She swallowed hard, and spoke of an even deeper impediment. “It would be so hard to leave Rory. She’s done so much for me. I don’t know who I’d be without her. She . . . she’s the only person who has ever loved me.”
“That may have been true once, but no longer,” he said intensely. “I love you, Constance Hollings. I love your sweetness and intelligence and laughter.” He grinned. “And I love your beautiful, luscious body, but maybe it’s ungentlemanly to mention that.”
Hope began bubbling through her. But now was the time to ask the difficult questions. “You can say that as often as you want, Mr. Landers! But how can you not be in love with Rory? She’s so beautiful and witty and brave.”
“Love is mysterious,” he said thoughtfully. “She’s a splendid, attractive, and admirable woman, but it’s you I saw and thought, ‘So she’s the one I’ve been looking for.’ And you’re the one I have trouble keeping my hands off. In fact . . .” The arm around her shoulders began inching lower and now his hand cupped her breast.
She laughed and clasped her hand over his, moving it over her heart. “I like that you can’t keep your hands off me!”
He leaned into a kiss, and the two of them subsided into the straw together. The kiss was long and thorough and lasted until Jason lifted his head and said, “There are two goats standing on my back and one of them is tugging at the bandage.”
Chuckling, she pushed herself upright again. He sat up also, displacing the goats.
Constance scratched behind Blackie’s ears. “I’m so glad the menagerie is returning safely home. I was afraid my goats would end up as stew if Gürkan had them.”
“Not much meat on them,” Jason pointed out. “They’re much better as pets.”
“Do you think Malek might give these four to me? Rory said he had other miniature goats, and I’ve become so fond of these fellows.”
Jason grinned and brushed hay from her hair. “I think that, today, Malek Reis is so happy that he’ll grant any requests made of him.”
Constance thought of something else she might ask Malek, but the idea vanished when Jason kissed her again. The whole world vanished. Even the goats.
* * *
Despite his fatigue and faith in his crew, Gabriel spent the rest of the night on deck, guiding his ship to safety. Since they were heading west, the rising sun was behind them when morning came, the rays creating a golden highway toward home.
He was about to retire and was thinking about where he could find a bed when he saw Malek and his family coming up the companionway from the captain’s quarters. He’d seen Damla’s face during the escape from the harem and knew her for a dark-eyed beauty, but this morning her lower face was demurely covered by her head scarf, as was that of her small daughter.
Both children were looking around with interest. Guessing that Gabriel wanted to speak with Malek, she gave him a respectful nod, then took the hands of her children and led them forward.
Malek looked like a different man from the driven, angry one who had forced the Zephyr and all her passengers on their grim voyage east. Face relaxed, he approached Gabriel and offered his hand. “I owe you many apologies, Hawkins. You have reason to hate me, but I have no regrets because you succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.”
Wryly amused, Gabriel shook the other man’s hand. “It’s been an interesting several months. Now the bill has come due.”
Malek fell into step beside him as they began strolling along the port railing. “Your ladies are free, and also the crew of their ship. How much did Siçan’s help cost?”
“Ten thousand pounds. A bargain, I thought. The remaining money should be returned to Lady Aurora’s mother.”
“That is only fair,” Malek agreed.
“Are you through with the corsair trade?”
“Yes, I’d not been a corsair for years until Damla was captured.” He smiled. “She certainly would not approve if I became a pirate again. From now on, I’m merely a merchant who is known for dealing honestly with his customers.”
“Who will inherit Gürkan’s fortune and household?”
“His nephew Mustafa. He is an agha in the Ottoman army, a just and honorable man. I don’t envy him having to untangle the chaos Gürkan left behind.”
“Will Mustafa attempt to take revenge on you and your family?”
Malek laughed. “He is more likely to send me golden gifts as a thank you. There will be no consequences.” His voice turned wistful. “I only wish that I’d been the man to kill Gürkan.”
“The women were up to the task.” Gabriel covered his mouth for a yawn. “But for now, I’m going off duty. It’s been a long day and a half.”
“Sleep well, Hawkins. You’ve earned your rest.” Malek glanced around the deck to locate his family, then headed purposefully toward them when he saw they were in the bow enjoying the wind and sea spray.
Gabriel should probably find a hammock below decks, but he couldn’t resist going down to his cabin for a quiet look at his sleeping heroines. When he opened the door, he saw that Constance was gone and Rory was sleeping alone, her bright gold hair cascading around her shoulders and half over her face.
Since Constance wasn’t there, he gave in to temptation and quietly removed his coat and boots. Then he lay down beside Rory, not wanting to wake her. He laid a gentle arm across her waist. Peace . . .
Chapter 31
Gabriel. She’d been having a nightmare about the harem and Gürkan’s evil when she felt the weight of his body depressing the mattress. She inhaled his familiar male scent, admired the strong bones of his handsome face, caressed his tangled hair and unshaven jaw. Gabriel, her hero and friend.
Rolling into his arms, she clung to him, frantic with relief and need. “I was so afraid I’d never see you again!”
“I felt the same about you.” He drew her into a full embrace, and she molded herself against him, wanting to melt into his bones and never let go. Then she raised her face into a kiss, feeling the accelerating beat of her heart, a spark of desire deep inside her that was swiftly building into raw fire.
Gabriel’s mouth was hungry, and she felt matching fire in him. Recklessly, she rolled him over so she was on top, her legs bracketing his as she tore at his clothing. He’d removed his coat and boots, and in one fierce yank, she ripped his shirt down the front so she could glory in his powerful chest and shoulders. So male, so beautiful, so present.
After a moment of pure female indulgence, she tugged his shirt free of his trousers and began fumbling with the buttons of his fall. “This time, we don’t stop,” she said huskily.
When he started to reply, she stopped his words with lips and tongue. She could feel the moment when his control snapped and desire took over. Even more than she, he’d had to exercise discipline throughout this voyage, and at the end, he’d conjured a rescue for her and the other women out of thin air.
Now the need to maintain control was gone, and it was obvious he wanted this culmination as much as she did. He breathed, “You’re sure?”
“Utterly sure.” She slid her hand under his clothing and across his flat belly. When she clasped his hard, hot length, he groaned and every muscle in his body turned rigid. She reveled in the knowledge that she could affect him so intensely.
The drugging kiss continued as his broad hands caressed her curves from neck to waist to backside. The filmy layers of the Turkish robes were easily tugged up to her waist so his powerful fingers could knead her bare flesh. Skin to skin, with no barriers between them.
“Now, my lady bright!” he said huskily. In one swift motion, Gabriel reversed their positions so he was over her, between her legs, his skilled fingers sleeking and teasing her most sensitive places. She bit into the crumpled lines of his ruined shirt to prevent herself from crying out.
During their secret nights in the last weeks of the voyage, they’d learned each other’s bodies, how to touch, how to tease, how much pressure was just enough. He used that knowledge to drive her half out of her
mind with yearning.
“We’ve waited long enough!” she gasped as her body began throbbing out of control. “No longer!”
He moved forward into her, and for just a moment there was a sharp stab of discomfort. Then they were fully joined, his hot pulse beating within her as he held still while she adjusted to his weight and heft. This, this, was what she had yearned for from the time they’d met! This joining and giving and taking. These moments of intense oneness.
She ground against him, wanting more, and they began to move together in a fierce rhythm of uncontrollable need. This, this, this—until she shattered around him, her body convulsing with violent sensations she’d never experienced but recognized with primal feminine understanding. She loved the deep sound torn from his throat as the seeds of life spilled from his powerful body into her yearning womb. Man and woman, together, complete.
As they gasped for breath, raging passion faded gracefully into peace and tenderness. He rolled onto one side, pulling her close. “I can’t quite believe that happened,” he said unsteadily. “I thought I’d lie down and hold you and we’d rest together. I believed a chaste kiss was part of the plan. If I’d known what would happen, I’d have locked the door at least!”
She laughed quietly, triumphant and happy. “We both needed that. I was very desirous of ridding myself of my virginity, which has caused me nothing but trouble in these last months.”
He stroked her damp hair back from her brow. “Indeed. But you must know that I’m enough of a traditionalist that I hope you’ll marry me. The sooner the better.”
She hesitated as uncertainty tainted her happiness. She knew the consequences of making love, and for a crazed interval she hadn’t cared. But now reason reasserted itself. “Are you sure you want to marry a woman as thoroughly scandalous and difficult as me? I might drive you mad.”
“Only in the best possible ways.” He smiled as he combed her hair with his fingertips, gently loosening knots. “As soon as I saw the miniature of you in your mother’s locket, I was doomed. I knew I should turn down her request for any number of reasons, but I couldn’t bear to think of a bright spirit like the girl in that locket condemned to the deadly life of a harem. I never dreamed there could be anything more between us than my mission, hopefully a successful one.”
He brushed a kiss on her temple, his lips warm against her pulse. “But now that I know you, the thought of losing you cracks my heart into jagged pieces.”
“You are more of a romantic than you let the world see.” She lifted his hand and kissed his palm before pressing it to her cheek. “When I first saw you in Malek’s garden, I thought ‘this man. Now.’ You looked like someone who could be trusted to the ends of the earth, and you are. But I don’t deserve someone as strong and sane and kind as you!”
“I believe it’s the other way around,” he said with a deep chuckle. “You’re the daughter of an earl, high born and much loved. I’m a disowned and dishonored sailor. I’ve earned a modest fortune, but nothing compared to the way you were raised. Not to mention that I’m rather a boring fellow most of the time.”
“That I’ll never believe! You’re the only man I’ve ever been able to imagine having in my life,” she said with a smile. “But I’ll admit I wouldn’t like it if you spent most of your life at sea and only came home for occasional visits.” She bit her lip as she thought of dangers of sea and storms and pirates. “In the months between your visits, my horrid imagination would conjure up all the ghastly things that might happen to you.”
“I wouldn’t like that, either.” He wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled her against him, skin intimately pressed to skin. “I want you close all the time. Yes, I love the sea, but I also love the land. I’ve saved some money and I’ve been thinking of buying a small estate and spending most of my time there. I hoped The Spook would join me since it would be lonely, but I’d much rather have both of you.”
The Spook had materialized on the bed again so she scratched his head. He leaned into her hand with a deep purr. “I think The Spook is ready to retire to the land with us. Will you give up the sea entirely?”
“No, I’ll keep the Zephyr and hire a captain to sail her. I might acquire another ship or two. We’d live comfortably and you could write your books and be as splendidly eccentric as you wish. Constance could live with us if you both want that, but I suspect Jason Landers has other plans for her future.” He smiled at her with deep affection. “If I sail anywhere, my lady bright, you’ll go with me. So shall we marry?”
Uncertainty dissolved. How could she ever have questioned the rightness of sharing Gabriel’s bed and his life? “Yes, my captain! With great gladness. Do you think the imam could be persuaded to marry us right away? Since you saved his life, he might be willing to overlook our unbeliever status.”
“Hajji Asad is a tolerant fellow, and I think he’d be cooperative even if I hadn’t saved him from the fishes. Constance and Jason might be interested in engaging his services also,” Gabriel said thoughtfully. “We’d want to have a Christian ceremony back in England, I think, just to reassure your family. But any man of God will do for me now. If he’ll perform the honors, I’ll feel most gratefully wed.”
She sighed. “I’ll miss Constance dreadfully, but the time has come for us to go our separate ways. We’ll write masses of letters and collaborate on our stories, but having an ocean between us will be hard to adjust to.”
“The two of you are family and always will be.” He stroked his hand down her bare torso. “I’ve heard how Turkish women have all body hair removed. Was the process painful?”
She made a face. “I might put that into a book, but I will not do it again myself! I must look like a plucked chicken.”
He laughed and leaned forward to kiss a bare, intimate part of her body. “A most enchanting plucked chicken. Your golden hair will grow back.” Gabriel’s playful expression changed. “Damnation, there’s something I forgot to tell you that might change your mind about marriage.”
“Unless you have another wife, I can’t imagine what that would be,” she said lightly.
“No other wives. But Hawkins is my middle name. I dropped my family name after my grandfather disowned me. I was christened Gabriel Hawkins Vance.”
Lady Aurora Vance. That sounded fine to her. Then her brows furrowed. “Vance. Is your grandfather Admiral Lord Vance, the fierce indomitable hero of sea battles beyond counting?”
“That’s him.” Gabriel’s smile was twisted. “You can see why I was such a shocking disappointment.”
“Nonsense, the fact that he’s a famous admiral changes nothing,” she said briskly. “As a young officer, you did what was right. Forcing you from the Royal Navy was their loss, not yours. And no decent parent or grandparent would throw you away as your grandfather did. The honorable admiral should be ashamed of himself!”
“That is not in his nature, but I appreciate your partisanship, Rory.” He smiled and squeezed her hand. “Now I think I’d better lock that door, and then we can get some proper rest.”
“Lock the door,” she said demurely as she petted The Spook, who had materialized on her pillow, “and we’ll see what happens after.”
He laughed as he rose to turn the lock, then stripped off the rest of his clothing. She loved that she could make him laugh like that. And she loved, loved, loved looking at his beautiful masculine body, which would soon be hers as she was his.
* * *
Hajji Asad was pleased to be asked to officiate at the double wedding held on the Zephyr’s main deck. As he said, marriage customs varied across many lands and peoples, but Muslims and Christians worshipped the same God, and honored marriage as a sacred commitment.
The imam worked with Malek and Gabriel to combine some of the words and phrases from both forms of service. Malek offered to give the two brides away, which was appreciated for its irony, but was firmly refused. Rory and Constance were giving themselves away, thank you very much. So instead Malek dowered
Constance with four pigmy goats.
Suzanne used scraps of bright fabric to make two pretty nosegays for the brides to carry. The ship’s carpenter raised pieces of siding to create a third cabin in the captain’s quarters, this one for Constance and Jason. It was small but private, and it contained a cobbled-together bed wide enough for two.
Malek’s children were assigned a tiny cabin to share, and Meryem and Kadir squabbled about who would get the top bunk. Damla ordered them to take turns. Immune to orders from humans, The Spook spent most nights on Gabriel and Rory’s bed.
The day of the wedding was sunny, with a light breeze that caused ribbons and veils to flutter gaily. Two sailors who were skilled with fiddle and pennywhistle played solemn music as Constance and Rory walked together up the companionway from the captain’s quarters, holding hands. Then they separated and moved to the sides of their waiting grooms.
Gabriel had never seen a more beautiful sight than Rory’s radiant face. Now that she had made her choice, there were no more doubts, only joyful certainty. She’d chosen him, and he knew she would never look elsewhere. Neither would he, because there wasn’t another woman in the world who was her equal.
Voice serene and reverent, Hajji Asad began the service. Some phrases were in Arabic, others in English, but there was no mistaking the vows till death did they part. Gabriel particularly liked the Muslim custom of kissing the bride three times on the cheek and once on the forehead at the end. “Till death do us part,” he whispered.
Eyes shining, Rory whispered back, “Amen, my captain!”
Then, to the surprise of everyone but the imam, Malek and Damla renewed their vows, attended by their children. After the terrible disruption they’d endured, Gabriel thought it fitting.
Then everyone feasted long and well on the best food the galley could produce, the musicians changed the music to celebration—and everyone danced to the sounds of the silver seas.
Chapter 32
January 1815, London
Once a Scoundrel Page 23
