The Pirate Hunter. Laura Martin
He wanted to kiss her, to bend his head and devour her lips with his own. He wanted to feel her body mould to his and writhe beneath him. He wanted to touch every inch of her body, then kiss every place his fingers brushed.
Mia dropped her chin to her chest and broke the moment.
Will stopped himself from reaching out and tilting her lips back towards him. No matter how much he wanted her it would be inappropriate. She was a prisoner under his care. He would be taking advantage of her situation and of her pain. He knew that, but it didn’t make it any easier to resist.
He’d been drawn to her from that first moment on the beach when they’d lain there exhausted, legs intertwined. He’d been unable to move and barely able to think, but his awareness of the woman beside him had been heightened. It had been an unfamiliar sensation for Will. Of course he’d been involved with women in the past, normally satisfying himself with short dalliances, but at heart he was a loner, a man who had never wanted to rely on anybody but himself. Now he seemed to be thinking of Mia every waking minute, wondering what it would be like to pull her into his arms and lose himself in her embrace.
Will was a focused man. He always gave everything he had to the mission in front of him, but Mia was making him lose that focus. He found himself thinking about her when he should be concentrating on catching her brother.
Kissing her wouldn’t be right or fair to her and it most certainly wouldn’t be right for him.
But he wanted to so badly.
‘I’ll help you,’ Mia said quietly.
Will looked at her quizzically.
‘I’ll help you to catch my brother and his men. I have to or I’m as bad as them. My mother used to say those who knew of bad deeds but did nothing were as bad as the perpetrators themselves’
‘Thank you. She sounds like a sensible woman’
Mia nodded and turned away from him. She took a few steps along the path and turned to look out at the sea. Will stayed where he was, sensing she was going to need a few minutes to herself.
He watched her as the wind whipped at her hair, pulling strands loose from the pins at the back of her head. The first time he’d seen her standing up on the cliff her hair had been loose, flying in the wind. He liked it. It seemed to suit her personality more than the demure bun she’d worn the past couple of days. He wanted to reach out and pull at the pins, allowing the dark locks to cascade over her shoulders.
Maybe it’s best if she keeps it up, he thought as once again he felt a rush of attraction. In fact, maybe it would be a good idea to buy her a hat.
‘What now?’ Mia asked, turning back to face him.
‘We get to work.’
‘That old crook Weston barely told us anything.’
On one level Will had to agree. He’d given them a few vague descriptions and the names of a couple of islands. Del Torres and his crew could be hiding in any one of the thousands of secluded bays dotted around the Caribbean. Equally they might be anchored in plain sight, having paid off a crooked harbourmaster.
‘But he did tell us something.’
Mia wrinkled her nose and frowned, as if trying to pick something useful out of the information Weston had given them.
‘He told us your brother will anchor in secluded bays, and he gave us the names of a couple of his favourite islands.’
Mia didn’t look convinced.
‘That could be hundreds of different locations. How are we going to work out where he is right now or where he’ll be in a week’s time?’
‘With a map and a weather forecast and a big dollop of luck.’
‘Hmmm.’
‘Not convinced?’
Mia shook her head, but Will was glad to see the traces of a smile on her lips.
‘Okay, a very big dollop of luck.’
‘It would have to be a massive dollop of luck.’
‘You forget I’m a very lucky man. I survived a shipwreck and met you the very same day.’
Will was pleased to see the very beginnings of a blush creep into her cheeks.
‘That was a very lucky day for you,’ Mia agreed, smiling properly now. ‘But maybe you used up all your luck.’
‘Then I’ll just have to be clever instead.’
Will offered her his arm and together they walked back towards the harbour area. He enjoyed how she leaned on him when the ground became a little uneven and how her fingers gripped his arm a little tighter.
‘So you have plenty of maps and you claim to have the luck, but how on earth are you going to get an accurate weather forecast?’ Mia asked.
It was the question that was bothering him. He could study the maps all he liked, but if he didn’t know which way the wind was coming from or if they were due a storm he had no way of narrowing down Del Torres’ whereabouts.
‘I’m not sure,’ Will said. ‘The Captain seems quite knowledgeable, but all he can do is give me his best guess based on what normally happens at this time of year.’
‘Well, if you think his best guess is good enough...’ Mia said lightly.
‘You’ve got a better idea?’ Will asked.
‘You could ask someone who can actually predict the moods of the sea and the changes in the weather.’
Will knew his face was a picture of scepticism.
‘It’s only a suggestion.’
‘A fortune teller?’
‘No. A wise woman.’
‘A charlatan who will tell us what we want to hear.’
‘As I said, it’s only a suggestion.’
‘And what do they base their predictions on? Whispers from God?’
‘Actually it’s quite scientific.’ Mia paused and laughed when she saw Will’s face. ‘They have a lot of equipment that measures wind speed and air temperature and cloud movements.’
‘These are the same women who make love potions and claim they can talk to the dead.’
Mia shook her head. ‘There are some who just look at the weather. Call themselves meteorologists.’
He wasn’t convinced.
‘What’s the harm?’ Mia said. ‘We could see one of these meteorologist women and then compare what she says to the Captain’s predictions. Surely the more information we get the better.’
‘As long as it’s correct information.’
‘Or we could ask the Captain to guess.’
Will contemplated for a few seconds.
‘I only suggest it because I know Jorge used to be fascinated with the weather. He used to pride himself on knowing when a storm was coming.’
* * *
They stopped at the bottom of the hill and looked up at the brightly painted wooden cottage perched on the edge of the cliff.
‘I’m still not sure,’ Will said reluctantly.
Mia silently rolled her eyes and started up the hill. He’d half-heartedly agreed to come and Mia was convinced any moment he was going to dig his heels in and refuse to go any further. She wouldn’t mind that much, but the man they’d asked for directions had described Amber Honey as a ‘wild woman’ and Mia was rather intrigued.
She glanced behind her and saw Will hadn’t moved. Retracing her last few steps,