"Were."

"Unless you haven't noticed, I'm Captain of this vessel. What would you have me do? Sink it to suit you?"

She stared at him in open-mouthed shock. When she recovered, she unlocked the door, but he grasped her arm and slipped the bolt back into place.

"Let go of me! I can't stand to look at you right now, Lock!"

"Sparrow, I don't expect you to stay on this ship forever. I'll take you home."

"Home where? To the Archipelago?"

"I have a nice house, a secluded beach. You'd probably like it there. You'd be safe."

"Jailed by those eunuch slaves you once told me about? Maybe I can a.s.sist your mother at the brothel and help with the family profits!"

Lock's eyes flashed rage and he walked back to the bed and lay down. "Come here and get some sleep. When you've calmed down we can talk about it."

"I'm never going to calm down, Lock! You lied to me. You said you were going to try to make an honest life."

"With this ship, we can make an honest life. We can trade instead of pillage."

"Stop lying to me! This is a ship full of cutthroats, and you're the worst of them all!"

"Things look quite different when you're out of your own territory, don't they?"

"What?"

"Everything was fine for you when I was chained to the wall washing dishes. Now that I'm free again, it's harder to ignore the facts I've been telling you since the day we met."

"I never wanted you chained to my wall, Lock! It was you who drove me to it, and you're as unreasonable now as you were then! I thought you'd changed. I thought you cared about me."

"I care about you more than anything."

"Then prove it." She sat on the edge of the bed and rested her palms on his chest, staring into his pale blue eyes. "Leave this ship with me as soon as we dock. If you don't, it'll destroy us."

He tugged her onto the bed beside him and kissed her forehead. "It's not that easy. The Lady Fire is my responsibility now."

"Give it to one of the others. Ilias, maybe."

Lock laughed. "Ilias? He's a good enough crewman, but too soft. He wouldn't last a day in charge of this vessel. One thing about a pirate ship, girl, only a b.a.s.t.a.r.d can run it right. I fit the description in every way, if you get my meaning."

"You're a good man deep inside. I remember how you rebuilt our village, and not for any profit." She touched his face and spoke with more confidence than she felt. "I know you'll do the right thing."

She saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes-guilt, maybe?

Resting her cheek against his shoulder, she listened to the evenness of his breathing. Only when she was certain he was asleep did she turn her back to him and cry.

It seemed to take hours for Sparrow to fall asleep. Finally she succ.u.mbed to the ship's gentle rocking and the pleasant feeling of Lock's warm body so close to hers. He'd lied to her and probably to himself, but she still loved him. She had to get him away from the ship, or else the man he'd become might be lost forever. He had the potential to be good, but the temptation of the Lady Fire was like a disease to him. She'd seen some people addicted to wagering on anything from dice games to horse-races. They bore the same crazy look in their eyes as Lock when he played the part of Captain. It seemed piracy was a more terrible vice than she'd ever imagined.

When Sparrow awoke, Lock lay beside her, staring at her.

"Is it time to get up already?" she asked.

"Stay and sleep if you want. I'll be going on deck in a while."

"I'll get back to work, too."

"Wait." Lock tugged off the blanket and raised her dress.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"I owe you."

"Lock, we can't-"

"Why not? We're alone. No one will bother us. Besides, you once did the same to me under more dangerous circ.u.mstances."

She relaxed. He was right. The danger of Rino was past, but the newer danger frightened her even more. The danger of losing Lock to pirating forever.

"I've missed being alone with you, girl," he whispered.

He pressed soft kisses to her inner thighs while he ma.s.saged the backs of her knees with his fingertips. His tongue traced the indentation between her pelvis and thighs. Instinctively, Sparrow's hands grasped handfuls of his hair. She shivered when his tongue tickled her perineum then ran along her p.u.s.s.y lips. It slipped inside her, swirling and licking.

She moaned softly, hoping none of the crew could hear. Lock grasped her waist, stroking and squeezing as he continued exploring the delicate folds of moist flesh. His lips tugged gently at her c.l.i.t before he sucked it.

"Oh, Lock!" Sparrow panted.

Again the tip of his tongue poked inside her. One of his hands cupped her b.u.t.tocks. He pressed a finger to her a.n.u.s while he lapped her c.l.i.t with frustrating gentleness.

Sparrow's legs trembled and she wiggled beneath him. His strong hands held her firmly in place as he lapped her to a quaking climax. Before the last ripples of pleasure coursed through her, he slid up her body, guiding her legs to a bent-knee position and crossing them in front of his chest as his c.o.c.k pushed into her liquid p.u.s.s.y. The strange position felt surprisingly good. It must have to him as well since, when Sparrow opened her eyes a slit to watch him, his own were closed, his expression euphoric.

"I've wanted you so much, Sparrow," he said, his voice rough with pa.s.sion.

"You, too, Lock," she admitted. "I've wanted you so much it's almost painful."

"It has been painful," he sounded almost breathless as his thrusting increased.

Sparrow felt another o.r.g.a.s.m building. She clutched the sheet beside her, moaning and gasping as she came. He tensed, thrusting hard and fast, before stiffening and crying out his own climax.

Sparrow sighed with contentment. At least some things hadn't changed.

Chapter Twenty Two.

The following week brought calm seas and sunny days, a welcome relief after the storm. The Lady Fire's major damages were fixed, and the crew awaited some sign of land to replenish supplies and make the last of the repairs.

The crew adjusted well to Lock's claiming of the ship. Sparrow thought many men even appeared grateful for such solid direction. Lock knew what he wanted and issued clear instructions. Sparrow knew his experience at sea kept them alive through the first days after the storm, and the men, after days of carefully watching their new Captain, accepted him completely.

Lock-to Sparrow's relief and dismay-seemed born to control a ship. At least she could walk about without fear-or at least with little fear. She remained in charge of the galley, but spent much time on deck, glad to breathe the salty sea air and enjoy the sun and wind on her skin. She and Lock didn't speak again of their plans for when the Lady Fire docked. Once the tension of restoring the ship pa.s.sed, his temper improved and he often acted like the man she'd known in Begonia.

Perhaps if he treated her differently the idea of leaving him would have been easier, but he still cast her affectionate glances throughout the day. In between overseeing the running of the ship, he ducked into the galley for some brief conversation or touched her arm or hair when they pa.s.sed one another on deck. She didn't doubt his love for her, but she didn't know if it could compete with his love of the sea and for the power that accompanied his position on the Lady Fire.

"Enjoying the view?"

Sparrow started at the sound of Lock's voice close to her ear. She turned from the rail where she'd been gazing into the sea and looked at him. "Trying to see more dolphins."

He smiled. "Thought you might have been searching for a merman. Legend has it, when women go to sea, mermen steal their hearts and take them below."

"My heart's already been stolen."

He bent to kiss her when Ilias bellowed from the crow's nest. "Look! Gulls!"

Both Sparrow and Lock glanced skyward. Two grayish birds dipped and soared overhead.

"Means land." Lock told her.

"Land?" Sparrow's stomach clenched. She almost dreaded the idea of docking. Now she'd know exactly how much Lock loved her.

She wanted to ask how far they were from sh.o.r.e, but he'd already turned and begun issuing orders. She felt the crew's excitement about docking and noticed they laughed more than usual.

By midday, a dark rise loomed in the distance. Several hours later, they docked on the sh.o.r.e of what appeared to be a small island.

Lock sent Ilias and several crewmen ash.o.r.e in the dingy, and when they returned, informed them they'd landed on Gray Horse Isle, located between the Western continent and the Kennas.

"Not all that far from Begonia, but far enough to be out of the Empress's reach," Lock told Sparrow. "I've stopped here before. Not the wealthiest isle in the world, but self-sufficient. We can buy supplies here and make repairs."

"Can we settle here?" Sparrow asked.

He shook his head. "Wouldn't want to stay here, girl. Can cross the whole island in half a day on foot. Besides, it floods badly during storms, which come often. Water's also full of sharks-"

"All right, Lock." Sparrow raised an eyebrow. "I understand you don't want to live here."

"Now that we know where we are, plotting our course will be simple. Don't worry, girl. We'll find someplace soon."

She touched a finger to his lips. "Lately everything out of your mouth has been a lie."

"We can't stay on the ship forever. If I say we'll be docking again soon, then we will. In the meantime, let's go ash.o.r.e while the weather's good. I have to barter with the sellers in the market. Won't be pretty. They know if we've stopped here to buy, we've got to be hard up."

"I want to go, too. I need some clothes."

"Ilias," Lock glanced at the man who stood a short distance away, "you'll go with Sparrow to the market. Get her whatever she wants and the two of you are in charge of buying provisions. Come with me, and I'll give you money."

"If you mean the money in the hold, it's stolen," Sparrow stated.

Lock raised an eyebrow. "And I don't know who it was stolen from, so I can't very well give it back now, can I?"

Sparrow glanced at the sea while Lock took Ilias below.

I can't live like this, she thought. No matter how much I love him.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ilias glanced at Sparrow as they walked side-by-side through the market.

When they'd arrived on the island, Lock had kissed Sparrow's cheek, taken several crewmen, and gone to barter for supplies while she and Ilias went to buy food.

"Of course." Sparrow considered the ape-like man her only friend on board the Lady Fire.

"How did you end up with Lock? I mean, I know you bought him as a slave, but how did you end up as his woman?"

Sparrow sighed. "Sometimes I wonder that myself."

"Not that he doesn't like you. No man on board would dare touch you."

"I certainly feel safe with him, if that's what you mean."

Ilias laughed. "He pays you a lot of attention, not that any man wouldn't... Sorry." Ilias shook his head. "Didn't mean no disrespect. Don't tell the Captain."

"I won't. I consider you a friend, Ilias. I-"

"No need to explain. Friendship is fine for me. Don't think I'd have the guts to fight Lock for you, anyway."

Sparrow smiled, imagining what an unfair fight that would be. "The only man I've ever wanted is Lock, but I didn't expect him to go on pirating."

"But he's a pirate." Ilias raised an eyebrow. "Most feared pirate ever to sail out of the Archipelago."

Sparrow glanced at her shoes and sighed. No matter how she tried to forget about Lock's reputation, it seemed neither of them could escape it.

"So you're saying you love him?"

"Yes, I love him."

"In a way that's good to know." Ilias offered a quirky smile. "Gives me hope that even though I'm a pirate a decent woman might want me someday, too."

"You don't have to be a pirate, Ilias. Wouldn't you like to settle somewhere and raise a family?"

"Raise a family, yes. Settle, no. It's not in my blood. I'm not from the Archipelago. I just boarded a vessel one day and that's where I ended up. My people are travelers. Gypsies, they call us."

"Really? Gypsies pa.s.sed through my homeland once. They were fascinating. They provided entertainment like dancing, a magic show. They sold the most wonderful perfumed oils."

"My people have a rich culture. Many are horse tamers and musicians as well, but we rarely settle for long. It's a good life, and at times I miss it, but there's something I like about the sea."

"That's what Lock says. I know it's a part of him. That's why leaving the Lady Fire would be so difficult."