She spoke quickly. “I have a plan. Be ready. Are you armed?”
He held up his cutlass and a musket. “I took it from one of the pirates. He won’t be needing it. What is your plan?”
“Arianna, your time is up.” Boots trudged through the underbrush.
“I have to go. Be ready,” she repeated as she dashed away.
She hoped her scheme worked. The thought of a beaten Morgan thrown in irons and held in the bowels of a ship sickened her beyond bearing.
“There you are. It took long enough,” Shark said when she emerged.
“Women require more time. I am not a man.”
“That I know.” He eyed her up and down. “Now get moving.” He slapped her on the rear.
She jumped but didn’t reprimand him. She needed him to trust she was resigned to her fate.
When they reached the beach, the men holding Morgan released him. Morgan collapsed to the sand. But when he glanced at her, she spied strength, power, vitality, and determination still surging through him.
She lowered her gaze, not wanting him to guess her next move. He was too perceptive and would try to stop her. And she had no intention of doing so. She glanced at Shark and the pistol in his baldric. While he shouted orders, she inched closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Arianna snatched the pistol and backed away. “Release Morgan, right now.” She pointed the gun at Shark.
He turned to her in exasperation. “Now why would I do that?”
“Because I’m going to be your hostage.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Arianna, no!” Morgan cried. “Run. Save yourself.”
She ignored him. As she always did.
“I have two hostages, why would I let one of them go?” Shark asked.
Was she crazy? “Arianna, don’t deal with him.” Her bravery would get her killed.
“Silence him,” Shark ordered.
She swung the pistol to the man about to slam the hilt of his sword on Morgan’s head. “You touch him and I shoot you.”
Shark smiled. “You only have one shot.”
Harry stepped from the woods. “No, she has two. One is for you.”
Shark’s grin fell from his face. “Do you know what I do to people who betray me, Logan?” He spat in Harry’s direction.
“I really don’t care.”
“You can’t hold us all off.”
“That is why I have a deal for you. I am Arianna Pemberton. My papa owns a shipping line much larger than Morgan’s.”
“Arianna, shut up,” Morgan commanded.
“You can ransom me. My papa will pay a great deal of money for my safe return. More than you can get for Morgan, and I will be a lot less trouble.”
Morgan refused to allow her to exchange herself for him.
She swallowed. “And you will have the use of my body until the ransom is paid.”
“Arianna, I won’t let you do it. Turnbull, don’t listen to her.” He gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet.
“I have more men than you, and I like taking chances. I can disarm you, and then I’ll have two hostages with twice the money.”
She pointed the pistol at her head. “I will shoot myself, and then you’ll only have one. The one that will get you the least amount of money.”
His heart stopped. Arianna couldn’t be serious. She must have a plan. Morgan glanced at Harry whose eyes were wide with what looked like astonishment. If she did indeed have a plan, his brother knew nothing about it. Morgan had to stop her. As he stepped forward, hands jerked him back. “Turnbull, she’s gone crazy. She doesn’t know what she is saying. Leave her. I will go with you of my own free will and be part of your crew until the ransom is paid.”
Shark’s brows drew together. “You won’t do it.”
She cocked the pistol. “Try it and see what happens.” Her hand trembled, but her voice was hard and steady. She meant what she said.
His blood congealed. Time slowed. His ragged breath swishing in and out filled his ears. He fixated on Arianna. His gaze darted between her finger on the trigger and her face. He couldn’t lose her. She couldn’t die. He didn’t know when or how but she had become an essential part of his life. Arianna made him want to feel again, to become close to another person, to experience life instead of just living in it.
“Arianna—”
“Stay out of it, Morgan.” Her regard never wavered from Shark. “What will it be? Do you release Morgan or do I shoot myself?”
Shark stared at her as he determined if she would kill herself. “I’ll release him, but I want you in my hands first.”
“No.”
He smiled. “Don’t you trust me?”
“No.” Her face remained hard and still. Not one hint of a grin revealed itself.
He shrugged. “Then we are at an impasse.”
“I don’t think so. As I walk toward you, you will allow Morgan to walk to Harry.”
Shark glanced at Harry. “Ah, so that is your real name. I will remember it.”
“Do we have a deal?” she shot at him, capturing the pirate’s attention again.
Shark narrowed his dark eyes, scrutinizing her and then nodded. “Release him.”
“Arianna, I won’t let you do this.” Morgan’s soul cried for her.
“Morgan, move!” she shouted. Desperation and resolve spilled from her mouth.
Someone shoved him from behind.
She started toward Shark. He had no choice but to continue, or they would both be captured, and then she’d have no chance.
Arianna would not be imprisoned on that pirate ship, even if he had to die to save her.
She strode toward him, staring straight ahead, not at him, the pistol pointed at her head. When they met in the middle, she glanced at him. Briefly. “I had to do this.”
Damn her.
His steps quickened as he watched Harry’s face for any sign and shot a look over his shoulder once or twice. When he was three-quarters to his destination, water splashed, and he turned. Shark’s crew had the boat in the water.
Shark snatched Arianna’s wrist, and she cried out. He wrenched the pistol from her fingers. “Oh, my love, since you haven’t learned to obey me yet, your lessons will begin as soon as we reach the ship. By the time I return you to your father, you will respond immediately to my every request. You will be my star pupil.” He shoved her. “Get in the boat.”
She stumbled but remained upright, stepped over the side, and sat in the rear.
Morgan spun, presenting his back to his brother. “Harry, cut the ropes.”
Morgan stared at the boat as it cast off. “Hurry. Hurry.” He couldn’t allow them to escape.
“I’m working as fast as I can.”
While Harry cut with the sword, he tugged against his bonds.
The pirates’ muscular, powerful arms pulled on the oars, cutting through the water. They increased their speed. The distance between Arianna and him grew.
The ropes snapped. His arms were free. He grabbed the musket from Harry’s hands and raced to the water’s edge. He only had one shot. He had to make it count.
He spotted Shark beside Arianna. He lifted the musket, cocked it, sighted down the barrel, and eased back the trigger.
Shark slumped to the side.
Arianna’s head whipped around. Spying Morgan holding the smoking musket, she leaped up and dove over the side. Shark’s crew, disorganized and not knowing what to do, continued rowing, heading for the pirate ship, saving themselves.
Was Shark dead? If not, Morgan had at least injured him, and if he had killed him, he had performed a superb deed for shipping lines all over the world.
His gaze shot to the water. Arianna hadn’t surfaced.
Where was she?
He waded into the ocean, water splashing onto his pants. Visions of his brother’s drowning shot before his eyes. Terror rocketed through him.
He couldn’t swim, but he had to find her. “Arianna!”
Morgan trudged through the waves. In the distant reaches of his mind, Harry called his name. The sweat on his brow mixed with the salt water. His heart beat so fast he feared it would burst from his chest. He shuffled on until the water reached his chest, his eyes searching, his mind paralyzed. “Arianna.”
And then he spotted her, cutting through the water.
She was alive. Relief spiraled through him. The ocean hadn’t stolen her.
Arianna lifted her head and spied him. A smile spread across her beautiful face, and she increased her speed. She reached him seconds later and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her legs circled his waist.
He enveloped her within his embrace, determined to never let go and closed his eyes. She was whole, breathing, soft, feminine, and his.
“Arianna you made it. I was so scared for you.” Harry’s voice broke into his thoughts.
“So was I, but Morgan saved me. I am ever so grateful.”
She must have realized her compromised position because she lowered her legs, then her arms, even though the water was over her head, and tried to disengage from him. He refused to let her go. One arm still behind her back, he shifted the other under her legs and trudged toward shore.
“Morgan, I can walk, and you’re injured.”
“Not anymore than you.” Now she was safe, he remembered what she had done and his anger rose. “You ever pull a stunt like that again, I will throttle you.”
She looked up into his face. “If they had taken you, you would have angered them until they eventually killed you.”
His muscles tightened. “What do you think they would have done to you?”
Color blossomed in her face and neck. “They wouldn’t have killed me.”
“You don’t know that, and some things are worse than death.”
When his feet shuffled onto the sandy beach, he glanced down. His eyes widened, and his blood surged. Two milky white, firm breasts peeked up at him. If his brother hadn’t been standing beside him, he would have taken her right then.
His brother.
“Arianna, your shirt.” He didn’t want Harry to view what was only for his eyes.
She gasped and quickly snapped the edges together, but the soaked, white linen did little to hide the roundness and pebbled nipples. A light breeze blew, and a shiver trembled through her.
“We need to start a fire. Harry, fetch the supplies while I gather wood.” Luckily, the pirates hadn’t searched the cave and taken what little they had.
Harry took off at a run.
Morgan lowered Arianna’s legs and allowed her to slip down his body. He didn’t want to release her. He held her a moment longer, staring into her azure eyes and then reluctantly dropped his arms. “Wait here in the sun.”
“I’m going to help you.”
“Arianna—”
“It will be f-faster with my help, and the w-work will w-warm me.”
He scowled. Arguing would not deter or convince Arianna and only waste time. “Come on then, but don’t wander far. We don’t know when and if the pirates will return once they reorganize.” He glanced at the ship before he entered the woods.
****
Hugging a blanket around her naked body, Arianna relaxed on a log Morgan had dragged to the blazing fire at the edge of the forest. Similarly attired, Morgan sat next to her. He had not left her side for more than a moment or two since he rescued her. Their clothes lay over bushes, drying in the sun. Harry had returned with their supplies, consisting of two blankets, flint, water, and biscuits.
The pirate ship remained anchored, but the crew hadn’t attempted to return to the island. And she hoped they didn’t. Her experience with pirates would last her a lifetime.
Morgan leaned forward, threw more wood on the fire, and then glanced her way. “Are you warm enough?”
“Yes, I am now.”
He slid back, and an involuntary groan slipped from his mouth.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not,” Harry replied.
She faced his side. “It’s not a sign of weakness to admit you are hurt or to allow someone to help you.”
His dark chocolate eyes searched her beseeching ones. She wasn’t certain he would reply.
“It’s my ribs.”
“Are they broken?” Harry asked.
“No. I think they’re bruised.” He shifted his position with a grimace.
Arianna stood. “We need to bind them. My clothes must be dry by now. I will dress, and we can use this blanket for bandages.”
Morgan grabbed her hand and tugged her down. “I am fine.” With his forefinger, he turned her face to him. “You were the one they hurt.” His anger at their brutality sizzled in the air. “They left a bruise on your cheek.” He traced the mark. “And a cut on your lip.”
Her skin tingled under the caress, and she luxuriated in the smooth slide of his fingertips as they drifted to her neck.
Harry jumped up. She jerked her face away from Morgan. Again she had fallen under his seductive spell. With a word or a touch, she was lost to him and forgot herself and who might linger near.
“I’m going to see if I can find fruits or berries. What we have won’t last long,” Harry called over his shoulder as he left.