"I'll take care of it. That you know I'm good for."
He nods and turns back to the sea. "Aye, I'm sure I'll find a good reason to head to the big city. No piracy, a' course, but bargainin'? Yes, we could use a simple trade route. Good suggestion, Bluff. Go ahead and tell the crew our heading."
"Thank you," I say, sincerely, and head back to the crew.
"Oh, and Bluff, let me know if you want to draw out the trip. Ya might desire a little time to..." I wince when the captain winks but cover it with a smile.
"Thank you, Captain, but I'm sure I've got plenty of time as it is." God knows that's the truth. Get this girl off my hands as fast as possible. It'll be a three-day trip as it is.
"That's my boy."
I turn away and head to the crew.
"We've got a heading, boys."
"Where to?"
"Captain’s got a bit of business in the big city a' New York. Simple bartering trip, I expect."
The crew stare at me without a word. I admit, it is a bit of a weird heading. Not too often do we head for a city like New York. It's much too big and too well protected to do any pirating. Even as sailors with a privateer flag, we could be discovered as pirates and round up. If the military takes too good a look at our cargo holds, there’d be no mistaking our true nature. It takes a bit of bribing to get by well-guarded areas most times—and that’s if we’re lucky.
Pirates only head to New York if they've got a damn good reason.
As far as I'm concerned, dropping this girl off and getting her out of my hair is a hell of a good reason. Away from Stede and away from me.
"New York?" Barns stands, chewing on a piece of straw I suspect he's been saving for months. He grew up on a farm and only became a pirate when a drought and scarlet fever struck his family at the same time. I'm not sure if he carries the straw as a reminder of what he lost or for the comfort of the familiar.
"If you got a problem with it, take it up with the captain," I say, even though I'm sure most of the crew already suspect the strange heading is my doing. And that's the exact reason they won't question it.
Barns grunts but turns away and tends to a fraying rope laying on the ground. No point. It’s too far gone to fix. He knows it, I know it. Just gives him something to do with his hands.
I don't like inconveniencing the crew too much, but I'm fairly certain they'll live through one short trip to New York. No promises, though.
I take a walk around the ship to clear my mind. Just a few days. Then this bloody business can be done and over with.
"Hey."
Her voice is soft like cotton. I stop but don't turn.
"You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to," she says.
I turn to her now. "Well, we do have a bit of a ruse going that we're 'together'. Would be a bit odd if we never actual spoke."
She nods and turns to the open water. I join her by the edge of swaying ship. The wind is still on our side. We'll certainly make good time.
For a moment, the smallest of moments, I love the sea. Vast and open. So incredible for something so small to be so damn big.
"I just wanted to say thank you," she says.
I blink.
"For saving me, I mean. I still don't know why you did. I'm honestly not sure I want to."
"I had my reasons, plenty. Trust that. I might not be as much a scallywag as these boys, but I'm a pirate just the same, and pirates always have a motive."
"That's what I'm scared of," she says like a whisper.
I sigh, ignoring the dizzy feeling in my head. I shouldn't want her to trust me. She shouldn't trust me.
"I might not be as honorable as you're used to, but believe me when I say your safety is my priority. Just don't expect to ever know why."
She nods, and I hope it means she won't ask any more questions. I have no answers for her.
"As for the 'honorable' men I'm used to... you forget who my father is."
My eyebrows shoot up, surprised. "I suppose that's true."
"Can I ask you one more question?"
I take in a deep breath and close my eyes as salt water splashes my face.
"It's late. We should find a place to lay our heads or we'll end up sleeping here."
"Here's not too bad."
She's right about that. There's a nice little nook right by the bow where the breeze is gentle and the view pleasant. But that doesn't mean it's a good place to sleep. "More than one good sailor has rolled into the sea while he slept. Best to stick to the cabins."
She stands, accepting my words. Maybe she does trust me, after all.
Dumb broad.
Half the crew is below already. The other half is laughing and drinking by the mast.
Someone whistles to Whitley, and I'm surprised when she doesn't react. "If you've got a taste for older men, I'd welcome you in my bed, sweetheart. Ya know, if Bluff here doesn't quite do it for you."
A quiet anger fills my chest, and I have half a mind to start a fight. It would be convincing to our relationship, at least. Instead I pull Whitley in by the waist and wink. "I can be anything she wants me to be.” Which gets a few proud laughs.
"It's not about what you look like, boy. It's about what you can do with the raw materials. It's about experience."
Whitley shudders in my arms, and I can tell his tone sickens her.
"Women you pay to tell you how good you are? Yes, I'm sure you're an expert," Rosemera calls out as she skips down the steps from the aft.
The men laugh, but I'm fairly certain they'd laugh at anything right now. Talking about women, their beauty and their flaws, always lightens the mood. Especially in a half-drunk crowd.
She walks right up to me and holds out a key.
"What's this?"
"Key to the captain's quarters."
"Seriously? I didn't ask for this."
"I know." She smiles at me. It's an understanding smile, but I can tell she's enjoying this.
"Your goal is to keep her safe right? I don't care who's watching—with this bunch, she won't be safe."
"And what about you?"
"I'm taking the crow’s watch. Besides, I stabbed Wes six months ago when he tried groping me, and my father threw Fouad to the sharks the time he snuck into my bed. No one will mess with me now."
I hold back a laugh about Fouad, who I'm guessing was the pirate from prison a few days ago. Thrown over for a game of dice, eh?
Honestly, I care a hell of a lot more about Rosemera than I do about Whitley. But she's probably right. The crew knows better than to mess with the Captain’s daughter by now.
I take the key with an embarrassed "thanks," knowing that tonight is not going to be near as fun as everyone else expects. In fact, I'm pretty well dreading it.
Bluff
The crew calls out to us as we unlock the thick wooden door to the captain's quarters. There’s hooting and hollering and, of course, belly laughing galore. They're all certain it'll be the best night of my life. I'm certain it will be the most awkward.
I usher Whitley into the dark room, the wood groaning as we enter. Moonlight streams in through the window, but it's hardly enough to see by. I quickly light a few candles. The captain’s quarters are the nicest place you'll find on a pirate ship but I realize it's probably pretty awful to a girl like her.
"Bluff," she whispers.
I close my eyes and shiver at the sound of my name on her lips, but I push back the feeling. "We're just gonna sleep. Don't worry about me."
I don't look to see if she acknowledges the statement. I don't want to know if she's relieved that I won't try to seduce her or whatever sick idea she has. And I certainly don't want to know if she's disappointed.
In fact, just the thought is like a kick in the gut.
God, I need to get rid of this girl.
She walks slowly across the room, wood creaking beneath her feet. With a sigh she sits on a bench by the window, moonlight shining on her face.
I tear my eyes from her and
take the opportunity to get ready for bed. If I'm sleeping in the captain's bed, I'm not sleeping in my rotting tunic—the same tunic I wore in prison. I pull the shirt over my head and toss it to the corner, then rummage through a chest of clothing laying on the ground. These are Rosemera's, and I know she wouldn't mind me taking some. In fact, she's offered on more than one occasion. For a Moroccan girl, she certainly likes her English clothing.
I find a soft pair of trousers that will do for the night. I slip my old ones off. New ones on as fast as possible. Whitley doesn't even glance my way.
When I'm finished, I approach her.
I can't help it, I'm curious.
Standing over her shoulder, I look out the window and try to decide what she's looking for.
"You love the ocean," I say. It's not a question. I can see it in her eyes, the same way I saw it when she first boarded the ship. It's a fact that scares me more than she will ever understand.
She jumps but doesn't move. "I've never thought about it like that. It's just... beautiful out there."
I look down at her moonlit face and nod. "It is, isn't it?"
She looks up into my eyes, and I realize how close we're standing. My chest is inches from her shoulder.
My breathing slows. My heart pounds louder but not faster.
I'm calm, here, next to her.
Her watching the water, me watching her.
But I know it can't last.
I take a small step away, just enough to break the spell.
She blinks and smiles, glancing to the window and then looking at me like she can't decide which is more important.
"Can you change into anyone?" she asks, but then blushes like she can't believe she said it.
My eyebrows rise, and I wonder if there's someone in particular she wants to see.
"My shifting is pretty much limitless. I can change as much or as little about myself as I want, it just takes some concertation. So yes, I can become anyone."
"But how?"
I shrug. I don't mind questions, but that one is a bit loaded.
"Do the crew know?"
"What?"
"About your... ability?"
I cross my arms and smirk. "Yes, of course. It's gotten them out of more than one bind. Saved a few of their lives, even."
She nods.
"Do you always ask so many questions?"
She smiles. "Only when supernatural boys save me from savage pirates."
"Touché." It’s quiet for a long moment, and I assume she’s done with her questions. "We should try for some sleep. Dawn will come sooner than you think."
She peers down at the bed, furrowing her brow.
"Something wrong?"
She sighs. "This dress isn't exactly for sleeping."
Heat rushes to my face, and immediately I regret it. Not like she's gonna sleep naked.
"You need something to sleep in?"
Her eyes narrow a little and then she shakes her head. "It’s not really the dress, but the stay beneath.”
“Stay?”
“A corset of sorts.”
“I see.” I smirk and hope it's too dark for her to see my blush. "You want me to help you out of your dress?"
Her mouth and eyes open in surprise. "I... I mean."
I laugh. At least I can be amused by her discomfort instead of worried about the feeling in my chest. "Turn," I say. She pulls down the outer layer of her gown, exposing a small white chemise and corset.
She turns back, looking out the window again, and I tend to the string knotted at the top of her dress.
"It's tied very tightly.”
The knot comes lose immediately. I start at the bottom of her back, losing the string all the way up. "I'm a pirate. I'm good with knots."
"Right," she says in a near whisper. Brushing the hair from the back of her neck, I let my fingers run over her shoulder, pushing the fabric down.
"I think I have it from here," she says more firmly now.
I smile, my heart pounding. But I won't let her know that.
I hate pulling my hand away, but I do.
Most of all I hate that I don't want to leave her. I can't want her.
This feeling is more dangerous than Captain Stede. Wanting her will lead to... well, I don't want to even think about that. If I were to see her as anything more than a pretty princess on her way back to her fiancé...
I take in a deep breath and think about the future. She'll be safe in New York with her rich future husband, and I'll be free of the curse. A prophecy that says I’ll fall in love with her and she’ll become my destruction.
I just need to survive two more days. Two more achingly long days pretending to be with a girl I cannot have feelings for.
I crawl into bed with my soft English pants and roll away, my back facing Whitley. Moments later, she enters silently but I can feel her heat.
"Thank you," she whispers.
I'm not sure what she's thanking me for—saving her, taking her to New York to be with her beloved Jeb, or not seducing her when I have ample opportunity?
Which makes me wonder what she would do...
No. I can't think like that. I must sleep and not dream about high society girls. Even if her blond hair and blue eyes shine, she looks at the sea a way I wish she'd look at me, and I can still feel her bare legs sliding down my hands as we escaped the pirate invasion.
I close my eyes and picture that moment, because, well, sometimes you need to indulge your fantasies. In my mind Whitley wraps her legs around me and lets my hands rest on her legs. I push her against the wall and press my lips—
No! God, what is wrong with me?
I shake my head, subtly enough that I hope Whitley doesn't notice. I recite the prophecy in my mind, over and over again, a reminder of what I stand to lose if I let myself become entangled in her spell.
Daughter of the scheming land-dweller
A man so bold as to betray a pirate
A beauty of golden hair and secret of low birth
Will control the Son of the Sea, cause him to fall
She alone holds the power to enslave him
Control him, even to his death
I clench my jaw. Just two more days.
Once she’s married, the prophecy will be annulled. At least that’s what the sea witch said. Until then she’ll be safe inside a city too well guarded for either siren or pirate to take her. If we can get there in time.
Stede expects me to love her, they all do. Every prophecy has several possible meanings, but they all think I’ll fall in love with the beauty of golden hair and secret of low birth. And when I do, she’ll gain the ability to literally control my power. She’ll be my destruction.
But I won’t love her.
I won’t even let myself get close.
Whitley
I wake to an empty bed.
As an unmarried woman, anything else would be obscene, according to everything I've been taught. And yet, the space beside me feels unnaturally cold. Like Bluff should be there, next to me.
I roll out of bed and stretch my back, then brush my unruly hair with my fingers. I find a few remaining pins and carefully remove them, one by one.
The ground beneath me rocks and sways, the wood creaking. Water splashes and whooshes behind the paneled walls, while men grunt and holler obscenities just outside my door.
How in the world did I go from a ball—with a corset gown, lace boots, and hair pinned to perfection— to waking, half-naked in a pirate ship after sleeping beside a strange man, in a matter of twelve hours?
The whole night, I was aware of Bluff lying beside me, his warmth seeping over. We never touched, not once. And yet I could feel him.
I shake my head.
My feelings for Bluff are so strange, so contradictory, that I can't quite work them out. I want him near me, though I shouldn't. I rely on him for salvation, to free me from my pursuers—and yet I know I can't trust him.
He didn't save me out of pure kindness—that muc
h I know. And based on last night, it wasn't out of desire either. I know there must be more to this story.
Part of me longs for nothing more than to uncover the secret to his motives. What is he hiding? Why did he save me? The other just wants to get home and forget it ever happened.
Sunlight streams through the window, making the room bright and open. I decide to get up and redress before someone enters and sees me in my chemise. That would be embarrassing. The stay corset is difficult to lace up on my own, but I manage well enough.
Next, I explore the captain's room a bit more. I saw a little when Rosemera brought me in to get me new shoes, but now I'm alone and can rummage through some of the odd trinkets.
There are objects from all over the world, like the Jamaican coin on the table, or the piles of cloth in a crate labeled Mughal Empire.
There are chests and drawers filled with clothing and maps, and books, copper pieces, and devices I can't even figure out the purpose of, all from islands and nations I’ve scarcely even heard of.
I find no jewelry, no gold, just things. These are treasures, just not the kind my world would find valuable.
Maps cover a mahogany table in the corner. I peer over at them but can’t comprehend what all the lines and circles mean.
The door to the cabin flies open, slamming against the wall with a bang. A bearded man limps in, grunting but paying no attention to me. I'm as still as can be, hoping he won't notice me at all.
He rummages through a box of papers on the floor, grabs a pistol off the table and a roll of parchment, and then huffs back through the door.
I release my breath.
These men are allies, I remind myself. Dangerous, but allies nonetheless. I peer out the partially open door, out onto the ship where ropes swing and strange, dirty men walk about. Men who said countless vulgar things to and about me last night. I shiver. Men who think I lost my virtue just hours ago.
I don't want to consider the images likely floating through their minds.
So what if they think I'm a floosy? I'll never see these men again, and if this strange new reputation is what saves me, it's worth it.
Sea of Treason (Pirate's Bluff Book 1) Page 5