Passion's Tide (17 page)

Her innocence created a fire within him, and he deepened the kiss to a new level of urgency, spurned on by the moan he heard her utter as he possessed her mouth
.
Her hands slid to his back, then his shoulders, and Logan closed the space between them further, crushing her against him almost painfully
.
She took no notice
.

Nor did she take note of the voices of the men who watched them with amused interest
.
Logan heard them loud and clear, however, his heart pounding
.

“I think after I take you to Ignacio, I’m going to empty my pockets and buy myself a
wench.”

Miguel laughed, a
harsh
, biting sound
.
“Interested in a lush redhead?”

“Yes, though I’d rather just have that one, she looks like she’d be feisty in bed
.
I like a woman who knows what she’s doing.” Logan’s hand slid from Amber’s lower back to grip the hilt of his sword
.
She was thankfully oblivious, still caught up in the heat of his embrace.

Miguel slapped his companion on the shoulder
.
“Come, I know of a bordello on Shore Street
.
I will recommend to you my favorite women
.
I might even pay for you to use one for the entire night.” The men continued to discuss the merits of whorehouses until their voices faded into silence
.
Logan pulled away from Amber, who stared up at him in a daze
.

“What was—” He cut her off by shaking his head and placing his hand over her mouth
.
His eyes bore into hers, then he removed his hand and stepped from the shadows to look down the street
.
Seeing no one, he returned to the alcove and found her pressing two fingers to her swollen lips thoughtfully
.

“They’re gone,” he said
.
She looked up
.

“Who were they?” Her voice was soft and hoarse, and Logan had the strongest urge to pull her back into his arms and kiss her senseless again
.
He restrained himself.

“I didn’t recognize the shorter one, but the tall one with the accent was Alonso Miguel.” He checked to make sure his pistol was loaded–he didn’t dare risk a run-in with the Spaniard unarmed–a
nd led her back into the street, setting a steady pace in the direction of the inn.

“Is he anothe
r pirate?”

“Yes, one famous for being cruel and relentless.” He stopped then, giving her the sign to be silent and nudging her into another darkened alley
.
She watched as he entered the open door of a well-lit house, and through the window she could see him talking to a young boy
.
The boy listened to Logan and nodded, before accepting some coins
.
He then left the house and sprinted down the street in the opposite direction of where they were headed
.

She waited until Logan came to get her
.
Anticipating the question that was poised on the tip of her tongue, he said,  “I gave the boy some gold to follow Miguel, then report back to me at the inn.” She nodded and chewed on her lip, distracted
.
“Is everything all right?” he asked, lowering his head as they passed a group of sailors.

“What? Oh, yes
.
Everything is fine
.
It’s just…”

“Just what?”

“Why did you kiss me?” His step faltered, and he glanced down at her face
.
The damn woman always knew how to catch him off guard
.
He waited until they arrived at the inn, then stopped her just outside the doorway.

“Because I didn’t know what else to do
.
I reacted without thinking.” She nodded absently again
.
“Amber, look at me.” She did, and he cupped her chin in his hand
.
“I’m sorry if I surprised you
.
I couldn’t let them see my face, but even more than that I was trying to protect you
.
If they had gotten a good look at you, there’s no doubt in my mind that they would have murdered me just to get to you.” He smiled as his gaze raked her body
.
“Though I can hardly blame them
.
I had been wanting to kiss you since I first saw you tonight, wearing next to nothing.”

Her face flushed and she raised a hand to strike him, but
as
always, he caught it before she could make contac
t with his face
.
He grabbed her other hand and backed her against the side of the house, raising her arms above her head and trapping her
.
“Besides,” he said gruffly, “I’m pretty sure you enjoyed it.”

She opened her mouth to contradict him, but he d
ropped her hands and stepped inside the inn without giving her the chance to
.
She forced herself to breathe, but the exercise did little to calm her nerves
.
With an exasperated sigh she followed him, jumping back as the orange blur of a cat rushed in front of her feet
.

The White Margate Inn was small and crowded, but to her the group of people who sat around the tables and filled the air with their loud voices seemed considerably less threateni
ng then many of the other men she had run into that n
ight
.
She noticed scattered throughout the room in varying states of disguise were
crewmembers
from the
Imperial Shadow
.
Logan was leaning against the bar, deep in conversation with a man who Amber assumed was the innkeeper
.
They glanced over at her, then Logan said something t
hat
ma
d
e the other man laugh
.

Amber
rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed; a defensive stance that she hoped would send a message to everyone
that she was in no mood to be approached
.
It appeared to work, for the only person who came near her was Logan
.
The tricorne hat still sat low on his forehead, but a lock of hair had fallen into his face and now obstructed his gaze as he studied her
.
She raised an eyebrow in response to his scrutiny
.
“I assume that you were able to procure us rooms?”

“Room
.
Singular.” Something flashed in her green eyes, and he was uncertain if it was anger or surprise, or, he secretly hoped (and berated himself for), lust
.

“I hope you don’t expect me to sleep with you, simply because of what happened earlier.”

The little bit of hope in him died, and he instead sent her a demeaning smile. “Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart
.
They only had one available room, the one I requested hours ago when I came ashore
.
And since you were supposed to be safe on the ship right now,” she flushed, “you understand why I didn’t request two rooms.”

“None of this would have been a problem if you hadn’t captured my ship in the first place,” she grumbled as she brushed by him
.

He caught her hand as she passed
.
“What was that?”

“Nothing,” she answered in a deceptively sweet tone. He was not fooled
.

They followed the innkeeper up the stairs and down a narrow hallway to a door marke
d 14A
.
Pulling a key ring from his pocket, he flipped through it until he had selected the correct one, and then used it to unlock the door
.
He ushered Logan and Amber inside, who were quickly followed by a girl carrying towels
whom
he introduced as his daughter, Annie
.
A scowling young woman with mousy brown hair, Annie went about the room placing towels and filling up the
washbasin
with water from a tarnished pitcher that stood on the dresser
.
The innkeeper removed the key from the ring and handed it to Logan, assured him that if he needed anything else he could ask Annie, and excused himself
.

Amber studied the room
.
It was of medium size, and furnished with simple, yet sturdy, furniture
.
In the center of the room stood a large bed, covered with clean blankets and sheets
.
Glowering, the innkeeper’s daughter pulled an extra blanket from the trunk at the foot of the bed, then threw it over the wooden footboard and turned to leave
.
Logan’s voice stopped her
.

“Annie, if you would please, there is a large sack behind the bar downstairs
.
I’d like you to send that up, along with some clean clothes for my wife, and a hot bath
.
And if you could bring her some dinner when she is done, I would appreciate it.”

Logan’s kindness was wasted on the girl
.
She glared at him, and planted a hand on her hip
.
“I’m sorry sir,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “we don’t do no catering to men and their wives
.
I think you got us all mixed up with a fancy hotel
.
If you’ll excuse me…” she spun on her heel.

“Wait.”

Pivoting back around she sent him a
sour look.
“What now?”

“I’ll pay you.”

Her eyebrows
rose
a quarter of an inch
.
“How much?”

“Thirty.”

“Won’t do it for no less than thirty-five.”

“Drop the attitude and I’ll make it fifty.”

“Deal.” She snatched the coins from him and bit into one before tucking them into her apron pocket, then sent them a crude excuse for a curtsy
.
“I’ll be right back up with your things, sir
.
Ma’am,” she added, turning to Amber, who held back her laugh until the girl had left the room
.

Logan’s mouth twitched at the corners. “What’s so funny?”

“You really do have a way with women, don’t you?” He grinned and tossed his hat onto the bed, then ran a hand through his tousled hair
.
“Too bad you can’t pay me to drop
my
att
itude
.
Though, even if you could, I doubt you’d have enough money to keep me quiet for two whole months,” she said as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched him take off his baldric.

“
I promise you I have the money, but I wouldn’t dream of asking you to change
,” he res
ponded as he laid the belt on the empty space next to her
.

“Why’s that?”

He turned to her and planted a light kiss on her lips
.
“Because I happen to like your attitude problem
.
It’s endearing.” She stared at him
.
More impressive than his coercive ways with the female sex, she had to admit to herself, was his uncanny ability to
render her speechless
.

She was saved from thinking of a suitable reply as a knock sounded, and Annie
came
i
n carrying what appeared to be a large blanket tied with rope
.
She deposited it on the bed where he directed, and left with a promise to return with the bathwater and clothes
.

As soon as they were alone again, Logan grabbed a knife from his belt and went to work on the ties holding the blanket together
.
Once severed, he tossed them aside and unrolled the cloth, revealing to Amber a set of dangerous looking knives in varying sizes, four axe-blades that he slid onto the lengths of four wooden handles, and six pistols, as well as a larger, more menacing looking gun that Amber couldn’t name
.
Along with the arsenal of weapons there was a long leather belt, fitted with loops to hang daggers and pistols
.

“What are you intending to do with all of those?” she asked, finding her voice again
.

“I’m going to go find that bastard Miguel’s ship before he finds mine.” He spread everything out on the bed and began loading the pistols with shot
.

“What if he’s already found it?”

Logan smiled
.
“Did you think I would harbor her in the marina? I left just enough men on board to sail her, gave them orders to wait an hour after I had left, and then take her to the other side of the island
.
I assume that you snuck out moments before she set off.” Amber winced, remembering the anchor chafing her skin
.
”How
did
you escape, by the way?”