“Johnny!” they all seemed too coo at exactly the same time, interrupting Izzy. She frowned at this, her brow descending quite low that it nearly overlapped her eyes.
Why would she be jealous of whores? They were whores, for goodness’ sake; there was no reason for her to be jealous of them. Okay, now her mind was babbling and becoming repetitive, which was definitely not a good sign. As Izzy watched the scene unfold in front of her, she noticed that two of the whores had managed to weasel their way onto his lap while one chose to remain behind him in order to properly massage his back. She didn’t know why, but she forced herself to look away, and instead, tried to focus on the fascinating scene before her of two drunken men about to get into some sort of brawl. However, though she tried not to think about it, the women currently decorating Johnny’s lap were certainly making it hard as they spoke about how much they missed him and what they longed to do with him if only he would spare a moment of his time, and blah, blah, blah.
Oddly enough, Johnny had no interest in the three women vying for his attention. Of course, that didn’t stop him from getting rid of them immediately, but he knew he wasn’t going anywhere that evening in their company. His eyes managed to seek out Izzy’s face, but after studying it, found the expression to be highly enigmatic. A feeling he was beginning to get familiar with seeped through his body. He recognized it from before, and pursed his lips when he realized it was guilt.
But he had done nothing wrong…
And yet, the look on her face…
“Ladies, ladies,” Johnny said, tearing his gaze away from Izzy to look back at the women sitting on him. “If you had not noticed, I am actually here with somebody, so your services will not be needed tonight. Thank you, though.”
“Are you sure we cannot sway you?” the woman in red purred, offering him an alluring smile.
“I’m afraid not,” Johnny said, “but thank you for asking. Now, if you please…” He let his voice trail off, raising his brow at them expectantly. The women didn’t need to be told twice. Even though they knew Johnny Clover was an admirable lover, they weren’t going to tempt him when he couldn’t be tempted. Instead, they sought out other men who could guarantee them a sale.
“Aren’t you the popular one,” Izzy murmured, looking over at Johnny. She seemed relieved to see that he had sent them away.
“It’s to be expected when it comes to the fairer sex,” he said with an arrogant grin. He glanced over his shoulder at a nearby bar wench. “Oy, lass!” he called. “Can I get two rums here?”
“Two?” Izzy asked, furrowing her brow. “But I don’t drink, Johnny!”
“You’re in Tortuga, love!” he exclaimed, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Live a little, hmm?”
Chapter 25
“I hate rum.”
Johnny smirked at the deadpan tone laced in Izzy’s voice, and her eyes flashed gold, emphasizing her seriousness. He had talked her into drinking a few sips, promising it took a while to get used the beverage. Six sips later and a glare that seemed to deepen after every one, he finally relented and promised he believed the fact that she may not be quite as fond of the drink as he was. Johnny was on his second glass, and although it wasn’t his choice of drink, he was fond of the amber liquid, reveling in the way the warm liquid heated his mouth and trailed down his throat.
“What would you like to drink in its stead then, darling?” Johnny asked, perking his brow up as he looked at her over the rim of his mug.
“Water,” Izzy said with a firm nod. “Do you think they have water?”
“’Course they have water,” he told her before glancing around. When he caught sight of the same bar wench, he whistled sharply to catch her attention. “Oy, lass!” he called. “Could I trouble you for a glass of water?”
“Water?” the wench asked, pushing her brows up in disbelief.
“For the lady,” Johnny explained, raising his palm horizontally so it indicated Izzy’s presence.
“Water,” the wench muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes and heading over to the bar.
“You know,” Izzy began, finally taking her eyes off of the retreating figure to look into Johnny’s brown eyes, “it seems that my presence is ignored whenever you are speaking to somebody, like I’m invisible or something.” She paused for a moment, tilting her head slightly to the side. An unreadable smile began to curve her lips upward and Johnny easily detected the curious sparkle in her eyes. “Why would you ever want to run away from here, Johnny? You seem to be one of the most popular pirates here. Men and women alike look at you with admiration, hookers can’t wait to sink their nails into you as though you’re the greatest lover they’ve ever experienced” -
“I am the greatest lover they have ever experienced,” Johnny said, cutting her off. He didn’t speak for a moment, but instead leaned further over the table in order to reach out and curl an errant strand of golden hair behind her ear. “You know, love, I could give you the greatest pleasure you have never imagined. I could do things to your body Zach would never even think to do you.” His voice had lowered substantially, becoming silky and husky, causing Izzy’s skin to breakout in goose bumps.
Izzy made sure to maintain eye contact with the pirate in front of her, though she knew if she wanted to look away, she wouldn’t be able to. He had captivated her underneath his spell, and she highly doubted it was because his finger was still touching her cheek. How she longed to take him up on his offer, how she longed to feel him connect to her in such a way… She felt herself becoming flush and she pulled away as she cleared her throat.
“That very well may be true,” she said, and frowned when she realized her voice came out shakier than she originally intended, “but… that was not my question.” Johnny threw her a charming smile, knowing full-well how he was affecting her, and tilted his head to the side so shaggy dark hair fell into his face. Though the sight was heart-stopping, Izzy forced herself to go on. “Why would you want to give all of that up? What are you running away from?”
The question caught Johnny off-guard, and he wasn’t sure how – if at all – he was going to answer it. To be honest, he had never really thought about it, but now that she was forcing himself to, he began to try and figure out why. It took a good five minutes before Johnny finally responded. “I don’t like responsibility,” he told her. “I don’t like people depending on me.”
“But what are you running away from?” Izzy asked, not yet understanding. “What are people depending on you for?”
“A battle is about to play out, darling,” he told her, his tone serious, his brown eyes burning into hers. “Pirates and the Royal Navy have been enemies since the dawn of time, and will continue to be as such. A war between them is supposed to happen in a matter of weeks.”
“And you’re supposed to lead the pirates into battle?” Izzy guessed. When Johnny nodded, she frowned. “But why? Why you?”
“It is as they say,” Johnny said, shrugging his shoulders and giving her a somewhat lazy look. “Some people are born into greatness, while others have greatness thrust upon them. I happen to fall in the latter category.”
The bar wench came back with a mug of water and set it down for Izzy before walking away. “Just because greatness is thrust upon you,” Izzy told him, “doesn’t mean you’re not great.” She gave him a smile. “I have faith in you. I know that whatever you need to accomplish, you can.”
“How can you possibly believe in me when I don’t believe in myself?” Johnny asked, running his fingers through his hair. “My entire life, I’ve learned to depend on myself and nobody else, and now nearly every pirate is depending on me. I felt like I had to run away… I don’t like this pressure. Why can’t somebody else do it?”
“Because they can’t,” Izzy said simply. “Johnny, because of your disappearance, a lot of pirates are going to be upset with you.”
“And a lot of pirates don’t believe in me either,” Johnny said. “They would rather me not lead
them into war at all.”
“If not you, than who?” Izzy asked, furrowing her brow.
Johnny shrugged. “Anyone who is not me, obviously,” he drawled, before sighing through his nose. He hadn’t ever shared any of his doubts with anybody, but it felt good to finally unload some of them.
“Can I see your hand?” she asked him.
“What?”
“Your hand,” Izzy said, reaching out across the table. Johnny frowned, clearly unsure, but placed his large hand in her smaller one. She looked down at it, admiring the long, calloused fingers. After a moment, she looked up in order to catch Johnny’s eyes in hers. “Don’t you see, Johnny? All of your dreams lie in the palm of your hand. You’re capable of doing whatever you want if you could only believe in them.” She paused, looking down at their connected hands for a long moment. “But if you can’t, I’ll just believe in you for you.”
“Why?” Johnny asked, his voice lower due to its seriousness. “Why do you have faith in me?”
“Faith is beyond any explanation, Johnny,” she told him, her voice just as low. “I just believe in you.”
Before Izzy realized it, Johnny turned his hand so his fingers could wrap around her wrist and he pulled her towards him. It took her by surprise when she felt his lips touch hers, but she closed her eyes and a very soft whimper escaped from her mouth. Upon hearing it, a primitive instinct took over Johnny and his grip tightened on her, a growl erupting in the bowels of his throat. Her lips were softer than he could imagine, and for a moment, he was completely mesmerized by her entire essence that managed to consume him without even realizing it. He longed to continue doing this for a long time, but a crowded pub was not the place to do so.
When he regrettably had to let her lips go in order to breathe, he opened his eyes in order to stare at her. She had never appeared to be so beautiful as she was in that moment. Though the kiss was soft and chaste, it left him with the desire for more. If he did nothing else in the world, he wanted to kiss Izzy once again, maybe even for the rest of his life. He was suddenly aware that he wanted nobody else except the woman in front of him. The thought scared him, but at that moment, he didn’t particularly care.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a very long time,” he murmured, his voice husky once again.
“Well,” Izzy said, a very light blush tainting her cheek. “I’m glad you did, then.”
At that moment, somebody wrapped their arms around Izzy and pulled her from the bench while another man placed the tip of a sword to her throat.
“Well, well, well,” the man holding Izzy said, his beady black eyes focusing solely on Johnny. “Look ‘ho decided ter come back.”
“An’ look what he brought wit’ ‘im,” the man holding the sword murmured.
“Ah,” Johnny said, slowly standing. “Pollock and Murphy. How surprising.” Though he tried to keep his voice controlled, his eyes clearly betrayed how worried he really was. “Let her go or I will chop both of you to bits and pieces and serve you to the fishies.”
“I don’t think so, Johnny,” the first man said before two men appeared from behind Johnny and took his arms so the pirate could not even attempt to rescue the woman. “We don’t want ye ter be leadin’ our kind to our deaths, and ter show how serious we be, we want you to watch.”
“Watch what?” Johnny asked, slight hesitation in his voice. He didn’t want to ask, but wasn’t sure what else he could do. If anything happened to Izzy, he would carry out his threat without a second thought.
However, none of the men responded. Instead, they looked at Izzy before looking back at Johnny, and both smiled enigmatically.
Chapter 26
It was probably the most excruciating fifteen minutes of Johnny’s life. The two men who had Izzy had taken her outside, vanishing into the night. The two men holding onto Johnny followed, but due to the darkness that currently consumed the sky, it was hard to see. He couldn’t even hear her, and that’s what upset him the most. Johnny did everything in his power to escape from the man holding him captive, but while Johnny was taller than they were, they were much stronger.
He found out later that the reason they had done this to him in the first place was because he had run away from his duties in the first place. He had indirectly caused the death of numerous pirates due to the Navy’s stricter laws and punishments concerning those that flew jolly rogers rather than colors. They wanted to take something dear to him and hurt it as much as they were hurting. They wanted Johnny to feel their pain.
When they were finally finished, they pushed Johnny into an abandoned alleyway, where the pirate nearly tripped over something. On second glance, he realized that it was Izzy. He couldn’t quite tell what they had done to her, but he could tell she was hurt. Badly. Cocking his head to the side, he placed his ear to her chest to make sure she was still breathing.
Barely, he realized.
Suddenly, everything he knew and adored and favored didn’t matter anymore. Johnny’s shaky fingers reached up and buried themselves in his locks of dark hair. He had to think of something quickly; he couldn’t just stay out here with Izzy in this condition. But where? He couldn’t take her back to the scrag; people knew it was his usual hangout, as they had said in the New World, and anyone who wanted to inflect harm to him the way those four men had could easily do so. There were many inns scattered across Tortuga, but none would have the proper medical supplies one would need to fix her up and –
What if she died here?
The thought came into his mind before he could stop it, but it sunk deep into him until he thought about it. She wasn’t even here for twelve hours, and already Izzy was in a battered state. He had been in her world for nearly two months and the only pain he felt was when he saw the look on Izzy’s face after catching him in the supply closet with Candy. He knew it was more dangerous here, but he thought… he thought…
Before he could stop them, Johnny’s dark eyes grew misty. He couldn’t even watch her properly. Already ten hours in his time, under his care, and she was fighting off death. Would she…? Not if he could help it.
“Come on, man,” he muttered to himself, blinking all traces of sentimentality away from his eyes.
What about the ship?
He couldn’t take her back there. He had no idea where everything was, and even if he did, he highly doubted they had medical supplies stocked.
So, no inns, pubs, ships… What else was on the island? He had no friends who lived here, so a house was out of the question…
Johnny’s eyes looked desperately out of the alley, hoping to find inspiration somewhere. He was Johnny Clover for crying out loud! He always managed to weasel out of death; he could find somewhere to take Izzy, couldn’t he? All he could see were the flashes of the women’s dresses, the silhouette of the sea, the…
Well, he did know one place to take her…
--
To say that Madame Bouvier was surprised would most certainly be an understatement. She hadn’t seen the likes of Johnny Spade in her brothel for quite a while, at least where the pirate was concerned. In fact, if she had to put a time frame on it, she hadn’t seen Johnny here for a couple of months, give or take. And to see him standing at her door with a battered woman in his arms and a look of complete desolation… well, she couldn’t quite find a suitable label for the current emotions she felt.
However, the older woman always had a soft spot for Johnny, and he had always been one of her best customers. Her girls had taken to him as well, but that was to be expected. He was handsome, charming, and a fantastic lover, and he was going to lead pirates into a fierce battle with the Navy. He always looked so cool, so confident, as though he knew exactly what he was doing, and if he didn’t, he could fake it easily enough. As the Madame looked at him now, she realized how lost he was.
“Please,” he said, his voice throaty. “You have to help.”
Madame Bouvier nodded once and stepped aside, allowing the pirate to come inside the brothel.
“Go to the third floor,” she instructed him, her French accent lacing through every word. “There’s a spare bedroom there. I’ll get the supplies you need to fix her.”
Johnny all but dashed up the three stories, wary of Izzy’s unconscious form in his arms. He didn’t want to hurt her in any way, but he wanted to get her to a bedroom, somewhere comfortable, as quickly as he could. He entered the first bedroom he could find. It was brighter in here, with lamps filled with candle flames scattered in the room. Johnny gently placed Izzy on top of the bed, knowing that to dress her wounds, he would have to dispose of the clothes she was wearing. Perhaps Marion Bouvier had some extra articles of clothing she could borrow when he had finished.
He stared deeply at the young woman. It hurt him to know that somebody could do this to her to get back to him. Johnny curled an errant strand of hair behind her ear, letting his fingertip caress a portion of unmarked skin. Whatever those men did to her, it was brutal. He grit his teeth tightly, anger taking over worry now that he knew he was able to care for her somewhere safe. If he ever got his hands on those men again, he would make good on his promise. He had no qualms about chopping them up into little pieces and feeding them to the animals that occupied the sea.
Beautiful Disaster (A Pirate Romance book, Historical Romance) Page 13