Seduced by the Pirate Read online

  What was it about these lads that affected him so? Was it because he was scarcely older himself when snatched away from England?

  Miss Bromley joined them and placed a protective arm around Malik. He noted the shadows beneath her eyes.

  “Did you manage to sleep?”

  She shook her head. “‘Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleeve of care?’ I’m afraid I was too restless.”

  “‘The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath,’” Jack responded.

  “You are familiar with Macbeth.” Her brown eyes gazed into his, a small smile on her lips made for kissing. I see you have Shakespeare’s works in your cabin.” She raised slender brows. “You are a puzzle, Captain.”

  “One you’d like to solve?”

  She looked away. “We’ll be on land in a matter of hours. Aden wishes to get up,” she said, changing the subject. “I told him he could. Sunshine and fresh air are important, but he is not to be given any hard tasks for a week or two.”

  “I’ll see to it.” Her very presence seemed to seep into his bones. He tightened his hands on the rail to avoid reaching out to her. “Give the spyglass to Pete,” he said to Malik.

  The lad rushed off to Pete at the helm.

  Jack turned and leaned against the rail to better view her. “Your brother is determined to set out as soon as you land.”

  She nodded. Her lips tightened.

  “You know what awaits you? What awaits the lad? Say no.”

  “He is my brother. I owe him my loyalty.” She glanced at him sidelong as if not believing her own words. “You cannot deny that Alex is courageous.”

  “Courage is one thing. Coping with what you must face because of it is another.”

  “You want me to defy him? To what end?”

  “I’ll arrange for you to be taken to England.”

  “And shall I arrive unmarried and unescorted and have to explain how I left my brother alone in Africa? And will I be able to sleep then, wondering how he fares?” She sighed. “You have experienced more of the world than I have, Captain Stirling. You know what that would mean.”

  “Lydia, I think your brother has lost his mind. Perhaps there was some poison on that arrow. He doesn’t look right to me.”

  She stiffened. “And for that reason alone, I cannot abandon him.”

  “I wish you would allow me to help you.”

  She wordlessly shook her head.

  He leaned close, an eye on his men to see if they were observed. “There’s something between us. Something strong. Worth fighting for.”

  She didn’t deny it, and the desire in her soft brown eyes told him he was right. “Not when it hurts others.”

  He held her arms in a firm grip. “Lydia. Everyone should act according to his own lights. If you want something badly, take it and to hell with the consequences.” He was done arguing. It got him nowhere. He pulled her into the sheltered leeward side of the deck, lowered his head and kissed her.

  “No, Jack.” Lydia thrust him back while the overwhelming warmth from his firm, insistent lips lingered, spreading through her body. A heavy desire low in her stomach temped her.

  He stood, making no attempt to kiss her again. She dragged in a breath with a glance at a man swabbing the deck who had paused in his work to watch with evident interest. She clung to the rail, her legs weak, and fought to control her breathing. “Become a pirate’s mistress? That is not what I want. Nor is a cruel pirate what I imagine when I think of you. Why you have chosen to live this life is something I cannot understand. Make me understand it,” she said in an urgent whisper, needing desperately to know.

  Jack folded his arms to prevent himself from grabbing her again. He didn’t want pity from her. If she wished him to spill out the long sad story of his life, she would be disappointed. He wouldn’t do it, even to rescue her from her deranged brother. Jack saw it was useless. She came from a different world. The Bromleys would return to English society, if they survived Alex’s irrational scheme. “Don’t think I am badly done by. I could have chosen another path. Perhaps something in my blood made me choose this one.”

  Lydia slowly shook her head, her eyes imploring. “I don’t believe you.”

  If she’d said she cared for him, he would move mountains for her, but she did not. He wouldn’t change for her, damn if he would. This was his life. He knew no other. He traced over the scar at his temple with a finger, struggling to dismiss the effect her blind belief had on him. He had to let her go. Even if she did care for him, she would never put him first and claim this life as her own. He admired her strength and sense of honor, while he despaired of it, forced to admit that he was hardly a desirable alternative for her, and should not be tempted to keep her here.

  Lydia glanced toward the companionway, no doubt fearing the appearance of her brother. “Was there anything else you wished to say?”

  He shook his head. “It’s been said.”

  With a bow, he turned and left her. “Raise the Union Jack,” he yelled.

  Lydia fled below with Malik following. Hot tears pricked her eyes, and a lump threatened to block her throat as she entered Jack’s quarters.

  Alex stood at the window. He turned to her. Observing her tear-stained face, he nodded as if in agreement with his own thoughts. “Best we leave this cursed boat and that pirate of yours. Have you given yourself to him?”

  “No!” She was stunned by the change in him. As if this country had removed any semblance of the refined English gentleman he’d been.

  “Good, we wouldn’t want to have to deal with the possible outcome. Having a baby in the jungle is best left to the natives.”

  “You are hateful, Alex. How dare you! You don’t deserve my loyalty.”

  “Prepare yourself.” He turned back to the window. “We are approaching land. I want to get away as soon as I’ve purchased what we need to take with us. Good thing I brought my money belt. Your pirate is unlikely to offer me any of his gold.”

  The Golden Orion hove to in the cove where two other ships had anchored in the calmer waters. At the loud grind of the anchor being lowered, she stood before the mirror and put on her hat. She was sure Stirling would give them money had Alex asked, but she didn’t mention it, her heart too heavy to argue the point. She shivered. What awaited them on land? Could she trust Alex who seemed feverish in his determination to make their way back to their camp?

  Malik nervously clung to her skirts. She forced a smile onto her lips. “Ready for another adventure?” she asked him, making herself understood with gestures.

  It did not reassure him. His eyes clouded with uncertainty and he turned to gaze out the window.

  An hour later, Lydia and Malik were assisted into the longboat with Alex, then Jack and five of his men rowed them ashore.

  In the shallows, Jack carried her to the shore. She seemed to have lost sense of herself welcoming his strong arms around her. She wished she could remain within them, fearful and fighting against a rising surge of panic. The solid ground felt strange beneath her feet; she’d become used to the tilt of the deck. The hot air rank with the jungle smells. She tried not to look at Jack, still deeply upset by Alex’s accusation. Once he had his specimens, she would persuade him to return to England straight away. If they survived. And it didn’t seem to matter. She felt as if her life was ending.

  Jack handed Alex his musket. “You will have need of this. That pistol won’t be adequate. Careful, it’s primed.”

  Alex took the gun with a nod. “I’m glad your men have recovered, Captain.”

  “Yes. Thanks to your sister’s skills.”

  Alex merely gazed around, obviously happy to be on dry land again. “Come Lydia, Malik.”

  The child took Lydia’s hand.

  “Goodbye, Captain Stirling.” She took note of his frown and the disquiet in his eyes. “Thank you for taking good care of us.”

  “With Malik at her side, she and Alex took the rough path that led to the crudely built dwellings. A sla
ve ship was anchored in deeper waters.

  “This is appalling,” Lydia said aghast.

  “Nothing we can do about it,” Alex said. “It has been sanctioned. The men feel they operate on the right side of the law.”

  “They are beasts!” She didn’t trust them. Her throat tightened when she noticed a man leaning against a tree. He smoked a cigar, his eyes on them. “Let’s leave this place, Alex, please.”

  “We will, Lydia,” Alex snapped. “When I’ve bought some provisions. We can hardly set out without them.”

  Jack had remained on shore. But when she looked again, the longboat was returning to the ship.

  Cries and moans rent the air as the black men, women, and children were herded like cattle to where a white man sat on a box. He examined the bodies and teeth of each one as they passed.

  Malik pulled at her hand. Fearful, Lydia turned to her brother. “Alex, those men…?”

  “Quiet, Lydia. They won’t bother us. Let me do the talking.” Her brother had the pistol tucked into his breeches and held the musket Jack had given him against his chest.

  The man who’d leaned against the tree smoking, tossed away his cigar and strode toward them. “I’ll take him,” he said gesturing to Malik.

  “No, you don’t. He’s mine,” Alex said.

  The man stopped, hands on hips, and surveyed them. His greedy eyes ran over Lydia. “And is the lady yours, too?”

  Alex brought the musket up in front of him. “She is. Stand aside.”

  Shaking, Lydia pushed Malik behind her, her breath coming in gasps.

  The man stood his ground, blocking the path. “My cousin is the 4th Baron Bromley,” Alex said. “Get out of my way.”

  “You’re not in England at a king’s soiree. We don’t bend the knee to the likes of you here.”

  “Step aside, I say,” Alex repeated. He raised his musket.

  Lydia wasn’t sure if he meant to fire it or just threaten the man. But a moment later, a knife hit Alex in the chest above his heart. He fell like a stone.

  “Alex!” Stunned, she bent to feel his pulse, but saw at a glance that he was dead. “You’ve killed him!”

  A shout went up and people came running to investigate. It brought her alive. She snatched Malik’s hand, and pulling the scared lad with her, ran for the jungle. But after a hurried conversation, the man came after her. He was catching up with them.

  A shot sounded, and the man behind her dropped. Jack was firing from the longboat.

  “Can you swim, Malik?” Lydia huffed out as she veered off the path in the direction of the bay.

  “Yes.”

  They plunged into the sea.

  Chapter Seven

  Jack had been watching the events unfolding on shore. When Alex fell, he had ordered his crew to return to shore. He’d braced himself as the boards of the longboat shifted beneath his feet and trained his musket on a man in hot pursuit of Lydia. He was almost upon her. Jack took aim. His shot brought the man down. A chorus of outraged yells erupted from the mob. The cries of pirates rose up, and more men moved cautiously along the fringe of trees.

  When Lydia and the child plunged into the sea, Jack’s blood ran cold. He groaned. They were still a distance away.

  “Row hard,” Jack yelled. The oars dipped and rose, sending the boat swiftly through the water.

  One of the traders removed his boots and jumped into the sea.

  Lydia struggled. She was making little headway, towing the lad who was tiring–the trader swimming strongly after them.

  Jack dived in the water and struck out toward her. From shore, men fired at the longboat, their shot peppering the water, narrowly missing Jack. When Sam returned their fire, they gave up and ran for cover.

  Jack reached Lydia, her skirt billowing out, hampering her efforts. He slipped his arm around her waist.

  She gasped. “Help Malik.”

  The tired child was swallowing water. Jack grabbed him with his spare hand and held him up as the boat came alongside. Moments later, they were hauled in. “Well, what strange sort of a fish is this?” Pete asked, while Malik coughed up water.

  As they were rowed back to the Golden Orion, the men on shore gathered around the fallen man and the swimmer hauled himself out of the water onto the bank.

  Lydia angrily swiped away tears. “Those devils killed Alex.” She sank into Jack’s arms and wept bitterly, her slim shoulders shaking in her drenched clothes.

  Keen to get them on board in case they came under fire again, Jack held her in silence as the men rowed back to the ship. Regrettable about Alex, he felt little sympathy. The man had been a reckless fool who didn’t seem to care much for his sister.

  He would give the order for the ship to get underway. Home to Puerto de los Dioses. She and Malik were safe, that’s all that mattered. And in his island fortress, he could guard her well. He gazed down, her pale cheek rested against his chest, her dark hair flowing about her like a mermaid. He wanted her, and would never let her go.

  “Set sail for the Azores, Peter”, Jack yelled after he, Lydia, and Malik stepped from the ladder into the ships’ waist.

  As the crew jumped to, the pirate with the eyepatch observed her, his mouthing forming a hard line. Soaking and shivering with shock, she turned away from him. The awful vision of Alex falling dead at her feet filled her mind’, as did the frightening struggle to stop Malik from drowning before he slipped from her grasp as her skirts wrapped around her legs and pulled her down.

  The pirate disapproved of her. Thought her Jack’s mistress. “I thank you sincerely for your rescue, Captain,” she said stiffly when he came back to them. “It was most timely. But please know that I do not intend to be a burden to you. We… I…have caused you inconvenience enough. Yet I have one more favor to ask of you. Would you be so kind as to deliver Malik and me to some port on your way, where we might find the means to sail to England?”

  He studied her, his gaze inscrutable. “That is something to discuss at a later time. You and the child need to go below. Please use my cabin. You are under my protection whilst on the Golden Orion.”

  She bowed her head, and without argument, went with Bastian to Jack’s quarters. Overhead came the piercing sound of the bo’sun’s pipe and the patter of men’s feet, as sails were hoisted, and the ship began to move.

  “Drink some rum, Lydia, it will warm you.” Jack placed a glass in front of her on the table.

  Lydia felt numb. She’d gone through the motions of attending to Malik, drying his hair, and bundling him up in one of Jack’s shirts. The lad then climbed into the hammock, which he’d made his own. Whether from relief or the shock from his ordeal, he quickly fell asleep.

  Holding the glass in shaky fingers, she swallowed a mouthful of the rum. She coughed, her throat sore from the saltwater, while she tried to force the violent and senseless slaying of her brother from her mind. The liquor warmed her through. Her limbs loosened. She put down the glass and wound up the sleeves of Jack’s silk robe which had fallen over her hands. “Will they come after us?”

  “No. They’re intent on their lucrative trade. But the watch will alert me should any of them decide to be reckless.” Jack glanced at the robe. “As fetching as you look in that, you need dry clothes.” He raised his black brows. “I’m afraid it’s going to have to be something from that trunk I mentioned.”

  Right now, she didn’t care. Her gaze drifted over him, the rum coiling pleasurably in her belly while she fought the urge to reach out to him, to curl up in those strong arms again. But she needed to think very seriously about what was to happen in her future, and Malik’s. And she needed time to mourn her brother. She drank the last of the rum which wasn’t unpleasant. “Where are we going?”

  “To my home in the Azores.”

  “You have a home? I thought pirates lived on the sea,” she said drowsily.

  “For most of the year. But the ship has to be careened regularly. It keeps the hull smooth and clear of seaweed and other marine
life that slows it down. I’ve ordered the ship to get underway.”

  She was aware he tried to calm her and banish the shocking vision repeating in her mind, but it failed. And she’d run out of words.

  “I need to be on deck, and you must rest,” Jack said.

  Her head spun. Would she now be seen as a burden? There were those in the crew who would rather see the back of her. The ones not affected by illness, never wanted her aboard.

  She rested her head on her hands and closed her eyes, silent tears dampening her cheeks.

  “You can’t sleep there, my sweet,” a deep voice sounded in her ear. His strength was so seductive, and she was tired of being afraid. A frisson of yearning threaded through her when he lifted her from the chair and carried her to his bed. Big, capable hands tucked her beneath the covers. The bird squawked. “None of your cheek, Oskar,” Jack murmured.

  The door closed behind him.

  Lydia snuggled down, her mind still too busy for rest. It had surprised her when Pete Johns told her a pirate ship was run by a code, or articles. “Everyone has an oar in the water on board ship,” he’d explained. There were set rules for discipline, and the division of stolen goods.

  Although Jack’s men obeyed him in the running of the ship and when under fire, the captain did not have full sway over everything. If the majority did not want her here, she would have to leave. She did not intend it to come to that. Jack was a popular captain, a respected one. There was no way she would cause trouble between him and his crew. She must find a way to return to England. But she was too weary to consider it. All she knew was that Alex was dead and she was alone. Truly alone now. In the jungle, Alex had taught her to shoot a pistol and then left her by herself. Too often.

  The horror faded, or retreated to the back of her mind to be dealt with later. As slumber threatened to claim her, she realized that for the first time in more than two years, she felt safe. She moaned. But for how long?