Take Me Forever (7 page)

“Why did you marry me?
 
It’s rather obvious that you didn’t set out for a wife so how did it
happen?
 
Why didn’t you just leave me in
France?”

“I don’t know.
 
I
guess it was your womanly charms,” Cain said as he played with the curls in her
hair.

When Cain left the cabin later to man the ship, Luke asked,
“Captain, are my orders still to return to France and send the ransom note to
the girl’s father?”

“Yes, of course.
 
I
can pretend to ransom her back.
 
Once I
receive the money, I’ll supposedly send her back on a ship during a storm where
she could be assumed drown after being swept overboard.
 
If she regains her memory before then, if I
have tired of her, I will send her home,” Cain responded with a nasty smirk.

“It’s a nasty trick you’re playing Captain.”

“I love a challenge,” Cain said as he grabbed the wheel.

Meanwhile, Mercy paced about the cabin in search of anything
that could aid her in her memory.
 
She
found nothing that looked familiar to her.
 
Her mind raced with possible interpretations about her life.
 
If she was an orphan, what had happened to
her parents and why had no other family come for her.
 
How did she meet Cain and agree to marry a
pirate so quickly?
 
Did she not have any
friends she could have turned to?

The next morning when she awoke, Mercy remembered a dream
she had.
 
It felt so familiar, like she
had dreamt it before.
 
She was on a beach
with flowers and trees surrounding her.
 
A man came to her and made her feel vibrant and alive.
 
He was her soul mate.
 
The man she saw was her husband.
 
She smiled thinking that she was headed for a
life of marital bliss.

Maybe her dream was a sign that she was on the right
path.
 
She knew her memory would come
back eventually.
 
When it did, she was
sure Cain would be a big part of her happiness.
 
She was in good spirits when she decided to go onto the deck in search
of her husband.
 
Before she hobbled to
the door, she wrapped a blanket around her.

Once on the deck, she saw land in the distance.
 
Cain saw her and came to her side.
 
He pointed to the island and told her it was
called Corbin’s Crow.
 
He had discovered
it years ago and made it his home.
 
He
built his fortress from nothing and now it was home to about five hundred
people.
 

“You mean there were no people on the island when you found
it?”

“No, it was completely deserted.
 
I decided it would be the perfect hide-out to
call home.”

“You must lead an exciting and dangerous life as a
pirate.
 
I only hope I’ll meet all of
your expectations,” Mercy told Cain as she looked deeply into his piercing blue
eyes.

“If you don’t, I’ll just pass you off to my men,” Cain
remarked sarcastically.

There was something vaguely familiar about that
statement.
 
She couldn’t put her finger
on it, but she was certain she had heard him say that to her before.
 
Her mind raced as she tried her best to
remember.
 
He caught the perplexed look
upon her face and quickly changed the subject.

“I can’t wait for you to see my home.
 
It took years to get it like it is now, but
it still needs work.
 
My house maid
Elese, takes care of it for me while I am away.
 
I know you will grow fond of her,” Cain said as he left to help his crew
prepare for the landing.

Mercy stood silently on the deck and surveyed the
island.
 
It was her new home and whether
she liked it or not, she would find a way to call it home.
 
Since she could not remember what the
orphanage was like, she would do everything she could to put down roots here.

As they came within a few hundred yards of shore, Mercy saw
people gathering on the sandy beach.
 
Many were women, who were waving to the crew.
 
She assumed they were wives and loved ones of
the men.
 
She heard one woman shouting
above everyone else.
 
It was Cain’s name
she was shouting.

Mercy turned to find Cain to see if he heard the woman
calling out his name.
 
Cain was smiling
and waving to the woman.
 
Mercy assumed
the woman was a girlfriend of Cain’s.
 
She was somewhat jealous, but she was his wife now and was not going to
allow him to sleep with every woman on the island.

She went to her husband’s side
and wrapped her arm in his.
 
She saw the
expression on the woman’s face turn from excitement to shock as she ran off of
the beach and back toward the village.

“I hope I haven’t spoiled
anything with her,” Mercy stated sarcastically as he let loose of Cain’s arm.

“She is an acquaintance of
mine.
 
You are the only woman in my life
now.
 
Come, let me introduce you to my people,”
Cain stated as he led her by the hand down the gangplank and onto the rowboat
that was going to take them ashore.

Once on dry land, Cain announced,
“May I have your attention.
 
Everyone, I
would like for you to meet my new wife.
 
This is Mercedes Corbin.
 
We were
married in France.
 
I know it is quite a
shock to believe I would take a wife, but I am sure you will love her as I
do.
 
On our way home, we encountered a
terrible storm where she was swept overboard.
 
She suffered a head injury and developed amnesia.
 
Please give us some time alone before
visiting.
 
It is my honeymoon after all,”
Cain winked as he worked his way through the crowd with Mercy.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Mercy
whispered to Cain after they were away from the crowd.

“I told you.
 
Now, are ready to see your new home?”

“Yes,” she answered as they
walked along a path.

After they had walked for a short
distance, Mercy saw her new home.
 
It
looked old and weathered on the outside.
 
It was white but some places were gray where the paint had flicked
off.
 
The tropical gardens around it were
in full bloom.
 
It added the perfect
beauty to the house.
 
There was a stone
pathway through the gardens leading to the front door.
 
On the path, they crossed a small bridge
which had a stream running beneath it.
 
They had to sweep away limbs from banana trees as they climbed the steps
to the door.

“Cain, it’s beautiful.
 
I love it,” Mercy said as she gripped her
husband’s hand.

“I’m glad you like it.
 
There is one more thing I must do before we
go inside,” Cain said as he scooped her up and carried her across the
threshold.

He gently placed her down on the
floor and called for Elese.
 
Mercy heard
a pleasant voice answer from the kitchen.
 
The woman who came to greet them was a plump, older woman with kind eyes
and a sweet smile.

“Elese, I want you to meet my
wife.
 
This is Mercedes or Mercy or
short.”

“Your what?”
 
Elese asked shocked.

“It is a pleasure to meet you,”
Mercy said timidly.

“Well, bless my bones.
 
I can’t believe Cain finally did it.
 
It’s about time too,” Elese said as she
hugged Mercy.
 
“No need to be shy around
me, My Lady.
 
You must be tired from your
journey.
 
I will draw you a nice hot bath
so you can refresh and relax before dinner.”

After Elese hurried off to ready
the bath, Cain showed Mercy around the house.
 
It had a large dining room with a fireplace in the center.
 
The halls were beige and decorated with dried
sea life.
 
The kitchen was small and
tidy.
 
The servant quarters were
connected to the kitchen.
 
A spiraled
staircase behind the servant quarters led up to a lookout tower.

“Would you like to see the view
from atop the tower?”
 
Cain asked.

“Yes, but I don’t think I can
climb those stairs on my leg,” Mercy answered.

“No problem,” Cain said as he
began to carry her piggy back up the two hundred steps to the top.

His muscles began to bulge
beneath his trousers as he climbed each step.
 
He was in no physical strain as he carried her.
 
He was physically fit all over.
 
Once they reached the top step, Cain set her
down on her own two feet.

“Well, what do you think?”

“Magnificent,” Mercy answered
without taking her eyes off of Cain.

“I meant the view of the island,”
Cain said as he turned her around so she could see the sea.

“It’s breathtaking,” Mercy
whispered.

When Mercy gazed out across the
island, she saw a splendid wonder.
 
Goats
grazed near a small stream.
 
Colorful
birds filled the tropical fruit trees.
 
Bamboo made huts lined the village.
 
Children played on the sandy white beaches.
 
The ocean water was a beautiful turquoise
with white capped waves.

“I’m pleased that you like it,”
Cain said as he draped an arm around her.

“There’s still more to see.
 
Let’s go down,” Cain said as they descended
the staircase in the same manner as they came up.

On the other wing of the house,
Mercy passed two small rooms that were guest quarters along with a sitting room
and a den.
 
Cain showed her his bedroom
last.
 
It was a large room with the bed in
the center facing glass windows with an ocean view.
 
There was a glass door leading onto a small
covered area just off of the side of the bedroom.
 
She felt a breeze blowing from the open door
as she stepped out onto the patio.
 
She
could smell the salty sea and see the waves crashing onto shore.

Cain wrapped his arms around her
and kissed her gently.
 
She melted in his
arms.
 
His kiss was sweet and demanding
as his tongue swept across her mouth.
 
His hands began exploring her body as he pulled the blanket off of her
and began to remove his tattered shirt from her body.

Slowly, he caressed her breasts
with his hands.
 
His lips soon followed
as he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
 
He stood and removed his clothing while she stared in silence.
 
Her body began to tremble as he climbed on
top of her.
 
He sensed her uneasiness and
rolled to her side.
 
He wrapped his
strong arms around her and pulled her close to him.

“What is it, My Love?”
 
Cain whispered in her ear as he nuzzled it.

“I’m just nervous.
 
I’ve never done this before.
 
I don’t know what to do,” she answered in a whisper
as tears formed in her eyes.

“Shh.
 
Don’t cry.
 
I will teach you.
 
Do you trust
me?”

“Yes.
 
You’re my husband.”

Cain smiled as those words left
her lips.
 
Perhaps he should really marry
her, and if her memory did come back it would be too late to do anything about
it.
 
It was the perfect plan.
 
He didn’t need her ransom money.
 
In fact, no amount of money could convince
him to let Mercy go.
 

“Mercy, I have an idea.
 
It might help you regain your memory.
 
Since you don’t remember marrying me, how about
we do it again right here on the island?
 
I know my people would want to attend.
 
I can wait a few more days before we consummate our marriage,” Cain
smiled as he put his devious plan into action.
 
Genius!

“Cain, that’s perfect.
 
Can we do that?
 
Get married again I mean?

“Sure.
 
Since your memories were swallowed up by the
sea, I don’t see why we can’t do it again,” he lied.

As they were talking about when
and where to get married again, Elese interrupted them and told Mercy her bath
was ready.
 
When she saw Cain and Mercy
lying on the bed naked, her face reddened and she apologized for the intrusion.

“Next time, I’ll remember to lock
the door,” Cain said as he put on his trousers.

Mercy wrapped the blanket around
her and headed to her bath.
 
When Cain saw
Mercy wrap herself in the blanket he remembered she didn’t have any
clothes.
 
While she was taking a bath,
Cain decided to go into the village to find her something to wear.

He found the seamstress shop and
told the seamstress that he needed to purchase some clothing for Mercy.