibrium.

Seamus let out a holler, and she was out the door. She sped up the staircase to the deck, and stood stock still at the sight that awaited her. Her blood curdled with fear, and her palms began to sweat. She looked around for a possible weapon, hoping to find one soon.

The Spanish bastard’s ship that had drawn up alongside
The Valiant
made her nearly tremble with fear. Never had she known such dread. For
The Destroyer
was flying the Red Jolly Roger.

*****

Mallory pulled out one of his pistols, and quickly shot an advancing pirate. The man slipped from the rope he had himself curled around, and splashed into the water. Several other pirates were still trying to swing across onto
The Valiant
.

Damn it all, he still didn’t know how they had managed to gain this much speed on them, let alone draw up alongside their ship. He punched another pirate as he landed on the deck, and sent the man hurtling backward. They never should have been able to gain the upper hand, not with the escort they sailed with.

In the blink of an eye, he drew his cutlass, and drove it through another advancing pirate. He watched as the man staggered back and fell onto the deck, dead. He still couldn’t see Antonio anywhere. Shouts of battle rang through his head, and he stepped aside quickly as yet another one of Antonio’s men lunged at him.

Antonio’s men swarmed
The Valiant,
and though Mallory had several other ships under his command, Antonio’s other ships were engaging them. It was a heated battle, and Mallory was not assured of victory. He could see that now. But he was praying that the wind of success would blow toward them.

“So we meet again, my friend.”

Mallory whirled around at the sound of Antonio’s clearly defined speech. Antonio prided himself on being able to speak the English language, with nearly no discernable Spanish accent. Mallory advanced on Antonio and rid himself of the several combatants that were lunging around him. Fortunately, Antonio had no sharpshooters for them to worry about. He dodged to the side, to allow one of his men access to one of Antonio’s men.

Antonio tried to drill the edge of fear into his opponents, by what he wore. His black hair was tied back with a black scarf, and his entire outfit was black, save for the red cravat he had tied around his neck. The man wasn’t just a bastard, he was a vain bastard.

Antonio’s eyes were a steely black, and glittered like dangerously. Mallory had never cared for the man, and knew that his actions were never justified when it came to piracy. Antonio was the terror of the High Seas, and wore the title well.

“I am trying to decide on whether or not to have a discussion of world events with you, or run you straight through right now.” Antonio was also an arrogant and pompous prick.

“You may be my guest to try, Antonio, but you have never succeeded before, and I shan’t suppose that today will be any different.” Mallory smiled cockily, and held his cutlass steady. He was ready to engage Antonio in battle. The best sword masters in all of England had taught him, and he was more than a formidable match for Antonio.

“Everyone calls me Captain Blood. How many times must I remind you of that, Morgan?”

Mallory smiled, and nearly laughed. He supposed that he would have laughed, had the situation on his ship not grown so grim.

“Ah, but Antonio, you and I share a relationship that calls for a first-name basis of familiarity.”

“The only relationship we share is the connection to a certain treasure that we’ve both had in our possession. You stole my loot from me, Morgan, and I’m fixing to have it back right now.”

“My apologies, Antonio,” Mallory said, dropping into a mock bow. “But I do not have it.” He gave Antonio a cocky smile. Antonio stalked toward him, with an expression of disbelief plastered across his features.

“You are in jest,” Antonio said darkly, holding his Spanish Cutlass so that the sunlight would shimmer off of the bloody blade.

“I assure you, Antonio. I am not in jest.”

“I shall reclaim my treasure whether or not I have to storm this entire ship to find it.”

“I have already told you, there is no treasure onboard this ship.”

“Indeed,” Antonio rubbed his chin, and smiled at Mallory when a woman’s shriek broke through the grunts and gasps of battling men.

Damnation. Mallory groaned. Did she never listen?

“As to the treasure,” Antonio began, just as a ragtag pirate appeared, with Elizabeth in his grimy clutches. The Spaniard turned to stare at Elizabeth, and Mallory watched with growing dread as Antonio’s features split into a grin. “I would have thought that this pretty little piece would constitute as one, though I daresay I might be mistaken. Shall I take this treasure, as you took my jewels, gold and other cargo?” With this, Antonio looked at a few members of Mallory’s crew.

Antonio beckoned for his man to give Elizabeth to him. The pirate threw Elizabeth into his arms, and he pulled her roughly against him. “Perhaps I should sample her wares here and now, on board this very deck, and you may have a front row seat, Morgan.”

Mallory felt the life drain out from him. The very thing that he had feared the most of happening, had come to fruition, and he was at a bloody loss as to how to rectify the matter, without endangering Elizabeth. All she had to do was listen to him, and stay out of harm’s way, and now, now, she was right in the bloody middle of it all!

Rape was not against Antonio’s principles. A dry prickly sensation entered Mallory’s throat and he coughed. As soon as he got Elizabeth away from the bloody mad Spaniard he was going to wring her ruddy neck, or better yet, give her the spanking of a lifetime!

*****

Elizabeth stared at the maddened visage of Rafe and tried to smile sheepishly, but her heart just wasn’t in it. For once in her life, she wanted to kick herself in the behind, for not heeding Rafe’s advice. She should have stayed down below. The air smelt of battle, and she wanted to retch. That, coupled with the fact that her nausea had returned, wasn’t making life easy for her. And now, to top everything off, she’d managed to go from one kidnapper to another.

And she hadn’t traded up! Captain Blood’s hand was precariously close to her breast, and she was sure that her fate was gruesome indeed. He sounded as if he had the upper hand over Rafe, and she didn’t like what he was threatening to do to her one bit. Rafe was an angel sent from Heaven, compared to Captain Blood.

Captain Blood had rammed her up alongside his front, and she could feel a rather revolting bulge in the area of his crotch. Now, she wanted to throw up more than ever. She heard him slide his cutlass back into its scabbard, and draw something that sounded much smaller, but no less deadly. He held the Spanish dagger to her throat, thereby curtailing her frenzied struggling. She became as still as she could possibly be, and her eyes dropped to the glinting blade, and then roved over to Rafe.

There was unmistakable fear in his eyes. And by judging by what she had seen of his fighting prowess, she was quite certain that he was not afraid of Captain Blood, but afraid for her. She had told Rafe earlier that she would not be afraid, but she wasn’t so sure now.

Captain Blood could slit her throat open with the flick of his wrist, or worst yet, the slip of his wrist. She swallowed thickly, and felt the cool blade nearly dig into her sensitive skin.

“If you harm her, I shall make sure that you die a most horrible death, Antonio.”

“To be sure, Morgan, I’ve had many threats similar to the one you just made against me. But you see, Morgan, I do not care one rat’s ass. You have stolen something that belonged to me, and since I can no longer reclaim it, I shall steal something that belonged to you. You will tell your men to halt their fighting, and you shall allow me safe passage off this ship, or else you may say goodbye to this pretty little piece of muslin.”

“Fine,” Mallory said through gritted teeth. “So long as you leave the girl behind.”

Captain Blood’s hollow chuckle made Elizabeth’s stomach lurch, and she tried to drag in a deep calming breath. “Your woman no longer belongs to you. She is mine now.”

Had Elizabeth not been so scared of accidentally moving the wrong way and causing Captain Blood’s dagger to draw her own blood, she would have given both men a what for. As it was, she had to keep her mouth firmly clamped shut.

Captain Blood’s cold, malicious laughter rippled across the deck, and made everyone stop in mid-motion. All eyes, rested on her, as several grunts of alarm rang through
The Valiant
. Obviously Rafe’s men were concerned about her. And if they were afraid, then she definitely should be afraid.

“Damn you straight to hell!” Rafe spat out, his eyes darkening to that mystifying cobalt colour.

Elizabeth’s heart ached for him. She wanted to throw herself in his arms, despite all of his platitudes about how she belonged to him. If she had to belong to a man, she’d far rather it be Rafe, than Captain Blood.

A line from Captain Blood’s ship was flung across, and thumped against
The Valliant’s
rail.

Gulping down her trepidation, she let out a little indignant squeak, as Captain Blood reached for the rope. Internally, she screamed for Rafe to help her, but she knew that his hands were tied.