by Regan Walker
Cofresí was a paradox: On the one hand he was gentle with her and his sister, and on the other, a ruthless pirate who thought nothing of slicing into a man’s neck with his axe. He treated Tara like she was some idealized woman. While praising her courage, he was doing all he could to stifle her spirit. It was clear to Tara what he really wanted was a compliant Catholic wife. He would make her into that woman if she allowed him the opportunity. She had no intention of succumbing to such manipulation. Yes, a walk to clear her mind and some simple shopping would be good. Perhaps there would be a captain of a merchant ship in the square.
Tara left Cofresí’s home, where only Roberto and Juana now lived, their father having died three years before, and hastened along the village street. Walking briskly, thinking of the ships she’d seen in the bay, she was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled into an alley. She twisted in the man’s grip, desperate to get away, but he lifted her from the ground and held her against his powerful chest, his hand stifling her screams.
“Hush.”
She froze. It was the voice of Nicholas Powell; it was Nicholas’s arms holding her. She breathed a sigh of relief, but her heart was still pounding in her chest. He had scared her to death! As she stilled, panting out small breaths, he relaxed his hold and set her feet on the ground. Tara turned to see fury in his golden eyes. And maybe worry…
“Captain, what are you doing here?” He was dressed in the clothes of the local Porto Ricans, a muslin shirt open at the neck to reveal a black mat of chest hair, black pants and a sash at his waist. His black hair blended with the men on the street, though no one would mistake Nicholas Powell for a villager if they looked at him closely.
“I should have thought it was obvious. I am rescuing you. Or would you rather I didn’t?” The sarcastic tone of his voice and his frown told her he was unsure of his welcome. But no matter his gruff mood, she was elated. He had come for her!
She looked into his golden eyes. Did he see in them the love she harbored for him? Truthfully she said, “I never thought anyone would come.”
“Well, I did, though I may yet regret it. We must go—now!” He began to pull her along with him out of the alley.
“Wait! Where is the ship?” she asked, hoping it was not far.
“In a cove some distance north. I could not very well take the chance the pirate would see the ship in the bay.”
“You need not worry. He won’t return until tonight.”
“Were you eagerly awaiting him?” he asked sarcastically.
Her Irish temper flared until she remembered the last time he had seen her she was kissing Cofresí. “No, I was dreading it.”
“It’s a damned good thing I found you today. My men and I have been watching, but you were never alone until now.” He took her arm. “Come. Nate and Jake are waiting.”
Tara went willingly, his hand holding hers tightly. It was the lifeline she’d been craving since she’d left the ship.
They kept to the shade of the trees as they hurried along the few streets to where Nate and Jake stood near a small carriage. It was black and looked a bit worse for wear but to her it was a carriage to freedom. The driver, a young man, held the reins of the one horse. The older seaman, like Jake and the captain, was dressed in the clothes of the common men of the port city, pants and a muslin shirt with a sash at his waist.
A smile spread across Nate’s leathered face when he saw her. “How good it is to see ye.”
“And you,” she said, returning his smile as tears spilled from her eyes.
Jake beamed a smile at her. “Ja, we would not go without you.”
They had come! She wondered if the captain had urged them to do so or if it was Nate’s idea. No matter his suspicions, the captain still held her hand. He helped her into the carriage and the boy climbed into the driver’s seat.
“So ’twas as I suspected,” said Nate as he joined them, followed by Jake. “Ye never wanted to leave us, did ye?”
Tara wiped away the tears with her hand and the older seaman leaned forward to pat her shoulder. The captain still held her hand in a savage grip, saying nothing. Instead, he stared out the open window, appearing to brood. Jake, who sat next to him in the cramped quarters, looked on awkwardly, as if he wanted to say something but had no idea what it should be.
“It was the only way…”
The remainder of the bumpy ride to the ship was a silent one. Occasionally, Nate and Jake shot the captain a glance but neither ventured into the stony silence that surrounded them. Tara dared not look again at the captain’s brooding face. She was afraid of what she would see.
As they neared the cove where the Wind Raven lay at anchor, its sails furled, Tara’s thoughts drifted to Juana, who had been so kind to her. Cofresí’s sister would not understand why Tara had not said good-bye.
And what would Cofresí do when he learned she was gone?
Chapter 16
The sun was beginning to set when they reached the small hill overlooking the Wind Raven, anchored in a cove north of the blue-green bay of Porto Real. Tara’s heart thrilled at the sight of the black-hulled schooner, its masts bared of sail and gently rocking with the swells of the ocean. She felt a nervous anticipation at the thought of soon being alone with the captain.
She stepped down from the carriage, tucked the stray hairs falling around her face into her straw bonnet and smoothed the wrinkles from her plain muslin gown, chosen for its suitability for an afternoon of shopping in the hot and muggy weather of Cabo Rojo. Most of her other clothes were at Cofresí’s home, along with her books. She did not expect to see them again. A few of her gowns had been left behind in her cabin and she was glad of it for she would need them. She had been wearing her turquoise ring, else it too would have remained with the pirate.
Nate handed a coin to their young driver, who turned the carriage around and headed back down the rutted road.
Soon the captain, the two men and Tara had crossed the water in the boat that was left waiting for them hidden in the trees. Reaching the ship, the captain was the first one up the rope ladder. He helped her on board and said, “I’ll see you in my cabin as soon as you’ve given your greeting to the crew. They’ve been waiting to see you.”
When the captain descended the aft ladder, the air erupted in loud cheers. Looking around and seeing the warm smiles on the faces of the crew, who had become her very dear friends, she felt her eyes fill with tears.
Charlie Wilson sheepishly stepped forward to ask, “Is it true what Nate’s been saying, that you did it for us, so the pirate would set us all free?”
Tara suddenly felt shy around the gunner she had come to like. “Yes,” she said, grateful to see the crew nodding their heads in acceptance. Even the ones who had been unfriendly before now smiled warmly. Among them was Smitty, nodding from where he sat off to one side. “I bargained with him that day on the rigging. He merely took advantage of a situation that was to his liking.”
“Thanks be to you, Miss Tara,” said Charlie. The others murmured their agreement.
Mr. Ainsworth seemed to be speaking for the whole crew when he said, “Nate told us we could have seen it in your eyes if we’d only been watching you instead of the pirate. Forgive us for thinking what we did.”
Tara smiled, happy to be among them. She did not fault the crew for believing she had willingly gone with the pirate. It is what she had wanted them to think. But she loved them all the more for believing she had done it for them.
At her side, Jake said, “The captain wanted I should bring you to his cabin as soon as you spoke with the crew, Miss Tara.” Jake was a large man known for his fists, but to Tara he was a gentle soul. She thought he’d walk through hell for her.
“That won’t be necessary, Jake. I know the way.”
“It is good you are with us again,” said the blond giant as she turned toward the aft hatch. “We were happy when Nate told us what you’d done and that the captain was going to fetch you.” Then he added proudly, “I vo
lunteered.”
Tara looked back and couldn’t resist a smile for her guardian angel. “I’m so glad you did, Jake.”
The other men began drifting back to their work as Tara went below. She entered the familiar companionway and walked the short distance to the door of the captain’s cabin, remembering the first time she had done so. She had been nervous then to face the captain who had scowled at her from the quarterdeck. She was nervous now for an entirely different reason. She loved the captain who was on the other side of the cabin door and she had not a thought as to what to do about it. Even if he had loved her, she could not marry an Englishman and suffer again the parlours of London. It would only be another kind of cage. And she wanted desperately to see her family.
Besides, Captain Powell’s only use for women was in his bed. He had kissed her, more than once. Perhaps that is where he wanted her, too. She doubted he cared more, though she knew he had been concerned for her safety as a passenger.
Taking off her bonnet, she knocked once, and hearing a muffled “enter,” opened the cabin door. He was standing at the window with his back to her, looking toward shore.
“Was I correct in assuming you wanted to be rescued?” he asked, slowly turning to face her. “Or did you wish to remain with the pirate?” His face was a mask of indifference as he continued, but she sensed there was anger just beneath the surface. “It’s too late now in any event. I won’t waste my crew’s efforts and relinquish you to him again so easily.”
Tara observed him carefully. His golden amber eyes were looking at her with a disturbing intensity she’d not seen before. His jaw was clenched, his expression that of a man about to begin yelling. Even having to pay the price now, she was glad he and his crew had accepted her lie. It had saved their lives.
“You were meant to believe I went with him of my own accord,” she felt compelled to explain. She stepped farther into the cabin and laid her bonnet on his desk. “In truth, I did.”
His eyes narrowed at her words.
“I bargained my freedom for your life and the lives of the crew. Cofresí required I go with him voluntarily. I made the only decision I could.”
“You should have told me!” he bellowed. Was he angry at his own powerlessness? Or did he blame her in some way for her capture?
“And what would you have done if I had? What could you have done? You were bound in chains, what was left of your crew wounded and with no weapons. I was afraid he would kill you that very morning.”
“And the kiss? Was that also necessary?”
He was jealous! It was a good sign, and it made Tara hope for more.
With a great effort, she held back her temper and explained, “Cofresí made clear I had to be convincing. He assured me you would never believe it otherwise. He even kept me a second night aboard his ship to make you think—” Tara could not finish the thought, but she could see from his wince that he knew of what she was speaking.
“And did you go to his bed to make it even more convincing?” His hands fisted at his sides as he spoke the words with sarcastic emphasis. Tara closed the small distance between them and raised her hand to slap him.
He caught her hand just before it struck his cheek. She glared at him, now as angry as he. “I did not go to his bed at all, if you must speak of it. And for your further information, Cofresí did not demand that of me.” At least not yet. At the captain’s snort of disbelief, she pulled her hand from his grasp. “Yes, he wanted me. He made that clear. But he intended to make me his wife, though I gave him no encouragement.” She resented all the explaining she was doing when his crew had accepted her word without question.
“The thought of that pirate touching you—” he said, looking to the side.
“Why should I be explaining this to you? You care nothing for me. I am merely unwanted baggage, a passenger who has caused you much trouble.”
When he turned to face her, there was a different look in his eye. “Perhaps I—”
A knock sounded at the door, ending their conversation abruptly. “Enter,” the captain said.
Peter and Joshua stepped through the cabin door, carrying trays of food.
Dinner had arrived.
The silence was awkward. Peter filled it. “McGinnes thought you’d be hungry, Miss Tara.” Then looking at his captain, “Is it all right if we set the table for your dinner, Cap’n?”
“Yes, Peter, you and Joshua can set the table. Please thank McGinnes for his consideration. I am certain after her long journey to the ship Miss McConnell has an appetite.”
In truth, Tara was too angry to be very hungry, but since McGinnes had gone to the trouble to welcome her back in his own way, she would force herself to eat. “Please tell him for me, Peter,” she said, smiling at the boy and his companion, “that I am most grateful for his kindness.”
Dinner was a silent affair, each too proud and still holding too much anger to speak. Yet between them was a current Tara felt through her skin. Had she hoped he would welcome her back with open arms, confessing his love? As she considered her daydreams in Cofresí’s garden, she now thought them ridiculous.
When the meal was over and they finished their wine, he rose. As if the argument had never happened, he offered, “How about a turn on the deck? We might even catch the last of the sunset.”
“Do we sail tonight?”
“I would like to but we can only make ready. The wind is not with us.”
Tara was glad for the suggestion to go up on deck, as the light had faded in the cabin and the air in the smaller space was hot and still. Besides, she had a need to walk.
The moment she came through the hatch, Tara breathed deeply of the night air. It was still warm but cooling, and without the hot sun beating down, not as oppressive as it had been earlier. The sunset had faded to a blend of dark red and violet. She was only vaguely aware of the watch as she and the captain walked to the prow and gazed west.
“A fine fix we’re in,” Tara said, looking first at the captain and then at the night sky. The stars began to show themselves in the darkening canvas above, giving her the sense she stood on a precipice at an auspicious moment in time. It had only been a short while ago she had gained the insight she had now about the two of them. She should have realized the truth long ago.
“What do you mean?” he asked, coming up behind her, so close she could feel the heat of his chest. His warmth had always drawn her, and it was pulling her to him now like a strong undertow.
“Each of us withheld from the other the one thing we wanted,” she remarked, staring into the night sky.
“And what would that be?” He put his hands on her arms, drawing her back against his chest. She shivered with his touch but allowed it, while fighting the urge to turn and fall into his arms.
“You wanted my body and, fool that I am, I wanted your heart.”
He spun her around so fast her vision blurred. “My heart? You wanted my heart?”
“Yes, but I cannot seem to touch it.” His eyes carried a look of astonishment. “Well, you can keep it,” she said emphatically. “I don’t want it anymore. And you shall never have me!”
He stared at her for only a moment. “Oh, yes, I will.” As if she had defied one of his many orders and he was having none of it, he brought his mouth down on hers in a kiss that was claiming. One of his hands closed on her nape and his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her to him, trapping her with his powerful strength.
Exasperated with his seeming indifference and angered at his lack of trust in her, she had taunted him. But now that she was in his arms, she realized it was where she had longed to be. Wrapped in the overpowering passion that flowed between them, the passion he could draw from her in an instant, she didn’t want to fight her love for him any longer. His kiss was hungry, devouring, sweeping her away. She leaned into him, accepting his kiss, desperately seeking to join together what had so long been held apart.
“Tara, oh, Tara,” he breathed as he pressed kisses down
her throat. He had never said her name before. It was like a caressing breeze, making her giddy with the joy of it. It sounded to her like a lover’s words, tender and sweet. She wanted to believe they were.
“Perhaps I should call you Nicholas,” she whispered as his kisses fluttered over her ear.
“Perhaps you should,” he whispered back as he raised his head to look into her eyes. “I think it’s time we admitted what lies between us. I want you, Tara McConnell, and I think you want me, my black heart notwithstanding.” With that he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the hatch. Once inside his cabin, he drew her to his bed, gently shoved her down and joined her, drawing her into his arms.
He leaned on one elbow, pressing kisses to her lips, her eyes and her throat. Entwining his fingers in her hair, he set the pins to flying, and when her hair was free, his hand traveled up and down her body as if learning every curve.
Excited by his touch, Tara returned his kisses, reaching her fingers into the waves of his ebony hair. His palm closed over her breast, his gentle kneading soothing the ache that had been growing since his first kiss. She had not known this was what she wanted, but she did now. She wanted more.
He slid on top of her and she welcomed his weight, holding him tightly to her. She wanted more. Holding his head with her hands, she pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him deeply. No matter their future, she loved this man.
She wore only the muslin gown and her underthings. He moved to one side and, in deft fashion, removed them, kissing each new part of her his efforts revealed. His lips as they touched her skin awoke feelings she had not experienced before. Soon, her garments had all fallen to the deck.
She was naked but he was still clothed. Wanting to feel his bare chest against her breasts, she tugged at his shirt. He rose briefly from the bed to shed the shirt and in the dim light she saw the white bandages wrapped around his arm and his ribs. Then she heard his boots and trousers fall to the deck. Briefly she caught a glimpse of his tanned chest and the black thatch of hair. Her gaze slid down to his white skin, untouched by the sun. She was startled by what she saw. He did not look like her brothers who, as youths, had frolicked in the waters of the Chesapeake. Here was a grown man who was naked and…aroused. The sight of his hard flesh frightened her.