Defiant

by Jessica Trapp

  Silently, Gwyneth said a prayer of thanksgiving. Jared had come for her, and the women would be safe.

  “This way, ladies.” Hope renewed, she began leading them toward the back to the ship just as Irma had instructed. The briny breeze lifted her shortened hair. The ship rocked and swayed. Seabirds cawed.

  “By order of the king, this ship is under arrest!”

  Gwyneth whirled as she heard the words being boomed out across the deck.

  Jared stood, staff in hand, legs braced wide apart on the bow of the ship. Desire shot through her. He wore a solid black tunic and black breeches and was the most wonderful sight she had ever seen. Her legs tensed and she wanted to run to him, wrap her arms around him, and never let him go.

  Montgomery and men dressed in garments depicting them as members of the king’s guard stood beside him. Swords glinted, and the men who had taken her and Irma captive had their hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. She saw the jailor with the uneven earlobes. The judge was also in the crowd.

  A breath of relief whooshed from her lungs. Another ship, one flying banners that she recognized as Montgomery’s, was pulled alongside the ship that they were on.

  “Jared!”

  His head lifted at the sound of her voice. Their gaze caught and he hoisted his staff as if in greeting. The carved dragon looked majestic against the backdrop of the ship and sea. Wind lifted Jared’s dark hair so that strands of it beat around his striking features. “Lady wife.”

  They stared at each other awkwardly and she realized she was still unsure where she stood with him. Irma had said that he loved her, but his dark face gave her pause.

  “You must explain your experiences to the magistrate,” Montgomery said.

  Behind her, the women whispered among themselves.

  Jared held out his hand, a gesture both tender and strong. “Come, Gwyneth. You are mine.”

  Her heart soared at his words. Lifting her skirts, she raced to him. Their bodies melded together as he lifted her in his arms and squeezed her tightly. Their hearts thumped against each other. He felt warm, so very warm, and she wanted to bury herself in his embrace.

  Her fingers wound into his thick, straight locks. “I thought you had abandoned me.”

  His green eyes smoldered and his breath caressed her cheek. He touched the wooden bracelet on her arm. “Her price is far above rubies. ”

  “I do not deser—”

  Her protest was cut off as his lips crashed down on hers. Gwyneth felt herself being sucked into a storm of passion. Jared’s tongue breached all her defenses and pushed past her lips to intertwine with her own. All the activity around them seemed to disappear until only heat and heartbeats remained.

  Montgomery cleared his throat.

  Gwyneth started. Jared released her slightly but his arms still curved around her waist possessively. They turned back to the circle of men and the ones they held captive.

  “What is the meaning of this, Montgomery?” demanded the judge. His wig hung askew, just as it had before.

  “These men planned to sell my wife as a slave.” Jared pointed at the ruffians.

  A barrel overturned on the deck and rolled toward them. Irma crashed through crates, rigging, and chains. The long silver-gold hair flowed behind her.

  Burly men chased her, swords drawn. “Come back here, bitch!”

  The magistrate puffed out his chest. “Arrest those men too!”

  “Halt!” called one of the king’s men, leaving the circle of the others. “Wh—”

  The men chasing Irma looked confused as they were stopped and hauled over to the rest of the group.

  Irma stumbled to the edge of the deck and propped herself against the railing, panting. “At last.”

  “Explain!” demanded the judge.

  “They planned to kill me because they thought I was Gwyneth of Windrose,” panted Irma, indicating the long silver-and-gold wig. “They knew that she had information about the illegal slavery. ”

  Seeing her opportunity, Gwyneth cleared her throat and stepped forward. She pointed to the women who huddled together at the back of the ship. Elfreda’s eyes were wide like two round moons. “Many women have been sold into slavery to brutal masters. I have dedicated my life to freeing them.”

  The magistrate’s hands twitched and his eyes shifted. He signaled his men to keep watch over the men being held prisoner and motioned at Gwyneth, Jared, Montgomery, and Irma. “Come. We have much to discuss.”

  The full moon beamed down on them as Gwyneth and Jared, hand in hand, climbed the steps to their home. She squeezed his palm, her heart filled nearly to bursting with the events that had happened this day.

  “You saved all of them,” she said, amazed. “And stopped the inhuman trade altogether.” He had accomplished something she’d never thought possible. “I am not even sure how you managed to round up enough men in such a hurry.”

  He smiled at her, a warm glow in his agate eyes. “It wasn’t difficult to make the magistrate nervous once I threatened him with public exposure about my wrongful imprisonment. And James owed me a favor—he is the king’s enforcer, after all.”

  “But you did it all for me.”

  “Of course.” He raised her hand to his lips. His mustache tickled her skin as he kissed her palm. “It was very brave of you to face the prison.”

  She swallowed. “But, Jared … I … I was telling the truth. I really am a murderess.”

  He tugged her into his arms so that her head was tucked under his chin. “Irma explained it all.”

  “She said that you went to see her. ”

  “I did. She told me about how Rafe had raped her in the woods. How you took a stick and bashed his head and then the two of you hid the body in the river. ”

  “You aren’t angry with me?”

  “How could I be angry with you for acting for justice?”

  She thought of the scars that crisscrossed his legs. “You spent three years in prison for a crime you did not commit—for something that I did.”

  “But I am alive.”

  Guilt weighted down her shoulders. “You have such scars.”

  “Perhaps if I would not have gone to jail, they would have arrested you and you would have been sold as the other women were.” He pulled her close to him, embracing her as if she were the most precious thing in the world. “I could not live with myself if that would have happened. I’m glad I was in prison, because it kept you safe.”

  His patience and generosity touched her heart. He was so different than the other men she knew.

  “And I found my daughter as well.”

  “Your daughter?”

  “Elizabeth. She’s mine. From Colette.”

  Gwyneth’s brows drew together. “She is?”

  “I will explain it all later. She had on the wooden necklace I had given to her mother.”

  “You gave her a necklace?”

  Reaching down, he spun the bracelet on her wrist. “Colette thought my gift was beneath her.”

  “She was a fool, Jared.”

  Jared shrugged.

  Gwyneth ran her finger down the length of his arm, admiring the way his muscles danced under her fingers. “The gift was not the necklace, my lord. The gift was the man who carved it.”

  His shoulders rounded and moisture gathered in his eyes.

  She touched his cheek. “What is this?” She wiped away a wayward tear before it could fall. She touched it to her lips, tasting its saltiness.

  “No one has ever called me a gift before,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “My own mother—”

  Standing on tiptoes, she kissed his lips. His goatee tickled her skin. “—was a fool as well to not recognize what a treasure you are.”

  Candles glowed in the sconces as they traversed the hallway to their chamber. She turned her face to one side and batted her eyes flirtatiously at him. “I thought you were quite a gift when I had you tied to the cot.”

  Hunger gleamed in his eyes. The c
orners of his mouth lifted in a predatory, knowing smile.

  They reached the door, but before it could be opened, she stopped. She turned to Jared and ran her hands boldly up his chest. “There is something I would like to ask you.”

  “Aye?”

  “Jared, my lord, will you marry me?”