Free A Pirate of her Own by Kinley MacGregor Page A

any. “Just answer me one question. How did Lorelei ever survive long enough for you to marry her?”
    Jake guffawed loudly. “What can I say, she puts up a good fight.” He downed the last of his rum. He laced his hands behind his head and sat back with a satisfied smirk. “And she handles a sword better than most men.”
    Morgan laughed, remembering Lorelei’s intrepid spirit as she stood toe-to-toe with the surly pirate.
    But who would expect less from the granddaughter of the infamous pirates, Anne Bonny and Calico Jack?
    “You must be mellowing with age,” Morgan said at last.
    Snorting, Jake poured himself another mug of rum. “I think it’s too many years of being around you.” He eyed Morgan keenly. “So, what do you plan to do with her ?”
    “I don’t know,” he answered with a sigh. “In all honesty, Jake, I have so many problems right now, I don’t know where one ends and the next begins.”
    Jake gave a knowing nod. “You’re thinking of Penelope?”
    Morgan sighed. “Aye,” he said. He could never hide his thoughts from Jake. “I keep thinking that I’m no better than Winston.”
    Jake’s gaze hardened. “What, are you daft? How do you figure that?”
    “We’ve ruined Serenity every bit as much as Winston ruined my sister.”
    Jake frowned. “Last I checked, we weren’t planning on selling Serenity to a wh—”
    “Don’t you say it!” Morgan snarled.
    Jake held his hands up in truce. “I’m sorry, Drake. I know how much you loved her.”
    And Jake did. If any man alive knew how much Morgan Drake’s sister had meant to him, it was Jake. Jake had helped Morgan track her down and it’d been Jake who’d paid to free her from the bordello she’d been sold to.
    “You know,” Morgan said, scratching his chin in thought. “I was actually thinking we might be able to turn this around with Hayes.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, this time of year, he usually heads toward the Caribbean to try and roust some of our good brethren from their winter homes. If we were to head that way, we might be able to cross paths with him.”
    Jake took a deep swig of rum. “You know there’s nothing more I’d like than to see that bastard dead. But you go after him and the Brits will raise their price.”
    “Aye, but maybe the next person will think twice before coming after me.”
    Jake snorted. “Leave him be, Morgan. You got more important things to attend.”
    “Such as?”
    “For starters, you can buy Lorelei a new dress from one of those expensive London designers. She’ll have my head when she finds out I let your woman have that flimsy pink thing she’s been asking for.”
    “Serenity is not my woman. You’re the one who trapped her here.”
    “Yeah, well, if I had a woman on board my ship, I wouldn’t be down here making love to a bottle of rum. I’d be up there showing her the better part of my sex.”
    Morgan placed his finger above his brow and traced a line that ran the same length and shape as the scar above Jake’s brow. A scar Lorelei had delivered during one of their numerous and notorious fights. “I think I’ll spare myself the grief.”
    Jake laughed. “I assure you, Drake, I thoroughly enjoyed earning that scar. And it was certainly worth every stitch.”
    With that, Jake took his leave, and Morgan noticed the bottle of rum took its leave as well. Same old Black Jack, he thought with a smile.
    Some things never changed.
    Morgan sat quietly, thinking over Jake’s words. And the fact that Serenity was only a few yards away, no doubt tucked safely in his bed.
    In his bed.
    Would the insults never cease?
     
    Serenity came awake to the sound of rain tapping lightly against the windows. Opening her eyes, she watched the drops run down the thick panes of clear glass.
    The ship!
    “Oh no,” she gasped, realizing in that instant that the night before hadn’t been a nightmare.
    Well, okay, maybe nightmare wasn’t the right word. The point was: It all had really