Lock (40 page)

“I’m just here to get what’s mine,” Lock stated.

“I am not yours!”

“She wants nothing to do with you!” Opal shook her fist at Lock. “Haven’t you done her enough damage!”

“Just put the wench down and get out of my tavern!”

“The wench is my fiancée!”

The owner looked startled. “Is that true?”

“No!” Sparrow snapped. “I mean, not anymore.”

“I’ve had about enough of this nonsense.” The owner lowered his weapon and pointed at Sparrow. “You don’t come back here until you’ve settled things with that walking typhoon. Opal, you keep the customers entertained. I’ve hired you girls until midnight, if you remember correctly.”

“Sparrow, you don’t have to go with him.” Opal’s dark eyes stared hard at Lock.

“Opal, just go ahead and dance. I’ll be fine.”

Lock, Sparrow still in his arms, walked to the door.

“You can put me down,” she said.

“Don’t wager on it. I’ve been looking for you for four long months, and I’m not about to let you go.”

Sparrow slipped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Don’t
you
wager on it.”

He walked behind the tavern to a short rock wall and sat on it. Sparrow slipped from his arms to perch beside him.

“Lock, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I think that’s more a question I should be asking you.” His eyes swept her bare stomach and the exposed tops of her plump breasts. “Who do you think you are, doing half-naked shimmies? If that’s what you wanted, why did you give me so much trouble about taking you back to the Archipelago?”

“Don’t you dare!” She stuck her finger in his face, her blood pounding with rage. “You promised we’d get married and you’d make an honest life for us. You lied! Where’s that floating snake pit you call a ship?”

“Probably back in the SothSeas by now.”

Sparrow narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“The night you disappeared, I left the Lady Fire. Ilias told me why you ran away. He didn’t tell me where you were, though.”

“Did you hurt him? I swear, if you did anything to him, I’ll never forgive you, Lock the White!”

“Why has he always meant so much to you? You’d never forgive me for hurting him, but I nearly got myself killed in the ring with Miska for your sake and you didn’t give me so much as a kind word!”

“Because you asking to fight him when you could have gotten your freedom was utter stupidity!”

“Too right! That’s the last time I get my hair torn out for an ungrateful little—”

Sparrow slapped him hard, months of pent-up anger and hurt exploding in a loud crack of flesh on flesh.

His eyes widened, the imprint of her hand visible on his cheek. “What the bloody hell was that for?”

“For your existence! For your stupidity and your lies! Any more questions?”

“Just one.” His teeth ground.

She lifted her chin. “What?”

“How can I get you back?” He grasped her shoulders and kissed her.

Sparrow knew she should push him away, but the sensation of his lips against hers was too wonderful. When she’d left all those months ago, she thought she’d never see him again, but here he was, all passionate words, long, sinewy limbs, and raw desire. Sparrow closed her eyes and clung to him, her mouth opening beneath the soft, moist pressure of his tongue. His fingers entwined in her hair as he deepened the kiss.

When they finally drew apart, both were slightly breathless.

“So will you come back to me?” he murmured. “I swear to you, Sparrow, I’ll never go back to pirating again. I’ve been working honest jobs while I’ve been searching for you. I’ve saved everything I’ve earned. I have enough to support you, and I figure in less than a year, I’ll have enough to build a decent ship for fishing and trade.”

Sparrow sighed and took his hand. She gazed at his long fingers and touched his callused palms. She often wondered how a man’s hands could be hard and graceful at the same time. “I can’t go back to you, Lock. Not now.”

“When?”

“I don’t know. I trusted you once, but I don’t anymore. I’m only glad we never had a child.”

He didn’t speak for a moment, and she looked up.

“I admit, I’m not the best breeder, but you seemed to like me well enough in your bed.” He stood and walked to the end of the fence.

Sparrow shook her head. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded.”

“So how did you mean it?”

“I just meant that it would have been bad for a child the way you were and the way I had to leave. It’s not that I don’t love you, Lock.”

“At least you’re past hating me and back to love again. Think you could make up your mind?”

“Do you think you could make up yours?” she snapped, her temper rising. “First you want to marry me, then you want to be a pirate, now you want to marry me again.”

“I always wanted to marry you, but I was completely selfish. Ilias helped me see that…and no, I didn’t harm a hair on his head. He left the Lady Fire, too, and went back to his family.”

“Good.” Sparrow smiled. “He was too nice for pirating.”

“Yes, he was.”

“You, on the other hand, seemed born for it.”

“I was.” He approached her and placed a fingertip under her chin, tilting her face to his. “But you changed me, Sparrow. One thing I learned the hard way, I can live without pirating, but I can’t live without you.”

“Yes you can.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Lock.” She turned away. “I can’t marry you. Not now. Not until I’m sure I’m what you really want.”

“How can I prove it?”

She met his eyes. “Keep living an honest life.”

“You won’t marry me, so what about courting?”

“Courting?”

“That’s what I’ve heard it’s called. Didn’t do much of it in the Archipelago.”

“You want to court me?” She looked skeptical.

“Is that a yes?”

Sparrow smiled. “How can I say no to such politeness?”

“Good.” His eyes held hers. “So we’re courting. Seems a little funny since we’ve bedded already, but—”

“Lock,” she closed her eyes and pressed her hands to her temples, “just don’t ruin the moment, all right? I have to get back to the tavern.”

“You’re still going to dance in there?” he demanded.

“Yes, unless you don’t want to court a gypsy dancer?”

“You know that means I’ll have to sit there every night and make sure no one touches you.”

“Cris does a fine job of keeping the peace—or at least he did until tonight.”

“From now on, he’s got help.”

“I’m not sure they’ll allow you back in there. You did break a chair, not to mention Cris’s nose. And you kicked a patron.”

“I’ll talk to the owner. See if I can pay for the chair. As for the two fools who attacked me, I acted in self-defense and they’ll get no apology from me.”

Sparrow shook her head and smiled. “Why am I not surprised?”

“One thing before you go back there.”

“What?”

“Hug me.”

“What?”

He opened his arms, and she embraced him. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest. It seemed like forever since they’d been so close.

“Harder,” he said. She gripped the hard muscles of his back.

She prayed this time he’d keep his promise, because she doubted she could bear to part from him again.

* * * * *

Though it took some careful negotiating from both Sparrow and Lock, the tavern keeper finally agreed to allow him back inside as a patron.

“Now remember, no causing trouble,” Sparrow warned before she resumed her performance.

“They can watch and whistle,” he said.

“That’s right.”

“If one of them touches you, I’ll break his arms.”

Sparrow cast him a warning look as he settled onto an empty seat and ordered a meal from the serving maid. He scarcely noticed when the woman brought the food, as all his attention focused on Sparrow.

Seeing her again made his stomach too tense to eat, yet less than an hour ago he’d been starving, after having spent the day hunting and skinning. Since looking for Sparrow, he’d been unable to settle in one place long enough for a permanent job. At first, he’d hunted and fished enough to keep himself alive while searching for her. Then he realized, once he found her, he’d have even less to offer her than before. If he intended to marry her, he’d need some means to do so. He’d begun hunting, selling and trading meat and fur. With a wagon he’d bought, he was able to store the goods he traded for and often stopped in marketplaces where he made more sales. Though far from wealthy, he could easily support a wife, and as soon as he could settle in one place, a family as well.

You’re getting ahead of yourself, Lock. She hasn’t even said she’d marry you again.

He watched her as she danced, the motions of her supple body making him hungry for something other than food. He could scarcely believe he was with her again, that moments ago she’d been in his arms and in a few hours would be again.

How could you have been such a fool to have pushed her away?
He hadn’t considered her at all when he’d been on the Lady Fire. He thought he’d given her enough attention, but he finally realized attention hadn’t been the problem. Looking back on the changes that overtook him on the pirate ship made him feel shame such as he’d never experienced. Before Sparrow, he hadn’t known enough to feel ashamed of his actions. Piracy had been a step up from the brothel. It had been the highest achievement a person could aspire to in the Archipelago. Pirates were revered there as the Knights of the Ruby Order were respected in the rest of the world. Respect! No SothSea captain ever commanded respect, only fear and loathing. He must have been insane to want loathing over love.

When he’d walked into the tavern, the last thing he’d expected was to find Sparrow dancing half-naked on a table like a common wench. What was worse, she seemed to be
enjoying
it. But why shouldn’t she? Hadn’t he enjoyed dancing in the Empress’s competition? He understood how infectious dance could be. Even watching her, he wished he could join her.

As she spun, catching a tambourine Opal tossed her, he glanced around the tavern at the other patrons. Every man had his lusty eyes fixed on Sparrow. The women, on the other hand, either glared at their male companions or focused their attention on their food and wine. Why should they be interested in watching a half-naked woman—no matter how beautiful—perform a seductive dance? If there was a male dancer, that might be a different story…

Lock smiled inwardly. Now
there
was an idea! He’d have to talk to the tavern keeper.

* * * * *

“Well, I’ll say one thing, you’re persistent,” Opal glanced at Lock as the three of them walked back to the gypsy camp.

“I wasn’t about to let her go.” He reached for Sparrow’s hand.

Sparrow smiled at him, loving the warmth of his touch and the affection in his eyes. She’d missed him more than she realized.

“He’s incredibly stubborn,” Sparrow told her friend. “Don’t you remember how he searched the camp that first night?”

“I hate to admit it, but I find that kind of stubbornness very romantic.” Opal sighed. “Imagine having a man chase you across a continent.”

“Romantic, is it?” Lock’s eyes glistened with humor as he looked at Sparrow. “You think so?”

“Don’t press your luck,” she said, but tightened her grip on his hand.

Firelight from the camp shone ahead. The silhouettes of caravans, horses, and people shone against the backdrop of hills and forest. Rays of pale moonlight shimmered on the lake running through the field.

The three stopped walking, and Opal said, “I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

“I’ll be right there,” Sparrow told her.

The slender girl glanced over her shoulder, her white teeth flashing in the night as she smiled and walked to camp. “Don’t hurry, my friend.”

Sparrow and Lock turned toward the lake, the lush grass soft beneath their booted feet. She looked at him. “I really should be getting back. It’s very late. You have to be up early in the morning to hunt, don’t you?”

He paused and tugged her behind the trunk of an enormous old willow tree, out of sight of the camp. He bent, one hand cupping the back of her head as his mouth claimed hers. Sparrow slid her arms up his back and stood on tiptoe to better reach him.

“Lock, I have to go.”

“I know.” He drew her into his arms and sank onto the grass, his pale eyes fixed on hers. He loomed over her. Sparrow’s heartbeat quickened as she felt the warm length of his body over hers. One of his legs slid between hers. His hard cock nudged her inner thigh. How she longed to reach into his trousers and wrap her fist around the pulsing steel wrapped in velvet skin! He kissed her. Though he supported most of his weight on his forearms, she felt the hardness of his chest press against her breasts. Her eyes slipped shut as his lips moved from her mouth to her neck.

“Lock, we have to stop,” she murmured, lost in sensation. His lips and tongue traced the tops of her breasts while one hand untied the front of her vest. She whimpered with pleasure as his lips captured one of her nipples. It had been too long since they’d been together and his touch felt so, so good! His scent of clean skin and sensual musk aroused her to the breaking point. She buried her fingers in his hair, knowing she should stand her ground and go back to camp, but wanting nothing more than to surrender to him completely. If she gave in to him now, he’d think she wasn’t serious about making him prove himself. She wanted him more than anything, but only if he’d truly given up pirating. His tongue trailed down her stomach while his warm, callused hands kneaded her breasts. His fingers moved lower and tugged at the waist of her pantaloons.