Chapter Two
Gwen was having a horrible dream and wanted to wake up. She felt the weight of the world on her chest and wondered if she was trapped under the broken mast of the ship. The taste of saltwater burned the back of her throat, making her want to retch.
She needed to wake up from this horrible nightmare. Something warm touched her face and a bright light burned the insides of her closed lids. She slowly opened one eye and then the other. Sun and a blue sky were above her, making her realize she was in a prone position. The awful weight on her chest made her look down toward her feet. When she did, she screamed. The pirate was laying atop her.
“What’s the matter?” His head lifted and his big brown eyes stared into hers. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”
He’d used the endearment with her more than once now if she remembered correctly. He seemed like a nice enough man, but her father warned her to stay away from him since he was a pirate. Of course, she didn’t have a choice in this situation.
“Get off of me,” she said, trying to push him. He sat up. When he did, she fell into him. She realized they were on a raft and it had tilted. His arms closed around her protectively. Even though they were wet, she felt his body heat between them. Never before had she been in such a position with a man.
“Don’t move so quickly or you’re going to dump us back into the sea,” he warned her.
“Where’s my father’s ship?” she asked, looking out over the water. “Where are my father and the crew?” Terror-stricken, she realized she was alone with the pirate.
“We lost them in the storm,” he told her, not letting loose of his hold on her. “The mast got struck by lightning and you fell into the ocean. I jumped in after you. Don’t you remember?”
She did remember. Only too well. And she also realized that while she was alone with this man, no one was going to come to her rescue.
“You – you saved me,” she said feeling grateful and frightened at the same time.
“Aye.” He nodded his head. The sky above them almost seemed to make his eyes twinkle.
“Why did you risk your life and jump into the water after me? You don’t even know me.”
“Unlike some of us who judge a man before they know him, I have no qualms about saving a maiden in distress.”
“Thank you.” She relaxed slightly in his arms. His kindness was intoxicating, even if he was a pirate.
“Where are we?” she asked, looking around.
“I can see the coast from here. So, thankfully we haven’t drifted out to sea. It looks like Cornwall if I’m not mistaken.”
“Cornwall? How can that be?” She squinted in the sun, staring at the rocky coastline. “We were fishing near the Isle of Man, which is far from Cornwall.”
“The wind must have blown us this far,” he told her. “We’ve been at sea since yesterday.”
“That long?” She moved quickly, causing water to slosh atop the small raft that was meant for one. She almost lost her balance, but Brody kept her secure. “How can that be?”
“You’ve been through a lot,” he told her. “You were shivering from the cold, so I pressed my body against yours to keep you warm. The sun has helped to dry our clothes partially. Here. Have a drink of water.” He held up what looked like a goatskin filled with liquid to her lips.
“Where did you get this?” Her shaking hands reached out for it.
“Drink.” He held it while she took a sip. The water tasted refreshing and cold.
“Thank you. Now tell me where you got fresh water.”
“It’s the last of the rain water I collected while I was on the island. The goatskin I had when I left the Sea Mirage.”
“Sea Mirage?” She looked up, shading her eyes from the sun. “Oh, that’s right. It’s your pirate ship.”
Brody had said too much. He’d mentioned his ship again and now the girl was asking questions. It had been bad enough when he accidentally mentioned it in front of her father. Because of it, Brody overheard her father saying he was going to dump him back into the sea because he was a pirate. The less she knew about him, the better. He needed to get back to Whitehaven quickly and talk to Rowen about everything that had happened. Then he’d get things sorted out. He needed to learn the truth about the whole episode with Muck aboard the Sea Mirage. The only problem was, the storm had blown them to kingdom come. They were nowhere near Whitehaven. It was his assumption, by the look of the rocky coast, that they were nearing the tip of southern England in Cornwall.
He groaned and rubbed his leg. His flesh had broken open on a piece of flotsam when he’d jumped into the water to save Gwen. He’d managed to stop the bleeding by tying a piece of his ripped tunic around the wound, but his leg felt as if it were becoming infected. It hurt like the devil. He wasn’t at all sure he could even stand.
“You’re hurt,” she said, eying his wound. “And you’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing,” he said, trying to play it off. He didn’t need a wench in a frenzy to add to the rest of his problems. He had to keep her calm.
“I’m not daft.” She removed her head scarf and, to his surprise, long bouncing blond curls spilled out, reminding him she was a girl. “I’m going to use this to change the bloody wrapping on your leg. I only wish I hadn’t lost my hat, as it could have shaded me from the sun.”
“I’m fine,” he told her.
“You are not fine. Now let me do it.” With gentle and nimble fingers, she unwrapped the bloody binding, inspecting his wound. Her beautiful blue eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “Give me some of that water so I can cleanse the wound.” Her hand reached out to him, but her attention stayed on his leg.
“Nay. We’ve only got a small amount of fresh water left,” he told her. “We need to save it until we are sure we can find more.”
“There’s the coast, so we don’t need to worry. We’ll have plenty of fresh water soon.”
What was happening here? He thought he was the one comforting her when, in reality, it was the opposite way around. She looked to be young but seemed more mature when she tried to comfort him. He hadn’t had anyone other than Rowen who cared for him since the day he was abducted by pirates. It felt nice.
“We’re drifting into the area of the St. Agnes caves,” he told her, knowing the area well as this is where he’d lived before he’d become a pirate. “It’s a rocky and desolate area. It might take us days to get back to civilization. I’m not even sure I can stand on my leg.”
“Then I’ll wrap it for now, but I’ll clean it as soon as we get ashore.” His words seemed to satisfy her. She finished wrapping his leg with her head cloth.
Sure enough, their raft drifted toward the caves just like he knew it would.
Gwen watched in awe as they drifted closer to the caves. She’d always been intrigued by the caves, especially the one that all her friends talked about – the cave with the blood red walls. She knew the legend behind it. On more than one occasion she had tried to sneak away to see it when their ship unloaded on the coast of Cornwall.
“I’ll get off first and make certain everything’s safe,” he told her as they drifted closer to the cave. The water didn’t look deep at all. She was excited and fascinated by the caves and couldn’t wait. She swung her feet over the side of the raft. When she did, it caused them to become unbalanced, dumping them both into the sea. She emerged, spitting water from her mouth. It was a little deeper than she’d thought.
“Aaaah,” she heard Brody cry out as he hit the water. When he stood, the water was up to his waist.
She smiled. “Sorry about that.”
“What’s one more dip in the sea?” he grumbled, pulling the raft up to the rocky shore. His strong, wet chest gleamed in the sun and she had a hard time looking away. This man intrigued her just as much as the caves. Water ran into several of the caves. Over the rocks, further down, there was a beach. In the far distance, Gwen could barely see the docks.
“If we hurry, we might be able to walk down the beach and get to the docks by sunset,” she told him. “I know where we are now. I’m familiar with this area.”
“So am I,” he answered.
“My father does business in some of the towns around St. Agnes. We usually dock just down the beach. There are several taverns not far from here. My father goes there to get something to eat.”
“Or drink?” he asked. She knew he meant her father’s fondness of the bottle.
“Mayhap my father has already made it to shore with his crew. Let’s go see.” She hurried over the rocks, anxious to find them. Then she heard a sound and turned around to see him struggling with the raft. The water around his leg was red. He’d started bleeding again and was having trouble walking.
“Here, let me help.” Being no stranger to hard work, she rushed back and grabbed half the raft and hauled it up to the cave. “You look pale,” she told him. “Are you ill?”
“I’m wounded, not to mention I have almost drowned twice in the past few days. I’ve had very little fresh water to drink and barely anything to eat for a week. Or at least, I think it was that long, but I’ve lost track of time.”
She felt as if he scolded her and she didn’t like it. “There’s no reason to become curt with me. We’ve both had some bad times lately, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t try to make me feel daft or guilty.”
He abruptly stood up straight, surprised by the way she talked to him. No lady would talk to a man and especially not a pirate so frankly. Then again, Gwen had been acting more like a boy most her life, so it came naturally to her. She didn’t know how to act like a lady and wasn’t going to start now. “Mayhap I can pull you on the raft. We can travel in the water.”
“For a girl who says she knows this area, you’re forgetting a few things.” He groaned and sat on a rock, touching his leg with his fingertips. “This time of year, the sun goes down quickly. It’ll make it harder to travel over the rocky ground. And when the tide comes in we’ll have to make our way to higher ground.”
“So, you’re saying we’re not going to try to find my father and his crew?”
“Nay. Not today.” He removed his binding and inspected his wound.
She let out an exasperated breath. They were so close to the docks and finding help. “But there’s still light left. If we hurry, we could make it to the docks before the tide comes in. We need to try.”
“Then go,” he said, not even looking at her when he spoke. “No one is asking you to stay.”
“But where will you go tonight? What will you do? You can barely walk. And you’re bleeding.”
“I’m only a bloody pirate, so don’t worry about me. Thrown back in the sea is where all pirates belong, or have you forgotten what your father told you?” With his head still down, his eyes lifted to her, making a chill run through her body.
“Oh. You heard him.” She picked up the edge of her tunic and wrung out the water.
“Pirates have bloody good ears.” He tied the cloth back around his leg and stood. He took a step and winced. She could see he was in a lot of pain. How could she leave him? After all, he’d saved her life. With one last glance over her shoulder down the beach, she turned and made her way back to him.
“Let me help.” She put her arm around him and let him lean on her as they made their way toward the caves.
“I’m not used to being helped by a lady.” His voice was deep and rich. It matched the very handsome man.
“Well, I’m not used to being called a lady.”
Thunder rumbled in the distance. Clouds covered the sky, taking with it the warmth from the sun.
“Not more rain,” he grumbled.
“We can find shelter in the caves,” she told him, heading to the one that she knew held the legend. The cave with the blood red walls.
“If we don’t get warm and dry we might not be alive on the morrow.”
“When will the tide come in?” she asked. Rain started to drizzle.
He stopped and looked up at the moon, still partially visible in the daytime sky. “By my calculations, we should have at least a few good hours before high tide comes in. We can only stay here for a short while. We’ll have to get to higher ground as soon as it stops raining.”
“Then let’s get inside and out of the rain.”
Brody let the girl help him into the cave. Usually, he wouldn’t accept help from a woman, but his ordeal and his wound were taking a toll on him. He needed help and she was the only one here to do it. He also didn’t want her wandering off on her own if he wasn’t there to protect her.
They walked into the cave. She stopped in the entranceway and gasped.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“This is the cave of the legend with the blood red walls.” Wonderment filled her eyes as she peered into the dark cavern in front of them.
“What legend?” He hobbled into the entrance of the cave and sat down. It was cool and damp inside, but at least they were out of the wind and rain.
“The legend of Cador’s daughter.” Her sweet voice echoed off the cave walls as she ventured inside slowly, acting as if it were a place to be reverent.
“Cato’s daughter? You have a sister?” he asked.
“Nay. My father’s name is Cato, not Cador,” she said with a giggle. “I’m talking about King Cador and his daughter, Aelwen. Don’t you know the legend?”
“I don’t believe in things like that.”
“Then you don’t believe the reason for these walls being red is because Aelwen killed herself when her father wanted to marry her off to someone else after he murdered her lover?” Cautiously, she stepped forward, daring to reach out her fingers to touch the blood red walls. Would she feel murder and hatred or would she feel the love of someone willing to die for the other?
“Why would you want to touch the wall if someone bled all over it?”
“That was years and years ago,” she spoke, her eyes fixated on the red cave walls. Her hand reached out further, shaking as her fingertips touched the stone. “It is also said that if a man and woman willingly touch this wall at the same time, then they will fall madly in love for the rest of their lives.” Her eyes closed as she spoke the words, thinking about how strong a love Aelwen and Kael must have shared.
She heard Brody stir behind her.
“That’s nonsense. It’s only a story made up, probably by a man to get a wench into bed with him. The red is just the natural coloring of the rock. And the only people who touch these walls are young fools on a dare. They come here at night to prove nothing scares them, carving their names into the stone only to have their lives destroyed afterward.”
Gwen felt a tingle run up her spine and a heat engulf her. Her eyes popped open and she stared at her hand on the wall, sure she saw it illuminated. Ecstatic joy and excitement filled her as she watched the glowing of her palm that was flat against the wall. Her heart beat faster. She didn’t understand this.
“I know from experience,” said Brody. “Years ago, I was one of those fools on a dare that sneaked into the cavern and etched my name into the stone.”
She turned her head and her mouth fell open. Brody braced himself against the red stone wall with one palm and with the tip of his finger of his other hand, he traced letters carved into the stone. It said Brody in big, bold letters. How hadn’t she noticed this when they first entered the cave?
“You – you’re touching the wall.”
“Huh?” He turned his head to look at her. His eyes looked dark, dangerous and sultry. The daylight from behind him at the cave opening illuminated the outline of his body. She swore he looked to be glowing. “I’m showing you my name in the stone. Right here,” he said, continuing to trace his name with his fingertip.
Something came alive inside her. Every swipe of his finger against the outline of his name felt to her like the sensual caress of a lover against her skin. She couldn’t catch her breath and felt like she was going to swoon. Remembering his body heat pressed up against her earlier, she closed her eyes again, squeezing her legs together since her core felt hot and seemed to be vibrating. Her heart pounded in her ears, mixed with the sound of the waves lapping against the shore. The waves pushed forward and then retreated, like a secret lover in the night. All she could think about was making love to the mysterious pirate named Brody. Her nipples hardened at the thought and she heard herself let out a small moan of desire.
“Are you ill?” She felt his hot breath in her ear although he stood several arm’s length away from her.
Her eyes sprang open and she broke the connection, jolting upward and stepping away from the wall. Suddenly, she felt foolish. Still, she needed to know if he felt anything at all.
“We touched the wall at the same time,” she said, no louder than a whisper.
“So now you think we’ll fall madly in love?” His deep laughter echoed off the walls of the cave. “That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Now come over here so I can put my arm around you.”
“Why?” she blurted out, wondering if he’d felt the heat as well.
“I need you to help me walk.”
“Oh. Of course.” Why had she thought he wanted to caress her the way she’d felt him doing to the wall?
“Besides, you’re cold. I’ll warm you.”
“I’m not cold. I’m very hot.”
“Your body says your words are a lie.”
She didn’t know what he meant until she followed his seductive gaze down to her chest. She never bound her breasts, and her nipples were pushing up against the wet fabric of her white tunic. It was as if she were standing in front of him naked. She hurriedly crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“You’re shivering.”
She was shaking but it wasn’t from the cold. She’d felt something between them though they hadn’t even touched. She felt it through the wall. The legend was true. By touching the wall at the same time as Brody, it had brought something to life inside her. Perhaps it was only lust. Could the legend have been talking of lust instead of love? She felt anxious and confused. He reached out for her and her eyes closed as he wrapped his arms around her in a protective hold.
“Everything will work out,” he whispered, rubbing his cheek against her hair. “We’ll find your father, don’t worry.”
“I know.” She felt the urge to look up into his eyes. She had to see if he felt the intense attraction to her like she did with him. “Don’t you feel it?” she asked, wetting her dry lips with her tongue.
“Feel what?” He looked down, his focus on her mouth if she wasn’t mistaken.
“We touched the wall. Something happened.”
“The last time I touched that bloody wall, I was captured by pirates. I haven’t been back to Cornwall for over ten years and have no desire to be here now.”
“You – were captured by pirates?”
“Aye. I was here with my good friend, Edwin, on a dare. It was right after I lost my family to a passing pestilence. Edwin’s family felt sorry for me and took me in, but I was always treated by everyone else as an orphan.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Her gaze dropped to his mouth. They were so close. It would be so easy to kiss him. His head dropped and his face came closer.
“I wasn’t always a pirate you know.”
“Didn’t anyone come looking for you?”
“Who would come looking for an orphan?”
“What about Edwin?”
“I don’t know. The pirates had captured him at first. I fought them and told Edwin to run and get help. I thought he’d be back with his father and some of the men from the village. Mayhap they did return, but I never had the chance to find out. I was scooped up and thrown onto the Sea Mirage by One-Eyed Ron. From that day on . . . I was considered his son. And a pirate.”
“That’s awful,” she said, her heart going out to him. She slipped her arms around him and lifted her chin, bringing her mouth closer. Then he dipped down and their lips touched. Heat seared through her as they kissed. He tasted like fresh air mixed with the salty sea. Dangerous, yet exciting. His hand reached out and he cupped her cheek. Tilting her head, she leaned into his caress. He had felt it, too. She was sure of it. Why else would he kiss and caress her? “Did you feel something happen between us when we both touched the wall?” she asked, needing to know.
He hesitated for a moment, cleared his throat and then spoke. “I’ve had a change of mind.” His arms fell from around her body as he released her. With it went the excitement and heat she’d felt between them. Then he turned away, staring at his carved name on the wall as he talked. “This place holds bad memories for me and I don’t want to stay here any longer.”
“You don’t?” This wasn’t what she wanted to hear. She thought for sure he’d say he felt something, too. That now, after touching the wall at the same time, they were falling in love. But instead, he said the opposite.
“Perhaps we can make it down the beach before the tide comes in after all. No sense waiting any longer. Let’s get out of this god-forsaken cave and go find some warm shelter, food, and ale for the night.”
He limped out of the cave, leaving her standing there alone. She looked over to the wall. Now, it just seemed like a bloody wall like Brody said. Brody’s name was scratched into the stone in tall letters, reminding everyone that he’d been there. She thought of his sad story. There was no love here. What she’d felt was lust, but now that was gone, too. Mayhap he was right. This cave was nothing but the product of an ill legend devised by pirates to lure young children away from their families. A shiver coursed through her.
“Aye, let’s get out of here and never look back,” she told him, pushing past him and leading the way.