Will felt Mia shift on the wooden bench.
‘Are you comfortable?’
She nodded. ‘Just a little cold.’
The change in temperature as the sun went down was surprising. Balmy and hot in the daytime, the Caribbean air certainly had a slight chill about it in the evening. Will cursed himself for not bringing an overcoat—he would have gladly given it up to make Mia more comfortable.
‘Come closer,’ he said quietly, so Tubs wouldn’t hear.
Mia looked at him with indecision in her eyes.
‘I promise not to ravish you,’ he said, trying to keep his tone cheery and light, ‘but it might make you a little warmer.’
As she scooted her bottom closer to his he silently cursed his promise not to ravish her. He was finding it increasingly difficult to keep chaste thoughts when Mia was close.
Her left thigh pressed into his right and slowly Mia relaxed into his body. Gently he placed his arm around her shoulders and little by little she allowed herself to fold into him.
‘Better?’ he asked softly.
‘Better.’ She sounded content and comfortable and Will had a sudden urge to tell Tubs to turn around and head out into the open sea and keep going. He wanted to be alone with Mia, outside the constraints of society, not under pressure to complete the task he had set himself. Just man and woman and their mutual desire. There was no way they could be together in the real world, their lives following such different paths, but for a few moments in his imagination he could see a future with him and Mia happy without the judgement of society.
It was a strange thought for Will, who for so long had assumed he would spend his life alone, but Mia was getting to him, making him re-evaluate what he thought was important. Maybe he could open up his heart and his life enough to share it with someone else.
‘There we are, sir,’ Tubs said, pulling the small boat up alongside the wooden jetty.
‘Thank you, Tubs.’
Will reluctantly stood and hopped out of the boat, reaching down to take Mia’s hand and help her on to dry land.
‘I’ll wait for you here, sir.’
‘If you’d be more comfortable back on the ship...’ Will started to offer.
‘Don’t you worry about me, sir, you go ahead and enjoy yourself with the lady. I don’t mind waiting all night, if you catch my drift.’
The old man gave him a leery wink, then settled down in the bottom of the boat and promptly closed his eyes.
Mia giggled quietly.
‘Don’t encourage him,’ Will said. He picked up her hand and slotted it into the crook of his arm and set off down the jetty.
The town rose up the gentle hill before them. There were a few welcoming taverns along the waterfront with lamps lighting up the exterior. Most of the rest of the small settlement was in darkness. Tortola didn’t have a raucous reputation like Jamaica and Barbados, but he hadn’t expected it to be quite so sleepy.
‘So what’s the plan?’ Mia asked him as they walked past the first of the taverns.
‘I was going to choose one of these fine establishments to buy my lady a drink.’
‘How very generous of you.’
As they passed the second of the taverns the door swung open. A woman with arms the size of two fat logs and a chest an opera singer would be proud of heaved a drunken man through the door and out into the street.
‘Maybe not that one,’ Mia whispered, earning her a glare from the beefy barmaid.
The third tavern they reached seemed quieter and slightly more salubrious. The wooden sign hanging above the doorway declared this was the Golden Chest.
They entered and the whole tavern suddenly fell silent. Thirty pairs of eyes regarded them as they walked through the warm interior and found an empty table.
‘I don’t think they get many visitors,’ Mia whispered.
Will checked the faces staring at them. They didn’t look openly hostile, just curious at who these intruders into their tavern were.
‘Good evening,’ Will said with a cheery smile.
One by one the conversations started up again until there was a quiet background hum.
‘What can I get you?’ a young woman in her early twenties asked as she came sauntering over, eyeing Will up and down and giving him a winning smile.
‘A pint of ale.’ Will turned to Mia.
‘Rum,’ she said sweetly.
‘Anything else takes your fancy you just let me know,’ the barmaid said flirtatiously.
‘You’ve got an admirer,’ Mia said as the barmaid went to fetch their drinks.
Will looked at her carefully. He was trying to assess if she was jealous. He wanted her to be jealous, just like he would be if a man started vying for her attention.
‘You from that fancy ship?’ an old man at the next table asked, leaning over towards Will.
There was no use denying it, a town this size probably didn’t get more than one strange ship anchor each night. He wasn’t sure Captain Little’s vessel counted as fancy, though.
‘Yes.’
‘What’s your business in Tortola?’
Straight to the point. Will wanted information, but he didn’t think coming out and asking about The Flaming Dragon directly was going to get him very far. He was saved from answering by Mia.
‘I’d heard the men of Tortola were the handsomest and strongest and bravest in the Caribbean,’ Mia said, ‘And I forced him to bring me here.’
This got a murmur of approval from the mainly male occupants of the tavern.
‘I wanted to see these marvellous specimens of manhood for myself.’
‘You can see my marvellous specimen of manhood, darling,’ a voice called from the other side of the tavern.
Will felt his temper rise, but squashed it back down. He knew Mia was doing this for him, gaining the men’s trust so they would be more likely to talk about The Flaming Dragon. He just wished she’d do it in a less suggestive way.
‘I wonder...’ Mia pondered aloud. ‘If I wanted to meet the bravest, strongest, most handsome man in Tortola, who would that be?’
‘You’re looking for me, miss,’ a brawny man in his mid-thirties yelled, standing up and thumping his fist on the table, ‘I’ve fought twenty men and never lost.’
Mia smiled at him sweetly, then addressed the rest of the room. ‘So is this fine fellow the bravest amongst you?’
‘He wishes.’ Another man jumped to his feet. ‘I’ve wrestled a shark and lived.’
‘Lies,’ the first man shouted. ‘You got those shark teeth you’re always harping on about from a dead shark down on Cane Garden Bay.’
‘Are you calling me a liar?’ The shark wrestler turned red in the face.
‘Boys, no fighting, please,’ Mia said with enough charm and authority to shut them up. ‘Are there no other contenders for the title?’
‘Aye, girl, I be the bravest man amongst this sorry lot.’
Mia turned to see a small man in his forties stand up and address her. He was a wisp of a man with just skin on his bones and a pale complexion.
‘You may be brave, Pablo, but you definitely aren’t strong or handsome,’ another voice called out from across the tavern. Everyone laughed.
‘Tell me, Pablo, impress me with your bravery.’
‘I told the bloodthirsty pirate Del Torres he could get right off my land.’
Will tried not to react to the comment and waited to see how Mia would handle this information.
‘Del Torres is a scary man. I think you’re right, you are the bravest man in this tavern. Come and sit with me and you can tell me all about it.’
Will watched as the skinny man proudly strode over to Mia and squeezed on to the bench beside her. Will felt a bubble of anger as the little man stol
e a glance at her chest and leaned in a little closer than was strictly necessary. He tried to control himself, knowing the information this man had could only help their mission, but all the same he wished Mia wouldn’t smile at him so encouragingly.
‘Keep your hands to yourself,’ Will growled.
‘Who’s he?’ Brave Pablo asked Mia.
‘Just my grumpy guardian,’ she said with a smile. ‘Ignore him.’
Will frowned and was just about to haul the weasel-like Pablo from his seat when he received a sharp kick in the shins from Mia. Folding his arms across his chest, Will restrained himself.
‘So tell me about your encounter with the notorious Del Torres,’ Mia said, refocusing the conversation.
‘What is my reward?’ Pablo asked.
Will had to hand it to the scrawny chap, he knew when to bargain with a lady.
‘A place in my thoughts as the bravest man of Tortola for ever more.’
‘Anything more...physical?’
Mia pretended to look shocked, then leaned towards Pablo and whispered something in his ear. Pablo’s eyes widened to the size of coconuts. Will nearly expired on the spot. He didn’t know what Mia had offered for his story, but he was sure he wouldn’t approve. This sewer rat of a man didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her, let alone get to enjoy whatever physical reward had made his eyes pop out of his head.
Will stood, ready to throw Pablo out into the street. Mia glared at him with such force he immediately sat down again.
‘I run a small plantation over on the other side of the island,’ Pablo confided proudly to Mia. ‘I’d seen that big old pirate ship anchored in Smuggler’s Cove, but hadn’t paid it much attention. Every few months it seems to anchor up there for a day or two.’
Will marvelled at the Navy’s incompetence. They’d spent two years searching for Del Torres and The Flaming Dragon. If they’d swallowed their pride and actually asked the locals, he had no doubts they would have caught these pirates months ago.
‘I was checking on the boundary wall for the plantation, thought it might have been damaged by one of the storms. I just sat down to rest my legs for a few minutes when this man came striding towards me.’
Will rather suspected he’d sat down to fall asleep somewhere away from the watchful eyes of the plantation owner.
‘And that was Del Torres?’ Mia asked.
‘Well, I didn’t know it at the time. I yelled at him that he was on private land. He just laughed. Came up to me and asked whether I knew who he was.’
‘What happened next?’ Mia asked.
Will had to admire her determination. Pablo wasn’t getting away with any detail of this story untold.
‘I told him I didn’t care who he was, this was still private land and he’d better get off it quick.’
Will watched as Pablo turned from centre-of-attention hero to the scared man he must have been when he realised who he had been talking to.
Slowly the skinny man lifted his shirt. Will craned his neck to see what he was showing Mia.
‘The bastard kicked my ribs in. I was lucky he didn’t puncture a lung.’
Will watched as Mia tried to maintain her composure. Her face lost some of its healthy glow and the light in her eyes flickered and died.
‘He did that to you?’ she asked, gesturing at his deformed ribcage. ‘Just for telling him to get off the private land.’
Pablo nodded. ‘I thought he was going to kill me.’
‘Pablo,’ Mia said sincerely, ‘I truly think you’re the bravest man I’ve ever met.’
She leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his lips. The men of the tavern roared their approval. Before Pablo could react, Mia stood and hurried outside.
Will dropped some money on the table and strode after her.
Chapter Eleven
Mia gulped at the salty air as if she were drowning. She’d been so happy with her plan, her little game to draw out any man who might have information about her brother. She hadn’t realised she didn’t want to know any more about his exploits.
She had wanted to impress Will, make him see she really was committed to helping him. And she was. She’d got more information out of the tavern of locals than Will could ever have done on his own no matter who he bribed.
She just wished she hadn’t heard the story about her brother, or seen what he’d done to that poor man’s ribs. Every time she sought information about the kind of man Jorge had become she was disgusted.
She jumped as Will placed a hand gently on her shoulder. He had come up behind her so silently she was only aware of his presence when he reached out and stroked the bare skin of her neck.
‘Mia,’ he said, his voice thick with emotion, ‘I’m so sorry.’
She wanted to cry and scream and pummel at his chest. She wanted to show the world quite how angry and upset she was, but more than anything she wanted to take comfort in Will’s arms. The one thing she couldn’t do.
‘We know now where to wait for The Flaming Dragon,’ Mia said, her voice flat.
‘I’m sorry you had to see that,’ Will persevered. ‘I never want you to be upset.’
She felt a hysterical giggle building up in her throat. This whole situation was madness. She was betraying the only family she had, helping to catch her own brother and send him to the gallows, and she was glad about it. Everything she’d learned about her brother in the past few days had confirmed her worst fears. The little boy she’d known and loved was dead already, replaced by a monster of a man.
‘Mia,’ Will said, as if lost for words.
She turned to face him and looked up into his eyes. Immediately she wished she hadn’t. He looked so upset for her, so pained that she’d had to hear those terrible things about her brother. Will was such a good man and she wanted him so badly.
She reached up and stroked his cheek, feeling the stubble under her fingertips, sending shivers over her sensitive skin.
‘I wish I could make all of the bad things go away for you.’
He wasn’t making resisting him any easier.
‘Will you hold me?’ Mia asked.
He hesitated, but only for a second. His strong arms enveloped her, folding her into his chest. Mia felt safe and secure and shielded from the world. She wished she could stay wrapped tightly in his arms for the rest of time and not have to face the real world again.
She felt him move his head and drop a gentle kiss on her hair, lingering for a few moments before taking his lips away.
‘I know we can’t...’ Mia struggled to find the right words ‘...be together, but I really don’t want to be alone tonight.’
What she wanted was to kiss him and touch him all over his body. To feel the muscles beneath his shirt and run her fingers all the way down to what lay beneath his breeches. She wanted to writhe beneath him as if they were husband and wife and wake in the morning knowing she would never have to be alone again.
Will swallowed. ‘Are you sure it’s a good idea?’
‘Please,’ Mia said, ‘just hold me tonight. Nothing more.’
She wanted so much more. She wanted to possess him body and soul. She wanted to be the first thing he thought about when he woke up and the last thing he saw at night. She wanted to spend every moment of every day of every year of the rest of her life with him.
‘Just one night,’ she said.
He looked torn and for a moment Mia thought he might refuse her.
‘How?’ he asked, his breathing heavy and his body tense.
‘One of these taverns will have a room.’
She couldn’t believe she was being so forward and brazen. She’d always prided herself on her maidenly reputation in an environment where there was temptation at every turn.
He grabbed her hand and pull
ed her towards the next tavern along the waterfront.
‘Wait here,’ he commanded, disappearing inside the building.
It felt as though he was gone for ages. The minutes stretched out in front of Mia as if tormenting her. She wondered if she might change her mind in his absence, suddenly come to her senses and realise what a bad idea it was to spend the night in close proximity to the man she wanted so badly. Instead the desire to be close to him built and built. She wanted to rest her head against his chest and hear his heart beat after they’d ravished each other to exhaustion.
After a few minutes Will emerged, took her hand, and wordlessly tugged her into the tavern. They sped through the seating area and up a narrow staircase. He paused outside the first door they came to.
‘Are you sure about this?’ he asked.
‘What’s the harm of one night?’ Mia asked. ‘I just don’t want to be alone.’
Will dug the key from his pocket and unlocked the door to the room. He pulled her gently inside and quickly locked the door behind them. Two candles were burning on either side of the bed, but otherwise the room was in darkness.
Now they were inside, just the two of them, Mia didn’t know what to do with herself. Will took her hand and led her to the bed.
‘If you want to undress a little,’ he said, his voice unusually husky, ‘I can turn around, or go outside. Whichever you would prefer.’
Mia knew she shouldn’t. Her clothes were a barrier between her and forbidden pleasures, but she couldn’t imagine getting any rest whilst still wearing her dress.
‘You don’t have to leave,’ she said.
Slowly she unlaced her dress, aware of Will’s eyes following her every move. When the bodice section was sufficiently loose she turned around to preserve a little modesty and lifted the material over her head.
She heard Will’s breathing become more ragged.
‘You don’t know what you do to me, Mia,’ he said quietly.
Mia wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly very self-conscious. She was still clad in her white undergown, which reached her mid-thigh, but she might as well have been naked the way Will was looking at her.
Harlequin Historical September 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: Lord Havelock's ListSaved by the Viking WarriorThe Pirate Hunter Page 57