The Sailing Master didn’t miss the stiffening of his captain’s shoulders, the tension palpable in the evening air.
“She is well?” Damon asked.
“Physically, aye, she is.”
“But not so, otherwise?”
Nicolai slammed both hands down on the table in front of him and growled his frustration.
“I want that bastard found and brought before me. I want to slice him shallowly down the length of his body and keelhaul him through shark water.”
Damon took a step backward at Nicolai’s words. It had been many a year since the Black Wolf had sought revenge. Nicolai, though still ruthless when necessary, had like most men of his age, mellowed. This snarling beast before him had been a long time sleeping. Damon felt the hair on the nape of his neck rise at its awakening.
“Once we make Nassau, I’ll see that we dispatch men to carry out your orders if that’s what you wish,” he told Nicolai.
“Aye. It is. I will see him suffer and know what it is to beg for a mercy that doesn’t come.” Nicolai shoved away from the table and went in search for a drink. He’d need one if he were to face the long night ahead of him with Adrienne held chastely in his embrace.
She was almost asleep when Nicolai slid into bed with her. He stripped down to his britches before climbing under the covers. Reaching for her, Adrienne allowed him to pull her snugly against his side, cocooning her in a wall of muscle and warmth. His scent surrounded her, spicy and masculine with a hint of wind and salt.
“We’re at sea?” Adrienne asked sleepily as the boat shuddered under her, leaving port.
“Aye. Damon was eager to be on the move and offered to take first shift at the helm. Sleep, Myshka. Know that you are safe,” he said, his deep voice dancing across her skin in the night.
Adrienne curled around him, her body soaking up his heat as it relaxed fully for the first time in months.
Nicolai felt her slip into slumber and within moments she was snoring softly, her breath fanning the side of his chest where she lay. He closed his eyes; attempting to find the same serenity she had but after a few moments, realized sleep would not be forthcoming.
His body ached for hers, his sack heavy with need, and his cock at the ready. It was the only time in his life that he cursed his needs as a man, wishing he were above such base yearnings.
The fact that her bare thigh rested over his didn’t help matters. She was naked under the men’s blouse she wore and the hot core of her called to him in a siren’s song he could not answer. In all his thirty years, he’d never considered wishing a woman wore more clothing in his bed, but at the moment, he sorely wished she’d left those infernal cabin boy britches on.
Chapter 17
Adrienne woke up alone. For the last three mornings, Nicolai had risen before her, leaving their quarters to relieve Damon at the helm. He was determined to get them home as quickly as possible and while Adrienne didn’t object, she worried that he was pushing both himself and the crew too hard. Every evening, he fell into bed with exhaustion only to rise before the sun the next day.
There was a palpable tension between them that hadn’t been there before. He was so obviously restraining himself where she was concerned and Adrienne had no idea how to even approach him. His disposition of late was surly, impatient, and he was prone to snapping at everyone within the vicinity of him, save for her.
With her, Nicolai always spoke carefully and gently, but it was almost as if they were back to the state of avoidance they once shared when he’d first rescued Adrienne from Serranilla Bank. He rarely made eye contact with her and outside of their sleeping arrangement; Nicolai seemed to go out of his way not to touch her. Had he decided she wasn’t worth the effort?
The fact that he’d yet to confess his love for her was another problem. It was difficult for Adrienne to comprehend a future with the man if he felt no true affection, only obligation towards her.
There was no doubt Nicolai cared for her but how much of it was driven by the guilt she knew he felt, as well as gratitude that she hadn’t left Raul behind when she’d run from Miles? Was he simply biding his time until they reached Nassau, at which point, he would take his leave of her?
Adrienne hated the insecurity of not knowing where she stood with Nicolai, but at the moment, she had more questions than resolutions between them.
She realized she had allowed her fear to create a chasm separating her from Nicolai. A chasm, that at the moment, seemed to wide to bridge. She knew he would never push her to be what they once were; not as long as he believed she still feared a man’s touch. So, she determined, she would have to bluff her way back to being the Adrienne they both missed and hope to God she would be successful.
Resolute in knowing she would accomplish nothing by staying where she was and brooding, Adrienne took the first step back to her old self and accepted the challenge before her.
Leaving the bed, she dressed in a fresh pair of trousers and a blouse given to her by one of the cabin boy’s on board. Pulling on her boots, she shoved a scone from a tray of breakfast food into her mouth before tying back her hair.
Nicolai was making sure she was being given extra rations with each meal, claiming she’d grown too thin, but Adrienne found she liked her newer, more lithe body and rather missed the exercise she’d gotten with Merri during their sword fighting lessons. During those times, she’d felt powerful and strong; nothing like the weak woman she’d been on Serranilla Bank and later in Charleston.
Leaving the cabin, she collected Raul and together the two went above deck. Nicolai was in his usual place at the wheel and Cooper was filling in for Sailing Master while Damon rested, issuing orders as well as overseeing the daily tasks at sea.
“Morning, mistress,” many of the men called out as she passed them by. She offered up her own greetings in return as she and Raul strolled the deck.
Raul shook free of her hand, running to Nicolai who bent down, lifting the boy up into his massive arms. Adrienne felt almost as if she’d be intruding on this private moment between them two if she ventured near, so she maintained a distance, choosing instead to approach Copper as he consulted the charts.
“How much longer,” she asked the quartermaster, looking over his shoulder at the navigational tools. The sea was calm today with little to no wind, which served to slow their progress.
“A healthy gust would make it quicker, but as it is, probably another full day and a half at best,” the quartermaster replied.
“And at worst?” She asked with a chuckle.
He scratched his reddish brown hair as he looked up at the limp sails hanging from the masts. “At worst, a week if the wind doesn’t pick up. Missing Nassau?”
“Missing land in general,” Adrienne intoned. “I feel like I’ve done nothing but sail for months with brief stints here and there of firmly packed earth beneath me.”
“Ah, the difference between you and I,” Cooper said on a sigh. “T’would serve me well if I could live at sea. I’m not even wild about making port betwixt destinations, though it’s a necessity in order to take on more supplies during our voyages.”
Adrienne listened to Cooper with her chin resting in her hand, a small smile playing on her face.
“When I was a girl,” she confided, “I used to wish I’d been born male so I could sail the high seas as a buccaneer. I wanted to spend my days pillaging and plundering.”
“And now?” The quartermaster asked, amused at her words.
“Now, I think what a foolish child I was to want such things. After we get to Nassau, it will be a long time before I willingly set foot on another ship again, if ever. I will happily spend my days land-side.”
“Hah,” Cooper said on a laugh. “That’s what you think. The sea gets in your blood, m’lady and when it does, there’s naught you can do but answer her call. She is a demanding, fickle bitch, but you learn to love her just the same.”
Adrienne gave the man a friendly pat on the back. “I’ll leave
the sea and the pirating to you then, sir, and enjoy my life as a landlubber.”
Nicolai listened attentively to the exchange between his quartermaster and Adrienne, fighting the surge of jealousy that tore through him.
The pair spoke so easily to one another while he and Adrienne seemed to falter at even the simplest of conversation. He missed the previous rapport of the relationship they once shared.
For the length of the conversation, the woman had seemed somewhat at ease though he noted so many changes in her demeanor. She no longer kept up the feminine propriety she’d once insisted on with both the men and himself.
She spoke to Cooper as if they were equals, using pirate speak fluently as if she’d been born to the lifestyle, yet Nicolai suspected she was forcing herself to do so. It was evident in her tone. No longer did she possess that playful wit which charged her banter with others. Instead, she seemed so serious, carefully choosing her words and keeping the lilting timbre of her voice subdued. Another thing he was certain Fletcher was responsible for.
Cutting his eyes in her direction, he saw that she also appeared as one of them, though a much prettier, more delicate version. Nicolai wondered if learning to blend in with her surroundings had been yet another survival skill she’d picked up.
Her dark hair was secured back by a piece of leather. Her oversized white blouse was tucked into the cream colored britches she wore as a scarf wound around her waist added a swath of blood red color to the muted tones of her clothing. Her black knee high leather boots conformed to her calves like a second skin while the tri-corn on her head gave her almost a rakish appearance. The cutlass and dagger at her side only added to the effect.
Could she even wield that sword? Nicolai didn’t know, but Adrienne didn’t seem self-conscious about the weapon strapped to her hip. In fact, he watched as she rested a palm on the hilt as if it comforted her to be able to do so.
She was still the same beautiful woman he’d rescued from shipwreck, but she was different now. Her turquoise eyes had a watchfulness that wasn’t present in them before. The blue orbs seemed to take in everything around them, seeing more than they once had, looking for danger where in her previous innocence, she’d been blind to it.
Catching his furtive glance, Adrienne smiled tentatively and seemed to draw in a fortifying breath as if gathering her courage. Dismissing herself from Cooper with a light touch to the other man’s shoulder, Nicolai watched as she came to join him at the helm. She rubbed a loving hand over Raul’s back almost as if he too, were a measure of comfort for her.
“Interesting conversation between you and Stiles,” Nicolai said, trying to keep his tone casual so as not to allude to the envy he was feeling.
Adrienne took a deep breath, staring out to sea for a moment and if he hadn’t been watching her closely, he would have missed the internal struggle she fought. But he was watching and he saw the exact moment Adrienne triumphed over the fears, which plagued her.
“Are you jealous, Nicolai?” She asked, mischief coming to dance in her eyes as she gazed up at him.
Silently, he said a prayer of thanks before answering her in kind.
“Of Stiles? Nay, madam. You would have to turn blue, salty, and span continents in order to turn Stiles’ head,” he said.
“Ah, but so I’ve heard the same about The Black Wolf,” Adrienne teased, though there was wealth of questions behind her smile. “Legends say no woman would tame his love of piracy and the sea.”
Now it was he who glanced away, the muscle in his square jaw ticking as his heart thundered in his chest.
“And yet, one has,” he said after a beat, pining her under his gaze.
“Is that so?” Her tone was skeptical.
Nicolai avoided the question as he sat Raul down, urging the boy to run along and play before he turned to Adrienne again.
“Aye, Miss St. John, it is.” His green eyes were full of an emotion she dared not put a name to.
That he didn’t use her married name sat heavy in the silence between them. To him, she would always be Adrienne St. John unless she became Adrienne Mikhalovic.
Needing time to process his words, she grinned widely in an attempt to disperse the intensity between them.
“At any rate, Captain, you’d have no cause to be envious of your dashing quartermaster. I’ve no designs on him nor any of your men.”
“And just what do you have designs on?” His lip curled up at one corner. The spark in her eye was more in keeping with his Adrienne and seeing it again filled him with such joy.
“Persuading you to allow me to take the wheel for a bit.”
His grunt was followed by a flat, “No.”
Placing her hands on her hips, Nicolai saw that she was prepared to argue and again he offered up silent gratitude. For days Nicolai had feared she’d become permanently complacent in her temperament and irrevocably timid from the abuse she’d suffered. It made him happy to see the fiery light in her eyes that so captivated him from the start.
“I’ll have you know that while onboard Captain Mayweather’s ship, I became quite proficient at steering a vessel,” she said indignantly. It wasn’t quite a lie. Merri had let her steer a time or two, but saying she was adept at it was stretching the truth a tad.
“Is that so?” He asked, shifting his gaze to the horizon lest she’d see the relief in his eyes that she felt brave enough to be argumentative.
“Aye,” Adrienne said. “She even said I was so adept that I might one day be able to captain my own ship.”
Nicolai laughed at that. “Wasn’t it you I overheard moments ago saying once you made Nassau, you’d never sail again? Captain a ship, indeed.”
“While I’m here, I am able and willing to work,” she said, not backing down.
“You should be working at resting up. The children are going to want their mistress back once we reach home,” he charged.
“I’ve rested well and plenty. However it’s you, with your grumpy countenance who could do with a rest. Shove off and go take one,” Adrienne commanded.
Nicolai knew the men surrounding them had stopped their tasks to witness the exchange, but suddenly he didn’t care. He could not contain his joy at her attempt to bully him and he barked out a rough laugh.
“We’ll see how jolly you are when you nod off at the helm and run us aground,” she cautioned.
He didn’t point out that they were in open water with no danger of reefs in sight. Truth be told, even after telling her no, he’d planned on giving her what she wanted. He just wanted her to earn it. To play with him; to be Adrienne again, rather than the quiet, pensive woman she’d become.
“And what, pray tell, should happen if you should come upon pirates while I’m resting, Miss St. John,” he asked.
“Then I shall vanquish them whilst you slumber. Run along, now.” She made a shooing gesture toward his cabin.
Nicolai stared down at her, wishing more than anything to scoop her up, carry her to his bed, and pull those infernal britches from her body, kissing every inch of skin along the way before burying himself in her velvety heat. Since he couldn’t have his way, he would give Adrienne hers.
Stepping aside from the helm, he presented the wheel to her with a sweeping gesture.
“Madam, I concede defeat. I will let you command this ship for one hour, during which I will take a nap as you commanded.”
Surely she could cause no damage in one hour, out in the open ocean, with no other ships on the horizon? He prayed that was the case, but Adrienne had tendency to find trouble where no trouble seemed to live. In this, he would have to trust both God and the woman who seemed gleefully rub her hands together before stepping into the place Nicolai vacated.
Her correct stance coupled with her hand placement convinced Nicolai that she did in fact know, at least to some degree, how to steer the ship. Turning to go as promised, he paused for a moment to drop a kiss on the crown of her head before leaving Adrienne to her devices.
Adrienne tur
ned to see the quartermaster staring at her with absolute shock and amazement. Winking at the man, she grinned as she steered them toward home.
Chapter 18
The next day, when she moved to take his place at the helm, Nicolai didn’t argue, but politely stepped aside.
Since she’d navigated them yesterday without incident and seemed so content with the job, he didn’t mind so much surrendering control of his vessel to Adrienne.
The men snickered good-naturedly at their captain being ordered about like a lowly cabin boy but he paid them no mind. Had his crew not been as enchanted with Miss St. John as Nicolai himself was, he might have spared a concern for mutiny. They were after all, pirates. As it were, he didn’t believe a single soul on the vessel would or could deny Adrienne any request, so he tolerated their ribbing and allowed them to have their fun at his expense. Her authority only went so far as steering, though the men had taken to calling Adrienne ‘M’lady Captain’ with affection. She never ordered them around, saving her authoritative tones for Nicolai alone and only when he appeared tired.
On the third day, with the winds still somewhat uncooperative, Nicolai perched against the wheel housing, chatting with Adrienne about different types of ships as well as anything and everything he could think of in order to maintain the ease they were finding together.
He’d been in mid sentence when the first cannon shot sounded and the sea exploded two hundred yards off starboard. Far enough away to be little more than a warning, yet close enough to become a gauntlet he would willingly pick up.
Setting Adrienne out of the way, he took over at the helm while shouting orders at his men to load the guns and prepare to fire, while giving the order to prepare to come about.
The ship had approached from behind as they were navigating some outlying islands around the coast of Cuba. Nicolai turned the wheel, forcing the rudder hard left, years of practiced navigational skills telling him that turning to the right would possibly cause them to run aground.
Black Wolf Page 18
