by Kimberly Nee
Her skin tingled where he caressed it, slowing both her blood and her mind. A warm glow filled her as he nuzzled her. Her still-present nausea slipped to the furthest recesses of her mind as his hands slipped down over her shoulders, grazing over the contours of her breasts to set a flame to the embers smoldering within her.
He wrapped his arms about her from behind and gave a squeeze. “Later, my lady. There is time enough for us to become reacquainted. Now, you will enjoy a long, leisurely bath and you shall rest a while longer. I have my duties to attend this morning but this evening, you will see for yourself how I’ve missed my spirited señorita.”
He kissed her gently on the lips and straightened up. “I will also have fresh clothing for you. I imagine you would like being attired in something a mite more feminine than those togs.”
She glanced down at the filthy woolen garments and nodded wholeheartedly. “Absolutely.”
Another kiss and he replied, “And a lady you shall be once more.”
“I thank you.”
“You are most welcome.”
Finn sighed after he left the cabin again. Rising from her chair, she moved back to the bed, where she stretched out as the drowsiness returned. Her eyes grew heavy and she made no attempt to fight it off, but instead welcomed sleep once more.
It seemed no time had passed before Iñigo gently shook her awake. Opening her eyes, it was to see steam rising from the brass tub in the far corner.
“Come, my lady,” he murmured, peeling the sheets from her to toss them toward the foot of the bed. “A warm bath, and then you may sleep a while longer.”
She sat up, stretching her arms overhead. “I fear if I sleep too much this day, I’ll not sleep come nightfall.”
He smiled, taking her hand to draw her to her feet. “My lady, the dark smudges beneath your eyes have faded, but still remain. You look exhausted enough for me to wonder if I should even allow you near the tub.”
“Oh, I wish you would. I would love a bath.”
He brought her left hand up to brush his lips across its back. “And a bath you shall have, love,” he murmured, releasing her hand and reaching for the ties on her shirt. She didn’t protest as he undressed her, but smiled as he let out a softly strangled groan, stripping away the last layer of cotton between her skin and his eyes. His eyes darkened, a muscle twitched in his jaw. His reaction amused her, but it also gave her a sense of satisfaction. It was quite heady, knowing her body affected him in the same way his affected her. Quite heady, indeed.
Slipping an arm about her waist, Iñigo helped her to the tub. “Come along, Finn. Scrub yourself clean before I am incapable of doing anything more than spiriting you back to that bed the way you are.”
She managed a tired laugh even as her belly did a definite flip. “Surely you jest. I must reek to the rafters.”
“I’ve not said a whit about the unusual scent you seem to be carrying on yourself, my lady. That’s due to circumstances far beyond your control.”
She nodded, feeling strangely weightless as she leaned into him. “Ah, a polite way of saying I do reek, but not enough to offend, Spaniard. I thank you.”
He chuckled, holding on to her as she stepped into the tub and sank into the water with a heavy sigh of appreciation. She had expected him to step away and attend to his duties, but he surprised her once again by kneeling beside the tub and reaching for the soap and washrag.
“Be still, Finn,” he directed as he went to work scrubbing her pink. “And revel in the havoc you wreak upon my senses.”
She peered up at him. “And what havoc might that be?”
He smiled, pausing in his scrubbing. “To know how powerful my lust is for you and to know there is naught I can do about it at the moment. Now, sit forward, please.”
She gazed at him over one shoulder, relieved to see him smiling, though his eyes were still dark, molten gold, glowing with the light of desire she knew well. “Mayhap I ought finish. That way your senses might be spared.”
He leaned close to brush her lips with a gentle kiss. “Worry not about my senses, love. They will recover in due time. Now, this is the first time I’ve ever bathed a woman. Allow me to enjoy what I might of it.”
“As you wish,” she murmured, turning away once more and letting her eyes close. It was delicious, his light strokes against her skin. Butterflies unfurled in the pit of her belly as he tenderly resumed washing her, a smile tugging at her lips as she couldn’t help but enjoy his discomfort a whit. It was a fitting payback for the eve she suffered the same whilst washing him and she fully intended to enjoy it for as long as she could. After all, they had yet to discuss her adventure and she had the feeling things would not be quite as enjoyable when the subject was broached. It was best to savor what she could, for as long as she could.
Chapter Thirty-Two
After her soak, Iñigo tenderly dried her, pointed her in the direction of the fresh clothing, and left her on her own as he went to attend to his duties. She smiled as she snuggled into the soft linen nightdress, thinking about the pained expression he’d worn the entire time, and a feeling of coziness filled her. If he was still angry, he hid it well, showing her only a gentle side she’d never have expected him to possess.
She sat on the edge of the bed, patiently working a silver comb through her snarled hair, and looked up to see the hemp hammock no longer hung in the corner. It was a bit puzzling, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it meant.
“Is it possible that he does feel something for me?” she murmured, lowering the comb as she stared into the now-vacant corner. “Or is he going to wait until I am whole again before tearing into me?”
Despite his warning they would discuss her flight from St. Philippe, she wasn’t at all afraid of their imminent confrontation. In fact, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt any fear where Iñigo was concerned. It was almost as if he welcomed her home, as if he attempted to show something he couldn’t put into words.
“I suppose I will know soon enough,” she murmured, lifting the comb back to her wet hair. The comb on her scalp was heavenly, and she savored each stroke until her arm grew too tired. The now-familiar drowsiness settled into her bones. She returned the comb to the table beside the bed before sliding beneath the counterpane, and sighed as her head sank into the thick pillow. A smile lifted her lips at the rich scent wafting up from the fabric. Iñigo's scent. She would know it anywhere, and would always smile upon smelling it. It was a delightful combination of leather, sun, salt and man, which threatened to addle her senses and comforted her to no end at the same time.
Sleep, heavy and dreamless, came with no effort and when she awoke, it was to find the light in the cabin had gone from brilliant gold to softened pale lemon. She lay there for a long while, on her side, gazing out through the small round window across from her. A gentle tap at the door roused her from her stupor and she propped herself up on one elbow as she called, “Enter.”
The door swung open and Adeline stepped over the threshold. “I do hope I am not disturbing you, Fiona.”
Finn smiled at the now-unfamiliar name, sitting up and shaking her head. “Of course not. Please, do come in.”
Adeline closed the door behind her. Apparently, Iñigo had raided his servants’ wardrobe for feminine garments before leaving St. Philippe for, like Finn, Adeline no longer wore the rough woolen gown of an Eden’s Pass slave. Instead, she’d been given a simple gown of pale pink cotton. Her coarse black hair was clean and shiny, pulled into a severe braid now falling over one shoulder.
“I know Captain Sebastiano said you were not to be disturbed, but I had to see for myself that you were on your way to recovery.”
“He said what?” Finn patted the tick at her feet. “Please, do come and sit. We’ve much to catch up on.”
Adeline hesitantly moved to sink down onto the bed. “Aye, your captain made it quite clear you are to be left undisturbed until further notice. He is most concerned you receive enough rest.”
Finn smiled, shaking her head. “He is not one to accept nay for an answer, I am afraid.” She sank back against the pillows. “I am glad he allowed you to come with us, Adeline. I should hate to think what would have happened, had you been left behind.”
“I think Captain Sebastiano had little say in the matter,” Adeline smiled, plucking at the counterpane with her left hand. “Mister Diego did not offer him the opportunity to deny my request.”
“Diego?” It brought a tired chuckle to her lips, imagining Iñigo and Diego debating the matter in heated whispers. “Well, that does not surprise me in the least. He is one of the few men brave enough to stand up to the captain. They are friends as well.”
“As I gathered. Do tell, how did you come to be aboard this ship a’tall? Why does the captain call you Finn? What happened when you escaped Eden’s Pass? Please, tell me everything.”
“I beg you, slow down,” Finn chuckled, holding up a hand. “One question at a time. Captain Sebastiano calls me Finn because I had been disguising myself as a lad after Ennis and I escaped. We made our way to Bridgetown where I signed us on with a drunkard of a pirate—one with a price on his head, no less. As I said, I played the role of a lad, the captain’s cabin boy, actually. And did it quite well, I have to admit. I was quite close to owning a ship of my own, or so I was led to believe at the time. That I crossed paths with Captain Sebastiano was a misfortune I’d not foreseen.”
“A misfortune? Are you mad?” Adeline's dark brown eyes fairly popped from their sockets. “To win the heart of one so handsome, so fierce? I think it’s great fortune. Not misfortune.”
“Well, no. Perhaps not entirely misfortune, as he did save Ennis and me from a rather nasty surprise where the drunkard was concerned. But, do not delude yourself about Captain Sebastiano , Adeline. As I told you when you first brought me bread upon my return, he is an arrogant, cold-hearted man. Do not let his looks fool you.”
“Aye, you did describe him as arrogant, but that’s not a sin if there is reason to be arrogant, is it?”
“I suppose not, as I would wager he’d use the same word to describe me. But ours is not the relationship you seem to think, Addy. I am his servant.”
Adeline's eyes popped again. “What?”
“Aye. He bested the sot off the coast of Jamaica. He impressed Ennis and I—and the others who surrendered—into service. Once again, I was a cabin boy. I am a servant to him and that is all.”
“But, you’ve been treated well?”
Finn nodded. “I have. It’s one redeeming quality that man has—he has honor and can be a gentleman because of it. He had great plans I would remain with him. I found I have quite the gift for swordplay and he used that to his advantage.”
“A pirate with honor, you say.” Adeline leaned forward. “And you are still Captain Sebastiano's cabin boy? Does he treat all servants as well?”
Finn's cheeks grew warm. “Ah, I suppose I need admit the truth. At first, I was merely his cabin boy. But then he discovered my secret.”
“He did? What happened then?” A note of excitement raised her voice a bit and she propped her chin on her fist.
The heat grew worse and Finn shifted, gaze falling to the rumpled counterpane. “And now I am not at all certain what I am to him.”
“But you do share this bed, do you not?”
For a brief moment, Finn worried that her head might burst into flames. Figuring the glow in her cheeks had already betrayed her, she had no choice but to nod. “I do.”
“And yet you ran away from him?”
“I escaped in hopes of regaining my freedom. It’s a mighty difference. I was not shackled in the hold, but do not fool yourself. I was a servant. Nothing more and nothing less.”
“And he took you to bed each eve? Hmm… I’d wager it wasn’t at all harsh, was it?”
Irritation flared at the superior tone of Adeline's voice. “Now, you know not of which you speak, Addy. It was not each and every evening.” She couldn’t bring herself to mention Honoria. Nor did she wish to think about Honoria at all. To think would be to wonder if the Englishwoman had found her way back into Iñigo's bed, and that was most definitely something Finn wanted to avoid pondering.
Shaking her head at Adeline, she added, “One does not have to be in manacles to be shackled. He treated me well, treats me well still, but I am nothing to him.”
“He came after you. Traveled an entire ocean only to free you from that hell. That does not sound as if you are nothing to me.”
Finn sniffed. “That is simply because he means to seek retribution for my breaking my word.”
Adeline gave her a disbelieving look. “If that was true, think you he’d not have simply left you there?”
“Nay. It would hardly be as satisfying, were Tobias to extract a punishment that should rightfully belong to Captain Sebastiano. And Tobias was to have me lashed. For some reason, that is a punishment the captain abhors. No matter what he might choose to do, I can almost guarantee I’ll not face the whip.”
“Truly?” Adeline asked with more than a whit of airy surprise. “A pirate who doesn’t like the cat? I never knew such a thing was possible. It’s amazing, really… Why?”
“Not a pirate, Adeline. He is a privateer, under the protection of the king of France, as he told me.” Finn shrugged. “As for his aversion to using the last, I cannot explain why. I only know it to be true. He does not speak of his past. Only rarely has he thus far. And do not think it’s a joyous reunion between him and me. He has already assured me we will discuss my actions.”
Adeline waved away her concern. “I think you’ve nothing to fear. He was most concerned about finding you ere Tobias ordered you released. I’d almost say he was concerned about you. But then, I barely know the man. It’s based only on what I’ve seen.”
“Well, your eyes deceive you, Addy. He has made it quite clear that he believes love is a notion for fools and dreamers, as he so kindly put it to me once, and he is neither. Your eyes have deceived you, I’m afraid.”
“And you are? A dreamer, that is. Surely you are not a fool.”
Finn sighed, lifting her eyes to Adeline's. She should lie, should say she didn’t care about Iñigo as well, but Adeline would know otherwise. Nodding slowly, she said, “Oh, but I am, Adeline. I never would have thought it. But it seems I am very much the fool and evermore the dreamer. There is something about him which draws me to him, even when I knew better. When I knew I should feel nothing for him. And now…” She held her hands out, palm up. “There is naught I can do but accept how I feel.”
“And have you told him?”
“I cannot. I know how he feels and I’ll not give him that power over me. It’s enough he knows he turns my insides to mush with a simple touch. I’ll not give him that hold as well.”
It was the first time she’d admitted aloud how Iñigo affected her, and there was no other way to describe it. Mush was the most succinct way to phrase it and she couldn’t keep the wistfulness from her voice as she admitted the long buried truth.
Adeline's gentle eyes filled with a sympathy that was as comforting as it was annoying. With a faint smile, she mused, “Mush, eh?”
Another slow nod. “Mush, Addy. He makes me feel things I’ve never known were possible. Do you remember when we were in our fourteenth summer, and Tobias bought Robert Harris?”
“Do I? My stomach fluttered for months on end every time I laid eyes upon Robert.” Adeline sighed airily, shaking her head. “Do you feel that?”
“Oh, no, it’s infinitely worse, actually. He smiles at me and I melt on the inside. Why do you think I left St. Philippe? Have you forgotten how agonizing it felt, how your stomach would twist and churn, your mouth would go as dry as the sands beneath our feet, and you’d simply ache for him to utter a ‘Good day’ to you? Have you forgotten how it was unlike any other agony?”
“I have not.”
“Now, if you will, imagine that pain about a thousand times worse. I told myse
lf it was freedom I sought, but in truth, it was escape from my own feelings. To look at him and know nothing could ever come of it… It was far too difficult to live with. I assumed that if I left, I would forget.”
“And did you?”
Finn shook her head. “I did not. If anything, my heart ached worse the more distance I put between us. I wish I could unburden myself, but I know it’s hopeless.”
“Oh, come now, Finn,” Adeline scoffed. “You thought Eden’s Pass was hopeless and yet you and Ennis broke free. You do not know what your future holds. Do not convince yourself he is made of stone. He is a man and even inside the coldest of men beats a human heart. We’ve several more days before we arrive in St. Philippe and once we are there, you have forever. Be patient and see what the future holds.”
“I wish I could be as optimistic as you, Addy, but I am afraid it is something I cannot do.”
Adeline patted her hand. “I know it’ll be difficult. But it also might be worth the ache now. Do not be too quick to throw away the one thing not everyone is fortunate enough to find. Many a man has come around despite his protests. Mayhap your Spaniard is one of them.”
“He is not mine,” Finn corrected her with a heavy sigh and an even heavier heart, at the finality of her words. “He is but on loan to me for a short while.”
Adeline rose from the bed and moved to the door. “Then make the most of that short while. Believe in the miracle, Fiona. Remember, from where we hail, miracles are all we have. And you seem to have a knack for making them work for you. Do not give up that hope.”
Finn pondered Adeline’s words long after Adeline left the cabin. Was it worth the risk? And what, exactly, did she risk? She already knew how Iñigo felt. How much more badly could her heart hurt than it already did?
Was she brave enough to take the chance in finding out?