Page 65 of Scourge of the Shores
The sea never gave without taking. It would take her from him or him from her. That was the way of the sea. A repeat of DeepMother’s unrequited love of the world. He’d seen it happen with his mother and father. It would happen to them, too, one way or another.
He pressed his lips to her temple, breathing in her moonflower scent. To him, his kiss embodied both a promise to withstand any storm they would face together and a plea to come away with him. A plea he was unsure she would answer, and a promise he would hold for no other. He wasn’t going to press her, though; he knew her unspoken answer. She wasn’t going to leave Ma.
And he decided he couldn’t stay. His father’s words crashed against his chest like waves on stones. “A man don’t break a vow—not even for love.”
Love.
He had tried to stay away from the word, but he had already fallen. He shouldn’t have kissed her. He should have left when she told him to leave. But, he pressed her for her truth; he couldn’t stay away. He’d never wanted anything or anyone the way he wanted her.
She shifted and peered at him over her shoulder. The sunlight caught in her eyes, making them shimmer like the crests of waves.
“You’re stunning, Danna,” he whispered, leaning to taste her lips again. She turned into him and grazed his cheek. He wasn’t sure how he was going to leave her. How could he live with himself, knowing he’d left her?
“I wish this moment could last forever,” he said.
“It can if ye stay,” she murmured.
“I made a vow to my father,” he said, though the words felt hollower than they once had. A vow was meant to be a man’s anchor, but it felt more like a chain to a destiny not his own. He had always believed duty came first, that a promise was unshakable. But then, he had never met someone like Danna. Someone who made him wonder if a different life was worth betraying the only one he knew. Danna had unraveled something in him, something deeper than blood and duty. The sea had always been his home, but for the first time, he wondered if home could be a person instead.
His father had made a name for himself just like Chadwick, and Chadwick retired to the island. Could Robert also do the same? Would it be so wrong to want a different life?
“I’m a pirate,” he said more to himself. A pirate’s life was all he knew.
“Well, I’m a Chadwick,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder, “but don’t feel like a Chadwick. He was a pirate, like ye, a man from the seas. I’m not a pirate. Never have been.” She closed her eyes. “Just a descendant livin’ off his name on an island.”
Robert tightened his arms around her. He felt a similar way. “I’m living off my father’s name, my father’s plans,” he said. To him, they meant something. It seemed to Danna that Chadwick was only a name. “But you could be a pirate if you wanted to,” he said. “I’ve seen you command a ship.”
She chuckled, but her body sank into him as if she didn’t believe him. “Tell me ‘bout yer father. Why was he so ruthless? Is yer crew the same? Would they ever accept me if I did go with ye one day?”
His heart leaped, and he gulped. She was thinking about it; that was more than he could have asked for.
“Well, he wasn’t ruthless in the way ye might think. He didn’t cut throats for sport, but he knew the weight of power. He told me once, ‘A pirate rules through fear or respect. I chose both.’” A deep breath filled his lungs. “Sometimes, I wonder which I’ve chosen. Or if I’ll ever be more than his shadow.”
Danna scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Shadow? That’s what ye think ye are? A shadow?”
He paused, not knowing how to answer her. “That’s what I am right now.”
She shook her head. “No, Robert. A shadow ain’t gonna stop Rosa from burnin’ this place to the ground. A shadow ain’t gonna put his own head on the line for a woman he ain’t even sure will have him.”
She sat up and turned to face him. “I know what it’s like, livin’ under the weight of a name. But ye’ve already proven ye’re more than just Robert Jaymes, son of a legend. Ye’re Robert Jaymes, the man who stood against the Pirate Kings for a woman and an island that ain’t even his.”
Her voice softened, but only a little. “Ye’re already more than yer father’s shadow. More than a pirate king. More than what they expect of ye.”
She brushed her fingers on his neck and kissed his cheek. “But ye gotta decide if ye believe that.”
The weight of her words settled deep in his bones. He glanced at her with a gleam in his eye. He had refused to call it love in the months prior; he tried to convince himself that it was something else—lust, admiration, or the thrill of the chase. But none of those things made his chest ache when he thought about leaving. None of them made him crave something more than the sea. None of them had ever made him wish, just for a moment, that he could rewrite his destiny.
Maybe that was the real difference between him and his father. His father had never wavered—never let anyone stand between him and his ambition. Perhaps that was why the pirate kings had followed his namesake and why he would never have the same loyalty.
“Robert ‘The Ruthless’ Jaymes,” he murmured, deciding what to believe. “He brought the Pirate Kings of the North Sea together. Forty down to ten, mostly through ruthless negotiations.”
Danna gave him a sideways glance. “Ruthless negotiations?”
“Aye. He knew how to play ‘em all, talk fancy, impress ‘em with strategy and know-how.” Robert chuckled. “Told me once, it was like fishin’. Ye just need to know what bait to use and how to put it on the hook.”
Danna hummed, considering it. “Is that how ye got me?” she asked, her body still. “Callin me a cheat to earn passage on me ship? Being a tease at sea to keep me and yer men on our toes? Sounds like a bait and hook to me.”
His mouth twitched into a smile. “No. I just wanted to see how you truly felt about me. The bait was so my fellow pirates didn’t kill me in the process,” he paused with a grin. “And besides, I ain’t got you yet.”
