Читать книгу My Wicked Pirate - Rona Sharon - Страница 11

Eros trained his telescope on the horizon. “He’s coming toward us.”

“Are you certain you want to give her back?” Giovanni inquired.

Eros shoved the brass tube into his hands. “See for yourself who’s onboard his ship.”

Giovanni put his eye to the hole. A warship flying the English colors was approaching at full speed. “Madonna mia! He has Gelsomina onboard. We can’t fire at him.”

“But he can fire at us. His ship is a man-o’-war with weight of metal equal to ours.”

Giovanni returned the telescope to his captain and glanced at the black serpent printed over purple ominously surfing the wind at the top of the masthead. “What are we to do, then?”

“Nothing.” Eros shut the tube. A private smile tugged at his lips as Rocca escorted Alanis, dressed in sunny yellow silk, onto the foredeck. “Good morning,” Eros said, unsmiling.

The instant they faced each other, Alanis relived their searing midnight tryst all over again: Moonlight, kisses, craving…then shame and guilt. Eros seemed trapped in the same moment.

“I imagine the reason I’m here is to spare us from getting blown out of the water,” she said.

“You scare me sometimes,” he whispered. “Your mind spins as rapidly as mine does.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” She took his telescope, turned her back to him, and scanned the horizon. “How much brain does one need to realize that I’m your best collateral? If Lucas spots me on your deck, he will hold his fire, and you shall have your moment with him. This is what you want, is it not? To haggle with the viscount as a common fishmonger.”

His voice turned chillingly cold. “Considering the aperi-tivo I had the pleasure of sampling last night, I confidently expect today’s transaction to go very smoothly.”

His remark was so low she wasn’t about to dignify it with a riposte. She concentrated on the English ship. Lucas. Soon they would wed and come to share their lives together, as man and wife. And after last night, she was better informed about what to expect. Hopefully.

“I suppose this is farewell.” Eros’s low voice filled her ear. Stark craving possessed her. Damnation! What was so intrinsically wrong with her that a blackguard should stir her blood with such wicked yearnings? “Last night when I kissed you, you called me Eros. I can’t seem to get it out of my head.”

Neither can I, she echoed bleakly. After today they would never meet again.

“I wish I could say we might see each other yet again,” he spoke her thoughts, “perhaps in a future ball in France, but I doubt it. Louis is rather cross with me at the moment for stealing his frigates, and you are a soon-to-be-married dame, busy with producing blond toddlers.”

“You say this as if you care,” she mumbled stiffly, her eyes on the approaching ship.

“You say this as if you care.” His lips scalded the delicate slope of her nape. “Do you?”

Yes. She shut her eyes. Pulling her wobbly self together, she turned to face him. The heat in his eyes unhinged her. “You’re off to fight the French, then.”

He was all suave Italian charm again. “Does a valiant soldier merit a friendly adieu?”

Inadvertently she glimpsed at his mouth. “I was not aware that we were friends.”

Eros pulled her to him. “I have Santo Giorgio to watch over me, but no ragazza to shed her tears. Will you think of me from time to time, Amore? Shed a tear or two?”

“You have Gelsomina to shed tears for you,” she retorted bitingly.

“It won’t be the same.” He stared at her mouth, his eyes heavy with desire. Her head fell back. One last parting kiss, she thought, waiting for the torrid taste of his mouth…

“Ship on bowsprit, Captain!” a voice hollered from the forecastle.

“Trim the sails!” Eros called over his shoulder, activating a disciplined commotion. Sailors climbed the ropes to furl the sails. Grappling hooks flew from one warship to another, bringing the vessels closer together. Alanis glanced at the warship approaching starboard. She wished she could stop time for one crazy moment, for one last parting kiss, but with Lucas came reality.

Eros looked grim. “Duty calls, my beauty.” Sighing, he released her and marched off. His lionlike voice carried on the breeze as he fired orders, his strides establishing an air of authority.

Feeling cheated, Alanis took position at starboard where she secured a vantage view of the scene. It was not long before she spotted Lucas standing at the railing of the Dandelion. He was changed, she thought. The priggish lord was transformed into a dashing commander.

“Good God, Alis, it is you!” His green eyes expanded in a newly tanned face. “What the deuce are you doing here? Are you all right? Were you ill treated in any way?”

She had hoped for a warmer reunion. She sensed a large, annoyance-radiating presence at her back, and a crisp voice stated, “She was treated exceptionally well.”

Alanis smiled. Eros sounded a little bit jealous. Deciding to tweak his temper, she called out cheerfully, “Hello, Lucas! I’ve come to offer diversions and support. I had the misfortune to be taken from my ship, but I’m in perfect form and dreadfully bored. And you are?”

“Splendid, but I do not much appreciate your coming here. It’s wartime and the High Seas are polluted with scavengers.” He shot the man at her back an intimidating glare. “I am shocked Dellamore allowed you this harebrained adventure. Kingston is hardly London, you know.”

“Enough with the tear-jerking drama,” Eros barked frostily and slammed both hands on the railing on either side of her. “Silverlake, we have business to attend to.”

Alanis stiffened. She was facing her fiancé, yet every nerve in her body responded to Eros’s closeness. She felt his jaw brushing her temple, felt his heat permeating her bloodstream.

“Ciao pezzo di ragazzo!” A ravishing hoyden in purple breeches and boots came to stand beside Lucas, her jet curls swelling, her blue eyes glowing. She threw Eros an orange and a kiss.

“Gelsomina!” Eros caught her gift and plunged into a torrential monologue in fluid Italian. Alanis studied his profile; he radiated such joy upon seeing this odd female. She knew he had come to save his mistress, but nothing had prepared her for this. The cad paid advances to her while he was in love with another, and she was brainless enough to fall for his dubious charms.

“Jasmine, I told you to stay below deck!” Lucas berated the woman at his side.

Ignoring him, she greeted Eros’s men. Giovanni laughed and blew her a kiss.

“Silverlake, I have a proposition for you,” Eros shouted. “Your fiancée for Jasmine. You’ll never get a better deal than this.”

“I do not wheel and deal with cutthroats, Viper. I have the authority to seize your ship and hang you, but if you wish to surrender, I might be persuaded to spare your Italian arse!”

Eros boomed with laughter. “Sorry to disappoint you, clown, but I never had a sovereign over my head before. I most certainly am not about to embrace one now.”

“You will surrender, nonetheless. If not, you and your cronies will meet the scaffold!”

Eros curled an arm around Alanis’s waist, making her catch her breath. “If this beautiful creature means anything to you, you’ll release Jasmine right now. Or I shall be tempted to keep your delectable fiancée for myself and return for Jasmine in a less friendly advent.”

Lucas lost his composure. “Let her go, Viper, or you’ll pay dearly for this!”

“You obviously know of me, so you must also know that I do not make idle threats. Lady Alanis hasn’t been harmed in any way, but if you insist on dismissing my offer, neither you nor her family will see her ever again. Believe me when I say that delightful thoughts cross my mind at the prospect.” And in a flint-chipping voice he added, “Let Jasmine walk the plank, or you’ll spend the rest of your life scouring the markets of the Orient for your golden bride.”

Stabbing his arm with her nails, Alanis glared up at his stern face. “How dare you threaten me with slavery.” And Lucas—she glowered at him—the blockhead was taking his principle of not negotiating with pirates to the bitter end. Her bitter end! She was not so dense she did not twig what was afoot here: He fancied the Italian tart! “My grandfather will slay you for this,” she hissed, and glowered at Eros again. “He’ll slay you as well!”

Unperturbed by her attack, Eros caught her wrist and wrapped her more firmly in his arms. “I wonder, Englishman, what would the Duke of Dellamore make of your lack of cooperation? I fail to see a brilliant office in your future. If I were you, I wouldn’t antagonize Anne’s advisor.”

Lucas crimsoned. “Bloody bastard! I won’t be blackmailed by the likes of you! If you do not release Lady Alanis this instant, you’ll be hounded by Her Majesty’s Fleet until you—”

“You’ll have to do better than this,” Eros cut him short. “I’m already pursued by every navy on the High Seas. Surely you don’t expect me to balk at your uninspired threat.”

Exasperated, Alanis called, “Let him have his girl and be done with it, Lucas!” If she didn’t put her foot down, the two oafs were likely to stand there all day, exchanging threats.

“There’s a sensible advice,” Eros remarked. He smiled at her. “Desperate to escape me?”

“Do not even presume to think I’m on your side, villain. Now let go!” She tried to pry his steely arms off of her, but Eros only squeezed tighter, seeming to enjoy their embraced position.

“You’re an overeager pup, Silverlake,” he shouted, “unschooled in the ways of the world. I could let my entire crew taste this precious morsel, and you’d still be obliged to recover her. I’m offering you the sweeter deal. Grab it with both hands.”

Lucas seethed. “I won’t cower under your bloodstained flag! I won’t relinquish Jasmine!”

The English soldiers seemed as amazed as the pirates, but not as aghast as Alanis. “Lucas!” She choked, mortified. She looked at Eros. The empathy in his eyes made her feel worse. That he should pity her was the worst humiliation.

He ran a finger beneath her eye and stared at the tears he’d collected. Fury lit his eyes. “D’ accordo. Va bene!” he snarled at Lucas. “I’ll keep Alanis for now, but don’t expect me to give up on Jasmine. Cut the ropes!” he ordered his crew.

“Where the devil do you think you’re off to?” Lucas yelled. “We’ll settle this as it’s done in the civilized world! And if you haven’t the foggiest, I’ll be happy to enlighten you!”

Her hope revived, Alanis hung expectant eyes on Eros. He blinked at the viscount, feigning utter astonishment. “My good man, are you by any chance suggesting a duel?”

“Indeed, I am, sirrah. So sharpen your cutlass and prepare to do battle!”

Eros gave a negligent shrug. “I didn’t come here to tear you to shreds, but if you insist…” In Latin he said, “A crown plucked from an easy summit brings no pleasure.”

Loud cheers broke on the Alastor. Lucas bristled. “Latin or plain English, I suggest you put your metal where your mouth is!” Suitably, the Dandelion soldiers booed and jeered.

Alanis touched Eros’s arm. “Please…don’t kill him.”

“I must accept his challenge, Princess. Your fiancé is a pigheaded fool, and I cannot leave Gelsomina behind. Don’t hate me too much after today. Just remember that—” Sustaining her anxious gaze, he put the orange in her hands for safekeeping. “I’m doing this for you as well.” He called to Lucas, “You have my answer, pirate hunter. We’ll dance the plank, only be sure you don’t fall off.” And to the roaring delight of the Italian sailors he went to mount the board.

On the Dandelion, Lucas removed his vest and drew his rapier. He stormed with an elegant offensive maneuver, collecting cheers from his officers and crew. Eros was the first to leap onto the plank, his litheness once again reminding Alanis of a black leopard. Folding his arms across his chest, he called, “Are you ready to proceed, Viscount, or do I go below for a nap?”

Lucas ceased his exercise. “You may take a minute. To say your last prayer!” He joined Eros on the plank, causing the board to groan and lurch precariously. Flushing, he struggled to obtain balance while the giant pirate stood steady as a rock, looking amused. “You seem adept at this sort of thing, Viper, but so are monkeys.”

“Enough of such compliments.” Eros smiled. “Remember, this is a serious matter—your funeral.” He withdrew his lustrous rapier and pointed it at the viscount. “En Guard!”

His lips pursed, Lucas crossed his sword with the pirate’s. A hush fell on both decks. Then, thrusting lightning fast, Lucas performed a neat volte-face. The bluecoats hurrahed, waving their fists, but Eros parried fluently and forced the viscount to switch position with him.

Flailing wildly, Lucas cast anxious glances at the shark-infested waves splashing beneath the plank. Suddenly, his cravat was yanked hard, hauling him back to a steady posture.

“Going anywhere?” Eros let go of the lace folds, looking mildly interested. The Alastor deck raged with laughter, whistling, stomping, and hooting. Smiling graciously, Eros inclined his head at his enthusiastic audience, then faced the viscount again. Lucas’s flustered expression was as splendid as Eros’s broad, tempting smile as he offered, “Wish to yield?”

“Not before I send your loquacious mouth overboard!” He lifted his sword and struck. The duel turned lethal from then on. Eros thrust hard and fast, pressuring the viscount’s rapier while using his bulkier frame to wedge him between the Alastor and the deep drop to the sea. Golden sunrays slivered off their scuffing blades. The board creaked beneath their dancing boots.

Alanis held her breath, watching them engage and disengage. She prayed for Lucas, winced when Eros escaped a near stabbing, and basically suppressed sheer panic. Her gaze clashed with Jasmine’s, and they exchanged curious glances. Her adversary looked as anxious she felt. Alanis suspected Jasmine was experiencing the same confusion of equally fretting over both duelers.

Wanting in practice, Lucas redoubled his agility, the price of which was a thick sheen of sweat on his brow. He moved gracefully, his blond queue wagging over his nape, his lean body hunching and bending to avoid the Italian’s relentless strikes. His breathing thinned. Eros was steadily wearing him down. He must have faced deadlier foes than Lucas Hunter in his wretched life, Alanis surmised. Wielding his blade at an unbelievable speed, he constantly changed the rules and laid into the viscount without allowing him a moment to catch his breath.

Desperate to fell his opponent, Lucas aimed at Eros’s knees, but the latter leaped over the blade with the grace of a cat and landed at the center of the board. Lucas lost his balance. With a loud whoop he landed flat on his backside. The Italians went berserk, guffawing loud enough to raise the devil; Giovanni was cracking up so hard tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Capitano, show some mercy for the poor turtle!” he cried. His mates burst out laughing. The bluecoats didn’t take kindly to the banter, and a verbal brawl erupted between the two decks.

Eros watched Lucas slowly getting up. “My offer still stands,” he said. “Yield!”

“I’ll see you dead first!” Lucas rasped, and with a guttural cry lunged at Eros. The pirate’s reaction was blinding fast; his rapier shimmered as he screwed it expertly, pierced the viscount’s palm, and knocked the rapier out of his hand. The blade soared high, flipping and flickering in the bright sunlight, before it dove into the sea. The viscount withdrew his dagger.

“Lucas, don’t! He’ll hack you to pieces!” Alanis cried out in terror. He could not afford to challenge the Viper with a knife! “Please, let him take his girl and be done with this madness!”

Lucas looked hurt, worn out, and desperate. His bloody fingers squeezed the knife’s hilt. “Jasmine is a decent woman. She doesn’t need to throw her life away on filth like you. She can have a good, respectable one in Jamaica. So leave her be, you bloody sea dog!”

A muscle twitched in Eros’s jaw. “To be hung, imprisoned, or serve as your mistress? How inconvenient for you to have your fiancée show up so unexpectedly.”

“Why don’t you ask Jasmine what she wants?”

“I know where her loyalty lies,” Eros replies. “Sheath your blade. She comes with me.”

“Never!” Lucas charged with the knife. Eros gripped his wrist, twisted it behind his back, and relieved him of the dagger. He brought its tip to Lucas’s neck. A drop of blood emerged on the viscount’s damp skin. It trickled to his sweat-drenched collar, expanding on the white fabric.

Noting the savage glint in Eros’s eyes, Alanis begged, “Eros! Please! Don’t kill him!”

“Eros!” Jasmine cried out, her eyes wild with terror. “Don’t kill him! I love him…”

Eros froze. He glared at Jasmine. “You love him?”

“Yes.” Jasmine nodded, wiping her teary face with her shirtsleeve.

Alanis moaned with despair. Eros was sure to kill Lucas now. Yet to her utter amazement, the notorious pirate dropped the knife and released Lucas. He offered Jasmine a hand. “Come.”

Jasmine started to mount the plank. Lucas roared. He dove at the dagger and slashed Eros’s side, ripping his midsection. Blood spurted red and thick. Eros staggered, blue eyes burning. He dropped to his knees with a loud thud and toppled over, pressing his hand to his side.

“Dear Lord!” Alanis nudged the enraged pirates aside to reach the plank. Bloody knife in hand, Lucas was about to strike. “Lucas, don’t!” she screamed. “You are not a murderer!”

Jasmine delved as a serpent between them, bracing her body as a human shield.

“Get out of the way, Jasmine!” Lucas barked. “Or I swear I’ll kill you both!”

“Kill me, then, you cowardly bastard! He spared your life upon my request. What sort of a man are you to stab a man in the back? You! The noble viscount! You’re a backstabbing knave!”

Giovanni and Nico drew their pistols and pointed them at Lucas’s back. Horrified, Alanis’s eyes fixed on Eros. Her heart went out to him. “Lucas! Let them live! You’ve won!”

Reluctantly, Lucas dropped the knife. Her face run with tears, Jasmine sat beside Eros and gently put his dark head in her lap. “Don’t just stand there, Lucas! Get him a surgeon!”

“There’s no surgeon onboard the Dandelion. And just as well. Your lover will die as a dog, because that is precisely what he is.”

His snarl proved conclusively what Alanis already suspected: He and Jasmine were lovers. This duel wasn’t about her. It was about eliminating the competition—Eros.

Jasmine’s eyes flashed murderously. “Eros is not my lover, you idiot! He’s my brother!”

Alanis’s jaw dropped open. Of course! How could she have been so blind? A brother and a sister, so much alike, both tall, dark Italians, damn-your-eyes beautiful with sapphire eyes. Everything clicked into place: Eros’s efforts to rescue Jasmine, his willingness to spare Lucas’s life because his sister loved him, and last, it dawned on her that his kisses, their moments together…He meant it. He must have meant it. And now he was dying.

Jasmine wept bitterly, her arm protectively draped over Eros’s chest. “I need to get him off this board,” she cried brokenly. “Madonna mia, he’s losing too much blood…”

Alanis’s tears were just as raw. “Jasmine, lower him on deck. I’ll treat his wound.”

Jasmine’s head came up, hope brightening her eyes. “You will?”

“I’m no surgeon,” Alanis admitted. “I’ve merely assisted our physician Giles in Yorkshire on occasion. Nothing fancy. Stitching, cleansing. But if there’s no one else…”

“There isn’t. Please help him.” Jasmine stood up. Giovanni and Nico came to lend a hand.

Lucas blocked them. “My fiancée will not treat this vile man.”

“Yes, I will!” Alanis countered. “I won’t watch him bleed to death.”

The viscount looked appalled. “Why should you concern yourself whether this blackguard bleeds to death, Alis? After what he did to you, you still want to help him?”

His attitude sent the pirates to their battle positions. Muskets and pistols were drawn. The Master Gunner gave out orders to load the guns. Dangling on ropes from the Alastor’s masts, the pirate crew prepared to board the Dandelion, and then the best boys would carry the day.

“If you don’t let me treat him, we shall all be swimming for our lives,” Alanis warned.

“Please!” Jasmine implored. “Don’t ask me to choose between my brother and you.”

“We’ll take him to Kingston, then.” Lucas grunted. “My fiancée will not take one step toward this villain. She has suffered enough at his filthy hands.”

Alanis looked at Eros. He was staring at her with the eyes of a wounded tiger. How could she let him die? “I never suffered at his hands. I will tend to him.”

“Alis, what are you saying?” Lucas demanded. “You can’t possibly treat this criminal!”

Alanis saw the terror in Jasmine’s eyes. She knew that terror. Her brother was about to die. “He’s lost too much blood already,” she insisted. “If we wait until we reach Kingston, he will surely die. I refuse to see another man bleed to death and be told there is nothing to be done.”

“You are thinking of Tom, aren’t you? But you have no idea how evil this man is. Eros is a brutal murderer. He deserves to be hanged. I forbid you to come within a yard of him.”

Her resolve was final. Because of his mad behavior, because he was besotted with another woman, he put them both at risk. It was time to assume command of her life and make her own decisions. “If Eros dies because you forced me to withhold treatment, I’ll board the first ship home and tell my grandfather everything! He will not approve of your conduct and neither will your father or the queen. Do you wish me to state my case with Her Majesty?”

Lucas flinched. He sustained her glare, unsure whether she’d pursue her threat to the end. She didn’t blink. “Do as you please,” he muttered. “You have my permission.”

Not wasting another precious moment, Jasmine helped Eros up. Giovanni and Nico offered assistance, but to everyone’s astonishment, Eros barked at his helpers and lowered himself to the Alastor deck. Grating his teeth with every agonizing gesture, he slumped against the railing.

Alanis knelt beside him. “Are you in a lot of pain?” she inquired softly, sweeping his silky black hair off his brow. Cold sweat dampened it.

“Yes,” he gritted. His eyes glinted feverishly blue.

“Good. It means you’re not dying yet.” His white linen shirt was soaked with blood. She had to rip it off to expose the wound, yet peeling the attached cloth was sure to cause him unbearable pain. “Jasmine, lend me your dagger. And give him something to bite on.”

“Just do it,” Eros rasped through clenched teeth. “If I’m out when you’re done, spill coffee powder over the cut. It should seal it. You’ll find a pouch in my cabin.” Though pain was visible in every line in his face, his mouth was set with stoical resolve. “Do it, Alanis.”

Considering the amount of blood he’d lost, Alanis was amazed he was still in command of his senses. She wiped her brow and very tenderly slashed his shirt. Blood gushed, so she pressed the ruined cloth against the open wound. No panic, she commanded herself. You can save him.

Eros watched her the entire time, his eyes heavy with pain, yet he didn’t grunt. Nor did he flinch. He merely stared at her, his gaze obscure, his complexion gray, his body taut. Fighting the shaking, he gave only once to a sharp spasm. “Why?” he hissed. “Why are you…helping me?”

His question hung between them, challenging, personal. Why was she helping this ruthless pirate? He had done nothing to merit her kindness. “I hope your vigor lives up to your immortal name, Eros,” she whispered with a smile. “Whatever my reasons are, you shall have to trust me.”