Page 19 of Scourge of the Shores

The Growing Attraction

The flintlock and horn sat in their holders on her belt.

Robert’s arm was around her waist, her hand in his, as he helped her along the sandy western path to the north shore.

Her legs grew stronger with each step, but the closer she was to Robert and the longer his touch endured, the more her desire to stay in his embrace hardened. It made her sick to her stomach.

“I thought ye wouldn’t give me enchantments even if ye had them?” Danna asked again, not satisfied with his earlier response.

Robert looked off toward the western sea. “Seein’ a beautiful, capable woman nearing Tophet can change a man’s mind, as I said,” he answered, turning his attention to her.

“But why’d a pirate waste an enchantment on me?" Danna asked, eyes narrowing, still not believing him. "Men like ye don’t give nothin’ without takin’ somethin’.”

Her leg gave way, but before he could catch her fully, she jerked away, forcing herself upright. Her balance wavered, but she gritted her teeth and steadied herself.

“I got it,” she muttered, more to herself than to him as she winced, trying to get her knee to work.

Robert offered his hand again, and she took it, knowing she couldn’t walk without his aid.

He scanned the horizon as if he could find the words in the waves.

“Ervin told me to leave you be. Said some enchanter from the East spoke of the worthy man from the seas who was to wed you.” His jaw flexed. “Told me it ain’t me.”

Danna’s stomach tightened at the slight bitterness in his tone, but she kept quiet, letting him finish his thought.

He finally met her gaze, with something raw flickering behind his alluring eyes. “And yet . . . I can’t seem to pull away from you.”

Danna’s dreams of Robert’s kiss forced their way to the forefront of her memory, but she shoved them away. Her brows pulled together. "Funny," she said, her voice cooling. "Lucas ain’t never said a word ‘bout a prophecy to me. Not once."

Her steps slowed as she turned toward Robert. "Why’d he tell ye and not me?"

Robert’s lips curled at the edges. "Maybe he thought ye’d laugh him outta the hut."

Danna’s scowl deepened. "Or maybe he didn’t want me thinkin’ about it. Got enough to worry ‘bout without addin’ fables.” She huffed and shook her head. "A man from the seas, worthy of weddin’ me?" Her voice carried a sharp edge now. "Sounds like somethin’ a pirate’d spin to charm a lass.”

Robert shrugged and rolled his jaw like he hated the words in his mouth. “Whatever the reason, Ervin told me to stay away from you.”

His gaze flicked to hers, an intensity in his eyes.

“Or to stay,” he said.

Danna’s breath caught, but she kept her face rigid.

She pushed her hair behind her ear and under her scarf. “Then maybe ye should stay away. Lucas ain’t never led me wrong.”

Danna turned to continue walking, but Robert held her under the arm to keep her from leaving.

Robert’s lips quirked. “And what if I did stay?”

Danna narrowed her eyes. “Then ye’d be a fool.”

His grin didn’t waver. “Would I? And what if I ain’t the only one who wants me to?”

A breeze kicked up from the sea, cooling the heat rising in her face. There was a pull to him, too; she couldn’t deny it, but she sure wasn’t going to accept it. And she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of an answer.

“That’s the thing, Jaymes,” she said, voice even. “Ye ain’t gonna stay.”

He searched her gaze, like a man seeking the stars to guide him.

She pulled away first, not liking the way he gazed at her. “I ain’t wasting me breath thinkin’ ‘bout what’ll never be.”

Danna turned, stepping too fast, and her knee buckled. She caught herself on his arm before he could catch her fully.

Her pride burned hotter than the ache in her leg. “The blasted leg just ain’t listenin’,” she muttered about her knee, pushing off him before he could help her more.

“It’ll come back in time,” he said. “And with your grit, probably sooner than most.”

She flashed him a grin of unspoken gratitude for the compliment.

They walked a while longer in silence as Danna thought about his question.

Would she consider him if he stayed? She barely knew him, but he had saved her life three times, which was unheard of in the pirate world.

He was a little different, and the thought made her curious.

Why was he different? Why did he attract her, but she was repulsed by her attraction?

She knew the pirates could have taken the island by now. Was a sense of duty to the old pirate kings, or were his fanciful yearnings for her keeping Robert, their apparent leader, at bay?

Perhaps it was good that he fancied her. It made him easier to predict. Or maybe, it made him more dangerous.

The thought simmered, uneasy, in her stomach.

She wasn’t in the business of charming men into keeping her people safe. She never had been. Her teeth clenched. She wasn’t that kind of woman. She wouldn’t be.

Examining his profile as she thought, he glanced at her.

“You like what you see?” he teased.

She rolled her eyes. “No. I’s just rememberin’ the story ye told me ‘bout yer mother.”

“Aye?” he asked. Pain flashed across his face as if she’d caught him off guard. A flicker that made Danna question her preconceptions about him. Pirates were hardened men. Nothing hurt them.

She licked her lip before deciding to continue the conversation. “Losing yer mom in that struggle as a lad. . . can tell it’s hard on ye.”

Robert’s head drooped. “Aye, but Father told me, ‘Sorrow is for the weak.’” He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the sand beneath their feet as they walked.

Danna nodded. “It’s tough on the seas, ain’t it? Said it to keep ye alive, eh?”

A bitter grin arose on his lips. “Aye.”

Her thoughts drifted to Ma. Losing her and not being allowed to grieve would be more than she could bear.

“Ma,” she started but realized she said it aloud, and Robert turned his gaze to her. The urge to keep talking forced her to speak. “She—she ain’t a pirate either.”

Robert lifted an eyebrow. “Well, she doesn’t have the pirate slang,” he chuckled.

“Neither do ye,” Danna said.

“My father again is to blame. Taught me how to present myself in case I ever needed to escape a predicament.”

Danna hummed in thought before replying. “That’s why ye’re the leader of the Pirate Kings?”

Robert laughed. “Aye, for now at least.” He returned his attention to her. “How did Ma end up here?”

She eyed him as he pushed the subject back to her. There was more to Robert “The Ruthless” Jaymes, and she couldn’t tell if it was bad or good.

“Me father fell in love and brought her here. He died, and she blames him for leaving her. When I was eight, Cain attacked, took her limbs. Never been the same since.”

His eyes glimmered in the sunlight. “If I could heal your mother, I would. But I tell you the truth, that enchantment’s very rare, and I’d be lucky if I ever found it in my whole life at sea.”

Danna froze mid-step. Her breath hitched. “Ye’d—” She blinked at him. “Ye’d do that?”

Robert cupped her cheek, his thumb grazing her skin as his eyes searched hers. “Aye,” he said. “For me friend.”

A smile tugged at her lips before she caught herself. Her chest tightened. His touch was addicting, but she stepped back like she could shake him away. “That’s enough, Jaymes.”

He dropped his hand and smirked. “Just testin’ the waters, mate.”

“Well, don’t do it again.” Her cheeks flushed.

“As ye wish,” he said, pirate grit in full force.

“Stop it,” she said. “I don’t like when ye talk like that. Feels like it’s mockin’.”

“It’s not mockin’,” he said. “I’s taught both ways: the pirate, the civilized. They’re both part of me.”

Danna chuckled at the absurdity before she saw the value in it. He was right—having more than one way of presenting oneself had its uses. She rolled her shoulder and cracked her neck. “Well . . . Hope it serves ye well.”

Robert studied her, then gave a single nod.

There was something about how he watched her, calculating behind the mischievous banter as if he were figuring out which way the tide was turning.

“Do you want to continue north?” he asked.

Her legs ached. She looked the way they’d come. It was a long way back to the village. They were too close to her boulder on the north shore. That was hers. A private place she wasn’t willing to share.

“Should be headin’ back,” she said.

He obliged her answer.

She walked alone until her legs gave way about halfway back to the village, and the sand met her knees. Robert hadn’t tried to catch her, which was fine by her. The sand at least cradled her kneecaps.

“How long?” she asked, sitting back on her heels and peering at him.

“As I told you, your body still thinks it’s healing. You’ll probably need to rest once you return to camp, but I bet you’ll be as good as new by tomorrow evening,” he said.

“I hate askin’ ye,” she said through clenched teeth, knowing she could not return by herself. “Mind helpin’?”

“For a price,” he said with a wink.

“Name it.”

Robert chuckled and shook his head. “I was right. No humor with your lot.” He stooped to help her, but she recoiled.

He sighed. “There’s no price, Danna.”

She scanned him for signs of deception, letting him wrap his arm around her waist and help her up. Then, she wrapped her arm around his neck and studied his profile.

“What are you looking at?” Robert asked with a half-smile.

Danna shook her head. He was quite handsome with his steel-cut jaw and pearly whites, and the draw of his navy eyes was hard to resist. She could get lost in his salt-laced spiced rum scent.

Maybe he was right. Maybe they weren’t all that different.

Each was willing to make a great sacrifice to protect the people they cared for.

He had risked his life to save her from Cain and then again when he returned to her with the enchantment.

She doubted the pirates would find his supposed infatuation with her all that heartwarming, which would explain why he had already told them what he thought she would agree to regarding the tar and pitch.

He was probably risking his life right now to be with her, away from his camp, which was working heartily to repair the ships.

Maybe he was risking his reputation as a pirate king.

All for her.

Meant she was more than just a wench to him. But a dark thought loomed in the back of her mind. What if it was all a ruse? But to what end?

Robert chuckled at her silence. “Do tell, Danna. What serious thought are you thinkin’?”

“That maybe . . . ” She trailed off, catching herself. He had to prove himself well beyond any doubt before he learned too many of her thoughts.

Robert grabbed her arm around his neck as they started walking. “Teasin’ me now?”

“No,” she said, already walking faster. “Just remindin’ myself of a simple fact.”

He tilted his head. “And what’s that?”

She let her gaze linger, searching his face, letting the air stretch between them.

Then her lips curled in a sorrowed truth. “Pirates lie.”

She took a step forward, unsteady but firm. The air thickened between them. “But ye already knew that, didn’t ye, Jaymes?”

Robert suppressed a grin. “Aye,” he murmured, voice low enough to draw her gaze to his lips. He leaned close. The air between them crackled as he whispered, “But not all lies be lies, and some truths cut bone.”

His thumb swiped the flesh of her forearm around his neck, slow and deep.

A tingling heat stirred beneath her ribs—one she had no right to feel.

His lips were close, and she wondered if he’d kiss her with lying lips or ones that spoke truths.

But before allowing the chance to find out, she ripped her gaze away from the storm in his eyes, locking it on the path ahead.

Then, softer—just enough to stir doubt in her resolve—he added in a murmur, “What matters, Danna, is what ye decide to believe.”