Alphas of Black Fortune Complete Series (7 page)

“I want you,” she told Reza as they gazed into each other’s eyes. “But I will not betray him when it comes to the jewel.” She swallowed, throat suddenly tight. “But you can have me, Reza, if you mean everything you say…”

The longer he touched Cressida, the more Reza’s entire body felt as if it was on fire. When she looked at him and said those words,
I want you
, he bit down on a growl of desire so powerful it nearly overwhelmed him. He could tell that she was conflicted, though, and that she was frightened. He’d been watching her over the months, watching as she struggled with what she now knew of them, struggled with understanding it and accepting it. He’d watched too as she wavered, when her smiles were more for Captain Kelly or more for him. He’d watched her heart tear in half and he could do nothing. Even as she stood now in his hands and offered herself to him, he knew that one half of her heart was still above, in the captain’s quarters.

He had considered killing himself, more than once. At ends, overwhelmed both by the presence of all the bears and by the certainty that they were going to destroy his people, however inadvertently, he’d thought about just diving into the sea and letting it drag him down. But it was not in his nature to give up, or he’d have been dead a long time ago. No, his nature told him to fight tooth and claw for what he wanted, and to defend the things and people he loved most. And he loved Cressida Avery.

He’d resisted it at first. Then told himself that she was the
only
woman aboard the ship and the last one he’d been with, after a very long drought, so of course he wanted her again. But the more he watched her charm the crew, work just as hard as anyone, and demand treatment equal to her own worth…the more he began to realize, with dread, that it was more than simply
wanting
her. And moreover, his current predicament was far larger and more dangerous than the unrequited love of a seafaring madwoman.

Home. Home
. It was forever on his mind, haunting him in dreams and awake. At once a hope and a horror. He had no way of knowing what would greet him on the shores of his island. In truth, he could not tell Cressida exactly what she wanted to know, because he had no idea himself. The secrets of the jewel had never been his.

He pulled Cressida even closer and kissed her, unable to let her go without at least one kiss, though he half expected her to try and stab him for it. It was a pleasant surprise when she didn’t, when she kissed him back instead, and he found himself backing her up against the wall when her fingers worked their way into his hair.

“Do you choose me?” he asked, lips still against hers, as he slid a leg between her thighs.

“Yes,” she gasped.

He let out a growl of triumph and kissed her again, yanking impatiently at the fasteners on her trousers to get them loose. He couldn’t mark her here, now, on the ship with all of the bears and he probably wouldn’t even have time to properly claim her, but he was going to make her moan his name before they were interrupted.

And she was as ready as she’d been the first night they’d been together. She lifted her leg as they kissed, thigh brushing his hip, and though he wanted to plunge himself into her, he didn’t. Patience was a virtue he had perfected over the course of years. With one hand he gripped her thigh, pressing her back against the wall, and the other he slid between them and down the front of her trousers, to the heat between her legs. Her fingers tightened in his hair and she tried to move against him, but he held her still, pinned there between his body and the wall, as he slid his fingers inside her.

She made a desperate little mewling noise against his lips, trying to buck her hips, but he wouldn’t let her. He just slowly drew his fingers out of her and then sank them back in, teasing another sound from her throat, her breasts heaving against his chest as she inhaled through her nose. Everything about her was delicious and soft, from her smooth, pale skin to her slick, warm cunt. He wanted to taste her, but first he wanted to satisfy her more. There would be time for tasting and languishing later. Now was for haste and quiet. At the third noise, he lowered his head, whispering
Shhh
, and kissed her throat, her collarbone, her shoulder, as he fucked her with his hand. He inhaled the scent of her golden blond hair, licked at the sweat on her skin. Her thigh began to tremble in his grip, and she tilted her head back against the wall, eyes fluttering shut, and bit down on her bottom lip.

He slid a third finger into her and she gripped at his shoulders, fingers curling tightly into his shirt. He wished awfully that it was his cock driving into her, but knew that he’d not have been able to control himself if it had been. It wasn’t safe. This was safe, and though he was so hard by now that it was painful, he knew it would eventually be worth it. Her pleasure was more important to him now. He curved his fingers inside her, hastening the thrusts, and she arched her back against the wall and bounced a little against his hand, lips parted in desperate ecstasy.

“Oh god,” she gasped as she came, shaking and panting. “Reza…”

He kissed her again as he pulled his fingers from inside her, catching her when her legs wobbled, and drew her into his arms and away from the wall.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured, bundling her close as she breathed. Then he realized she was laughing softly, and felt somewhat at a loss, watching her smile and wrap her arms about his neck. Then he knew, without a doubt and with absolute certainty, that he had fallen in love with this woman. And that he would do anything to keep her.

Cressida laughed because she didn’t know what else to do. She came with thoughts of both Reza and Kelly in her mind, and there was naught to do but laugh. It seemed even her heart was no longer her own to give away. But as Reza gathered her close, she felt contented and warm and no matter what the future brought, she knew that her strange-eyed tiger would not abandon her, or love her any less. Perhaps that was how it would have been all along. He would have her and she would have him, and Kelly would have…his den, she supposed.

She was spent and satisfied and wanted ever so much to just curl up in Reza’s arms and have a nap, but the sound of footsteps on the stairs drew her from her thoughts with a sigh. Reza lowered her feet to the ground and righted her clothes, pressed a last, lingering kiss to her mouth and then turned to face the pirates who came hurrying into the crew quarters. At their head was Cort, Kelly’s mechanic, and Harry, his boatswain and first mate, and from the looks on their faces she could tell the news was dire.

“What is it?” she asked. Reza had slinked to a place behind her.

“The sky,” Cort said. “It’s darkening to black. A storm is upon us. And the Captain refuses to change course.”

Cressida bit down on a curse and nodded. “All right. I’ll pick a fight with him.” She glanced over her shoulder at Reza, who made a face and then looked away, saying nothing.

Above, on the deck, Cort’s description of the sky did not do it justice.
Darkening to black
was not adequate in scope or even in palette. The sky was fat with storm clouds in colors shading from deep plum to ashen violet, reflected off swelling ocean waves of navy and charcoal gray, and it was in the water that Cressida saw
black
. But it was less a color, and more like the end of everything.

The wind had kicked up to a maelstrom as well, and pirates were in the rigging trying to pull down the sails before they were shredded, before the lines could snap, even as the ship began to lift and drop, pushed by the waves. Cressida hurried to the forecastle, where Kelly stood glaring at the sky because the horizon had blurred into nothing but a roiling wilderness of cloud and violent ocean.

“James!” she cried, taking him by the arm. “James, we have to turn away from the storm! It will rip the ship to pieces!”

He turned to her, jaw tight, a look of pure fury in his eyes. “Go below,” he ordered.

“Kelly,
stop
this! Have you gone completely mad?”

“I told you!” he shouted. “I told you that this was more important to me than anything else! We will
not
change course!”

“Please!”

“If we die it will not be because I quailed!” He pushed her. “Go below!”

Cressida pushed him right back and then tried to duck around him for the helm, determined to change their damned course herself if he wouldn’t. But, even as her hands closed on the wheel, an arm came about her waist and she was lifted off her feet and torn away.

It was Reza.

The rain came at once, not a drizzle at first or a few drops, just a torrent. As though the sky had been violently rent open, the rain pummeled down upon them. Cressida twisted, trying to get free of Reza’s arms.

“What are you doing!” she shouted over the roar of the wind. “He’s going to kill us all!”

“No,” Reza insisted, and he was looking at Kelly, who was looking right back at him now. “No, we must sail through the storm. It’s the only way to find the island.”

Cressida’s heart sank as she watched Kelly practically glow with determination, and felt Reza’s arms tighten around her. There was no turning back now.

And the storm nearly destroyed them.

As the ship began to pitch, Reza hauled Cressida to the deck and tied her down to the mizzenmast so that the gushing seawater wouldn’t knock her overboard and wash her away — as it was doing to the rest of the crew, with some frequency. She gripped at the ropes as the ship creaked and moaned with every angry crash of the waves. Once the sails were down, there was naught to do but hang on and pray, and Kelly stayed at the helm, gripping the wheel to keep it steady. He nearly lost it, and himself, several times, but Reza joined him and together they managed to hold the ship’s course, sailing straight into the heart of that black sky.

The world was so loud for a time that Cressida ceased being able to differentiate between human cries and the howling wind. She huddled as best she could against the mast, watching helplessly as men were tossed over the railing and into the void beyond. Cort slid by her then, the ship tilting dangerously, threatening to roll, his unconscious form tumbling towards the edge of the deck. She untethered the mast and scrambled forward, grabbing him by the arms, and hauled him back to the mast with her, feet slipping, rain beating her nearly to the floor of the deck as she dragged him. Then she tied them both together and to the mast, and hoped the ropes would hold. As she finished the second knot, a crash from above their heads pulled her eyes up to the furious sky, and a length of sail snapped and came hurtling down atop them. Something hit her head and she gripped Cort by the shirt even as she slumped, plummeting into darkness.

When she came awake, it was calm. That was the first thing she was able to perceive. The world was calm and quiet, warm and dry, and soft. Her head was pounding, a miserable ache that throbbed between her temples in time with her heart, but she struggled to open her eyes against it, knowing all too well that she was in Kelly’s bed. Being the only bed on board the ship.

She was right. She’d been cozily ensconced in the captain’s bed, nestled in his sheets. But she was more relieved to see
sunlight
spilling in through the bay windows than anything else, and with a smile she started trying to sit up.

“Easy.” Kelly appeared, sinking to a seat on the bed’s edge, and reached to catch her shoulder, easing her back down against the pillows. “You took quite a blow, love. Lie back.”

“But we made it,” she said, smiling still. “We made it through the storm.”

“Aye, we did.” His expression was ambiguous. Relieved as well, she thought, but also sad. Or perhaps that was shame and she’d just never seen such a thing on his face before. “But not without some losses.”

“Is Cort all right? I tried…”

He flashed her a quicksilver smile. “Cort’s fine. Woke up in your arms and I think now he’s in love himself.”

She laughed softly. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

Kelly’s smile faded. “We lost quite a few, though. And the girl’s a mess. Torn sails, snapped rigging and she’s a hole in her side that’ll sink us if we don’t fix it soon.”

Cressida looked back at him and tried to keep the fear from her eyes. “We’ll find a way to fix it.”

It was the emptiest of assurances. They had no idea where the storm had left them. She didn’t even ask after the state of their supplies. Either the storm would have destroyed them, or they would both have to acknowledge that now they were undermanned, but that meant fewer mouths to feed. Cressida tried to hold onto the relief the sunlight had afforded her, but it was slipping rapidly away.

Kelly reached out, brushing a few calloused knuckles across her cheek. The touch was tender and warm, and her heart constricted as she turned her face away from his hand.

“Where’s Reza?”

She heard his teeth snap as his jaw tightened in frustration, but he seemed to rein his temper in quickly enough. “Up top. Helping the boys.”

She nodded, glad to know that he was alive. Though she’d known it already, in her heart, somehow. Which seemed preposterous even as she thought it, but she couldn’t shake the sensation.

“Do you love him, Cress?” Kelly asked.

She grimaced and looked at him again. “That’s none of your business.”

“I don’t care,” he said. His dark brown eyes held hers, a depth of feeling in them suddenly. “Do you love him?”

“What difference does it make?”

“Did you give yourself to him because I was fool enough to let you?”

“
James
.”

“I could see it in your eyes when you came to take the helm from my hands. I could see that you’d chosen him. But I don’t think your heart is wholly in it.”

“Enough. Enough of this.” Then she did sit up, kicking the bedclothes from her legs and climbing to her feet. “I’m going up to help as well.”

He didn’t stop her this time. He simply sat and watched as she pulled on her boots. She felt his eyes on her the entire time, scouring her for…she didn’t know what. A splinter of weakness, perhaps. A flicker of doubt that he could crawl his way into. She tried to give him nothing at all, and didn’t look at him again before she left his quarters and made her way to the top deck.

The sun was a bright, gleaming ball of fire in a vast, blue sky. The air was thick with the vestiges of the storm, wet and hot, and Cressida drew in a breath heavy with the salt of the ocean. Her head still hurt, but lying in bed would afford her too much time to think. The bears of the
Oso Armonia
were hauling debris into a pile for Cort to sort through, to find materials still usable for fixing up the ship. They were climbing the masts to see about the torn ropes and sitting on the deck amidst piles of cloth, sewing patches onto sails.

To a man, they worked with determination and purpose. Relieved, she thought, to have tasks to accomplish, things with which to occupy their hands. You could not fight a storm. You could not rail against nature. All you could do was survive it, and then the work of rebuilding became a balm.

She looked up and saw Reza in the crow’s nest. Shirtless, muscled chest and rippling shoulders bared beneath the sun, skin a warm, rich copper. Such pure sunlight brought out golden streaks in the dark fall of his hair. He was sitting with his legs dangling above the rest of the ship, a spyglass in his hand, scanning the endless edge of the horizon. She started to call up to him, but then all at once he was lowering the glass and climbing swiftly to his feet.

“Land!” he bellowed, pointing. “Land!”

The rest of the pirates scrambled, following the direction of his finger, crowding at the deck railing and squinting to see into the distance.

Cressida joined them, eyes searching the line where the cerulean sky met the azure sea. And slowly, a tiny dot took shape. A single peak differentiating itself, caught between clouds and the cresting waves.

“We found it.” Kelly was behind her now. He smiled, fierce and victorious. “We found it.”