Pirate Princess (31 page)

Someone cleared their throat and Finn mumbled around my mouth, “We’re busy.”

He continued to kiss me, but I pulled back to see who was interrupting. “Sir, Captain Sisko is about to sail past us,” Jon explained.

Finn’s eyes widened. “Has he hailed us yet?”

Jon shook his head.

“I take it you don’t like Sisko?” I asked him.

He snarled and said, “He’s stolen something from me and I haven’t been able to get it back yet.”

This was my chance to show him I was grateful for him. “I can steal it back if you can get him to halt beside you for a couple minutes,” I told him.

“Tilia, you were just seriously injured and…”

I put my hand on Finn’s arm and said, “The doc healed me and I’ve done this lots of times, including here, remember?”

Finn thought about it a moment and then smirked. “Jax, would you like to put your skills to use?”

“I thought you would never ask,” I said with a wide smile.

He smiled excitedly and said, “Sisko stole a large diamond from me and keeps it in his cabin in a locked display case similar to mine. I’ve been trying to find a way to steal it back for over a year. I can get him to stop so we can talk and hopefully keep most of his crew distracted. If I get you over there can you find a way to sneak into his cabin and steal it back? Without getting hurt?”

I smirked and said, “You distract him and his men and I will sneak over myself and get it.”

I could tell he was still hesitant about letting me go, but he must have realized that he couldn’t coddle me. I wouldn’t have it. He kissed me and then went above deck.

I ran to the cabin to get my weapons and my mask and then ran to the bow to hide until Finn could get Sisko and his crew’s attention. I had snuck over to lots of ships while sailing and done it without getting seen. Stealth was one of my greatest skills.

Finn looked at me and I blew him a kiss. He explained quickly to his crew what was happening and ordered them to not look at me so the other crew wouldn’t be curious and want to see what they were looking at. The ship pulled up next to ours and Finn called out, “Oy Sisko! How fare the waters ahead?”

Sisko was one of the most smug pirates in the seas and got his wealth by cheating other pirates out of it. Dad disliked him, but not enough to do anything about him since he hadn’t done anything to him. I had been wanting a chance to steal from him for a long time and now I would finally get that chance.

“Finn!” Sisko called back, “The waters are clear and warm and full of riches and beautiful women. Have you been to Carlos’?”

“Carlos is dead,” Finn said angrily.

“Dead?” Sisko called back.

He and his crew were no doubt fixated on Finn now at hearing that news. I peeked my head up to confirm no one was looking in my direction from Sisko’s crew, pulled out my rope and threw it at one of Sisko’s masts. It wrapped around the mast and tied itself into a knot. I smiled proudly. Faxon had spelled it for me and it had yet to fail me. I jumped off Finn’s ship, used my momentum to swing around the back and up onto the deck. I slunk low to the ground and ran along the opposite side of the ship from where they were standing to listen to Finn who told a story similar to what happened, but left out information about me, telling them that Carlos had given guests rights and then attacked one of his crew. I slipped down the stairs, opened the captain’s door, which was thankfully well oiled, and slipped inside. I closed the door behind me and surveyed his cabin. His cabin was twice as large as Finn’s and he had a lot of treasure sitting around. I faced his display case and saw a diamond the size of my fist. It had to be the one Finn was talking about. I put my hand against the lock and the locked clicked open easily. I opened the case, grabbed the diamond and was about to leave when I saw a necklace. It was a small, black chain that glittered like a diamond. It was masculine looking and I knew Finn would like it. I grabbed it, relocked the case and slipped out of the cabin.

“I hope you don’t run into more trouble,” Sisko said, “It sounds like you’ve had your fair share of trouble this month.”

“Aye, but remember to keep an eye out for the squid and crab,” Finn said.

I grabbed the rope leapt off the ship and swung myself back onto Finn’s deck. I made the rope untie and pulled it back to me and then squatted down to hide from anyone else. Finn saw me and waved to his men. “Set sail men, we have a day’s journey ahead of us and I want to get to a port soon.”

We sailed away and I waited until Sisko’s ship was a speck in the distance before jogging over to Finn and handing him the diamond. He laughed victoriously, picked me up in a hug and spun me around and then planted a huge kiss on my lips. “You are amazing!”

I held out the necklace and said, “I also got this for you.”

He took the necklace and stared at it for a moment before kissing my cheek tenderly with a look of surprise. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t have very long to look in his case or I would have gotten something better,” I explained.

“I love it. Crew! Set sail!”

I sat down on the deck and Paul asked, “How did you learn to do that?”

“Do what?” I asked him.

“Swinging from one ship to the other. I’ve never seen anyone do that before,” he said in awe.

“You learn a lot of things and teach yourself a lot of skills when you are bored,” I answered honestly.

“Well it has definitely
not
been boring since you joined the crew,” Bernard said with a laugh. “I can’t remember the last time we had so much fun.”

“Fun?” I asked him. “You think almost getting killed by a giant crab and Carlos the Crusher is fun?”

“The best we’ve had in a long time,” he said with a wide grin.

We sailed to a set of islands that were still in the clear seas and warm and as the sun set Finn and I sat in the shallow water near the beach. It was like a wonderful bath and I leaned back on my arms while my body soaked in it. “I’m not sure I can tell my family the truth about what we experienced,” I told him.

“Why not?” he asked, scooping water in one hand and letting it drip onto my shoulder and down my arm.

“If I tell them the truth they might not let me come back out to sea again.”

He laughed and said, “Well then we best fabricate a story of our docile sail around the seas where you grew weary from boredom more than you smiled.”

“Lack of smiles has definitely not been a problem for me,” I whispered.

“Not for me either,” he whispered back. I moved closer to him and leaned my head on his shoulder as we watched the sun set. I could do this every night for the rest of my life and be perfectly content. I could definitely enjoy those nights more if they were with Finn. “What are you thinking about?” he asked softly.

“That I am enjoying this very much and could do this for the foreseeable future.”

“That would be nice,” he agreed. “Though I don’t think I would enjoy it with any other girl by my side.”

I smiled and kissed the top of his shoulder. “I wouldn’t want to do this without you either.” I was really enjoying the sight of him without a shirt on and it was much easier to stare when he couldn’t see me staring.

“Let’s swim,” he suggested.

I stood up and we walked deeper into the ocean, hand in hand. As soon as we were waist deep, I dropped down under the water and swam until I could no longer touch the ocean floor. I kicked my legs and moved my arms to keep my head above water and stay in one place. Finn swam towards me and then wrapped himself around me and we both slunk beneath the water. He kissed me under the water and then kicked so we could surface for air.

“You’re so beautiful,” he told me as we treaded water with only an inch of space between our chests.

“You’re very handsome for a pirate,” I said with a smirk.

“Well at least I know you won’t leave me for another pirate,” he teased.

“Oh no, definitely not another pirate,” I assured him. I tapped my chin. “Well unless I find a pirate prince. Then it may be fate and I won’t be able to stop myself from being with him.”

He wrapped an arm around me possessively and said, “He’ll have to go through me to get you.”

“I would never put my captain in that position,” I told him and kissed his cheek.

I played with the necklace I had given him that lay at the base of his neck. “I still can’t believe you stole two things from him and made it back without anyone seeing you,” he said.

“Why not?” I asked, “I stole from you and you didn’t know until you went into your room.”

“True. When you leapt off my ship I almost yelled for you and then I saw you swing around and land on Sisko’s ship, I had never been more impressed and smug since you were coming back to me and to my arms.”

I didn’t say anything because it was truly me who was the lucky one. We swam back to shore and we looked at the stars above before going to a small bungalow that we had rented on the shore. I lay in his arms that night and slept soundly and happily with a smile on my face the entire night.

Neither of us felt like exploring the island, which was probably due more to the recent events than anything else. We decided it was time to get to know more about each other. I couldn’t deny my feelings for him and I felt stupid for feeling that way when I barely knew him. I sat on the bed while he sat on the ground with his body between my legs, leaning his head against my right leg and stroking a hand slowly up and down my leg from ankle to knee and back. It was incredibly relaxing.

“What is your favorite dessert?” I asked him as I ran my fingers through his hair. It was surprisingly soft for him being a pirate and not having access to washes often.

“Aside from kisses by you, I would have to say chocolate is my favorite dessert.”

“Mmm, kisses are a great dessert,” I said.

“What’s your favorite dessert?” he asked.

“Cake. I love the fluffy, bready texture and the sweet frosting.”

“Cake with chocolate frosting is the best,” he said.

I laughed. “Chocolate frosted cake is good.”

“Who was the first person you had a crush on?” Finn asked.

That was a strange question for me to answer. “Who was I attracted to first? Or who would did I want to date first?” I asked him to clarify.

“Date,” he said.

“I liked one of the recruits who was training at the castle last year, but after doing a demonstration he wouldn’t talk to me anymore so it was short lived. My true first crush was you.”

“Me?” he asked in shock.

“Yep. After you danced with me at my ball and my uncle chased you away I was pulled back out to dance with other guys, but I could only think about you. I’d never had a guy that could consume my thoughts like that.”

He squeezed my leg gently and asked, “Who did you dance with after I left?”

I laughed and said, “I know I danced with the guy you called ‘biceps’, but honestly I don’t remember. Like I said, I was only thinking about you.”

“Did any of them kiss you?” he asked.

“No,” I said with a sigh, “the only kiss I received was from a pirate who had previously stolen my most prized piece of jewelry.”

“That scoundrel,” he said in mock disgust.

“So, who was your first crush?”

“My first crush was a girl named Maddy who was pretty and knew it. All the boys liked her, but none of us seemed good enough for her.”

“She wasn’t good enough for you,” I said, “I’m sure she was a daisy anyways.”

“Daisy?” he asked.

“You know, a normal girl. One who likes dresses and balls and hates dirt and fighting.”

“I’ve never been a fan of daisies,” he said.

“Somehow I doubt that’s true. Most men like daisies.”

“Perhaps I did when I was a boy, but since becoming a pirate I stopped being enticed by them. Sure they’re pretty, but I didn’t want just a pretty face. That’s why I never kissed any of the others.”

“Others?” I asked in shock. “You’ve had others?”

“I meant ‘others’ as in the ones who tried to get me to, um, be with them.”

“Mhm.”

He tilted his head back so he could look up at me. “A captain never lies to his crew members.”

I leaned forward and kissed him. “Have I told you how lucky I am to have found you?”

“No, but I think you meant to say that I’m lucky to have found you.”

“What is your favorite season?” I asked him and was glad he couldn’t see me blushing.

“Summer because there are no typhoons or tsunamis or hurricanes,” he said.

“We don’t get those in Crilan,” I told him, “we get heavy rain and strong winds, but that’s it.”

“Maybe I should sail around Crilan then,” he said.

“Maybe you should,” I said softly. I was trying to forget that we wouldn’t be together very long and we had no idea how often we would see each other after this year, but little things kept popping up that reminded me.

He leaned his head back again so he could look at me. “Hey, we have a lot of time left. No sad faces.”

I smiled and asked, “What is your favorite weapon?”

He looked back at the wall in front of us and said, “I haven’t gotten a replacement for the one I lost a few months ago, but the ax is my favorite.”

“An ax?” I asked in shock. “You use an ax?”

“I prefer it to a sword actually.”

“I’ve never used an ax,” I said softly.

“We need to remedy that!” he said cheerfully. “Tomorrow we will find some good axes and I’ll teach you the proper way to use them.”

“Oh you know just what a girl wants to hear,” I said with a smirk, “Next you’ll tell me that I can blow something up with your cannon the next time we set sail.”

He turned around and smirked up at me. “So the way to your heart is with weapons and explosions?” he asked.

I nodded my head. “And if a man can beat me in a fight it’s even better.”

He slid his hands on the bed on either side of me, his fingers grazing my legs as his upper body inched closer to mine, his face stopping just short of mine. “That, my sweet Tilia, means you are going to fall for me harder every day we are together.”

I didn’t think it was possible to fall for him any more than I already had, but I didn’t say that to him. “I look forward to it,” I said and then kissed him. “What is your favorite port?” I asked to get us back on topic and cool the fire in his eyes as he looked at me.