Read Online Romancing the Pirate 01 - Blood and Treasure by Jennifer Bray-Weber - Free Book Online

this says.” She handed him the book, pointing to an open page.
    He stared at the first sentence for a long moment. “Upon the south wind’s, uh…” pausing, his lips silently sounded out the word before he continued, uncertain. “Breath, cometh a warm smell of rain.”
    “Brilliant!” She clapped her hands together.
    Jason grinned wide and toothy.
    “I should think you an astute pupil. Captain Fox must be pleased with you.”
    His face lit up as a son’s might after making his father proud.
    “Jason, why are you his cabin boy?”
    He fumbled the book closed and shot a nervous look to the door. She realized she may have broached the question too soon. But she had to know. The crew on the ship seemed eclectic at best. Scurvy seamen, a literate cabin boy, a libertine, a Lilliputian man with a fancy for cooking and ribbons, and a dangerous gentleman pirate captain, it all seemed too puzzling.
    “Are you being held against your will here? Did he kidnap you?”
    Jason hopped to his feet. “Oh, no, ma’am. No, ma’am.” Emphatically, he shook his head. “The Capt’n, he saved my life. I am here to repay my debt to him.”
    “Saved your life? From the noose?” Why would anyone want to hang a child?
    He touched the scar around his tender little neck. “Aye. ’Twas a bit of luck that he was in the square that day.” Jason sat back down, his left foot bouncing restlessly.
    Wrought with anguish, she urged him to proceed.
    “Natty lad caught thieving, I was.” Shame washed over his expression. He shot her a look as if expecting her disapprobation. “The only way I could keep from starving.”
    “But a death sentence is too harsh for such a crime.”
    “Not when you are a bastard son born under a halfpenny planet to a whore in St. Augustine,” he muttered.
    She flinched at his sharp words. “So Captain Fox saved you?”
    “Just as I was given the drop, he stormed the gallows and cut me down. He and Mr. Tyburn and a few others fought soldiers all through town. Capt’n killed three by his own sword. They plundered the nearby marketplace and set fire to the courthouse. Got a good haul that day. I don’t know why he spared me. But I will march to my death for him.”
    “A noble proclamation from a boy of, what, ten?”
    “Eleven.” His chin jutted up a notch. “I can fight.”
    Taken aback, she sucked in a horrified gasp. “He allows you to fight in battles?”
    “Well, no.” His chin shot up higher. “But I’ve been practicing.”
    Lianna put her hand over his resting on his bony knee. “Well, young sir, I know I will be well cared for should you ever need to defend me in combat.”
    He softened with her kindness and bowed his head. “Thank you, ma’am.” He glanced at the door again. “I really must get back to work before I’m missed. Henri gets fired up if I slack.”
    “Of course.” She walked Jason to the door. “My thanks to you for visiting with me. You have been a welcoming part of my morning. But might I ask a small favor?”
    Jason tugged at his ear nervously. “I, uh, um.”
    “’Tis nothing taxing to you, young sir. I promise. Won’t you ask Captain Fox if I may take a bit of sunshine today? If it pleases him, of course.”
    He smiled and left.
    The enlightenment from Jason about her captor wreaked havoc on her reason. Ridiculous images of Zane bounced helter-skelter in her mind. Here was a man of many masks: a kidnapper, a thief, a plunderer, and a killer, who could be bought and sold. And yet he displayed etiquette and manners, was educated, taught, and risked his life to save another. He was perplexing, a tempting enigma she found perilously attractive. What other surprises did he have in store? She wanted to find out more. She wanted to explore him, his motivations, his thoughts, perhaps the hard contours of his body, and the irresistible mystery that surrounded him. But how far would she be willing to go?
    The ship would be arriving in port soon and she would be heading