Part 16 (1/2)
”Lock! Oh, by the G.o.ddess!” she cried as an o.r.g.a.s.m washed over her.
”I'm here, girl!”
”Oh!” she moaned, another climax building deep inside her.
This time when she came, she heard Lock's ragged breath as his thrusts came faster and harder.
He panted, his voice jerky with l.u.s.t, ”That...old...b.i.t.c.h better not...hit me with...a broom again!”
With a growl of pleasure he came, his body surging into hers.
His cheek dropped to her back, his beard rough against her flesh as they sat, limp and panting until he finally moved. Tugging her against his chest, he kissed her hair.
”I suppose we should go back to the house,” Sparrow murmured.
Lock grunted in reply and gathered their clothes.
Sparrow loved Shea-Ann, but she had to admit feeling a little disappointed that she and Lock no longer had the entire farm to themselves.
Sparrow stirred and snuggled closer to Lock. She opened her eyes and saw that it was dark, probably close to midnight.
Part of her was still disappointed that he hadn't admitted feeling any love for her. He'd said he wasn't capable of love, but Sparrow didn't believe it. He just had little experience caring for someone. His past had convinced him he couldn't feel affection, but the future with her promised a new way of life for him-and her.
Lock turned in his sleep, his arm tightening around her, his head buried in her shoulder. No man who touched her like he did was incapable of love.
Sparrow sat astride Sea Storm, Lock behind her, holding the reins. Every now and then, she'd feel his arms tighten around her, and she glanced back at him and smiled. Beside them, Shea-Ann's horse plodded. The healer kept glancing at Sparrow and the pirate as if she still couldn't believe they were a pair.
The village gathering happened every autumn, and Sparrow looked forward to it. The market was open all day and there was music, dancing, games, feasts, and horse races.
”This will be a good day to haggle for new cloth,” Shea-Ann said. ”I want to make some dresses for us, seeing how your only good one was ruined.”
Sparrow glanced at Lock and he shrugged. Neither of them had mentioned how the dress had been ruined. It was one of their secrets.
The sound of flutes, laughter, and conversation grew louder as they neared the village square and dismounted. For a fee, the blacksmith would board horses for the day, so Shea-Ann and Sparrow paid for their mounts, then headed for the village.
”I'm going shopping,” Shea-Ann said, ”then I have rounds to make. I'll meet you later.”
”Good riddance,” Lock muttered under his breath, and Sparrow poked him with her elbow.
”SothSea swine,” Shea-Ann said.
”Shriveled witch.”
”Murdering yak!”
”Buzzard!”
”That's enough!” Sparrow snapped. ”Both of you! You're acting worse than children! Shea-Ann, go about your business, and Lock, close your mouth!”
Flinging one last goading look at the pirate, Shea-Ann disappeared in the crowded marketplace.
”It's a wonder you're as sweet as you are seeing how she raised you,” Lock said to Sparrow.
”You think I'm sweet?”
His teeth gleamed against his beard as he smiled and continued walking. Sparrow fell into step beside him, and they chatted about the farm when a voice interrupted them.
”So you've given him the liberty to walk alongside you?” the fisherwoman called from her cart.
”How I treat my slave is my business,” Sparrow told her. ”Got any squid?”
The woman winked and beckoned her closer. ”The best you'll taste in these parts.”
Sparrow and Lock approached the cart and selected several pieces of squid. They brought the slippery meat across to one of the community fires in the square to cook it.
”My favorite breakfast,” Lock said, taking a bite of a dangling squid leg.
”I know.” Sparrow wrinkled her nose. ”It's really not the first thing I'd reach for in the morning, but I thought I'd indulge you this once.”
”This once? Seems you've been doing that for weeks.”
”What's a little squid for all you've done for the farm? It's never looked so good. All the repairs are made, and we're stocked for the winter. At least we'll be leaving Shea-Ann prepared.”
”You don't want to leave, do you?”
Sparrow looked down at her hands. ”I'll miss it here, but I know you can't stay.”
”Won't stay,” he murmured. ”For what you've done for me, I should stay to make you happy, but I won't lie to you, Sparrow. It would last for a while, but I cannot live as a slave.”
”You'd end up resenting me. I know that.”
”And if we go, will you end up resenting me? Be honest.”
She sighed. ”Maybe a little, but I've had to uproot before. I'm sure wherever we settle, I'll be happy, as long as I'm with you. Besides, if we do have children, I wouldn't want them to see you as my slave. It wouldn't be right.”
”I've been thinking about where we can go when we leave here. We could go further south. Once we're out of Begonia and I'm free, we could settle on the coast. I'll work as a fisherman.”
”A fisherman?”
”I need to be at sea, Sparrow. I miss it.”
If she looked hard enough, she could almost see the ocean in his blue eyes. The sea was part of him, and wherever they went, he needed it, just as she needed him.
”Will you be happy as a fisherman?”
”It'll be better than not being at sea. Once I earn enough, I can build a bigger s.h.i.+p and take up trading. Honest trade, this time.”