“Vote if you want. I’m leaving this bloody island.”

My fingers twitched to curl around that bastard’s neck until he soiled his breeches with the stink of fear. I tracked his gait through the cottage, hoping he would stick around long enough to fight me.

The ogre turned toward us and raised the flintlock. “Better move, Miss, or you’ll be eating powder, too.”

He didn’t wait. His fat finger squeezed the trigger. The flint struck the hammer, and nothing sparked. Just as I thought. Not loaded.

Confusion gave the giant pause, and that was our cue.

Ashley and I bounded off the bed.

44

Pulse booming, I yanked off my gag and scanned the floor for a weapon. Gone. All of them. With a savage curse, I whirled, stumbled, and came face to face with Priest. He tossed me his cutlass and slammed a second blade into the giant’s eye socket.

The clang of steel against steel rang out behind me. Ashley was already engaged in battle.

Raising the heavy cutlass, I searched the cottage for my target, didn’t spot Madwulf, but a nasty-looking fellow was scowling right at me. He would do.

We charged at the same time. As he reached me, I ducked, spun, and sliced the blade across his throat, just like my father had taught me. A second spin, however, had me staring down the barrel of a musket.

This pirate laughed like a rabid dog. I would stab him low, right beneath the ribs. But before my arms were in motion, blood sprayed across my chest.

Priest slid his dagger from the man’s throat, leaned over the falling body, and smacked a hard kiss on my lips. “Missed you terribly, my love.”

“Missed you—”

He was already gone, leaping over another corpse and racing toward the last two men standing.

It was Ashley, still wearing his gag and fighting for his life with a honed intensity that stole my breath. He battled a lean, agile blackguard, who refused to go down. They flew at each other with lethal arcs, hacking, chopping, and wielding their blades with savage purpose.

This wasn’t a nobleman’s sport. It was life and death. Sweat beaded Ashley’s brow. Tendons flexed in his forearms. He was fighting the strongest, fastest pirate I’d seen in years and holding his own impressively.

Priest rushed in behind Ashley, who punched out a bare foot and collided with the enemy’s groin. The kick sent the man stumbling, but he remained on his feet. Ashley renewed his attack with Priest at his side.

It was a beautiful thing to watch—the two of them together, thrusting, grunting, and putting those mouthwatering muscles to practical use. Their physiques were so much more than just an indulgence for the female eye. Strong as oxen and skilled with weaponry, together, they were a mighty force to reckon with.