The Price of Pleasure (Sutherland Brothers 2)

She gave him a pitying look. "That would be your first mistake."

"Cammy, you'll never believe the weather--" Victoria froze when she saw Grant sitting by the fire. A visible tension thrummed through her. "Where is she?"

"She's with my cousin and the crew aboard the Keveral," Grant answered slowly.

Swooping down, she snatched up a bamboo cane. Her voice was shaking with fury. "Why did you take her?"

He rose by degrees, standing low, trying not to appear threatening. "I meant what I said before. I was sent here to rescue you. We need to get you both on the ship and out of the area."

She shook her head, refusing his answer, and asked again, "Why did you take her?"

"Because I know you'll follow."

Her face tightened. She wanted to strike him--he could feel her anger, raw and radiating from her. Her fingers whitened on the cane. Just when he was convinced she might, she dashed from the cave.

He snatched his pack and shot to his feet to follow her outside, immediately raising his hand to shield his eyes. The rain fell, not merely spilling from the clouds, but pitched down to beat the earth. Broad leaves of the multitude of banana trees thundered from the force. He almost longed for the puling rain of England instead of this assault.

Lightning split the sky, relentless, one bolt erupting just as another touched down. Flashes illuminated Victoria as she ran before him, her hands grasping vines overhead or trees beside her, her whole body in league to propel her forward. She moved over rocks and downed trees with an ease, and a recklessness, born of practice. Grant followed, running sideways, one foot over the other as they descended sliding hillocks toward her home.

She stumbled past her hut out to the edge of the shelf, flat hand to forehead, straining through the wet curtain for a glimpse of the ship. Grant saw her sway on her feet, thought he heard her breath whistle out.

Unbroken darkness covered the water.

The ship was gone.

Seven

Where's the ship?" Victoria rushed to him and shoved her palms into his chest. "Where's the bloody ship?"

He grabbed her hands. "My first mate has standing orders to preserve the Keveral. They'll sail to open sea, away from the reefs, in preparation for the storm. I waited here for you."

She twisted her wrists free. "She's sick. This is her first time back at sea and you take her out in a squall?" A bolt lit the stricken expression on her face.

"I think they beat it out," Grant shouted over the wind. "My cousin will take care of her." He laid his hand on her shoulder.

She staggered back as if shocked senseless, her eyes bleak. "Don't you touch me," she hissed. "Don't you dare." He raised his hands, palms out, so she could see them.

"Victoria, just trust me--" Lightning struck so near that his ears popped, the light blinding him. A ripping scream pierced the drum of pounding rain. Grant ran toward the sound, scraping his sleeve over his eyes, blinking furiously.

Victoria had disappeared.

"You're nicer than the other one," Cammy said as the young man pulled the covers up to her chin.

"I get that a lot." Traywick grinned, an easy, charming curl of his lips. "If you're comfortable, I'll just let you sleep."

Wind howled over the ship, and she gave him an impatient look. "Not likely."

"Dooley is more than capable of getting us clear," he rushed to assure her. "I don't want you to be frightened."

"I'm not that afraid. I'm the sick one--Tori's the one afraid of ships. I just don't expect to sleep when we're being jostled about like this."

"We could talk," he said eagerly, then added in a more subdued tone, "If it wouldn't bother you."

She scooted up in bed. "That would be nice."

"I'll be right back." At the door he asked, "Can I get you something? Some tea or something to eat?"

"T-Tea, you say?" The one thing she talked about each night by the fire, dreamed about during the day.

He smiled. Enunciating every word, he said, "As much as you can possibly drink."

"Can you make it in a storm?" she asked, her heart in her throat.

Traywick glanced out the port window and said, "This is nothing. Wait until the ocean really gets going." He left with a wink and then minutes later, shuffled in carrying a tray laden with a steaming pot, a plate of small cookies, a bottle of spirits, and two teacups.

He handed her a cup of tea and the plate of cookies, then poured himself a drink in his own cup. She sipped and nearly gasped. Piping hot, doused liberally with sugar--just how she liked it. Her eyes rolled.

He chuckled. "Miss that, did you?"

"Like nothing else. Besides maybe horses. So what shall we talk about?"

"Whatever you like. You're the guest."

"Let's talk about your captain. Tell me who he is and why he's searching for the Dearbournes."

Traywick moved over to the opposite bunk and slumped to a sitting position. "For your questions: Who? Grant Sutherland, of the rich Surrey Sutherlands and captain of this pretty boat. Most notably, he is cousin to me." He lifted his cup and flashed her an impudent grin over the rim before drinking. "Why? Because Victoria's grandfather hired him to undertake this mission."

"Is Sutherland a good man?" She bit into a cookie. It might've been stale; she didn't care. It tasted like ambrosia.

"Yes. Unequivocally yes. He'll protect her with his life." His voice was without doubt.

Cammy relaxed somewhat. Comforted on that point, she absently munched cookies and studied her grantor of tea and consequently her new best friend. Lord, but he was a handsome devil. He had chiseled masculine features, black hair with streaks the color of coffee, and the most vivid amber eyes she'd ever seen. He must have left a score of broken hearts back in England.

The captain was very handsome, in an intense, almost savage way, but this Traywick was perfect. And the ease with which he'd settled in with her indicated that he liked women as much as they surely liked him. She glanced at his unscarred hands. He wasn't a sailor by any means. "What are you doing aboard this ship?"

He took another deep drink. "Funny story, that. I needed to leave town in a hurry and ran

aboard, thinking Grant was sailing a short voyage. I've been trapped ever since."

"How awful." He told the story in an amused tone, but she saw that his eyes were shadowed. "Did you leave someone behind?"

He looked up sharply. After a moment, he answered, "I did."

"You must miss her very much."

Traywick stared into his cup as though embarrassed, but replied in a low tone, "I didn't know you could miss a person this much."

Cammy got the feeling she was seeing only the tip of the iceberg, that this young man was hurting more terribly than she could imagine.

"She must be very special."

"Yes." He refilled his cup and changed the subject. "So, you think Victoria won't react well to sailing again?"

Cammy sipped, then said, "Not at all."

"She must've been young when you wrecked."

"Thirteen. She saw the Serendipity break open with her father on deck. A sailor pushed her mother over the railing and she broke her back. Tori lost both parents in a matter of days."

"My God, that must've been hard on her." He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "On both of you."

He looked so sincere, so genuinely sympathetic, that she found herself asking, "Are you to be our friend?"

When the ship pitched, he reached over to lift the safety rails on her bunk. "Yes, I'd like that."

"Good. I feel like we'll need an ally in the coming days." She finished her tea and set the cup on a bedside stand. "Tori's a beautiful girl. Are you sure Sutherland can be trusted alone with her?"

He hesitated. "Ah, normally, there would be no question. He feels responsible for her--protective of her. And he's known throughout England as a man of honor."

"Normally?" Her heart dropped.

"I've just never seen him behave like he has with her. I've never seen him--" He paused as though searching for the right word. "--I've never seen him long."

"Oh, dear."

Traywick took another swig and glanced at the ceiling as if debating whether to tell her something. "Out with it, now," Cammy said.

"It gets worse. Those Sutherland brothers--well, the two older ones, when they each found their woman, they got a little crazed."

"So what happened?"

"One's happily married. The other one's dead."