The Dark Heart of the Sea: A Steamy Fated Lovers Pirate Romance (Pirate of the Isles Book 2)

by Celeste Barclay

  “She doesn’t seem that old,” Kyle mused. “I thought she was perhaps fifteen, at most.”

  “That’s what I thought, too,” Senga admitted. “She’s sweet but naïve. I feel bad for her. She reminds me of me when I was fifteen. I ran away as fast as I could, but I had a reason to. I had someone to protect me and a good life to begin. I don’t think she has any of that.” Senga sighed as she stared at the keep. With a shrug, she let the matter drop. She and Ruairí went ashore with Tomas and Kyle, and she found she was happy that Moira greeted them in the bailey. Senga didn’t miss the appreciative expression on Kyle’s face as his eyes swept over the young woman.

  “Lady Senga, please come inside,” Moira invited as she linked her arm through Senga’s. She leaned close so only Senga could hear. “Who’s the man with the red hair? There’s something about him that scares and intrigues me at the same time. It’s unsettling.”

  Senga kept her eyes straight ahead, fighting the temptation to glance at Kyle and grin. “That’s Kyle; he’s Ruairí’s first mate.” Moira nodded but said no more.

  Conversation flowed during the evening meal, but Senga found the noise gave her a headache, and she struggled to stay awake as the evening progressed. She refused the extra ale and wine Ruairí offered, and she sensed he grew agitated when she picked at her food.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” Senga whispered. “I’m extremely tired suddenly. That’s all.”

  “We’ve eaten and drunk the same things. Do you think they’ve drugged us?” Ruairí’s gaze shifted toward Dónal, who drank heavily while speaking to Aidan. Ruairí had seen the man’s chalice refilled from the same pitcher that filled his own cup.

  “No, not drugged. Just tired.” Senga was about to ask to return to their cabin when a dark-haired little boy ran toward the dais.

  “Da!”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Senga watched as the boy grinned at Ruairí, then her eyes shifted to the beautiful woman who followed a few steps behind. Senga’s stomach clenched as she understood in an instant that the woman was Lizzie MacDonnell. Senga hadn’t been forced to encounter any of Ruairí’s former bed partners since they left Canna. The woman who neared the dais was tall, willowy, and blond. Her fair skin was the creamy alabaster Senga’s had been before spending long days in the sun aboard the Lady Charity. The woman moved with a grace Senga was certain she’d never possessed, and her smile matched her son’s. Both smiled at Ruairí.

  “Don’t, Senga,” Ruairí hissed. Senga tore her eyes away from the woman and child when Ruairí’s punishing squeeze of her hand made her wince. “I know you’ve figured out who they are, but don’t. Look at the lad. He is the image of Aidan. She and Dónal only want me to claim them because they assume I’m a better connection than Aidan. They’re manipulative and greedy.”

  The boy bounded up the steps to the dais and ran to stand between Ruairí and Senga. While Ruairí smiled back at the child, he turned his glare on Lizzie, and she faltered. Senga recognized the glare. She’d seen it plenty of times, but had only been on the receiving end once. The dreadful night she met Aidan.

  “Da, you’ve come back!” The boy beamed. Senga feared she would be ill. Even though she recognized the truth–that the boy was the spitting image of Aidan–to see and hear another woman’s child claim Ruairí as his father threatened to overwhelm her. When the boy turned his bewildered gaze on Senga, she forced a smile she didn’t feel. It wasn’t the child’s fault that he’d been lied to, nor was Senga going to be the one to set him straight. She raised her eyes and met Ruairí’s.

  “Sean, you know I’m not your father. I wish your mama and uncle would stop saying such things,” Ruairí infused as much calm and gentleness into his voice as he could muster when he wanted to bash Lizzie’s and Dónal’s heads together.

  “Uncle?” Senga gasped. “She’s his sister?” Senga’s gaze swung toward the beautiful woman who stared at her, her eyes narrowed and hatred oozing from them.

  “Sean, go down to see Aidan. You know he’s your da even though your mama told you to come to me. You’ll hurt your da’s feelings if you ignore him.”

  “But you’re the great pirate Dark Heart. I want to be like you when I’m a man.”

  Senga feared her heart would break. The little boy’s face and tone were so earnest, but her hurt and envy became a vice in her chest. The air felt thick, and she struggled to draw her breath. Her hand clung to the arm of the chair as spots danced before her eyes. She forced herself to take several deep breaths, and the stars faded away. When she glanced up once more, she found Ruairí’s concerned gaze upon her rather than Sean. Ruairí stood and stuck out his hand for Senga. “We’re leaving,” he mouthed.

  “Sean, your da is a great sea captain, and the man who will teach you to sail and train you to fight.” Ruairí turned Sean toward Aidan and nudged him forward. The little boy tried to hang back, but even with a gentle touch, he couldn’t hold his ground when Ruairí guided him toward Aidan. He glared down at Aidan when he stood beside the other captain. “Fix this.”

  Senga clung to Ruairí’s hand as they walked away from the dais. She had to swallow the bile that rose in the back of her throat when Lizzie stepped toward them.

  “Touch me, and I’ll cut out your heart,” Ruairí warned as Lizzie raised her hands to touch his chest. “Stop lying to the lad. I won’t have him growing up convinced I’m his father who abandoned him. He’ll realize your lies when he notices he looks more and more like Aidan each year.”

  “Ruairí,” Lizzie began, her attempt at a seductive voice made Senga’s nerves stand on edge.

  “Look at my husband again, and I’ll be the one to cut out your heart, you bitch.” Senga flicked a knife from her wrist bracer. “You know who I am, and you dare approach us as though he’ll leave my side to go fuck you. I’ll cut you down before your entire clan and sleep peacefully tonight.”

  Lizzie’s expression was that of a woman who was willing to take the challenge in order to win the coveted man. “He may have married you, but I bore his son.”

  Senga’s brittle laugh cracked through the air. She stepped toward Lizzie, releasing Ruairí’s hand. While Lizzie’s eyes followed the dirk Senga held, she didn’t notice the one Senga drew from her belt. The sgian dubh pressed against Lizzie’s belly, piercing her clothing until it touched skin.

  “Spew your lies again. I dare you,” Senga voice was deceptively calm as she added more pressure to her knife. “Do you still claim my husband sired your son?”

  Lizzie’s bravado slipped, and she darted her eyes to Ruairí, pleading for him to intervene. He crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels, content to let Senga resolve a matter that plagued him for years. His wife’s endurance, even when ill, impressed him. There was no trace of weakness in her voice or her stance. She was a pirate queen.

  “I’m waiting,” Senga’s hushed tones filled the air as the MacDonnells turned to ogle.

  “He might have married you, but he keeps coming back. I wonder why that is,” Lizzie challenged.

  Senga laughed once more as she stepped so close that the hilt of the sgian dubh pressed against her stomach. “You’re a prideful eejit. He fucked you, and now you assume you understand him. Did he invite you aboard his ship and to sail with him? I’m certain he didn’t. Who did he choose to live with? Who has been at his side while you remained here? Alone. Without him. No one could conceive of the Dark Heart marrying, but he did. Who did he marry? Me, not you. Has he pledged to love you, to care for you, to grow old with you? I can see you want to argue with me, claim he never said those things, but there are plenty of witnesses who can tell you he’s said all of that and more. Now, do you still want to argue? Do you want to leave your son without a mother? Because don’t think for a moment that I’ll hesitate to kill you if you try to come near my husband again.”

  Senga waited as Lizzie’s eyes once more pleaded with Ruairí to help, but he refused to interfere. He understood Senga would never leave a child withou
t his mother, but he wasn’t about to reassure Lizzie. She’d been the bane of his existence each time he sailed to Ireland ever since she gave birth to Sean. She had spies and turned up at Ballycastle and Rathlin unannounced. At first, he’d accepted it as a terrific coincidence that the lusty and skilled woman greeted him after long stretches as sea. But once she became pregnant and claimed he’d fathered her child, Ruairí avoided Ireland whenever he could. Unfortunately, demand for Irish wool and whisky made visits unavoidable. He’d made the foolish choice of availing himself of her more than once, even after Sean was born and the lies began.

  Senga raised her other hand and pressed the tip of her dirk to Lizzie’s cheek. “Perhaps I will let you live but cut out your tongue. You won’t spew more lies if you can’t talk. But you can suffer.” Senga nodded as if she agreed with her own idea. “Aye, I rather like that plan better. Open wide.”

  Fear entered Lizzie’s eyes as she accepted Senga refused to back down. Self-preservation took hold as she stared at her family on the dais, none of whom came to her rescue. She glanced at Aidan, who distracted Sean, but turned withering glares at her throughout the standoff. Her peripheral vision told her none of her clan seemed surprised that she was being threatened. Several even appeared amused.

  “You can keep looking around. No one is coming to save you, and I’m tired of waiting. I told you: open wide.” Senga pulled the blade away from Lizzie’s belly to use that hand to force Lizzie’s mouth open. She pried her tongue forward, using her greater height and strength to her advantage. Lizzie bucked away, and Senga let her go, but not before she wrenched Lizzie’s tongue.

  “Fine. Fine. I admit it. Ruairí is not Sean’s father. Aidan is.”

  “That’s not good enough. You fooled no one with those lies even though you insisted. Promise you’ll stay away from my husband. And if you think to make that pledge while plotting against me, know that just as the Dark Heart doesn’t sail alone, neither do I. My cousin married the Blond Devil after she left the smuggling ring she ran. Would you take her on, too?”

  Lizzie’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “I pledge to leave Ruairí alone. I will not interfere anymore.”

  Senga returned her dirk to her wrist bracer but kept the wickedly sharp sgian dubh in her hand. She nodded before stepping around Lizzie, but the woman struck out at Senga, hoping to take her by surprise. Senga slashed her knife across Lizzie’s chest, and blood pooled through the linen tunic. “You shouldn’t have done that, but now you have something to remind you that I protect what is mine, and I don’t share.” Senga drew back her fist and drove it into Lizzie’s stomach.

  “Ruairí?” Lizzie pleaded.

  “You brought this upon yourself. This is years in the making. How many other husbands have you bedded? You’re lucky to still be alive.” Ruairí took Senga’s hand and led her out of the keep and through the gate. When they were beyond the sentry’s sight, he swept Senga into his arms as her legs buckled. She was in tears by the time they reached the dinghy and sobbing when they reached their cabin.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Ruairí had grown concerned throughout the meal as Senga’s energy flagged. Then he’d been livid when Lizzie appeared with Sean. He’d expected her to do it, but it didn’t diminish his anger when it happened. He’d been nervous when Senga and Lizzie argued, fearing what Lizzie might say. He was proud of Senga for standing up for herself and for them. It was her fight, both as his wife and as a woman who lived aboard a pirate ship. He couldn’t afford for anyone to underestimate Senga and try to kidnap her, holding her hostage against him. He’d known all along that she never intended to hurt Lizzie, but the woman caused her own injury when she lunged at Senga.

  As he carried Senga’s trembling body to the dinghy, he realized that her fight-or-flight response had worn off, and the already-exhausted woman barely hung on. Her sobs tore at him as he cradled her in his arms as he sat on the bed. She hadn’t sobbed like this since the night they met. He was ill-equipped to console her, so he settled for rocking and cooing in her ear.

  “Ruairí,” Senga whimpered. “I don’t understand what’s going on with me. I was so tired one moment and ready to murder her the next, and now I can’t stop crying.”

  “You’re still new to life at sea. Even without working the rigging, it’s tiring to be in the wind and sun all day, bracing yourself wherever you walk. You’ve been through more battles than any woman I know, and you’ve been a victorious warrior each time. That’s a lot of strain on anyone, especially someone who’s had so little time to adjust.”

  “I was certain I’d gotten used to it. I thought I was strong enough to be your wife.” Senga’s sobs began once more, and Ruairí tucked her head against his chest.

  “You’re the strongest woman I know. You’ve endured losing your parents only to live with the man who arranged their murder. You avoided his advances and fought for a better life. You lost a husband and child at the same time. You fended for yourself for years, and then you joined a pirate crew. I’m not an easy man to love or to live with, but you’ve braved this new life.”

  “Ruairí, falling in love with you was the easiest thing I’ve ever done. When I feared you were dying, there was nothing I wasn’t willing to do or give up to save you. I haven’t had to face your past until now. Not your past with other women. Lizzie is so beautiful and graceful, even if she’s a liar. I understand why she drew you to her, but the envy and insecurity made stars dance before my eyes. I understood, I mean really understood, what you told me about being jealous that I’ve already had a child with another man. To be confronted with the claim that you’d fathered a child, and that he was standing before me with the woman who insisted she shared that with you, I wanted to curl up and die. It was nearly as bad as losing James all over again. Then I remembered how I’ve already lost one husband, and the certainty I’d had that I couldn’t live without Alex. My fear that you would choose Lizzie was utterly irrational, but that sense that my life couldn’t go on became more extreme than what happened when Alex died. I don’t understand why I reacted like that. You’ve never once given me reason to fear for our future together. You’ve been the one steady point in all of this, but I panicked. What’s wrong with me?”

  Senga shrank into a tight ball in Ruairí’s lap, as if she didn’t want any part of her out of his reach or that if she became tiny enough, there wouldn’t be a part of her that he couldn’t protect. He ran his hand over her back as his other tightened around her. He felt out of his depths to console Senga, but he understood what she meant. She reacted to what she perceived as an imminent threat, but he’d experienced the same emotions on a low simmer since they met.

  “Nothing’s wrong with you, mo ghaol. You said you truly understand the envy I held, and I’m certain that you do. But Senga, my fears didn’t evaporate just because we talked about them. I fear I’m not as good a husband as Alex was because all I provide you with is danger. I haven’t given you a home and security like a husband should. What if my seed never takes root in you, and I can’t give you the children you want? What if I’m not as good a father as Alex would’ve been, and you regret having a bairn with me? These thoughts still plague me, but I’ll never be forced to meet Alex. I will never come face-to-face with your past, but there’s always the chance you’ll contend with mine. I’m so sorry for that.”

  Senga sat up and twisted to look at Ruairí. She cupped his jaw and laid a soft kiss against his lips before they tilted their foreheads until they rested against one another. When it became unbearable to wait another moment, Senga lifted Ruairí’s chin and pressed their mouths together, opening for him. The kiss was passionate, but it bloomed into an exchange of love and a need for acceptance.

  “I’m not upset that you had a life before me.” Senga offered a half smile. “There is much I wish I had the power to spare you from, but you don’t need to apologize for what you did before we met. I’m sorry I overreacted. I was ready to gut her. I’m certain you’re convinced I w
ouldn’t, not when she has a son—regardless of who fathered him. But I would have. I wanted a reason to press my dirk into her belly. I’ve never had such consuming rage and need to be violent. I’ve never felt so protective or possessive of anything except for when I had James. That’s the only time. When he became sick, I would’ve murdered someone with ease if it meant I could protect him.”

  Senga’s heart lurched. She counted back the number of weeks since she’d met Ruairí, and she realized that she’d missed her courses since they married. She should have had them the week before, but she had no sign that it would come. She wanted to keep her suspicions to herself until she became certain, but she knew Ruairí would worry if he feared she was unwell or hiding something from him.

  “Ruairí, it’s possible I might be with child. It’s the only thing I can come up with to account for my moodiness and protectiveness. Even the queasiness when I’m in the dinghy. My courses haven’t come since before we wed. You remained careful not to spill in me before then, but they haven’t come, and they should have last sennight. I don’t know for sure, but maybe that’s why I’m acting like this.”

  Ruairí sat stunned as he absorbed Senga’s suggestion. His chest tightened, but it wasn’t anger or fear. He recognized those emotions. This was the joy that only Senga created. He beamed as he held Senga against him until he realized he must be suffocating her. He pulled back and laughed when he caught sight of her trepidation.

  “Senga, if you are, then I’m overjoyed. If you’re not, then we’ll work through whatever is causing you upset. As long as you’re safe and well, then we will face the future together. I love you, Senga.”

  “I love you, too, Ruairí. My future is wherever you are.” Their next kiss proved an erotic prelude to how they spent the next hour before Senga dropped into a deep sleep.