Burning Up

by Nalini Singh

  He couldn't see Ivy anywhere.

  A familiar tightness gripped his chest. Was she hiding from him? Christ, no wonder. He couldn't keep a rational head when he saw her, touched her. She twisted him up. Not a damn thing he said came out as it should. He'd wait before seeking her out, regain his wits--so that when she looked at him like a monster, he didn't heed his instinct and prove her right. That instinct had saved him more times than he could count, but if he wanted Ivy in his life, he couldn't give into it with her.

  And he needed answers from Yasmeen first. Eben hadn't expected that Ivy would be glad to see him. He hadn't expected her to flee in terror, either.

  By the time he reached the quarterdeck, the airship had gained altitude, skimming below the clouds and bearing toward Vesuvius, anchored just beyond the mouth of the cove.

  "Where is she?"

  "I locked her in the officer's mess." Yasmeen didn't take her eyes off the men working the decks. "She looked ready to take a dive over the side."

  "What the hell have you told her?"

  "Only what you should have--" Her gaze narrowed when an aviator stepped into a coil of rope. Her voice rose, hard and sharp. "Mind that line, Ms. Pegg, or we'll be feeding your leg to the bleeding gulls! . . . again," she finished quietly, before glancing at Eben. "All of the men who came to me from your ship that were in need of a blacksmith, I sent to her with a story. I embellished."

  Embellished. Enough that Ivy had thought he'd rape her. She likely imagined that once they reached Vesuvius she'd be whipped, abused, starved. Why not? Half the people who came off Eben's ship were.

  "At every port, I heard that you were asking about her. And I heard the talk that had begun: men claiming that you'd weakened for a woman--and if you are weak in one area, you can be weakened in others. So I spread a different story." Yasmeen spared him another glance. "Both your ship and this blacksmith are better protected when everyone thinks that you only seek her because she cheated you. You've made destroying the Black Guard your crusade, but your first duty is to your men--and there are too many lives at stake for Mad Machen to become Softhearted Eben."

  "I know," he said grimly. Christ, how he knew. The lives of his crew and the freedom of every person rounded up and chained into the belly of the Black Guard's slaver ships depended on the reputation he'd earned over the years. Fear was a more powerful weapon than the biggest rail cannon--and every terrified mercenary who'd rather give up his cargo than face Mad Machen saved more lives than a Softhearted Eben ever could.

  "Then choose who you will be. You can't be both."

  He pictured Ivy's face--a sight that had helped him fight through hell. And he felt the strange, cold presence below his knee, a constant reminder that there were others who hadn't been strong or lucky enough to break free.

  Maybe he couldn't be both. But he could damn well try.

  THREE

  Twenty minutes passed before Mad Machen came for her. When she heard the door open, Ivy turned away from the porthole windows, Fool's Cove no longer visible behind them.

  With dark eyes, he stared at her until a shout from the decks and a sudden decrease in the airship's speed sent Ivy stumbling forward. He started toward her, but stopped when she caught her balance. His gaze left her face, landing on the satchel she'd dropped by the door.

  Bending, he grabbed up the handle, slung it over his shoulder. "We're almost above my ship. Come."

  Ivy expected him to step aside to let her pass, but he didn't move out of the doorway as she approached. Ivy paused, wary. When his brows drew together with his frown, she fought the urge to scramble back.

  His expression continued to darken. "Don't be afraid of me."

  A disbelieving laugh escaped before she could stop it. Clamping her lips together, she lasted only a moment until the rest came out. "Certainly. I'll start doing that, right away."

  To her surprise, he smiled before sliding the door open. Nerves fluttering in her stomach, she passed him quickly, entering the narrow passageway that led out from beneath the quarterdeck. Cold wind caught her full in the face. Shivering in her thin coat, she started toward the rope ladder at the side of the airship, already longing for the warmer air below. She'd forgotten how frigid even a slight breeze could seem as it blew across the airship's open decks.

  Mad Machen came up beside her. Avoiding his gaze, Ivy looked down, where Vesuvius floated five hundred yards below. The ladder hadn't been lowered yet. As she watched, two aviators at a nearby capstan unwound a mooring cable toward the waiting ship. Within a few minutes, the crew below had tethered the airship to Vesuvius's stern, the cable carrying enough slack to form a graceful curve between them.

  She glanced over at Mad Machen. His hands braced on the gunwale, he was looking down at the ship with an expression that might have been anticipation. His gaze slid up the mooring line, then unexpectedly locked on hers.

  "Put your arms around my neck, Ivy, and we'll head down."

  Confused, she looked to the ladder, still rolled up near her feet.

  Without warning, his arm circled her waist, hauling her back against his solid chest. Surrounded by the heat of his body, she tried not to stiffen.

  "No? Then I'll hold on to you," he said against her hair, and reached for the mooring line. Snapping a large carabiner over the cable, he gripped the bottom of the steel loop.

  Oh, blue. That was how they'd be going down? Spinning to face him, she flung her arms around his shoulders. Muscles bunched beneath her hands. Mad Machen swung them up and over the side, and then they were falling, bouncing and twisting, steel ripping along over the cable. Ivy squeezed her eyes shut, then popped them open again, staring over his shoulder. They dropped away from the airship at terrifying . . . exhilarating speed.

  She laughed, suddenly loving this mad descent. His arm tightened around her back and Ivy abruptly became aware of how she clung to him, her legs wrapped around his thigh, her cheek against his warm neck--abruptly aware that she'd felt safe enough to let go of her fear, if only for a moment.

  Then they were slowing at the bottom of the long arc of cable, leveling out. Ivy lifted her head and looked over her shoulder at Vesuvius's approaching decks. Tall and imposing, Vesuvius was enormous. Wide at the waterline, the ship's black, rounded hull narrowed at the top, and the two rows of gallery windows built up the squared-off stern higher than the bow. Gunports lined the side, and more cannons took up space along the rails of the upper decks. From high above, the ship had appeared small and calm in the quiet waters, but closing in she could barely make sense of the crisscrossing ropes and furled sails, the timbers and spars--and twice as many crew members on the crowded upper deck alone than had served the entire airship, all moving about in chaotic activity.

  "Zounds!" she exclaimed, and turned her head as Mad Machen chuckled, a deep rumble that she felt against her chest. The wind scraped his ragged hair back from his forehead, and when his short laugh ended, either the ship or the descent left a wide grin on his face.

  Perhaps both.

  Without glancing down at her, he said, "Hold tight," and let go of the carabiner, landing heavily on the poop deck. He stumbled, as if his right leg almost folded, but he wrenched upward and came to a halt, holding her against him. Breathing hard and still grinning, he pulled back to look into her face. His hair stuck up wildly in all directions. Amusement crinkled the corners of his eyes, softening his dark gaze. She waited for her fear to return, but could only think that this was the man she'd asked for help from two years before, the man she'd met at the Blacksmith's.

  But her impression then had been wrong. She couldn't trust this impression, either.

  Ivy pulled away. To her relief, Mad Machen let her go, turning to scan the ship. At a word, two men rushed to unfasten the mooring line. A shout from another deck sent hands scurrying up the masts, out onto the yards. Eight men around a capstan began hauling up the heavy anchor chain.

  Watching them, Ivy took a few moments to find her breath--and her balance. The de
ck seemed to roll gently beneath her feet, a gentle rock from bow to stern. Gulls circled the topgallant masts, their raucous cries adding to the voices calling to one another up in the yards, to the orders shouted from below. Booted feet beat the decks as men hurried about, securing ropes. White sails unfurled with the rough scrape of canvas, and the timbers creaked when they filled with air.

  Chaos, but a perfectly ordered one. Eyes wide as she tried to take it in, she followed Mad Machen to a lower deck, where Barker stood at a carved balustrade, overlooking the crew.

  The quartermaster turned and spotted Ivy. His mouth fell open and his gaze darted to Mad Machen's face before returning to hers. His astonishment warmed into a smile.

  "Well," he drawled. "Look at you, Ivy Blacksmith. You've color in your cheeks now."

  All freckles. "A bit," she said.

  "More than a bit. The blue skies suit you. Wouldn't you say so, Captain?"

  "Yes." Mad Machen's slow perusal felt as if he was stripping Ivy down to her skin. "But so did London."

  "That's true enough." Barker laughed suddenly, shaking his head. He looked to Mad Machen. "And so this explains why Yasmeen wouldn't tell us who the Blacksmith had named until after you'd fetched her. She knew you wouldn't strangle her in front of Ivy."

  A gentle swell rocked the ship. Swaying, Ivy stared at Barker. "The Blacksmith?" So focused on the threat of Mad Machen, she'd completely forgotten what Lady Corsair had told her: they wanted Ivy to build something. "Why did he name me?"

  Mad Machen glanced at Barker. The quartermaster's expression closed up and he nodded, as if that silent look had conveyed a message Ivy couldn't read.

  The captain turned to Ivy. "He said you are best suited for the work."

  "What work?" Of all her talents, her strongest was creating artificial limbs. Nothing like the Blacksmith's mechanical flesh, but far more precise and integrated than a typical prosthetic . . . Oh. Her gaze dropped. "Your leg?"

  "No."

  Mad Machen's abrupt answer told her not to pursue it. Why? She'd have to know eventually--and the sooner she began, the sooner she could return to Fool's Cove. "Then why am I here?"

  His mouth tightened. For a moment, he seemed on the verge of speaking, but looked away from her, instead. He turned to Barker.

  "Send for Duckie. He'll ready my cabin for Ivy's stay."

  His cabin. Without a flicker of his eyelids, the quartermaster followed the order. Anger grated in Ivy's chest like a twisted gear.

  The Blacksmith wouldn't have given her name if he'd known she'd be required to work in Mad Machen's bed, too. Ivy was certain of it.

  "I don't owe you that service, Captain Machen. Tell your man to put me in another room."

  "You're taking passage on my ship--"

  "Not by my choice."

  "--and you will sleep in my bed."

  By the bleeding stars, she would not be forced. "You'll have to chain me down first, Mad Machen."

  His smile was sudden and terrifying, a sharp flash of white against his tan. Ivy stepped back, abruptly aware that the only sound on the ship came from the gulls and the creaking hull. The crew had fallen silent. Barker's eyes had closed, as if he were praying. A blond, gangly boy with a red mark across his forehead rushed up the stairs onto the quarterdeck and stopped, looking uneasily between her and the captain.

  Ivy swallowed. Alright. She shouldn't challenge Mad Machen here. When they had privacy, perhaps she could appeal to his rational side . . . if he had one. And if not, perhaps she could bargain with the mercenary in him.

  Her heart pounding, she held still as Mad Machen crossed the distance between them. His dark face lowered, stopping with his lips a breath from hers. He murmured, "Here in front of my men, or in my cabin. That is your choice."

  "Your cabin." Frustration shook through her whisper. "And damn you to a kraken's belly."

  His brows rose, and a surprised laugh broke from him before his mouth suddenly covered hers, his callused palm cupping her jaw. Not a hard kiss, and not tender--it was a statement, she realized, for the men watching them. A claim, pure and simple.

  A claim that went on until Ivy had to employ all of her willpower to refrain from biting him.

  He finally lifted his head, and turned to the boy. "Duckie, escort Ivy Blacksmith to my cabin. See that she wants for nothing."

  "Yes, sir." The boy gathered her satchel from the captain, and looked expectantly to Ivy.

  Plastering on a smile, she pulled at her trouser legs and curtsied to Mad Machen. His laugh followed her to the stairs--and Ivy decided she could make a statement, too. A brass finial shaped like an egg decorated the end of the banister. Ivy closed her gray hand around it. Metal shrieked as she crushed the finial between her fingers.

  His laughter stopped.

  She released the mangled brass, and called over her shoulder, "I await your mighty prick, sir!"

  Eben couldn't stop grinning. Judging by the way his crew kept their heads down and their hands busy, most assumed a storm was brewing, but Barker read his grin for what it was.

  "Not so afraid now, is she?"

  No, she wasn't. And not ready to trust him, but Eben knew it'd take time to show her that she could. The reputation he'd built couldn't be brushed away with a word--and he couldn't risk that it was brushed away from anyone's eyes but Ivy's. Yasmeen had been right about that.

  But at least her fear had receded. He couldn't have borne it if she'd kept trembling at his approach or trying to run. The rest would come.

  He eyed the stairs. Perhaps he could start--

  "Meg!"

  The shout came down from the crow's nest, where Teppers pointed out to starboard. Two hundred yards distant, a razor-edged dorsal fin sliced through the water, tall enough that if Vesuvius sailed next to it, the fin's point would reach halfway to the ship's upper decks.

  "A big one," Barker said.

  A damn big one. And with luck, it wouldn't come to investigate Vesuvius. Even under full sail, a megalodon was impossible to outrun. Altered and bred by the Horde until they were aggressive and territorial, a full-grown megalodon could leave a ship rudderless or damage the hull, even on a vessel as solid as Eben's--and the shark's armored plating made it damn hard to kill. The best course was just avoiding them, and if that failed, throw out bait--and then watch Vesuvius's tail, because once megalodons caught a scent, they were hard to shake.

  Out over the water, the dorsal fin turned toward them, then slid beneath the surface.

  "Hard to port." Eben braced his feet and settled in. "Ready the chum."

  It was going to be a long afternoon.

  With a row of square windows that welcomed the pale, slanting sunlight, the captain's cabin was more spacious than Ivy anticipated. Though four cannons strapped to rolling platforms were lashed together at the center of the floor, enough room was left over for a dining table that could seat six, a teak desk piled high with maps and ledgers, two leather armchairs beneath the windows, a weapons cabinet, and a wardrobe. Chests with upholstered lids served as footrests or additional seats. A narrow door by the windows opened to a lavatory. Partitioning off one side of the room was a heavy green curtain--behind which, a blushing Duckie told her, was the captain's berth. As soon as he left, Ivy pushed the curtain aside, revealing a squat bureau topped by a ewer, a washbowl, and a mirror. A thick mattress lay on a waist-high wooden platform.

  Blimey. The bed was tiny. Long enough to accommodate the captain's height, but almost as narrow as her bed in Fool's Cove. Certainly not wide enough for two people to lie side by side, especially if one had shoulders as broad as Mad Machen's. Even hanging off the edge would be impossible; a wooden rail guarded the side to keep the pitching boat from flinging the sleeper to the floor.

  What in the blue blazes did he expect to do--lie on top of her all night?

  Her stomach rolled. Perhaps that was exactly what he expected to do.

  So she would reason with him when he returned. She wouldn't antagonize him, but lay out a ratio
nal alternative. With a blanket on the floor, she could sleep in the small space between the end of the bed and the chest of drawers. She wouldn't mind; she'd spent nights in worse places.

  Ivy waited. When Duckie returned, she asked him for an extra blanket and made her spot on the floor. Eventually the sun dropped to the horizon, painting the cabin in orange light and purple shadows. Duckie brought her dinner on heavy plates: a thick fish stew swimming with carrots, leeks, and potatoes and sopped up with crusty rolls; melon slices bursting with juice; and a lemon tart made with French sugar. He didn't set a place for Mad Machen, who was "leading Meg on a grand chase." As she wasn't thrown about the room by a shark ramming the ship, or trying to cut her way out of its belly, the captain must have been doing a fine job of it.

  When Mad Machen finally came, she was sitting in a chair by the windows, watching the stars appear against the coal black heavens--a view she never tired of, and that she'd never seen over London's hazy skies. The moon, sometimes, as a dull red glow through the smoke. Never the stars.

  The captain's gaze found her in the darkened room. She couldn't see his expression, only the gleam of his eyes. After a long moment, he strode to the berth and slid aside the curtain. Her makeshift pallet made him pause.

  Ivy filled the silence. "If I sleep on the--"

  "No." He swept the blanket up and called for Duckie. Wearing only a nightshirt, the cabin boy came through the door an instant later. Mad Machen tossed the blanket to him. "If the nights are too cold, she can have it back."

  "Yes, sir." Duckie left the cabin as quickly as he'd come.

  With the flick of a spark lighter, Mad Machen lit the gas lamp on the bureau. In the dim glow, he looked toward Ivy. "You won't be cold."

  Clamping her lips tight, Ivy faced the windows again. Rational, she reminded herself. He made it difficult.

  And he'd stolen her view. Now that the lamp lit the cabin, his reflection appeared in the glass, instead. He stood at the bureau with his back to the windows, filling the washbowl with water. She glanced away when he removed his jacket, but looked again when she heard his shirt come off.