A ways down the beach I saw that the rest of our group had also made it out of the waves alive. Lawrence was helping the trembling Kathleen ashore, and after Kasey and Marin pulled the boat onto the sand they headed towards town. I was burned raw through when Kasey yelled at me earlier, but now that I had calmed down, I was proud of the brave little bastard for standing up to me and looking out for Charlie.
The moment we came ashore I set Charlie down. Moving her wet hair out of her face, she huffed like a thunder head, “What the hell are you doing, Sterling?”
Her hair was wild and her shimmery copper dress clung to her skin that glittered with sparkling flecks of sand. With a string of seaweed stuck to her chest she looked like an angry mermaid.
Still feeling a little drunk, I burped as I slurred, “I’m taking you home.”
Heartbreak cracked across the glassy glare of her eyes and betrayal trembled in her voice, “What?”
Before I had a chance to respond she jumped right back into her flaming outrage. “There’s no way I am going home. How could you want to leave me like this?”
Stepping towards her I tried to explain.
Scooping up a pile of sand, she started throwing pebble loaded piles of dust at me. “So you got what you wanted and now you’re going to leave me alone to bear the burden of your vile reputation? I can’t even imagine my life without you, you dirty rotten pirate.”
I hardly had the energy left to engage in another battle, but she gave me no choice. Charging through her artillery, I shouted, “That’s enough, Charlie.”
Screaming in horror, she started to run from me, but once I got to her, I squeezed her in a bear hug to contain her rage. At first she fought against my grip, but once she finally stilled I clarified, “I’m not taking you to stay. Your home is with me. I just want you to go visit your father.”
She started to cry. Again. As her tears poured out on my wet coat I assured her, “I’ll never leave you, Hurricane Charlie. And I’ll never let you leave me either.”
I heard her giggle. Though I was glad she wasn’t angry anymore, I was completely abashed by her wild range of emotions. Putting my hands on her face, I forced her to look at me. She was so pretty, and wild, and perfect for me in every way.
Wanting nothing more than to strip her bare and love her in the sand, I peered around to be sure we were all alone. Finding the darkened beach empty, I lowered her to the ground as I kissed her. As she slid her leg up on my shoulder, I bit along the inside of her thigh. The sound of her sigh could set me on fire. After removing her weapons, I got her out of the dress blocking my view of her. The thin material stuck to her wet skin, but soon enough I peeled it off and yanked it right over her head.
And there she was, illuminating the night with all her spellbound beauty. Strands of seaweed and glittering sand were stuck to her salty body, and as she pulled me down to kiss her, I was sure she was a mermaid. Luring me into the depths of her spirit, she seduced every bit of my existence, and enchanted my very soul.
While kissing all over her neck, I made my way inside her. Her warmth wrapped around me like the light of the sun, contrasting the feel of her cool wet skin as I kissed her everywhere. All over her perfect body. As I moved in and out of her she grabbed at my coat and slapped at my arms. The vibration of my motions trembled across her voice as she hummed my name. The way she moaned for me made me feel so powerful. As she squeaked and sighed under me I reveled in the reign I had over her body…Over her emotions…She was mine.
She bit on my fingers to keep herself quiet. I wouldn’t have cared if she bit them off. I could hardly keep my eyes off her breasts as they waved across her chest, but the look on her face was just as enticing. The way her cheeks flushed and her lips pouted showed me how much she loved what I was doing to her. Her desire for me made me want to give her more. Make her bite me harder…Moan more beneath me…Make her say my name again.
Running my hand down her side, I squeezed her hip as I pushed deeper inside her. My blood flowed like magma burning across my body. I grabbed her hair to keep myself from erupting. As I paused she squeezed tighter around me. I couldn’t take it anymore. I became an animal…No more thought…Only sensation.
Rolling over to my back, I looked at the night sky while my body smoldered in relief. Sitting up to put her dress on, she huffed with a playful complaint about the limited duration. I had nothing to complain about. Reaching over to grab her arse, I laughed through my satisfaction, “What more would you expect from a monstrous boar?”
I could have laid there all night, but I hadn’t dragged my hurricane to shore just to make love to her in the sand. It was nearly impossible for me to get up, and she was still out of breath as I grabbed her hand to pull her to her feet, yet we managed to tangle up in another kiss before we headed towards her father’s house. Though we were soaking wet, covered in sand, and my face still hurt like hell from the vicious slap she welted me with, I felt like a king walking along the beach with that beauty under my arm.
Coming to the cliffside at the edge of her father’s property, I heard Law Dog calling my name. Turning around, I saw he and Kathleen a ways back on the beach. Taking note of the urgency in his stride, I waited to see what he had to say.
When he finally caught up to us, he pulled me aside. “Where in the world are you going?”
While explaining my ridiculous notion to that sensible man, the bitter reality of the idea overrode my sensual euphoria. Rather than feeling like a high and happy king, I now felt like a child being lectured to by his father as he relayed his summary of my plans. “So you plan to bring this bloodstained, soaking wet, sand covered woman back to the renowned estate of her wealthy father and expect it to be a pleasant visit for tea? He will have you hanging before midnight.”
Just like my father, Lawrence was always right. Though there was no contesting the sense of his statement, I pleaded my defiance to his reasoning. “I know how much it means to Charlie to see her father, so I am going to go ahead and take the risk. I’ll get her up to her veranda and she can go in and change, and if you are so worried about me hanging then you can take me to your mansion and have your servants make me something to eat while I wait.”
Lawrence shook his head with irritation. Without another word on the matter, we headed up the trail, but all the while I wondered just how the hell this was going to go. Coming upon the mansion, it crossed my mind to take her to an inn where we could clean up and then maybe I’d address the old man about our marriage myself. Perhaps he wouldn’t hate me so much now that I was rich.
Before I had a chance to share the new idea with Charlie, a handful of Royal Guards came rushing around the corner.
No. Shit. Why now? Jumping in front of Charlie, I brandished my cutlass to protect her. Quickly realizing the guards also had Kathleen at gunpoint, I had no choice but to abide when they asked me to lower my weapon.
The guards asked their usual questions as they moved in to search us, but as Lawrence spoke for our motley group, the one named Macbeard smirked with disgust. “What in the world are you doing with this mangy bunch, Mister Braddock?”
Before Lawrence could respond, Mark, the guard I’d fought on the way to Vera Rose, recognized me. “Mister Bentley. I see you made it back from your voyage.”
“Well, isn’t this a bloody fine reunion. See Law Dog, maybe it will be a nice visit for tea after all.”
I heard Charlie giggling behind my back.
Lawrence slapped his forehead. “Oh, would you stop calling me Law Dog already.”
After Mark confiscated my weapons, he grabbed me by my collar and snarled about how he’d like to see me hanged for trespassing.
As he yanked me away from Charlie, she shouted at him, “Stop it. This is my house. And he is allowed to be here.”
While Mark held me stiff, that blasted ol’ Macbeard chuckled, “Ah, you must be Charlotte, the Pirate Harlot.”
The sound of that vile insult caused my blood to flash flood with volcanic rage. Fi
ghting my way out of the guard’s arms, I kicked the son of a bitch across his face. As he fell back, Mark hit me over the head with his musket. The blinding pain blurred my vision with a colorful display of stars. My momentary blindness interrupted the sight of that beef-witted Macbeard hitting the ground, but as the guards yanked me back in line I was able to see him scamper to his feet. The look of shock on his boot-marked face absolutely equated the pain of the bashing I endured.
As the guards dragged us along the path, I said to my wife, “Don’t worry about what that bilgy whelp has to say. You’re a queen, Charlie.”
Soon enough we reached the tall double doors of The Royal Poinciana. As Mark headed in to get the man of the house, it finally dawned on me that I was about to meet my wife’s father. Sink my soul at sea, I was a filthy rotten disaster. Handcuffed, bloodstained and tattered, I was adorning every visual characteristic a filthy pirate could bear. As my mind replayed Law Dog’s mention about my pre-midnight hanging, I tried to think of a way out of this. I couldn’t think of anything.
To my unpleasant surprise, Mark returned with Governor Morgan by his side. No wonder the guards were there.
My gaze met that scoundrel of a governor’s with a vile squint, but he attempted to shield our relationship with his presumptuous pose. As for the man I recognized as Wallace Wetherby, he charged through the armed guards and wrapped his arms around Charlotte. He squeezed her so tight I could hardly see her behind him.
As she hid her face in his chest I heard her crying like a blubbering baby. “Oh, I love you so, father. I thought I would never see you again.”
“I worried the same thing, Charlotte. Regret has tormented my old soul since the day you left. I love you more than anything in this world, and I am so sorry I sent you away.” He ran his hand through her wet hair and then stepped back to look her over.
Also surveying Lawrence—who was just as disheveled—Wallace’s disturbed expression was quickly followed by a flabbergasted yelp. “What on earth has become of the two of you?”
Before Lawrence could explain anything, I watched the puzzle pieces connecting in the old man’s mind. Snapping his head back like a viper ready to strike, he turned to hiss his venom at me. “It’s you. You’re the one, aren’t you?”
Charlotte’s bumbled interruption clarified his inquiry.
Without further hesitation he grabbed one of the guns the guards had confiscated from us, readied it faster than I ever imagined he’d be capable of doing, and pointed it at me.
Blow me down! I knew this wasn’t going to be pleasant but I sure as hell didn’t see this coming. Charlie gasped in horror. The guards held her back as she screamed. Law Dog was attempting to tame the herd. But as for me, ah, I just stared at the old man while he ripped at me with his anguish.
“Sterling Bentley. Your name has been taunting my nightmares since Charlotte screamed it at me all those months ago. Now, I can finally put a face to the lowdown heathen pirate who took my daughter away from me. I have been pacing around this house like a man with no sense, worrying about her day and night, praying that God would keep her safe. I worked my whole life to protect her and she was fine until you came along.”
I’d want to shoot me too if I was in his shoes, but for some reason I doubted that he would pull the trigger.
To my surprise, Lawrence moved closer to the old man and calmly persuaded, “There is no need for the gun, good friend. Sterling is not what you thought him to be. ”
That chimp of a governor also chimed in, “Yes, Mister Wetherby. I will have to agree with Mister Braddock. Please lower your weapon.”
Looking muddled as could be, Wallace released the tension in his shoulders. Just as I let out a breath of relief, he pulled the trigger.
The wet gun didn’t fire.
Relieved as I was to have dodged that bullet, I was also completely amused by the wild barrage of curse words that followed the old man’s failed attempt to shoot me.
As for Charlotte, who had about fainted in the guard’s arms, she was now berating her father through her delirious tears. “What on earth is wrong with you, father? You almost killed my husband!”
“What a way for him to find out about that,” I grumbled to myself.
Wallace glared at me with fearsome hatred. Looking at me as if he knew I had just threatened to tie up his daughter, his scowl was tantamount to those of the most ravenous buccaneers at sea. I could only imagine the flames of the hell pit he wished to see me burn in, but Lawrence interrupted his abhorring gaze with a futile attempt to excuse my vile reputation.
Completely ignoring Law Dog’s consideration, Wallace growled at me, “I have no idea how in the hell you found her again, but this time that will not be an option.” Whipping his attention back to the governor, he ordered, “See to it that he will not be able to escape this time. Hang him.”
The power of his statement struck my soul with the finalization of a courtroom gavel. The guards began to force me out of the yard. To the sound of Charlotte crying in law Dog’s arms, the solution to my problems came clear. Turning to the governor, I said, “So, you didn’t tell Mister Wetherby about our deal, Governor?”
Wallace’s face flushed with another shade of confusion.
Fighting for a solid stance against the guards’ grip on me, I asserted, “I never escaped. This wig wearing powder face told you that so you wouldn’t rope me up for loving your daughter. He kept me captive to find him some loot,” Looking towards the governor, I said, “and I found that damn Lovers’ Treasure.”
Wallace attempted to blast some lying pirate insults at me, but the governor gasped with intrigue. “You have it? Where is it?”
Taking note of Wallace’s stunned expression, I said, “It’s not only the pirates who tell the lies, Mister Wetherby. And as for you, Governor Morgan, if you take me away from my wife I won’t tell you a damn thing.”
Exhaling in irritation, Morgan signaled for the guards to keep me still. Finally able to stand straight, I concluded, “That load of wealth is on a ship you won’t recognize, and if I’m not back there soon my crew will blow through the loot I haven’t returned to claim. We’re dealing with a small window of time here, Governor. So if you want that treasure you forced me to find, I believe it’s in your best interest to entertain me.”
Wallace appeared to be stunned stiff by the truth of the governor’s part in this act of piracy, but Morgan didn’t seem to care. “I will need to see some sort of proof before I give you any leeway here, Mister Bentley.”
I told Charlie to show them her necklace and her ring. She easily removed the necklace and handed it over for appraisal, but I liked it when she told them she would never take the ring off.
As the two-faced governor petted the string of pearls he questioned, “How do I know this isn’t just some jewelry you stole from an innocent civilian?”
Lawrence backed the integrity of my tale with a word of honor that the wealthy men easily accepted. They all agreed to meet over the matter in the dining hall.
Wallace called for his servants to take care of Charlie and Kathleen, and as the fleet of maids rushed the women into the house, I told Charlie, “I love you more than anything.”
Her tear-streaked cheek lifted with an assuring smile as she held onto her ring. “I love you, too, Sterling. With all of my heart.”
Though no one around us appreciated our ridiculous moment of romance, I had no idea what was coming next. If this was going to be the last time I saw her, I wanted my final words to her to be something good for her to remember. Same way I’d be remembering that sweet smile of hers at the gallows if it was indeed my fate to be hanging tonight.
Walking through the place Charlie had always known as home, I noticed a portrait of her on the wall. Looking to be a bit younger than she was now, she was wearing one of those dresses she didn’t like and her long hair was curled over her shoulder. She was perfect, just like this prim and exquisite world she came from.
Entering the dining hall, we
found two women sitting at the table. I recognized Hester Wetherby, and assumed the older lady to be the governor’s wife. Damn, Hester sure was a good looking woman. The old man sure roped himself a beauty taking her as his wife. She didn’t like the looks of me though. The way I smiled at her only intensified her disgust. “Who is this awful man? Why is he in our house?”
Lighting his pipe, Wallace babbled in sarcastic distaste. “Oh, Hester, my dear, this is Charlotte’s husband, Sterling Bentley. Yes, our precious daughter married a buccaneer while she was out.”
As the guards helped Hester and the governor’s wife out of their seats, Hester rambled, “Why are you smoking in the house, Wallace? Good heavens, did you say that Charlotte married this vile man? Where is she? What in the world is going on around here?”
I winked at her as the guards led her out of the room. It looked as if she fainted in their arms.
The moment we sat down Wallace demanded his servant to serve some rum. Of course I didn’t get any. Between puffs of his pipe and chugs of rum, Wallace darted looks of disdain between me and the governor.
Soon enough that crooked politician broke the awkward silence by speaking to me. “All right, pirate. Where is my gold?”
To my surprise Wallace slammed his fist on the table. “I don’t give a toad’s warted arse about your gold. Before another word is discussed about your part in this act of piracy, I want some bloody answers. I know I can’t trust this pirate, but I thought I could trust my political leader. My daughter has gone rogue and the man that I intended for her to marry not only approves of her rebellion, but he has brought home a pregnant woman to wed. What on God’s green earth is truly going on around here?”
Governor Morgan sat back and fanned his hand at me to tell my tale. To my great fortune Law Dog was eager to back my truth. Together, we told our story.
Wallace’s face was stone cold during the entire tale. I had no idea what he was thinking. Once we finished, there was great pause between us. After what seemed like forever, Wallace glowered at the governor. “I am utterly appalled. Just appalled. You lied to me for your own personal gain, and I am completely flabbergasted by the utter disrespect. It was your deceit that caused me to send my daughter away, and it was your twisted plan that led her into these dangers, where her salvation was in the hands of this rum-scented, blood coated savage. I am not quite sure whom I find more detestable.”
Tarnished Persuasion (Justified Treason, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories Page 25