My stomach churned as I took Bon’s hand. It was softer than I imagined it would be. Bon’s fingers closed around mine in a gentle squeeze. Heat raced up my arm and I fought the urge to squeeze back.
Without a word, I let Bon lead me from the galley onto the deck. The prison ship approached from the distance and the men lolled about, watching and waiting for their ride with satisfied smiles on their faces. Still, our hands were interlocked.
“Lean up against the rail, there,” Bon instructed.
I did as I was told.
Bon moved closer to me until our bodies brushed one another. I was powerless to tear my gaze away from the enchanting purple eyes that stayed locked on mine. My breath came faster as Bon finally released our grip. It wasn’t until then that I realized how sweaty my palms had become on the short walk from the galley.
I felt Bon’s hands on my legs as they tugged at my britches.
Why am I letting this happen—I should step away—
But I didn’t.
“We have to hurry, we don’t have much time.” Bon’s breath was warm on my neck. I gasped as Bon’s mission was accomplished with a final yank.
Chapter Ten
Aboard The Molly Maiden on the high seas
Johnny,” Bon called. “Come ’ere.” The prison ship pulled up along the port side of The Molly Maiden and lowered a plank bridge. “Hurry, Johnny!”
Bon’s fists gripped my pantalets and had them hiked up above my knees. A strange sensation coursed through my veins and settled into my belly.
A large guard ambled over. “Ye Cap?”
“Remove my friend of her unwilling adornments, Johnny.” Bon’s fingers strummed my exposed legs gently as Johnny got to his knees with a grunt. “Seems whoever locked her up pulled a fast one on who made him lock her up.”
Bon looked up at me.
“The chains were broken at the ends. The cannonballs fell off. Whoever ordered this, Lassie, thinks you’re dead.”
“You’re exactly right.”
Still, Bon’s hand was on my thigh. I ignored the heat that throbbed within me and focused instead on Johnny. “How will you get them off? The key is no doubt aboard The Black Otter.”
Johnny studied the irons a moment then produced a black key from his guard’s uniform. “These be prison shackles, Miss,” he began as he shoved the key into the lock. He had the first ankle clasp unlocked in a moment. “Don’t tell the prisoners, but all the irons answer to one master key.”
Johnny clicked open my second shackle and held up the key for inspection. He kissed it before letting it drop back into his pocket. “If’n ye won’t be requiring anything else, it’s time to lock up my sheep for the long ride to the New World.”
Bon let the legs of my britches drop and offered me a wink. I ignored it and straightened my clothing. “Thank you, Cap.”
“Want to see something the likes of you’ll never see again?”
Words escaped me.
“Look there.” Bon gestured to the prisoners. “Never happens on dry land.”
Johnny meandered sleepily across the plank that bridged the sea between the ships. No words were exchanged as the prisoners dutifully lined up and followed him. No resisting. No fighting. Not even any fanfare as they left the ship of dreams. Once each reached the transport vessel, the chubby guard leaned and clicked their leg irons into place.
My jaw went slack. Of all the sights I’d seen and experiences I’d had, this one was the most abnormal of them all.
Bon looked at me knowingly. “I told you that you were like never to see anything of these sorts again.”
“And you’re right again.” I met Bon’s violet gaze. “I haven’t.”
The plank creaked as Johnny pulled it back onto the transport ship, which moved away from The Molly Maiden without elaboration. Almost as though they hadn’t even stopped at all.
I was about to say this very thing when Bon’s hand on my cheek quieted my unspoken words. “It’s no doubt been quite a day for you. Go to your cabin and rest. You have my personal assurance that no harm will come to you while you’re aboard The Molly Maiden.”
Assurances.
Monica Joan’s trusting face flashed in my mind. I swallowed hard. “You’re very kind, Captain, but I don’t feel as though I deserve any special assurances.”
Bon’s full lips curled upward. “My dear girl. Any woman who is plucked from the sea after surviving what you did, after winning the heart and bed of a man such as Russian Jack—”
I didn’t interrupt the words that hung, waiting, in the air like a fishing net.
Bon’s fingers traced the curve of my cheek, but their caress felt nothing like my husband’s. “You deserve everything special.”
Jack. My heart panged. Where are you?
More knots wrapped around each other deep in my gut as Bon retreated across the deck and disappeared back into the galley. The voices in my head shouted at each other as I walked toward my cabin.
Someone on board is looking out for you, Red. Be grateful.
Do as you’re asked, but don’t delight in the flesh of another man.
