Page 34 of The Pirate Lord
Barnaby’s cabin was less comfortable than his, but not by much. Piracy had rewarded them all, as evidenced by the wide bunk with its feather mattress, the full-length mirror that was testament to Barnaby’s vanity, and the carved ebony wardrobe Barnaby had acquired in Africa.
Of course, Sara had few clothes to put in that wardrobe. He regretted never giving her a chance to pack her trunks before he’d taken her aboard theSatyr. Doing something about thewomen’s meager clothing would have to be the first order of business when they reached Atlantis.
He folded his arms over his chest. “Will it do?”
Her eyes grew shuttered and any signs of pleasure vanished from her face. “I suppose I can endure it.”
As if he couldn’t tell she liked it. He suppressed a smile. What a proud thing she was. It must be that noble blood running through her pure little veins. “Good. Then I’ll leave you to your rest. I must make sure the other women are settled.” He started to walk out.
“Gideon?”
At the sound of his Christian name on her lips, he froze. It felt so intimate, so sensual. He wanted to hear her use it again. He wanted to hear her murmur it in that low, throaty voice that?—
Confound it, there he went again, thinking of her as a desirable, accessible woman. “Yes?” he said, more harshly than he intended.
“When we reach the island, what will the … um … sleeping arrangements be?”
Though it clearly embarrassed her to ask, she didn’t flinch when he fixed her with a narrowed gaze. Not even having considered the question until now, he didn’t answer immediately.
She lifted her chin just high enough to torment him with a tantalizing flash of long, white throat. “Well?”
You’ll sleep with me.
What the hell was he thinking? She wouldn’t be sleeping anywhere near him on Atlantis if he had anything to say about it.
“The men will sleep on the ship and the women in our huts until the weddings.” The men would grumble, but it was the only solution he could think of at the moment.
She took a steadying breath. “Will I be allowed to lodge with the other women?”
Casting her a long, meaningful look, he lowered his voice. “Only if you behave yourself.”
A hint of her earlier willfulness glinted in her eyes. “You mean, only if I sit back and let you do as you wish with those women.”
“Exactly.”
“Then I fear I shall never be able to behave myself.”
“And I fear I’ll have to respond accordingly. Even if it means keeping you in the cabin across from mine until the day of the weddings.”
He waited until he saw the blush spread over her porcelain skin. Then, satisfied he’d outraged her sufficiently to make her think twice the next time she wanted to cross him, he walked back to his cabin whistling.
Chapter Ten
I’d a Bible in my hand,
By my father’s great command,
And I sunk it in the sand
When I sail’d….
— ANONYMOUS, “BALLAD OF CAPTAIN KIDD”
Before the sun had fully risen the next morning, Sara was up. She performed her ablutions, finger-combing her hair and scrubbing her face with sea water from the bucket left outside her door by some conscientious pirate. Then she threw her gown on over the shift she’d slept in, but there wasn’t much she could do with neither a brush nor fresh clothes.
Hurrying out of her cabin and onto the deck, she looked for Petey to tell him that if he found a chance to escape, he should do so even if he couldn’t take her. But she had to find him first.
Just before they’d parted yesterday, he’d said he’d be on the early morning watch. She surveyed the deck, relieved to see that most of the pirates seemed to be still in their beds, and the few on watch paid her little heed. But where was Petey?
