Pirate's Wraith, The (34 page)

He acted as if he had not heard a word she said. His haunted gaze scanned the room in confusion. His voice held a note of alarm.
”What has happened to me? Where are we? How can those strange carriages move without horses? It is high summer, but we sailed out in the fall.” He edged closer to her and pointed to his shoulder. “There is no scar. It is as if there was no bullet.” He whispered.”You have no bruises and you do not limp.”

Her anger paled and she sat on the couch fearing she would collapse.
“Dammit. This is a nightmare. No worse than that, I cannot escape. I am probably insane.”

He shook his head.
“No, it is I who has surely gone mad. I am pale and fat as a pig.” He held out his hands. “My fingers look like sausages and my hair ... did you shave me and cut off my hair? Why did you do that?”

Panic clawed at her. He looked like Jim, but he spoke with the same accent as Harlan.
“Please close the door,” she asked.

He did as she bid
and then sat near her on the couch.

“
I remember the pain ... and your tears ... I did not want to leave you. I tried to tell you of my love.” He reached out to pull her into his arms but she pulled back.

She rocked back and forth as her emotions swirled like leaves inside a tornado.
“This is horrible.”

“
I am alive. You are alive. We have survived.”

“
But you aren’t you.2013 She cried. “You are Jim.” A terrifying thought crossed her mind. “And if you are here in Jim’s body, where is he?”

“
I am not Jim for he did not love you and I do.” His hand slid beneath the edge of her robe to caress her thigh. The pleasure of his touch melted away some of the hard knot of terror, but that did not change the circumstances. Something was horribly wrong.

“
You talk like Harlan but you look exactly like Jim. Even your eyes are Jim’s eyes. It’s creepy.”

“
I am here and you are here and that is all that matters. I love you. I promised to take care of you and I will keep my promise. I will not be a pirate anymore.” He deftly undid the knot on the belt of her robe and cupped her breast in his hand. She gasped as her nipples hardened. “I intend to ask for your hand in marriage.”

She started to laugh but then her laughter turned into a great sob.
“You have to go back to your own time. You cannot stay here.”

“
Do you still love Jim?”

“
No, I love Harlan.”

“
I am him, but you do not love me for I look like Jim and you despise him.” He moved away from her and she shivered at the loss of his touch. “It is the witch who did this. She said it would all be right in the end.”

Her need for him clouded her thinking. She wanted nothing more than to be held in his arms, but that made no sense because he looked like Jim, the man who had been so cruel to her.
“Let’s both hold the toy horse and perhaps, if we concentrate, we can summon the widow or perhaps Elsbeth.”

“
I asked Elsbeth not to haunt me anymore.” A touch of fear glittered in his eyes.

“
Yes, but this situation isn’t right. You can’t just take over someone else’s body.”

“
My soul and my mind speak to you.”

Though her knees did not seem strong enough to hold her, she stood and reached for the horse. Before she touched it, it disintegrated into a pile of dust. The cradle and the quilt also crumbled into dust.

She sank down and touched the gray mass. Like ashes from the fire, the gray dust clung to her fingers. “What am I to do?”

His hand swallowed hers in a tender squeeze.
“Are there other people in this place.”

“
No. This is my condo ... my home.”

“
Let me pleasure you.”

Her heart quailed within her, but he unwrapped the afghan from his waist and lay it down on the floor.

“Come, my love.” He beckoned. “For we will be far more comfortable here than we were in the boat.”

Her gaze dropped downward to stare at his male member. She gasped and then smiled for there could be no one else with such a magnificent cannon.
“I guess the witch knew what she was doing after all. Still, I suppose before I make any final decisions I could give you a test drive.”

“
Test drive?”

“
That’s something people do before they buy a new car.”

“
Bibble-babble.”

She gave a laugh.
“My dear captain, you’ve got a lot to learn.”

The End.