Free Romancing the Pirate 01.5 - Beneath The Water's Edge by Jennifer Bray-Weber Page A

when he told the bastard to flog off.
    Joseph had sworn Blackthorn would regret his mistake. He’d been right.
    “I walked away. The boy went into a fit of anger, retrieved his weapon from the ground, and charged me. When I spun around, he impaled upon my sword.” Elyssa’s tiny gasp did not compare to the one that escaped from Joseph’s lips. The shock, the fear in Joseph’s eyes, burned a hellish hole into Blackthorn’s soul. As much as he hated the princock, he hadn’t wanted him dead.
    Blackthorn threw back the rest of his nearly full mug of rum. The bitter liquor scalded down his throat. No amount of the elixir would wash away the boy’s blood tainting his existence.
    “I removed my blade and he stumbled backward,”—tears and blood had flowed freely— “falling off the cliff to the rocks below. Thus my fate was sealed.”
    “But it wasn’t your fault.”
    “He was my responsibility.”
    “Surely you couldn’t be blamed.”
    “I was. And I was stripped of my honor and my occupation.” Apparently he should have been more fearful of Joseph’s father, or rather, what the Admiral could do. “Admiral Drummond had me imprisoned for murder. I was to be hung, but I managed an escape.” Blackthorn would never forget how Christensen risked his own life to slip him a key. He gave Blackthorn a fighting chance, nothing more. Blackthorn hoped to return the favor someday.
    “So you turned to piracy?”
    “What better way to live a condemned life than to turn on the country who would throw me out like the filth mucking a chamber pot. To plunder English merchants and wreak havoc to British trade.”
    “But why did you attack the Maraville ?”
    He shrugged. “I just don’t care for Spaniards.”
    “So you’ve gone to war with all of mankind.”
    “’Twas the only trade I could pick up a living. A mighty fine one, at that. Losing it all, now I take what I may, including you.” He lifted his empty mug and she quickly saw to her duty. Good. He had reacquainted her with her precarious position as a pirate’s captive. “Tell me, chit. What do you think of me now?”
    “I don’t see an evil rogue. I see a wounded man. Forced to this life by circumstance, and not accepting the unjust opinions condemning him.”
    What? He didn’t understand. Why wasn’t she quaking in her boots? She should be, no, needed to be fearful of him. “I kill for my own gain.”
    Her eyes wandered over him, caressing him like the exotic silks of the Far East. She smiled. “I have a feeling you don’t kill unless the screws are put to you. Nay, you would rather coerce your quarries with intimidation.”
    “What leads you to believe such drivel?”
    “Captain Alonso engaged you, and yet no one was killed in battle. You let us—them—all live, knowing once they reach port, Alonso would speak of your atrocity, knowing his story will spread fear that you prey in these waters.”
    ’Twas true. All of it. Damn her. An odd sense of relief buoyed him. She understood him. He’d said nothing to defend himself. He hadn’t tried to make her feel his pain. And yet, the lass saw through him. He hadn’t meant for her to sympathize with him. What the bloody hell had he been thinking? Telling her his story came to naught. He’d been less surprised had his flintlock exploded in his face.
    Well, he’d rectify that now. For his own sake.
    He grabbed her wrist as she tried to return to her seat. “You will fear me, little one.”
CHAPTER 6
     
    “Oh I do, Captain Blackthorn. I fear you will not kiss me again.”
    Whatever was in the rum must have gone to her head. She was more surprised by her words than the captain. With the trouble she invited, she needed more of the poison. How inappropriate would it be if she drank straight from bottle she held?
    Inappropriate. Confound it. She should be appalled by her improper behavior. Just what was the appropriate way she should act around a dashing pirate captain with enchanting fallow eyes?