“Allard will pay for what he has done,” he ground out.“And I shall join the ranks of the rich and powerful.”
To whom was he making this grand announcement?Perhaps to no one in particular.Which is what she was counting on as, heart racing, she took the final step to the door and gripped the handle.
He was on her in seconds.His grip around her arm tight, his rum-laced breath suffocating her.He dragged her back into the cabin.
Terror pulsed through every nerve.
She pushed from him, attempting to jerk her arm from his grasp.
“Nay, Lady Mi—” he slurred out before he fell against her, shoving her back with the weight of a sack of sodden rice.Struggling to keep her balance, she slammed against the bulkhead, his unconscious body pressing against her.An ache welled up in her belly.His face dove, or rather sunk, against her breasts, his thick chest an anvil keeping her pinned.
“How dare you?”She attempted to scream but instead gasped for the air that was being squeezed from her lungs.
Finally, gathering her strength, she managed to shove him away.He dropped to the deck like the aforementioned sack of rice.Right beside his bed.
“Besotted fool.”
Hand to her chest to still her thrashing heart, she stared at him.Even unconscious, there was a danger about him, an anger, nay, a fury that if left unchecked, would eventually destroy him.
She understood fury.She understood betrayal.She understood a life that had given naught but pain and heartache.
A surge of sudden pity caught her off guard.Now, she knew she’d gone mad.Pity for this monster?
She kicked his leg to make sure he was not awake, then grabbed a blanket from his bed and gently laid it atop him.Why, she could not say.Perhaps because they had both suffered a great deal in this pathetic life.She turned to leave.The pirate who had guarded her before stood in the corner.Or did he?She rubbed her eyes, and he was gone.
Chapter 13
Abroadside fired in Cadan’s head.Boom boom boom!Each explosion sent ripples of pain through every inch of his body.His pulse raced.His mind spun.Were they at battle?If so, he must get to the quarterdeck at once.
But he couldn’t move.
The booming started again.He tried to speak, but his mouth was a desert, his lips so parched, he couldn’t open them.
The deck swayed beneath him, the water gently purled against the hull.No shouts or cries or thundering footsteps of dashing pirates met his ears.No, not a battle.A war.
In his body.
He’d drank too much.Again.
He moved his hand.His fingers met the hard deck.Not his bed.With great effort, he pried open his eyes, blinked, and finally his cabin came into focus.Sunlight speared through the stern windows, bouncing circles of light up and down over the bulkhead.How long had he been out?
With great difficulty, he pushed to sit.A blanket fell from him onto the deck.Blanket?
Lady Fox.
Ignoring his nausea and pounding head, he stood, caught his balance on the pitching deck, and stumbled to the table in search of rum—the only antidote for the agony wracking his body.His glance took in the dirty plates all stacked neatly together, the silverware sorted by knives, forks and spoons, and the empty glasses arranged by size standing in a row.He smiled.The lady who possessed the manners and speech of nobility worked as efficiently as any servant.He could make no sense of it.
A knock on his door sent throbbing through his head.“Enter and be quiet about it!”Even his own shout caused a thousand knives to pierce his brain.His stomach revolted, and he plunged into a chair before he lost what was left of last night’s repast.
Pell stood before him, a look of castigation on his face.“You’re needed above, Captain.A storm brews on the horizon.”He quirked his lips.“But I see another storm brews within you.”
Cadan rubbed his temples.“If you mean I enjoyed myself immensely last night, you are correct.”
“Do you even remember last night?The lady was here quite late.”His gaze sped to Cadan’s bed.“Pray, tell me you did her no harm.”
“Bah!What do you take me for?”Though now that Cadan thought about it, the memories of the evening peeked in and out of the fog in his brain.He did remember disclosing far too much to the lady, and…blast, he’d dragged her to his bed!’Twas the last thing he remembered.
“I take you for a besotted man who despises the lady,” Pell retorted.
