Pirate's Promise

by Smith, Bobbi

  "I know." She gave him a bright smile.

  "He was very worried about hurting you, too."

  "Adam's a wonderful man," Elise said, her eyes filling with tears.

  "You're crying?" David touched her cheek reverently, wondering what was wrong.

  "Only because I'm so happy," Elise said. "As long as I have you by my side, I know I can handle anything."

  "I'll never leave you, darling," David vowed. "I'll stay with you always."

  "Send the messages to Adam," she told him with conviction. "I'm ready to see him now."

  Adam received David's note late that day and could not arrange to get away until that evening. He confided only in Becky and then made the trip into New Orleans alone, glad for the chance to be away from Lianne's intoxicating, tempting nearness. His mood was dark as he lay awake in his room at the St. Louis that night, contemplating the confrontation to come the next morning.

  The note from the doctor had been short but informative, letting Adam know that Elise had almost completely recovered now and that she wanted to see him as soon as he could manage to make the trip to town. Williams had given Adam no hint as to her current state of mind or the state of her affections. He was anticipating a very painful scene when they met. The last thing he wanted to do was to hurt her further, but he knew he wouldn't be able to rest unless things were fully resolved between them. Elise had meant a lot to him, and he owed her the complete truth.

  Adam was on edge as he was admitted to the house by Nurse Halliday the next day. "Dr. Williams said that Elise was ready to see me," he said as she ushered him inside.

  "Yes, sir. If you'll wait in the parlor . . .?"

  As Adam went into the parlor, Nurse Halliday went to find Elise. Adam was too tense to sit down and try to relax, so instead, he wandered to the window to gaze out at the serenity of the lush gardens beyond.

  Then he saw her standing in the garden, and, with a shock, he realized that, indeed, her recovery was complete. No longer did she appear the distant, unaffected woman he'd dealt with during these long months. She was the Elise he'd once known . . . lovely, vibrant, happy . . .

  The last thought jolted Adam. She looked so wonderful, so unexpectedly content, that he almost turned and left. He didn't want to be the one to cause her any more pain.

  Still, Adam stood his ground, watching in silence as he saw Nurse Halliday go to her. He tried to read Elise's expression as the nurse gave her the news that he'd arrived, but the distance was too great to judge her reaction. Turning away from the window, he waited, and it was only a few moments before he heard her coming down the hall.

  "I'll be in the parlor with Adam, Nurse Halliday, and we're not to be disturbed," she was saying.

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Having dismissed her, Elise turned then and faced Adam with full recognition for the first time since they'd last spoken on the ship.

  "Adam . . ." She said his name with deep, heartfelt emotion as she went to him. She could tell that he was nervous, and without hesitation, she put her arms around him and hugged him. Since David had explained everything, she wanted to put him at ease. She wanted him to know that she still loved him in her own way.

  Adam returned the embrace with a tenderness that came from deep affection. When Elise moved back to look up at him, he finally found his voice.

  "It's good to see you, Elise. You look beautiful," Adam told her, thrilling at the sanity he found in her eyes. He touched her cheek gently, tenderly, thinking her a stunning woman, understanding how he'd believed himself in love with her all those months ago. Yet even as he admired Elise, Lianne was there in his thoughts, her hold on his heart unchallenged.

  "Thank you, Adam. It's good to see you, too," she responded as she drew him down on the sofa beside her. "I'm so glad you're all right. There was a lot I couldn't remember in the beginning, and David helped me through it. He told me all the rest of what had happened. I'm so sorry, Adam."

  "You're sorry?" Adam asked in amazement, wondering what she had to be sorry about. "You have nothing to be sorry about." This last he said bitterly, his own self-recrimination not yet fully put to rest.

  The moment grew awkward. Adam didn't know what she was expecting from him or what he should say next. He did not want to discuss all the ugliness of the past, and yet, he didn't know what to say to her about the future.

  Elise, too, didn't know how to begin. She wanted to tell him that she knew of his marriage and that it was all right. She wanted to tell him that she too had fallen in love with someone else, and they should both go on with the rest of their lives happily and without guilt. What was over, was over. It was time for each of them to begin anew.

  At the exact same time, they both decided to bring the truth out in the open.

  "Adam . . ."

  "Elise . . ."

  They both began to talk, and then they both fell silent as their eyes met and held.

  "I want to thank you for everything you've done for me, Adam," Elise started again. "I know this couldn't have been easy for you, and — "

  "For me?" Adam scoffed in self-derision, thinking she was the one who'd suffered the most.

  "Yes, you," she boldly interrupted before he could say anything more. "Yes, you. If it hadn't been for you, God knows what would have happened to me."

  "I care about you, Elise," Adam said seriously. "In the beginning, when they told me that you'd never recover, I nearly lost my mind. I was lucky to find Dr. Williams."

  "We both were."

  She sat it with such impact that Adam suddenly knew a bust of hope.

  "Adam, David told me about your marriage." Else was relieved when she finally blurted it out.

  "He did?" Adam stiffened in surprise.

  Elise smiled at him sweetly as she lay a hand on his arm. "I'm happy for you, Adam, and I hope you'll be happy for me . . ."

  "You've come to care for Williams?" Adam ventured.

  "Yes. I love David very much, and I've agreed to become his wife." There was a very real glow of joy about her as she told him the news.

  "Elise, that's wonderful!" For the first time since Shark's terrible raid Adam felt almost lighthearted. He took her in his arms and embraced her. "I wish you only the best of everything."

  "Thank you, Adam. I feel the same way about you."

  When he left her some time later, Adam's mood was better than it had been in months. He would never have believed it before, but it seemed that things did have a way of turning out for the best.

  As his thoughts turned to Lianne, however, Adam grew a bit more somber. It was not going to be easy. This problem he'd created by making love to her as Spectre had made things far more difficult than he'd ever dreamed they could be, but he knew that somehow he was going to find the way to win her heart.

  Suzanne intruded on his thoughts then, too, and he found himself wishing that he'd already finished with Shark, so he'd never have to see her again. It was getting harder and harder to pretend to be her lover. The thought that he had to stop on the way back to Belle Arbor to see her in order to keep up the charade left him feeling jaded.

  Still, Adam knew he had to complete his revenge against the smuggler. Then, when it was over, he would put the past from him and get on with his future —a future that included Lianne and their child.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  "Miss Suzanne has gone into New Orleans, Mr. Adam. She's been gone since yesterday, and I'm not sure when to expect her back," the servant informed him.

  Relief swept through Adam, for he was glad to have avoided the awkwardness of courting her. "Would you please tell her that I came to call?"

  "Yes, sir. I'll tell her just as soon as she gets back."

  As Adam left Willow Bend, though, he wondered what had drawn Suzanne into town. Since Beau's close call in capturing Shark weeks ago, had the smuggler changed his method of operating and somehow managed to elude Beau's diligent patrol? Adam knew it bore looking into, and he resolved to relay the possibility to Beau as soon as
he made it back to Belle Arbor.

  Night laid its shadowy claim to the land as Adam journeyed on the final leg of his return trip home. Elise's newfound happiness had released him from the torment of long-held feelings of personal guilt. His thoughts turned to Lianne as he rode through the darkness. The prospect of returning home to find her suspicious and doubting him again troubled him. He longed for a warm, loving welcome, but knew he had to be patient. He was weary of the deception, but could see no way out of it just yet.

  The memory of her response to Spectre still bothered Adam, too, but he knew it was ridiculous to feel jealous of his own alter ego. As he anticipated seeing Lianne again, his body came alive with desire for her. It always amazed Adam that he reacted so strongly to her, but he realized now that this was love —this all-consuming, overpowering need to possess and be possessed. He'd never felt it with another, and he knew he never would again.

  Suddenly, Adam needed to know the absolute truth of Lianne's feelings. He needed to know if there was any hope left for their marriage. It didn't seem possible to him that Lianne could respond to him physically the way she did if she hated him as thoroughly as she professed. Adam wondered, too, why she had followed him into the bayou that fateful night. She obviously had come after him in hopes of forcing a confrontation, but why? If she despised him, why would she have cared what he did? She had her home back and a rich husband. Wouldn't his absence from her bed greatly please her if, as she vowed, she couldn't bear his touch? Adam longed to find out, but he knew she would never reveal anything to him, personally.

  At that point, he decided to assume Spectre's identity with her one last time. Adam knew he shouldn't. Logic told him that he should wait and take things slowly with Lianne. Logic, however, didn't rule his heart.

  Lianne had found herself watching for Adam all day. After he'd left so abruptly the night before, Becky had assured her that his trip into town definitely was business. That has eased her anxiety somewhat, but the memory of Suzanne's tauntingly vicious conversation left her despairing. Lianne knew that the other woman's hold on Adam was considerable and that her own efforts to win Adam's love might well prove futile. Still, Lianne knew she had to try.

  Lianne retired early again, her disappointment over Adam's continuing absence evident as she made her way slowly upstairs. Though she hadn't expected to be able to rest, sleep claimed her quickly, and she dreamed of Adam and the night they'd made love beside the reflecting pond.

  The caressing touch at Lianne's breast was warm and gentle even as it aroused, and she smiled in her sleep.

  "Adam . . ." she murmured, caught up in dreams of his loving possession, feeling desire's sweet heat flooding through her. "Adam . . ."

  The touch stopped abruptly, and Lianne came awake. She stirred sleepily, her body still glowing with the fiery tension her sensual reverie had evoked. Lianne realized slowly that it had all been imagined, and the disappointment was heartbreaking. Even in her sleep, her body betrayed her.

  Lianne opened her eyes, hoping to dispel the desire that throbbed deep within her, and she saw Spectre looming above her. She started to cry out in surprise, but he clamped a hand firmly across her mouth to prevent it.

  "Be quiet," he commanded in his hoarse, rasping tone.

  Lianne nodded. She was relieved when he immediately took his hand away, but her heart was still pounding wildly in her breast.

  "Why did you come back?" she demanded in a whisper.

  Spectre looked at her for a long time before he answered. His dark eyes, gleaming behind the disguise he wore, seemed to bore into hers as if searching for something.

  "I couldn't stay away from you," he confessed earnestly, and he reached out boldly to touch her breast again. Adam had been shocked to hear her call out his name and not Spectre's as he'd caressed her. Certainly, she had sounded pleased as she said it, but then, she had been asleep.

  Lianne was mesmerized by his caress for a moment and didn't immediately move away from the seductive touch of his hand as he toyed with the already aching crest of her breast.

  "I want you, Lianne," he told her gruffly. "I want you more than I've ever wanted another woman. You're everything I've ever desired . . ."

  He was just about to kiss her, when Lianne finally came to her senses. She scrambled across the bed, taking care to keep out of his reach.

  "No, Spectre! I won't let you do this to me again!" she blurted out desperately.

  "Do what to you? Make love to you?" he asked, puzzled by her withdrawal when he'd knew her body was responding to him.

  "Yes," Lianne declared firmly, remembering her vow to herself. "I don't want you to touch me anymore. You have to go!"

  "But why? You're alone, and you know you want me," Spectre said simply. "Do I have to show you again how much you really desire me, Lianne?" he taunted her with her past surrender.

  "I know you can make me respond to you physically," she returned, trying not to let her fear that she might succumb to him again show in her voice. "But that doesn't mean anything!"

  "It doesn't?" There was a mocking tone to his voice.

  "No." She shook her head to emphasize her determination.

  "Tell me, Lianne. Why this sudden reluctance?" Spectre chided. "You know the joy I can give you. You know the passion we've shared."

  "I don't want that any more. It means nothing."

  He gave a soft laugh. "I know you so well, Lianne. Why is it I'm finding it so difficult to believe you?"

  "You don't know me at all, and I don't know you! Why, I've never even seen you!"

  "That never mattered to you before," he told her in a seductive tone.

  "I know, but . . ."

  "But what?" His words were a sneer.

  She caught herself before she blurted out everything to him. "Why should I tell you what I'm thinking and feeling? You've never trusted me! You've always hidden behind that mask!"

  "For good reason," he remarked fiercely, snaring her by her arms and bringing her fully against him even as she knelt on the bed. "You love me, Lianne. I can tell by the way your body responds to mine."

  "No! I don't love you!"

  "Oh? Then just who do you love, Lianne? Have you suddenly found that you love your absent husband more than you do me?"

  "You may be able to make me desire you, Spectre, but you can never touch my heart. Adam's the only one who can do that. My husband is the only man I love!"

  Adam was elated by her unexpected confession. He kissed her devouringly, forgetting for a moment that he was Spectre and not himself. When Lianne began to struggle against him, he realized his mistake and broke off the kiss.

  "Don't, Spectre!" Lianne gasped, trying to deny the stirrings of passion he'd aroused when his mouth had moved over hers in that demanding exchange. Crushed to the hard width of his chest now, she could feel his own desire for her pressing hotly against her thigh. Her need was great, but her love for Adam was stronger. Tears filled her eyes as she tried to free herself from his arms. "You must let me go. I can never betray my husband this way again! I love him too much! Please, Spectre, if you care for me at all, you'll release me."

  Her words stung Adam. He wanted to make love to her. He wanted to take her right then and there, but he knew any chance of that had disappeared when she'd confessed to loving him.

  As ecstatic as Adam was over discovering that she really loved him, he now found himself in an even more complicated situation. There was no way he could reveal to her, as her husband, that he knew her deepest feelings without giving himself away, and Adam was certain that she would be outraged if she found out about his deception. He wouldn't blame her for really hating him then, for he certainly wasn't proud of what he'd done. The unshed tears glistening in her eyes sent a pang of regret through him.

  "If that's what you really want, Lianne," he managed, hating the thought of releasing her when she felt so wonderful held tightly against him.

  "It's what I want," she reaffirmed, her eyes never leaving his. Lianne was ama
zed when he pushed her slightly away from him and stepped back.

  "You're husband is a very lucky man to have your love, Lianne."

  Lianne had to fight to keep from laughing bitterly. She watched in silence as Spectre turned his back on her and left the room through the balcony window. She was frozen in place for a moment, but then raced to the window to look out. Lianne felt oddly disappointed when there was no sign of Spectre anywhere. It was almost as if he'd vanished.

  Returning to her bed, Lianne felt very proud of herself. It had been difficult to send Spectre away, but she had to do it. She loved Adam, whether he loved her or not, and she wanted to be a good wife to him. He was due to return home tomorrow, and when he did, she was going to tell him of her love for him and how she wanted to try to make a life together. Lianne knew there was a good chance that he would reject her outright; still, she knew she had to try. Her whole future depended on it.

  Suzanne entered her room at the hotel late that night after spending the evening with friends. She had left a low lamp burning on the night table when she'd left, and she was surprised to find that it had gone out while she was away. Leaving the door open slightly to provide some illumination, she made her way to the dresser to light the other lamp. That accomplished, she returned to close and lock the door.

  Suzanne had only started to turn around when the man's arms went around her and she was hauled against a rock-hard, unyielding chest. His hands moved brazenly over her lush curves with insulting familiarity.

  "Shark!" Suzanne gasped in immediate recognition.

  "It's about time you got back," Shark remarked as he trailed hot, wet kisses down the side of her neck.

  "What are you doing in New Orleans?" she asked, twisting free of his grasp to turn and face him. Shark usually avoided the city. It was strange for him to show up here like this.

  "We had a close call when we sailed last time," he informed her.

  "What kind of close call?"

  Shark was not about to let her know the depth of his concern about this "Captain Spectre" who was supposedly after him.

  "I'm not sure. It might have been the authorities. I didn't stay around long enough to find out, and we took a different return route this time, just in case."