The Pirate's Jewel

by Cheryl Howe

  He felt his tight features soften as he rested his gaze on her. The sun shone on her dark chestnut hair, igniting the red streaks obtained from her time in the tropics, tempting him to touch her. She was so beautiful and ethereal. He ached to be a real groom, if only she would let him. He would be a devoted husband and a good father. If she gave him the chance, he would make everything up to her: the past, her lonely childhood, the hardships she had suffered and especially his harsh words of that morning. She’d never want for anything again.

  A sharp jab in Nolan’s side jarred him from his thoughts. He glanced down to find the tip of Wayland’s curved cutlass pressing against his ribs. The pirate snarled, exposing more gum than teeth. “Get on with it. I won’t have you changing your mind.”

  Nolan’s gaze returned to Jewel. She stared back at him anxiously. Was she hoping he would back out? He would have to disappoint her. It was too late for either of them to change their mind. With his palm on the flat of Wayland’s blade, Nolan pushed it away. His own guilt kept him from speaking to the old man harshly. A father would have done no less—unless, of course, it was Jewel’s father. Bellamy would have simply given Nolan a matching scar on his other shoulder.

  He cleared his throat. “We are gathered here today…”

  The sound of Wayland replacing his cutlass hissed in Nolan’s ears as he forced the dry words from his lips. He rushed through the ceremony, cutting out any unnecessary phrases. He got to the part where he had to ask Jewel if she would take him as her husband. He wanted to skip it, but he knew the marriage wouldn’t be legal if he did. “Will you, Jewel Sanderson, take Nolan Kenton to be your wedded husband?”

  “Prudence,” she whispered. Nolan turned his head to hear better. Having her repeat her words, especially if it were a public rejection, burned his cheeks. “I didn’t catch that.”

  “My middle name is Prudence. It was my maternal grandmother’s name. I want you to say it.”

  Nolan couldn’t help but grin, surprised and relieved. “Prudence?”

  To his delight, Jewel returned the smile, tentative though it was. “Not very appropriate. Good thing my mother let my father pick my first name.” Her grin faded with the mention of Bellamy, and so did Nolan’s short-lived bubble of hope.

  Wayland crossed his arms over his chest. “The time for you two to get acquainted already raised anchor. Get on with it.”

  Nolan took a deep breath, and then turned to Jewel, meeting her gaze. He would have to look into her eyes as he repeated the question. He prayed his voice wouldn’t shake. “Will you, Jewel Prudence Sanderson, take Nolan William Kenton to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

  She held his gaze, as if trying to see the depths of his soul. “I will.”

  He sighed in relief. He didn’t want to press his luck by forcing her to repeat a lengthy list of vows, so he turned to Parker. The lieutenant’s hands were clasped in front of him while he studied the billowing sails above his head.

  “Will you, Nolan William Kenton, take Jewel Prudence Sanderson to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Parker continued to stare into oblivion, as if he weren’t part of the proceedings. Not that Nolan could blame him. The man was too smart to do anything else.

  Nolan whistled shrilly. Parker snapped to attention. Nolan didn’t bother repeating the question. “Say, ‘I will.’”

  Parker nodded. “I will.”

  With a sigh of relief, Nolan looked down at the lines he had scribbled on a piece of paper and ran through the rest of the ceremony. “I now pronounce you man and—”

  “Hold on there, lad. I don’t see no ring,” interrupted Wayland.

  Nolan hadn’t even thought of that. He looked down at his hands, knowing he didn’t wear jewelry but not sure what to do. “I don’t have one. I’ll buy it later.”

  “I heard that one before.” Wayland pulled a ring Nolan hadn’t noticed from his pinky. He tossed it over. “This’ll do.”

  Nolan caught the ring. When he opened his hand to look at it, the deck of the ship might as well have lurched beneath him. The sensation of falling forced him to adjust his stance. The plain gold ring had two initials on its face: WK. William Kent. It was Nolan’s grandfather’s ring. The last time Nolan had seen it, the ring had been on Bellamy’s finger. Bellamy had stolen it from Nolan along with the map. He hadn’t gotten it back before he’d marooned the old bastard.

  Nolan glanced to Wayland for an explanation.

  Wayland raised an eyebrow. “You made your bed, now it’s time to lie in it. So to speak.”

  Nolan closed his eyes and composed himself. His sense of doom threatened to throw him to the deck a second time. If he opened his eyes and saw Bellamy’s ghost hovering over the ceremony, he wouldn’t have been any more taken aback. But Wayland was right. It was too late to turn back now.

  He opened his eyes and saw only Jewel, and he felt his strength returning. Gently, he took her left hand and slipped the ring on her finger. It was too big, but she made a fist to keep it from sliding off. When she wrapped her fingers around his grandfather’s ring, Nolan had cause to hope. Maybe things had come full circle and his marriage to Jewel would right some eternal wrong.

  He cleared his throat. “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Nolan jerked his head up as he realized what he had just said.

  Parker held up his hands as if at knifepoint and took a giant step backward. Jewel stared at her feet.

  Nolan moved forward, afraid she wouldn’t let him kiss her. He touched her shoulders and she glanced up. Before she could pull away, if that was her intent, Nolan lowered his head and captured her lips. The contact seared him with a flood of erotic memories. He forced his mouth to remain soft and yielding. After five years of celibacy, last night’s encounter had only whet his appetite. Unexpectedly, she grazed the tip of his tongue with her own. He pulled away abruptly, the shy caress as powerful as a stroke of his cock. He loosened his tight grip on her shoulders and slowed his breathing. He didn’t want his crew to see how effortlessly she controlled him. A touch of her tongue had him burning for her.

  She lowered her eyes at his withdrawal. He could sense her hurt at his curt response, and he vowed to later show her how he felt. This was to be a real marriage, one that would be consummated. And he looked forward to consummating it.

  ***

  Jewel plopped down on the hard bunk. Blue evening crept through the portholes. The lone lantern that had guided her through the ship did little to brighten the cabin or her mood. If only Nolan would explain the events that surrounded her father’s death, perhaps she could reconcile the fact that she was about to bed his killer. What had happened? Had her father and Nolan fought and he’d won? Had the crew thrown Bellamy overboard or hanged him from the main mast?

  Jewel covered her face with her palms to stop the images that churned in her mind. Nolan was her husband now, and she longed to trust him. He said there had been a mutiny. Everything she knew about Nolan told her he was a fair man, if harsh. Though he had bedded her while keeping such an awful secret, he had married her promptly afterward. She knew from other, less fortunate women’s experiences that men didn’t always take that kind of responsibility for their casual pleasures. Yet right or wrong, noble or devious, Nolan was the man responsible for her father’s death.

  If she still didn’t want him so badly, her guilt might not have been so awful. But every time Jewel thought of the ache in her belly created by the sight of Nolan, she was reminded of her father’s death. She stood and carefully turned down the coverlet. She smoothed out the wrinkles and fluffed the pillow. Her wifely duty required she give herself to her husband. Her body craved the union, though her mind screamed out betrayal.

  Before her wedding, she had furiously scrubbed the pink blotch staining the bed. The sight of the blood galled her. It had been spilled between them, hers and her father’s. Had Nolan run her father through like she had that young British sailor? Had he stared into her father’s shocked face as he removed the blade? Ha
d he thought of that moment when he had rolled off Jewel, her virgin’s blood smearing him?

  She shook her head. Of course he hadn’t. She was being morbid. She tugged at the laces of her dress and slipped into her nightgown. The warmth of the Caribbean had dried the garment after she washed it with the sheets. The smell of wind enveloped her, and her thoughts returned to Nolan.

  He had been drinking. Though their wedding celebration had been meant to be a tame affair, every man onboard got an extra mug of grog at the end of his shift—which had led to a new round of toasts with the sounding of the bells. Wayland had poured Nolan’s drinks from a special bottle while everyone else drank from the cask. At four bells, the signal for the late watch, Nolan’s eyes were glassy. His hungry stares were so blatant, they’d caused Jewel to blush more than once. She’d barely got a drop of grog down her own constricted throat and retreated here to her cabin at the earliest opportunity.

  She buttoned her nightgown to her throat. A quick glance in the mirror showed her tangled hair and drawn complexion reflected the harrowing events of the day. She tore the ribbon from her hair. This really was her fault. From the moment she’d sneaked on the ship to the fateful touch of her fingers on Nolan’s…

  Her face burned with shame. Would her father have come back for her if Nolan hadn’t taken his life? She would never know. She glanced at her reflection again. In a hasty, impulsive movement, she twisted her hair into a chignon as Parker had taught her, and secured it with the scattered pins from that morning.

  A hesitant knock sounded at the door. Jewel opened it before she lost her nerve. Nolan leaned against the frame for support. She touched her upswept hair and stepped back for him to enter. A tilt of her chin exposed her neck and jaw. She dared him to comment on her hair. He needed to know he wasn’t going to dictate her actions. She had been too shocked this morning to argue. Now, her taut nerves ached for an opportunity to rail at him. “Do you like my hair?”

  He leaned against the doorjamb instead of entering. “You look beautiful.” His words sounded torn from his throat. He stared around as if he didn’t recognize the room. His hesitancy was as unsettling as the loud tick of a clock in a quiet room. She didn’t know what she expected—maybe that he would fall on her and ravage her like the savage he had hinted himself to be. But she had never known that kind of treatment from Nolan. She had been trying to convince herself otherwise to lessen her own guilt, but he hadn’t ravaged her. He didn’t have to.

  She glanced up, irritated by her own longings. “Are you staying or not?”

  He stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and then leaned against it. She inched toward the narrow bed, putting space between them. Sitting down, she drew her legs up under her gown. Even her exposed feet seemed too provocative in light of his scrutiny. Last night had been so simple. Right now, the idea of their making love seemed awkward and unnatural. They were truly strangers. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest. She rubbed her shoulders and shivered with anticipation—and just a little fear.

  “I won’t hurt you. You should know that.” He pushed himself away from the door and stalked toward her.

  She glanced up, unable to ignore the way his dark blue breeches strained with an unmistakable bulge. It seemed to swell further under her attention. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

  The tick shifted as he sat next to her. He kissed the exposed skin on the back of her neck. She shivered. Putting her hair up had been a mistake. Her impulsiveness would be the death of her yet.

  He used his tongue and mouth to plunder vulnerable skin. Jewel’s breath quickened. He rested a hand on her knee, and slowly it slid across the cotton gown to the apex of her thighs. Jewel watched with fascination as he cupped her. His palm was hot through the cotton, and the added layer sparked an already combustible tension. Almost against her will, she arched into his touch, the pleasure too great to resist.

  To Jewel’s surprise, Nolan rose from the bed instead of pushing his advantage. “This time I won’t take you half clothed.” His words were gentle, but the way he yanked out of his coat showed impatience. His shirt quickly followed. He held her gaze, obviously enjoying her fascination with his body. She had never seen him bare-chested. It was well muscled, with dark hair spreading in an inverted triangle. One thing marred his masculine perfection—a bunched scar above his left nipple. How he must have hated her father for that.

  Jewel’s gaze jerked up to Nolan’s face. He moved to the edge of the bed, wearing only his loosened breeches. He picked up her icy hands and massaged them. “What is it? You’re too pale.”

  Jewel tried to pull her hands away. No matter how strong her body’s desire, her father’s memory wouldn’t let her forget what Nolan had done. “You know what’s wrong.”

  He dropped her hands like hot coals. Getting up, he stomped the short length of the cabin before turning around with his hands on his hips. “We’ve already been through this.”

  Jewel tried to remain calm in the face of his anger. “We didn’t go through it. You abruptly told me you killed my father, then forced me into marriage.”

  “You agreed to be my wife, and I expect you to honor your vows. I won’t have you cowering from me.”

  Jewel stood, her shoulders squared. “I’m not cowering. I’m confused. I’m upset.”

  He kept his back to her and ran his fingers through his hair. “I can’t change the past, Jewel.”

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  “Then what are you asking?” He turned so abruptly, and with such violence, all her courage sank into her knees.

  “I don’t know.” And she didn’t. What could he possibly do or say to make the situation better?

  His hard gaze softened, as if he knew the impossible divide he would have to cross to reach her. “I...let me make you my wife. Give it a chance.”

  She nodded, her throat tight with desperation. Despite everything, the idea that their marriage would end before it began frightened her.

  He stepped toward her and reached for the buttons of her nightdress. She stood stiffly as he undid them, and willed her mind to relax. Her skin tingled where his warm fingers brushed it. Even the whisper of air where he opened her gown felt like a caress. He glided his hands back over the material still covering her breasts, using the soft cotton to tease her nipples. When his slow trek reached the neck of the gown, he gripped the edges of the collar, forcing her to tilt her neck at the pressure.

  His mouth came down on hers in a slow, gentle caress. He tasted her in sips. Small, wet kisses persuaded her lips to part. He dipped his tongue into her mouth and she let him invade her, overwhelm her senses. She closed her eyes tightly, pushing away thoughts of her father. Nolan was her husband. Bellamy Leggett was a vague memory who had never really earned her loyalty.

  Nolan let go of her gown and grabbed her passive arms, and he draped them around his neck. She let him maneuver her like a rag doll. She focused on his touch. The warmth of his skin. She let the spicy smell of him envelop her while the last traces of thought surrendered to sensation and then, abruptly, he was gone.

  Her eyes fluttered open at the cold air that caressed her instead of heat from Nolan’s hands and lips. He held her at arm’s length, and the space between them loomed as deep and wide as any ocean. His gaze narrowed in the first signs that his anger was returning. “I don’t want to do this by myself.”

  She placed her hands on his bare chest and felt the rapid thud of his heart. The ache of lust had begun, a slow burning at the apex of her thighs. Nolan’s eyes drifted shut and he inhaled deeply, apparently satisfied with her wordless response. He gently rested his hands on the curves of her hips, but he remained motionless, allowing her the luxury of exploring him.

  Jewel replaced her fingers with her mouth. She loved this man. He was here. He was real. He was all she would ever have, and she had to make things work between them. Maybe if she let her body guide her, her mind would follow. She stood on tiptoe, moving her lips over the puckered scar
put there by her father.

  Nolan jerked back. “Don’t,” he whispered fiercely.

  The fire in his blue gaze warned her that all his patience had left him. He set her away, grasped her nightgown and pulled it over her head before she could protest. She covered her breasts with her hands. Without her long straight hair unbound and covering her, she felt exposed.

  She could feel Nolan’s gaze on her, searching her, touching her. He grabbed her wrists and guided them down by her sides. “I like your hair up after all.”

  He bent down and scooped her into his arms, depositing her on the bed. Jewel tried not to shiver, tried not to think of the scar that marred his perfect body or his fierce words when she’d come too close to what lurked beneath their union. Apparently unaffected by what had just happened, he yanked off his boots and just as swiftly discarded his breeches.

  If she had any doubt of his intention to consummate their marriage, his body betrayed him. His arousal was thick and much larger than she remembered. She blushed to think of the way she had caressed him. He seemed less intimidating when she had been the aggressor. With no help from her whatsoever, he was ready to take her. She felt as if her participation didn’t really matter at all. Her mind started churning again. Nolan was a dangerous man when he was determined, something her father had found out too late.

  Nolan fell on her without the slightest indication that he realized her sudden panic or even cared. She put out her hands to keep him from crushing her. He scooped her to him, oblivious of her protest. When his head came down, she turned her face away, exposing her neck. He took full advantage of the move and nuzzled her nape with openmouthed kisses. His hand captured her breast, his fingers closing around her nipple. She flinched at the abrupt pressure, and he instantly lightened his caress.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled into her neck.