"Don't upset yourself," Lizzy said. "The guards Griffin set around the house didn't realize that Angel was my houseguest. They chased her out of your garden."
"Chased her?" He swore. "Where is she? For God's sake, woman! Angel hasn't the slightest idea how to look after herself in a town like Charleston. She could be—"
"This is exactly why we didn't tell you," Lizzy scolded. "I knew you'd overreact. She's a sensible girl. Griffin's out looking for her as we speak. Angel will be fine."
"I'm getting up." Sweat broke out on Will's face. Pain greater than that from his gunshot wound knifed through him. "Turn your back, madam. Lest you see—"
"Do you think the sight of male genitalia will alarm me? I assure you that it won't. And you won't go anywhere. Do you wish to start bleeding all over again?" She pushed him back with surprising strength for a woman her age. "Delphi!"
"Ma'am?" Delphi's anxious face peered around the doorframe.
"Call your sons. Mr. William is delirious. If he gets out of this bed, he'll do himself great harm. You are to keep him here at all costs."
"Delphi," Will said. "Don't listen to—"
"I take all responsibility," Lizzy said. "Tie him to the bed if you must." She shook a finger at Will. "Stay where you are. You don't have the strength to walk to the head of the stairs, let alone search the town for her. Trust us, William. We'll find your little island waif."
"You'd better," he warned.
"We shall," Lizzy answered. "I give you my word." She hesitated and then continued in a rush. "And when you're stronger, you should give careful consideration to the question of why she has become so important to you. And, most of all, what mischief and heartache your attraction to Angel can cause her if you do not mean to make an honest woman of her."
* * *
An hour later Will woke to the squeak of door hinges. "Angel?" he called. "Is that you?"
"No, sir," Delphi replied. "It's Miss Julia here to see you."
"Is there any word of Angel?"
"No, sir, not yet. But they'll find her." The black woman backed out of the doorway, leaving Julia alone in the room with him.
"Are you in much pain?" she asked.
He was, but he wouldn't admit it. "It's bearable."
"Delphi told me that Angel was missing."
He didn't answer.
"It's unseemly that I come at this hour, I know," she continued. "Papa would be most distressed. But I couldn't leave without speaking to you. We're going to River's End in the morning. You know how frail my mother is. The MacKenzies' footman died of cholera yesterday, and there are reports of yellow fever near the docks. If Papa hadn't been organizing the force to move against the pirates, we would have left days ago."
"It's wise to go. Charleston was always a pest hole in summer." Finding the right words had never been a problem for him before. He and Julia had always been comfortable together. At this moment, comfortable didn't seem as important as it once had.
"I felt that I needed to explain...," she said.
She drew nearer to his bed, and he smelled her rose scent. Slippers to bonnet, Julia was a lavender vision of the latest fashion. And for the first time in his life, he wondered if she dressed in this manner because she liked the style of the clothing or simply because it was required of a Charleston lady.
"Julia...," he began.
"No, wait. Let me say what I came here to...."
"I understand perfectly."
"Can you?" She straightened and cleared her throat. Bright spots of color tinted her cheeks. "I've been frightened for your safety. First when we thought you were dead, and now this attempt on your life."
"I'm not in love with you, Julia." His tone was brusque, more so than he'd intended.
Her mouth trembled as the flush deepened and washed from cheekbones to throat. "I assumed as much," she said. "And I believe I can say the same. I can't admit to ever being in love, but we are well suited to each other. Isn't it true that the best marriages are often based on friendship?"
"Some are." He hadn't wanted to hurt Julia, but he owed her the truth. "Have I wronged you? By word or action, have I ever led you to believe that—"
"Is there someone else?"
He struggled to sit up. "I think there might be." Damn but it was hot in here! Not a breath of air stirred. He would have given his right arm to be standing on deck, sailing into a Caribbean sunrise. "Whatever else I've done, I've never lied to you."
"I see." She dabbed a lace hankie to her lips. "It is this Angel."
"She isn't the reason..." He exhaled softly. "Nothing can change the respect I feel for you... or the genuine affection. You're everything a Falcon bride should be."
"Except?"
"I said nothing about except."
"You didn't have to."
"If I loved you, Julia, no one could come between us."
"Other than the sea?"
He nodded. "Not someone. Something."
"Papa said that might be a problem, said that I was being foolish. But I know what I want from my marriage. I refuse to be a captain's widow, and I won't accept the possibility that my husband might find other... other companionship during our separations."
"You deserve more than companionship."
"I believe that I'm a better judge of what will make me happy than anyone else. And I understand that someone like Angel has a certain primitive allure. But you can't believe that she could ever make a proper wife, a mother for your children."
"Those qualities are of deep concern to me."
"Then..." Julia fluttered her hands much in the same manner he'd seen Lizzy do so often. "Nothing is settled between you?" she asked.
"No."
An essence that might have been hope flickered in her eyes. "Good," she said. "Then nothing can be settled between us, either."
"I think it must." His voice rasped, dry as sun-scorched canvas. He wanted water, but the pitcher stood on the table beyond his reach, and pride wouldn't allow him to ask for her help. "We've always been the best of friends. Can we part that way?"
She rose gracefully. "No, we cannot. You're much too ill to make such a momentous decision, to end years of affection for—"
"Affection. Not passion. Not a love great enough to bend. For me to give up the sea. For you to try to live with my absences. Deep affection, but not deep enough for either of us to compromise."
"You're feverish. Doubtless, we've both said things that we shall regret. When you recover, we'll talk again. When your mind is clear."
"Good-bye, Julia."
She smiled, avoiding his conclusion as efficiently as a swordsman blocking an opponent's descending cutlass. "I'll tell Papa that you are making a fine recovery."
"Tell your father that you've changed your mind about me," Will said. "That you've had second thoughts."
"I think not." Her smile thinned. "Do with Angel as you wish. I'm convinced that once you've had your fill of her, reason will prevail."
"Julia..."
"If it doesn't, spare me no sympathy. Our agreement was never put into words."
"You said you know what will make you happy," he said. "I envy you that. I don't know that about myself. But I know what I'm not going to settle for. I want more than comfortable. And so should you."
"Will Falcon, you are a foolish romantic. When you're stronger, come to River's End. Our door is always open to you."
* * *
Heat pressed around him. The damp sheets tangled his legs, and he kicked them off. The room was heavy with the scent of flowers... and of the woman lying next to him. He groaned and reached for her, pulling her soft flesh against his, molding her lush feminine curves against his hardness.
She sighed, a small erotic sound that thickened his blood and made her all the more desirable. Her hair, soft and springy, brushed against his naked chest, and one small hand rested against his upper thigh.
He wanted her. If the room was hot and the air moist, how much hotter and wetter she would be. The thou
ght of thrusting into those slick intimate folds made him throb with need. His growing erection pressed against her silken thigh.
"Angel." He kissed her mouth, parting her lips with his tongue... tasting the velvet depths, savoring the sensations of sharp teeth and warm tongues caressing.
He cupped her breast in his hand, teased the nub until it hardened and swelled against his fingertips. Then he bent his head and laved the sweet nipple until she sighed and arched against him.
His cock throbbed with need.
"Kiss me," she begged him sleepily. "Suck me. Hard."
Desire washed through him in bright waves. "Will." She squirmed and took hold of him, sliding her hand slowly down his stiffening length, and lightly stroked his head. He groaned as she quickened her motion, tightening her grip.
"Woman..." He gasped when she twisted and took him between her lips.
She giggled, sucking lightly.
Molten heat pumped through him. Desire thrummed in his veins. Much more, and he would explode.
"Witch," he accused. "My turn."
He pulled her up and kissed her mouth. Her arms went around his neck, and she lay against him, heart to heart and breast to breast.
"I love you," she whispered. "For always."
With a groan, he rolled on top of her, bracing his weight with one arm to keep from crushing her. Again, they kissed, slow and deep and hot.
Sweat glistened, slick on his skin as he fought for control... struggled to wait for her. "I've got something for you," he rasped.
"Promises, promises." She squirmed against him, urging him on with cries of passion.
Eagerly, he pleasured her with fingers and tongue, slowly, deliberately trailing lower, nibbling at the soft skin on her flat belly, and burying his face in her damp nest of curls.
"Yes... yes."
He slipped a finger between her legs, seeking the pulsing source of her need. "Shall I kiss you here?"
"Yes... yes."
She tossed her head from side to side as he kissed first the red-gold fluff and then hot flesh. He slid a finger inside her, slowly at first and then faster until she seized his head and pushed him down to taste her slick, sweet honey.
She wrapped her legs around him, and moaned as he teased and licked. "Deeper," she begged him. "More." Her nails dug ridges in his back as he thrust his tongue deep and brought her to shuddering climax.
"I want you," she said. "In me."
He reared up and slipped inside her, probing until he found his way. She screamed in ecstasy as he plunged to the hilt.
The tight, wet feel of her was maddening. Shedding thought and reason, he pulled back and slammed his engorged cock into her again and again. She met him thrust for thrust. And with each plunge his spasms grew hotter and stronger until, when he thought he would die, he felt the sudden gush of release. With a final thrust he carried her to paradise with him, and their excited cries mingled in the hot night.
Gasping for breath, drained of strength, almost in pain, he fell back onto the sheets. His heart crashed against his ribs. He could still taste her... feel the joy of her caress.
"Angel... Angel," he whispered into the stillness. He reached for her...
And found only emptiness.
He sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain that bore through his shoulder. His pulse raced. His mouth was dry. Memories of what he'd just experienced tumbled through his mind.
"Angel?"
It had been so real... as tangible as the thick bandage wrapped tightly around him.
The candle had gone out. The room was still. Not even a curtain stirred. He sighed heavily, not wanting to let go of the image of Angel beneath him... of her expression when he'd entered her... of her sweet cries of fulfillment.
"A dream," he whispered. "Nothing more than a dream."
Hollow, aching loss welled inside him.
His stomach turned over. He was alone, and the woman he wanted beside him was still missing... maybe lost to him forever.
* * *
Angel flattened her back against the wall as the three men halted long enough for one to take a piss.
"...get a drink," a harsh male voice said.
She heard a belch, and then the unmistakable sound of spewing. Her stomach clenched as the smell hit her.
"Had yer share, ain't you?" Archie Gunn jeered.
Angel held her breath. How had Archie gotten out of jail? If he found her here... her heart thudded, surely loud enough for them to hear.
"You buyin' or not?"
Perspiration trickled down Angel's back.
"Hell, yes. More where that came from," Archie's words slurred. Footsteps moved away.
When Angel could no longer hear voices, she fled in the opposite direction. And after only two false turns, she found herself on the narrow street behind Will's property.
In less time than it would take to dig worms for bait, Angel avoided the guard who had chased her earlier, and reached the deeper shadows of the house.
Treading lightly on the damp grass, Angel moved along the walls until she found what she was looking for. Scrambling up onto a rain barrel, she climbed onto the roof of the summer kitchen. The cedar shakes were damp and moss-covered, but she took her time.
Cautiously, she made her way over the peak to a decorative brick ledge that ran across the top of the first-floor windows. There was barely room for her to get a toehold. In shoes, it would have been impossible. But she moved inch by inch, clinging to the rough wall until she reached the balcony.
Twisting vines growing up the side of the house made the rest as easy as opening oysters. She scooted up over the railing and slipped into Will's chamber.
"Who's there?" he called.
She gave her best imitation of a cat's meow.
"Angel? Is that you?"
She sighed in disgust. She was sorry she'd hadn't pretended to be an owl. She could do a perfect screech owl. "Aye," she admitted sheepishly. "It's me."
He came up off the bed.
She ran to him and caught him in her arms. "Nay. Nay, Will. You'll tear your shoulder. Lie back."
He hugged her tightly against him. "Where were you?"
"Lie back," she said. "Lie back, and I'll lay with ye and tell you whatever you wish to know." With soothing murmurs, she pushed him back. "You are a terrible patient."
He groaned.
"I'm sorry." She rounded the bed and climbed up beside him. "I didn't run," she said. "I was chased. A great fellow with a belaying pin. He said I had no business in your garden."
Will swore. "You should have known that it was a mistake."
"I should have?" She sniffed. "So you say. But he wasn't chasing you." She pushed a pillow behind him. "Lie back now. I'll not have ye bleeding like a stuck pig.”
"Where have you been? Why didn't you go to Lizzy's?"
"You're a fine one to talk," she replied. "And me thinkin' you were dying. Look at you. Feet set on the crow road one day and standing on them the next."
He caught her hand and squeezed it. "I thought I'd lost you."
She swallowed. She wanted to kiss him, to say that she'd never go. But she couldn't. She'd heard what Julia had said to him in Lady Graymoor's hall. And as much as she loved Will, she'd not ruin his life.
She wouldn't shame him with her wild ways. He was a gentleman, and he deserved to have a lady at his side. Julia had spoken truth when she said that she, Angel, wasn't fit to be Will's wife. As soon as he recovered, she would go. But not yet. For now, she could be with him.
She snuggled close and put her head on his shoulder. Will slipped his good arm around her and kissed the crown of her head.
"You cost me most of a night's sleep," he admitted.
She held her tongue. It wouldn't do to worry him that she'd almost stumbled into the arms of Archie Gunn. That could wait until he was stronger. And there was no need at all to trouble Will by explaining how she'd come close to escaping from Charleston by climbing aboard a northbound ship and hiding herself amid the s
tacked cargo.
"There's sickness in the town," she said. "I smelled it. And I heard people on the streets. Fever, they say."
"You didn't go near them?"
"Nay. Not me. I'm good at hiding." And at changing my mind when I've made a mistake, she thought. When push came to shove, she just couldn't abandon Will. Not yet.
"Give me your word that you won't do that again."
Not likely. "If you'll give me yours that you won't go after Cap'n and Bett and the others."
"I can't do that."
"Then I'll make ye no promises, Will Falcon." And live to regret none, she thought. For when I'm certain of your safety, I'll hide away to somewhere you'll never find me, and leave you to what's rightfully yours.
Chapter 21
Three days later, two of Delphi's sons supported Will as he walked the last steps to a high-backed garden bench. The housekeeper came after them, quilt in hand.
Will waved her away. "No blankets. Have you lost your mind? It's hot enough to fry eggs on the bricks."
"Not in the shade, it's not," she fussed. She folded the quilt and laid it on the bench beside Will. "Abraham, Benjamin, don't you go too far. We'll need you to help Mr. Will back upstairs later."
"Yes, ma'am," replied the eldest, a tall broad-shouldered fisherman. His brother Benjamin grinned and nodded as they strolled off toward the stables.
"Sukie will be out with the tea tray," Delphi said, "but I'll be in the kitchen." She surveyed critically a table laden with fruit juices, punch, gingerbread, and small apple tarts. "You need anything, you just shout out." She moved a chair, rearranged the flowered porcelain dessert plates, and adjusted the stack of folded napkins. "Anything at all."
Will chuckled. "I'll be fine, Delphi."
He was impatient to make a full recovery before the fleet sailed. Although his fever was gone, and his appetite beginning to come back, he was still concerned about his ability to travel to the Outer Banks and fight when he got there.
"You oughta be in bed another week," Delphi said. "No tellin' what you'll catch out here. All that sickness in town."
"Go on. I'm fine," he repeated. In truth, his head hurt, and walking downstairs had taken more effort than he'd expected.
A dog yipped. Will turned to see Lizzy coming down the pathway from her backyard, followed by three turbaned footmen, the entire pack of spaniels, and Griffin.
Falcon's Angel Page 19
