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And then everything seemed to happen at once.
Suleiman burst out of the cabin behind Drovetti. Hester heard a loud crack and saw a puff of smoke rise from Drovetti’s gun. She braced herself for a bullet in the chest, but Harry’s muscular body crashed into hers as he shouldered her out of the way. She fell to her hands and knees, and Harry went sprawling onto the boards beside her with a grunt of pain.
Drovetti hurled his spent pistol at Suleiman, but the Mameluke swatted it away as if it were no more than an annoying fly. The Italian made a dive for the necklace and managed to grab it, but with a great roar, Suleiman charged at him. He caught Drovetti’s wrist in one of his enormous fists and squeezed mercilessly until Drovetti screamed and dropped the necklace.
Suleiman bent, scooped it up, and flung it over the ship’s rail. The silver sparkled as it turned over and over in a wide arc then hit the water with a satisfying splash.
“Nooo!” Drovetti screamed. He shot an enraged glance at Suleiman, leaped onto the ship’s rail, and threw himself over the side after the prize.
Hester gazed after him in astonishment. She turned back to Harry to see what he thought of the Italian’s foolhardy behavior but her heart caught in her throat as she realized he was still lying flat on his back, clutching his chest and gasping with the effort to draw a breath.
“Harry!” she gasped. “Oh, God. He shot you!”
With frantic hands she shoved his hands aside to see where the bullet had wounded him. There was a hole in his shirt directly above his heart. Panic seized her.
“No! Harry, don’t die! You can’t leave me. I need you. Iloveyou, damn it!”
She slapped her hand over the wound and pressed down hard to staunch the flow of blood, then frowned. Therewasno flow of blood. It wasn’t Harry’s chest she could feel beneath his shirt, there was something else there: something hard and rectangular.
Harry jerked and let out an agonized gasp. “Ouch! Bloody hell, that really hurt!”
Hester sat back on her heels, beyond astonished as he sat up with a wince. He reached into his shirt and withdrew a silver metal object. The side of it was crumpled inwards, and the round lead shot from Drovetti’s pistol was embedded in the center.
“Your hip flask!”
Hester shook her head, unable to comprehend the lightning shift from Harry beingdeadto Harry sitting hale and hearty right in front of her. “It’s supposed to go in your coat pocket,” she said stupidly.
Harry sent her one of his heart-melting smiles. “It goes,” he said, “next to my heart.”
She frowned. Because she’d given it to him? Her heart hammered wildly, but she cautioned herself not to read too much into his words. He was always saying enigmatic things like that.
His mouth curved into that pirate’s grin she knew so well. It was the look he always wore when he’d had the last word in an argument or done something that left her speechless.
“I heard what you said.” His tone was teasing, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Youloveme, Hester Morden! No—!” he said when she opened her mouth to argue. “You can’t take it back. I heard you, loud and clear. And so did your hairy friend over there.” He gestured toward Suleiman, who sent them a jovial wave. “I have a witness.”
“But—”
“No buts.” His gaze suddenly flicked past her to focus on the sky above. “Well, would you look at that.”
Hester turned to see what had captured his attention. An enormous bank of dark, billowing clouds were rolling across the bay with unnatural speed, like a great wave. A rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, and a flash of lightning leapt towards the sea. She blinked in surprise. “How extraordinary.”
Suleiman sank to one knee and bent his head. “The goddess!” he whispered. “The sacrifice has been accepted. Her curse is broken.”
“Sacrifice? What sacrifice? Where’s Drovetti?”
Hester started to rise, but Harry caught her wrist and tugged her back down. She fell across him, her breasts plastered against his chest and her cheeks heated in mortification. She tried to struggle upright but Harry caught the back of her neck and, with a gentle tug, drew her closer.
His gaze captured hers. “I don’t give a fig what Drovetti’s doing,” he said softly. “He can swim all the way to Egypt for all I care.”
The look in his eyes—both admiring and hungry at once—made her stomach do a little flip.
Another crash of thunder sounded directly overhead and a fat raindrop landed on the deck next to them, creating a tiny dark stain on the dry boards. Harry raised his brows. His eyes gleamed with humor. A second droplet splashed onto Hester’s back, wetting her shirt. And then, as if released from a dam, a deluge of raindrops landed all about them, soaking hair and clothes and skin.
Harry’s teeth flashed white as he grinned. His gaze flicked to her mouth and then back up again, and every nerve in Hester’s body tingled in sudden anticipation.
“I do believe it’s raining, Hester Morden.” His breath sluiced over her parted lips. “Andthatmeans you have to kiss me. A promise is a promise, after all.”
“I said I’d kiss you when it rained in the desert,” Hester said. She gazed down at him and her throat clogged with sudden emotion. “Oh, Harry, you idiot. You took a bullet meant for me.”
