The Blue Diamond (The Razor's Edge Book 1) (16 page)

“Stop. Please, just stop. I
can’t listen to any more of this. You pushed
me
away, remember?”

“I’m not Green, or any of
your other subjects, Maddox. I’ve never allowed myself to be caught in such a
predicament. Believe me when I tell you I am only here, locked in this tomb
with you now, because I wished it to be so. Deny me if you will, but I’ll still
have the satisfaction of knowing that beneath that chest, your heart beats for
me as mine does for you, and at least I’m not a coward anymore.”

Ivory stood and walked
around Carbonale to the door. “Three times, I’m sure,” she said raising her
hand to knock, when it was snatched from the air and pulled back, knocking her
off balance into him.
 
He reached down
and seized her other arm and tied her tightly up against him.

“Why must you vex me so?”

“I haven’t vexed you, Maddox
Carbonale.
 
I’ve brought you back to
life,” Ivory growled as he spun her around and ripped the robe from her
shoulders, roughly pressing his mouth to her throat with angry, impassioned
kisses.

“Damn you,” he shouted into
her skin, as he gripped her hard, jerking her back and forth in an all-out
assault on her body with his mouth, against every inch of skin he encountered.
He lifted her by the waist, dropping her against him. She wrapped her legs
tightly around him and held on, pulling at his hair and jerking his head
upwards to taste his mouth. He walked backwards until he felt the cot against
the backs of his legs and then spun her around to lay her down, still ensnared
between her thighs.

He freed his hands and
reached down, struggling to remove his pants, when Ivory pushed her feet down
inside of the waist and peeled them off.
 
She quickly swung her legs again back up over his hips. He entered her
hard and fast, causing her to cry out. Her nails dug into his thick triceps,
which only served to push him deeper into her. He leaned back and pulled her
hands from his bleeding arms and pushed them over her head with one hand, while
he leaned the other against the wall above her to balance himself.

He stared down into her blue
eyes and watched in awe as he believed he was witnessing the light within them
grow until they seared into him.
 
He
froze for a moment, trembling, and then sat up and closed his eyes. Ivory lay
motionless, watching him as he breathed deeply. She lowered her arms, and slid her
hands over his chest, resting them flat against him as the breath filled his
lungs and then escaped his lips with a sigh. Finally, she reached down and took
his hands in hers and placed them above his heart.

“What do you feel, Maddox?”

He shook his head and then
tossed it back.

“Do you feel it? It’s your
heart. Tell me, what do you feel?” Ivory pressed.

“You,” he sighed, pulling
her onto him, as he kissed her into silence.

Chapter
Seventeen

On Friday morning, the sea
was calm, and those things which were unsettled the night before had been
mostly put to rest.
 
Except, as with all
unsettled things, they were only resolved for those who’d gotten what they
wanted. Miranda had swept Sandy off within the allotted time she’d requested,
and her contentment gave her a clarity that allowed her to continue her duty
with a renewed outlook on both the task at hand, as well as what came after—at
least for a while. Unfortunately, Tommy Boston had been searching for her near
the storm’s end, and when he was unable to locate her, he went looking for
Sandy. He was no genius, but in the absence of them both, he didn’t need to be.

“You there! I believe you
and I should have words!”

Tommy walked up to Sandy as
he was securing the barrels he’d repaired in the hold. “No, lad, I don’t
believe we have anythin’ ta’ talk about,” Sandy answered, turning around only
long enough to address Tommy.
 
Then, he
went back to his work.

“But I will speak to you,”
Tommy demanded, pulling Sandy around by the shoulder.

“I want no quarrel with ye,
lad. I’m sorry, but ye’ll just have ta’ accept the fact that the better man
won.” The condescending words sent Tommy into a rage, and he shoved Sandy hard
at the chest.
 
The older man barely
moved. Again, Tommy thumped him, hard.
 
Again, Sandy stood his ground. Tommy was long and lean with well-muscled
arms and a broad chest from both carpentry and pulling line, but Sandy was
thick and compact, and built like a Brahma bull.

“I don’t wanna hurt ye, lad.
Now take it like a man and let it go. There’s plenty o’ fish in the sea.”

Tommy would not relent and
rushed Sandy with everything he had.
 
He
finally knocked him off balance, and he tied his arms around Sandy’s
mid-section. Sandy slammed down hard on Tommy’s back with his fists to bust loose,
but Tommy held on until he lifted Sandy off his feet and dropped him hard on
the boards. A group of sailors was beginning to gather, most of whom cheered
Tommy on, but Sandy rolled him over and delivered several pounding blows to
Tommy’s right cheek before finally grabbing a thick piece of scrap wood and
pressing it tightly down on Tommy’ throat.

“I don’t wish ta’ kill ye,
boy!” Sandy grunted, pressing experience against youth and holding fast.

Tommy continued to struggle
against him, writhing and kicking his legs as he fought to shake Sandy off, but
the bull didn’t budge.
 
When Tommy was
nearly choked out, Sandy lifted the board, climbed to his feet, and stood back.
“I told ye I have no quarrel with ye. Part a’ bein’ a man is knowin’ sometimes
ye win… and sometimes ye lose,” Sandy growled.

“It’s not over until I say
it’s over,” Tommy said hoarsely, as two of his mates helped him to his feet.

“What the hell is going on
down here?” Keara shouted when she walked upon the fray.

“Yer boy Tommy here has some
misunderstanding is all, Cap’n,” Sandy spoke, blotting a bit of blood from his
forehead.

“Who won?”

“Well, I suppose I did,
Cap’n,” Sandy said, turning aside.

“Tommy Boston, this ends
now. If you want to take this up on land, be my guest, but I won’t be having
any more of this shit aboard ship!” Keara ordered, pulling a dagger from her
belt and pointing it under Tommy’s chin until he stood down. Tommy didn’t budge
except to rub the rising bruise on his neck. “Yes, Captain,” he scowled.

“The rest of you lot, back
to work!” she shouted at them, as she turned and pointed the dagger in every
direction. “I knew you were going to be nothing but trouble,” she leaned in and
whispered at Sandy through her teeth.

“With all due respect,
Cap’n, yer boy there’s had his pride wounded, and that’s a hard thing ta’ take.
He’ll come ‘round with the first plump ass he finds ashore—uh, no disrespect.”

“Disrespect my ass,
sailor.
 
Keep yer dick in yer knickers
the rest of this mission, or I’ll remove it from you so quick you’ll be pissin’
out your own plump ass.”

Keara sheathed her blade and
stormed off, looking for Miranda. She found her sitting at the desk in the
Captain’s cabin, keeping the log. She stepped into the room, held the door in
her hand for a moment, and then slammed it hard, again nearly shaking the quill
from Miranda’s hand.

“Ke, I already know what
you’re about to say…”

“Oh, you do? Isn’t it enough
that we’re losing the wind? Now I have this nonsense to endure,” Keara said as
she sauntered towards Miranda with her hands planted deeply into her hips.

“I know I should have
waited, but…”

“But as usual you just
couldn’t, right?” Keara sighed, sitting back against the desk right under
Miranda’s nose.

“I had to settle things.”

“Oh, you settled things
alright. While you’re up here tucked away in your books, I was down below
settling things myself. Soon these men will be calling me Madame instead of
Captain, thanks to you.”

“What?”

“Seems there was a bit of a
brawl going on.”

“Tommy?” Miranda asked
softly and leaned back in the chair.

“I’m so happy you think you
set something straight, but that pot is still a-boil.
 
I just put a lid on it for now.
 
But what happens when you put a loose lid on
a boiling pot?” Keara asked, folding her arms.

“What should I do?”

“Oh, you’ve done enough, and
I hope to hell it was worth it!”

Keara walked to the door,
then looked back and said, “James and I have been together for almost two
years, Miranda. Not once have we ever fucked aboard ship—this one or any other.
Do you know how hard it is to keep my knickers up when he’s around?
  
And believe me, I’ve spent weeks at sea, day
in and day out, having to stand shoulder to shoulder with him without so much
as a pat on the bum.”

“I had no idea, Ke…”

“That’s the point. You want
to make excuses for this?
 
You go right
ahead.
  
But you keep your legs closed
until we’re back in Port Royal or, cousin or not, this will be your last time
on my ship.” Keara pulled open the door to find Cassandra standing on the other
side. “I suppose you knew all about this?”

“I did. I’ll admit it was
poor judgment on my part as well.”

“No fucking aboard ship!
It’s that simple. You’re lucky you don’t meet the rope’s end for this one, Mir.
It’s taken us years to earn their respect through our blood and half-broken
backs—not by laying on our backs— and I’ll not have it all thrown in the drink
because one of us can’t control her own crotch. Go put on your slops and cover
those damn things before we have a riot on our hands.” Cassandra stood out of
Keara’s path, allowing her to exit, and Keara gave Miranda one last look, as if
to say
you’ve been warned
as she
slammed the door.

“Well, that was pleasant,”
Cassandra remarked dryly.
 

“I’m sorry, Cass. I should
have known better, and I shouldn’t have drawn you into this, either.”

“What’s done is done,”
Cassandra said as she flopped into a chair.

“Well, Ke was right about
one thing,” Miranda sighed, resting her face on her palm as she leaned on the
desk.

“Oh, really? And what might
that be?”

“He sure did clean up
nicely,” Miranda smiled.

“So your choice has been
made?”

“You know me. I like to keep
my options open.
 
But for now, I’d say it
is.”

“What shall we do with you?”
Cassandra chuckled as she stood to leave.

Miranda shrugged and sat up
and turned her attention back to the log. “Now I just have to pray they don’t
kill each other before we reach Nassau.” Miranda paused a moment and then
asked, “Did you know about her and James?”

“Just pray alone, please. We
have too much to lose to waste our energy over this.
  
And yes, I’ve known for quite a while.”

“How could you know and not
say anything?”

“I saw no point in telling
anyone. Their affair hasn’t upset or changed anything, and they seem very
content. You worry about your own romantic endeavors,” Cassandra remarked
dryly.
 

“I swear I’ll keep on my best
behavior.”

Cassandra headed to the deck
to seek out Keara and firm up their plans. Although Cassandra was always
pragmatic and was considered the most level-headed of their group, when Keara
was in charge, a change always came over her. Her focus never wavered from the
task at hand, regardless of any distractions. Cassandra was positive that Keara
had already put Miranda’s indiscretion behind her and was now concerned only
with rescuing Ivory.

Cassandra came upon Keara
near the bow, spyglass in hand, watching for any sign of the
Black Cat
. Cassandra stopped herself
before she told her it was of no use, and she decided to be a cousin and not a
crew member. “Anything to see?”

“Nothing. I suppose the
storm didn’t slow them at all,” she answered, as she slammed the spyglass
closed and continued to stare off at the horizon.

“No matter; we’ll stick with
our original plan.”

“I suppose it’s for the best
anyway.”

“What’s for the best?”

“Not engaging the
Cat
in battle. We’ve lost so much and so
many over the past few years. Cass, may I ask you a question?” Keara inquired,
as she finally turned and looked into Cassandra’s eyes.

“Of course.”

“Are you ever sorry we went
along with Ivory that morning?”

Cassandra leaned back
against the rail and sighed. “At least once a day I ask myself what we’re all
doing here, and I want to run away and forget any of this ever happened.
 
But the rest of the day, I’m grateful to be
free. I’m thankful for everything she’s taught us, and most of all, I’m
thankful to be in charge of my own life. When I think of how we may have ended
up, had we not stood our ground or believed in what Ivory was doing, the
thought of being anywhere but here fades quickly.”

“Sometimes I’m afraid we’ll
all die young and never have a chance to have a home and a real family. Don’t
you want to have a home of your own, and maybe even a child or two?”

“Keara, you do realize you
are free to leave this life at any time, right? No one would stop you, least of
all Ivory. The only thing holding you back…is you.”

“Perhaps that’s where this
conversation is going.”

“It sounds like you have a
decision to make, then. I’ll leave you to it,” Cassandra said, placing her hand
atop of Keara’s on the rail. Cassandra squeezed her cousin’s hand and turned to
leave when Keara spoke one last time, “You do realize those diamonds, in the
right hands, of course, could free us all.”

“We are already free.”

“How can you call being
thieves and living in a world where we don’t know from one day to the next if
we’ll live or die, freedom?”

“How alive did you feel
feeding chickens and milking cows from dawn ‘till dusk?
 
Or worrying about pirate raids and fighting
off advances from old men who only wanted you to bear their children and cook
for them? Here, you live life on your own terms. I don’t understand what’s
lacking. Keara, look,” Cassandra said, as she turned her cousin by the
shoulders and faced her towards the sea. “Can you see it? This is being alive.
This is having something to live for.
 
But more important than that…something worth dying for. If you feel this
isn’t the life you wish, then you should, by all means, go and find what you
need.
 
Just realize that if you weren’t
free right now, you wouldn’t even have that choice.”

“I still believe those
diamonds are our only real way to find true freedom.”

“Those diamonds can’t set
you free, Ke. They can merely define how you choose to live out that freedom.
However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say you do make one hell of a captain.
Although I’m not quite sure how that translates into this other life of which
you are dreaming.”