by Linda Skye
“And what’s that?” Rawden asked skeptically.
“I also need this.”
Without warning, Juliana pushed her lips against his, capturing him in a searing, passionate kiss. She hooked her arms around his neck and let him drag her to his body with eager arms. After showing him just how much he wasn’t a simple cog in her plans, Juliana pulled away to offer him a triumphant smirk.
“Do you understand now?” she asked affectionately.
“Oh I think I do,” came a strange voice from a distance.
Rawden carefully set Juliana on her feet and wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. He was absolutely exasperated. Completely and utterly frustrated. Not only had they been interrupted again, but now—for the second time in as many days—they were completely surrounded by a crowd of enemies.
Chapter 6
“Don’t you know when not to interrupt a couple?” Rawden lazily drawled, adopting a relaxed stance as he faced their adversaries.
“So,” Captain Elijah Hawkins leered. “You’re a couple now? You’ve really grown up, Miss Wright.”
“You still can’t have the map,” Juliana told him, sassily placing a hand on her hip.
“If I can’t have that map,” Elijah threatened, “then I’ll take your ship, Captain Wood.”
He snapped his fingers and his gangly crew lit up dozens of bottles, all filled with oil. The home-made bombs glittered menacingly in the dark, illuminating the cruel smiles of the rival pirates. Rawden’s jaw clenched. There was no way that his crew could put out the fires fast enough—but they would definitely try, leaving himself and Juliana vulnerable to any sort of attack that Elijah could devise. Even Rawden couldn’t best two dozen armed men. He glanced down at Juliana, his mind scrambling for an out.
“Ready to really make the Golden Maiden glow, boys?” Elijah hooted, lifting a hand to give the signal. “It will be a most beautiful Christmas ornament!”
“Wait!” Juliana called out suddenly.
Elijah grinned and lowered his hand slightly.
“Had a change of heart, lassie?”
Juliana stepped out from under Rawden’s arm and drew a weathered scroll from her cloak. She held it up so all could see it.
“Will you leave us in peace if I give you this map?” she asked, her voice grave.
“Of course,” Elijah answered with a gracious shrug. “That is all I ever wanted from you.”
Juliana’s lips thinned.
“I will give you this map, and you will leave without causing us or the ship any harm,” Juliana stipulated calmly. “Swear by the sea.”
Elijah dropped into a gallant bow.
“I swear by the seven seas,” he said with a flourish.
Juliana nodded and then tossed the scroll high in the air. Elijah caught and unrolled it, his eyes greedily poring over the parchment. Then he chuckled deeply and re-rolled the ancient map.
“Finally,” Elijah said in a self-satisfied voice. “How does it feel to know that if your father had only done what you did just now, he would still be alive today?”
“Stow it, Hawkins,” Rawden snapped, voice tight with anger.
Rawden’s fists clenched at his sides. They had been defeated. All had been in vain. There would be no treasure now, not even the promise of gold sovereigns.
“And a merry Christmas to you all!” Hawkins said with a mocking bow.
Elijah laughed viciously while Juliana just glared, tight-lipped. One of his crew took up a mutilated version of a Christmas carol, and the others joined in cruelly. Beckoning to his men, Elijah turned and melted into the mists. Juliana stared after them until the last traces of his infuriating humming died out. Then, with a heaving sigh, she turned and began to march up the gangway. She headed straight for Rawden’s cabin and entered the lush quarters without saying a word. Rawden followed a step behind, his eyes leaving her only when he turned to push the heavy oak door closed, shutting the world away. He watched as she let his cloak drop to the floor with a thud. Yet, she still did not look back at him.
Rawden felt regret creep up his throat as his eyes traced the swirling lines of her shimmering gold hair. He had broken the terms of their agreement. He would not be able to take her to the sea caves in Cornwall. He had not been able to protect her or her map from her enemies. In fact, he thought crossly, it had been she who had protected him in the end. She’d saved his ship from imminent destruction by giving up the one thing she had left of her murdered father. Self-loathing joined regret as a bitter taste on his tongue.
But a small detail began to niggle at the back of his mind. Rawden frowned. If she had just given away her father’s map…then what map had she burned in front of his very eyes on that first night?
“I thought you burned your father’s map,” he blurted suddenly into the awkward silence.
“Yes, I burned a map,” she replied evenly. “Just not my father’s. It was yours—I stole it from your table when you weren’t looking.”
Rawden smiled ruefully. Always the trickster, he thought fondly.
She had said she’d needed his ship and his protection—but those were only two of the three things she’d demanded—a point she’d made abundantly clear with her lips before their disastrous trip into Portsmouth.
So, was this a complete loss?
He had lost the treasure and his pay, but he might still have…her.
“I see,” Rawden said slowly. “It’s a shame you had no maps to pinch tonight.” He paused, then added quietly. “I am sorry you had to surrender your father’s map to Elijah Hawkins.”
Juliana let out the breath that she’d been holding. She looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes searching. He might think she was useless to him now.
“You are?”
“I am,” he replied, meeting her eyes sincerely, “You protected that map for far too long to just hand it over to protect my ship.” He stopped for a moment, and then continued. “I am grateful for that sacrifice,” he said in a voice gravelly with pent-up emotion. “And I want you to know…” He stopped again. “I want you to understand that it’s not the treasure that I’m worried about right now.”
“It’s not?”
“No,” he said, looking away as he awkwardly scratched behind one ear. “It’s you,” he admitted finally in a soft voice. “I want the map and the treasure—but I want you more.”
Juliana stared at him, trying not to gawk in amazement. Her heart felt full to bursting, and all doubts melted away.
“You can still have all three,” Juliana said with a happy laugh.
“What?” Rawden asked, stunned. “How?”
“I didn’t give Hawkins the map,” Juliana announced mischievously.
“I saw you—”
“That wasn’t my father’s map,” she interrupted, a devilish glint in her eye, “I’m sorry to say that the map I gave to Elijah was just another of your old maps. I took one before we left.”
“You stole another of my maps?”
“Yes,” she said with a nonchalant shrug. “And I’m glad I did. Hawkins will figure out sooner or later that it’s a fake—but it’ll be too late in either case.”
“Just how many of my maps are you going to burn or give away before this is over?” Rawden exclaimed with mock exasperation.
“No more, I hope!”
“But see here,” Rawden demanded, shaking a finger at her. “I demand you show me the real map, right now and once and for all. I need to see the real thing with my own eyes.”
“Say please.”
“Please.”
“Very well,” Juliana said, lifting her chin. “Since you asked nicely.”
With that, she turned away once more. She pulled her arms from her sleeves and let her gauzy dress slip down her body and pool at her feet. In one graceful movement, she swept her thick golden locks away from her back and pulled them over her shoulder.
Rawden understood immediately.
An elegantly beautiful tattoo was spread over her
svelte back, from the base of her spine to her shoulder blades. It was the most intricate and complex design he had ever seen in his life, inked with delicate swirls of blue, green and black.
The map had been tattooed to her back.
“Do you understand now?” Juliana asked.
Yes, Rawden said to himself, yes.
This was the true reason she could never give away her father’s map—not to anyone. This was why she had been peering into a hand mirror earlier that day—not to admire herself but to study the reflection of the map on her back in the mirror behind her.
“My father knew that all sorts of men would come after the map,” Juliana supplied quietly as Rawden paced slowly towards her. “So he had the map copied onto my body—and then he destroyed the original. Now there are once again only two people in the whole world who know the location of Merlin’s map.”
Rawden stopped when he was right behind her. He placed his hand at the base of her spine and lightly traced the curving lines of her tattoo with his fingertips. She shivered, a curl of excitement spreading up from her lower belly.
“This is my father’s legacy.”
“You were wise to hide it,” he rumbled approvingly.
Rawden placed his other hand on the curve of her hip and lowered his lips to the shell of her ear.
“Let me touch you,” he murmured.
His breath sent frissons of pleasure skittering down her neck to pool in the tips of her breasts. She turned her head so that his lips brushed her temple. She met his heated gaze, and the wide, wanting look in her eyes was answer enough. He gently pressed a row of kisses on her shoulder as he splayed the fingers of one hand over her lower belly. Then, with slow, deliberate, feather-like touches, he traced every line of black ink on her back with the very tip of one finger. As he did, the hand he had planted on her stomach dipped lower, and lower…until she gasped with pleasure and curved her body over his muscled arm. She grasped at his sleeve and moaned aloud as his swirling fingers continued their devastating patterns. He was merciless in his lewd ministrations, not even stopping when her nails dug into his bicep and her panting grew desperate. He caught her lower lip between his teeth and teased her with his tongue.
“Rawden,” she whimpered, twisting in his arms. “Oh, Rawden.”
With a grunt, he swept her effortlessly into his arms and carried her to his bed. He sat down with her cradled against his chest. She straddled his thighs and rocked her hips against his, mewling plaintively as he showered her with open-mouthed kisses. As his calloused hands swept over the smooth planes of her body, he realised one very important fact: that she was completely naked and that he…was not. Grunting as she tangled her fingers in his dark locks, Rawden shrugged off his shirt. He stood for a moment, and Juliana wrapped her long legs to his torso, anchoring herself to his body as he jerked open his trousers and quickly kicked them off.
When he sat back down, the feeling of his naked skin on hers nearly made him lose all control. He could feel the moistness between her thighs, and she could feel his stiffness rubbing against her. They ground against one another until they could take no more. So when Rawden finally lifted her hips, Juliana eagerly positioned him at the entrance to her core. Hands on his shoulders, she slowly eased herself down onto him. She cried out passionately at the sensations coursing through her entire body; his hands hot on her hips, his velvety voice cracking with pleasure—and his wide girth entering, parting, stretching her very core. They were fully joined, as close as humanly possible.
They both leaned back, planting their hands behind them—he on the mattress and she bracing herself with open palms on his knees. She began to move up and down, gradually increasing her speed until she had to throw her head back in joyous passion. Rawden watched as her heavy breasts bounced, and unable to resist, he leaned forward and grabbed them with greedy hands. His lips closed around one of the tight caramel peaks, and his tongue swirled delicious patterns that made Juliana cry out in ecstasy. She arched into his touch, riding him desperately. Juliana felt as if something electric was trying to crawl its way out of her pores, and her movements became wild jerks.
“Not yet,” Rawden growled huskily. “Not just yet, my dear.”
He gathered her in his arms and stood, turning to lay her down across his bed. Still joined, he lay over her and braced himself against the mattress on his elbows. He kissed the tip of her nose and slowly, slowly withdrew. She felt every ridge of his shaft as he pulled away. She almost protested, but when he was just about to pull free, he then pushed back in—again, ever so slowly. He repeated this slow torture over and over again until Juliana dug her fingers into his shoulders and sobbed for more.
Rawden chuckled darkly. Then, just as he was about to pull out, he drove into her in one quick motion. Juliana gasped in delight. He pulled away slowly, and then slammed back into her, hilt deep. This new, sweet torture drove Juliana half-mad, and she writhed beneath him.
Finally, he paused. Leaning back, he took her chin between his fingers.
“Look at me,” he commanded hoarsely.
Juliana blinked up at him with hazy eyes. Rawden waited, his eyes dark with desire. But still he waited.
“Yes,” Juliana breathed with a soft smile. “Yes, I’m yours.”
His response was immediate. Hooking her knees over his elbows, he began to plunge in and out of her with such force that she was driven back against the headboard and had to brace herself with her hands above her head. Their bodies, slick with sweat, crashed together. It was wild, it was furious…it was love at its basest and most passionate. Juliana could not fight the flow of pleasure that crashed through her body, so she just hung on blindly. And just when she thought their lovemaking could be no more intense, Rawden grabbed her hips and turned her so that she was on her hands and knees in front of him. He dug his fingers into her hips and began anew, his thrusts hard and fast.
Juliana had never felt anything so deep or so wonderful in all her life. Her hands fisted in his sheets, her sobs of bliss echoing though the cabin. Rawden leaned forward, and Juliana felt his tongue on her skin. Her breath caught in her throat as she realised he was trailing his tongue over the lines of her tattoo, lines she had studied and hidden for so long. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she relished the feeling of him laving the precious design on her back with his open-mouthed kisses. Then he rose, hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her up. He grabbed onto her for leverage as his pace became more frantic. His frenzied thrusts hit deep, and she felt a carnal exhilaration spread through her veins, she lost all control over her voice. Stars burst behind her eyes as she heedlessly screamed his name. She felt him shudder inside her, and she clenched around him as he released deep within her core.
Panting harshly, they sagged against each other, limp and sated. As one, they collapsed to one side. He curled around her, pulling her back into his chest. Nuzzling her tattooed shoulder, Rawden sighed into her moist skin. She trembled under his touch.
“I think I should study this map more often,” Rawden said, pressing his lips to her neck.
“Any time you want, my dear captain,” Juliana giggled, squirming deeper into his embrace. “Any time you want.”
Chapter 7
They spent the next few days holed up in the cabin. Rawden would spend hours poring over the map on her back, leaving only when it was necessary to guide the ship or supervise his crew. Juliana would sometimes venture out onto the deck to breathe in the fresh salty air and catch a glimpse of the distant shoreline. On occasion, Rawden would let her hold to the ship’s wheel, his hands on hers, as they cut through the waves. There was laughter and song and lovemaking even when the fresh rations dried up. One day, when Juliana thought she would rather go hungry than eat hardtack biscuits and broth again, Rawden breezed into the cabin bearing a tray of something that smelled—impossibly—of Christmas. Hopping up from her perch by the fire, Juliana crowded in to see just what treasures her captain had brought. With a proud, boyish smile
, Rawden gestured to his surprise: two bowls of hot Christmas pudding and two mugs of sweet-smelling malt wine. As Juliana savoured a spoonful of gooey, sticky pudding and sipped her mug of wine scented with orange and cinnamon, she thanked the seven seas for sending her such a marvellous pirate. And excitement continued to grow as they drew nearer to the majestic coastline of Cornwall.
Finally, on Christmas Day, Juliana heard the barked command.
“Drop anchor!”
They had arrived. Rawden pulled her from the cabin and led her onto the deck. With a sweep of his arm, he showed her the towering cliffs of Cornwall. Juliana felt light and warm, despite the cold Atlantic wind whipping through her hair.
Grey, jagged rocks jutted imperiously from the sea. Grey-green grass covered the tops of the cliffs, draped over the sloping hills like a thick, mossy carpet. A blanket of snow and ice shimmered here and there—the only indication of the winter weather apart from the icy mist of the waves.
And there, nestled atop one of the flat peaks were the ruins of an ancient castle—Tintagel Castle, the rumoured home of the legendary King Arthur. Juliana’s eyes dropped lower. For it was not the imposing castle that interested her; it was the secret that lay hidden beneath. The winding sea caves below: Merlin’s caves. She looked eagerly up at Rawden, who chuckled.
“Aye then mateys!” Rawden called to his crew. “Get a longboat ready! We sail to treasure today!”
A great guffaw rose from the crew as they scrambled to prepare for the landing. And within the hour, Juliana and Rawden were perched at the centre of the lead longboat, headed for shore. They tied up the boats close to the rocky shore, and Rawden lifted Juliana into his arms before she could protest, gallantly wading through the cold water to set her booted feet on dry stones.
“Lead the way, my lady,” Rawden said with a flourish, taking her hand as she nimbly skipped from one rock to the next.
Soon, they were marching up a pebbled beach, and the dark, cavernous mouth of Merlin’s cave loomed above them. The tide was out, so the entrance was clear of water, leaving only a smooth sandy passageway in its place. Juliana took the torch that Rawden had just lit, holding out in front of her to illuminate the dark passageway. She smiled.
