The Pirate's Jewel

by Cheryl Howe

  Nolan hovered in the shadows at the entrance of the dark cabin until his vision adjusted. Moonlight filtered through the portholes like water poured from a pitcher, creating a blue-black halo around the bunk where Jewel slept. The night was exceptionally warm. Bedclothes lay tangled around her feet. To his relief, she was dressed in the same clothes she’d worn when he saw her last. Stealing the map from her was bad enough; he hadn’t planned to play the voyeur by gawking at her in the nude. But that didn’t stop a small seed of unwanted disappointment from sprouting in the center of his chest. He tore his gaze from Jewel and headed for the desk.

  She would have hidden the map someplace unusual. He knew enough about her to realize conventional wisdom eluded her. He turned away from the desk. With the excuse that it was only part of the task at hand, he stared down at Jewel. He knelt and listened to her deep, relaxed breaths. He could not recall the last time he’d slept so peacefully.

  Yes, he could. It must have been his fifteenth summer. He had been part of Bellamy’s crew for almost a year. That was the point when the gilt wore off, revealing the jagged metal edges of the life he had chosen. That was the year Bellamy stopped cajoling him like a boy and started treating him like a man, and in doing so expected him to do manly things. Expected him to give up boyish lusts for treasure and adventure and to take up adult lusts for women, greed, and glory. Adventure became synonymous with bloodshed, preferably someone else’s.

  That was also the year he’d lost his virginity to a Spanish whore on Tortuga—and his map to Bellamy Leggett. Bellamy had hoped Nolan would be so thrilled with the experience of losing himself in the warmth of a woman, he would be concerned with nothing else. For a while, Bellamy had thought right, but then Nolan had come up for air and realized he’d been betrayed. Trying to get the map back from Bellamy spawned their first battle. A few broken ribs, a black eye, and a stab wound to the thigh later, Nolan understood his predicament.

  Bellamy was stronger, wiser, and a hell of a lot meaner than Nolan. The years dragged on, but nothing was ever the same. Not that he hadn’t fornicated, drunk, and looted his share during those years, but any pleasure he reaped was tainted by an aching guilt. Nolan knew the difference between right and wrong with the clarity of an adult rather than the besotted eyes of a child. His justification that the world was unfair because his father wanted him to be a clergyman rather than a sailor no longer held. The point came when even Nolan could no longer deny the dark streak that curled inside him: a trait inherited from his grandfather, and one his father had tried to squash with everything from forced hours of solitary prayer to beatings. Finally, the ache of remorse grew so strong that Nolan would have cut out his own heart to banish it. Instead, he defeated his mentor and Jewel’s father. And this woman had provoked the surge of self-righteous power that made that possible.

  Nolan studied Jewel, surprised at how much younger she appeared in sleep. She’d stirred a longing in him those years ago, from the moment he and Bellamy had first walked into the Quail and Queen past the supper hour. The tavern catered to wealthy planters and merchants rather than cutthroats and thieves, but Bellamy always liked to rub elbows with his betters just to prove to himself and everyone else that there was no such thing. Jewel had taken their order, drawn to them without having to be called over, while the other barmaids and patrons stared warily. Even then, her eyes had glowed with the excitement of serving the two strangers. She’d laughed easily, and Nolan felt tongue-tied in her presence. Though he’d had vast experience with women at that point, it was never with one who couldn’t be purchased.

  Bellamy had enjoyed the encounter, had even encouraged Nolan to try to get her alone, but Nolan knew even then that he’d not taint anything he cared about in such a way. When Bellamy asked her to meet them later, Nolan had insisted they step outside. It was his first serious challenge to Bellamy’s authority. That he’d discovered Jewel was Bellamy’s daughter only increased his need to keep her from the life and man he knew. After everything, he didn’t regret his choice—though she’d never understand.

  With her dark lashes flush against her cheeks and her lips slightly parted in sleep, he found it momentarily difficult to remember her as anything other than a girl in dire need of protection. And despite the determined, headstrong woman he’d encountered today, he must see his mission through. The urge to touch her stretched to his fingertips, but he resisted. He was here for one reason only.

  Taking the map from her was necessary to ensure her safety. She would try to find someone else to help her, and Nolan knew only too well the way most pirates treated women. They wouldn’t bargain for her prizes. They would brutally take her and her map and her smiles. She wouldn’t laugh so easily after that. He doubted she would laugh at all.

  She shifted, her face turning toward him. Nolan sat back on his heels, expecting her to wake. What would she do if she found him gawking at her? Probably smile at him with her confident grin, letting him know she had him right where she wanted him.

  Her change in position revealed the sheathed sword at her side. Sleeping with a weapon didn’t do a hell of a lot of good if one slept like a rock. Nolan had learned to sleep with a knife, but by then it was too late. Bellamy already had the map.

  Nolan got to his knees. Since she slept with the blade, he’d wager the map was on her person or in the bed. Her pale, bare feet reflected the moonlight. Her slender ankles appeared dusted with pearls. Nolan forced his gaze away and ruled out boots as a hiding place. Guilt crept up on him. Pilfering the map from her was akin to kicking the cane from beneath an old man. If Bellamy had had a conscience, he might have felt the same way when he’d sent Nolan to gorge himself on Tortuga’s decadence.

  Jewel wouldn’t understand any more than Nolan did, but that was just as well. Better to keep her at a distance. Nolan looked her over once more, not knowing where to start. He rubbed his palms against his cloth-covered thighs, wiping away the urge to touch her. With his thumb and index finger, he lifted the tail of her shirt, brushing her skin no more than a smithy would touch a burning piece of iron. He dipped his head to take a quick look underneath.

  He swallowed hard. Her breasts were dark slopes, soft curves with hidden secrets. Slowly, he lowered the shirt, and then remembered he’d forgotten to look for the map. He shook off the wave of lust tightening his loins. It was a natural response. He was a man in his prime and he hadn’t had a woman in five years. God, had it been that long? No wonder Jewel made him crazy.

  He glanced under her shirt again. This time he avoided the sight of her breasts and was rewarded by a hint of white cloth sticking out from her waistband. Was it a reward or a punishment? Being forced to unfasten her breeches to get the map would definitely be torture. He worked a worn button through its hole and gingerly folded over the flap to reveal the map bound to her lower abdomen by a cloth wound around her hips. Even if he had the will to continue, which he realized he didn’t, he couldn’t pull the map out without waking her.

  He sat back on his heels. This wasn’t going to work. Of course, he could just physically take the map from her even if she did wake, but he didn’t want to do that. Though sneaking into her room and stealing it while she slept wasn’t all that much better.

  Nolan leaned over Jewel to study her face. She smelled of fragrant soap that brought to mind white flowers. Magnolias. He remembered seeing the blooming trees in Charles Town. Their thickly sweet scent choked the air. He leaned closer. Breathed deeply. He could almost taste the sweet fragrance on her skin. Nolan swiped his hand over his mouth. The desire to press his lips to her skin overcame him like a summer squall—dark, heavy, and violent. Suddenly, his lust for the map paled in comparison. The salt, wind, and fresh air had weathered his hard-won control over his baser instincts. He sat back on his heels, closed his eyes and forced himself back into the man he’d trained himself to be.

  When he felt a brush against his cheek, he started violently, almost falling on his backside.

  Jewel propped herself
up on one elbow. Confusion clouded her eyes. “What’s wrong?” That suspicion, or even fear, wasn’t her first reaction proved she wasn’t nearly as prepared to be the lone woman on a ship full of men as she thought. The flap of her breeches fell forward, finally gaining her attention. She touched the bindings with a frown. “I never suspected you would sink that low.”

  Nolan got off his knees. He should leave the cabin immediately, but the challenge and accusation in her eyes forced him to stay. She had no idea of the man she was dealing with, and at the moment neither did he. He sat on the side of the bed, forced her back down and braced his hands on either side of her. “I warned you. Even I don’t know my limits.” He bent his head and kissed her.

  The first, soft brush of her lips against his brought a rush of forbidden pleasure that shoved away the small voice in the back of his head that railed against this.

  She inhaled sharply. Probably from the same shock that pounded in Nolan’s chest. He hovered above her, only touching her mouth with his, but that was enough. Her lips remained pliant and responsive to his gentle pressure. One taste, one brush of his tongue against her lips and he’d stop, leave the cabin. She met his second graze by pressing into him and brushing her tongue shyly with his. His body reacted with a surge of lust as strong as if she had taken him in the palm of her hand. He abruptly pushed off the bunk and surged to his feet. After he took a step back, he stared down at her, his heart pounding hard in reaction to the contact.

  She gazed at him with luminous eyes and a wet mouth. He thought of Bellamy, promises he had made to himself, the impending revolution, anything to take his mind off continuing what he had begun. Jewel remained uncharacteristically silent. Nolan warred between believing it was because she was too shocked by his actions and that she wanted him to continue. He took another step toward the door and away from convincing himself that a quick coupling would do them both good. He’d certainly feel better, at least in the short run. Perhaps afterward she’d give him the map and forget about finding another captain to take his place.

  Nolan shook his head to dislodge his dangerous thoughts. Apparently, his struggle to be a changed man, the son his parents had wanted, a man society could tolerate, was far from complete. He reached the door and gripped the handle. “There are much more valuable things inside your breeches than the map. Next time I’ll take it all.”

  He exited the room as quietly as he’d come. Outside the portal, Nolan paused to catch his breath like a man who had just escaped a fatal accident. Yes, he’d slipped off a precarious beam, but he’d caught himself. What twisted fate was in store for him with Jewel? Nolan dismissed the thought, fearing he already knew.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Jewel chose the jade green dress woven with a pattern of small white roses to wear for her meeting with Nolan. Opening the bundles Parker had delivered to her on their return from going ashore in Newport had been one of the happiest moments of her life. Never had she imagined possessing such finery. Even her fantasies of finding Captain Kent’s treasure had not equaled the reality of running her hand over the silk brocade gowns. To see herself in Nolan’s small shaving mirror, she’d been forced to stand on the bunk, but even that glimpse assured her the gown’s effect was transforming. Even her freckles appeared less glaring.

  Of the two dresses, the green one was her favorite. She lingered outside the galley where Nolan waited, hating that the pleasure of the clothes would immediately be ruined by her and Nolan’s biggest battle yet.

  Even though she feared the gowns were purchased for the sole purpose of her imminent departure from the ship, she couldn’t help but be thrilled with the quality and thoughtfulness of his purchases. No one had ever given her so lovely, or extravagant a gift. Or any gift, for that matter. She forced herself not to think about the kiss last night, or about whether the gowns were a token of atonement or something else altogether. Nolan suddenly deciding to make her his mistress because of a stolen kiss, even as heated as it had been, seemed unlikely. The idea that he was determined to leave her in Newport was not only more likely but preferable, because that would be easier to fight—and she wouldn’t have to give up the gowns.

  Nolan’s continued silence unnerved her almost as much as his wary gaze. Hoping to keep their encounter on a light note for once, Jewel held out the ends of her skirts and twirled. When she faced him again, she felt her cheeks flush. “Thank you, Nolan. It’s the nicest I’ve ever had.”

  “You had to wear something and I was in a hurry. Glad it fits.” He stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth. “Please sit. We have something important to discuss.”

  She tried to sit on the long bench with detached grace. If she’d thought for a moment the kiss they’d shared swayed him to change his mind about sending her away, his gruff dismissal of her pleasure indicated otherwise. He continued to eat with hardly a glance her way. Keeping her expression placid grew more difficult. But she’d walked into this galley with her heart in her eyes and been thoroughly ignored—she wouldn’t show her feelings again. She could be as cool and aloof as Nolan. She had to be.

  “I’m listening,” she said, raising her chin with a confidence she didn’t feel. She’d hardly slept at all, and her restlessness had turned to full-blown agitation after Nolan’s kiss. Her heart thudded all over again, and the fact that she had the map no longer gave her confidence. He’d proved he could take it any time he wanted—and after he’d sneaked in her cabin last night, she couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t.

  He glanced up at her briefly, and then returned to scrutinizing his stew.

  Jewel touched the matching green ribbon she’d used to pull back her hair. She couldn’t stand his silence a moment longer, refused to be as rude as he. “Thank you for the soap. Magnolias are my favorite. How did you know?”

  He stopped chewing and stared a hole through her. “The seamstress picked it out. I had her collect all the things she thought a woman would need. I assume everything is satisfactory.”

  “Very.” Her smile faltered. Did he somehow blame her for their kiss? Was he embarrassed? She stiffened at the thought. He always tried to put on a self-righteous air, and if that notion extended to kissing the likes of her, she’d make him say so.

  “Good.” Furiously, he ripped another chunk of bread from his loaf.

  “Why are you so angry with me?”

  His blue gaze burned. “I’m not angry.”

  Jewel couldn’t take any more. When she tried to meet his gaze, he looked away. If he intended to send her off, he should be man enough to tell her and stop dragging this torturous encounter out any longer.

  Nervously, she toyed with a strand of hair that refused to stay in the bow at the nape of her neck. Nolan watched her with his head lowered. Jewel suddenly realized he wasn’t ignoring her; he was unnerved.

  She sighed, wanting to bridge the gap between them but not knowing how. Perhaps their mutual attraction was the reason he was so determined to send her away. She reached across the table to lay her hand on his.

  “Don’t,” he said between clenched teeth.

  Jewel folded her hands in her lap. She couldn’t even look at him. “I’m leaving.” She stood.

  “Sit down, Jewel. I have something to tell you that I think you’ll like.”

  She sat down, but doubted he had anything to say that would make up for his hostility. He had kissed her, yet he was treating her like a beggar on the streets, someone you’d go out of your way to avoid. “The only thing I will find agreeable is if you take me with you to find the treasure.”

  Nolan smiled, but without a hint of pleasure. “General Gage has declared martial law in Boston. The Continental Congress has named George Washington as head of the army. I’ve committed a portion of the treasure to them for a letter of marque when I return, and I plan to outfit several merchant ships for war. So you see, I don’t have the luxury of waiting you out. I’m stuck with you. Now let’s see the map.”

  To her utter horror, his detached words caused her throat to t
ighten. She forcibly swallowed the threat of tears. “If you find me so detestable, why did you kiss me?”

  Nolan made a face as if he had swallowed a bug. “Ah…what?”

  “The kiss in your cabin—in the middle of the night. Don’t act as if you don’t remember. Why did you do it?” Her surge of anger swept away the hurt his words had originally engendered. How dare he try to snatch the moral high ground when he’d been the one to sneak in on her while she was sleeping to steal not only the map but a kiss?

  Nolan rubbed the stubble on his cheeks. “I made a mistake.” He looked at her as if he were bracing himself. “Do you understand the seriousness of the situation? This isn’t a social outing, Jewel. Captain Kent’s treasure is rumored to be worth close to one million pounds. As it is, the Continental Congress will have to borrow money from foreign powers to finance Washington’s army. If I can find the treasure quickly, it would give them some funds to work with as well as a fleet of privateers to hit the British in their pocketbooks. So I’m taking you along because you have the map—no other reason. Be happy that you’re coming and stay out of the way.”

  Jewel stood. Her motions were stiff, but they kept her from showing Nolan how she shook. He’d never said so much to her in a single sitting and, from now on, she’d prefer his silent seething. Oh, how she regretted that she hadn’t slapped him last night instead of discovering why women could so easily ruin themselves over men so obviously unsuitable. She put her foot on the bench and hiked up her skirt enough to pluck the map from her garter. She threw it at him, aiming one of its pointed corners at his eye. “Here. This is what you want. Have it. Don’t let me stand in your way. Oh, and just so we understand each other—you kissed me. So please stop acting as if I’m a threat to your virtue.”