My Wicked Pirate. Rona Sharon
settle this as it’s done in the civilized world! And if you haven’t the foggiest, I’ll be happy to enlighten you!”
Her hope revived, Alanis hung expectant eyes on Eros. He blinked at the viscount, feigning utter astonishment. “My good man, are you by any chance suggesting a duel?”
“Indeed, I am, sirrah. So sharpen your cutlass and prepare to do battle!”
Eros gave a negligent shrug. “I didn’t come here to tear you to shreds, but if you insist…” In Latin he said, “A crown plucked from an easy summit brings no pleasure.”
Loud cheers broke on the Alastor. Lucas bristled. “Latin or plain English, I suggest you put your metal where your mouth is!” Suitably, the Dandelion soldiers booed and jeered.
Alanis touched Eros’s arm. “Please…don’t kill him.”
“I must accept his challenge, Princess. Your fiancé is a pigheaded fool, and I cannot leave Gelsomina behind. Don’t hate me too much after today. Just remember that—” Sustaining her anxious gaze, he put the orange in her hands for safekeeping. “I’m doing this for you as well.” He called to Lucas, “You have my answer, pirate hunter. We’ll dance the plank, only be sure you don’t fall off.” And to the roaring delight of the Italian sailors he went to mount the board.
On the Dandelion, Lucas removed his vest and drew his rapier. He stormed with an elegant offensive maneuver, collecting cheers from his officers and crew. Eros was the first to leap onto the plank, his litheness once again reminding Alanis of a black leopard. Folding his arms across his chest, he called, “Are you ready to proceed, Viscount, or do I go below for a nap?”
Lucas ceased his exercise. “You may take a minute. To say your last prayer!” He joined Eros on the plank, causing the board to groan and lurch precariously. Flushing, he struggled to obtain balance while the giant pirate stood steady as a rock, looking amused. “You seem adept at this sort of thing, Viper, but so are monkeys.”
“Enough of such compliments.” Eros smiled. “Remember, this is a serious matter—your funeral.” He withdrew his lustrous rapier and pointed it at the viscount. “En Guard!”
His lips pursed, Lucas crossed his sword with the pirate’s. A hush fell on both decks. Then, thrusting lightning fast, Lucas performed a neat volte-face. The bluecoats hurrahed, waving their fists, but Eros parried fluently and forced the viscount to switch position with him.
Flailing wildly, Lucas cast anxious glances at the shark-infested waves splashing beneath the plank. Suddenly, his cravat was yanked hard, hauling him back to a steady posture.
“Going anywhere?” Eros let go of the lace folds, looking mildly interested. The Alastor deck raged with laughter, whistling, stomping, and hooting. Smiling graciously, Eros inclined his head at his enthusiastic audience, then faced the viscount again. Lucas’s flustered expression was as splendid as Eros’s broad, tempting smile as he offered, “Wish to yield?”
“Not before I send your loquacious mouth overboard!” He lifted his sword and struck. The duel turned lethal from then on. Eros thrust hard and fast, pressuring the viscount’s rapier while using his bulkier frame to wedge him between the Alastor and the deep drop to the sea. Golden sunrays slivered off their scuffing blades. The board creaked beneath their dancing boots.
Alanis held her breath, watching them engage and disengage. She prayed for Lucas, winced when Eros escaped a near stabbing, and basically suppressed sheer panic. Her gaze clashed with Jasmine’s, and they exchanged curious glances. Her adversary looked as anxious she felt. Alanis suspected Jasmine was experiencing the same confusion of equally fretting over both duelers.
Wanting in practice, Lucas redoubled his agility, the price of which was a thick sheen of sweat on his brow. He moved gracefully, his blond queue wagging over his nape, his lean body hunching and bending to avoid the Italian’s relentless strikes. His breathing thinned. Eros was steadily wearing him down. He must have faced deadlier foes than Lucas Hunter in his wretched life, Alanis surmised. Wielding his blade at an unbelievable speed, he constantly changed the rules and laid into the viscount without allowing him a moment to catch his breath.
Desperate to fell his opponent, Lucas aimed at Eros’s knees, but the latter leaped over the blade with the grace of a cat and landed at the center of the board. Lucas lost his balance. With a loud whoop he landed flat on his backside. The Italians went berserk, guffawing loud enough to raise the devil; Giovanni was cracking up so hard tears were streaming down his cheeks.
“Capitano, show some mercy for the poor turtle!” he cried. His mates burst out laughing. The bluecoats didn’t take kindly to the banter, and a verbal brawl erupted between the two decks.
Eros watched Lucas slowly getting up. “My offer still stands,” he said. “Yield!”
“I’ll see you dead first!” Lucas rasped, and with a guttural cry lunged at Eros. The pirate’s reaction was blinding fast; his rapier shimmered as he screwed it expertly, pierced the viscount’s palm, and knocked the rapier out of his hand. The blade soared high, flipping and flickering in the bright sunlight, before it dove into the sea. The viscount withdrew his dagger.
“Lucas, don’t! He’ll hack you to pieces!” Alanis cried out in terror. He could not afford to challenge the Viper with a knife! “Please, let him take his girl and be done with this madness!”
Lucas looked hurt, worn out, and desperate. His bloody fingers squeezed the knife’s hilt. “Jasmine is a decent woman. She doesn’t need to throw her life away on filth like you. She can have a good, respectable one in Jamaica. So leave her be, you bloody sea dog!”
A muscle twitched in Eros’s jaw. “To be hung, imprisoned, or serve as your mistress? How inconvenient for you to have your fiancée show up so unexpectedly.”
“Why don’t you ask Jasmine what she wants?”
“I know where her loyalty lies,” Eros replies. “Sheath your blade. She comes with me.”
“Never!” Lucas charged with the knife. Eros gripped his wrist, twisted it behind his back, and relieved him of the dagger. He brought its tip to Lucas’s neck. A drop of blood emerged on the viscount’s damp skin. It trickled to his sweat-drenched collar, expanding on the white fabric.
Noting the savage glint in Eros’s eyes, Alanis begged, “Eros! Please! Don’t kill him!”
“Eros!” Jasmine cried out, her eyes wild with terror. “Don’t kill him! I love him…”
Eros froze. He glared at Jasmine. “You love him?”
“Yes.” Jasmine nodded, wiping her teary face with her shirtsleeve.
Alanis moaned with despair. Eros was sure to kill Lucas now. Yet to her utter amazement, the notorious pirate dropped the knife and released Lucas. He offered Jasmine a hand. “Come.”
Jasmine started to mount the plank. Lucas roared. He dove at the dagger and slashed Eros’s side, ripping his midsection. Blood spurted red and thick. Eros staggered, blue eyes burning. He dropped to his knees with a loud thud and toppled over, pressing his hand to his side.
“Dear Lord!” Alanis nudged the enraged pirates aside to reach the plank. Bloody knife in hand, Lucas was about to strike. “Lucas, don’t!” she screamed. “You are not a murderer!”
Jasmine delved as a serpent between them, bracing her body as a human shield.
“Get out of the way, Jasmine!” Lucas barked. “Or I swear I’ll kill you both!”
“Kill me, then, you cowardly bastard! He spared your life upon my request. What sort of a man are you to stab a man in the back? You! The noble viscount! You’re a backstabbing knave!”
Giovanni and Nico drew their pistols and pointed them at Lucas’s back. Horrified, Alanis’s eyes fixed on Eros. Her heart went out to him. “Lucas! Let them live! You’ve won!”
Reluctantly, Lucas