“And you’re not?”
He shrugged.
“I never saw the need to kill a dragon,” he told her. “I never saw the need to kill something bigger than me to feel better about myself.”
She thought about what he had said as they continued past the island. Once the dragon saw that they had no intention of landing on its beach or attacking its kind, he stopped blowing fire and instead landed on the beach. As Julianne watched, the dragon grew smaller and smaller until it eventually reached the size of an ordinary man.
And it was an ordinary man.
A shifter?
She had never seen one, though she had heard stories of such creatures. Julianne looked back to Wade, but he just shrugged, as if watching a monstrous creature turn into a real-life man was an everyday event.
Then he wrapped his arms around her and held her as they continued on their journey.
19
The ship made port the next morning at Frux. Most of the men left the ship t
o find temporary companionship, including Nelson. Julianne raised her eyebrows when she saw her brother leave with the other men, but said nothing. Nelson was a grown man. If he wanted to pay for it, that was his right. It’s not like Julianne had any room to talk. She was exchanging sex for room and board on The Dark Lovely, after all. Oh, she wanted to think it was more than that.
There was something she’d learned since joining the band of pirates, though. Julianne had discovered that there was a fierce loyalty to the ship, to the crew, to one another. Nelson and Wade would do anything for The Dark Lovely, and Julianne wondered what would happen to her if she got in the way of that somehow.
There would come a day when she wanted more than the ship could offer.
There would be a time when she wanted a family, a life, a home.
She knew Wade would not give up his dreams of piracy for her simply because she felt like having babies and planting a garden.
That was not a pirate’s way.
“Let’s go,” Wade guided her off the ship. She followed him quietly into the town and down the main road. She knew that Buck would be in these stores, buying food and supplies for the next part of the journey, and there were a few things that Wade needed to buy, too.
But Julianne couldn’t help eyeing the beautiful dresses and shoes in the windows. She couldn’t help watching the other women here, both the ones who were whores and the ones who were not. They were all so beautiful.
She thought, for just a moment, about what her life would be like if she had chosen to follow the path her parents laid out for her. She would be married, certainly, but would she feel the way she did now?
Would she feel as free as she did riding The Dark Lovely with Wade?
Somehow, Julianne knew without a doubt she would not. Even if she hadn’t married Vince, even if her husband had been some other man, he wouldn’t make her feel the way the Saucy Devil did.
He wouldn’t show her the freedom the seas offered.
He wouldn’t offer her adventure and intrigue.
He certainly wouldn’t pin her down and make her beg for his cock.
Despite the hint of danger, there was something about Wade that made her feel safe and certain. He was a pirate, but somehow, Julianne thought of him as her pirate, and that wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
“I need to go speak with someone,” Wade told Julianne quietly. Her eyes darted to his. Was he leaving her alone in Frux? She would be okay, she knew. Frux was not one of the wildest places to stop, especially for a day or two, but still, she would like to stay with Wade.
As if reading her mind, he chuckled quietly.
“Very well,” he said. “You may come along, but you need to know something.” Julianne nodded, waiting for him to continue. “This is not a peaceful visit. I'm not stopping by to visit an old friend. I'm seeking information that will ensure the safety of my crew on this journey.”
“What makes you think he'll give you what you want to know?” She asked. “If he's so bad, I mean. Why would this guy just tell you?”
He held out a small necklace that had been hidden in his pocket. She recognized it as one of the treasures he had plundered just the other day. He had taken it from the ship where he’d nearly been killed. It was the day he’d come back covered in blood that was not his own.