Part 5 (1/2)
”Something has to be done about it. We can't go on like this or else we'll get rats.”
”I hope they bite him right on his rear end. Speaking of his rear end...” Sparrow approached Lock and nudged him in the b.u.t.tocks with her boot. When he didn't move, she pulled back her foot to kick him harder, but he caught her ankle and tugged. She landed on her back amidst a pile of dirty laundry.
”Listen to me, I want this mess cleaned up!” Sparrow glared at him, kicking her foot in an attempt to free herself from his grasp. She clenched her teeth in fury. He was the strongest man she'd ever met! She kicked him with her other foot, catching him across the face. He dragged her closer and kissed her.
Sparrow struggled, her heart pounding. His beard was rough on her face, and she tasted blood on his lips where she'd kicked him. She pushed his shoulders, but his grasp was firm. His tongue traced her lips, and she s.h.i.+vered, though from anything but disgust. She wanted to cling to him. As when he'd kissed her in the bath, she'd wanted to surrender completely to the warm, muscled body that held her so close, but she couldn't. If she gave in to a man like him, he'd view it as weakness...or cheapness, and she was neither a milksop nor a wh.o.r.e.
Again the broom crashed down on Lock's head. ”Let her go, you animal! Get those vile lips off My Lady! The G.o.ds know what kind of diseases you have, you SothSea swine!”
”I haven't got any diseases, witch!” Lock released Sparrow, and she leapt away as he leered at her and added, ”Anymore.”
”That's it!” Sparrow suddenly forgot her desire as she spat into the air and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. She pointed at Lock and bellowed, ”You clean this mess up and do it before I get back from the field tonight!”
”I think we should get rid of him,” Shea-Ann stated, her eyes serious. ”He obviously can't be trusted. I told you from the first this would be a disaster. We should give him back to the bounty hunters, tell them to keep your necklace and get what they can for him from Zaltana.”
Sparrow glanced at Lock. His pale eyes held hers, goading her. She wondered if he felt any fear at all about returning to the bounty hunters and their torture. He must have. Why did she care? He made it plain that he was dangerous, that he had no regard for her at all, even after what she did for him. Shea-Ann was right. She should rid herself of him and let their house get back to normal.
”No,” she replied, ”I bought him. He belongs to me.”
Shea-Ann stepped close to Sparrow and whispered, ”Are you sure about that?”
When Sparrow returned from the field that night, she was surprised to find the dishes washed and laundry ready to be hung outside. Shea-Ann had yet to return from the village, and Lock sat on the floor, shaking his foot, his arms folded across his chest.
”Do you have any idea how boring it is sitting here day after day?”
”Is that why you did the was.h.i.+ng up, or is it because you're afraid I might send you back to the bounty hunters?”
”Get one thing straight, Sparrow,” his eyes held hers with a hardness that made her s.h.i.+ver, ”I'm not afraid of you, them, or anybody. Whatever my fate is, I'll face it because I haven't got a choice. Neither do you.”
”You really think if you hadn't made different decisions your life wouldn't be better?”
”I made the best decisions I could for myself.”
”By becoming a pirate?”
”How can you still be so naive? Your Knights of the Ruby Order: Lock was taken from you. You were a princess and now you're shoveling dung and chopping wood. Life is about survival. We do what we can to make it from one day to the next.”
”I think it can be more than that.” She dragged a chair closer to him and straddled it. ”Do you know what I dream about?”
”Do I look like I care?”
”What do you dream about?”
Lock lowered his eyes. He didn't remember his dreams very often, but when he did, they usually came true, like the nightmare about being tortured in the village square. He knew she wasn't referring to sleep dreams, though, but dreams one had about what they'd like to happen in their lives.
”I don't have any,” Lock stated.
”You must. Everybody has dreams and desires. You're a pirate. Maybe you imagined yourself becoming the greatest thief in the world. Not a very respectable dream, but it's still a dream.”
He raised an eyebrow. ”I never wanted that.”
”Than maybe you dreamed of having hair that's all one color,” she teased.
”Very funny.”
”I'll get dinner.” Sparrow stood and filled two bowls with stew. ”Looks like Shea-Ann is going to be late.”
”Then we'll finally have a peaceful meal.” He winked. ”Looks like I did have a dream after all.”
Sparrow couldn't control her smile. When he was this amiable, she could actually like him. She said, ”Shea-Ann is very loyal and protective of people she cares about. You two will get used to each other.”
”I wouldn't wager on it,” he muttered.
They ate for several moments in silence before he said, ”I cleaned it because I couldn't take the smell anymore.”
”Neither could I, and I was tired of buying new things at the market. I couldn't afford anymore.”
”And you call me stubborn.”
She was about to retort when Shea-Ann stepped into the house, grumbling about the girl in the marketplace trying to cheat her out of a portion of shrimp.
”Good evening to you, too,” Sparrow teased her old friend.
”It certainly could be worse.” Shea-Ann smiled, her anger about the shrimp subsiding. ”I delivered a big baby girl for Myra the shoemaker.”
”The entire village was starting to wonder if she'd ever have that baby,” Sparrow replied. ”How many weeks late was she?”
”A bit over two, but well worth the wait. The baby's a beauty.”
”What did she call her?”
”Lenora.”
”Nice name.” Sparrow carried two bowls of stew to the table. ”If I ever have a daughter, I'm going to call her Thea.”
”Thea?” Lock snorted. ”What kind of a stupid name is that?”
Sparrow turned and flung one of the bowls so quickly he scarcely had time to raise his arm in defense. The bowl cracked against his forearm, drowning him with hot soup. Several beans clung to his hair, a thin piece of onion dangled over his left eyebrow, but Sparrow was too furious to appreciate how funny he looked. She stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind her.
”Crazy.” Lock scowled and wiped the stew from his face and hair. ”Women are all crazy. All that over a stupid name.”
”It was her sister's name, you ignorant yak!” Shea-Ann curled her lip at him.
”So her sister has an ugly name.”
”Her sister is dead. Defiled and killed by sc.u.m like you!”