She turned around, startled she had company in the cell with her. The man was a lot shorter than Dulac, and his dark hair and handsome face had her heart fluttering for the second time that day. She placed her right hand on her hip. “Excuse me?”
“Well, that derriere belongs only on a woman.”
She snorted and turned her back on him. “You’re wrong.”
Seconds later, a hand reached from behind and grabbed her right breast. She growled and spun around, punching him as hard as she could in the jaw. Surprised, his hand rubbed where she had hit.
“Nice,” he muttered. “Small, but nice.”
She hit him again. “Keep your blasted hands to yourself.”
“I could say the same for you.”
“Hey, I didn’t grab your breast,” she fumed.
He smiled devilishly. “You can if you want to.”
She went to hit him again, but he jabbed her in the stomach with his fist. She doubled over in pain, the wind knocked out of her. He leaned close to her face.
“I take it you’ve never been hit by a real man before.”
“Give me a sword.” She strained to pull air into her lungs. “And I’ll show you how I deal with men like you.”
He straightened up. “Hmm, that should be interesting. I look forward to that day.”
He took a seat on a crate. “Where were you when my mates were taking control of your ship?”
She sank to her knees and struggled to get out the words. “My captain made me hide. Said Cap’n LeBlanc would sell me to the highest bidder if he caught me.”
The man nodded. “Ah, I see. So he knew you’re female?”
She glared at him. “I think I’m through with talking to you.”
He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to her feet. Then he pressed her against the bars, leaning his body close to her. “I’ll say when we’re through talking. You got that? Or I’ll take you here and now, and no one will be the wiser.”
The color drained from her face, and her mouth went dry. Her courage, however, never flagged. “And then I’ll kill you.”
His face remained expressionless for a moment. Then he laughed in her face. “You mean you’ll try.”
His tone turned serious. “Come now. I’ll keep your secret, but you must do as I say. If not, I’ll show the world what you are, and you know how superstitious men are about women on a ship.”
“That’s rubbish. We’ve had naught but luck since I came aboard their miserable ship.”
“Until now.”
Her fury faded to fear, and despite her instincts warning her not to trust him, she forced her head up and down. “Fine,” she grumbled through gritted teeth.
“Then you agree? Whatever I want?”
Misery clouded her soul, but she nodded again. “Aye.”
The fiend kissed her long and hard. It was anything but pleasant. In fact, she thought a slimy eel had slipped into her mouth. Thank God. Not my soul mate.
She pushed against him with all her strength, and when he relinquished his hold, she stumbled back against the bars. He laughed as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that your first real kiss?”
She stuck her nose in the air. “No, not that it’s your business.”
A throat cleared, and Jesse turned to see Dulac watching. For some reason, she wanted to run to him and seek his protection from the beast behind her. Circumstance, however, prevented that.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your little romance, but...” He paused, wrinkling his brows. “Wait, you two know each other?”
Jesse wished she had her dagger to throw at him. She curled her lip up and started to respond, but the man behind her spoke first.
“Of course.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “He’s my cabin boy.”
If the situation hadn’t been so horrible, she would have thoroughly enjoyed the look that crossed Dulac’s face. As it was, her stomach turned ice cold.
Dulac quickly composed himself. “Well, since you two are together, that rules out you being the boy the other ship is looking for.”
Jesse gulped and started to speak, but the man stepped lightly on her bare toe. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
Dulac narrowed his eyes at her. “Why did you lie about trying to steal this ship from LeBlanc?”
“He’s a known liar, sir, and as I raised him from the time I found him, I can tell when he’s lying,” the man holding her stated.
“That’s a load of—”
He clamped his hand over her mouth and looked apologetically at Dulac. “Sorry. I guess he was trying to get the ship back for Cap’n LeBlanc.”
Dulac shrugged. “Well, that explains why that Flint fellow looked confused when I called the boy a man-lover.”
He started to leave, but the man stopped him. “What are you planning to do with us?”
“Maybe, if you’re good, we’ll drop you off at the next island we come across.”
Jesse rolled her eyes. Oh great, now I’m being marooned with this lunatic.
“What if we pledge allegiance to you and your crew?”
Dulac hesitated, thinking the thought through. “Let me think on it and take a vote. We could use all the deck hands we can get.”
“Thank you, sir. By the by, my name’s Rod, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. That was a nasty blow to the head you gave me last night.”
Dulac just nodded and took his leave.
Chapter 2
April 11, 1900
Dulac sat on a crate outside the cell with crossed arms and a frown. “They voted no.”
Jesse’s heart sank to her feet. She blinked back womanly tears at the thought of being alone on an island with Rod. She grimaced at the memory of his eel-like kiss.
Dulac continued. “But they fail to realize that I need your help in identifying LeBlanc.”
Rod narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“Well, it was never my intention to keep his schooner. I simply wanted to prove to him that I’m an excellent thief.”
“If you go back to that island, he’ll kill you,” Rod warned.
Dulac just smiled. “Not if I come back with the other ship that escaped.”
Jesse’s eyes widened at the news. “What’d you do with her crew?”
“Locked up in its hold,” he replied, avoiding eye contact with her.
Relieved, she relaxed, but not much as Rod had her hand in a death grip. In fact, if he squeezed any harder, she feared he’d pop her hand off.
“What do you hope to gain?” Rod squinted, still suspicious.
“A partner.”
Rod laughed long and hard. “LeBlanc operates alone.”
Dulac raised an eyebrow and leaned forward conspiratorially. “Ah, but I have it on good word that there’s a ship full of wealthy people heading to the islands from New Orleans.”
As Rod digested the information, Jesse saw his dark eyes calculate the possibilities. He chewed his lower lip. “Why not claim it by yourself?”
“It’ll be heavily guarded with men on it from the Lifesaving Service. I’ll need his expertise and all the help I can get. I figure two fully manned buccaneer ships against one will tip the scale in our favor.”
Rod sighed and pursed his lips. “What do I get out of this?”
“I’ll give you an extra five percent of the loot.”
“Fifteen.”
“Ten.”
Rod smiled with a shark’s cunning. “Deal.”
* * * *
Jesse held her arms out to balance herself on the shaky plank. The water below sparkled in the early morning light. This part of the cove was deep, and she wondered if there were any sharks about. Forlornly, she looked over her shoulder at Dulac.
“You cut the anchor,” he scowled. “You find it.”
He tugged on the thick rope about her waist. The weight of it alone would cause her to sink to the bottom. “Once you attach this, you can come back up. Don�
�t let me see your face until then.”
“But what if I run out of breath?”
He glared at her. “You don’t come back on board until your task is done, and don’t think of trying to escape.”
To reemphasize, he tugged on a smaller rope tied to her ankle. She longed to throw the huge hook in her hand at him. The thicker rope had a hook attached to it, and she wondered if it would help her in a shark attack.
The plank under her feet bounced, and she almost lost her footing. Her eyes darted to Dulac, who shook it impatiently.
“Go on now. I don’t want to stay tied up to the other ship for too long.”
Jesse took a big gulp of air and dove. The sharp chill of the water shocked her at first, but she focused on her task. The water formed a cocoon around her, blocking out sound and, further down, sight. It was like searching for sunken treasure blindfolded.
She swam close to the bottom for a time before lack of oxygen forced her to surface. She gulped in air and dove again. This time, it occurred to her to look for the rope that should still be attached to the anchor.
An hour later, she was allowed back onto the ship. Wet and weary, she plopped down on the deck. Two male legs appeared in front of her, but she was too tired to look up. Dulac knelt and cut the rope off her ankle. He hesitated as he studied her foot.
His touch sent a pleasant warmth up her leg, and she made the mistake of looking into his sky-blue eyes. Her heart danced around her chest. The spell wrapped around them, and once again, the world fell away. For the heartbeat of a second, she was his, and it was then that she knew he could possess her. But would he ever want to?
“My God,” he whispered. “You even have a woman’s foot.”
He dropped her foot as if it were an eel and put some space between them. His face twisted in perplexity. “Why would you cut the anchor of your own ship?”
Jesse closed her eyes, remembering Rod’s threat to expose her. She desperately wanted to correct the notion she was part of LeBlanc’s crew. Instead, she refused to answer him.
His face darkened, and he hauled her to her feet. “Fine. Take your place by your friend, then.”
* * * *
Jesse sat beside Rod in the rowboat. Two of Dulac’s men held a revolver to each of their temples. She shivered at its cold touch and prayed they didn’t accidentally click the trigger.
The boat rocked gently as they stopped a few yards from the beach. The angry group of marooned pirates waited at the water’s edge. Rod held up his hand for them to stop.
“I would speak with Captain LeBlanc,” Dulac’s voice boomed.
The group on shore remained strangely quiet but gave each other questioning looks. Dulac cleared his throat and repeated his request.
Rod spoke. “He has a proposition to offer you. A rather good one, at that.”
After another moment of silence, the crowd parted, and a slim fellow of about thirty stepped forward. Jesse thought he looked a lot like Rod.
“You steal my ships and have the audacity to return?” the man sneered. “I’ll see you dead before the sun sets.”
“Correction. I stole one ship. The other had escaped, and I am merely returning it to you,” Dulac stated.
LeBlanc crossed his arms. “What be yer proposition?”
“We team up and overtake The Bountiful. Its cargo is wealthy men and women on holiday to the islands.”
LeBlanc laughed. “I don’t need you to do that.”
“It’ll be heavily guarded with men from the Lifesaving Service, and we’d outnumber them two to one, what with my crew and yours.”
Jesse watched LeBlanc rub his beard in contemplation. She saw that although appearing to stare generally in their direction, his attention seemed to focus on Rod. She glanced at Rod in time to see him nod in approval. Her gaze returned to LeBlanc as he accepted Dulac’s offer. Why does he need affirmation from Rod?
“I’d first be knowing with whom I’m partnering up.” LeBlanc’s voice boomed across the beach.
“Captain Cristienne Dulac from New Orleans, at your service, sir.”
Jesse eyed Dulac. She thought he talked strange for a pirate but shrugged aside her misgivings. Pirates abounded from all over the world and for different reasons. Who am I to judge?
“You have yourself a deal then, Dulac.” LeBlanc smiled.
Jesse noted the greed that played upon LeBlanc’s face. It stabbed her in the heart, for that sin had taken her captain’s life. She gritted her teeth and placed her hand as casually as possible on Rod’s knee. She was determined to get close to LeBlanc. After all, she had a death to avenge.
* * * *
“Awright. Here’s the deal. Half a yer men come w’ me, and half a mine go w’ you.”
“Fair enough,” Dulac replied.
“And,” LeBlanc continued, “you take the slower ship, The Lady Seasprite, while I keep The Devil’s Lair.”
Jesse started to protest at the slander of The Lady Seasprite, but Rod squeezed her knee in warning. The four of them sat at the table where she and Dulac had gone round and round a day or so ago. Covertly, she watched him with a sense of longing. If she hadn’t taunted him so, he wouldn’t have thrown her in the cell, and she wouldn’t be in her current predicament.
“I think we should trade first mates as well,” Rod suggested.
“Aye, that’d be fine w’ me,” Dulac agreed. “Who’s your first mate?”
Rod raised his hand with a knowing smirk. “Yours truly.”
“Okay, but the lad stays here.”
“No!” Jesse protested.
Rod’s lips drew into a thin line. “Sorry, mate, but Jesse goes where I go or the deal’s off.”
Dulac’s brows drew together in confusion. He looked from Rod to LeBlanc, and Jesse could see the wheels turning in his head. Curiously, he made no further objection on the matter.
“What about the crew of The Lady Seasprite?” Jesse hoped her fear wasn’t written all over her face.
“They were invited to join us once before.” Rod’s hand gently massaged her knee beneath the table. Her hands balled into fists when the desire to bust his jaw overwhelmed her.
She forced a polite smile on her face but felt the fakeness to her bones. “Ask again. We could use all the hands we can get.”
Rod’s dark eyes seemed to read her very thoughts. “I think not. Can’t trust the lot of ’em. The beach’ll make a nice home for them.”
Her heart caught in her throat as she thought of her dear friend, Flint, marooned. At least the large island had many trees. Despite her misgivings, she thought it wise to let the matter drop. When the time came, she would see them rescued.
The heavy silence startled her out of her thoughts. All three men stared at her expectantly. She blushed at having been caught daydreaming. “What?”
“I said, I think you’d make a great decoy,” Rod reiterated.
Her pulse seemed to stop for a second as dread filled her veins. “What are you talking about?”
He smiled charmingly at her. “We put you in a dress and set you adrift. When the fancy ship comes to your aide, we’ll attack.”
She fought the panic. If they put her in a dress, they’d see her ever-growing bosom. She’d been able to hide them in loose clothing so far, but a dress would reveal her. Rod knew that.
She forced herself to scoff. “Never work.”
“Why not, since your mates say yer quite fetching,” Dulac said and sneered.
She snorted and stuck her nose up. “’Twould be impossible. What if the weather’s bad?”
She caught Rod staring at her with a lustful look in his eye. No doubt, he pictured her in the dress. He licked his lips lasciviously. “But you’ll do it...if the conditions are right.”
“But—”
“You can wear a heavy shawl,” he added and squeezed the hell out of her knee.
LeBlanc clapped his hands together and stood. “Well, I say we have a drink to seal the deal.”
A devilishnes
s overcame Jesse, and she smiled sweetly at Dulac. “How about we seal it with a kiss?”
She smirked, delighting in watching Dulac squirm. He responded just as she knew he would. His tanned face paled, and he made an excuse to rush away. Her husky laughter caused even LeBlanc and Rod to smile.
* * * *
Dulac stormed to the bow of the ship. The sun beat down on his head as he grabbed the ship’s rail and fought his inner rage. He fairly shook with the desire to pummel Jesse.
“Seal it with a kiss? More like a punch,” he mumbled.
He couldn’t shake the last image he had of her, uh, him. Jesse had impishly puckered her—HIS—lips and blown him a kiss. He’d never forget the mischief dancing in the lad’s honey-brown eyes. Honey? What the hell happened to thinking like a man? More like...dung colored. No, that’s not true. Dung is a lot darker than honey, which is definitely more appetizing. How about coffee-colored? Like a cafe au lait. My mother loves coffee with milk.
Dulac sneered at the idiocy of his thoughts and slammed his fist against the wood. Closing his eyes, he tried to control the aggravation at being propositioned by the lad. He forced himself to think of the one thing that always calmed him...Mags.
She was a beautiful brown and white American foxhound that his parents were keeping for him. He’d gotten her when he was seventeen to replace the old feller he’d lost. He smiled at the thought of her running up to him and licking his face with her pink tongue. A pair of pouty, rosy red human lips popped onto Mag’s snout, and Jesse’s grinning face replaced the dog’s. Dulac cursed.
Why would you make a man with such feminine lips, Lord?
Dulac shook his head. Mustn’t blame the boy. It must’ve been hard being raised by pirates. I can only imagine what she—I mean, he has been through.
He thought of his own happy childhood. His parents had doted on him and his sisters. He missed his twin sister, Cristi. She was married with two boys, and he surmised that had Jesse been raised in a normal atmosphere, she’d be married by now.
Wait a minute, you idiot, he chastised himself. Jesse is a male not a female. Get a hold of yerself, man.
Dulac forced himself to think of something else. The night he became a man in the true sense of the word rose to the surface. He’d been at sea for about a month, and his new shipmates had all but nailed a sign to his forehead that he was still a virgin. So at the next port of call, he had stumbled off the ship and into the arms of the first willing woman he met. He had to pay for it, but he was now thankful he didn’t have to pay for it in more ways than just money.
A Pirate's Kiss Page 2
