Romancing the Pirate

by Michelle Beattie

“Luke saved me in every way that matters. He’s my life. Well,” she amended, wiping a lone tear, and patting Alicia’s hand, “he’s most of it. I still can’t believe you’re alive. It seems like a dream.”

  Alicia had to blink away her own tears, but the guilt that pressed against her heart wasn’t so easily dispersed.

  “God, Sam, I’m so sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For being a fool. I only remembered our past yesterday. Up until then I thought I was Alicia Davidson from Port Royal, daughter of a blacksmith.”

  Sam gasped. “You lost your memory?”

  Alicia explained about the scar and how she’d been told she’d fallen as a child. She told of the letters she found that led her to search for Sam and the battle that brought the memories back.

  “I was feeling sorry for myself because I’d lost two sets of parents. I felt cheated out of time with both of them, and with you. But now I see how lucky I was. I was loved and cared for. I had food and water, shelter and family, even if they weren’t my own. And all along you were fighting a daily battle just to survive. God,” she said, pushing up from the table, “I can’t believe I was so selfish.”

  Sam’s chair scraped the floor. She grabbed Alicia by the arms and turned her from the window.

  “Don’t ever feel guilty for having had the Davidsons. I’m glad you didn’t suffer through what I did and I would never hold that against you. I wouldn’t have wanted anything for you but what you had. I didn’t have a choice with what Grant did to me, but I can’t regret it all as it brought me Luke.”

  “He’s very taken with you.”

  The sadness faded from Sam’s face. Her smile sparkled as bright as her eyes. “Yes, he is. And I’m pleased to say I feel the same about him. He makes me very happy.”

  “I see that. I’m happy for you, Sam.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “And Blake?”

  Alicia grinned. “It seems too soon to feel what I do, but I love him, Sam. He’s the man I want.”

  Sam spun Alicia in her arms. “We need a party. We can have everyone over and celebrate—”

  “Celebrate what?” Joe asked, lumbering into the kitchen, bringing with him the smell of sea air. A young man with blond hair followed beside him.

  Squawk. “Aidan bring food. Aidan bring food.”

  “Joe!” Alicia called and ran, throwing herself against his chest. His girth was wide and her fingertips barely touched at his back.

  “Do I know ye, lass?” he asked. The fact that he didn’t recognize her didn’t stop him from patting her awkwardly on the shoulder.

  Alicia laughed, drew back. She studied the man she’d known for the first twelve years of her life. He was older, the lines beside his eyes and mouth were more deeply gouged by the weather, but the familiar cigar smoke clung to him the way it always had. Neither the warmth in his gaze nor the gentleness of his touch had changed with time.

  “It’s me, Joe. Alicia.”

  His eyebrows furrowed. “Alicia who?”

  “Joe,” Sam said, coming to stand beside them. “Alicia survived that night. We weren’t the only ones who made it to Port Royal.”

  Unlike Sam, Joe didn’t need convincing. His eyes instantly filled and tears ran unabashedly down his ruddy cheeks. He yanked her back into his arms and clung hard enough to squeeze the breath from Alicia’s lungs.

  “Ah, lass.” He sobbed openly while fat drops fell on her head. “I’ve missed ye. We all thought ye’d died.”

  He rocked her like a baby and together they wept. It was amazing, Alicia realized, just how many tears a body could produce. Finally he eased his grip and stepped back.

  “Yer all grown, lass. Last time I saw ye, ye were about the same age as our Aidan.”

  At the mention of the boy, Sam pulled him from the cage where he was feeding the bird some nuts and brought him closer. Though she and Aidan were the same height, she absently combed his hair with her fingers. His cheeks flamed but he didn’t stop the action.

  “Alicia, this is Aidan. Aidan, this is my sister, Alicia.”

  He watched her carefully, saying nothing. His brown eyes were solemn and looked far too old for a boy who, despite approaching manhood, had a cap of windblown blond hair and holes in the knees of his trousers.

  “Aidan,” Sam prodded, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “Pleased to meet you,” he mumbled.

  Sam gave him a playful shove. “You can go until supper. Maybe that stray dog will be down at the beach.”

  His head shot up. “Can I have him?”

  Squawk. “No bloody dog. No bloody dog.”

  Sam glared at Carracks but softened her gaze when she met Aidan’s. “The answer hasn’t changed from the last twenty times you asked me. It’s enough you bring him food. The mutt lives here half the time as it is.”

  “Luke gives me the food,” Aidan argued.

  Squawk. “Luke’s innocent. Luke’s innocent.”

  “I am so,” Luke said, strolling in with Blake behind him. He walked to Aidan, wrapped an arm loosely around his throat. “Quit getting me into trouble, boy, or it’s the dungeon for you.”

  “You’d have to catch me first,” Aidan taunted.

  “Don’t think I can’t,” Luke said, removing his arm, though he left his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I only let you win those last few races.”

  “Ha!” Aidan said, his eyes dancing. “You’re just too old to catch me.”

  “Old, is it?” Luke growled. The boy ducked away and went to stand by Joe.

  “Don’t come lookin’ to me, boy. I won’t be savin’ ye.”

  Since he was closer to her now, Alicia caught his attention and said, “I’m happy to meet you, Aidan. We have quite a family, don’t we?”

  She took Blake’s hand in hers and felt the warmth from him wash over her. Aidan’s eyes bounced over everyone in the room. His smile mirrored Alicia’s.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I guess we do.”

  Fifteen

  Blake stepped through the door, found Alicia up to her naked shoulders in suds, and promptly dropped the bag he’d been holding. It landed on the floor with a plop. Alicia, seeing who it was, lowered the arms she’d brought up to shield herself and leaned back against the rim of the bathtub.

  Bubbles lapped over the mounds of her breasts. Blake’s blood moved south and left him a little dizzy.

  “Could you shut the door, you’re letting in a draft.”

  He tried to swallow, succeeded on the third attempt, and closed the door with a kick of his boot. Because he’d never seen anything as arousing as Alicia naked in a tub of water, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “Blake?”

  “Mmm?”

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’ll let you know when my brain starts working again.”

  The flush created by the warm water crept up into her face. Blake grinned, completely charmed by her. He crouched at the side of the tub, trailed a finger over her shoulder and across the back of her bare neck. A few pieces of golden silk that had escaped the twist she had created to keep her hair dry grazed his knuckles.

  “Is there room in there for me?”

  Even as her eyes widened, her lips curved. “I don’t think so. Besides, what would Luke and Sam say if they knew you were here with me?”

  “Sam’s busy with Aidan and his lessons. As for Luke, who do you think told me where you were?”

  Alicia’s mouth dropped open. “Luke told you to come while I was bathing?”

  Blake’s fingers slid down her arm, swirled in the water. The bubbles dissipated, enabling him to see her breasts and the reaction his nearness was creating. It created an equally strong response in him. Leaning in, surrounded by the tang of oranges, he kissed the sensitive area at the side of her neck.

  “He seemed to think the fact that you were naked would interest me. He was right.”

  Sighing, she tilted her head. Blake braced his hands on either side of the tub and swept in. He
kissed the base of her neck where her heart pounded; he nibbled his way along her jaw; he whispered in her ear what he wanted to do to her while at the same time he plunged his arm in the water and cupped her breast. Alicia jolted and a surge of water rose up and over the lip of the tub, splashing Blake. He barely gave it a thought as he was intent on the pleasure that bloomed over Alicia’s face when he moved his hand between her legs.

  “Blake,” she sighed.

  He changed his position and her eyes fluttered closed.

  He didn’t stop until Alicia had collapsed against the tub. Through it all, Blake watched her and marveled at how much it seduced him to see her lost in passion. He wanted to see it again.

  Standing, he took off his drenched shirt, kicked off his boots, and peeled his pants off. Alicia’s eyes shot open.

  “Blake—”

  “Just lean forward. I’ll sit behind you.”

  She did as he asked, and when he sat down, water overflowed and sloshed to the floor. Blake drew her against his chest, filled his hands with her breasts. Despite the fact that his knees poked out of the water, there wasn’t a place on earth that he’d rather be.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come back to the ship tonight?”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to,” Alicia explained. “But Sam went to the trouble to prepare the room for me.”

  “And?”

  She took a deep breath. “And as silly as it sounds, I simply want to be close to her.” She arched her neck to look at him. “Does that make any sense?”

  “It does, but that doesn’t mean I won’t miss having you in my arms.”

  He lowered his head and kissed her. His thoughts scattered like ashes in the wind when her mouth responded with undiluted passion. He’d been ready for her since he’d walked into the room, and having her backside pressed against him, her mouth tantalizing his, sent a lightning strike of lust to his loins.

  “You could stay,” she whispered. Boldly she slid her arm between them and took him in her hand.

  Blake grasped her by the waist and turned her until she straddled him. Her breasts were out of the water now and his eyes drank their fill. She was rosy everywhere. He tweaked her nipples, murmured his appreciation when they hardened between his fingers.

  He brought his gaze to hers, felt an overwhelming sense of possession at seeing her like that, with her eyes locked onto his, her hands on his shoulders. Her smile was sweet and the dimples in her cheeks were endearing. He noticed the scar in passing, not because it drew from her loveliness, but because it was a part of her.

  Leaning forward, he suckled her, felt her body bow in his hands. With his hands on her hips, he eased her onto him, holding his breath until he was completely within her. He held the position as long as he could stand, loving the connection he felt when they were joined, the sense of rightness.

  As he began to move and Alicia leaned forward to accept his thrusts, he had but one logical thought.

  If they were to live on the ship, he was going to have to buy a bigger bathtub.

  “She’s not the Freedom, but she comes in a close second,” Luke said, slapping a hand to the newly repaired mast.

  Blake scoffed. “The Blue Rose will take your Freedom any day.”

  “You know,” Luke drawled, leaning negligently against the gunwale, the sun glinting off his chains, “it’s a fine ship. Don’t you think you could’ve managed a more fitting name?”

  “Such as Freedom? That’s not very original,” Blake reminded him.

  Luke shrugged. “Wasn’t my choice, it was a name Samantha chose. Besides, she’s the best ship we have.”

  “You have more than one sloop in your bay. What makes her your favorite?”

  Squinting, Luke looked to the beach and to the two women sitting there, their toes dug into the sand. Blake didn’t know Samantha and Luke’s story, but he knew from the four days they’d been in St. Kitts that there wasn’t anything Luke wouldn’t do for his wife.

  “The Freedom is Samantha’s ship. It’s how we met. She’s our flagship and doesn’t have an equal.”

  “You didn’t build it?” Vincent asked.

  “No,” Luke answered, his eyes shining with affection, “but that doesn’t make her less valuable to us.”

  “Is she for sale, then?” Nate asked.

  They were all at the gunwale—Nate, Vincent, Blake, Joe, Luke, and Aidan. It had taken four solid days of work and their combined efforts to repair the Blue Rose.

  “Not enough money in the Caribbean for that, mate.”

  “Well, we do have a hold full of treasure,” Vincent added.

  Luke scoffed. “I’ve seen my fair share.”

  “Not like this one,” Vincent said. “Must beat any treasure you ever found.”

  Luke looked insulted. “I’ll have you know there was no better pirate than myself. Even,” he added with a pointed look at Blake, “if some of you have never heard of me.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Nate added lazily. “Blake here’s a pretty fine pirate.”

  “I’m not a pirate,” he argued.

  “What’s the matter with being a pirate?” Luke asked. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Blake had gotten to know Luke these last few days, and everything he’d seen of Luke so far, he’d not only liked but he’d respected. Still he knew, and what had happened to Alicia’s parents was a prime example, that not all pirates had Luke’s disposition. But he didn’t want to offend his future brother-in-law either.

  “I’m sure you were a fine pirate,” he said.

  “Sam Steele was better,” Aidan chimed in.

  Joe roared, his belly shaking and his blue eyes glinting. “Ye got that right, me boy.”

  “He does not,” Luke frowned. “I was every bit as successful as Steele.”

  “Far as I know, Steele was never captured and thrown in prison,” Nate said.

  “Bloody hell.” Luke turned to Joe. “Is there anything you didn’t tell them?”

  “Well, I didn’t tell ’em about the time ye were shot in the arse.”

  Blake choked. “Were you really?”

  “Oh, shut it, the lot of you.” Luke scowled at Joe, but the big man’s answer was to grin in return.

  “Tomorrow,” Luke said to Blake. “The Freedom against the Blue Rose. We’ll see which ship is faster.”

  Blake grinned. “Suits me. What’s the wager?”

  Luke mulled it over. “If you win, you don’t owe me for the fancy new wheel we put in.”

  Blake whistled, looked over at the item in question. He’d been awed when Luke had offered him one of the key pieces that made a Bradley ship recognizable. The wheel wasn’t as large as most, but it was made of mahogany and was polished to a smooth shine. There wasn’t another piece on deck that was the same reddish brown and yet it suited the Blue Rose. Blake was honored to have it and he’d made his appreciation clear.

  “That’s a steep wager. What if I lose?”

  “You cook the meat for the party tomorrow night. I bloody hate that job, and,” Luke added, sneering, “you forget you ever heard I was shot in the backside.”

  “Blake? Someone’s here to see you,” Nate called down the hatch the following morning.

  Before Blake could answer, the hem of a blue dress came into view. His stomach tightened, something he was slowly getting used to when he saw or thought of Alicia. Not having had a chance to be intimate with her in the last few days had only heightened his awareness of her.

  “Couldn’t stay away any longer?” he asked, turning to the bed where he’d left his shirt.

  “As a matter of fact, I couldn’t,” Samantha said.

  Blake spun around, his face burning. He jammed his arms into his shirt and fumbled with the buttons.

  “Sorry. I thought you were Alicia.”

  Samantha smiled. “She’s with Aidan. Since he learned she’s a blacksmith, he’s been nattering her with questions.”

  “He’s very bright. He has an inqu
iring mind.”

  “That he has. Some days he gives me a headache with all his questions. Usually it’s about ships and sailing as Aidan is ravenous when it comes to the sea, but he’s taken a very serious interest in blacksmithing.” She smiled. “I’m sure Alicia’s head will be pounding by the time they’re through.”

  “It’s nothing she can’t handle,” Blake assured her.

  “I agree. After all, she is a blacksmith.” Samantha shook her head. “I must admit I have a hard time imagining my little sister doing such work, but it seems to agree with her. Her face shines when she mentions it.”

  “She was worried, you know, about what your reaction would be to that. She was scared you’d think less of her.”

  Samantha frowned, her gaze hardened. “Of course I wouldn’t. And not only because she’s my sister, but because no person should be judged by anything less than who they are at heart.”

  He smiled. Determination was obviously a Fine trait. “I just wanted you to know, your acceptance meant a lot to her.”

  Blake moved to the table, offered Samantha a chair. When she’d sat, he took his own seat.

  “You do know you’ll be losing the race today?” she asked, grinning.

  Blake laughed. “Sure of your ship, are you?”

  “And sure of Luke.” She turned serious. “What I’m not sure of is you.”

  “Oh?”

  Samantha rested her arms on the table, linked her fingers. “I realize this sounds strange coming from me, but as Alicia’s sister, and the last of her family, I feel it’s my duty to ask what your intentions are toward her.”

  Blake frowned. “You know I’ve asked her to be my wife.”

  “I do. But you’ve only known each other a short time. You’re sure of your feelings?”

  Leaning forward, Blake matched her pose. “I’ve never been more sure. I don’t take marriage lightly, Samantha. I’ve never asked another woman to be my wife and I don’t see anyone in my future but your sister.”

  “I’m glad. I don’t want to see her hurt, Blake.”

  “Then let me assure you that I have no intention of hurting her. I know how special she is.”

  “Any chance you’ll live in St. Kitts?”

  Blake shook his head. “My ship is my home. I can’t be a privateer on land.”