Her Pirate Master (Entwined Fates) (11 page)

Her mouth was so dry, she could hardly speak.

“You’ve been sick for about four days now.”

“Four days?”

Haydrien handed her a cup of tea. She took a large sip, then another. The warmth felt good against her throat, so she took a third, almost devouring all the liquid.

She set the cup aside and rested back against the pillows that Haydrien fluffed behind her.

“I never get sick,” she murmured, trying to remember the last four days. Unfortunately, she got nothing.

“You did this time. Apparently you contracted the same virus my people have been dealing with.”

“That’s what you needed the medicine for,” she said quietly.

He nodded. “If I hadn’t had it, you would’ve most likely died. There’s something about your physiology that’s different from ours that made the virus much more aggressive. Twice I thought I was going to lose you.”

“Then you would’ve lost your leverage with Marcone.”

He frowned. “Stop it, Jacquelyn.”

She took a second to really look at him and realized how tired he appeared. Had he been worried about her? For a reason other than his revenge against Jack? The idea that he might be startled her a little. “Have you slept at all?” she asked.

He shrugged and avoided looking at her by adjusting the blankets over her legs. “I slept some. I mostly watched over you.”

Jacquelyn was speechless. He’d really done that? Why would he have done that? Haydrien certainly didn’t fit the usual mold for a kidnapper. At least any kidnapper she’d ever heard of.

“Your fever finally broke, if you want to take a shower,” he offered.

A shower did sound good. “I’m pretty weak,” she said. “I, uh…may need help.”

“Do you want me to get Gora?”

His question surprised her, but she shook her head. “It’s not like we haven’t showered together before.”

One side of his lips lifted in a boyish grin that made her heart skip. “True.”

“Besides, you look like you could use one as well.”

He frowned and raked his hand through his messy hair. More stubble than usual covered his jaw, but the look suited him. Too well, she thought.

“I showered,” he said.

“When?” she asked, not sure she believed him.

“I don’t know. About four days ago,” he replied sheepishly.

Jacquelyn snickered.

“Don’t laugh,” he commanded as he pointed a finger at her. “I’ve been a very busy man.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

“If you think you’re a handful when you’re well, you should see how demanding you are when you’re sick. And whiny…”

Jack smiled softly at his teasing. Haydrien could be quite charming when he wanted to be. The thought unsettled her, and her smile faded. First he takes care of her; then he teases her. She didn’t want him to be nice. She needed him to be his usual asshole self. What would happen to her if she fell in love with him? That was one thought she definitely didn’t want to think about.

“Let me see your hand. We need to get the IV out.”

He took her hand in his and gently pulled the tape from her flesh. It felt as though it was ripping her skin, and she hissed. “Just jerk it,” she said.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded and braced herself. He jerked the tape free, and it was actually easier to take fast tearing than the slow ripping. He pulled the needle free and wiped the blood that oozed from the tiny hole.

Jack watched breathlessly as he brought her hand to his mouth. He placed a sweet kiss against it, letting his lips linger against her flesh. Jack cleared her throat nervously, and he set her hand back down.

“There. Now shower time.”

He stood and threw the blankets off her legs, then once again grabbed her hands. He tugged her to her feet, but her knees buckled under her weight. Haydrien reacted quickly and swooped her into his arms like a knight. Jack wrapped her arms around his neck and stared at him as though she didn’t know who he was.

Too much of this treatment, and she’d fall head over heels.

Chapter Fourteen

Haydrien stood Jacquelyn in the middle of the shower, then reached to turn on the water.

“Warm or cold?” he asked.

“Hot. I feel filthy.”

He chuckled and turned on the water. “You look adorable.”

“That’s sweet, but I also know it’s a lie.”

He gave her a cute half smile as he settled her beneath the stream of steaming water. It felt so good against her skin she actually sighed out loud. Haydrien washed her just like he had the other time, starting with her hair, then slowly moving down her body.

“I’ve never asked, but…” she began, then stopped.

“What?” he asked as he ran his hand over her hair, making sure he’d gotten all the suds.

“Are you married?”

His fingers froze briefly before dropping to gently massage her shoulders and arms.

“No,” he replied. “Who would put up with me?”

Jack snickered. “Well, there is that.”

He slapped her ass, but not hard enough to really hurt. It just surprised her. She gasped and reached around to rub at her behind. “I hurt all over. That isn’t helping.”

He rubbed the muscles at the small of her back, making her moan low in her throat. What he was doing felt so good, and she wasn’t sure she ever wanted him to stop.

“Why did you ask if I was married?”

She shrugged, unsure of the answer herself. “Some men in your position have sex slaves as well as wives. It’s not uncommon.”

“Would it bother you if I was married?” he asked softly.

Would it? She didn’t know.

He dropped to his knees and began to massage her thighs. Jack braced her hand against the wall to hold herself up. “It would bother me to be the other woman.”

“I can see that, I suppose.”

His hands moved to her calves, and she closed her eyes. “You haven’t showered yet.”

“I’ll get to it,” he said. “Are you hungry?”

She blinked and stared down at him. She hadn’t been on her feet in four days, and as much as she liked this, her brain was starting to get a little fuddled. “What?”

He stopped massaging her and looked up. He studied her closely as he stood. He raised his hand and wiped the water from her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “I asked if you were hungry.”

“A little,” she replied, just a tad breathless.

Unfortunately, her difficulty breathing had nothing to do with her fatigue and more to do with the way he was taking care of her. He tilted her head back and rinsed the soap from her hair and body.

Once done, he turned off the water, then dried her off with a soft towel. He set the towel aside; then he bent and again picked her up. Jack held tight as he carried her to the bedroom. As he walked through the door, he stopped. Jack raised her head to see why and spotted Gora changing the sheets on the bed.

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to call you.”

Gora nodded and continued making the bed as though it was nothing to see Haydrien standing naked and holding a woman in his arms, but then she didn’t look up at them either as she spoke. “I came to check on you and heard the water running. I assumed you had her in the shower, so it would be safe to change the sheets. You’ll sleep better on clean sheets,” she said with another nod.

“Thank you,” Jack murmured, her face heating with embarrassment.

“Jacquelyn is hungry. When you get a chance, would you bring her something?” Haydrien asked as he set her on her feet by the bed.

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

Once she’d left the room, Jack asked, “It doesn’t bother you that she sees you naked?”

“Why would it?” he said with amusement. “The woman changed my diapers. She knows what I have.”

Jack chuckled softly at his logic as he helped her under the covers.

“Now it’s my turn,” he said as he headed back to the shower.

Jack’s gaze slid over his strong back and firm ass. Wow, he looked so good from behind. She licked her lips, imagining what it would be like to sink her teeth in that taut butt. She sighed and turned her gaze away. She was too tired for that. It was doubtful she would even remain awake long enough for Gora to bring her something to eat.

* * * *

It took Jack three days to finally feel like herself again. Haydrien was in and out but never very far away. He’d even brought games for the two of them to play and a few books for her to read.

Now that she had her energy back, she was ready to get out of this bed and get some fresh air.

She headed out the door of the kitchen and into the garden at the back. From the front, the house looked as though it was built into a mountain peak, but behind it, the mountain had been leveled off, creating a massive garden full of flowers, fruit trees, and vegetables.

While she was recovering, Gora had told her they’d had to start eating what they could grow, which had actually turned out to be more healthy for them anyway, so they’d continued to do it. Things were slowly beginning to look up for Haydrien’s people, and Gora believed that within a couple of more years they should be back to rights.

She hoped anyway.

Haydrien was certainly doing everything he could to make it happen for them. The more she learned about him, the more she understood him. He wasn’t a bad guy. He was just a guy trying to take care of his home. Her father would probably do no less.

She stopped at the end of the path and stared over the stone fence that surrounded the garden. In the distance she could see an opening in the side of one of the mountains and decided to go check it out.

* * * *

Haydrien paced his bedroom in worry and anger. Where the hell had she run off to? He’d searched the town, and no one had seen her. The last time Gora saw her, she was walking through the garden. He didn’t begrudge Jacquelyn getting air, but she had no business exploring outside the garden, which was what he was afraid she’d done.

She finally stepped into the room and stared at him in surprise. Haydrien took one look at the smudges of black dirt all over her and knew instantly where she’d been.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he bellowed.

Jacquelyn bristled.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous those mines are?” he snapped.

She held up her hand and displayed the chunk of rock in her hand. “Do you have any idea what this is? Since there’s a massive pile of it just rotting by the mines, I’m assuming you don’t.”

Haydrien sighed. “I know exactly what that shit is. It’s what destroyed my home.”

She shook her hand. “This didn’t destroy your home, but it can certainly save it. This is
hurvidium.
It’s the rarest, most expensive mineral known, and your planet is apparently full of it.”

“Even if I wanted to fool with it, I no longer have the means to mine. It takes about as much money to uncover the stuff as it brings in.”

Jacquelyn tossed the rock to the floor with a snort. “That’s crap, and you know it. Not with the right equipment.”

“And how do you expect me to get the right equipment?”

“Well, hell,” she snapped. “Why don’t you just steal it like you do everything else?” His anger flared red-hot. Jacquelyn must’ve noticed, for her eyes went wide, and she took a quick step back. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Yes, you did,” he growled.

He walked around her to get out of the room. “Haydrien,” she began.

“I want nothing to do with that. It caused a war that almost destroyed us all. The damn stuff can rot in the caves for all I care. I’ll find another way to rebuild the planet. Get cleaned up. We’re eating downstairs tonight. Wear the white dress with no underwear.”

He left and didn’t look back.

JACK WATCHED HIM go and sighed in frustration. She hadn’t meant to say what she did. She had no idea he would have such a strong reaction to the mineral. She saw this as a good thing. He saw it as disastrous.

Deciding to just do as he’d told her, she jumped into the shower and cleaned all the dirt off her. Once out, she dried her hair and left it down around her shoulders. She grabbed the white dress from the closet and slipped it over her head.

She debated wearing her own clothes but decided against it. She didn’t want to piss him off any more than he already was. The last few days had been so nice, with no hint of sexual tension between them. She had a sinking feeling that would change tonight. Part of her actually began to get excited.

She’d never been with a man who made her body react the way that he did. It left her feeling sated but at the same time incredibly confused. How could she hate someone and also want them so bad she ached?

“I’m so sick,” she mumbled. “Just sick.”

She headed down the back steps toward the kitchen. The spicy smell filled the hallway, and laughter filtered up from below. She stopped for a second and listened. It sounded a lot like home when everyone was together. Like here, her family and friends always congregated in the kitchen. Even the Marcone women participated in the cooking.

Her parents, aunts, and uncles considered the servants family. The kids had chores. They weren’t waited on or catered to. A wave of homesickness hit her, and she sniffed back tears. Agnus would be contacting her father and brother any day now.

She frowned, unsure why the thought didn’t make her happy.

“Jacquelyn down here yet?” Haydrien asked gruffly.

Jack came down another step and listened.

“Not yet, grouchy,” Gora replied. “Why don’t you cut that girl some slack on this? She didn’t mean any harm.”

“She went somewhere that wasn’t safe.”

“Have you ever told her not to go there?” Gora countered.

There was only silence, and Jack’s lips twitched slightly. No, he hadn’t told her not to go there. Matter of fact, he hadn’t said anything about the mines.

“That’s beside the point. Anyone with common sense would know you don’t go digging around an abandoned mine,” Haydrien growled.

She heard footsteps and assumed he’d left the room. Well, she thought. Looked as though she was in for another punishment. Why did that make her heart skip and her breasts tighten?

Because she was sick, that was why. Hadn’t she already determined that upstairs?