Velvet Chains (Historical Romance) (45 page)

Lucas stood up and walked over to the porthole, gazing out into the night. "If you say the word, Season, I will put into port and have the figurehead of The Raven stripped from the
Andromeda
so no one will recognize her. Then, if it is your wish, I will sail to England and take you to your father."

He heard her come up behind him but he didn't turn around. He didn't know how she would accept everything he had told her tonight, and he wouldn't blame her if she insisted on being taken to her father. He closed his eyes and waited for her to speak.

"What will happen to The Raven now, Lucas?" she asked softly.

Without turning, he spoke. "The Raven will just disappear from the face of the earth, never to be heard from again. No one can ever know who he was."

"Will you promise me one thing, Lucas?"

He turned around and saw that she was smiling, and he felt a flicker of hope fan to life. "I will promise you the moon if you ask it of me, my lady."

"Will you speak to me sometimes in the voice of The Raven? I admit he vies for the affection I owe only to my husband. I have grown to love him also, and shall grieve if I never hear his voice again."

Lucas threw his head back and laughed. "You little devil," he said, drawing her into his arms. "I believe you are attempting to make me jealous. In your case, I will always have to live with another man's image in your heart. Must I always share you with that black-hearted pirate?"

Season threw her arms around his neck and peppered his face with soft kisses. "Yes, you will always have to share me with The Raven, for in my heart you are one and the same. I now know why I could not separate the two of you in my mind; in my heart I must have known you were one and the same."

Lucas picked Season up in his arms, placed her on the bed, and eased himself down beside her. "How will you like having a husband who will stick so close to you that you will sicken at the sight of his face? I have many things to make up to you. Do you mind being married to a simple planter, Season?"

She brushed a dark lock of hair from his forehead and smiled brightly. "I love Rosemont and I will be happy living there with you beside me. There is no longer any guilt in my heart because I love two men. I want to go home and start our life together."

He gathered her tightly against him. "All in good time, my lady. The
Andromeda
is making her final run, she is taking me and my wife to a certain island where we will spend our honeymoon. Will you like that?"

"Oh, yes, Lucas," she said, smiling. "What will happen to the
Andromeda
after we return home?"

"She is going to be stripped and repainted. Briggs will be her captain and enlist her in trade. I fear the
Andromeda
will lead a dull existence from now on."

"I love this ship just as I love her dark master," Season admitted.

Lucas gave her a heartwarming smile. "Perhaps every year I will take you sailing on her. Would you like that?"

"Umm, yes," she said, snuggling into his arms. "Lucas, I love you so much."

Fire lit the depths of Lucas' golden eyes, and as his lips traced a pattern across Season's creamy white shoulders, she laced her hands through his ebony hair.

"We will raise strong sons and daughters, Season, and they will grow up in a free country."

"Yes, and one day I will tell them how their father spirited their mother away and stole her heart."

He brushed his lips against the gentle rise of her breast; then he looked at her in mock horror. "Surely you don't intend to tell them everything? Will you tell them their father was a pirate?" he asked, smiling.

She arched an eyebrow and moved away from him. "Well…perhaps I shall omit one or two details."

"Come here, wife," he said, pulling her forward and slowly unhooking her gown. "Tonight you shall have two different men making love to you, but after this you will have to be content with just your husband. I will never share you with a black-hearted pirate, The Raven."

Season parted her lips and smiled. "I will do my best to satisfy you both." Suddenly, Season had a thought that made her eyes widen. "Lucas, Rebecca and Molly won't know what has happened to me. They will be worried sick."

He chuckled. "No, I told them both that I was taking you on a honeymoon. Your trunks are stowed in the cargo hole."

"It seems you think of everything."

"I try, my lady."

"What would you have done had I asked you to take me back to England, Lucas?"

"I would most probably have kidnapped you again. I don't think I will ever be able to give you up, Season."

As Lucas drew her tightly against him, Season's heart swelled with love. She had found her love in two men who had merged into one. As his hands moved over her body she smiled to herself. Deep in her heart she knew she would always be The Raven's lady.

Season stood on the sandy beach, the wind blowing her golden hair. Shading her eyes against the glaring sun, she watched with a heavy heart, as the figurehead from the
Andromeda
splashed into the sea. She remembered the first time she had seen the raven in flight. How frightened she had been that day. Now she felt sad that it must forever lie at the bottom of the sea. Perhaps one day it will wash upon a beach to rot in the sun, she thought.

"Why so sad, my lady? I have it on good authority that you have every reason to be happy."

Season turned to face her husband. "I am sorry that the figurehead must be stripped from the
Andromeda
."

Lucas put his arms about Season and hugged her to him. "Not only is the figurehead to be replaced, but the
Andromeda
will have new paint and her name will be changed."

"Are you not the least bit sad, Lucas?"

He smiled down at her. "On the contrary—I have never been happier. I give up my wicked ways without a backward glance. The
Andromeda
served her purpose, as did her captain."

Season was warmed by the tender glow in Lucas' golden eyes. "I cannot hope to compete with your love of the sea. Will you not miss being the captain of a ship?"

He laughed and kissed her lips. "How could I miss the sea when I am your husband, my lady? To me that is a far more important role."

"I want to make you happy, Lucas. I just don't want you to have any regrets."

"You haven't asked me about the
Andromeda
's new name, Season. Aren't you the least bit curious?"

She smiled and laid her head against his shoulder. "What is the new name?"

Lucas lifted her chin and gave her a half smile. "Her name is
Lady Season
. Wait until you see the new figurehead, I had the face carved in your image, and it looks as though her golden hair is flying in the wind."

Season laughed delightedly. "When can I see the figurehead, Lucas?"

"Not today, my lady wife. I have plans for you."

He took her hand and led her down the beach. Season felt her heart lighten as they lost sight of the
Andromeda
, and when Lucas pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply, she melted against him.

Suddenly breaking off the kiss, he laughed down at her. "Tonight will be our real honeymoon, Season. We will swim in the sea and sleep beneath the stars. I have a feeling this is where I planted my seed in you before, perhaps I will do it again."

She touched his face and was overcome by her tender feeling for the man who had twice won her heart. "I want to have many children, Lucas. I want to tie you so closely to me that you will never want to leave me and go sailing the world."

He sat down on the sand and pulled her down onto his lap. "I will never leave you again, Season. If I ever do sail the world, you will go with me. I need no child to tie me to you. You have already bound me to you with your sweet smile and your lovely face. From now on, where I go, you will go."

"Will you not soon tire of me?" she asked in an uncertain voice.

He laughed and his golden eyes danced. "Not even when we are old and gray. I intended to make you my captive, but instead I became your slave. You have made me a very happy man. I never tire of the sound of your laughter or the sight of your beautiful face."

She touched his face softly and felt her eyes mist. "It is wonderful to love and be loved, Lucas. I never knew one could find such complete happiness."

Lucas rolled her onto the sandy beach and lay beside her, pulling her tightly against him. The gleam in his golden eyes made her blood flash like quicksilver through her veins. When he bent his head and captured her lips, Season felt her senses ripple like a tidal wave.

Wild primitive delight coursed through her body as he touched her breasts with a feathery, stroking motion.

"You are so enticing, my lady. I fear I cannot wait until the sun goes down," he whispered in a deep voice.

Season's whole being tingled with desire as she surrendered to her husband's kiss. I will never know loneliness again, she thought. Lucas has filled my world with love and now I belong to him.

Lucas glanced toward the rolling waves that lapped against the beach, and he realized he no longer felt such a deep kinship with the sea. He found himself wanting to return to Rosemont where he and Season could raise a family.

As his lips brushed against her satiny skin, he longed to possess her. His hunger for Season never seemed to lessen; he found renewed joy each time he took her in his arms. If only she knew how tightly she had bound him to her ... He would spend the rest of his life proving his love to her, and perhaps, in time, she would forget all about his deception. Perhaps, one day, he would not have to compete with The Raven for her love.

"I love you more than life, Season," he whispered against her ear. "You will always be
my
lady!"