My Seaswept Heart

by Christine Dorsey

  The pirate hadn’t tried to force her, though she knew he wished her to swim out farther with him. He would come back from his daily excursions with tales of the wondrous, rainbow-colored fish he saw. Or describe Lucy’s antics in such vivid detail, that she knew he embellished, trying to make the adventure seem more tantalizing. More unmissable.

  But it wasn’t the adventure that lured Anne toward the coral rocks. It was the pirate captain himself. As odd as it seemed. As incomprehensible as it was a mere fortnight ago, Anne wanted to please him. To witness his smile of pride when she reached him.

  Anne paddled her way to the surface and worked her arms and feet the way he taught her to stay up. She’d been practicing, inching her way out beyond where she could touch bottom. Not far beyond. But far enough to know she could do it... for long periods of time, if necessary.

  Anne’s toes twitched with the desire to feel sand beneath them. And she wondered just how far down she’d have to drop to find solid ground. But she didn’t attempt to find out. Instead she slowly moved in a circle, quickly shading her eyes, then windmilling her hands back into the water when she felt herself sinking.

  The glare made it difficult to see, so she squinted her eyes. But she still couldn’t find Jamie. Yelling for him was an option, but Anne dismissed it as silly. She could swim farther. She could swim to the rocks. Then wouldn’t he be surprised when he saw her there.

  Diving back beneath the surface Anne struck out toward the formation that formed the boundary of what she thought of as their harbor. Lucy swam around the area, Anne often sat onshore and watched the dolphin arc into the air and land with a playful splash. Jamie most often was with her, especially in the morning.

  The next time Anne surfaced it took her longer to catch her breath. Her arms were beginning to feel as if she were dragging several cannonballs with her. And she had to concentrate on keeping her leg motions slow. Flailing about would only make her sink. She didn’t want to sink. Anne swallowed down the panic, along with a dose of seawater that sent her into a coughing spasm.

  Stay calm. She could almost hear the captain’s voice giving her the advice.

  She could do it. But first she would rest. Leaning her head back, Anne allowed her body to float to the surface. Relax. She studied the clouds, wondering why she couldn’t find a single discernible shape to any of them, then twisted around to swim some more.

  She sank lower than she wished, then frantically shoved her way to the surface, gulping air and more seawater. She jerked around to look toward the shore, then the rocks, trying to decide which was closer.

  The rocks won.

  Wishing it weren’t so, Anne took a deep breath and headed toward the formation. She thought of the captain as she forced her arms to pull through the water. Of the way he looked. His smell. His taste. Of where he might be this very moment.

  But though she pulled herself up often to look, there was no sign of him.

  Still, the coral rocks loomed larger and with a sob of victory Anne lowered her head and body and surged forward.

  It was then she saw the gray shape swimming toward her. Lucy, she thought, and experienced a shiver of relief mixed with fear. The dolphin for all her fun-loving ways did not know Anne. It was Jamie she doted on. Jamie she protected.

  Would she even care what happened to Anne?

  The question became moot, and the twinge of fear became overpowering when Anne realized her mistake. It wasn’t Lucy at all undulating its way toward her.

  She opened her mouth to scream and choked on seawater.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The jacket slung over his shoulder to form a pouch was bulging with conch shells to make Anne’s dinner. Jamie whistled as he sauntered along the sandy path toward what he was beginning to think of as home. He woke earlier than usual this morning and wandered off toward the far side of the island, deciding to dive for the savory mollusks.

  Because Annie was fond of them. He brought them several times before, and each time she relished their meat roasted in the coals. The last time, day before yesterday, she admitted, the conch was her favorite island meal. She liked it even better than the green turtle soup they made.

  Enough incentive to send him diving into the rougher waters off the rock-littered western coast.

  Jamie stopped whistling the Scottish folksong as this last thought caught hold. He was growing fond of her... more than fond. Jamie didn’t give a name to the feelings that swelled within him at the thought of Annie, but he knew they were strong enough to send him foraging around the sea bottom for these large snails he didn’t even like.

  Strong enough, too, to make him hope she was awake. Or wonder if she’d mind if he brought her into the day with a kiss or so. The thought brought a smile to his face and a stirring to his groin as Jamie stepped into the early-morning sunshine.

  One glance told him the beach was deserted. Good, she was up. As someone who’d always enjoyed his first view of day early, Jamie found it amusing how Anne preferred to ease into it. She’d stretch her delectable body, yawn, and slowly open those big, golden brown eyes.

  Jamie sighed. His arousal was more than a mere twitch, now, and since she was already awake they might as well make the most of it. He set the jacket pouch on the sand near the burned-out fire, then glanced toward the forest as she liked to call the stretch of dense vegetation that formed the island’s interior

  Anne now considered it her job to collect wood each day. She chose only dead limbs she found on the ground and brought them back, stacking them neatly beneath the overhang of the lean-to. To keep them dry, she informed him one day in that no-nonsense way she sometimes had. Jamie’s chuckle scattered a gull who showed too keen an interest in what lay beneath Anne’s ragged jacket. Jamie was even beginning to like the woman’s bossy ways... as long as he kept them in check, he added to himself.

  “Annie,” he called, losing patience. “There be a pirate waiting for ye with a powerful hunger for the taste of your lips.” He listened for the sound of her laughter to drift to him on the breeze that always swept the cay.

  His first inkling that something was amiss came when he heard nothing but the squawking gulls and the rattle of palm fronds over the backdrop of surf. She never wandered far from the beach when she collected firewood. He called again, this time cupping his hands to his mouth. He was used to yelling loud enough to be heard over the din of battle. There was no way she couldn’t know he called her.

  Jamie turned full circle. Looking. Stopping, his jaw dropping when he caught sight of her, her head barely above water, near the rocks.

  Before his mind could begin to comprehend what she was doing out there, by herself, Jamie was splashing into the surf. He dove beneath the surface, driving his hands through the water and pulling back with all his strength. She wasn’t a strong swimmer, by God. He pushed to the surface to take a breath and get his bearings. Then kicked back under.

  What in the hell did she think she was doing? Jamie’s heart pounded, and he knew it wasn’t all from exertion. If anything happened to her... Jamie wouldn’t allow himself to complete that thought as he knifed smoothly through the clear swells.

  She’d be all right. He repeated the thought again and again in his mind, like a litany. She’d float until he could reach her. Jamie lifted his head to yell for her to do just that.

  And saw the dorsal fin slice through the water between them.

  His hand clamped over the knife handle tied to his waist. His fingers shook so out of fear for her that they slipped, and he almost dropped the weapon. But he managed to hold on. Ducking beneath the water he wove around behind the shark, hoping he could get close enough before it was too late.

  Before the predator tired of stalking Anne and moved in for the kill.

  ~ ~ ~

  Anne’s arms felt like lead and her legs could barely move. It seemed with each second that passed her head slipped a bit further into the water.

  And still the shark circled her.

  Anne to
ok her eyes off the sleek gray shape to gaze longingly at the rocks to her right. If she could just strike out and swim there, perhaps she could climb... The notion lingered just out of reach as she jerked her sights back to the shark.

  What if she tried to leave the swirling prison and it attacked? Or what if she swam into its path as she made her escape? Or what if she couldn’t make it at all, and...? There were so many ifs, they seemed to paralyze her.

  And then from the corner of her eyes she sensed a movement. Her heart lifted only to plummet lower than the sea floor.

  “Go back Jamie,” she yelled, coughing when water splashed into her mouth. “There’s a shark!”

  “Be still.” Jamie stopped worrying about sneaking up on the mammoth fish and surged forward.

  “No, Jamie.” Tears poured from Anne’s eyes, mingling with the salt water already dripping from her hair. “No....”

  He was perhaps five rods from Anne and the shark when Jamie ventured another look. What he saw made his blood run cold. With a frenzy Jamie began slapping the water and kicking. Anything to make a distraction.

  He was coming at her. Anne held her breath, her eyes wide as she saw the giant mouth gaping open, showing row upon row of sharp jagged teeth. Closer and closer it came until the sight of the yawning aperture consumed her full vision.

  So this was how her life was to end. Anne sucked in her breath wishing she’d had more time with the pirate, wishing many things. Most of all that he didn’t sacrifice himself for a lost cause. That he would swim back to shore as quickly as he could.

  Anne shut her eyes unable to face the awful truth. The monster mouth. And she waited. And waited.

  Water surged around her and Anne’s eyes popped open in time to see another shape, this one brownish with elongated spots shoot toward the shark.

  Lucy.

  The dolphin emitted a shrill whistle as she plunged full-force toward Anne’s attacker. The dolphin’s prominent snout bashed into the predator’s side, knocking it off its course... and gaining Lucy the shark’s attention. The sun shone off its teeth as the shark turned toward Lucy. Anne thought the dolphin would pay with its life as the shark lunged toward her. But before teeth could connect with flesh the dolphin dipped, contorting itself about and swimming beneath the charging shark.

  But the shark was also an agile swimmer, and it was in a feeding frenzy. This time when the dolphin attacked, the shark twisted, meeting her head-on. There was a loud thump as their bodies hit, and then the sound of Jamie yelling for her to get away.

  Frantic now, Anne flailed her arms, moving as quickly as she could toward the outcropping of coral. The thrashing of the shark and dolphin sent the water boiling, the swells higher. Anne arched her neck trying to see above the foam, trying to find Jamie. She’d lost sight of him, and hoped he was on the rocks by now. But just as that thought caught her imagination she heard a loud roar.

  Twisting her head she saw him, arm raised, body poised beside the shark. Anne screamed, but it did no good. The captain slashed at the sea monster, slicing into the shark’s back with the knife.

  Crimson stained the turquoise.

  When the mighty fish plunged beneath the surface, Jamie followed it.

  Anne could see nothing now. Not Jamie, nor the shark, nor the dolphin. It was as if suddenly they all decided to leave her in peace. Yet there was no peace. Not knowing what else to do Anne continued toward the rocks. When she was close she kicked. Catching her foot on a sharp protrusion, but ignoring the pain, she scurried up the outcrop and turned to scan the water.

  Where was he? Why didn’t the captain resurface? Anne didn’t want to think of the reasons. She didn’t want to think at all.

  Then from her position above the water she spotted them. Jamie faced the counterattacking shark, which was unmistakably trailing blood. As before Lucy propelled herself at the shark’s flank when it made a rush at the captain.

  The force of the dolphin’s headlong impact left the shark slow and listless in the water. But more importantly, again facing Lucy. Jamie didn’t need an invitation to seize the moment. He lunged with the knife, driving the blade deeply behind the shark’s gills, then pulled smartly to open a long, deep wound. This roused the large shark from its doldrums and it swam haltingly out to sea, blood gushing from its wounds.

  “Jamie! Jamie!”

  He appeared dazed, but her cries finally seemed to register and he moved her way.

  “Are ye all right, Annie?” he called, his voice breathless. He stopped abruptly as he climbed onto the rocks. “My God, did it bite ye?”

  At first Anne didn’t know what he meant, then she glanced down at her foot and saw the blood. The sight surprised her because she honestly didn’t feel anything. But she did remember kicking the sharp coral. “It’s just a scratch, from the rocks,” she told him, wincing when he scrambled up the jagged rocks to grab her foot. Now she could feel it. “It’s nothing, really,” Anne insisted. “Are you...?” Emotion clogged her throat and she couldn’t continue. She reached down, her fingers skimming his water-slick hair.

  When he looked up Anne thought she might drown in the blue-green depths of his eyes. Her fingers traced down his cheek and he turned, pressing his mouth against her salty skin.

  “We have to get back to the cay,” he said.

  Anne couldn’t help it. She glanced toward the water, then shook her head. Her voice was small. “I can’t.”

  “Ye must.” He reached up grabbing her chin when she would have shaken her head again. “Ye must and ye can, Annie.” His gaze caught her and it was as if he imbued her with his strength.

  “I can help ye, but ye must help yourself, too.”

  Anne took a deep breath, trying to stave off the tears that lay just beneath the surface. He was so strong and intrepid, and she wouldn’t appear the coward in front of him. She wouldn’t. Anne swallowed. “All right,” she said, forcing her voice to be steady. “I can do it.”

  “That’s my lass,” he said and smiled.

  And Anne thought her heart would burst.

  In that moment she realized she’d do anything for him... or die trying.

  But making herself slide back into the water was harder than she thought it would be. The memory of the shark, its jagged-toothed mouth, tore at her confidence. When she caught sight of a dark shape undulating through the water, Anne gasped.

  “’Tis but Lucy.”

  Other memories flooded back. Of the dolphin attacking the shark, giving her time to escape. “Is she all right?”

  “Aye.” Jamie grinned as he reached out a hand to help her into the sea. “She’s a tough old bird,” he said. As if the dolphin heard the compliment and the warmth behind the words, she lifted her long snouted head above the water and emitted a series of clicking noises.

  Pushing away from the rocks, Anne laughed nervously. “It’s almost as if she’s talking to us.”

  “Perhaps she is.”

  There were times during the swim back to shore that Anne wondered if she could go on. Fatigue washed over her as steadily as the swells of warm water. But whenever she thought her arms couldn’t move, or her feet couldn’t kick, the captain was there with something amusing to say. Besides, she knew after his battle with the shark, he must be as weary as she. So she kept going.

  They were both breathless as they stumbled ashore, collapsing to their knees, then rolling face up onto the sand. Side by side they lay, waiting for their hearts to stop pounding.

  Jamie twisted his head to look at her, and Anne did the same. For a moment they simply stared, then as if a dam broke, began laughing. After jerking the knife from his waistband and tossing it aside, Jamie shifted toward her, leaning on his elbow.

  “Just what were ye doing out there, by yourself?” His question might have seemed harsh except for the gentle expression on his face and the caress of his fingertip.

  “I... I wanted to surprise you.”

  “Well, ye sure as hell did that.”

  “I know it was f
oolish, but I’d been practicing and I wanted to show you how well I could swim, but you weren’t there.” Anne gulped air after delivering that speech.

  “I was on the lee side of the island, diving for conch.”

  “But you don’t like conch.”

  He grinned. “Ye do.” Jamie’s palm curved around her cheek. “But we were talking about ye.”

  “I’ve told you most everything. I swam out, and got very tired. And then the shark came, and it seemed like forever that it circled me. Almost as if it knew my fear and toyed with me.” Anne’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think that’s possible?”

  Jamie’s shrug was noncommittal. “I can’t say, Annie, but I do know this.” He let his breath out slowly, deliberately. “’Tis glad I am that you’re safe.” Jamie lowered his head, anticipating the moment when their lips would meet. He tasted her surrender, and the remnants of fear, and the kiss deepened.

  Anne’s arms locked around his neck, holding on as if she’d never let him go. She thought of this, of the strong feel of him when the shark imprisoned her. And she feared she’d never know the sweet oblivion of his touch again. But now he was here, warm and sturdy, and real.

  His mouth left hers to feast on the tender skin of her neck. She wore his shirt, but it was soaked and nearly transparent, molded to her body enticingly. And Jamie already knew he couldn’t resist her.

  She was arching and wriggling beneath him when he clamped his mouth over her straining nipple. Jamie was so aroused he almost didn’t notice her flinch. He lifted his head, his breath rasping. “’Tis something wrong?”

  Though she shook her head, Jamie could see the lines of pain around her mouth. “What...?” In that instant he remembered her foot, and glanced down. The jagged cut was bleeding and bruised, and Jamie felt like a fool for not tending it earlier.

  She protested when he carried her back to their pallet. “I’m perfectly fine. It’s just a little scratch.”

  Ignoring her words Jamie set her down and preceded to examine her foot. He cleansed it with clear water from the pond, then wrapped it with the lining from her coat.