Page 38 of Scourge of the Shores
“I got it,” she muttered, more to herself than to him as she winced, trying to get her knee to work.
Robert offered his hand again, and she took it, knowing she couldn’t walk without his aid. He scanned the horizon as if he could find the words in the waves. “Ervin told me to leave you be. Said some enchanter from the East spoke of the worthy man from the seas who was to wed you.” His jaw flexed. “Told me it ain’t me.”
Danna’s stomach tightened at the slight bitterness in his tone, but she kept quiet, letting him finish his thought.
He finally met her gaze, with something raw flickering behind his alluring eyes. “And yet . . . I can’t seem to pull away from you.”
Danna’s dreams of Robert’s kiss forced their way to the forefront of her memory, but she shoved them away. Her brows pulled together. "Funny," she said, her voice cooling. "Lucas ain’t never said a word ‘bout a prophecy to me. Not once."
Her steps slowed as she turned toward Robert. "Why’d he tell ye and not me?"
Robert’s lips curled at the edges. "Maybe he thought ye’d laugh him outta the hut."
Danna’s scowl deepened. "Or maybe he didn’t want me thinkin’ about it. Got enough to worry ‘bout without addin’ fables.” She huffed and shook her head. "A man from the seas, worthy of weddin’ me?" Her voice carried a sharp edge now. "Sounds like somethin’ a pirate’d spin to charm a lass.”
Robert shrugged and rolled his jaw like he hated the words in his mouth. “Whatever the reason, Ervin told me to stay away from you.”
His gaze flicked to hers, an intensity in his eyes.
“Or to stay,” he said.
Danna’s breath caught, but she kept her face rigid.
She pushed her hair behind her ear and under her scarf. “Then maybe ye should stay away. Lucas ain’t never led me wrong.”
Danna turned to continue walking, but Robert held her under the arm to keep her from leaving.
Robert’s lips quirked. “And what if I did stay?”
Danna narrowed her eyes. “Then ye’d be a fool.”
His grin didn’t waver. “Would I? And what if I ain’t the only one who wants me to?”
A breeze kicked up from the sea, cooling the heat rising in her face. There was a pull to him, too; she couldn’t deny it, but she sure wasn’t going to accept it. And she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of an answer.
“That’s the thing, Jaymes,” she said, voice even. “Ye ain’t gonna stay.”
He searched her gaze, like a man seeking the stars to guide him.
She pulled away first, not liking the way he gazed at her. “I ain’t wasting me breath thinkin’ ‘bout what’ll never be.”
Danna turned, stepping too fast, and her knee buckled. She caught herself on his arm before he could catch her fully.
Her pride burned hotter than the ache in her leg. “The blasted leg just ain’t listenin’,” she muttered about her knee, pushing off him before he could help her more.
“It’ll come back in time,” he said. “And with your grit, probably sooner than most.”
She flashed him a grin of unspoken gratitude for the compliment.
They walked a while longer in silence as Danna thought about his question. Would she consider him if he stayed? She barely knew him, but he had saved her life three times, which was unheard of in the pirate world. He was a little different, and the thought made her curious. Why was he different? Why did he attract her, but she was repulsed by her attraction?
She knew the pirates could have taken the island by now. Was a sense of duty to the old pirate kings, or were his fanciful yearnings for her keeping Robert, their apparent leader, at bay?
Perhaps it was good that he fancied her. It made him easier to predict. Or maybe, it made him more dangerous.
The thought simmered, uneasy, in her stomach.
She wasn’t in the business of charming men into keeping her people safe. She never had been. Her teeth clenched. She wasn’t that kind of woman. She wouldn’t be.
