Page 120 of The Sea Witch
He strode from one side of the cabin to the other. Each step gave him more and more power.
“A beautiful thing to see,” she said, pride in her eyes.
Ben stalked to her. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her to him.
He kissed her. Deep and hard and thorough, devouring her, claiming her. Whoever owned the coat he currently wore, they didn’t matter. BecauseBenwas here with her now.
He nipped at her bottom lip. Her hands came up, sliding along his chest, to weave her fingers behind his neck.
Ben released her. Her eyes opened, and her gaze was drugged and unfocused.
With one final look, he swaggered out the door. Danger lay ahead. He might survive it. He might not. Yet with her beside him, he could face anything.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“You and I met in Tortuga,” Alys explained to Ben as he rowed them toward the dock at Lambert’s island estate. “Well, off the coast of Tortuga, when we both attacked the same Spanish merchantman, bearing gold and jewels bound for Barcelona. We argued over who’d take the prize, but in the end, you yielded to my superior skills as a pirate, and theSea Witchtook the majority of loot. And I took you to my berth.”
She spoke quickly, her gaze fixed on the approaching dock. TheSea Witchhad anchored some distance from the shore, and it was left to Ben and Alys to row themselves in. Numerous other ships were anchored just out of firing range, including sloops and schooners favored by pirates who relied upon their sleek lines and shallow hulls to sail quickly and take refuge in precarious coastal shoals.
Ben gripped the jolly boat’s oars. Pirate vessels loomed on every side. He spotted Diego Sanchez’s ship, as well as Louis Dupont’s. They were here. One of them might have murdered his father.
But Ben was a killer now, too.
Like him, Alys was all edgy energy, one hand on the grip of her cutlass, the other clenching and unclenching in her lap. Unease almost visibly emanated from her. For all her restlessness, she looked every inch the pirate queen. Her coat was blackbrocade adorned with bright brass buttons and scarlet braid. Beneath this, she wore a crimson waistcoat topped with jet trim, and a wide leather belt encircled her waist, capped with a large buckle. Her polished black boots rose up over her buckskin covered thighs, and she wore her auburn hair loose. A red plume fluttered atop her tricorn, announcing to everyone that she would not be content to hide in the background.
If someone had asked him a month ago that he might ever find a pirate attractive, he would have sent them immediately to a surgeon to be bled and have their humors balanced. Now... looking at Alys in all her piratical regalia... there was no one like her.
For all the power she exuded, he couldn’t disregard her uneasiness.
“My memory is excellent.” He oared them closer to the dock. “We’ve reviewed the tale of how wemetthree times already.”
“Can’t leave important details to chance.”
“You fear Lambert won’t welcome you to his refuge.”
“Women like me, we aren’t accepted at his enclave. Not really.” She scowled. “Like most men, Lambert’s afraid. Wary of witches, suspicious when it comes to women aboard a ship in anything other than a recreational capacity. It’s the same when it comes to his refuge.”
“How many times have you been here?”
“This’ll be my third.”
“You survived then, and you will again. But there’s a difference this time.I’mwith you.” He started. “It’smethat’s got you in a state. You’re worried about me.”
“I’m not in a state,” she fired back. Then, surly, “I’mslightlyconcerned.”
“Should I be pleased or insulted?”
“Don’t bother with it,” she said through clenched teeth.
“I can handle myself. Already, I can walk like a pirate.”
Her tight mask gave way, and her eyes gleamed with trepidation. “There’s a difference between walking like a buccaneer and being amongst them. Ben,” she said, her gaze holding his, “other than the servants, and hired company, the only people at the enclave are pirates. Not that long ago, every buccaneer was your enemy.”
His jaw hardened. “I meant what I said aboard theSea Witch. I’m not so thirsty for pirates’ blood that I’ll put us in danger.”
“These men love brawling and fighting,” she pointed out. “Doesn’t take much to get them going.”
“I won’t challenge anyone to a damned duel, if that’s what’s unsettling you.”
