Part 19 (1/2)
”There's no point in talking about it. You know the law in Begonia says you can't marry a slave. We have no choice but to go.”
”The village is still getting on its feet, and I don't want to leave until I know everything is all right. Shea-Ann-”
”I think it's a good idea that we wait. Give you a chance to change your mind.”
She raised her head on her elbow and narrowed her eyes at him. ”I will not change my mind!”
”I always thought you were a little crazy.” He winked and slipped from the bed to stoke the fire.
Sparrow's eyes fixed on his naked form, firelight licking his flesh, creating shadows against his long, muscled frame.
”I want to ride to the city tomorrow,” Sparrow said.
”Why?”
”There are some women I know in the palace council. I want to make sure there's no legal way we can marry here.”
He turned to her and winked. ”That's what I like about you, girl. You never give up.”
”If I'd given up, we'd never be together.”
He walked toward her, his kinky two-toned hair grabbing at his shoulders, his c.o.c.k awakening as his eyes fixed on hers.
”We should get some sleep.” She moistened her lips. ”We'll have to leave early to get to the city. I don't even know how easy it will be to get to the palace. I know the storm damaged them, too.”
”I'm ready to do damage.” He loomed over her, his mouth brus.h.i.+ng hers. ”Right here and now.”
”We really should...”
Other than moans of pleasure, she fell silent as his lips moved down her throat to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Change my mind? How can he even suggest such a thing?
Her last coherent thought before she surrendered to sensation was she hoped there was some buried law that would allow them to marry.
”It's a pirate s.h.i.+p!” Ginny screamed, her short legs pumping as fast as they could as she rushed toward Lock and Sparrow who had just arrived in the village square.
”What?” Sparrow raised herself in Sea Storm's saddle, doing her best to look over Lock's ma.s.s of hair toward the sh.o.r.eline.
”It's true.” Emerald jogged up behind her sister, panting. ”Docked this morning. They haven't done anything, though. They claim to be stopping off for fresh water.”
”You're sure it's a pirate s.h.i.+p?” Lock asked the girls.
Ginny lifted her chin. ”Ma said so. She said it's the end of the world.”
”Ma again,” Lock muttered, kicking Sea Storm to a canter.
When they arrived at the dock, a group of villagers stood, staring at a s.h.i.+p that Lock recognized as the Lady Fire. The Captain-if someone hadn't killed him already- was nearly as infamous and feared as Lock.
”Do you think it is pirates?” Sparrow asked, her arms tightening around his waist.
”It is. Captain's name is Rino.” Lock dismounted. ”Wait here.”
Sparrow nudged Sea Storm forward, and Lock glared at her. ”Are you deaf, girl?”
”You can't go anywhere without me. You're still a slave, remember? If those villagers see you approaching that s.h.i.+p, they'll think you're one of them.”
He raised an eyebrow. ”I am one of them.”
”You want to go with them?”
He held her eyes. ”No.”
”I'm still going with you.”
Together, they approached the s.h.i.+p. Several pirates stood on sh.o.r.e looking ready for a hunt. They carried bows and arrows and kept glancing toward the woods. One of them noticed Lock and nudged the man nearest him. Conversation stopped, and they stared in Lock's direction.
”If it ain't Lock the White!” A voice bellowed from the s.h.i.+p. A tall, big-boned redhead swung down to sh.o.r.e, his boots landing with a splash in the shallow water. He laughed as he approached, his green eyes glistening in the sunlight. ”We all thought you were dead.”
”I was hoping you were.”
”Better to be dead than be wearing that.” The Captain nodded towards Lock's slave band. Then he looked at Sparrow who stood by Lock, one hand touching his forearm in an almost protective gesture. ”Or maybe you've found the privileges of slavery outweigh the humiliation.”
”What are you doing here, Rino?”
”We've been at sea a few months. Need some water. Do a little hunting.” Rino folded his arms across his broad chest draped in a loose s.h.i.+rt of black silk. He glanced at Sparrow. ”Want to sell him, missy? I'll pay you more than he's worth.”
”He's not for sale.”
”Too bad. I'd love to see you spit s.h.i.+ning my deck, Lock.”
”The ocean would sooner dry up. So you don't intend to stay?”
”Only a night or two. Nothing here worth staying for. This village is dung heap.”
Lock silently thanked any G.o.ds who might exist that the repairs from the storm still weren't complete. Rino's raids were devastating, and he hated the thought of taking on his entire crew alone, which is what he'd do before he allowed the sea swine to touch a hair on Sparrow's head.
”If you want a lift back to the Archipelago, I can still use a cabin boy,” Rino told Lock.
Lock growled deep in his throat, resisting the urge to choke the life out of Rino. He turned back to the village.
”By the b.l.o.o.d.y G.o.ddess of SothSea!” Rino chimed. ”What the h.e.l.l happened to your back? Looks like you were almost whipped to death. I'd have love to have been there just to hear Lock the White scream for his life.”
Lock continued walking, but Sparrow glanced over her shoulder and said, ”Then you'd have been badly disappointed.”
The villagers gathered around Lock and Sparrow as they distanced themselves from the s.h.i.+p.
”Are they going to attack?” someone asked. ”Should we notify the guard from the city, not that they'd come to help us in a hurry.”