Hold Your Breath 03 - My Captain, My Earl

by K. J. Jackson

  It was all the invitation Jason needed, and he slammed into her, driving to full hilt.

  Filled with him, gasping for she hadn’t realized how insane she had just driven her own body as well, she swore as he pulled out, demanding him deep, sating her voracious need for him.

  Gently, slowly, he slid into her, his hand going to her right breast, rolling her nipple in his fingers. The combination sent Katalin into a wicked arch against him, and she was instantly begging, instantly contorting her body to get closer to his.

  Fingernails deep in his shoulders, she thrust upward, meeting him repeatedly as he crashed into her. He paused in his rhythm, his fingers going into her folds, plying her, and Katalin shattered, convulsing under him as her body came hard, her core shocking her nerves with fire.

  Unable to stop, Jason used her arching back to his advantage, grabbing her hips and pulling her up from the bed, driving into her fast, his own body going taut in a harsh yell as he sank deep, emptying into her, his rigid muscles quivering in spasms.

  Jason collapsed on top of her, burying her body deep into the soft bed. Even with the spent muscles in her arms, she managed to wrap her hands onto his back, fingers splayed on the sheen of his skin.

  She had never been so exhausted. So safe. So loved.

  A moment in time that was exactly what she needed to hold onto.

  { Chapter 21 }

  Before he even opened his eyes, a smile touched Jason’s lips. He was the luckiest man alive, and he knew it. Not only was Katalin finally, truly his, but he had never dreamed he would so enjoy not only being tied up himself, but tying Kat up and giving her a taste of her own wicked actions last night.

  He would definitely be keeping that rope handy.

  They had fallen asleep, Katalin curled deep into him, her heart beating on his. Jason had not had such a restful night in years—not since well before he was bound and gagged and tossed on that first ship years ago.

  His hand twitched into the air. Why wasn’t her heat still next to his?

  He opened his eyes, fully expecting a naked Katalin to be draped on the bed next to him.

  Empty. An empty bed.

  He rolled over, expecting her to be by the fire. No Katalin.

  Maybe in his adjoining chambers?

  Loath to get out of the warm bed, and wanting his wife back in it with him, Jason cleared his throat. “Kat?”

  No answer.

  “Kat?”

  Silence. She couldn’t be dressed and downstairs already, could she? How long had he been asleep?

  Tossing the coverlet back, he stepped from the bed into the chill of the morning, and checked his adjoining dressing chamber. Empty.

  Dressing in her rooms? Jason knew some, but not a lot of her possessions had been moved into her chambers the day before. He walked over to the door between their rooms, opening it slowly.

  All was still—no Katalin. A quick check into her attached dressing room, and Jason turned around, frown on his face. It looked like nothing in the room had been touched—open trunks sat on the floor with her clothing overflowing like a maid had started, but not finished, putting away Katalin’s wardrobe.

  And then he saw it. On the neatly made bed, a cream envelope sat propped on the plump pillows. His name was scrawled across it in large cursive. Even from his distance to it, he could see it was fat, holding several sheets of paper. Dread flooded his chest.

  Each step to the bed heavier than the last, he was out of breath by the time his fingers picked up the envelope.

  He sank onto the bed, shoulders hunched, staring down at the envelope he held in his lap. Unable to move for minutes, he bargained with himself, telling himself he could handle whatever was in it.

  Maybe Katalin just wanted to write him a love letter.

  Maybe she went for a visit at the Southfork home and left him with a list of chores.

  Maybe.

  Courage worked up, but breath held, he opened the seal on the back of the envelope and unfolded the sheets of paper, the crispness of the thin vellum crinkling under his fingers.

  My love,

  By the time you are reading this, I will be gone. I was to tell no one of this, but now that I am away, I need you to know. I cannot bear the thought of you wondering, questioning our love, what you mean to me. I could not leave this land, this home, without telling you why.

  While I would never choose this, the choice is not mine. Josalyn has been taken by Daunte, the same man that has threatened me. Annette is still with her, and I have to trust that she is safe for now. To have her returned to us, Daunte demanded I return to the Caribbean and captain the Windrunner once more. He has ordered me to take down a pirate in those waters.

  I do so willingly. If this is the only way to get Josalyn back, I do it without hesitation or fear.

  I never understood why my father lied to me about you, not until the moment I found out Josalyn was taken. It is a primal force to protect one’s child, and I am no different than my father. What he did to protect me—who he hurt along the way—I understand it now. I understand it because I must do it to you. I must leave. Even with the hurt I will cause.

  I will do everything in my power—till my breath is no more, to see that our little girl is safe and returned to us—to you, should I fail.

  Please trust that I would never lie to you, nor could anything ever tear me away from you, save for her.

  If I fail, Daunte can demand no more from me or my father, and you must find a way to get Josalyn back if he does not deliver her to you as he promised. I know you will. I know you will protect her as you would me.

  And if my baby girl ever asks about me, simply tell her that I loved her very much, but do not tell her why I disappeared. I do not wish for her to carry the burden of the truth, not when she is innocent.

  I do not know if you will understand. I can only pray that you will find a way to forgive me for leaving you. It shatters me to think I will cause you more pain.

  I am so sorry.

  But know I will wait. Wait until the next life.

  Maybe then, then will be our time.

  I love you. More than life.

  Always,

  Katalin

  Jason’s breathing became harsh, the sound filling his head before he read the last line.

  He sat, heaving for long minutes as his eyes went over her words repeatedly.

  Gone…Protect…Fail…Understand…Forgive…Wait…Love…

  The last calm thing he did was to neatly refold the vellum and tuck it back into the envelope.

  And then he lost all control.

  It started with the lamp on the side of the bed, thrown across the room and shattering on the fireplace mantel. The nearest chair smashed into the wall, followed in quick procession with tipping over the armoire, ripping the coverlet in two, and hurling every possible item that could be picked up.

  When Katalin’s room was destroyed, feathers from the bed still flying in the air, Jason stormed into his room, punching his hand through the plaster wall along the way.

  And then he repeated the process of destruction in his own room.

  Two rooms demolished, and still, his rage was palpable, threatening to burst through his skin.

  Jason stood in the mess in heaving silence, staring at Katalin’s blue night rail in tatters, pieces of it littered in front of the fireplace.

  Her father.

  He had to get to her father and find a way to stop this.

  ~~~

  Pounding on the grey door of the townhouse Dewitt had been renting, it took long minutes before the door cracked, and Jason shoved it wide, sending the maid flying backward.

  “Where is Dewitt?”

  Trying to catch her feet, the maid pointed to the room opposite the stairs, more scared than annoyed. “He be in the study, sir.”

  Jason stalked by her, slamming into the study. Dewitt was by the fireplace, feet on an ottoman, hands folded across his stomach. He hadn’t moved from his relaxed position, even
though Jason knew full well Dewitt had to have heard the ruckus as he came in.

  “She is gone, Dewitt.”

  Katalin’s father sat up, looking in Jason’s general direction, his posture suddenly interested. “That is you, boy? I thought we came to the understanding that we avoid each other.”

  “I damn well wish I could do that, Dewitt, but your daughter is gone. And your granddaughter has been kidnapped.”

  Dewitt shot to his feet, his large form teetering off his bad leg, and he squinted his one good eye at Jason. “What abomination is this? What do you mean Katalin is gone? And my granddaughter? What is the meaning of this?”

  “That is why I am here. To get some answers.” Jason pulled Katalin’s note from the inside of his jacket, his fingers quickly slipping out the sheets and handing them to Dewitt.

  Dewitt grabbed them, holding the paper up to his nose. Jason could see the writing was upside down.

  “You know I can’t read this with my sight, boy.” He thrust the papers back at Jason.

  Snatching the letter back, Jason looked down at Katalin’s words, loathing the fact that he would need to read them out loud. But he cleared his throat and started, running through it as quickly as he could, skipping over the parts that were for him alone.

  Dewitt fell back, collapsing onto the chair he had been sitting in. At the silence following Jason’s last words, his head fell into his hand.

  “No. This cannot be. Not Josalyn. Not the baby.”

  Jason had no time to allow Dewitt to wallow in the news. “Who has her? Who has my daughter, Dewitt?”

  “His name…his name is Daunte.”

  “I already damn well know that—Katalin told me—who the hell is he? And what the hell did he set Katalin to do—take down a bloody pirate—what sort of madness is this?”

  “The Wake Ripper.” Dewitt’s head came up from his hand, his voice haunted. “He wants the Wake Ripper brought down. He has tried repeatedly, but none he has hired to do so have been successful.”

  Dewitt’s head fell, shaking as he stared into his lap. “I cannot believe he would do this…for two years, Daunte has demanded me crew take down the Wake Ripper. And for two years, I have refused. I have refused to send Katalin out—she be a mother now—and I will no longer allow that life for her, much less put her onto the tail of the Wake Ripper. Nor will I put my crew in danger like that.”

  He looked up at Jason, his good eye seeking out the figure in front of him. “It is a mission of suicide to go after the Wake Ripper. Pure suicide. And even if there be a chance, the crew has not been out on waters since they were captured with you, boy.”

  “The rest all survived?”

  “Aye. They did. But we were done. We were all done—for good. And that has driven Daunte mad. Over the years he has become more insistent. More desperate. And that was when he threatened Katalin with piracy to force us to go after the Wake Ripper. And then I became desperate and contacted Katalin’s mother for help.”

  Jason’s jaw flexed. He needed to punch this man, his frailties be damned. “But instead of helping, you only put both Katalin and my daughter in danger.”

  “I am sorry, boy, I thought I had hid the fact of Josalyn’s existence from him. I never would have put the babe in danger, never—we both—Katalin and I—be doing this, coming to England for that wee one. For that wee one to have a safe future.”

  “Who the hell is he, Dewitt? He must be here in London to have gotten to Katalin. To have gotten to Josalyn.”

  “He is the one that has provided us the letters of marque, some real—some fake I now know. For years, too many to count, he would deliver me a list—ships to sack. Me and me crew would comply.”

  He rubbed the leathery skin of his forehead. “We never asked questions. And then when I could no longer see enough to captain, Katalin took over. I did not like it, but she is a canny one, my daughter. And she did well as captain. By then we were all wealthy, but Daunte would still insist on the ships he identified being taken down. And heaven help me, by my orders, we complied. But then you were captured and we were done. We were all done.”

  Fists digging into his own thighs, Jason shifted on his feet. He didn’t need a damn history lesson, he needed to find out who Daunte was. “Get to it Dewitt, who the hell is he—why would you do his bidding—what sort of power does he have over you?”

  Dewitt sighed, his crooked weathered fingers scratching the back of his neck. “He is my brother, boy. My damn brother. The eldest. Baron Walton. Five sons of our mother, and we are the last two.”

  “Blast it. Your brother?” The name exploded in Jason’s head. Baron Walton—Lord Walton—the bastard that had sunk one of Devin and Killian’s merchant ships. “Does Katalin know?”

  “No. I never told her. Never told her where my orders came from other than the name Daunte. I never thought he would go this far. Be this desperate. I will kill him for this.”

  “Please do so. But I need to get my daughter back first. Where is he now? Where would he have Josalyn?”

  Dewitt shook his head. “He is well guarded. If I tried to kill him, my damn eyesight would have me a dead man before I got near him. And I do not know where he might be keeping a stolen babe.”

  “Then I will kill him. And torture his men until they tell me where my daughter is.”

  Dewitt heaved another sigh, a beaten man, and went to his feet. A half-head taller than Jason, he looked down at him with his good eye. “Aye. You know my terror now, boy. What wouldn’t you give to keep your daughter safe? To get Katalin back in yer arms? A deal with the devil is a small price to pay for their safety—it was what I did on the island to save Katalin from the noose. Sent you to hang instead of her.”

  Jason’s voice went icy. “You know nothing of my terror, old man. You have brought this down upon your very own blood. You. You sent your daughter to her death, and have lost your granddaughter. You. Your greed. Your weakness.” He stepped in on him. “You know nothing of my terror.”

  The bluster on Dewitt’s face fell, and he turned from Jason. “Aye. I have chosen this life, and now I am paying for my deeds.”

  Jason stared at his humped shoulders, pity blending with disgust.

  Dewitt was no blasted help to him. But his brother-in-law would be.

  Swearing a string of incoherent blasphemies under his breath, Jason grabbed Dewitt’s arm, dragging him out of the house.

  { Chapter 22 }

  Katalin’s father sank onto a side chair with a heavy glass of brandy in his hand, while Jason turned to face Devin and Killian in the duke’s study. Devin sat behind his large mahogany desk, and Killian stood by the sideboard, pouring himself a glass of brandy.

  “What is going on, Jason?” Devin asked. “Sneaking us all in here without Aggie knowing must mean something drastic.”

  “Action is needed, and I need your help. But this is danger my sister will have no part of, and if she hears of it, she will no doubt insert herself.” Jason cleared his throat. “I do not wish to rehash at great length, so I will be short. Katalin is gone, forced onto the seas to captain a ship again.”

  Killian spun from the glasses in front of him, decanter in hand. “What in the bloody hell?”

  Jason held his hand up, stopping Killian’s questions. “First, you need to know Katalin and I have a child. A girl, almost two. Her name is Josalyn. We were going to tell you after the wedding. I only found out about her days ago. And this is where I need your help. The man, Daunte—the one that has been threatening Katalin with piracy charges—he has now stolen my child. Daunte is actually Lord Walton. He stole my girl and then used her to get Katalin to go after some rogue ship, the Wake Ripper, that has been terrorizing his vessels in Caribbean shipping lanes.”

  Devin and Killian glanced at each other.

  “The Wake Ripper?” Devin asked.

  “Yes. Have you heard of it?”

  Devin glanced back to Killian. Killian gave him a crisp nod.

  Standing up and walking
around his mahogany desk, Devin stopped and leaned on the edge of it, watching Jason. “We employ the Wake Ripper to ensure safe travel for our ships in those waters. Although we pay handsomely for that privilege, we have no say in what the captain of the Wake Ripper does with his ship or crew, though we are aware he has taken several of Lord Walton’s ships.”

  “It seems Lord Walton has had enough,” Killian said. “He has been trying to push us out of trade in that vicinity, and the Wake Ripper is one of the few things stopping him from control in the area. We have been locked in this battle with him for years.”

  Killian took a swallow of his brandy, shaking his head. “He is making a desperate move with this and using your wife and daughter in the process.”

  Jason looked at Devin, forcing out through clenched teeth the question foremost in his mind. “The Wake Ripper—how brutal are they? What sort of a chance does Katalin have?”

  Although Devin tried to hide it, Jason could see a split second of pity flash on his face.

  Devin’s voice was solemn. “It would be best to stop Katalin before she reached the Wake Ripper.”

  “She does not stand a chance?”

  Devin shook his head.

  “Bloody fucking hell.” Jason tried to control the fists at his sides. He couldn’t destroy another room. Not when he needed to get his wife and daughter back, and time was slipping against him.

  “How long has she been gone?” Killian asked. “Can we catch her?”

  “At least a half day,” Jason said. “She disappeared in the middle of the night. I would guess before the tide went out. I do not know on what sort of vessel she would have left on.”

  “She be on the Windrunner.”

  The three men turned to Dewitt, who had been silent thus far.

  “What?” Jason stalked to Dewitt. “The Windrunner still exists?”

  Dewitt nodded. “She does. My brother bought her at auction. He has been keeping her for just this purpose.”

  “Dammit,” Jason said. “Then Katalin is fast escaping us. With a strong breeze, the Windrunner is uncatchable. She would do anything to save Josalyn and the threat of death is not about to stop her.”