Her gaze darted around the room from one grisly totem to the next. “What are those?” She gasped.
“Heads,” he said simply, as he glanced around the walls which were covered with approximately thirty dark brown heads in various states of contortions. “Shrunken heads to be precise. We picked them up some time ago from an island of headhunters.”
He hadn’t thought it possible, but she actually turned a shade paler. “An island of what?”
“Headhunters. They kill enemies and foreigners and shrink their heads.”
Her face incredulous, she narrowed her gaze on him. “They didn’t shrink yours.”
Jack acquiesced. “True, but it’s only because I was more ruthless than the chief and his men.”
Her look turned dubious. “Why do you have all these heads?”
Jack set the lantern down on the dust-covered trunk beside the bed before he looked up and again locked gazes with her. “We were burying a load of treasure on a remote, uncharted island when we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by island natives.”
It was a complete lie. First, Jack had never in his life buried treasure. He preferred to make investments with his ill-gotten gains. And secondly, the heads had been taken from a Spanish merchant ship. Jack’s crew had decided to hang them in here to scare prisoners into divulging secrets. Jack had never allowed his men to use this room for such, though; he’d always thought the very notion was ludicrous.
On the morrow, he’d have to up their wages.
He stood beside Lorelei and cloaked his voice in a fearsome whisper. “Naked savages they were, screaming and trying to kill us with long, fearsome spears. But it didn’t take much to turn the tables on them. A few slashes of me sword and gunpowder-packed grenades and we whipped them but good.”
Suspicion clouded her eyes and he realized he was heaping it on a bit too thick. Retreating before he undid himself, he finished the story. “After we had routed them, the chief offered the heads to me, provided I spare his life and leave his island. He swore that if I decorated my ship with them I would never know defeat.”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth as she again dragged her gaze around the room. No doubt the idea of sleeping in his cabin was starting to appeal to Miss Dupree.
Feeling impish, Jack grabbed one of the dark, grisly totems from the wall. “Would you like a closer look?” he asked, moving it toward her.
With a squeak, Lorelei jumped back into the hallway.
Jack smiled at her reaction. “It won’t hurt you, really. They are quite dead, after all.”
She curled her lip. “You’re disgusting.”
“Perhaps. But not nearly as disgusting as this room…hmmm?”
Bravely, she stood ramrod stiff, like a queen about to address her court. She raked him with a sneer before she spoke. “I would rather spend eternity in this room than five more minutes in your company.”
Jack cocked an eyebrow. What ho? Had she really said that?
To him. To bonny Jack Rhys, the greatest lover on the high seas?
No woman had ever said such to him before!
His male pride offended, he stared at her in disbelief. “You would truly rather spend the night in here than in the comfort of my cabin?”
She answered without hesitation. “Your cabin will be quite acceptable provided you’re not in it.”
“And if I were?”
“Then I say make room amongst the missing heads. There shall be a new member of their group tonight.”
Now this was wholly unexpected. He had mistakenly assumed that one look in this room would send her fleeing to his arms for safety.
No woman had ever, ever been this reluctant toward him before. He was, after all, a man of renowned looks. Not that he was vain about his appearance—well, not overly so.
Of course, there was the matter of his reputation, which at times was more than well deserved, but women in the past had found even that appealing. Aye, the allure of having a dangerous man in their bed had thawed many a woman’s frigidity.
Lorelei was bluffing, he decided. She must be.
After returning the head in his hand to the wall, he approached Lorelei, who stood warily in the doorway.
“So then, you’d rather lie down with all these men here, than with me?”
Unflinchingly, she met his gaze. “As you said earlier, they are quite dead while you—”
“Are quite alive.”
“Aye.”
“Then I suppose the question is, whom do you fear more? Them or me?”
“’Tis not a question of fear, sir. ’Tis simply a question of preference. I prefer their loathsome company to yours.”
Impulsively, he reached out and stroked the soft underside of her chin with his knuckle. She veiled her gaze, but even so he knew his touch affected her. How could it not? “And do you truly find my company loathsome?”
“Aye, and despicable.”
“Despicable am I?” he said, greatly amused. “’Tis a pity then. I find you captivating.”
She stepped away from him. “And I find myself captive, which I believe is the very core of our differences. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I feel the need for solitude.”
“Solitude? Why, my dearest Lorelei, I believe you’ll have an army of guests to keep you company tonight while you sleep,” he said, gesturing to the heads.
She shuddered.
“It’s not too late to change your mind.”
“About you? I’ll never change my mind about you, Black Jack Rhys.”
He tilted his head. “A fickle and changeful thing is woman ever.”
“A faithless and dreadful thing is man ever.”
“Does that include Justin?”
“Not hardly.”
“Ah, just as I thought. He’s not a man after all.”
Her cheeks darkened in anger. “Here is the door, and there is the way through it. Now use it.”
“Ever as you wish.”
Her face lost all color and she looked momentarily bewildered.
Jack paused at her pallor.
“Never utter those words to me,” she whispered.
Taken aback, Jack nodded. Whatever had caused her to react that way?
Regaining his composure, he cleared his throat. “Very well. I shall leave you to your new friends. But should you change your mind, you’ll find my cabin at the end of the hallway,” he said, pointing to the correct door. “You won’t even have to knock.”
“Don’t wait up.”
“Fine then, just make yourself at home.”
“I shall,” she said, then shut the door in his face.
Jack clenched his teeth as he swallowed the bitter taste of stalemate. She was a crafty one to be sure. High-spirited and delightful to a fault.
Her resistance merely added to the satisfaction he would gain from her surrender. It would be his greatest revenge and his greatest triumph.
And in spite of what she thought, he would have her. After all, he’d never in his life known defeat.
Lorelei breathed a short sigh of relief at being alone. Until she started to turn around and face the…
“Courage,” she breathed to herself even as she cringed. “The dead can’t hurt you.”
No, but they certainly terrified her.
There were probably no more than three dozen heads strung up along the wall. But to her, it seemed like three thousand. And each one of the dark, leathery things seemed to be staring straight at her with those dark empty sockets that she half expected to glow with some inner demonic light.
Forcing her temerity out of hiding, she decided that this was one battle she would win.
“You are Lorelei Dupree,” she said to herself in an effort to rally her flagging courage. “You are the granddaughter of Anne Bonny and Anne Bonny would never, ever let these heads scare her.”
Nay, Granny-Anne would take the devil by the horns and wrestle him to the ground. And as her father so often pointed out, she was her grandmother made over.
; With that thought, she gingerly plucked one of the nasty things off the wall by the leather cord that hung it there. Her upper lip curled, she held it at arm’s length as she moved slowly to place it on the small bed.
Just as she stooped, a loud knock sounded.
Shrieking in alarm, she dropped the head and spun to the door, which was then flung open.
Jack stood in the doorway, his features stern and concerned. “What is it?” he demanded.
“What is it?” she repeated, covering her thundering heart with a trembling hand. “You knave, you scared the life out of me!”
He laughed.
“It’s not funny.”
“It is from where I stand.”
Fury sizzled deep inside her and she wished she were a man just long enough to give the pirate the sound thrashing he deserved. “Fine then, I suggest you stand outside and leave me be.”
“Ever—” He paused, then said quickly, “Absolutely. I only returned so that I could give you these.”
He held an armload of clothes out to her. It was the same bundle Kesi had delivered to her in the other room.
Stiffly, she took it from him. “Good night, Captain Rhys.”
He brought two fingers up to his brow, then swept her with a mock salute before he pulled the door closed.
Lorelei took long deep breaths until her heart stopped pounding.
“Just pretend he’s the ogre and you’re the damsel,” she whispered to herself, recalling one of the games she and Justin had played as children.
Justin always came to the rescue. Never once had he failed her and she was certain that this time would be no exception.
A night or two, and Justin was bound to catch them.
A night or two….
Lorelei swallowed as she placed the clothes on the chest beside the bed, then returned to collecting the heads. A night or two of battling the devil himself while she wished herself safely home.
Jack Rhys. Devil, pirate, scoundrel and…
Handsome. It was a superficial thing, but it was also very true. He was also charming and intelligent. Nothing like she’d been told.
“Who are you, Captain Jack?” she asked the last head as she dropped it on the bed, then covered them all with a blanket.
She carefully brought all corners of the blanket up until she’d made a safe bag for the heads. Trying not to notice how they clanked together, she opened the door and dropped them in the hallway.
Sighing in relief, she shut the door and leaned against it.
Now that should put a crimp in the pirate’s plan. And good riddance, too.
Without the heads, the room was tolerable enough, she supposed. The small cot was set against one wall next to a plain wooden chest, the top of which was covered in dust. Tomorrow she would remedy that.
For now, she needed to rest.
Crossing the room, she laid down and tried to ignore the musty odor of the sheets as she calculated her next course of action.
If only she knew what that action should be.
After waking from her sleep, Lorelei brushed and plaited her hair while she debated what to do about her predicament. Since her room didn’t have a window, she wasn’t sure what time of day it was, but she suspected from the amount of activity she could hear it must be late in the morning. Little wonder, that. She’d spent a dreadful night, tossing and turning, waking at every little sound. She was worried about her father and what he and Justin must be going through.
They would be beside themselves, not that she was any better off herself. Even though Kesi had tried to comfort her last night, she still had her doubts about Captain Jack. And most especially about Captain Jack’s intentions toward her.
Well, the devil take his intentions, and the devil take the man.
She was through playing this game with him. She’d spent half the night wondering why he’d taken her. Was it to get back at Justin for trying to trap him, or was the pirate after Lord Wallingford? Though the latter seemed farfetched, she couldn’t help remembering the look on Jack’s face when Justin had mentioned his father’s name.
Jack hated Lord Wallingford. She was certain of it, and he’d told her she was bait. The thought sent a shiver over her. She had no intention of letting anyone use her, most especially not a man who was after either her fiancé or her future father-in-law.
Tossing her completed braid over her shoulder, she headed for the door.
She cracked it open and paused. The first thing she noted was that someone had removed the heads she’d collected. From that, she trailed her gaze to the captain’s room. It wasn’t too far away, and yet she wasn’t quite sure if she had the temerity to venture there.
What would the pirate do if they were alone in his cabin?
Did she really want to know?
Or worse, what would happen if one of the crewmen found her alone on her journey?
As if in answer to her thoughts, she heard footsteps approaching from the right. She tensed, ready to dodge back into her room and slam the door shut against the interloper.
“Awake, are you?”
In spite of herself, she found the rich baritone of Jack’s voice welcome music to her ears.
He sauntered toward her with a masculine swagger that told the world who ruled this domain. His hair was windswept and the dull light of the corridor glinted against the gold of the earring in his left ear. He had a mischievous look about him.
“Aye, I’m awake and I wish a word with you.”
His eyes fair glowed as a slow smile spread across his face. He stopped just before her and she had two urges at once. One to take a step toward him, where she could better inhale the sweet masculine scent of him, and another to retreat to the safety of her room.
As if sensing her conflicted thoughts, he braced his arm on the door frame above her head and leaned down. “Aching to be alone with me, are you?”
“Hardly.”
His sweet breath tickled her skin as he spoke. “Admit it, love, you find me irresistible.”
“I find you irritating,” she said with a frown. “You know, that’s certainly some ego you possess. You must have an incredibly large room to accommodate the two of you.”
His laughter rang out. “My cabin’s actually large enough to accommodate all three of us.” He reached out and smoothed a piece of hair on her braid. “And when it comes to my bed—”
“I have no interest in your bed,” she said, cutting him off as an image of what his bed might look like burned through her. “Nor in anything else so personal about you.”
Instead of being offended, he just shrugged nonchalantly. “More’s the pity then. I’ve been told my bed, among other personal things, is quite exquisite.”
“Are you trying to shock me?”
“If I were?”
“You’ll have to do better. Didn’t your mother ever teach you that crudity is no way to entice a woman?”
The playfulness vanished from his face. She had gone too far, and now upon seeing the black, grim look on his face, she had no doubt that this man was capable of the horrors attributed to him.
“You don’t ever want to know what lessons my mother taught me,” he said, his low tone frightening in its frigidity. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have duties to attend.”
“Wait,” Lorelei said, unwilling to let him go until he had addressed her concerns. “I still have a matter to discuss.”
Slowly, stiffly, he turned around to face her.
He had shot from playful to angry so fast that her head fair reeled from it. Never had she seen anything like it.
And people called her hot-headed.
“Yes?” he asked coldly.
Bolstering her confidence, she looked him squarely in the eye. “What is Lord Wallingford to you and why do you hate him so? He is the one you’re after, isn’t he? You took me because you knew Justin would get his father to come for me.”
No emotions showed at all. It was as if she were addressing a statue. “Before you ask
me those questions, little Lorelei, I think you should ask yourself if you want the answers.”
“Of course I want the answers. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Why indeed,” he asked in return. “Tell me why you think I hate him.”
“Because he’s sworn to hang any pirate he finds.”
He mocked her with his eyes. “How very naive of you.”
“Then for what reasons?” she demanded, agitated by his superior attitude.
“Go back to your room, Lorelei,” he said with a sigh. “You’re safe in there.”
“Safe from what?”
“From me, from life, from everything.”
Frustrated, she ground her teeth. “Would you stop playing this game with me and simply answer my questions?”
Silence hung between them until he finally answered. “Yes, I took you to get Gabriel Wallingford to come for you.”
“Why do you hate him?”
“Because it suits me to.”
“And why is that?”
“Because it does.”
Deciding that was probably the best answer she was likely to get, Lorelei retreated slightly. “You realize, of course, there were other ways to get his attention.”
“True, I could have killed one of his sons.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that it stunned her. “Then why didn’t you?”
“It didn’t suit my purposes.”
She rolled her eyes at his redundancy.
The pirate moved to stand before her. Even though there was still a coldness between them, she could sense his desire for her. It was a desire she had felt since the moment of their first meeting and suddenly she understood.
“Is seducing me part of your revenge? That is what this elaborate abduction is about, isn’t it? You could have taken Justin as easily as you took me and Lord Wallingford would still have come after you. But you didn’t take him.”
He nodded. “You’re very astute.”
She didn’t know why, but his answer disappointed her. And it made her angry. “You’re wasting your time, you know.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. I love Justin.”
“Love,” he sneered. “Love is nothing more than the lie men invented to woo women to their beds without guilt.”
“Do you honestly believe that?”