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Her body quivered as she waited for him to reach her. She knew he could see every bit of her from this angle, but somehow, she wasn’t as ashamed as she should be. All Julianne wanted was for Wade to be inside of her. If she had to show off her body to get it, then that’s precisely what she would do.
She heard his shirt hit the ground and knew, even without looking, that he was now naked behind her, wanting her, desiring her. Julianne was so aroused that all of her senses seemed to be on alert.
“You are quite lovely.” His palms stroked her skin, and Julianne closed her eyes. The pirate touched her back and her bottom, running his palms slowly over her. “I wouldn’t have thought you a stowaway. You’re too well-bred for such an endeavor.”
“As I told you, I had a good reason to run.”
“Yes, yes, marriage and men. I know. You did tell me your fiancé was a dangerous man.” Julianne shivered at the thought of Vince. She disliked him to the point of hatred. She had long ago moved past fear of Vince and moved to simply loathing. Fear was something you clung to when you didn’t know what was going to happen. It was the emotion you gripped when you believed something could happen, but you weren’t quite certain it would happen.
If Julianne married Vince Fiddick, she knew he would hurt her, so there was no point in being afraid. Fear wouldn’t stop her from being trapped in his homes. Quivering and hiding wouldn’t keep him from hitting her, or worse. Julianne wasn’t the naïve waif people saw when they first glanced at her. No, she was more aware than that, more conscious of the world around her. She knew Vince was no good for anyone, and she questioned what had happened to his other wives even when society saw only his pretty smile and fat coin purse.
“He is dangerous,” Julianne whispered. Wade did not stop touching her as she spoke.
“Love, you’re in bed with a pirate, and believe me when I tell ye, I am a much more dangerous man than he.”
The Saucy Devil gripped her hips then and thrust forward, filling her, and Julianne realized the pirate was right: he was a dangerous man. Only, Julianne was beginning to think it wasn’t her body that was at risk.
It was her heart.
9
Wade left Julianne alone in his cabin and locked the door. Though he suspected she would stay asleep in his bed where he had left her, he needed to be certain. A lot had changed on his ship in the last half-hour. He didn't need to lose her, too. He pocketed the key and stared at the door for just a moment before walking away.
Part of him still couldn't believe this was the girl he had met just hours before. Part of him still couldn't believe that Rupert had betrayed him. Part of him couldn't believe that he had new information about the treasure. His treasure. Wade knew one thing for certain: he needed a drink. Another one. Already.
He walked to the kitchen and hollered to old Buck to get him a glass of whiskey. The cook didn't bat an eye at the request and quickly poured his captain a glass of their best liquor. Wade drank the alcohol, allowing the liquid to burn its way down his throat and into his belly.
Buck stood by, waiting for Wade to finish the drink. Then he poured another. As Wade lifted the drink to his mouth, Buck finally spoke.
"What's troublin’ ye, Captain?" Wade had known Buck for as many years as he'd been a pirate. The ol’ cook had been one of the first men to join Wade’s crew. He trusted him, perhaps more than he should. Wade had trusted his first mate implicitly. That had been a mistake.
"Rupert tried to kill me." Buck dropped the knife he was holding and it landed on the floor with a loud clatter. Wade didn't look up as he finished the second drink, his eyes plastered firmly to the wall ahead of him. He was quickly turning into a drunk, he knew, but there was nothing he could do about that now.
"Come again, Captain?" Though Buck was the cook, he prided himself on knowing everything that was going on around The Dark Lovely. If he hadn’t known about Keel’s intentions, perhaps it had been a hasty decision on the first mate’s part. While most mutinous pirates had some sort of plan before killing the captain, it was possible that Rupert Keel simply saw an opportunity and he decided to take it.
"Rupert tried to kill me," Wade repeated, still not looking up.
"Where’s he now?"
"Dead."
"You killed ‘im."
"No."
Buck looked confused.
"Then who killed ‘im, Captain?"
"The stowaway killed him." Buck dropped another utensil, again letting it land on the floor loudly. He jumped at the sound and glanced at the fork he had dropped. He scurried to pick it up, but Wade was hardly paying attention. He knew Buck would be worried about being replaced. There was no place on a ship for someone who couldn’t work and there was definitely no place on a ship for someone who couldn’t work well. The idea of replacing Buck hadn’t crossed Wade’s mind.
Then again, he’d never thought of replacing Rupert, either.
"We gots a stowaway?" Now Buck’s furry brow wrinkled in confusion. Wade could practically hear the old cook thinking. Since when did the ship have stowaways? They cleaned the ol’ boat to bottom on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. The crew was excellent at making sure that all hands were accounted for on deck. Both men knew there was no missing food. How could a stowaway have sneaked past them?
"Afraid so," Wade held up his glass, motioning Buck to pour him once more. Buck obviously wasn't sure it was a good idea for the captain to get completely drunk, but he also knew that it wasn't his place to refuse him. He poured the whiskey.
"Tell me more," Buck said, taking a seat at the table. He pressed his hands flat across the thick wooden surface. He had spent many years working at this particular table and many nights drinking with Wade. Never, in all their years together, had the men e
