A Pirate's Possession (17 page)

He dove under again, aiming for where he'd last seen her. Or rather, where he thought she'd gone under. He couldn't be completely sure, not without a landmark.

Nate had been in many battles over the years. They'd been attacked by pirates, and had attacked their fair share of merchant ships and scalawags alike. Each battle he'd approached with a sense of calm and even adventure. He knew how to keep his head despite low odds, despite the risks. Even wounded on Blake's ship, with a piece of the mast sticking out of the back of his leg, Nate had managed to run the swing gun. Nothing had shaken him.

Until now.

What if he couldn't get to her in time? What if the waves shoved her farther away from him? What if he'd been wrong, so consumed by fear that he wasn't swimming in the right direction? What if, before he could find her, her cold, lifeless body floated to the surface?

Oh God, don't think that
, he told himself. He wouldn't be too late. He wouldn't. When he reached the point where he figured he was close, he took a deep breath and plunged under. While his eyes desperately scoured the area, his mind remembered every moment they'd spent together, from the orphanage to his ship to the island.

She'd been the best thing in his life back then, and the one thing he desperately wished for now. Married or not, he needed to know she was safe. That at least she was alive.

He looked until his lungs were bursting, then he kicked upward only long enough to draw another deep breath before going down again. He'd do it as long as necessary, he vowed, until he found her. Claire was beautiful and strong and it would kill him if her life ended now.

But he couldn't see her.
Dammit, Claire
, he yelled silently,
where are you?

There! Oh my God, there!
Though his lungs were ready to shatter, he kicked toward her. She was floating, head down. He grabbed her, turned her over. Her eyes were closed as though she were dreaming. Nate whimpered when he saw how pale she was. How lifeless. He pulled her tightly against him and shot for the surface.

“Claire, Claire!”

She didn't respond. He put a hand to her naked chest and pinched his eyes closed when he felt no heartbeat. Scooping a hand across her shoulders, her chin supported by his forearm and her body resting against his chest, Nate kicked for shore. Though his breathing was ragged, he talked to her.

“Don't leave me, Claire. We have a treasure to find, remember?”

Each moment that passed felt like years. When finally he was able to touch ground, he fought and cursed the water that impeded his movement, that was determined to fight his progress. When it fell to his waist, he hefted Claire over his shoulder, digging it into her stomach. He hoped to God it worked.

Her body stiffened as water and air gushed from her lungs. Nate's knees buckled and he struggled to keep them both upright. He hadn't lost her! Claire drew in a ragged, gasping breath that was the sweetest sound Nate had ever heard. He ran for the beach, fell on the sand, and cradled her within his arms, holding her as tightly as he dared. He closed his eyes, pressed his lips to her cold forehead. His body began to shake as much as hers. She was alive.

She continued to cough, great deep coughs that wracked her body. Nate rubbed his hands over her back, cursed at the frigid feel of her skin. She was so damn cold.

“Let's get you warm.” He set her gently on her back, swept her hair off her forehead. The coughing grew worse. Afraid she'd vomit and choke, he rolled her onto her side while he ran for the clothes that lay strewn on the sand.

Gooseflesh covered her from head to toe. Her color was tinged with blue. Trembles shook her so hard he worried she'd hurt something. Using the clothing he'd gathered, he covered her and tucked the garments tightly around her body. Her teeth were rattling. He needed to get her warm.

Gathering her and the haphazard coverings in his arms, he made his way toward camp.

“I'll get you warm, darling. You're going to be fine.”

“I'm so c-cold.”

And her voice was so damn weak. This wasn't the fiery woman he was used to, and the fragile one in his arms was scaring him to death.

“I know.” He leaned down, gave her forehead another kiss, wished he could drain all of his heat into her. “You'll be warm soon, I promise.”

He helped her dress, and the weakness of her movements made him shudder. He'd almost lost her. Why the devil hadn't he gone and looked for her sooner? And what would have happened if he hadn't checked the beach first? His hands fumbled as he slipped her shirt over her shoulders. He rested his head against hers.

“Don't ever scare me like that again.”

 

 

He watched her sleep, grateful that the coughing had finally stopped. Though the sun was high in the sky and the heat in their camp had Nate feeling like his skin was going to melt off his bones, he had Claire covered with both blankets. She had color again, and in case anything changed, he sat close enough to see the gentle and constant rise and fall of her chest.

He buried his face in his hands. It still had the power to rob him of breath if he considered how close he'd come to losing her. Not simply to another man, but forever. He shuddered again, remembering how cold and still she'd been. How lifeless. He dropped his hands, looked at her. His heart was in turmoil. There were things he wanted to say to her, things he had no business saying to a married woman.

Claire stirred and Nate leaned forward, ready to give her whatever she needed, but she simply turned her head away from the fire and continued sleeping. He'd been afraid to leave her for any reason, but he could no longer put off a walk into the woods to see to his needs. He rose, hesitated a moment. When she made no further movement, he slipped quietly into the forest.

He'd just turned to go back when he heard her gasping for breath. His stomach fell to his feet and he ran, whipping branches out of his way as he leapt over ferns and shrubs. He charged into their camp. Claire sat up, eyes wide, her hands at her throat. Nate dropped before her, his hands taking hers.

“Claire! What's wrong?”

She was wheezing. Her eyes were dark indigo with panic.

“I can't—I can't breathe!” She clutched at her throat.

It took a moment for logic to penetrate the fear that wanted to cloak him. She was breathing, though it was ragged. She wasn't coughing, vomiting, or choking. Her color was good. A nightmare, he reasoned, as he forced himself to steady his own breaths.

“You can. Look at me.” He took her chin and held it tightly. “Claire, breathe. In, out, just as I'm doing.” He held her, one arm around her back, the other on her chin, as he showed her what to do. Slowly the panic ebbed from her eyes and her body eased. “There, you see? You're all right.” And eventually he hoped he'd be as well.

She sighed heavily. “I'm sorry. I just suddenly felt as though as I were back in the water and I was swallowing so much of it, that ...” She shook her head. “Well, you know the rest.”

Yes, he did. And he'd better never see such a thing again. He'd rather deliver Alicia's next child—he shuddered at the thought—than go through what he had earlier with Claire.

“I imagine you'll have nightmares about that for some time.” Nate knew he would.

“I didn't thank you properly,” she said, easing back from his chest. “You saved my life.”

He smiled, kissed her forehead, and lingered a moment.

“It was worth saving.”

Now that she was awake and no longer in any danger, Nate became aware of just how intimate their circumstances were. He'd seen her naked—though in truth he couldn't remember what she looked like—he'd helped her dress, and now she was once again in his arms. Her hair smelled of the soap and the sea, a combination far more potent than any rum or brandy he'd come across.

Looking down, he saw her lips were once again a healthy coral color and they were so very close to his. Heat enveloped him, which had nothing to do with the sun.

“I'm sorry.”

“Sorry you saved me after all?”

The uncertainty in her voice surprised him. Did she really think he'd rather see her dead?

“Never that, Claire. When I woke earlier and you were gone, I was mad. I thought you were going to search for the treasure without me.” He shook his head, disgusted that while she was in grave danger, he'd assumed the worst.

“Nate, it was a reasonable supposition. Besides, it was my fault for leaving without telling you. The blame is entirely my own.”

“What happened?” He held up a hand. “On second thought, you don't need to answer. I'm sure the last thing you want is to relive it.”

She crossed her legs and clasped her hands in her lap. “It's all right, you have a right to know.” She sighed. “I simply thought to go to the beach, wash my clothes, and have a bath. Then, since it was early and I was alone, I decided to practice my swimming. I'd hoped to improve, not kill myself.”

Shame roiled in his belly. If he hadn't teased her about being a bad swimmer, she wouldn't have felt—

“Don't blame yourself. It was sheer stupidity on my part. I know I'm not a very good swimmer and I shouldn't have attempted to practice on my own.”

“And I shouldn't have teased you.”

She dropped her blankets, moved to his side. This time it was she who touched his face. “I like that you teased me again. It's been a long time.”

Nate placed his hand over hers. She was right. It had been a long time. A long time since he'd held her against him. A long time since he'd heard her breath catch in anticipation of his kiss. And too damn long since he'd had her mouth under his.

He didn't know where her bloody husband was, and at the moment, as Claire's head leaned toward his, he didn't bloody care. If the man was any kind of a husband, she wouldn't be in this situation, wouldn't have almost lost her life today. Wouldn't be wanting another man's kiss.

And it was Nate she wanted. He saw it in the darkening of her eyes, in the way he heard her breath race. It was him she reached for. And it was her that sparked his blood, the only one who ever had. He'd had other women, and he'd treated them as kindly as he could, but they hadn't reached into his heart. He's shared his body many times. He'd shared his heart only once.

Nate lowered his mouth to hers. The moment their lips touched, something settled in his soul. He pulled her against him, felt her fingers anchor in his hair, heard her moan as he parted her lips with his own.

It was everything he'd remembered and nothing like he remembered. It was sunshine, pure and gold. It was the rarest of gems, sparkling and priceless. Claire fit. Her mouth, her body, everything aligned itself with Nate's. He swept his tongue into her mouth and thought to himself,
Yes, this is what I remember.

Her mouth opened like a flower under his; her lips were petal soft. They seduced him, stripped him bare until he felt, knew, nothing but her. He couldn't feel the heat of the day pressing upon them. He knew only Claire and the desire for her that thrummed in his veins, that made him hard with need.

He drew back, filled his lungs with air. Claire, too, was out of breath, though this time the sound was a satisfying one. Nate shook his head, pressed a kiss to her lips, then another to her forehead. He pulled her tightly against him, heaved a sigh.

“Ah, Claire, why the hell did you marry someone else instead of waiting for me?”

Thirteen

It took a moment for his words to seep through the mist of desire, but as soon as they did, Claire jumped from his lap. All thoughts of wet kisses and warm arms around her making her feel safe fled.

“I did wait for you. I waited a year and a half, but you never came back!”

“I bloody well did,” he argued as he came to his feet. “But when I came back, I found out you were betrothed to another man.”

He looked at her and she saw the pain in his green eyes, knew his words to be true. He'd come? Her head spun with the truth. Her heart broke with it.

“Why, Claire?” he asked quietly. “Why would you marry another man?”

“It had been so long, I didn't think you'd come back.”

His mouth hardened. “Had I ever given you the impression I wasn't a man of my word?”

“No, but—”

“Did you not believe me when I told you I loved you? Had I done such a poor job of showing you what I felt that you turned to another?”

Her eyes filled. “No, it wasn't like that.”

“I told you that as soon as I felt I had earned enough to give us a fair start, I'd come for you.”

“I know you did, and I believed you.”

Nate laughed, though there was no joy in it. “Did you now? Because that's hard to believe from where I'm standing.”

It would be, she realized, and she looked away. If she were in his shoes, she'd feel the same. She'd feel betrayed and angry, and if he tried to explain, would she listen? Would anything at this point ease the hurt? No. Shame pressed hard on Claire's heart. All this time she'd blamed Nate for her plight and all along it had been her own fault.

“When did you come?” she asked, looking into the dying fire. She couldn't bear to look him in the eyes.

“It doesn't matter, it doesn't change what happened.”

“It matters to me.” Now that she knew he hadn't broken his promise, that he had loved her enough to come back, she needed to know it all. Though it killed her to think of it, she needed to know by how long she'd missed him.

Nate sighed. “I came back on the summer solstice.”