Pirate Princess (34 page)

“You were irrational before I started talking to you,” he teased.

“Finn,” I complained.

“It’s not important for you to know tonight. When the time is appropriate I will talk to you about it,” he assured me.

“You are not supposed to lie or keep secrets from me,” I reminded him.

“I’m allowed to do what I think is best and currently what is best is getting you home and putting you to bed.”

“You’re putting me to bed, huh?” I asked with a teasing smirk, “That’s a little presumptuous of you, isn’t it? I’m drunk, but I still have some of my wits about me.” He looked at me in shock and I swore his cheeks were a little redder than usual. “Are you blushing?” I asked him.

“I don’t blush,” he told me, “I’m just shocked you are joking about such a thing. Normally the mention of it would make you turn away from me.”

“Not because I’m not interested,” I explained, “I just have to remind myself that I am not able to act on that impulse despite how much I lo…” I snapped my mouth shut with a click and wished I could walk on my own.

“Why did you stop mid sentence?” Finn asked and then shoved open his door, pulling me inside as he stepped inside.

I didn’t respond because I was in shock with myself. I had almost said I loved him. Did I? Surely I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t feel that way, right? What would he do if I told him how I felt? I had no idea if he felt the same or felt anything aside from infatuation with me at this point. I hadn’t known him very long. Was it just the alcohol? Surely I couldn’t be in love with him so soon.

He sat me down on the bed and pulled my boots off. “Tilia,” he whispered, “talk to me. You look scared.”

“I, uh, I’m fine. I think I should go to sleep,” I muttered and swallowed nervously.

He sat on his knees and looked into my eyes. “Tomorrow when you are sober we’ll try this talk again,” he whispered, “because I don’t want you to forget what I need to say to you.”

“I doubt I’m going to forget tonight,” I said.

He gently pushed me onto my back and climbed into bed next to me. “Go to sleep, Tilia. Tomorrow we can talk more.”

I didn’t think I would be able to sleep with his words in my head, but the alcohol had other plans for me and soon I was asleep.

When I woke up Finn was gone and the sun was bright. I peeked out the window and was shocked to see that it was noon. I changed clothes and just as I finished pulling my shirt on over my head Finn walked in with a plate of fruit.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” he greeted me with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

I wanted to say mortified, but he would probably take that the wrong way. “I’m feeling fine,” I replied quietly, “my head is a little sore, but otherwise I’m fine.”

He set the fruit on the bed and kissed my cheek. “I thought you might be hungry so I picked some fruit for you.”

“Thanks,” I whispered. I sat down and ate a few pieces of the fruit while he stared at me. “Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked him.

He smirked and said, “Because as soon as you saw me you instantly blushed which means you remember last night or at least the ending.”

Stupid cheeks giving me away. “I told you I would remember,” I muttered as I tried not to look at him.

“So, are you going to finish your sentence from last night?” he asked and leaned his upper back against the wall with his hands in his pockets. How could leaning be sexy?

“I, uh…” I stared at my hands as my heart pounded in my chest. Couldn’t I kill something or challenge him to a fight instead?

“What if I start?” he asked quietly and sat on the bed next to me. I swallowed nervously and wished I could have wiped my hands on my pants before he took them since they were probably sweaty. “When I thought I had lost you at the Fire Ring I realized it and when Carlos took you from me it was clarified in my head and heart.” He paused and brushed a knuckle down my cheek slowly. “I love you, Tilia Jasmine Swanson.”

He loved me? He loved me. He loved me! I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. “I love you too, Finley.” He pulled me into his lap and kissed me again.

“My name is Finn, not Finley,” he muttered without any real conviction.

“How did you find out my full name?” I asked.

“Your father told me last night,” he admitted.

“What else did he tell you? What did you two talk about?” I asked him.

He kissed my cheek and then rested his forehead against mine. “The Kingdom of Trian has declared war against all pirates. They haven’t selected a course of action yet, but their kingdom has always been plagued by pirates and apparently one of the captains took it upon himself to steal a crown from the palace. The King is so furious that he has vowed to destroy each and every one of us.”

“So we leave his kingdom’s domain and stay out of it,” I said simply.

“He’s started rallying the other kingdoms to join his cause. So far two more have joined and only three are left. I have no doubt that your kingdom won’t agree to join because of you, but the others most likely will. Once they agree to a plan of attack they will start hunting us and either kill us or imprison us all. Your father believes they are more likely to kill us which I agree with him about.”

“What are we going to do?” I asked him nervously. “It could be years before they come to an agreement or just days.”

“I know.”

“You can’t just disband the crew on the chance they might attack us,” I said softly.

“There isn’t going to be an ‘us’ for much longer,” he said quietly.

“What are you talking about?” I asked nervously.

“I’m going to take you back to your Kingdom so you will be safe. I can’t risk losing you to this when your life can be spared,” he said as he looked down at his hands.

I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. “No.”

He looked up at me in shock. “What?”

“No.”

“You can’t just tell me ‘no’.”

“I am not going to let you leave me at the Capitol while you and the crew go off and could possibly be in danger or dead.”

“Tilia, I won’t let you die. I would rather know you are safe even if it means separating from you for an extended period of time.”

“I won’t be able to sit on my hands waiting for a message from someone telling me that you and your crew are dead,” I said as tears spilled over my eyes and down my cheeks. “I don’t want to leave you so soon. I just barely started enjoying my time with you and we only have a year together anyways. I won’t go. You’ll have to throw me off the ship and sail away and even then I will just get a ship and sail after you.”

He stood up and wiped his thumbs under both of my eyes to wipe away the tears. “Tilia,” he whispered and pulled me into his arms, my head against his chest. “I can’t lose you. You are the only good thing that has happened to me and if I lose you then I have lost everything. You are the only thing that matters to me. I love you.”

“That’s exactly it,” I told him, “I feel the same way and can’t bear that thought. Could you sit here in your house while I was sailing around in possible danger?”

He sighed and shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t change how I feel.”

“Finn, you can’t leave me.”

“To be honest I really
really
hated that plan anyways. I’m not sure I would have been able to go through with it,” he murmured.

“We’ll think of something,” I assured him, finally able to breathe now that he put that decision out of his head. “Isn’t there someplace safe we could go? Somewhere the kingdoms wouldn’t know we were pirates? Can’t we go to my kingdom until a decision is made and we know what to expect?”

“If the other kingdoms know that yours is harboring pirates they will declare war against them as well,” he said.

I hadn’t thought of that. There had to be something we could do. Some way to keep everyone safe and keep me and Finn together.

“Your dad is calling a meeting of all captains in the vicinity tonight. Hopefully we will be able to figure out a plan then,” he said.

I squeezed him and whispered, “If you do want to get rid of me you don’t have to make up elaborate lies.”

He pushed me back ready to defend himself until he saw my smile. “You are devious.”

I kissed him and whispered, “And you like that about me.”

“That and several other things,” he whispered and kissed me again.

“I’m coming with you tonight,” I informed him.

“You’re not a captain,” he said.

“I’m co-captain.”

He shook his head. “They won’t let you.”

“Do you really think anyone is going to try to tell Captain Rocco’s daughter that she can’t be there? Is there really anyone that stupid?” I asked him.

“Oh I know a few who are that stupid, but you are right they most likely won’t speak up at the meeting. You know, it would be nice if you just accepted my orders as captain.”

I smiled. “Well when you order me to do something important or that I like, I will.”

“You can’t just choose which orders to take or not,” he complained.

“Apparently I can.”

“Mutiny,” he muttered and pulled me back into his arms. “I think I will have to come up with a punishment for your disobedience.”

“Hm, what would that punishment be?”

He lowered his hand to my side and started tickling me. I squealed and tried to get away, but he pushed me onto the bed and held me down as he continued his tickle assault. “Stop!” I cried as I struggled against him and laughed.

“Not until you acknowledge that I’m captain and agree to take all of my orders,” he said.

“You’re captain and I’ll take most of your orders.”

“Not good enough.” He tickled me with both hands. I laughed, squealing as I tried to squirm out from under him, but he was too strong. “All you have to do is say you agree.”

“I agree you’re captain,” I said between laughs.

He stopped tickling me a second and said, “You are so stubborn.”

“You’re just learning this now?” I asked with shock.

He smiled and said, “Oh I knew it the night I stole your necklace from you.”

“Then you shouldn’t be surprised.”

“I’m not surprised, just reaffirming you’re stubborn.”

“Is my punishment over?” I asked.

“Hm,” he said and tapped his finger on his chin. “Nope.” He started tickling me again. “Say what I want to hear.”

I laughed and squirmed and said, “I love you.”

He stopped tickling me and smiled happily down at me. He bent and kissed me deeply and said, “I love you too. Even if you didn’t say what I ordered you to.”

“Sometimes you have to take what you can get,” I said.

“Oh I intend to as soon as possible.” I blushed and he raised a fist in the air. “Victory!”

“Incorrigible pirate.”

“Tell me how it is possible that you grew up on a pirate ship and yet you blush anytime I mention something to you?”

“I was a child then and no one talked to me like you do at my Kingdom or since we left.”

“I would hope not,” he snarled. “Or I would have some heads to bash in.”

“You’re pretty sexy when you’re jealous,” I told him. “I think I might have to try to find more ways to make you jealous.”

“Nope.”

“Finn,” I whispered as the smile slipped off my face. “Don’t let my dad send me away from you. Please.”

He pulled me up into a sitting position and hugged me. “I promise to keep you by my side as long as possible, even if it means incurring your father’s wrath.” He stood up and smoothed out his clothes while I did the same.

“Did you and dad talk about anything else?” I asked him.

He shrugged. “Oh we talked about various things.”

“Finn.”

“There are some things you will never know and I’m sorry, my love, but the conversation I had with your father aside from what I have already told you is one of those things.”

“You don’t seem sorry,” I muttered.

A few hours of horseplay later, we ate and headed to the meeting which was happening on my dad’s ship. When we climbed up the rope, my father scowled at me. “Jax,” he muttered.

“I’m not leaving,” I told him, “and I need to be part of this discussion anyways.”

He sighed. “Fine, but you sit by me so the others don’t cause trouble.”

There were already five people sitting on barrels that faced dad’s chair on the main deck. I kissed Finn’s cheek and walked with my father towards his chair while Finn took a seat on top of one of the barrels.

“Stop kissing him in front of me,” my dad said, “Or I’m going to have to punch his face.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” I told him. “I’ll stop for your sake.”

“So how did you take Finn’s plan to leave you at home?” he asked and sat down in his chair.

“I told him I wouldn’t let him and that I would sail after him if he tried.”

Dad laughed. “I figured that was what you would say. You really should stay out of this, child. It’s something you don’t have to be a part of.”

“I’m part of this whether you want me to be or not,” I told him. “Even if I hadn’t met Finn I would be putting myself in this mess because of you and your crew.”

“I should tie you up and send you home with some of my crew,” he muttered.

“You know I won’t stay put. Even if Esmeralda tried to lock me up I would just open the lock and leave. For better or worse I’m here and we need to focus on what the best course of action is.”

“I’m not sure there is a best course or even a good course,” he said softly, “In my opinion it may be best for everyone to lay low until it blows over.”

Sedgwick brought out a chair and set it next to my dad’s. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, Sedgwick.”

“So, are we tying her up and sending her home?” he asked my dad.

Dad sighed. “She’s too stubborn for that.”

“Shocking, considering who her father is,” Sedgwick said with sarcasm.

“You’re lucky you are my doctor or I might not let that comment go,” dad said.

Sedgwick smiled at him. “Ah captain, the love in your voice chokes me up.”

I laughed and dad glared at me. “Don’t encourage him.”

Finally, more captains arrived to fill up the seats. Dad was about to begin when Sisko boarded and spotted Finn. He marched over to him and said, “I don’t know how you did it, but when I find out which one of your crew stole from my ship, I will gut them and feed them to the sharks.”