“I need that treasure, too! I need to have my share that Tristan promised.”
“I thought he changed his mind on that.”
“He did, but I’m sure now that I’m his wife, I can convince him to give me a cut as well.”
“Hah! I doubt it. As a matter of fact, I can guarantee ye’re gettin’ nothin’ at all where that treasure is concerned. After all, if he did give ye a cut, the crew would probably steal it from ye and throw ye overboard.”
“Nay, I’m the ship’s musician now. I’m supposed to get a share as well.”
“Ye might be the ship’s musician, but ye are also a lassie. Do ye really think his brathairs and his crew are goin’ to be all right with Tristan givin’ away part of the treasure to a lass? They’ll get more if ye’re no’ a part of it. Even if Tristan wants to give ye treasure, I’m sure it’s no’ in the code for a lass to have it, so ye’re no’ goin’ to see a single coin.”
“But I need that treasure to save my brathair.”
“Did ye tell Tristan about it yet? What did he say?”
Her eyes dropped downward, feeling embarrassed. “I havena had a chance.”
Nairnie’s eyes settled on the hanging bed that had fallen and that was now on the floor.
“I see that. Well, it may no’ matter anymore since ye washed off the map.”
A tear dripped from her eye. “I’ve ruined everythin’, Nairnie. I was too hasty to try to look and smell guid for my husband. Now the pirates will kill me, plus my little brathair will never come home.”
“This makes me angry,” spat the old woman. “What kind of man would steal children and keep them as prisoners? What is the name of this English bastard that did this to yer brathair?”
Before Gavina could answer, Ramble started shouting and ringing the ship’s bell. “Fire in the galley,” he called out. “Somethin’ is burnin’. Fire. Fire, I say!”
“God’s teeth, nay!” Nairnie spun around on her heel. “I must have left the oats cookin’ on the fire and now they’re burnin’ since I’ve stayed here too long. I swore I removed them from the flame, but my memory is no’ what it used to be. Tristan is goin’ to kill me. I’ll be lucky if he doesna throw me back into the sea and leave me there to die.” She rushed off with Gavina on her heels.
Tristan watched as smoke billowed up around the foremast. How the hell had someone been careless enough to catch the ship on fire? Crew hands rushed back and forth, lowering empty buckets attached to ropes over the side rail and hauling them back up again filled with water to put out the flames.
“Faster!” Tristan shouted to his crew. “Damn it, faster, I said!” The flames were starting to engulf the entire galley. The hanging curtain that made up Nairnie’s door went up in flames. If the foremast caught a spark, it would spread quickly to the mainmast and his whole ship could go up in a matter of minutes like a torch. This was a serious, dangerous situation. He needed to act quickly. They had to put out this fire before the wind picked up or there would be no chance in hell of saving his ship, or even his crew.
“God’s eyes, this can’t be happening,” spat Tristan, the horrors of seeing his ship burning, weighing heavy on his mind. “Stitch, take the helm,” he shouted, ripping off his long coat and throwing it to the ground, rushing down the stairs to the main deck. “Fall off, Helmsman,” he yelled to Stitch. “Jibe ho!” he shouted to his crew, telling them to turn the ship and get the bow upwind. It was his only chance of controlling this fire now. “I want most of you on buckets. Get that fire extinguished now!” Every second was critical and he had to make the right choices or risk losing everything.
“Aye, Cap’n,” shouted Stich from the helm. Men rushed around to help him.
Aaron and some of the others helped to turn the ship out of the wind, while Mardon gathered most of the men, handing out buckets to put out the flames.
The ship slowly started to turn, taking the bow out of the direct wind. Crewmembers continued to throw down buckets of water on the flames. Tristan grabbed a bucket of water from Ramble, knocking directly into Gavina.
“Tristan!” she cried. He noticed Nairnie heading quickly toward her galley, but Goldtooth pushed her back, out of the way.
“Gavina, get up on the sterncastle with Stitch and stay there. If the fire spreads any quicker, I want you and Nairnie to get into a shuttle boat with Ramble and he’ll take you to the shore.”
“But I want to help.”
“Nay, you’ll only get in the way. I don’t want to have to worry about you. Now go!” He dumped water on the fire and shoved the bucket into a crewmember’s hands, as they worked the fire line.
“Ye heard the captain, lass,” said Nairnie. “Let’s go.”
“Ramble, grab a bucket for now, but keep an eye on the fire in case you need to get the women away from the ship,” shouted Tristan.
“Aye, Cap’n,” said Ramble, running to the sidewall to help the others lower the buckets.
A line of men passed buckets of water, one to the other, and the men at the end of the line threw the water onto the fire. The line continued and everyone worked hard to put out the flames. Stitch and Aaron and a few others managed to turn the ship and get the bow out of the wind. With the wind at their back now, thankfully the fire didn’t spread and was soon extinguished. Feeling the sweat dripping down his face and chest, Tristan threw the last bucket of water on the smoldering fire.
“Aaron, get the crew to clean up this mess, and swab the deck,” he told his brother, pulling his long hair behind his head and fastening it with a leather band.
“Aye,” answered Aaron, giving instructions to the crew. Mardon inspected the damage from the fire.
“Tristan, I’m sorry,” said Nairnie, hurrying back down to the deck with Gavina right behind her. She bent over and scooped up an empty bucket. “When ye asked me to check on Gavina, I didna ken I was goin’ to be gone so long. I guess I must have forgotten to take the oats off the fire and they burned.”
“This is because of you?” Tristan’s blood boiled. “I almost lost my ship, old woman!” he shouted angrily. “Damn it, I don’t have time for distractions like this.”
“It’s the wenches,” said Noll, glaring at Nairnie. “We never had things like this happen before they stepped foot aboard this ship.”
“They’re bad luck, Cap’n,” agreed Wybert. “We need to get them off the ship anon.”
“Both of them,” added Goldtooth, nodding to Gavina who was helping Nairnie pick up buckets.
“Get to work, and I don’t want to hear another word about the wenches,” snapped Tristan.
The crew mumbled as they tended to their chores, not happy about having the women on board.
“They have a point, you know,” said Aaron, walking over, having overhead what just transpired. “The women have brought us nothing but bad luck.”
“That’s right,” said Mardon, joining in the conversation. “Tristan, I won’t be kicked out of my own bed just so you can give it to a damned wench.”
“Calm down, both of you.” Tristan looked over to Nairnie who was trying her hardest to put things back together, searching through the ashes and soot, looking for something. Every time she got near one of the men, they snarled at her and walked away. They weren’t looking kindly at Gavina either. He didn’t like this at all. “I won’t put up with any man here disrespecting my wife or Nairnie.”
“What the hell’s happened to you, Brother?” asked Mardon. “The men are starting to talk behind your back. You need to handle this situation before things get worse. We never should have gone against the code by allowing Gavina on the ship, let alone Nairnie.”
“That’s enough,” said Tristan, getting right up close to his brothers to talk. He didn’t want the rest of the crew starting a riot over this. “I would hope you two would support me instead of siding with the crew.”
“We’re all supposed to be on the same side,” said Aaron. “But the way things are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if the crew s
tarted turning against us soon.”
“You are both overreacting,” said Tristan.
“Nay, he’s right,” said Mardon. “First you promise a share of the treasure to Gavina and then you’re giving her my bed. What’s next? Making her your new quartermaster?”
“Don’t tempt me!” Tristan didn’t like the way his brothers were acting.
“Mayhap you should listen to the crew, Tristan,” said Aaron. “As much as I’ll miss grandmother’s cooking, I agree that it is time the wenches go. This is no way to run a pirate ship.” He shook his head in disgust.
Tristan turned to look at Mardon. Aaron always had a wild side and his thoughts were normally crazy. Mardon, on the other hand, usually had a level head and supported Tristan. “Mardon?” he asked, wanting to know how he felt.
“I’m sorry, but I have to agree with Aaron on this one,” said Mardon with a shrug of his shoulders. “If the wenches stay any longer, we’re all going to be taking orders from them before long. I, for one, refuse to be laughed at behind my back by the other pirate lords of the sea because of wenches. I am nobody’s fool.”
“Quit calling them wenches.” Tristan’s head buzzed and he needed a moment to rest and think. “One of these women is my wife and the other is our grandmother if I must remind you two. Yet, you both want me to drop them off at shore as if they are naught more than our trash. How the hell can you be so coldhearted?”
“We’re not saying to kill them,” whined Aaron. “Just get them off this ship before we go for the treasure.”
“Speaking of that, I don’t like the fact that you never told us the island or exact spot where the treasure is buried,” said Mardon. “You’re keeping things from us, Brother.”
“I’m not trying to keep things from you, I just haven’t seen the entire map yet, that’s all,” Tristan explained.
“What?” both Mardon and Aaron said together.
“Like hell, if you think we believe that.” Mardon shook his head. “We all heard the moans and groans of passion coming from inside your cabin last night. You had the girl’s clothes off, didn’t you?”
“Of course, I did,” spat Tristan. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Then, if she was naked, why didn’t you take a look at the map?” Aaron picked up his bare foot and shook it off when he stepped in a puddle of sooty water.
“All right! I’ll get the damned information. Aaron, get back to the crew and get this ship cleaned up. Mardon, take over the helm for Stitch. We’re going to shore.”
“To shore? For the treasure?” asked Mardon.
“Nay. I just told you, I still have to find out where it’s buried. For now, we’re going to need to make repairs to the ship and to replace our supplies. Now, both of you, leave me alone. I need to think.”
“Well, think a little faster,” mumbled Aaron as he and Mardon headed away.
Tristan had a bed feeling in his gut. He noticed, just like the others, that since the women came aboard they’d been having some back luck. Mayhap docking for a few hours and giving the men time to have a drink or bed a whore would get them off his back. In the meantime, he needed to get a good look at that treasure map because, right now, finding the treasure was the only thing that was going to turn their luck around.
Chapter 13
“Come!” commanded Tristan, grabbing Gavina by the arm and pulling her across the deck, surprising her since he was acting in such a gruff manner. He started climbing the stairs to the sterncastle much too quickly.
“Wait. Where are we goin’? I want to help clean up from the fire,” she told him, hanging on to a bucket.
“Nay.” Tristan grabbed the bucket from her and tossed it down the stairs.
“Who threw this bucket at me?” Peg Leg Pate stood at the bottom of the stairs rubbing his head.
“Sorry, Pate. It was me,” Tristan called down to him.
“Mmmph,” grumbled Pate, using his peg leg to kick the bucket. It went flying and hit Goldtooth in the head.
“Who threw this at me?” Goldtooth picked up the bucket and tossed it to the side, rubbing his mouth.
“The men are getting restless and ornery,” said Tristan. I have to do something to get their minds back on track as well as get my brothers off my back. Right now, the treasure is the only thing that is going to make things right and get me out of this situation. I’m losing respect from my men quickly. If I don’t gain control there might be a mutiny on my hands.”
“Oh,” she said. “That’s no’ guid.”
“I need to see the map right now,” he told her.
“The map?” she asked, feeling dread wash through her. “What map?”
“Don’t play games, Gavina. I don’t have time for this. Let me see that treasure map on your back.”
“Why dinna ye just look the map ye copied?” She knew what Nairnie had told her but needed to find out for sure that it was the truth before she divulged the bad news to him.
“Nay, I don’t have a copy of it. Not yet. I was going to do it earlier but you were sleeping soundly and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Tristan, why did ye tell me ye already copied the map if ye didna?” she asked.
“I . . . I don’t know,” he said under his breath, pulling her past Mardon and Stitch talking at the helm. “It doesn’t matter. I saw most of the map but just need to see which island it’s on and exactly where it is buried.” He brought her to the back of the ship that was hidden from the rest of the men. “Now lower your bodice,” he said, reaching for the ties.
“Tristan, nay!” She clamped her hand over his. “I dinna want anyone to see me naked.”
“You won’t be naked. Put your face to the wall. Only your back will be exposed and only for a minute. No one will even see.” He turned her around and started pulling her gown down off her shoulders. Her heart raced. Tristan would be furious when he found out that she washed off the map. What was she going to do? She needed time to come up with a plan or he’d be leaving her on shore after all, just like his crew wanted him to do.
“Wait,” she said, Nairnie’s advice ringing in her ears about how to control a man. Besides through treasure, the other ways were with food, and . . .
She flipped around, exposing her bare breasts to him. “Make love to me, Husband,” she blurted out, as her only way to distract him.
“Gavina, what are you doing?” His eyes flashed back and forth, looking for others watching them. “Stop this, and turn around so I can see the map.”
“Kiss me,” she said taking a hold of the front of his tunic and pulling him to her. She pressed her mouth hard up against his. He pushed away and eyed her curiously.
“Why are you doing this? I thought you didn’t want the crew to see you.”
“Well, like you said, they really can’t see us back here.” She smiled and whispered in his ear. “I thought it would be exciting to make love out in the open.”
“Stop it, Gavina,” he told her, looking like he was losing his resolve. She glanced down and noticed the bulge in his pants and smiled. Her ploy was working.
“I see ye like it, so dinna try to stop me.” She grabbed his aroused form right through his clothes, causing him to gasp loudly.
“Devil take you, you have no idea the dangerous game you play,” he said in sultry voice.
Her heart beat furiously when she looked up and saw the lust in his eyes. It should have scared her, but it didn’t. Something odd happened instead. It aroused her. Suddenly, she forgot all about the map and also why she wanted to do this in the first place. All that mattered is that she had to know what it felt like to make love right there on the sterncastle of the ship.
“I want ye,” she said, licking her lips, her only focus being on her handsome husband. When she kissed him again, she let her tongue slip into his mouth, the way he had done to her. His intriguing moan vibrated against her lips. Then he pulled her to him, this time kissing her with purpose. He pushed her bodice even lower, cupping h
er breasts. His mouth followed. She gasped in surprise, feeling her body coming to life as she started to climb the precipice in her mind that would lead to her release.
Her back arched and she reached out to pull his head closer, pushing her breast deeper into his mouth. Elation shot through her, only enhanced by the rocking and creaking of the ship. Her skin was kissed by the wind and her senses filled with the essence of the sea. The sun shone down on her, warming her skin and making her feel at one with nature. Joy swept through her. Freedom like she’d never felt before. She wanted this . . . needed this . . . and would make love for the first time ever out in the open on a ship and not feel guilty or embarrassed by it.
She might be wicked or acting like a strumpet, but she no longer cared. Something had changed within her now that she was a pirate’s wife. It frightened her but, at the same time, excited her since it was so crazy and engaging. Gavina didn’t want to hold back anymore. She wanted to live life to the fullest, not caring what others thought, and not being afraid of anything any longer. She wanted to make up for all the things she’d missed out on in life, experiencing new things she’d never even dreamed of before – like making love to her husband on the deck of a pirate ship.
Gripping at Tristan’s shoulders, her body ached deliciously, longing to once again experience that wonderful feeling of coupling with him. A tingling sensation washed through her. Before she knew it, she was moaning out loud with passion and pleasure. She couldn’t help herself. Her need to couple with Tristan was so strong right now, that there was nothing else in the world that mattered. Neither could she do anything to stop it.
“Damn it, Wife,” he growled, pulling up her skirt next. “You don’t know what you’re doing.” His hands slid up her bare legs, and the anticipation about drove her mad. “I’m a pirate,” he reminded her through gritted teeth. “You can’t play a game like this and think I’m not going to take advantage of the situation. It’s in my blood to take what I want, and what I want is you right now.” He squeezed her bottom end and groaned again, pushing her back up against the wall, grinding his hardened form against her.
Tristan (Pirate Lords Series Book 1) Page 21
