Cassandra's Pirate (The Atlantis Series) Read online

  “That explains that outrageous costume,” she sniffed. Her nipples poked like sharp darts against her soft chemise. Sweat beaded her forehead, beginning to plaster the carefully laid curls.

  Vincent straightened, but kept his voice low. “I could keep myself content just traveling the servant passages for trinkets. I just thought with the Prince’s duties keeping him constantly distracted, a passionate creature such as yourself might enjoy a bit of company.” Vincent tossed a coin onto the bar and picked up his filled mug. He began to walk back to his table.

  “Wait. I did not tell you that you could go.”

  “You’ll not be telling me anything, unless it is an offer for my services.”

  Lorena followed him to his table. “And what arrangement would we have? How would I get notice to you?”

  “I’m there most the time, at night. I’ll know when you’re alone.” Vincent tented his fingers, tapping them under his chin. “A nice bauble for each visit should do. To compensate me from missing out on my loot.”

  “You expect me to pay you?” Lorena had not ever been so excited. How dare this raunchy man attempt extortion?

  “Aye and you’ll pay me well.” Vincent took one of her gloved hands and pressed it against his shaft. It had taken thoughts of Sandra to make it swell, but it seemed to do the trick. The beady eyes closed and the tongue swiped frantically. “’Course, I won’t be expecting you to make up your mind ’til you’ve sampled the wares.”

  “What… what do you mean?” If he had been a Fourth Realm guard, they could slip to the barracks. As a Fiver, she could not get him past the sentry.

  Vincent frowned and looked around. “Don’t seem here will do us much good.” He pretended to think, and finally suggested, “How about the schooner you’ve got tied at the dock? Does it have a sleeping cabin?” He was completely familiar with every inch of his prize.

  “Six. It has six rooms below deck.” Lorena flushed with excitement. She had seen Fiver men from a distance, toiling at the harbor or other Realm chores. They looked unkempt and dirty. She regretted not getting closer to see what lay beneath the filth. This young man was captivatingly handsome, and mysterious in the crude way that always excited her. And now… now I have lost my chance to sample the Fivertown men. Not so. Not if I agree to this ruffian’s terms. To pay him? How positively sinful.

  Vincent finished his beer and stood, holding down his hand. “Would you be so kind as to give me a tour of the vessel?” As an afterthought, he looked towards Pascal. “Naturally, your escort may accompany us, as long as you’re certain he carries a measure of discretion.”

  “Lieutenant Dupree is extremely trustworthy and is well versed in looking after my interests. The sea air on deck would do him good.” Lorena’s pulse quickened, and more lust dripped down her thighs when his arm slipped around her railed form. She felt strong-corded muscle holding her close while he walked her out to the dock, and her nasal voice quivered, “What is your name?”

  “I am Vincent LeSeure of Fifth Realm.” After tonight, he would be Captain, and owner of the finest schooner sailing into Rogamis. They approached the dock, and Vincent noted the men in uniform leaning listlessly against pilings and eyeing the path they walked. “Perhaps a few coins to send the guards to the tavern for a bit?” he suggested.

  Lorena dug into her small purse and held out her hand to the Officer. “Captain, as your men are missing the palace festivities, please buy them a drink as a congratulatory salute to my engagement.” She smiled at him, knowing he would immediately understand. They had lain together only last week.

  “The Floralinda Sunset?” Vincent had never approached the schooner from the back. This was his first glimpse of the vessel’s name.

  “It’s meant to be a pleasure ship, not for battle,” Lorena reminded him

  Vincent guided her across the deck, and as she disappeared onto the steps below, he turned and saw Johnny and Harlan silently pulling up the gangway. Tommy’s shadow was at the bow untying the rope and Pascal had walked back to the stern. Vincent smiled and followed the shimmering skirt into the companionway darkness.

  “Shall we light the lantern?” Lorena removed her gloves.

  Vincent winced. “I would rather gaze upon you by the moonlight washing through the porthole.” He was fairly certain his proud fellow would deflate if he had to see her in the stark yellow light. His eagerness returned when he made out the soft sound of dipping oars, blending in with the calm rolling waves.

  It took longer than he had hoped to unwrap her and himself from their garish costuming. Bony fingers gripped his shoulders, and Vincent adjusted his thrusting to the sound of the waves slapping against the bow. The sails were unfurled a while ago, but the woman below was lost in arousal and ignored the sensation of the schooner slipping through the sea. Her breasts were tiny and limp, though the nipples poked up a bit. There was enough for him to scrape teeth across, but difficult to devour.

  She gasped and moaned, and kicked her skinny legs. All the while Vincent kept her on edge, careful not to let her climax too soon. They needed to be far out of the harbor before Lorena had time to consider her previous engagement. He listened for bells or sounds of warning from the shore. There was nothing but the incessant whining oaths from the woman beneath him. It was not difficult for Vincent to remember Sandra’s warning that Royal Ladies were conservative. Lorena seemed content with a little fingering and playing with her nipples. Other than that, she exhausted her desire with his steady plunging.

  Vincent heard the rap on the cabin door. Thanks to the sea. Pascal gave him the signal they were far off shore, and Vincent gripped Lorena’s hair, breaking strands of pearls. He crushed his full lips against her mouth. As he thrust into her, he felt her stiffen and scream while her nails punctured his skin. For all her harsh sophistication, the scrawny woman was a passionate thing and had given him a good toss.

  It took several moments. Vincent had already donned his Fiver clothes before Lorena sat up in a rush. “I’ve been gone too long,” she gasped, grabbing for her dress. One hand reached for a curl, dangling limp across her breast. “Oh, my hair.” Lorena watched the young man dress, admiring his lean lines. “Where are you going?” she whined. “I need help with my corset.”

  Vincent left the cabin without looking back. He climbed on deck and watched the other young men smiling and inhaling the sea air. “We’re free, Vincent.” Tommy looked around at his friends, smiling with excitement. “We did it. We’re Pirates.”

  “Aye, and at quite a cost to myself,” Vincent grinned. He looked at Pascal who held the wheel, smiling with the others.

  The crew had always questioned whether Pascal’s yearning to be free from First Realm luxuries was sincere. They had no idea what it was like to have to endure the rigid formality and structure of station. Pascal’s relief, palpably showing across his features, caused Vincent to smile. Still, he noted his friend had done little more than remove his brocade coat. “Pascal, you can change now.”

  Pascal looked down at his soft leather riding breeches and tunic. “I did change.”

  Vincent laughed. Pascal’s boots shined, reflecting the moonlight, and he still had a dandy’s hat on his head. Vincent reached into his pocket and wrapped the scarf Sandra had given him around his head, holding his hair against the breeze.

  Lorena came topside, completely disheveled and partially unbuttoned. Out of habit, Pascal hurried to her side and helped put her back together. Her eyes never left Vincent. “If I give him the schooner, will he come back to visit?”

  Pascal’s fingers stalled on her buttons. “Lady Astier, Vincent wanted your vessel.” He waited for her shriek. Instead, she sobbed.

  “I know. I know that, Lieutenant. If I promise not to have the guards go after him…”

  “The guards will come anyway. You’ve lost your dowry for the Prince, and your father is not going to forget or forgive.”

  “I don’t care. I never wanted the confinement of the palace.” Lorena gripped Pas
cal’s arm. “If I’m not there, how will he find me?”

  “How will who find you? Your father?”

  “No, Vincent. He knows the passageways of the palace, but I won’t be there.”

  Pascal looked back to where Vincent stood in the moonlight, caressing the ship’s wheel and smiling to the sea. “Remember to carry a dirk tucked into your glove when you visit the dock taverns until you find another escort.”

  Dawn tinted pastel hues across the sky. Lorena had stopped crying. She continued staring at Vincent, longing for him to speak to her yet afraid to approach him. He looked magnificent and completely at peace with his new role as Captain. The top buttons of his shirt were undone and the wind blew it open, giving her a look at his bronze chest. Just a few hours ago, her hands had brushed across the tight muscles. In the light of morning and without his costume, Lorena realized he was young. Perhaps he was even a few years her junior. Tears welled when she envisioned the sight of him as a man. A sight she would never see.

  Pascal looked at his boots. “You need to say something to her.” The pitiful look in her eyes made him feel sorry for the shrew. He realized that Lady Astier was stuck in the same world he managed to escape. Unlike him, Vincent would not be sailing her away from the gilded trapped captivity of First Realm.

  Vincent’s eyes followed out to sea, where Tommy pointed from his position in the crow’s nest. He squinted at the distant sails of the frigate. “What I need to do is get her off this damn ship.”

  Harlan and Johnny lowered the skiff. Lorena refused to get into it until Vincent placed her between himself and the hull while they climbed down the rope ladder. She was crying again and sagging against his chest.

  They sat in the boat and he held her hands. The cruelty and poverty forced upon his family and friends by the Royals made it impossible for Vincent to feel guilty about his triumph. The sadness of the trapped woman who had one night away from her restrictive Realm, did reach him with a sense of common ground.

  “You couldn’t have afforded me,” he grinned. He curled a dull wisp behind her ear and glanced up at the uneasy crew watching the approaching frigate. “I know what they don’t, Lorena. You’d have never been happy locked into that palace. You’re a passionate woman and you need the rough trade at the docks, once in a while. Find yourself a Realm Two guard. They’re kept busy at sea and politics, so you’ll have time to slip away. Borrow a dress from your handmaiden.”

  “You’re not coming back.”

  Vincent laughed, and squeezed her hands. “Your father would have my head chopped off. I cost him the Prince.”

  Lorena reached out, and her fingertips brushed the hull of the rocking schooner. “I used to hate this damn boat.” She smiled at his shocked expression. “I felt the bars of the cage closing every time it was mentioned. Now, it’s the most beautiful ship I’ve ever seen. It gave me one night with you, and that memory will hold me for a long time.” Lorena was relieved at the kindness in his eyes. She could pretend it had not all been about the swindle. “Will you think of me, Vincent?”

  Vincent leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Every time the sails fill with wind.” His thumbs smoothed her tears away.

  Lorena removed a heavy gold chain from her neck. The gaudy necklace was a gift from the Prince. A large medallion embedded with rare jewels swung from the end. Forcing a smile, she said, “I owe you a bauble.” Her fingers brushed across the scarf and lingered in his soft hair while she placed it around his neck.

  “Your father will be close soon. I have to leave.” Vincent unhooked the lowering ropes and climbed the ladder to the deck of the schooner.

  Lorena looked up and smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Vincent.” Her face pinched into a scowl. “Be careful in your life as a pirate. It would displease me to find this schooner docked once more in Espedene.” It was a futile attempt at reclaiming her superior Realm position. They both knew she would sail to the end with him, if he would allow it.

  Chapter II

  Sea spray blasted across the deck of the trawler from the last cannon ball. Schindler’s boat floated past the range of their guns, and both vessels had taken heavy damage. Vincent’s schooner had joined the fracas minutes ago, and Schindler’s crew scrambled to rig the new sail the rogue pirates tossed to them. The frigate ignored the schooner completely and continued to focus their aim on the trawler. Schindler gripped the rail, realizing Vincent’s intention. “That bastard son of the sea.”

  Captain Schindler had spent the last hour trading shot with the Realm frigate, and now he gripped the rail watching helplessly as the pirates glided towards his enemy to steal the prize. “You’ll be sailing away from that frigate, Vincent.” Schindler stormed the length of the deck, screaming at the pirates. “Damn the seas and the rogue pirates sailing it.” There were gasps from a few deckhands and they thumbed their foreheads to ward off the curse.

  Simpleton looked over the wreckage while his hands kept busy with the rigging. One mast lay broken in pieces, dragging in the water. The other had taken shot through the sail. The pillar was damaged, but they managed to splint it upright. Meanwhile, their Captain continued to ignore their dire straits and kept his focus on the prize. “Damn Schindler’s greed. I signed onto a fishing trawler, not to lose my life for his purse.”

  “Vincent,” Captain Schindler ran to the bow, screaming outrage at the pirate. The frigate continued firing a few rounds, purposely missing Vincent’s vessel and aiming into the water shy of the trawler’s hull. Schindler used the last of his shot just after his mainsail fell. “The prize is mine, you bastard. I fought for it.” He turned to his men. “Oars in, dammit.”

  Two men, who had hooked the rigging of the broken mast and pulled it onto the deck, sat down and lifted their paddles. The rest of the crew worked frantically, splicing rigging to hang the new sail and shoring up the splints on the mast.

  Captain Schindler grabbed Simpleton’s arm. “To the oars.” Simpleton shook free and continued the last knots while Schindler watched Vincent’s crew boarding the Sailing Dream. He raised his shaking fist in a futile threat. “The prize is mine, damn you.”

  A burly man helping with the sail looked towards Espedene harbor. The crew had voiced misgivings about engaging with the Royal frigate so close to its port. “Captain Schindler, look to the harbor. Two frigates have left to aid their ship.” The deckhand continued to finish with the sail and the two men with oars in water rowed away from the pirates and the frigate.

  “Hang the prize, Captain. We can’t spend it if we’re sunk to the bottom when those ships from Espedene get here. That’s exactly what’s going to happen if we don’t get this canvas rigged before the pirates sail off.” Simpleton thumbed his forehead against the premonition. Given a chance, the Royal ships would not engage with Vincent LeSeure, anyway. Their fishing trawler was still the most likely target if they were not well on their way back to Rogamis.

  “We won, dammit. The prize is mine.” Schindler continued his rant and banging into the debris, kicking wreckage out of his path. He could see the captain of the Sailing Dream handing his feather to Pascal, while Vincent pried the wheel loose from the helm. The pirates were scavenging supplies from the ship and had cut the rigging to wrap around the frigate’s sails. They tossed the rolled canvas over the side to the deck of their schooner, replacing their stock of the cloth now hanging from Schindler’s braced mast. His voice cracked in anger. “I could have gotten a damn sail from that ship, Vincent.”

  The men with the oars looked at one another, shaking their heads. They knew the Captain well. He would go for the feather and other treasures, and the Royal frigates would be surrounding their trawler by the time their oars hit the water. Scavenging the canvas would be the last thing on Schindler’s mind.

  The sail the pirates tossed to them was finally unfurled and reasonably taut. The men took their seats and lifted their oars, pulling away from the fracas and trying to aid their trawler’s speed in retreat. Their Captain continued to c
urse and vent his frustration.

  “Look how red he’s got. With any luck, the son of a bitch will pop a vessel and drop.” Simpleton did not bother to thumb his head on that one. Sure as hell, if they made it back to Rogamis he would stay clear of Schindler and his promises. Working the docks sounded pretty damn good.

  Vincent’s schooner sailed close beside them. Schindler watched Pascal stroke the new feather in his hat, and he spat into the sea. “I’ll be taking your turn with the sea witch, Vincent. Three months, you bastard,” Schindler screamed. “It was voted on, and you was voted off.”

  Vincent’s teeth flashed in a smile between his dark beard and mustache. At least the sea witch survived and could still function. “Aye and it’s been one. I don’t mind keeping my sea legs a while longer, Captain,” he called back. Actually, Vincent had no intention of steering clear of the exile island for another two months. “Sail to our fortress, Mudeye.”

  “Aye, Captain.” Mudeye looked behind them, and once assured the frigates were casting line to tow the Sailing Dream back to Espedene, he set course for home.