The Pirate Takes A Bride (25 page)

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m rather angry with you at the moment. I have half a mind to refuse you your husbandly rights.”

He bent over her, and she caught her breath. “I could convince you.”

Oh, yes, she knew he could. She hoped he would. Instead, he moved back again, sitting quietly for a long time. Ashley had almost drifted off to sleep when he began to speak. It was only his voice, low and melodious in the darkness of the cabin.

“Ralph and I met when we were barely boys. We were both younger sons who’d chosen careers in the navy. His father was a gentleman farmer, and Ralph had never even seen the ocean when he decided to join the navy. That was the kind of man he was—always taking risks.”

“Sounds like someone I know,” she murmured.

“Believe it or not, of the two of us, I was the least inclined to trouble.”

“That’s a terrifying thought.”

He chuckled, and she smiled at her own jest, but she also meant what she said. Once she had thought Nick reckless and constantly in search of adventure and diversion. But these last weeks had shown him he was so much more than the immature, spoiled younger brother of the Marquess of Blackthorne she had thought he was. He was a captain, a man who oversaw the welfare of hundreds of others. He was a father, a man who cared more about his daughter than anything. And he was a man haunted by the past, by the death of a friend and a man who felt he needed to avenge the death of that friend.

“Ralph and I served on the same ship. He became like my brother to me, more than a brother since Jack—well, you know Jack. He scowls and bellows and yells orders.”

“Because he cares about you.”

Nick was silent for a long moment. “I know.”

Despite what she’d said, Ashley didn’t know Nick’s brother, the marquess. Not really. On the road to Gretna Green she’d seen a darkness in Lord Blackthorne, the same blackness she occasionally saw in Nicholas. Something troubled the brothers, and now that she knew of their mother’s fate, she understood. In other ways, the two men were not so very different as Nick seemed to think. Nick did his own share of scowling and bellowing orders. And Nick had his own demons. He could not seem to move past the death of his mother or his friend. He could not see that his daughter and his wife were more important than revenge.

Or perhaps his wife was not more important. But if that was the case, why was he here? Why was he telling her about Ralph?

“I saw the papers and the medals in the trunk,” she said, pushing up to her elbows and sitting. “I know you were decorated for your service.”

“Those commendations weren’t my fault,” he argued.

She laughed. “Deny it, but you have more honor in your big toe than most men have in their entire body.”

“All of the sun on Isla de las Riquezas has obviously boiled your brain.”

She had been so wrong about him. For so long she’d hated him because she thought he saw her deformity and rejected her for it. In truth, he had worshipped her body in spite of it. He’d rejected her to keep her safe, even though she continually found ways to put herself in danger again—first, by accompanying Maddie on that ill-fated elopement; and now by stowing away on his ship.

“I don’t deserve any medals or commendations. Ralph is dead because of me,” he said.

“I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true. It was my error that led to his death.” His voice sounded so anguished, so pained. She reached out and took his hand in hers. Surprisingly, it was cold and if she was not mistaken, it shook slightly.

“Tell me,” she said.

“Haven’t I bared my soul enough?”

She squeezed his hand. “I bared mine—well, my leg anyway.”

“True enough.” He raised their joined hands to her cheek and caressed it, a subtle way to let her know he still thought her beautiful. She wanted to kiss him then, to draw him down and feel his solid weight on top of her. Instead, she pushed her desires and impulses down—not an easy feat—and waited. After a brief silence, he spoke. “I had the watch, but I’d somehow managed to pilfer a jug of rum and had overindulged. I managed to stay awake by some miracle, but I was not keeping an eye on the men. I think I’d probably shared some of my rum.” He released her hand and dropped his head into his hands. “They were sleeping, and by the time one of them roused enough and took a look, Yussef was all but upon us. We sounded the alarm, but the men hardly had time to reach their stations before
The Snake
fired.”

“Nick.” She wanted to hold him, but his head was down, and he seemed so distant from her.

“I was foxed and doing my best to relay the captain’s orders. We limped away from that battle, but not without casualties. I take responsibility for every single one.” He looked up. “You’ll want to change your opinion about my honor now.”

“I might except for the fact that the navy doesn’t hold you accountable.”

“The navy has its head up—”

“There must have been other circumstances.”

He mumbled something, and she leaned forward. “Pardon?”

“Fog. The other men on the watch argued they couldn’t have seen Yussef at any rate because of the fog.”

“Was there fog?”

“I’ll be damned if I can remember. Even if there had been fog, I should have seen
The Snake
sooner.”

“The documents said you saved lives, that you showed unparalleled bravery.”

He waved her words away. “It was too little too late. Yussef sailed away unscathed and innocent men—men who’d relied on me—were dead.”

“Ralph was dead.”

He raised his head and looked directly at her. It was dark in the cabin, but she saw the anguish in his features. She wished she hadn’t spoken, but she needed to hear what he would say. She needed to hear all of it. “I killed him.”

“Yussef killed him.”

“He should have never had the chance. I wanted to destroy the filthy pirate. I asked for my own command, my own ship. The navy refused.”

“Imagine that. The navy had priorities other than revenge?”

Nick stood and paced away from her. “I joined the navy to protect and serve. What was the point in staying if I couldn’t do either?”

“And so you left. You became the filthy pirate you hated.”

He moved so quickly, she did not see him coming until he was beside on her on the bed, pinning her against the wall. “I’m nothing like Yussef. Nothing. I don’t kill innocent women and children. I don’t attack innocent ships.” His hands were on her shoulders, digging almost painfully into her flesh. “Men like Yussef deserve to die for what they did to Ralph and—for Ralph.”

Ashley wondered if they were still speaking of Ralph and Yussef or of something else. “And who decides who is innocent? You? Are you a better judge and jury than Yussef?”

He released her, but he didn’t move away. “Yes.” When she would have spoken again, argued further, he placed a finger on her lips. “I’m sensible of your point. We could argue all night, you making thought-provoking statements and I refuting them with brilliant parries.”

She laughed. For a long time, there was a silent peace between them. Then he said, “But I don’t want to spend the entire night that way. Do you?”

“No.” She moved her lips against his finger and the slight friction made her skin tingle. Sudden heat flooded her as erotic images of how the two of them might spend the rest of the evening hours flashed in her mind. She opened her lips slightly and drew his finger into her mouth. It was salty, tasting of seawater. She sucked gently, pleased when she heard his quick intake of breath.

He withdrew his finger and covered her mouth with his, pulling her up and into his lap. His hands cradled the sides of her face as his mouth teased her lips open. The assault was not gentle. Like the pirate he was, he plundered her, took everything she had. He kissed her so deeply, so thoroughly, she could not even catch her breath. When he pulled back to put his skilled lips on her neck, kissing her there and sending shivers through her, she gulped air as though she had been drowning.

And then his lips were on hers again. She’d never been kissed like this, kissed with so much possessiveness, kissed as though this was the last night on earth. Nick’s tongue stroked and teased as his mouth slanted over hers again and again. She tried to kiss him back, but her head was spinning, her breath short. “Please,” she said, her gasps coming quick.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, voice husky.

“No. Just slow down. I can’t think.”

“You don’t need to think. You’re impulsive and adventurous. Let your instincts take over.”

He kissed her again, and she had little choice. Her head was spinning, and combined with the rolling of the ship, she could hardly tell what was up and what was down. His lips were her anchor, his body was her lodestone. But every time she thought she found some purchase, his hands stroked her curves or his lips caressed her skin or his hard body moved under her, and she was lost again.

There was nothing for it but to let go. She could not control what she felt, what he was doing to her, and she did not want to. She gave herself up to the feelings, to the tidal waves of emotions. She’d berated herself for falling in love with him, but now she allowed herself to feel the full force of that love. Here, in his arms, her heart was so full of love. Her body raged with desire, and she knew that all of her life she’d told herself lies. She’d said she wanted adventure and the love of many men. But all of her life, this was what she’d been seeking. To be swept away, to love so deeply she could not fathom the depths, to lose herself in another.

She’d been coddled and spoiled, but with Nick she did not think of herself. She thought only of him. She focused on the way he sighed or groaned or shifted when she touched him one way versus another. Her own pleasure was so far from her mind that when he slid into her, hard and fast, she was surprised at the sudden way her body convulsed and tightened around him.

He’d managed to undress himself and pull her on top of him. She arched back when he entered her, gasping at the sensation.

“Ride me,” he ordered her, voice gruff. “Make yourself come.”

“But you—”

“I’m holding back for you, sweet,” he said. “Take me with you.”

She moved her hips, tentatively at first, testing the positions that gave her the most pleasure. When she found it, she succumbed, sliding herself over him again and again until she was spiraling into a bright light bursting with fireworks.

His hands went around her waist, but he didn’t seek to control her. He held on as she took him, and when she felt him swell and throb inside her, she gave him no quarter. She took him completely, giving herself completely as well as until her entire world was only him and the pleasure between them.

Hours later, after they’d both rested, and then he’d taken her again—this time with more patience—she lay in his arms and listened to his soft, regular breathing. She was glad he slept. He would need the rest. She was no sailor, but she sensed an enemy lurked in the darkness beyond the ship. Something waited in the sea, something dark and evil that would do all to tear them apart.

W
hen Rissa knocked on the cabin door, eager to show Nick the sunrise over the water, Ashley groaned and covered her head with the blanket. Nick left his wife to join his daughter on deck. She held his hand and jumped up and down excitedly. Nick raked the hair out of his eyes and squinted. “You’ve seen a sunrise before, sweetheart,” he said with a yawn. He envied Ashley, still sleeping, warm and snug. She shouldn’t have even been on the
Robin Hood
, but now that she and Rissa were here, he could not imagine it any other way.

“But I’ve never seen the sun rise on a ship!” Rissa said. Nick picked the little girl up and listened to her chatter as they gazed out at the lightening sky. She felt so small and slight in his arms. Such a sweet, innocent child, despite all she had been through. She was his to protect, his to keep safe. He hadn’t been able to keep his mother from harm, but he could protect his daughter.

Ashley was his to safeguard as well, though she thought she could take care of herself. His mother had thought the same. Thus far he’d been able to protect her and allow her some freedom. That arrangement was quickly coming to an end now that he was hunting Yussef. Ashley would have been quite happy for him to give up the hunt and return to England with her.

He understood her reasons. The past was the past, and nothing he did to Yussef could change what happened to Ralph or to any of the men who’d died that day in the battle against
The Snake.
If Nick were to die now, what would become of Rissa? Had he even thought of that possibility? No, because he knew Ashley would take care of the child. She was the one who never disappointed, never let anyone down. He hadn’t worried about her or Rissa because he’d known Ashley would care for them both.

They would go on—without him.

The thought depressed him, and for the first time he considered that perhaps Yussef wasn’t worth it. But even as he had the thought, he saw Ralph’s face in him mind. He heard Ralph’s laugher and the gurgle of his labored breathing as he struggled to take in air those last few minutes of his life.