by Sophie Stern
She had wanted to come along.
She had insisted that she come along.
"You really have no idea, do you?" Nelson's voice came slow and steady.
"What?" She shrugged, looking at him.
“Julianne,” Nelson shook his head, and not for the first time, Julianne felt like she was very insignificant. Did everyone know so much more than her? Was the entire crew in on some secret knowledge she hadn’t been permitted to know?
“Just tell me.”
"Mad Drake is the one who killed Wade's family, Julianne. He killed them in cold blood just to be cruel. Then the sea killed the old bastard before Docherty ever had a chance for his revenge. That’s why this is so important to him."
His family.
Madeleine.
Julianne had seen her name written on books, she had seen Wade scribble it in his journal. She knew he had a wife before, but she had been taken? And his children? His entire family?
No wonder the quest was so important.
"His family," she repeated, quietly, not quite accepting the words.
Nelson placed a hand on Julianne's shoulder.
"This is his quest, Julianne. This is his redemption. He needs to find Mad Drake's ship. He needs to with every ounce of his body. He needs to find the damn ship and take everything Mad Drake had because that's what Mad Drake took from Wade: everything."
So many things about Wade suddenly made sense. Though Julianne had spent most of her time aboard ship cuddling with Wade, talking with him, enjoying his company, she hadn’t learned the man’s deepest secret.
She hadn’t learned his deepest pain.
Now she suddenly had the chance to help the man she loved seek some sort of revenge on the man who had killed his darlings. Oh, it wouldn’t be the same as if Wade had been able to kill Mad Drake himself, but stealing the old dog’s treasure?
That was going to be its own reward.
"What are we waiting for?" She asked Nelson. "We have a treasure to find."
26
Julianne rushed to the deck with Nelson close behind and hurried to Wade. He glared at her, but she slipped her arm around his side and whispered, “You can do this. You’ve got this, love.”
Rain whipped at her face and soaked her hair even more, drenching her completely. Waves crashed against the side of the boat, roaring with every hit. Julianne nodded to Wade again and squeezed his hand, letting him know that she was with him, no matter where the storms brought them.
She would be by his side.
She would stand by him through thick and thin.
She would be with him on his journey.
Wade looked out over the sea, hollering orders to the crew as the ship bounced on the ocean’s surface. It was the nastiest storm Julianne had ever seen, but Wade seemed to have everything under control. At the helm, he looked fiercer than ever.
He was the Saucy Devil.
“Get below deck!” Julianne was right next to him, but he still had to yell the words. She saw his mouth moving, and then the words registered.
“Aye, aye,” she said, giving his hand one last squeeze before she turned to go down the narrow ladder. She made her way carefully down, doing her best not to slip. The deck was covered in water and the men were running around, yelling and shouting to one another.
She would go below deck and see how she could help Buck. There would inevitably be a leak or two she could help stop. At the very least, she could mop. She was good with a mop. The slick wood planks on the ship were an accident waiting to happen. No wonder so many good men got injured during storms.
Julianne had just reached the door to move below deck when she heard the song.
It was unlike anything she’d ever heard before.
It was beautiful, and sweet, and it seemed to speak directly to her heart. The song was one of happiness and pleasure. The song promised joy and loveliness, and somewhere beyond the lyrics, Julianne thought she heard Wade’s voice.
Cover your ears!
She didn’t cover her ears.
Instead, Julianne found herself moving to the side of the ship. She made her way closer and closer to the edge of the boat, and that’s when she saw it. The storm seemed to clear, at least in her vision, and she saw the women dancing on the beach.
They were tall and short, fat and thin, old and young. There were women of all ages, and all colors, and all sizes, and they were happy together.
Come and join us.
The song changed, moving faster, and Julianne knew there wasn’t a lot of time. This was her chance. Wade didn’t love her. Not really. He loved his dead wife and he loved revenge, but he didn’t love her.
She was just a stowaway.
She was just someone to pass the time.
But the women on the beach were different. They wouldn’t treat Julianne like she was a stowaway. She wouldn’t have to fight to fit in. She wouldn’t have to do anything but be herself, and she could belong somewhere.
Maybe these women were loose, or perhaps they were chaste, or perhaps they hadn’t decided yet. That wasn’t going to matter. Julianne could already tell. She still felt the wind on her face and the rain in her hair, but she had a clear view to the beach.
And it was sunny over there.
It was bright.
Beautiful.
Clear.
All she had to do was swim.
Come! Join us! The women on the beach called to her. She waved back frantically, fervently.
“I’m coming!” She called, and Julianne began to climb over the side of The Dark Lovely. She gripped the side of the boat for just a second, and she thought she heard someone calling her name, but it was too late.
It wouldn’t be long now.
All she had to do was swim.
**
Wade Docherty’s heart had been broken when he returned from the sea to find that his family had been slaughtered. He had been devastated, he had been pained, and he had been angry. It may have been years since he lost his beloved family, but the devastation had stayed with him all this time: a constant companion.
Until recently, he hadn’t been able to go more than a few minutes without thinking of Madeleine. He hadn’t been able to get the images of little Jack, of baby Diana, out of his head. He couldn’t escape his pain until Julianne simply strolled onto his ship and into his life.
And now the pain didn’t seem so bad anymore.
Now he could have a real conversation without feeling like he was going to crack at any moment. Now he could go a few hours without thinking about all he had lost. Now he could sleep peacefully for long stretches of time.
He didn’t have nightmares anymore.
He knew Julianne was to thank for that.
She’d been a light on the ship: a bright, shining star to guide his soul.
And she had just jumped off the side of his damn ship.
Wade grabbed Nelson and pushed him in front of the helm. He ignored the man as he himself ran to the side of the ship.
“It’s too late, Captain,” Ray said.
“She just dove right o’er,” Thomas agreed, yelling to be heard over the wind, but Wade ignored them and peered over the edge of the water where his beloved had disappeared.
She was going to the Isle of Changers.
He knew it deep in his gut.
He looked out at the island and wondered what vision Julianne had seen. What had called to her, promising her a future? He didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.
He just had to get to her before she reached the beach.
The waters were swirling as Wade took off his sword and ripped off his shirt. He was going to get to her, and he was going to save her. Julianne had already saved him. He could do the same for her.
It could cost him everything: the respect of his men, the ship, his life. None of that mattered when he thought about living a life without her, though. Oh, he knew she secretly worried she was in love with him. He knew she fretted that they might not have a house o
ne day. He even knew she daydreamed about having his babies.
Wade knew all of this because Julianne talked in her sleep, and she talked often, and he wondered how the woman managed to keep any secrets at all to herself.
“You can’t do it,” Ray yelled, but Wade didn’t wait another moment. As he dove off the side of his ship, he heard the yells of his crew, but he ignored them. What they thought didn’t matter. Their advice didn’t matter.
Wade Docherty had to save Julianne before she reached that beach.
He would get to her, and he would bring her back, and everything would be okay.
It had to be, because she was his heart, his soul, his reason for living. She was the only reason he smiled. She was everything to him.
He wouldn’t leave her behind.
27
The water was ice against his skin, but Wade ignored it and fought his way through the water. She was ahead of him. He could see her dark hair bobbing against the angry waves. Julianne was a surprisingly good swimmer, especially for someone who was essentially raised indoors. Wade could only suspect it was a magic of the isle, pulling Julianne to her fate.
He could not lose her.
He would not let her be another casualty to the changers.
He would not lose another woman he loved.
Not today, and not ever.
He knew this would kill him. This would be Wade’s final act. He would die trying to rescue Julianne. He would give up everything for her.
When he met her, he was instantly drawn to her. Attraction was an entirely different beast than love, though. Love wasn’t something he was capable of feeling anymore, but Julianne changed all of that.
She healed him.
And she had loved him.
He should have told her sooner, should have begged her to stay somewhere safe on this last part of the voyage, but he knew he could no sooner bear to leave Julianne than she could bear to be left. He needed to find the treasure, but he needed her more.
And he chose her.
He would drown today, lose his treasure, lose his life, but he would not lose Julianne. He would save her. He would rescue her.
And then he caught her.
His hand wrapped around her wrist. The storm raged, but the water seemed almost calm around Julianne. Wade turned toward the beach and saw what Julianne must be seeing: a group of beautiful women calling to her.
Julianne. Their voices seemed clear. Despite being able to physically see the storm, Wade noticed he could no longer hear it. He let go of Julianne’s wrist and the vision disappeared. When he grabbed her again, it reappeared, and he knew this was how the isle stole people.
The ghosts and spirits didn’t need to get in the water to catch people or to trap them. No, they only needed to make their island look better than the stormy seas, and they seemed to do a fine job of it. If Wade hadn’t been warned, he thought it might be easy to lose his head and try to make his way to the safety of the beach.
Only he had been warned.
And this was not his first pirate adventure.
“They aren’t real,” Wade said. Julianne ignored him and kept trying to swim toward the beach. Wade grabbed her by the waist and pulled in the opposite direction. This seemed to anger the spirits on the beach because they no longer appeared beautiful, but hideously deformed and upset.
Their gentle coaxing turned to screams, and Julianne began to cry.
“I’m sorry for this, love,” Wade said, as he realized the only way to keep Julianne from trying to swim was to hurt her. She could not be distracted from the spirits in this moment. They had already ensnared her. They had already taken her. Wade hit her on the head and felt her body sag in the water.
Immediately, the image from the beach disappeared and he could hear the full sounds of the ocean. The sea was an angry mistress as Wade turned back to the ship. He could barely see her flags, but he had promised he would save Julianne.
He would get her back to the ship.
He fought against the waves, kicking his way back to the ship. The water in Julianne’s clothes made her heavier than usual, and Wade struggled to stay above the surface of the water. Slowly, he made his way closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Rain poured from the sky and the waves crashed around him, but still, Wade swam. He still felt the tug of the isle’s magic, but the closer he got to The Dark Lovely, the freer he felt. He thought of Pepper’s words.
Stay off the beach.
And for the first time, Wade thought that maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t really a death sentence.
Maybe he could survive this. In fact, he was certain of it. He could save Julianne, he could rescue her, and they could be happy together. He wanted to be happy with her. He wanted to spend his life with her, wanted to give her the entire world.
He could do this, he suddenly thought. He was fierce, and he was strong. He was feared. What was a little storm against the likes of the Saucy Devil? He never should have doubted himself, never should have thought he couldn’t do it. He could do this. He could save Julianne.
He could save her, and he could save himself.
He took a deep breath and kept going.
It was the only choice he had.
28
Julianne’s face felt warm, and she opened her eyes. The sunlight was streaming in, covering her, and she blinked several times before sitting straight up in bed.
Dead.
She was supposed to be dead.
She should be dead or on the Isle of Changers, she thought, and her mouth went dry.
She had jumped off the ship, and she had gone toward the beach. It had called to her, beckoned her. She could remember exactly the way she felt in that moment. Julianne remembered exactly how it felt to hit the water, how she had felt the icy sting of the waves, but didn’t care.
All she cared about was getting to the island.
But she wasn’t there anymore.
She had escaped.
No, that wasn’t right.
“Julianne?”
“Wade?” She turned, noticing him for the first time. He was in bed beside her. “You saved me, didn’t you?” She saw the ways his eyes looked tired, the way his hair was still damp. “You rescued me.”
“I took what was mine,” Wade said simply.
“I’m yours?” She whispered the words, though it seemed Wade had come to some sort of realization about their relationship. It seemed he was not as uncaring as Julianne had thought.
“You are mine, Julianne. Like it or not, you have my heart. I thought long ago that it died, but you have shown me what it means to love and be loved in return.”
She looked at him, cupping his face.
“I don’t believe it,” she whispered. “You love me?”
He had jumped off The Dark Lovely and swam after her. He had fought the raging sea to get to her. He had been strong against the magical lure of the island.
He had saved her.
And it could have cost him everything he held so dear.
“Surely you knew.”
“I certainly did not.”
“I know you love me,” Wade said easily, cockily, and Julianne slapped him lightly on the chest.
“You know no such thing.”
“Tell me, Julianne. Tell me you love me.”
He had never asked her to say this before, had never said the words to her, either. Julianne had struggled with knowing her status with Wade, and now here he was, just telling her. He was laying his heart bare for her, and he wanted her to do the same.
“I love you, Wade Docherty. You are my Saucy Devil,” she whispered.
“And I love you, Julianne Rye.”
He kissed her, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close. She nuzzled against his chest, seeking once again the safety and comfort she had grown so used to. She had learned to depend on him, to crave him. The fact that he loved her too warmed her to her core.
“I want to spend the rest of my l
ife with you. I want to make you happy. I want to see you smile.”
“Pretty romantic for a pirate, aren’t you?”
“Pirates are the most romantic people you’ll ever meet, love.”
“Is that right?” She might not have believed it when they first met, but Wade had almost died for her. He had fought for her. He had saved her, rescuing her from a magical fate that would have undoubtedly been horrifying unpleasant. He had almost lost everything, and he’d done it just for her.
If that wasn’t true love, true romance, then what was?
“It’s right,” Wade kissed her again, and then they heard a shout from outside the cabin door.
“Captain! You must come see this!”
“What is it?” Wade called out, not moving. His eyes were locked firmly on Julianne’s.
“It’s The Cursed Hangman! Captain! We’ve found it! You were right all along! There is a treasure! There is a treasure!”
Julianne looked up at Wade and kissed him again. He looked so happy, so content, and her heart soared. They were there. After so much searching, they were there. They had found the ship. They had found The Cursed Hangman.
“You found it,” she whispered. “You found your treasure.”
“Yes,” he said, looking at Julianne. “I did.”
THE END
About the Author
Sophie Stern loves cowboys, soldiers, and shifters. When she’s not busy writing, she’s got her nose buried in a book. Sophie lives with her husband and two little boys who are always keeping her on her toes.
You can connect with Sophie through her website or on Facebook.
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Thank you for reading Saucy Devil. I hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. After years of dressing up as a pirate for the Renaissance Festival, it seemed like it was time to truly dive into the world of piracy and adventure.