Wrong Kind of Paradise (20 page)

amount of responsibilities he’d suddenly inherited with the title when I was young,” he admitted. “He

inherited by default after the death of his brother. As the youngest son of the earl, he’d never imagined

he’d find himself suddenly liable for so many people.”

Her hand found his and twined their fingers together. “My parents loved each other very much when

they first wed,” he continued. “But the alcohol and my father’s fear of his duties tore them to pieces. They

fought often and passionately.”

She squeezed his hand and Blac offered a sad smile. “I remember my brother and me hiding in our

room in the armoire. My father got extremely violent and my mother would try to cover or hide her

bruises from everyone. She would stay abed for days sometimes, leaving the nanny to care for us. The

older I grew, the more I came to resent my father.”

He dislodged himself, unsure of why he’d decided to tell her this. “My brother and I grew up early.

We both take our responsibilities seriously, perhaps because our father didn’t. I watched my mother fade

into nothing because of him. After the viscount closed down my father’s small, independent shipping

company, my father’s last chance to right things, he gave up.”

She gasped but he didn’t turn to see her reaction. “He felt like he had no other reason to fight and

struggle anymore. His drinking and gambling wasted away our entire inheritance, and we barely kept

enough food on the table to keep us fed. Our servants left one by one, until we had nothing left.”

He looked her in the eye. “So the day he sent the ransom money to your father is the day he took his

own life. He borrowed the money and then left us — me, to pay the price.” He shook his head. “As the

new Earl, it was left to my brother to take care of the debts but I refused him. I would never allow him to

pay off any debt owed because of me. It took me several years, but the debt was paid in full. So you

understand now why it’s so important for me to do the right thing. Because if I don’t, then I will end up

just like my father. And I refuse to do that.”

She tilted her head to the side and her eyes softened. “And it’s what makes you such a wonderful

man, Blac. It’s exactly the reason why I fell in love with you. I can always count on you.”

He captured her hands and brought them to his lips. He held them tightly for several long minutes

and then placed one over his heart. “It’s also the reason why I can’t fall in love, Angel. I know things

seem so wonderful now and the fairy tale seems so real, but this will fade. And when it’s all said and

done, the only thing you’ll be left with is the shell of the man you fell in love with. And I refuse to watch

you fade into nothingness like I did my mother.”

~*~

Angel watched him walk away from her. The empty feeling in her gut didn’t come from hunger, it

came from defeat. How could she fight the ghosts of his parents? How could she possibly get him to see

that he would never be like his father?

The wind whipped her hair over her shoulder and she wiped the strands from her face. He stopped

on the quarterdeck and exchanged words with Rigo. She frowned. Tension seemed to ebb through the air

and she could sense some kind of change in him. Curiosity got the best of her and she followed him.

Bruno reached out a hand to her arm and shook his head. She frowned. “What? I just want to see

what’s going on.”

Max walked past her on the way to the quarterdeck carrying an armful of maps. “He be the Cap’n

aboard this ship lass, let the man do ‘is job.”

“I wasn’t going to interfere.”

Both men looked at her pointedly.

She sighed. “All right, I’ll just listen. I promise.”

Following Max, she reached the quarterdeck. Rigo pointed to the left. The entire western sky filled

with a churning mass of black clouds. She frowned. They encountered storms quite often, so why the

concern over this one?

Angel squinted. Nothing. Her gaze followed the line of the horizon and then she saw it. A ship

perched atop the ocean’s edge.

“She’s tailed us for two days, Cap’n.”

“What do you think it means?”

Rigo shrugged. “Honestly?” He turned back toward the tiny vessel bearing down on them. “I think

she is in pursuit. Has been ever since we left port.”

Blac peered through the spyglass. “I can’t tell what kind of ship she is.”

“She’s quick, that’s for sure,” said Rigo. “She’s been steadily gaining on us for hours.”

Blac set his jaw, lowered the looking glass and handed it back to Rigo. Max laid out the maps

across the planked deck and together the two of them poured over them. “We’re here, just off the coast of

St. Kitts.”

“So we have another three days before we reach Port Royal.”

“Aye.”

Blac studied the charts for several seconds. He got to his feet. “Full sails, let’s outrun these lice-

infested bilge rats and see what this ship is made of.”

Two hours later, a storm rolled in on top of twenty-foot waves. The bow wash piled high as the

Serpent’s Revenge cut through the frothy blue waves. Canvas ballooned and they skimmed over the waves

in a north-westerly heading. A wide, growling swath of thundering clouds circled above.

“Lash down everything, Mr. Santiago. We’re in for a long night.”

Blac tracked the approaching storm from the quarterdeck, hands on the wheel. Angel turned to pick

up the unfettered lines but a hand on her upper arm drew her up and around. Blac shook his head at her.

“What do you think you’re doing, Angel?”

“I’m doing my duty.”

“When I gave out orders, it was to my crew, Angel. Not you.” He pulled her toward the hatch.

“Now get to my cabin and stay there.”

“Blister it, Blac! I am not a child. I’ve captained my own damn ship for two years. I can help.”

“Not today, you won’t.”

She gritted her teeth. “Do not be stubborn.”

He paused and pulled her around to face him. “I have an unknown vessel tailing me, what looks like

a devil of a storm brewing, and an entire crew depending on me to keep them alive. I cannot,” he said and

shook her. “And will not, divide my attention from my responsibilities to keep an eye on you. If you wish

to help, then do me a favor, sweet one.” He kissed the bridge of her nose. “Stay below, so I have one less

thing to worry about.”

Angel remained stiff.
So now you know why I take my responsibilities seriously, Angel.
His words

echoed in her mind. She couldn’t make him chose between his responsibilities and her.

She glared at him and then with a soft sigh, she turned and headed below. She would do as he

asked, only because she wanted to keep him safe and not have him worry over her. She did not do it

because he’d told her to, but because he’d asked.

Angel entered the cabin and the ship took a downward lurch. She toppled to her knees and clasped

the door handle. The ship straightened and made its ascent up another wave. The bottom dropped out of

the sky and rain spattered on the deck overhead. Angel stood and moved to the bunk just as the ship

slanted once again. Tossed against the table, she let out a sharp squeal of pain.

She hated storms. She loved the sea and her ship. But she hated the storms.

Mother Nature often had a way of letting one know exactly who was in charge. Her stomach

flopped over and she rested a hand over it. She’d never been sea sick before.

But dread skittered down her spine.

Wind and sea lashed the windows, and every fear leapt forward in mind. What if Blac were swept

overboard? She had to just see him. Maybe if she could just sneak on deck right at the stairs, she could

see him. He wouldn’t even have to know she was there. She’d be relatively safe and she could make sure

he was safe as well.

After all, if anything bad happened, he’d need every pair of available hands. He might even thank

her later. She didn’t have as much experience as Blac, but she had been through a few storms herself.

Her gaze swung to the windows and a flutter inside her belly told her that she didn’t think she’d

been through anything quite like the storm they faced now.

She crossed to the door before she lost her nerve and flung it open. A gust of wind slammed her into

the wall. She banged her head against the paneling, groaned, and crumpled to the floor. She scrambled to

her knees and crawled, making her way to the deck.

Rain pelted her like a thousand needles. She seized hold of the grab rails attached to the side and

got to her feet. She leapt toward the stair railing leading to the quarterdeck and held tight as the ship

dipped into the ocean’s depth at almost a ninety-degree angle.

Fear kept her paralyzed, and she closed her eyes. The ship hit the base of the wave like a twenty-

four pounder cannonade, and the resounding crash receded against the rumble of thunder.

The wind abruptly died off, the rain ceased and the clouds exploded with one last brilliant light

display. Multiple streaks of jagged fingers clawed at the ocean’s surface. A silence born of anticipation

settled and every crew member looked up and around in confusion. Brush-like charges of static crackled

and her muscles tensed with pain.

“Angel!”

She jumped out of her skin and turned to peer up the stairs. Blac unfastened the rope binding him to

the wheel. She decided she’d better meet him halfway or else her tongue-lashing would be worse.

She started up the stairs. A clap of thunder and the gathering sea tilted the ship almost on its side.

She flew back down the steps and slid into the railing, toppling right over the side. By sheer instinct, she

managed to grasp the rail at the last minute. The water licked at her feet as she hung from the banister and

fear gripped her heart. She was about to be washed over the side.

Her eyes met Blac’s and her scream rent the air just before it was swallowed up by a massive

wave, which sucked her into the waiting arms of the black water below.

She heard her name, just as her grip began to slip.
Blac, I love you, I always have...

Fifteen

Blac roared and dived toward the stairs.

Gravity took hold and he tumbled down the steps. He twisted enough to catch his descent with the

lower half of his body against the railing. He reached over the side, grabbed hold of Angel’s wrists, and

hauled her into his arms.

The staccato of his heartbeat pounded inside his ears and he closed his eyes in relief. Wrapping his

legs around the bottom of the balustrade, he held tight until the ship somewhat righted herself.

Nestled between the stairs and the rail, Blac clasped her against his side. Waves washed over the

side and back out to sea. That could’ve been Angel.

He whispered her name. Both hands cupped her cheeks and he ravaged her lips. Rain washed all

color from her face, or was that fear?

Droplets coasted down her face, dripping off her pert little nose and he gently kissed the tip.

“You’re in so much trouble... When this is over, I’m going to beat you black and blue.”

With a soft chuckle between clenched teeth, she looked up at him. “As long as you kiss it

afterward.”

He laughed and squeezed her.

His heart finally pattered down to a normal rate. Her cold hands gripped him around the waist and

she shook from shock. “It’s all right now, Angel. I’ve got you.” He pulled her closer and wiped a hand

over her wet hair, smoothing it from her face.

She nodded but didn’t speak. Her teeth chattered when she attempted a smile. He lumbered to his

feet, pulled her with him, and together they made their way back to the helm. Doubled over against the

force of the wind he strapped them both to the wheel, with her safe inside the circumference of his arms.

The thought that this is where she belonged crossed his mind and this time, he didn’t try to talk

himself out of it. He had loved her in some form or another for many years now. His feelings for her had

grown and changed as she had, and he could no longer deny them. Life without Angel was no longer an

option, and he would fight to keep her right where she belonged...by his side.

The whistle of the wind through the rigging created an eerie atmosphere. Another mountainous wave

crashed over the ship and pummeled them, causing the rope binding to dig into his back. He gritted his

teeth against the pain and held his breath. Inhaling between the surges, he noted Rigo trying to lash down

some unfettered lines.

He placed Angel’s hands on the wheel. “Just keep her steady and sail her into the wave. I’ll be right

back.”

He unleashed himself and refastened it around her. “Blac! Don’t leave me here.”

Real fear marked her features with wide eyes and a pale complexion. He cupped her face. “I’ll be

right back, I swear.” He kissed her again and made his way to Rigo. He strained against the wind, his

eyes little more than narrow slits. He could barely see or breathe. The wind sucked the air right out of his

lungs.

Together they lashed down the lines. Rigo held the last one in hand when the ship lurched up