Read Online Wrong Kind of Paradise by Suzie Grant - Free Book Online Page A

a young lad,
    nor a weak old pirate. You will learn soon enough that it takes more than the tip of your sword to sway
    me.”
    She leapt backward and lifted the sword in a defensive stance once again. But he kept coming. Her
    green-blue eyes widened just enough to reveal her fear. “Yes, be afraid, little one. When you wake the
    Serpent, you can expect to be greeted by his fangs.”
    She lifted her chin. “I am not afraid of you.”
    “You will be.”
    She swung at his mid-section and he leapt backward. He rolled then sprang to his feet directly
    before her so quickly, she gasped. His vise-like hands clasped the sword, yanked it from her, and tossed
    it to the ground in a single move. The weapon clattered to the cobblestones and slid under the broken
    debris of the wagon.
    He reached for her, but she ducked at the last minute and ran down the street. He chased her, her
    speed no match for his longer stride. One of his hands clasped a handful of her hair and he yanked her
    back until she fell into him. She came around with a hard right to his jaw. He shook his head, surprised at
    her strength. Releasing her hair, his arms apprehended her lithe body. She couldn’t move her upper body
    at all but she kicked his shins, managing to get several solid hits in. He winced. But he didn’t let her go.
    “Now you can go with me quietly, Angel. Or we can do it your way, fighting the entire way.” He
    sighed when she did not cease her struggle. “Either way, I will win,” he whispered into her ear.
    She screamed in frustration and gritted her teeth at him. “I hate you, you back-stabbing bastard!”
    The slightest stab of pain rippled through him, but he ignored it. His impulsive package would learn
    soon enough that he refused to play her games any longer. He’s chased her for two years and now it was
    time to pay the piper. Angel may have been able to get away with stealing from the English, but she would
    pay dearly for commandeering his ship.
    Blac set his jaw, released her long enough to swoop down and lift her onto a shoulder. “So be it.
    The hard way it is.” His arms clamped down on her kicking feet and her hands found a solid purchase in
    his kidneys. A grunt escaped him.
    He carried her all the way to the docks and dropped her unceremoniously into the dinghy, hopping
    in behind her. She hadn’t even managed to sit up before he placed a large booted foot over her back and
    pushed her down, face first. She cursed.
    His crew arrived with her four companions and the commander. “Leave the crew and stow the good
    commander in the hold, Mr. Santiago,” he said to Rigo. “I have a message to be delivered to the rest of
    Angel’s crew.”
    ~*~
    The sound of church bells seemed almost sacrilegious as they boarded the refitted three-masted
    Brig. Eighty feet long and at least twenty-four feet wide, she was long and narrow, with a draught of
    thirteen feet. A beauty, to say the least.
    Built not only for speed, but the twenty eight-pounders meant if it was caught broadside, it would
    stand a better chance than any other small-classed ship.
    Angel silently smirked at the ship’s name, “Serpent’s Revenge.” She’d really irked him when she’d
    renamed his ship, the Serpent’s Lady. Good, she hoped he’d choked on it. The swine.
    Blac ordered her deposited in the captain’s cabin and ordered it to stay locked. The room was
    small by any standards. It was cramped but neat. There were few furnishings. She moved across the left
    corner of the room and sat upon the double bunk bed laden with multiple brightly colored pillows from
    the Indies. She’d always believed she could tell a lot about people by their personal rooms. Her eyes
    gazed at her surroundings to see exactly what it said about one Blac Barclay.
    At the foot of the bunk, lay a heavy trunk, and she waltzed over to test the lock. It was, of course,
    locked. Damned paranoid man . She whipped around and opened the armoire. Everything was arranged
    by color