“Halt!” shouted the Lord Chancellor.
The baron continued to try to drag his daughter away but several of the nosy members of the court blocked his escape.
“The Lord Chancellor has ordered ye to stay where ye are,” Wraith said, his voice deadly calm.
Slowly, Baron Claneford turned, recognition plain in his eyes as he viewed Wraith.
“Nay,” he whispered, shaking his head as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Let the lady go,” Wraith demanded. He avoided Faryn’s gaze even though he could feel her eyes penetrating his soul.
“She is not just a lady but my daughter. She ran away from home and her marriage, and I must see that she is guarded. This is no concern of yours.” Baron Claneford’s meager attempt at playing nonchalant was not lost on Wraith.
“But it is my concern. She didna run but was taken. By me. She is mine.”
If possible, Claneford’s face paled even further.
“By ye? How?”
“Let her go. Ye and I have business of our own to attend to.”
“Nay!” Claneford shouted. “Ye’re dead! Your whole family is dead! I saw to it myself!”
“I assure ye, I am here in the flesh.”
With Baron Claneford’s last comment, Wraith saw from the corner of his eye Loftford wave to his men. Several guards surrounded the baron, who was forced to release his daughter.
He shoved her away and the force of the move sent Faryn sprawling forward and knocked a couple of his guards off their steady feet. Wraith lunged to catch Faryn before she hit the floor but at the same time, the baron pulled a dagger from some part of his person. He waved his arm in an arc, the blade aimed at his daughter. Wraith changed his angle and nearly missed the downward plunge of Claneford’s dagger. Faryn fell to the floor in a pile of skirts and wriggled away from the fray. Wraith clicked his ring, flicking his hand in time to leave a gash along the baron’s arm.
The older man screeched in pain and dropped his dagger, reaching instead for his bleeding limb.
The Lord Chancellor’s men took the opportunity to grab Claneford and drag him away.
Wraith stood and held out his hand to Faryn. She stared up at him, confusion in her eyes.
“Forgive me?” he asked.
She nodded silently and took his hand.
“Ye’re not your father. I know ye. I know ye for the innocent and kind-hearted woman ye are. I spoke out of anger.” He pulled her into an embrace, not caring that they had an audience. She sagged against him and the gentle shaking of her shoulders told him she was crying. He had never wanted to hurt her, nor see tears in her eyes, and yet here she was sobbing quietly against his shoulder. He leaned down, kissed her atop her head, and then whispered in her ear.
“Hush now, leannan. Dinna cry. All will be well. We shall be together just as we dreamed of.”
She looked up at him, her eyes watery, her lips red where she’d bitten them. He bent down and
pressed his lips to hers, savoring her taste and her affection.
Against her lips he whispered, “I love ye, Faryn.”
Her voice cracked on a sob with her reply. “I love ye, too.”
“’Lo there.” The Lord Chancellor’s voice cut through their reverie. “Ian, cease manhandling the maiden.”
“Ian?” Faryn asked, pulling away to glance at him quizzically.
Wraith shrugged, a wicked grin curving his lips. He realized they’d never gotten around to him telling her his true name. “’Tis not so dreadful and mysterious as Wraith.”
She chuckled at this. “Nay, but suits ye all the same.”
“My lord,” he said, turning to face the Lord Chancellor, their hands gripped tightly together.
“Might I have your permission to marry this fair maiden?”
Viscount Loftford’s eyes sparkled. “Ye may inquire, Lord Drohgard, and I am happy to give ye my blessing.”
“Lord Drohgard …” Wraith’s voice trailed off.
“Aye, ye have proven your innocence, and I have waited these past years for ye to return to your rightful place. However, there is one condition of my gift.”
Wraith stiffened, lowered his eyes. What could the Lord Chancellor ask? “Aye, my lord.”
Loftford lifted his chin in challenge. “Ye have pirated our shores and taken the innocent. If ye wish to fully receive a pardon, your title, your lands, ye must first retrieve the Irish men and women ye adducted.”
The Lord Chancellor’s demand would be a daunting task. But it was one Wraith was eager to complete, and with Faryn by his side. Orelia kept good records of her human booty, and once he had a hold of where each one was finally taken, he could easily begin retrieving them—which he would relish as he’d never wanted to be a party to such a thing, but his safety had required he be the deliveryman. With the help of his brethren, the Devils of the Deep would see that every man, woman and child were accounted for. ’Twas also a chance to seek vengeance on the pirate queen who’d tormented him.
“My lord, as ye wish.” He bowed before the king and when he rose addressed him once more. “A boon?”
Loftford nodded.
“Might I marry first, so my lady can accompany me on the seas?”
The viscount grinned knowingly. “Och, aye, as soon as possible.”
Wraith too broke out into a grin. Excitement coursed through his veins, for together he and Faryn would travel the world re-abducting those he’d enslaved to others and pirating pirates who would seek their fortunes on the high seas.
E P I L O GU E
Six Months Later
W raith wrapped one strong arm beneath Faryn’s knees and another behind her back and lifted her into the air. He carried her through the door of their cabin aboard The Avenger and toward the bed, where he gently laid her down before covering her with his body.
“We did it, my love,” he whispered, nipping at her lips with his teeth.
Faryn wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer for a kiss. Their mouths connected in an arousing melding of tongue and lips.
“And now we shall sail back to Ireland?” she asked, panting from how his kisses always seemed to take her breath away, make her blood pump hard through her veins and send her body singing.
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps not?”
He chuckled and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Faryn arched her back and tilted her head to the side, allowing him a greater expanse of her flesh to kiss and suck.
“’Tis true we have recaptured the innocent. Thank ye Gods Queen Orelia sold all of them to only a select few. But I thought for us to drop them on an Irish beach before sailing to a remote island, where I might enjoy your body for days on end, until we can both no longer stand, without taking on any further responsibilities.”
His hands traveled over her ribs, down her hips and to her thighs, where he gripped her behind the knees and pulled them up around his waist so he might settle between her legs. His rigid cock pressed against her heat, which was already wet with wanting.
He rocked back and forth against her, sending frissons of desire and need sparkling through her limbs.
“Mmm…aye…” she moaned, arching her back and undulating her hips in time with his.
“Not so fast , leannan. I want to make love to ye all night.”
He stood abruptly and pulled her up with him. The light faded through the porthole, bathing them in an ethereal tranquility. The ship swayed back and forth against the dock. Save for a few men on watch, the rest of the crew and the brethren were in port, no doubt at a tavern or whorehouse, as the captain had given them the night off as thanks for all their hard work.