Queen Of My Nightmare (Uncharted Secrets, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories by Cristi Taijeron Page B
Authors: Cristi Taijeron
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I felt light on my feet. As I caught my balance, he fixed his belt and grumbled, “Normally I love the rain, but not when it’s chasing me away from you.” He stood up. “You should go check the sky, and I’ll wake the men.”
“All right.” I straightened my dirty clothes, feeling all too womanly with the sensual buzz still ringing through my body.
“Get your wits about you, Midnight.” He winked at me and headed out of the door.
Standing there in a love-struck trance, I replayed the short-lived romance in my mind a few times until I heard the men stirring above. Remembering my orders to check the weather, I continued getting ready for the day.
With kohl under my eyes, my hair tied back in the black cloth, and my weapons in place, I took a look out of the porthole. The blasted rain that Mason left me for rolled away as fast as it came in, and while admiring the beaming ray of golden light shining on the sea before me, I thought about my future.
I was as rich as a queen. I couldn’t believe it. What in the world would I do with my newfound, hard-earned wealth? The world I lived in was as ugly as it ever was, and I was still but a mysterious feather in the wind. But now, being richer than the noble coxcombs who originally robbed me of my freedom ashore, I could afford all the freedom they stole from me.
There was no amount of money that could ever heal my heartbreak, but if I was going to be heartbroken either way, I might as well be rich and free.
Chapter 5
Blood on the Bulkhead
R oug h seas on the way to Barbados as a child gave me nightmares. Wild tides on Lucifer’s ship as a prisoner gave me hope that my nightmares would sink to the bottom of the sea. But this storm I was now facing on Esmerelda as a buccaneer was one of the greatest feats of man and nature I had yet witnessed. In the pouring rain the men slipped and slid about the decks, fighting like warriors to keep her afloat, and Mason—who loved the rain—blasted roaring commands like Thor himself. His voice ripped through the sky like thunder and his orders struck the wet decks like lightning, sending the men in whatever direction he fired in. It was a glorious dance of the most fearsome movements, teetering between life and death, but as the captain had hollered across the wind many times, death was not an option.
The heart-racing, breathtaking harmony played throughout the night, slowly rolling to a close with the rising sun. Pink and orange clouds danced across the yellow sky, smiling on the sea as she tamed. The way the colors reflected on the tattered canvas sails made me want to paint. But painting was a long lost pastime. I was a navigator now and like Seth said, my work was never ending.
After measuring our bearings and marking the chart, I was pleased to see that we had not veered too far off course. “Look, Seth, we’re halfway to Tortuga.”
“Unless we hit another storm. Did I tell you I hate storms?” He took another shot of rum.
Seth had been drunk since that battle, and his disdain for life in general had deepened greatly.
“Yes, you told me you hate storms. Quite a few times. I also know that you hate Mason, your father, the bitch who broke your heart, and turnips.”
Gagging dramatically, he slapped at the desk. “My father made me eat my turnips. So those disgusts are one in the same.”
Rolling out a new piece of parchment, I braved the nerve to ask, “Is that the reason you hate him so?”
“No.” He growled. “He is a rich son of a bitch and…” He took another shot, which mostly dribbled down his chin. “And it is his fault I am here. I could have been home, drinking tea like he does, but nooo, he had other plans for me. Well, you know what, Father,” he started shouting his resentments at the bulkhead, making me regret that I ever asked, “I don’t want to be like you! I never wanted to be like you. I had other plans and now all I
“All right.” I straightened my dirty clothes, feeling all too womanly with the sensual buzz still ringing through my body.
“Get your wits about you, Midnight.” He winked at me and headed out of the door.
Standing there in a love-struck trance, I replayed the short-lived romance in my mind a few times until I heard the men stirring above. Remembering my orders to check the weather, I continued getting ready for the day.
With kohl under my eyes, my hair tied back in the black cloth, and my weapons in place, I took a look out of the porthole. The blasted rain that Mason left me for rolled away as fast as it came in, and while admiring the beaming ray of golden light shining on the sea before me, I thought about my future.
I was as rich as a queen. I couldn’t believe it. What in the world would I do with my newfound, hard-earned wealth? The world I lived in was as ugly as it ever was, and I was still but a mysterious feather in the wind. But now, being richer than the noble coxcombs who originally robbed me of my freedom ashore, I could afford all the freedom they stole from me.
There was no amount of money that could ever heal my heartbreak, but if I was going to be heartbroken either way, I might as well be rich and free.
Chapter 5
Blood on the Bulkhead
R oug h seas on the way to Barbados as a child gave me nightmares. Wild tides on Lucifer’s ship as a prisoner gave me hope that my nightmares would sink to the bottom of the sea. But this storm I was now facing on Esmerelda as a buccaneer was one of the greatest feats of man and nature I had yet witnessed. In the pouring rain the men slipped and slid about the decks, fighting like warriors to keep her afloat, and Mason—who loved the rain—blasted roaring commands like Thor himself. His voice ripped through the sky like thunder and his orders struck the wet decks like lightning, sending the men in whatever direction he fired in. It was a glorious dance of the most fearsome movements, teetering between life and death, but as the captain had hollered across the wind many times, death was not an option.
The heart-racing, breathtaking harmony played throughout the night, slowly rolling to a close with the rising sun. Pink and orange clouds danced across the yellow sky, smiling on the sea as she tamed. The way the colors reflected on the tattered canvas sails made me want to paint. But painting was a long lost pastime. I was a navigator now and like Seth said, my work was never ending.
After measuring our bearings and marking the chart, I was pleased to see that we had not veered too far off course. “Look, Seth, we’re halfway to Tortuga.”
“Unless we hit another storm. Did I tell you I hate storms?” He took another shot of rum.
Seth had been drunk since that battle, and his disdain for life in general had deepened greatly.
“Yes, you told me you hate storms. Quite a few times. I also know that you hate Mason, your father, the bitch who broke your heart, and turnips.”
Gagging dramatically, he slapped at the desk. “My father made me eat my turnips. So those disgusts are one in the same.”
Rolling out a new piece of parchment, I braved the nerve to ask, “Is that the reason you hate him so?”
“No.” He growled. “He is a rich son of a bitch and…” He took another shot, which mostly dribbled down his chin. “And it is his fault I am here. I could have been home, drinking tea like he does, but nooo, he had other plans for me. Well, you know what, Father,” he started shouting his resentments at the bulkhead, making me regret that I ever asked, “I don’t want to be like you! I never wanted to be like you. I had other plans and now all I
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