It was still dark, but there were people crossing the bridge with torches, escorting their mates to the five ships anchored by the peer. Excitement coursed through me. This was it. My chance to get off this island without Storm suspecting anything.
Heart pounding, expecting someone to notice me, I slipped past the people kissing their mates and wishing them a safe raid, and made it to the first ship. The nearest one was the ship they’d taken from Tullius. Perfect. Nerissa was probably captaining it. She’d never dream I was in her cabin.
I moved past the crew, happy the lanterns threw shadows so no once could really see my face. I slipped inside the captain’s cabin and sighed in relief when I found it empty and candles lit.
It was fancier than the Mac Lir, but it lacked character like Storm’s cabin. I wasn’t sure whether it was the absence of personal items or Storm’s vibrant presence. Lucky for me, the storage under the bed had been emptied, so I had plenty of room to stretch. And since the bed was nicely covered with heavy curtains, I couldn’t have chosen a better ship.
Smiling, I sighed with relief and waited for the ships to take off. Getting off was going to be tricky, but I wasn’t worried. I had two choices. Either jump off the ship after they left the island and swim to Port Vaarda, or wait until they reached Tullius’s outpost. While they raided, only a few pirates would be guarding the ship, and I could escape unseen. Either way, I’d be off the island.
Footsteps approached the cabin. Nerissa. Then the door opened and closed. I held my breath and waited for her to leave and give orders to her quartermaster to raise anchor.
“Come out of there, Lexi,” Storm said.
What the hell? How did he know?
“Unless you want me to crawl under there and drag you out.” He sounded amused, which pissed me off.
Cursing, I crawled from under the bed. It was humiliating that he was the one who’d found me. I scrambled to my feet, dragging the blanket around me, and shuffled away from him. He stood with his legs apart, looking like the marauding pirate he was. And he was no longer smiling.
“How did you know?” I asked.
“Nothing happens on this island without my knowledge, Lexi. I knew you planned to stow away on a ship. I watched you leave the hall and sneak past the crew. I was sure you’d go to the Mac Lir.” He glanced around the cabin. “Not this one.”
I tried to walk past him, but he blocked my path.
“Why would you want to leave me?” he asked, his voice soft.
God, he made it sound like I had stabbed him. Guilt licked at me, but I squashed it. “Because I don’t belong here, Storm.”
“You are mine, and the island and I are one. No one belongs here as much as you.”
“My brother needs me.”
“I need you more.”
“No, you don’t,” I insisted, my voice rising.
“Then why haven’t I slept properly in weeks because of you, lass? Why does the sound of your voice fill me with such longing it hurts? And why do I always have the need to do this every time I see you.”
He moved so fast. One second there was a gap between us, and the next he was tilting my chin and claiming my lips in a searing kiss. He didn’t give me any breathing space as his tongue swept across mine.
Helpless against the onslaught, I reacted the only way I knew would stop him. I bit him, boring down hard on his lower lip, hoping he would stop. It had the opposite effect.
He groaned and pulled me closer, pressing me against his hard body, merciless in his possession of my mouth. The kiss we’d shared in the tub was nothing compared to this. This was pillaging. Plundering. Devouring. I wanted to protest. I knew I should have, but the sensations coursing through me were overwhelming. I reached for him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He lifted me up, and my legs wrapped around him. We were standing, then my back was on the bed, his hand skidding down my neck to cup my breast. My nipples stood at attention, desperate for his touch. He brushed his thumb across the tip. I whimpered and pressed against him.
I gripped his masculine arms and pulled him closer, my legs wrapped around his hips. The ache between my legs grew fast. I didn’t know what I wanted, but I wanted him to ease it.
He tore his mouth from mine and kissed along my jawline while I gasped and moaned. He pushed down my chemise to capture one nipple with his mouth.
Holy shit! Sensation heaven. He suckled on it hard while I writhed and bucked. As he moved to the second one, his hand crept lower, slipping past the elastic bands of my skirts and bunching up my chemise. Moving fast, he slipped a hand under my satin bloomers before my mind registered his intent.
“Storm!”
“I need you, muh’Lexi. I want you to want me as much as I want you. Need me as much as I need you. I’ll show you that you cannot run from me.” Silver eyes bore into mine, daring me to deny him as he moved lower and slid one finger along my nether lips, stroking the sensitive nub between them.
I gasped at the sensations. He played me like his favorite instrument, and I responded with sighs and moans.
“You can’t run from this,” he whispered. “From us.”
I closed my eyes.
“No, look at me,” Storm ordered.
“I can’t,” I whimpered.
“Do you want me to stop?” he threatened, daring me to deny myself.
My eyes flew open, my hips rising to follow his hand, my body protesting. The crew was behind the door, and Nerissa could walk in at any time to claim her cabin, but none of that seemed to matter. My need to ease the ache kicked common sense in the butt.
“No,” I gasped. “Don’t. Stop.”
His mouth closed over mine just as he eased one long finger inside me. My entire body shuddered at the invasion. When he slid out and repeated the move, heat raced under my skin. He was the sun and I the flower, opening and blooming under his attention. Every muscle in my body responded to his touch. He kissed along my jawline to my neck, nipping my ear, the pain mixing with the sensations. I was drowning, and he was pushing me there mercilessly.
“Beautiful,” he whispered in my ear. “So exquisite.”
I bucked, clawed at his arm as the pressure built to a fever pitch. When I thought I couldn’t take any more, he pushed me higher. He went back to my breasts, teasing them with his tongue and teeth, driving me a little crazy with need. Then I was catapulted into space, and time stood still, cries echoing around us. I knew they were mine, but I couldn’t remember making them. Didn’t care that someone had heard them. The release went on and on, my body shaking with its intensity.
It was awhile before I floated back to normal. His kisses became languid. I sighed. Sounds from outside the door penetrated the sensual haze inside the cabin. Sanity returned. I stiffened and wiggled from under him. What was I thinking?
“Don’t ever talk or think about leaving me, Lexi,” he warned, silver eyes boring into mine.
I shook my head. “As long as my brother needs me, I have to.”
He rolled off me and got to his feet, graceful as a cat. I got up, arranged my clothes, and wrapped the blanket around me. I took one step toward the door, and he scooped me up.
“I can walk back to the Great Hall on my own,” I protested, beyond humiliated.
“And deny me the pleasure of showing off?” He opened the door and stepped onto the main deck. “It’s not often a mate sneaks into a captain’s cabin for a special sendoff.”
Nice spin, but still so humiliating. I had just given him the ammunition he needed to win. I stopped struggling when he reached the plank and the crew started to cheer and caterwaul. Did they know what had just happened? Had they heard me?
I buried my face in Storm’s neck, completely and thoroughly mortified. Even the people seeing their mates off whistled and chuckled.
I forced him to set me down once we’d passed the crowd. I was halfway up the stairs but heard him say something about looking forward to coming home. I didn’t stop running until I reached Delia’
s. I curled up on the couch and cursed the day I’d crossed paths with him.
He had won. No, I’d handed him victory, and there was no turning back the clock.
I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to the fire crackling in the hearth and the smell of something cooking. I looked over the top of the couch to find Delia lifting a pot from the fireplace. She placed it on the table and scooped some into two bowls. Man, I hoped that was the same oatmeal she’d fed me since I arrived.
“You awake, Lexi?”
I swung my legs to the side and stood. How had Storm known I was in that ship or that I’d planned to leave him? What kind of magic did he have under his tricorn hat? The conversation he and Delia had last night flashed in my mind. There was something about the island he wanted to discuss with me.
“What kind of magic do people on this island do?”
Delia chuckled. “Not do. Have. No spells or incantations. Some of us have the gift to command the elements—water, earth, fire, and air—but only on a small scale. Take me for example. I can control fires here and there.” She waved a hand, and the leaping flames in the fireplace died. “A few of us are more gifted, like the six captains. Some can compel others to do their bidding, like Kheelan.”
She put the pot aside and studied me.
“Tuh’rens tend to be more susceptible to mind control than our people. It takes someone with Kheelan’s psychic abilities to compel our kind. What is not allowed is invading someone’s mind and planting ideas there without their knowledge.” Delia removed copper spoons from where they hung on hooks and placed them inside the bowls.
“Like make someone fall asleep?”
She chuckled. “Yes. My husband had the ability to control people, and Nerissa inherited it, but she hasn’t worked on improving hers. Did someone knock you out?”
“Storm did it twice. Nerissa once,” I added just in case Delia decided to lecture Storm. Not that I should care. I didn’t even want to think about him, but my body still remembered. Worse, it had been my first orgasm.
“I hope they suggested it because they’d both be in deep trouble if they’d invaded your mind,” Delia said.
“They suggested it.” I might dislike the guy, but I couldn’t accuse him of having invaded my mind. Tullius had because he hadn’t spoken, yet he’d knocked me out. Evil bastard.
“Good. I would have pinched their ears had they done it. I raised them better. Sit and eat. I’m going to get us some fresh bread.”
“You raised Storm?”
She glanced at me and smiled. “He hasn’t told you? His mother was a dear friend of mine. When she had to leave, she left him with us. Unfortunately, she couldn’t return for him, so I raised him.” She frowned. “Eat.”
What kind of mother wouldn’t return for her son? Why? I wanted to ask, but from her expression, I had a feeling she didn’t want to discuss Storm’s past. Deciding not to push it, I picked up the spoon and started on the oatmeal.
I liked Delia. She sounded like the person to go to when one of the “lads” was out of line. I was sure they did terrible things when they were off the island, things she didn’t know about and would find appalling. Bet she wouldn’t approve of them chopping the captains’ heads and sending them back to Tullius. On the other hand, Tullius was sounding more and more like a tyrannical asshole. By the time, Delia returned with a wicker basket of steaming bread, I’d finished the oatmeal.
“There’s more in the pot,” she said.
I went for a second helping. “What’s in it? It tastes amazing.”
“Honey and verjuice.”
“What’s verjuice?” I asked.
“Juice from unripe grapes.”
We finished breakfast. Then I watched her pour water into a barrel and rinse the dishes. She lined them by the fireplace.
“I’ll be going to do my rounds in the village this afternoon. I want you to start on the room while I’m gone.”
“Room?”
“Nerissa’s old room. If you’re planning on falling asleep in here whenever you feel like it, I have a perfectly good room in there.” She indicated one of the doors. “All it needs is a little cleaning.”
So this was how she meant to keep me busy within these walls? I was still determined to find the stallion and explore the northern part of the island after cleaning.
“What if I promise to never, ever fall asleep on your couch again?”
She chuckled. “Cleaning is better than staring out the window, worrying about the raid, or asking me when the ships will return. Don’t overdo it. Pile everything in the hallway. The broom and cleaning things are in there.” She pointed at a short, open-ended barrel in the corner and disappeared inside her room. When she returned, she carried a plain brown dress. “Wear this.”
I was still staring at her with round eyes when she sailed out the door. Sighing, I went to study the room I was meant to clean. Holy crap!
CHAPTER 11
A little cleaning? The room was going to need a total overhaul. Wooden chests were piled high everywhere, including on the bed, and most of the furniture was broken. It was also dusty, like it hadn’t been aired in years. The sooner I got it done, the more time I’d have to explore the island and find that damn port.
I changed into the dress Delia had left me. It was long and shapeless. I went to work, hauling the things nearest to the door first. When I bumped against the sofa on my way out, dust floated from the chair and settled on Delia’s sofa and the covers I’d used last night. I needed a clear path through the living room.
Dumping the broken chair outside, I went back, pushed the sofa and chest/table aside, and lifted the rug out of the way. For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I dropped the rug and squatted to study it better. The stone slab in the middle of Delia’s floor was larger than the others and had an iron ring attached to it. I knew enough about trap doors to recognize one. Hopefully, it led to a secret tunnel out of this island.
I gripped the ring and heaved, but it wouldn’t budge. After my humiliating attempt at stowing away, I needed to try something else while Storm was gone. I didn’t buy his assertion that he knew everything that happened on the island.
I pulled and pulled, but the damn door didn’t budge. I got a narrow piece of wood from the fireplace, wedged it between in the gap, and tried to lift it.
Not even a budge.
Frustrated, I left it for later, covered it up with the rug, and went back to clearing the bedroom. After a few more trips to and from the bedroom, I started to sweat. I opened the window and studied the courtyard. The shieldmaidens weren’t training yet. The seamstress had said they trained in the morning and evening.
I tried to haul a chest next but could barely lift it. Worse, the hem of the dress got trapped under it, and when I stood, it almost ripped.
“Stupid dress.” I grabbed the hem and tied two knots on either side so the dress came to my knees. “Ha. Welcome to the twenty-first century, where skirts and dresses are short, and tank tops are the norm.”
Laughter came from behind me, and I whipped around to find two boys standing in the doorway. Both carried swords around their waists and stared at me with the same assurance Storm and his friends wore like a cloak. They couldn’t be more than ten. One had dark curly hair and the other was a dirty blond.
“How can we be of help, Tuh’ren?” Curly asked.
“Lexi,” Blondie whispered.
“I know,” Curly whispered back. “Tuh’ren sounds better.”
Way to establish his dominance. Too bad it was wasted on me. They were adorable with their wooden swords, but I didn’t want them helping me. That would mean talking to them, maybe even liking them. No, I wanted to hate this place, so when I escaped, I wouldn’t care about what happened to them. I might even write a killer piece about my adventure.
“That won’t be necessary, Muh’renes,” I said, lifting my chin so I could look down my nose at them. “I got this.” When they didn’t move, I waved them away. �
��That means I don’t need help.”
Ignoring them, I went to the bedroom for my next haul—another chair with a ripped seat. Whatever wood they used was quite heavy, so I had to drag it. The two boys were having an argument down the hallway when I dumped it outside. By my third trip, the boys had moved closer to the door.
Either they’d been sent to help me or they felt sorry for me, because they were scowling. Things only got worse from there. I tried the chest again. Grabbed the handle on one end and tried to drag it, but I couldn’t move it. After two more attempts, I cursed. If I had to open them and remove the contents, I was going to go ape.
“We could help,” a tentative voice offered from behind me.
The boys were in the doorway. I wanted to yell at them to go away, but I lacked the strength. It wasn’t their fault I was on their island, and they were really cute. Their swords were missing. They’d also wrapped some kind of cloth around their hands. I looked at my palms and sighed at the signs of blisters. I should have protected mine. Now it was too late.
“Can we?” Blondie asked.
“The chests are kind of heavy, and I don’t want either of you to get hurt,” I said.
They straightened and scowled as though I’d insulted them.
“We can do it,” Curly insisted.
“Yes,” Blondie added.
“Since you twisted my arm.” They stared blankly at me, not getting my meaning. “It means, yes, I’d love your help.”
They lifted the damn chest like it weighed nothing, their puny muscles bulging. They didn’t even stop in the living room. Just hauled it outside like it was a damn treasure chest, and they were pirates. I’d bet they used magic. For the next hour, we worked in silence until the bedroom was empty, except for the bed.
“Do you guys want water to drink?”
They made faces as though water was a vile thing. Bet the islanders weaned them on rum.
“Gráinne has snacks and drinks waiting for us in the kitchen,” Curly said.
“Is she the one who sent you to help me?” I asked.
Storm: Phantom Islanders Part I Page 17