Johnny didn’t even spare the fallen man a second glance. Once again his eyes were consumed with only Izzy. As carefully as he could, he lifted his fingers and checked her pulse. Relief washed over him when he realized that she was still breathing, still alive, though the pulse was not beating as rapidly as it normally should. Finally finding strength, he pushed himself up into a standing position and glanced around. He had to get Izzy medical attention as quickly as possible.
“Over here, sir,” a man, clearly from the Navy, suggested, gesturing to where the captain’s quarters was.
Johnny eyed the man warily, unsure if he should trust the lad or not.
“You have beaten us,” another Navy man said, stepping forward to look at Johnny. “That was the agreement, was it not? Fighting to the death between you and Lord Shield. You have won.”
“Of course this does not mean that piracy is suddenly legal,” the first man said. “But since you have clearly and justly won this battle, I can promise you and your men safe passage to get off of our ships and leave, provided, of course, that they agree to stand down.”
“It is agreed,” Johnny said, nodding his head almost cryptically. His voice came out in a monotone, completely unlike how he normally spoke. Detached. As though he wasn’t there. “Just…” He looked down helplessly at Izzy, his eyes narrowing at the blood stain increasing. “Help her. Save her.”
“This way, sir,” the second man said, and turned, leading Johnny to the captain’s quarters. “My name is Cyprus, sir, and I can guarantee you we have the best medical aid money can buy.” He opened the door so Johnny could enter, and the pirate captain immediately set Izzy down on the luxurious bed. “I shall go and get the physician.” With that, the man closed the door in order to give the two some privacy, but Johnny took no notice.
“Johnny?” she croaked, trying to open her eyes. Izzy couldn’t believe the searing pain she was currently experiencing, but she felt that she could deal with it if she knew Johnny was all right.
“I’m here, darling,” Johnny said, his voice cracking slightly as he looked down at her. He reached up and pushed stray strands of golden hair from her face as his eyes blurred with unshed tears.
Izzy smiled at this, pleased that she managed to get to him in time. Her breathing hitched; it was getting so hard to breathe…. “I just…,” she tried to say, before shutting her eyes and then opening them once again, trying to focus on Johnny. It was hard when things were so blurry. “I just wanted to tell…you…I—”
Johnny immediately placed his finger on her lips, preventing her from finishing the sentence. “Don’t talk like that, love,” he said, trying his damnedest to keep his voice steady. “You can say anything you’d like when you get better.”
Izzy nodded, shutting her eyes once again. She was so tired….
“Promise me you’ll come back to me, Isabelle,” Johnny said suddenly, his face paling at the thought she might not make it through this. “Promise me.”
Izzy opened her eyes halfway and another smile touched her lips. “I always come back to you,” she said, her voice sounding far-off and tired. “I promise.” With that her eyes shut and she was immediately pulled into a hazy sleep.
Blackness surrounded Izzy at that moment, and oddly enough, she was standing, completely fine. Her surroundings looked like nothingness, and she was all alone. Her eyes searched for some kind of movement, trying desperately to find Johnny. Where was she? Had she died? Was this the afterlife? Purgatory?
“You are not yet dead,” a familiar, flowy voice said, and right before her eyes, the fortune teller from before came into view. “My name is Willow. I am sure you remember me reading your fortune in your time about your importance when it comes to Johnny Clover. As I’m sure you can see, you were a very important piece for Johnny’s survival. But not only that, Johnny would not have led these pirates into battle had it not been for you.”
Izzy furrowed her brow at the comment. “Me?” she asked, completely baffled. “How could I have possibly encouraged him to do this? I don’t even remember talking to him about it, really. In fact, somewhere inside of me, I didn’t want him to do it….”
Willow smiled enigmatically. “No,” she agreed, “but you inspired him. Before, Johnny Clover did not believe in anything, not even himself. And then he fell into your world. I must say, I was not expecting him to fall in love with you so quickly, but I am glad for it. You give him hope, Isabelle. And with hope comes courage to do something one would never dream of doing.”
“That’s a lot of pressure,” Izzy murmured with slight unease.
“Which is why you did not know about it,” Willow told her. “It was also imperative that Johnny believe you could disappear from him at any moment. You inspired him, Isabelle. Pirates all over the world should be thanking you.”
“That’s really all right,” the young woman said, clearly uncomfortable with what the redhead was telling her.
Willow chuckled at this, her laughter melodious and mesmerizing. “It amazes me that Johnny Clover had the capacity to fall in love,” she said, “though I knew he could. But what baffles me even more is the fact that you could love someone like him, even with his numerous flaws.”
“I love him for his flaws,” Izzy corrected her without even thinking. When she realized what she had said, she blushed and looked away. “So,” she said, deciding to change the subject. “You said I wasn’t dead. Then where am I?” She managed to turn her head and lock eyes with the psychic.
“You are in a time gap,” Willow said.
“Why am I here?” Izzy wondered aloud, her eyes still baffled by the darkness.
“Because I am going to give you a choice,” the woman explained. “A choice that cannot be revoked once made. Because of your part in this battle between the pirates and the Navy, I want to give you a gift. You were born in a different time and yet you fell into this one. I know you have strong feelings for Johnny Clover but I also know you have people you care about back home. We both know you cannot hop from one time to the other whenever you choose. But I do not wish to send you back to where you belong if that is not where you long to be. Would you like to stay here, with Johnny, or would you like to return home?”
It didn’t take very long for Izzy to make her decision, which surprised Izzy somewhat. She always thought it would be difficult to make sure a life-changing decision, but oddly enough, the words slipped out of her mouth as though she was meant to say them.
“I want to stay with Johnny.”
Willow smiled as though she knew that was what Izzy would say. And maybe she did.
“So be it.”
White light started to blind Izzy, and before she knew it, the young woman was back in her body. In pain, but where she felt she truly belonged.
Epilogue
Izzy could hear the music and the chattering down below and softly smiled to herself in the mirror. She was currently sitting at a desk, trying to figure out how to do her hair for tonight’s ball celebrating the pirates’ win in the battle against the Navy, but she didn’t feel that passionate about it. To be completely honest, she was tired, ready for bed. It had been three days since the fateful night when she had chosen to remain with Johnny rather than return home, but they hadn’t really spoken about love, and Izzy hadn’t told him she wouldn’t slip away from him. She pursed her lips, cocking her head slightly to the side, and wondered if maybe she imagined Johnny having feelings for her. Wouldn’t he have said something when she had woken up?
But he didn’t. And when he realized she hadn’t been wounded from the bullet, he realized it was Willow’s doing. That meant that the two had spoken, which meant she could leave at any moment. There was no point then, was there, telling her he loved her, if she was just going to return to the New World. So Johnny had kept his lips together, and settled back, as though he was waiting for her to leave him.
Izzy realized he was pushing her away, and the thought hurt. After everything they had been through together, a
fter everything he had accomplished with her supporting him from the sidelines, how could he simply—?
“Why the frown?” a familiar French drawl asked from the door frame. Izzy was so consumed in her thoughts, she hadn’t even heard Marion open her bedroom door. She glanced over at the older madam, and forced the corners of her lips up. Marion immediately tut-tutted her, closing the door behind her, and headed into the room. “Even I can tell that is a fake one. Why so sad?”
“This whole thing with Johnny,” Izzy said, deciding to confide in the older woman. She turned in her chair so she was facing the brunette, and sighed. “Right before he left for battle, I could have sworn he was going to tell me that he loved me, but I stopped him because I felt the only reason he was going to say it was because he thought he might die. But if he didn’t, then, at least to me, it meant that he knew he was coming back, and he could say it when he did. But it’s been a few days, and he hasn’t said a word.”
“You must give Johnny Clover some time,” Marion said, her voice ever-knowing, especially when it came to that particular pirate. “He has never really confessed such a thing to anyone, you know. Maybe he’s waiting for the…oh, how you say, the opportune moment.”
Izzy smiled at that, recalling the famous line from her favorite movie.
“Ah!” Marion exclaimed, pointing teasingly at the blonde in front of her. “There’s a real smile. You realize just how late you are for this celebration? I mean, look at you! Mon dieu. Come, come; you’re only in your under dress. Now where is the gown I gave to you? Tonight would be an excellent night to wear it. It will not only be Johnny’s eyes on you tonight, and maybe competition is the push that pirate needs to see just who he has in front of him.”
Izzy smiled. Marion sort of reminded her of Bex, or at least, she cheered her up just like her redheaded friend had. Izzy couldn’t help the excitement that rushed through her veins when Marion offered to help her get ready. In fact, it gave her renewed confidence, and she felt that she was actually looking forward to going to the ball.
It took a good hour, which surprised Marion herself, but Marion was fast and skillful. She knew exactly how she wanted Izzy to look, even when it came to Izzy’s hair and her face. Half of her hair was twisted and pinned to the top of her head in an intricate design that resembled a labyrinth, while the rest of her hair fell down her back into soft waves. Marion kept Izzy’s face natural-looking for the most part, not only because Izzy seemed to prefer it that way, but because the madam knew Johnny did too. Even when he was one of her customers, he’d preferred natural beauties, rather than fake ones.
It was the dress, however, that caused Izzy to give pause. She didn’t think that it was possible she could look this beautiful, but Marion seemed to think so. Somehow, she had found the exact color that emphasized Izzy’s eyes, so they stood out even more than they did already. The bodice was smooth cut across her chest in a round shape. The sleeves fell off of her shoulders loosely, and the skirt fit her shape rather than poofing out. On her feet were small heels, and there was a small white necklace that drew attention to her bare skin. It reminded her of the dress Taylor Swift had worn in “Love Story.”
“Are you ready?” Marion asked as she backed up to give the young woman in front of her a good look. “Because you look ready.”
Izzy smiled shyly, but nodded a couple of times, and followed the madam out the door.
Johnny frowned as his eyes swept across the ballroom once again, trying in vain to lay eyes on the woman he had been waiting for. Many women had approached them and asked him for a dance, and he obliged them, but his eyes were always searching. And nobody had yet to sway him into not looking for her.
Though he had told himself it didn’t matter whether or not he loved her—Izzy would be leaving soon—he desperately wanted to see her, to hold her closely to him….
He was dancing with another nameless woman when he found her. She was following Marion down the steps of her brothel and looked so stunning he couldn’t help but pause in the middle of the dance. He didn’t notice the woman scowling at him, didn’t care that he was the only unmoving person on the floor. In fact, he didn’t even care that his heart appeared to have stopped just taking her in. Without fully comprehending it, his feet began to lead him in her direction. He had to be in her proximity. He had to be near her, or he would absolutely go mad.
Johnny managed to reach the staircase just as Izzy had finished descending. She paused upon seeing him; he looked just as he had at the ball, the same hairstyle, the same suit—everything. Her heart skipped just seeing him looking at her with an enigmatic expression in those dark eyes of his.
“Dance with me?” he asked, though it sounded more like a statement rather than a question.
She took his offered hand, knowing that even if she had wanted to, she couldn’t refuse. Not those eyes.
“You look…,” Johnny began, but then stopped, realizing just how impossible it was for him to actually describe her.
Izzy blushed slightly, biting her bottom lip before saying, “You do, too.”
He led her gracefully onto the dance floor. Like Marion had said, many of the men that were there couldn’t seem to take their eyes off of Izzy. While Johnny pointedly acknowledged the attention, Izzy didn’t even seem to notice. It would seem she only had eyes for the man in front of her.
As they started to dance to the slow song the orchestra was playing, the couple remained silent. It felt good just being in his arms, while Johnny reveled in the feeling of her.
“I was worried about you, you know,” he told her suddenly, his voice soft and low, causing goose bumps to spring everywhere across her body. “I thought you promised you wouldn’t leave my quarters.” He arched a brow, slightly upset she hadn’t listened to him, but couldn’t exactly be angry with her when she was unharmed and alive.
“If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have kept your promise,” she murmured, looking up at him.
“Why did you do that?” he asked suddenly, furrowing her brow. “Why did you save me?”
“Because I love you,” she told him. The words were easier to say than she had originally anticipated, and she smiled when she realized a heavy burden had been taken off of her shoulders. “I couldn’t imagine my life without you, so I…I chose to stay here. With you.” She winced slightly, hoping she hadn’t been too presumptuous. “I hope you aren’t upset.”
Before Izzy could react, Johnny gently cupped her cheek in his rough hand and gently tilted her head back in order to softly brush his lips across hers. The action took Izzy by such surprise that she didn’t even have time to react.
“Of course I’m not upset,” he told her, pulling the young woman even closer. “I could never be mad at you.” He cocked his head to the side, his eyes still not quiet believing. “So you are to stay with me? You will not disappear.”
“I won’t disappear,” Izzy told him with a smile.
Johnny smiled brilliantly. “That’s excellent news, darling,” Johnny said. “In fact, to celebrate, I think we should get married.”
Izzy laughed at the idea. “Johnny, you haven’t even told me you loved me, and now you want to get married?” she asked in disbelief. “Don’t you think we should take things slowly?”
“Of course, of course,” the pirate agreed. “And I know just where to start.” He leaned towards her suddenly, cocking his head to the side slightly, and for a moment, Izzy thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, Johnny smiled down at her, a sparkle springing into his eyes. “I love you too,” he breathed in a husky voice. “And I think I always will. So then. Marriage?”
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, this was the first pirate novel I’ve written, and its spiraled from there. I promised myself I would write a good one – with more than just sex and romance, and I feel I’ve accomplished that with this book. So thank YOU for downloading it, taking a chance, and reading it. It means so, so much to me.
To all the readers and reviewers on Fictionpress, you’ve given me the courage to pursue my dreams. I’m so grateful for your support.
To my mom
To my brother
To my amazing cover designer, Sarah Paige. Thank you for your patience with me!
To my editor, Theresa Schultz, I swear, I learn SO much from you. Thank you for making this book better.
To Josh, Jacob, Kylee & Madisyn.
To my husband, who gives me insight and inspiration, and teaches me to be a better person. Thank you. I love you.
To my muse
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To Belive A Buccaneer Page 19
