Full Steam Ahead (23 page)

All too soon, however, Darius gentled his kiss. The desperation eased and sanity returned. He dropped tiny kisses along her jaw, then her forehead, then a final touch to her mouth.

“Two minds are better than one,” he murmured in her ear. “In scientific inquiries . . . and in more personal matters.”

Nicole stiffened slightly. He must have felt it, for he reached for her hands and held them as if afraid she would bolt.

“It’s time to let me in, sweetheart. Let me help. We can solve this dilemma together. I know we can.”

But she’d already solved it. Just not in the way Darius approved. Truth be told, she didn’t approve of it, either, but there was no other option. Was there? Could there possibly be something she’d overlooked?

She twisted toward him, wanting so badly to hope—to believe they
could
find a way. “I-I don’t know where to begin.”

Darius smiled and stroked the back of her hands with his thumbs. “Why don’t you start with the Lafitte Dagger?”

D
arius studied the woman at his side, attuned to her every movement, her every breath. How could he not be after that kiss? The way she’d buried her fingers in his hair and clung to him had left him shaking. Yet it wasn’t her reaction to his kiss, delightful as it had been, that had him focusing on her now. No, it was her reaction to his words.

“You know about the dagger?” Her voice wobbled slightly. Nicole looked down and shifted in her seat, but she didn’t tug her hands free of his grasp. A good sign. He hoped.

“And Renard Shipping.” Darius caressed her fingers as he spoke, trying to ease the tension that radiated down her arms and into her hands. “You are the daughter of Anton Renard, aren’t you?”

He’d been careful to keep his tone void of accusation, but still her head jerked up like a frightened hare, her eyes darting about as if looking for a way to flee. Darius gripped her hand tighter, unwilling to allow her escape.

“Your name doesn’t matter, sweetheart. I know the truth of who you are. You are kind and loyal and more intelli
gent than most of the men of my acquaintance. You are the woman I love.”

“Darius, I . . .” Moisture shimmered in her eyes, giving them a luster that only made them more beautiful. “I never wanted to deceive you. But it was as much for your protection as mine. I couldn’t risk someone discovering my identity and bringing trouble to your door. You don’t understand what these men are capable of.”

“Carson Jenkins and his sons, you mean?”

She reared back. “You know about the Jenkins family?”

Darius eased his grip on her fingers and resumed stroking the soft skin along the back of her hand in what he hoped were soothing motions. “Only that they are your father’s main competitors for the Galveston shipping routes and that there is some bad blood between them and the Renards. Something having to do with the Lafitte Dagger.”

He paused, his gaze meeting hers. “You have it with you, don’t you, Nicole? It’s the gift you mentioned as part of your dowry, the one intended for your . . . the heir.” Darius couldn’t bring himself to say
husband
. Not when referring to a man other than himself. “That’s why Jenkins sent men after you. He wants the dagger.”

She nodded shakily. “He’s been after it for years. Claims the dagger belongs to his family, not the Renards.” Her chin jutted out, and a spark of fire ignited in her golden-brown eyes.

“Jenkins insists that the dagger was bequeathed to his uncle back in ’21 when Lafitte left Galveston. He says my grandfather stole it. Complete nonsense, of course. His uncle never even served with Lafitte. He was simply one of the many smugglers who took advantage of the loose slaving regulations to make his fortune. My grandfather, on the other hand, worked for Lafitte at the Maison Rouge headquarters
and saved the pirate’s life when he took a bullet meant for him. It was for that act of courage that the dagger was bestowed.”

In her agitation, Nicole pulled her hands free from his grasp and fisted them. “Unfortunately, there is no documented evidence beyond a note in a doctor’s log regarding Henri Renard’s injury to dispute Jenkins’s claim. But it’s more proof than Jenkins has ever produced to substantiate
his
story. Which is probably why the sheriff in Galveston never chose to get involved. He figured that since the dagger was in the Renard family’s possession and no one could offer proof that it didn’t belong there, he had no cause to interfere. Made Jenkins furious, especially since the man is related to him by marriage. Through a cousin, I think.”

Darius digested the information as she rattled it off, his jaw growing increasingly tight. Feuds rarely fostered an atmosphere conducive to reason. High emotion, adamant demands, the rationalizing of unjustifiable actions as acceptable if they produced the desired results. It was fanaticism. And Nicole was stuck right in the middle of it.

“He envies my father’s success,” she continued, frown lines creasing her brow as she spoke of Jenkins. “He’s convinced that success would be his if
he
possessed the dagger. The fool. Hard work, integrity, and intelligent investing earned my family their success, not some mystical dagger.”

“If that’s how your family feels, why not just give the thing to Jenkins and be done with it?”

Nicole fidgeted in her chair, her dark lashes shuttering her eyes as her attention fell once again to her lap. “Because not everyone in my family feels that way.”

Her chest heaved as she sighed, her breath so heavy he could feel the movement of air across the backs of his hands where they rested on his knees. Darius held his tongue, some
instinct warning him from probing further until she was ready.

Finally her eyes met his. “I know it sounds crazy, but my father treasures the Lafitte Dagger above all other possessions. It’s more than a family heirloom—it’s the Renard family legacy. Irreplaceable. Meant to be handed down from father to son for generations. Giving it up to Jenkins would be tantamount to . . . to forfeiting every penny of the inheritance my father has built up for his heir—giving it to his enemy.”

She bit her lip and turned her face away. He reached for her hand, gently pried open the fisted fingers, and slid his palm next to hers. Intertwining their fingers, he lifted her knuckles to his mouth and kissed them.
You’re not alone
, he tried to communicate each time his lips touched her skin.
Let me share
your burden.

Her face swiveled back, her gaze fixed on their interlocked hands still raised to his mouth.

“I-I don’t know if Papa truly believes his business will suffer if the dagger is lost to him or if it’s just a matter of family pride, but I can’t disappoint him, Darius. I can’t. It’s bad enough that I’m not the son he would have preferred. If I cost him the dagger, too—”

“Hush.” Darius cupped his free hand around her cheek, forcing her to look at him. “No one’s going to cost him anything. I promise. All right?”

She hesitated, then gave a tiny nod.

“Good.” Darius had to make a conscious effort to keep his touch gentle, a challenge when he wanted nothing more than to pound his fists into the table in front of him. How could a man be blessed with a daughter like Nicole and not find her sufficient? Fiercely loyal, keenly intelligent, poised,
beautiful, and brave enough to face down exploding boilers. In his estimation, the woman was worth more than any pirate dagger, no matter who had owned it.

Slowly, he dropped his hand from her face and leaned back in his chair. He maintained his hold on her hand, however, as he delicately pressed for more information. “So, what transpired to escalate things?” Her fingers twitched against his. “I assume something must have frightened your father quite severely or he never would have conceived this scheme to secure an heir.” What sane man would put his only child, his daughter, in danger if he wasn’t desperate?

“Will and Fletcher Jenkins broke into our home, held my parents at gunpoint, and threatened my mother.”

The stark simplicity of the statement slammed into him like an unmanned sailing boom swinging into his midsection without warning. He felt as if all the air had suddenly pushed from his lungs.

“And these are the men who are looking for you?” No wonder she carried a knife strapped to her thigh. But what good would one little knife do against two grown men armed with pistols? He prayed God would never let them find out.

“They threatened to break my mother’s fingers if Papa didn’t tell them where the dagger was.”

Break her mother’s . . . Darius clenched his jaw. He wasn’t letting those fiends anywhere near Nicole. He’d ship her off to New York if he had to. His parents would take her in, protect her. But she’d never leave her father, and her father would never leave his company. Which left Nicole in harm’s way.

“That’s why I took the dagger,” Nicole explained, only making Darius’s jaw clench tighter. “I had to lure Jenkins away from my family. They weren’t safe even in their own home. Papa argued it was too dangerous—”

“And he was right!” Had the woman no care for her personal safety? “Blast it all, Nicole. You shouldn’t take such risks.”

She stiffened, her brow arching. “Because I’m a woman? Incapable of looking after myself?”

Darius arched his own brow and glared. “No, you wretched girl. Because you’re worth more than a thousand blasted pirate daggers, and no one in their right mind would wager a fifty-dollar gold piece for the chance to win back a nickel.”

Her eyes widened as if the idea had never even occurred to her, which only served to aggravate him further. Darius shoved to his feet and paced the length of the table.

Maybe he could buy Jenkins off, bribe him to move his business to another port. But what guarantee would he have that the man wouldn’t simply take his money and then resume his hunt for the dagger?

A lawman. Darius seized upon the idea. The sheriff in Galveston might not have been willing to get involved in the feud, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t approach another. Especially if an innocent woman’s life was at stake. Sheriff Davenport in Liberty seemed an honorable man. He’d handled the situation with Jacob in a reasonable manner and didn’t seem the type to shy away from a fight.

“We should notify the sheriff in Liberty.” Darius squared his shoulders, readying himself for her protests.

“Is he trustworthy?”

It wasn’t a protest, Darius supposed, but judging by her frown and the way she was shrinking back against her chair, it didn’t qualify as agreement, either. “I haven’t had much interaction with him—outside of the situation with Jacob—but the man is well respected. I heard Sam Houston himself recommended him for office.”

Her brows peaked. “Well, that’s certainly a ringing endorsement. It’s just . . .” She sighed. “The more people who know about my connection to the dagger, the greater the chance that information will slip out and lead Will and Fletcher to Oakhaven. I don’t want to risk anyone here getting caught in the middle. If the Wellborns or Jacob were hurt because of me . . .”

Her words fell away, and she suddenly surged to her feet before him, her right palm pressing against the wall of his chest. “Darius, if something happened to
you
, I’d never forgive myself.”

His heart rate tripled. He looked into her face, memorizing every curve and line, each facet eminently precious. “How do you think I’d feel if something happened to you?” he rasped out. “Nicole, I love you, and I swear that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.”

“Oh, Darius.” The whispered words skimmed over his skin in a feather-soft touch, raising his senses into keen awareness. Her eyes glowed with a sad, inner light even as her lips curved upward. “I love you, too. I tried so hard not to, knowing I had to move on to New Orleans in order to fulfill my vow to my father. But it was no use. My heart ignored all logic and dove right into your hands.”

“And I’ll never let it go,” he declared fiercely as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into his arms. “Never.”

He kissed her then the way he’d wanted to earlier. Fully. Branding her as his. Leaving no room for her to consider any other man as her husband. He’d restrained himself before, not wanting to frighten her, not sure of her feelings, wanting only to convince her of his. Yet now, with her declaration of love still vibrating in his ears, he released the reins and kissed her with all the passion raging in his heart.

His hands moved over her back, searching out the small arch above her waist, then using it to pull her closer to him. Her palms came up between them, burrowing beneath his suit coat. The feel of her fingers splayed against his chest sent tremors through him. His lips left her mouth to trail tiny kisses along her neck, and when her head fell back to give him better access, a tiny growl of satisfaction rumbled in his throat.

She was his. Nicole belonged to him and he to her. God had brought them together, and he’d see to it that no man put them asunder. No New Orleans dandy, no Jenkins brigand, not even her father.

He worked his way back up her throat to her jaw, her ear, then reclaimed her mouth. Her lips met his with equal fervor. Her hands climbed from his chest to his shoulders and then to his nape. Her fingers tangled in his hair, sending a wave of delightful shivers coursing through him. She rose up on tiptoes, and her hands came around to frame his face, holding him to her as she returned his kiss.

As if he would pull away, he mentally scoffed.

But then he did, for he felt her withdraw, felt her mouth ease back, her body shift as her feet returned fully to the floor. Thankfully she didn’t try to step out of his arms. He doubted he would have been physically capable of releasing her at that particular moment. Instead, she rested the side of her face against his chest. The top of her head brushed the edge of his jaw, and the perfection of the fit made him smile. He closed his eyes, his ragged breaths loud in his ears as he stroked her arm.

“Oh, Darius,” she said, despair lacing her passion-thickened voice. “What are we going to do?”

His arms tightened around her. “We’re going to find our
way through this. Together.” He leaned his cheek against her hair. “Tomorrow I’ll visit with Sheriff Davenport. I’ll not mention the dagger, only that two men are hunting for you. If you’ll write out their names and descriptions, I’ll pass that information along so he can be on the lookout for them. He won’t be able to arrest them based on suspicion, but he can send word to us if they are spotted. Maybe even send a deputy or two to help defend against them.”

“But what about my father? We can’t just hide out here forever. He’s not long for this world, Darius. He needs an heir.”

“I’ll be his blasted heir.” Darius winced. That hadn’t come out the way he’d intended. “What I meant to say is that I can escort you home, present myself to your father, and officially ask for your hand. I may not have the extensive connections in New Orleans that your father might wish, but I know shipping. I can be an asset.”

Nicole lifted her head from his chest and glared up at him. “Don’t you think I haven’t already thought of that? But he needs someone who can take the helm right away, not a businessman used to keeping books, no matter how quick a study you are. Just because you understand the mechanics of steam engines and can take apart boilers with your eyes closed, that doesn’t mean you know shipping.”