Romancing the Pirate 01 - Blood and Treasure

by Jennifer Bray-Weber

  “You’re a dead man, Fox!” Bennington shouted. “Do you hear? Dead man!”

  Tossing the keys into the bushes as they fled down the porch steps, Zane led Lianna into the night.

  CHAPTER 15

  Zane pulled Lianna into a back alley, pinning her to the wall. He crushed his lips to hers, sweeping his tongue inside her mouth. A need for him pooled in her like liquid fire. She had never imagined wanting someone like this before. And she would have never before consented to abandoning her independence for a man. Yet there she stood, intertwined in a white-hot heat with a peculiar rogue she had only known a little more than a week, trusting her life to him. She was either as crazy as a loon or crazy in love.

  She cupped his face in her hands just as she pulled away to peer up at him. She swore he could render her helpless with those searing blue eyes should he want to. And that would be all right.

  He took hold of her hands. “That was a very brave thing you did back there.” His voice oozed husky and deep, like rich molasses.

  “Thank—”

  Zane mashed her wrists together and tacked them over her head to the wall with one fisted hand. Confused, she frowned up at him.

  “And very stupid.”

  “What?” He was angry with her and that only ruffled her feathers. “How dare you chide me.”

  He lashed out at her irrationally. “You need to get over your fancy idea of taking on the world, lass.”

  “Me?” She couldn’t believe what she heard. She struggled against his grip. “What about the way you prance around like you own the whole damned Caribbean?” Lianna couldn’t read Zane’s expression in the dim light. But she sensed it. And it screamed deadly.

  “I do own the whole damned Caribbean,” he snarled. “I take liberty, power, and pleasure and boast satiety aplenty. ’Tis all mine.” The corners of his mouth twitched. Hooking his finger in her bodice, he peered down her valley.

  “You vainglorious rake.”

  “Aye.” His heated gaze slowly met hers again. “And it doesn’t mean a thing without you, Lianna.”

  He buried his lips into her neck, each smoldering kiss branding her. She let a moan escape. It frustrated her how his kisses just blew away her anger and doubt like ashes in the wind. She wanted to stay mad at him for his rebuke. But how could she when he followed up with a confession like that? Not to mention how he made her body feel so alive, so sensitive with his touch.

  “You should’ve gotten on that boat,” he mumbled, his lips skimming her skin.

  His breath in her ear sent sparks sputtering across her flesh and her nipples puckering into buds. She definitely could not concentrate. “Why?” she whispered. “To return to my oppressive, wasted existence? I know now I would never find what I want back in Nassau.”

  “I did,” he said, lapping at her ear.

  With his free hand, he lifted up Lianna’s skirt, working around the hindering fabrics. He rubbed the smooth skin of her leg around to her inner thigh. “I won’t let you go again.” He gently kicked at her feet to spread her legs wide for him.

  Desire for him coiled tightly within her at his possessive words. Rolling her head to the side, she closed her eyes and breathed him in, filling her lungs with his unique salty scent. She was so terribly thirsty.

  You’re giving into your desires. Keep your head. “I’m not what you want, Zane. I’ve my own mind and I won’t change.”

  He hummed along her collarbone. “Please don’t. I want you for exactly who you are.”

  How can I keep my head when he says all the right things?

  Zane pressed his hand to her already wet core, circling his finger on her nubbin, sending waves of blossoming pleasure flooding through her awakened body and distracted mind.

  “What would you have me do?” Her breath caught as he slid a finger inside.

  “Promise me that you will never deny me.”

  Inserting another finger, he caressed her using his thumb to heighten her pleasure. She rose to her tiptoes to wriggle away, but he only deepened his strokes.

  “I…I cannot…” She struggled to utter the words between her shallow pants. “I cannot give away my free will that I’ve only just reclaimed.”

  “Your will is not what I want, Lianna. ’Tis your heart.”

  She whimpered as he removed his hand. She opened her eyes and was startled to see him staring at her, his eyelids heavy with need. She held his regard, hoping to find something more than spontaneous lust, searching for a glimmer of truth in his words. Did he mirror her feelings, the same feelings that had been growing inside her since she first laid eyes upon him?

  “Don’t toy with me, Zane.” Her pitch rang high. She was in no state to have her heart broken. This adventure with him had taught her to trust again. She had come too far to become careless with it now, especially in the throes of passion.

  “Woman. I am through with games. I plan to give what I take, if you will have me.”

  There, in his eyes, she saw it. Saw what she had been dreaming of. She must have said something because a devilish grin appeared across his magnificent face. He unlaced his trousers and she jumped as his tip rubbed her slick folds. He released her wrists above her, planting his hand on the wall. Claiming her mouth again, he pushed his way inside her.

  His kiss brought her much needed relief because at that very moment she feared she would begin sobbing. This man was a gift from God. A dangerous, torturous man of honor and courage who reigned physically and mentally above all others. Powerful and hardened, yet he could be gentle and kind. He was everything Blade and Sadie said him to be plus more. And he had just given his love to her. Zane was better than any prince she could dream up. He was her king.

  Throwing her head back, she tunneled her fingers through his long wayward hair, unwilling, unable to let him go.

  He grabbed Lianna’s legs, lifting her, wrapping them around his waist. Digging his fingers into her hips, he prodded deeper and deeper into her. Her bare shoulders scraped against the rough wall with each thrust. The grating pain intensified her ecstasy, each pump scaling her higher and higher, her moans growing louder and louder. Locking her feet at his back, she cried out. Her body jerked, squeezing against him as the peak shattered through her.

  Zane didn’t stop. Instead, he picked up his rhythm. Baring his teeth, he growled low, animalistic. The planes on his face hardened, his muscles bunched. He rammed her hard to her core, unraveling spasms of glorious pleasure, upon his own release. She could feel him throbbing inside of her, so incredibly intimate and binding.

  “Lianna.” Her name was but a breathless whisper.

  “I am yours forever,” she answered.

  Putting her arms around him, hugging him, she embedded her face into his damp neck, praying he wouldn’t withdraw. Not yet.

  Please, not yet.

  *****

  Blade’s grin spread from one ear to the other as he looked from Lianna to Zane when they sat down at the table in The Blue Peacock’s secret room. Zane returned the gesture with an eyebrow raised. He recognized that mischievous pucker. No fooling his mate. To Blade, ’twas glaringly obvious Zane managed to squeeze in a little love play in the middle of a deadly crisis. This was a jaunt usually masterfully manipulated by his friend. Blade’s nearly imperceptive nod awarded him his approval.

  “So let me get this straight,” Lianna began. “You really are a privateer?”

  “Yes,” Zane answered.

  “Not a pirate?” Lianna seemed fascinated by this newfound discovery.

  “Well, not exactly.” Zane and Blade shared a laugh.

  Lianna forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What does that mean, not exactly?”

  “Well, I am something of a chameleon. I am what you will see me as. Mariner, captain, traitor, stalwart, pirate, whatever. A man’s got to make his way. I am often commissioned by one governmental body or other to do the unscrupulous things that they, under the penalty of law or the heavy hand of King George, could not get away with.” />
  “Zane has not once failed any mission he has undertaken,” Blade said. “For that, he is highly sought after. Both for his skill and for his head.”

  “Ah, but I couldn’t be such without a worthy partner.” Zane reached over and clapped Blade’s back. “And a strong crew, most of which came from other pirate ships.”

  Blade bowed his head at his captain’s acknowledgment.

  “And characteristically,” he continued, “my loyalty lies with the highest bidder.”

  “May their pockets be deep!” Blade chimed.

  “Hear! Hear!”

  The men raised their cups high and drank their ale deep. Zane caught Lianna smiling. He winked at her as she raised her own cup. He had been antagonistic with her earlier in the alley. Maybe even angry. He was proud of the way she handled herself back at the jail. But he wouldn’t be able to keep her safe if she kept making reckless decisions. Still, he couldn’t deny her actions had led to their escape. She didn’t play the part of damsel in need of protection and she kept surprising him. His pride greatly suffered.

  “Nice work, by the way, getting through to Abbott,” Zane said. “Are the men in place?”

  Blade leaned back in his chair, throwing one boot on the table. “Aye. Henri has the Rissa anchored in the harbor and half the crew is strewn throughout the port.”

  “Good. I trust Henri knows what to do if provoked.” Zane’s instructions were very clear. Simply put, show the colors and attack.

  “He was pretty upset that he couldn’t join in the festivities here with us.” Blade put his cup to his lips and snickered before taking a sip. “I had to remind him of his injured leg. He argued until Willie got tired of listening to his carping. Willie snatched away his cane and popped him square on his wound with it.”

  Zane wished he could have seen that. “Go on.”

  “Word came fast. In fact, I’ve already got a line on Sadie, about ten minutes ago.” Blade tsked. “How ever did she slip through your hands, oh Great One?”

  “The situation called for saving my bonny girl,” Zane replied definitively. He glanced at Lianna, still glowing from their tryst in the alley. She smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Right then and there, he decided the only way to protect her was to keep her with him always. And he wanted nothing more than to scoop her up into his arms, take her to the nearest bed, and make love to her again and again. But that would have to wait. He had unfinished business to hunt down.

  “Well, let’s have it. What about Sadie?”

  “She tried to book passage with Bradley. When he refused her, ahem, advances, she stormed off his boat.” Blade’s smile made a mischievous curve. “He’s the only boat sailing in the morning, so if she’s looking to leave Jamaica now, she’ll have to ferry to Kingston. No one has crossed the harbor yet tonight since we’ve begun watch. My guess is she’ll try to get to Abbott.”

  Zane nodded. “Meaning she’s probably snaking her way through the docks. We’ll have to be careful going after her. Bennington will ignore Abbott’s directive and attack us at will.”

  Lianna scowled. “But he can’t do that. He would be violating a direct order.”

  “His men may comply upon an edict,” Zane said, “but Bennington knows Abbott is blowing smoke up his arse. Abbott cannot get directly involved. ’Twould jeopardize his office as governor and weaken his position with the royal court. He was only buying us time.”

  Blade swung his leg off the table. “We’d better get going.”

  Zane looked at Lianna as she rose from her seat. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “With you.”

  Had she not learned anything? The bland seriousness across his intrepid woman’s face answered that she had not. Zane shook his head. “Oh no you’re not.”

  “Yes I am.” She stuck her chin out defiantly.

  “Your life is still in danger, Lianna. Threatening to slice open a commodore’s throat is generally frowned upon.” Zane sounded curt. He tried to soften the edge in his voice as he took her shoulders and eased her back into her chair. “Bennington would be well within reason to say he must subdue a dangerous escaped prisoner.” Playfully, he tapped her nose with his finger then kissed her forehead.

  “I can help you.”

  There was a flare in her eyes. He traipsed on the other side of agitation with her. Frankly, he didn’t care. Not if it meant keeping her out of harm’s way. “No. I will not allow you to risk getting into any more trouble. You will be safe here in the tavern. I have Ben’s word on it.”

  Her eyes tapered with anger. “I can take care of myself.”

  “This isn’t open for discussion. You are to stay here,” he demanded. He followed Blade past the threshold and turned back to look at her. Damn, if she wasn’t beautiful when she was mad.

  “That’s an order.” He closed the door.

  “He’s treating me like some bloody child.” Lianna pouted and bore a hard stare at where Zane had stood. “Who does he think he is ordering me about?”

  She shot up from her chair and headed straightaway for the door. Trying the knob, she was surprised to find it unlocked.

  A sinking feeling settled in her gut. He trusted her. Trusted she would listen to him, to hear he only had her best interest in mind. He would be disappointed in her. But as far as she was concerned, he placed too much in her lap at a time when there was no way she could sit back like some helpless gentry flower.

  No. This whole affair had been forced upon her. Now she felt compelled to see it through. Lianna had but one chance to make things right, to find Sadie and give Zane the advantage again. At the very least, she had to try.

  She slipped out of the room, stole down the hall and entered the tavern. The sounds of clanking bottles and dishes, the smell of wafting stale liquor, the rants of near riotous inebriates made her stomach sour. She loathed the idea of returning to the life of a bar wench. ’Twasn’t that she felt the job was beneath her. ’Twas more of the insensately roughshod lack of feeling worthy, of craving kindness, she had lived with for so long.

  Right now, she didn’t know what her future held. Would she return to tending to society’s underbelly? Or would she stay with Zane? Then what? Sail the seas chasing after some quest? Or would she become something of a widow mourning the loss of her captain whilst he roamed the Caribbean? It may not even matter after tonight.

  Lianna skittered her way to the front. She couldn’t believe how headless Zane had been. He really should have locked that door.

  She was so busy gloating, she didn’t notice the spilled drink on the floor until her foot slid beneath her. She slipped, reaching for a nearby table to break her fall. The table tipped, sending plates and cups flying through the air and crashing to the floorboards.

  “Not again.” She brushed off bits of broken white dish from her dress.

  Ben grabbed her arm to help her up. “I’m terribly sorry, Ben.”

  “’Tis nothin’.”

  But once on her feet, Ben didn’t let go.

  “Capt’n Fox told me not to let you leave, ma’am,” he said.

  So. He doesn’t trust me that much after all.

  She knitted her brow with concern but her voice she kept sweet, cordial. “I’m so sorry then.”

  Her apologetic smile confounded Ben. “For what, ma’am?”

  “For this.” Lianna grabbed his arm, twisting it high up his back. He yelped when she kicked at the back of his knee, sending him face first to the floor. Fleeing through the door, she took the direction toward the docks. Poor Ben. He seemed like such a nice man. Unfortunately for him, she did what she had to do. She wouldn’t forsake her silent promise to Zane.

  “If I were Sadie, where would I go knowing everyone was looking for me?” Lianna asked herself. But then, she already knew.

  She neared the brothel where Mae and Annie had propositioned her earlier in the night. Sadie would be less conspicuous if she was dressed like a lady and not jaunting about in breeches. With no
place to go, she would be willing to bet that was exactly what the girl would do. Mae and Annie might know where Lianna should look.

  “Hands off piss-breath.”

  Lianna heard the woman’s unmistakable voice coming from the alley next to the bordello. She peered around the corner just as Sadie flipped a filthy drunk over onto his back, and then kicked him for good measure.

  She gave a silent pat on her back for finding Sadie with such speed. To be fair to the boys, they’d have to think like a woman to find a woman who didn’t want to be found. As crafty as they were, she couldn’t imagine Zane or Blade stepping into the proverbial heels of any lass.

  “You’re damned lucky I can’t get to my gully fast enough in this accursed costume.” Sadie grumbled inaudible curses and walked away.

  Sadie came into better light, rendering Lianna speechless. The pirate lass epitomized pure exquisite beauty in the white frock that contrasted with her olive skin and hugged her slender frame. Long dark hair clipped upon her crown hung in loose waves down to her waist. She had even dabbed a little color to her lips. ’Twas no wonder she could get her way with almost any man. Beauty like that could be just as deadly as any weapon.

  Her walk, however, left nothing to be desired. She strode toward Lianna with the grace of a lame ox.

  “Well,” Sadie twitted, “Why am I not surprised to see you? I guess I should admire you for your puzzling tenacity.”

  “But it’s hard to like someone who has what you want,” Lianna finished for her. Don’t I know the truth of it.

  Sadie chortled. “I don’t want Zane.”

  “Not now that you can’t bend him to your will.”

  “Bitch.” Sadie walked around her to the street.

  Lianna peeled away the gloat and frowned. “Hearken.” She stopped and turned Sadie back to face her. “Let’s put aside our petty differences.” Sadie yanked her shoulder back out of Lianna’s grasp, but Lianna continued her plea. “We could really use your help. If you gave back The Serpent, Zane would see to it that you receive an equal handsome share in the reward.”

  “Did Zane send you?”

  “No,” she said firmly, still a bit nettled at the impossible captain. “Sadie, with the money, you could buy your own sloop.”