She truly had done it for him. “We’ve shared many proper meals.” In addition to Patrick’s gift, Little Wolf had carved her the prettiest little dining plates and teacups from bone, and each day, she ate opposite James at his private table in his quarters with her choice of tableware. But he knew what she meant. Ideas danced through his mind of walking barefoot alongside her over the warm sand and holding her in his arms. And then he thought of her longing for Cairn Ocland, missing her friends, and resenting him for the loss of her wings.
“If you did this to have three days with me, three days is what you shall have.” He ached to kiss her, so he did, slow and tender at first when he claimed her lips, knowing he would be the first while also selfishly wishing he could be the last.
She made a quiet little sound, surprise and pleasure mixed together with eagerness. James coaxed her lips apart, and she followed his lead. Her fingers gripped his shirt and fumbled with the laces until the silk parted and his skin was beneath her touch.
He wanted to touch her everywhere, savor the taste of her skin, and strip away the thin sheet that concealed everything he’d fantasized about touching in human proportions. With a low groan, he drew his mouth away from hers, breathless from the effort. “But I will dine with you and walk you across the beach first. Before anything else. You deserve so much more, but I will give you that.”
Setting her aside required superhuman effort, willpower he’d never needed for any other act. He rose from the bed and cleared his throat, leaving his back to her. “I’ll fetch a proper dress for you from Eliza.”
He didn’t run from the room, but it seemed a close thing. The moment he had the door closed behind him, he pressed his back to the wood and drew in several deep breaths.
Patience, James, he counseled himself.
Few men stirred on the deck, most enjoying time off in the town, but a few lingered over a game of cards. An enormous bowl of liquid sat in the center of the table, receiving donations from each man’s drinking cup at the start of every round. By now, it would be filled with a mixture of beer, whiskey, rum, and gods knew what else. James grimaced. He’d played the game many times before as a young man. He’d even thought drinking the pot was the prize. As an older man, he knew better.
“Is Eliza on board?”
“Aye, Cap’n. Saw her heading to her room with a bottle of wine about an hour ago.”
“Thank you.” He headed down to the quarters assigned to his officers and rapped on Eliza’s door.
“Eliza, I need a moment of your time.” When she failed to answer, he banged on the wooden panel, practically knocking down the cabin door in his effort to rouse her from sleep. “Eliza!” he bellowed.
He was normally a man capable of controlling his mood and emotions, but Belle in a human-sized body had left him uncharacteristically flustered. All the times he’d wished her to be a larger being, he’d never considered it could actually happen.
“Godsdammit, what?” Eliza jerked open the door, shamelessly nude from the waist up, save an unbelted silk robe revealing the narrow swath of bare skin between her breasts. She put her hands to her hips and glared at him. Behind her, a local woman lay on the narrow bed amidst the rumpled sheets. Dancing Willow was always among the first to welcome them whenever their ship arrived. Now he knew why.
Of course, everyone aboard the ship had a lover but him at this rate. Even Smee had met a lovely widow in Ankirith who he plied with gifts whenever they reached port.
James grunted. “I need to borrow a dress, and then I’ll be out of your way.”
“A dress? Do I look like I keep dresses lying around?”
He fixed her with a stern glare. “I know you do,” he replied. “You never threw any of your things away after we left Eisland, and I recall a handful of dresses for social affairs. As for why…” He released a long-held sigh. It wouldn’t remain secret for long, and there was nothing to gain by hiding it. “Belle has... grown enough to require proper attire.”
“Aha! So she did it after all. Excellent.”
“Wait, you knew about this?”
Eliza smiled smugly and crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe. A dress for Tinker Bell, you say…”
“She can have mine,” Dancing Willow offered.
“Thank you. You have my appreciation.”
Both women bustled about half dressed, much to James’s chagrin. He stepped inside to close the door and immediately turned his back out of modesty’s sake. Eliza was a beautiful woman, curvy and toned, but he had never looked at her with any more fondness than that of a sister.
“Here you go. Let her try these.” They plied him with a pile of clothes, a mixture of native islander wear and sophisticated Eislander fashion.
“I’ll return them all in good condition, I assure you.”
“Be kind with her, James,” Eliza warned. “And bring her by when you’re no longer occupied with other activities.” Both girls giggled.
“I didn’t plan to be anything but kind to her.” They gave him an armful of women’s clothing, but he couldn’t open the door to leave, his hook sliding uselessly over the knob. He grunted and shuffled the pile to free his hand. “Thank you, ladies, and now I’ll be out of your way.” Whether he occupied Belle with other activities had yet to be decided. Was it appropriate—more importantly, was it fair to her?
Chapter
TINK WASN’T SURE whether to be amused or annoyed by the flustered pirate. With his bedsheet wrapped around her in a makeshift gown, she explored the rest of the cabin.
Everything had transformed, no longer an intimidating landscape of dangerous objects and shadows. She admired the saber collection on the wall, a glossy assortment of swords in varying sizes and styles from a dozen different countries. She only knew that because James had told her about each and every weapon.
From above, she studied the model ships on the table, some of which had been painstakingly pieced together inside bottles when James had both hands. He’d given up the hobby after losing his right.
Refusing to leave fingerprints all over the glass, she bounded over to her gilded home and admired it from her new viewpoint. Pretty as it was, it was still a cage. She leaned down and drew in a deep inhalation of the flowers, only to sneeze when the pollen went up her nose. She leapt back and swiped at her face before skipping off to explore the next thing. She peered through the tinted glass windows, spun James’s globe, and picked up all the things that had been too big and heavy for her before without fairy dust.
James returned with a load of clothing, opening and shutting the door with his left hand while he clutched a pile of garments against his chest with his right arm.
Tink squealed and rushed over to help, relieving him of the burden. “All of that is for me?” she asked as he guided her to the bed.
“Well, you can see what you like, and then we’ll get you your own from town. Eliza and her, um, friend kindly offered these on loan.” He plucked a dress from the pile and held it up to her chest, his hook within one of the delicate straps. Her cheeks warmed when the back of his left hand skimmed her bare shoulder.
“You mean the girl she sleeps with?”
“How would you know about that?”
“People don’t notice small things. I saw lots around the ship, not that I was spying,” she added in a rush. “I mean, she just comes and goes on the ship a lot since we arrived.”
His brows raised first, a dubious expression on his face.
“I like to watch people when I’m not with you or fixing things for Patrick.”
“Ah, well. That’s understandable. There’s a lot to be learned by watching others.”
Once James finished spreading the clothes over the bed, arranging garments together as they were intended to be worn, Tink stepped up alongside him and studied the borrowed wardrobe.
“Which do you like?”
“This is about what you like, Belle. Try them on. I’ll be just outside the door.”
“You don’t have t
o leave your own room,” she blurted out, “unless I make you uncomfortable.”
“Far from it, but a gentleman never ogles his lady friends, especially while they’re preparing for an outing.” Giving her no chance to argue the point, James left the room and shut the door behind him.
The first dress reminded her of bed curtains, and the thick, green material itched against her arms. Worse, the collar choked her, tight and high around her slender neck.
“Ugh. No.” Tink wrinkled her nose, shucked the garment off, and set it to the side. The next dress reminded her of one of Sorcha’s fancy gowns, although she wore them infrequently and only to fancy get-togethers among the clans. The canary yellow fabric and dozens of ruffles appealed to her taste, but the skirt was too short in the front. She was fairly certain it was meant to fall to her ankles. As beautiful as Eliza’s dresses were, they didn’t suit Tink.
She turned her attention to the next two dresses and shimmied into the pink and white sheath. It had no straps, was lighter and simpler than the other two garments, and had accents in aquamarine that matched the pristine waters off the coast. Tiny beads made from coral had been stitched into delicate lacework.
“I’m ready,” she called out.
James stepped inside and froze in the doorway. He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering first on her bare feet then moving up the rest of her. In another step, he had the door kicked shut behind him and his hand curled around her nape.
When he kissed her again, all she wanted was to remove the dress and cast it aside. Her heart fluttered when he leaned back to gaze at her, his blue eyes lidded with unconcealed desire.
“Shall we take our walk now?”
“Y-yes,” she stammered.
“Excellent.”
He tucked her arm in his and opened the door, allowing her to step through first before he pulled it shut behind him. The full moon hung high in the sky, casting silver light over the deck, the only illumination besides a lantern hanging from a hook on the main mast. Three men sat around a table under the lantern with cards in their hands, a pot of booze in the center, and silver bits in a pile on the table around it. When one glanced over and blinked, the others twisted around to see what he was gawking at.
“They’re all staring,” she whispered.
“They’ve only ever seen you as a buzzing ball of light.”
The pirates jumped to their feet and offered cordial greetings. One even bowed. Tink smiled shyly and tightened her grip on James’s arm.
“Belle and I will be going for a walk. Keep an eye on the Jolly Roger for me, would you?”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.”
“Bye, Harras, Osrim, and Frederick,” Tink said as they passed.
Thankfully, shedding her tiny body hadn’t altered her agility too much. She climbed down into the longboat with minimal help from James. He rowed them ashore to the small dock then swept her into his arms before she could step onto the rough planks. Tink squealed and clutched his shoulders, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. James chuckled and carried her across the treacherous walkway. He didn’t set her down until they reached the beach, where the golden sand retained the day’s heat.
“It sort of tickles.” Tink burrowed her toes into the sand and spun about. The dress swished around her knees, and the breeze tousled her hair. She skipped forward a few feet, pausing an inch beyond the water washing up on the shore. James stepped up behind her and took her hand in his.
“Since you only have three days, did you want me to keep the Jolly Roger here at the island?”
Tink shook her head. “No. I can’t learn to sail if we’re in port.”
“Sail?” The warmth of his laughter tickled across her hand when he brought it to his lips. “Is that what you want to do with your three days as a human?”
“One thing at least. You can show me how to steer the ship, unfurl the sails, and catch fish. I’m a good learner. I really am.”
“If that’s what you want, who am I to deny you? But what of tonight?”
“Well…” She dragged her toes through the wet sand and let the water wash over her feet. “I see couples dancing sometimes. In the town square. Then they go eat and shop.”
“It’s a little late for shopping.”
Her brow wrinkled. “But they all go into a building with beaded curtains in the windows.”
James made a strange sound that sounded like a laugh crossed with a choke. Tink crossed her arms and waited for him to regain his composure.
“Forgive me,” he said. “That’s not, ah, a place for shopping. At least, not in the sense you understand.”
“What do they all go in there for, then?”
His gaze darted away, and a warm flush crept into his cheeks. “It’s a brothel, Belle.”
Her brows drew inward. “I don’t understand that word. What’s a brothel?”
“A house of ill repute, as some would call it in my former kingdom.”
“Ohhh. They’re ill? Is it like a healer’s clinic? Oh, I want to go! If there are nice people like Eliza, I want to meet them.”
“People pay for sex,” he said in a rush, catching her by the hand and pulling her back before she took more than two steps.
She jerked to a stop and blinked, then stared at him for a long moment without understanding. Why did people pay for something that was meant to be between lovers?
“We don’t have places like that in Cairn Ocland. Most shifters mate for life, so they don’t get intimate like that before bonding.” Clearing her throat didn’t diminish the heat rushing to her face. Had it not been for those smoldering kisses in his cabin, she’d wonder if James would ever consider being intimate with her.
“The shapeshifters of your kingdom must be quite fortunate to find their better halves so easily.”
“It isn’t always easy,” Tink protested. “Conall had to track down an evil skinwalker with his mate to earn her love, and he helped her destroy a wicked faerie.”
His brows shot up, and his eyes widened. “Oh?”
“Yes, and our king was cursed for years by a fairy until his mate showed up and battled an invading kingdom. She broke the spell on him.”
“Your people sound fierce. And drowning in fairies.”
“Not really. I only know of two. A good one and a bad one, but Maeval is dead for real this time.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
James pulled her in close, taking her right hand in his left before placing his hook flat against her back. Then he began to move and guide her to take small steps to the left then the right.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
“Dancing.”
“But there’s no music.”
“Would you like some?”
“I thought you needed music to dance,” she said.
“Ah, but you can always hear music in your heart and mind, if you want to.”
“But what if we’re listening to different tunes?”
James laughed and dipped his head, claiming a kiss that was too brief for Tink’s liking. Then he began to sing, and her irritation vanished. Bringing her closer, James sang in a rich baritone against her ear, their bodies pressed together as they moved across the sand beneath the moonlight.
“I never knew you could sing,” she said some time later as they walked hand in hand down the beach.
“I don’t do so often.”
“Why not? You have a lovely voice.”
James came to a stop and turned to face her. Their heights were almost even, only a couple scant inches separating them. Eliza only came to his shoulder, and it was with sudden glee that Tink realized she was taller than the woman.
“I only sing when I’m truly happy, I suppose.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and stroked his thumb across her lips. “I feel like I’m dreaming.”
“But you’re not. I’m here. I’m a woman now.”
“You were always a woman, Belle.”
“A big woman, then. A human woman.
And… I want to experience all that I can in the time I have. With you.”
She watched his face as she spoke, her heart racing so fast she wondered if it would burst in her chest. Would he feel the same?
“This has to be a dream,” he whispered again. “Yet here you are before me, and I haven’t the slightest clue what to do. Three days seems so little.”
“Then we’ll make the best of them,” she said.
“That we will.”
He offered her his arm, and they made their way back to the boat. As much as she didn’t want their evening to end, she looked forward to having him alone again in his room, away from prying eyes.
“How do you row?” she asked once they’d pushed out from the shore.
“Come here, and I’ll show you.”
Careful not to tip the boat, Tink moved around and took a seat in front of him, her back to his chest. “Is it hard to row with your hook?”
“Not hard exactly, but it took some practice. We screwed in these small loops on the oars, you see? So I can hook through one. Now place your hands like mine and I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Under his instruction, she rowed them around the bay in circles for a time, in no rush to leave the warm embrace of his arms. She cherished every touch and every laugh they shared, but eventually her arms grew tired from the effort and James took the oars once more and rowed them back to the ship. Once they climbed the rope ladder to the deck, they retired to his cabin.
“My arms hurt,” she whined. Far too much to resume the search for her pearl, which she’d wanted to do right away without admitting to James she had lost it.
“It takes time to build up the muscle. Without your magic, you’ll find moving heavy things takes quite a bit more effort.”
Tink flopped down on the bed and stretched out, enjoying the soft comfort of his mattress and blankets. It was no wonder he slept so soundly each night.
“I’ll leave you to sleep and see you in the morning,” James said, taking a step toward the door.
“Please don’t go.” She reached out a hand for him.
Belle and the Pirate Page 18
