Page 66 of The Worst of Them

Before Cecily could close her jaw from the shock of Fay’s declaration, Fay had drifted over to the officer to let him kiss her hand.

“Shall I tell you all about the new governor’s new security?” Hein asked the others. “Or would you prefer to wait for Jack?”

“Jack shouldn’t be long,” Frederick said, glancing down the rocky, wooded hill.

“Wonderful.” Hein’s gaze moved back to Cecily, and he gave a heart-stopping smile. “Sit with me, Miss…?”

“Shoard.” Her voice came soft and light, though she couldn’t conceal the slightest cutting edge. Hein wouldn’t mind, however, when his eyes were filled with conquest.

She didn’t intend to be conquered, but perhaps she would indulge him. Once, she had been too demure to entertain the young men in her village. Now that she had strengthened her armor, the thought of playing with Hein, of allying herself with a fellow beast, was oddly alluring, if not fun.

Maybe it would be a good distraction from what Jack had done to her, and for that, she couldn’t resist.

“A lovely name,” he said, like it was indeed the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard. He crossed to her, and in a single, languid movement, settled onto a low, flat rock big enough for two. She took the spot next to him while the others spaced themselves around the small clearing, chatting quietly.

“Yours is rather interesting,” she said. “Hector is Spanish and Hein is…?”

He regarded her with an unapologetically direct gaze. He was picking her apart, searching for something to use for his own gain, only he made it look a lot like interest.

Cecily mirrored his look, and Hein released a low chuckle. “Austrian,” he finally said. “My father gave me my last name, my mother my first. She kept me in Spain, but I am only half-loyal to half my bloodline.” He gestured to the others. “As you can see.”

She braced her arm on the rock behind her, leaning away so she could see him more fully. She had never played this kind of game before, and she wondered if his proximity might help her remember how to be frigidly unfeeling once again.

“An officer who keeps company with pirates,” she said. “I’m intrigued.”

“It’s intriguing so long as I’m not caught.” Hein’s eyes drifted to her mouth before lifting again. “Which is half the excitement, I suppose. And why I keep doing it.”

“He’ll be a pirate too, someday,” Maria said, pointing at Hein from where she sat on a rock next to Fay. “We’re slowly convincing him.”

“You’ve already convinced me,” he replied without looking away from Cecily. “I’m only biding my time.”

“Bide it faster,” Maria said. “It’s annoying to see you in such fine clothes.”

He lifted a shoulder, a smile playing on his lips. “I could take them off.”

Frederick stopped pacing along the edge of the cliff to glare at the officer. “Watch it.”

Hein placed a hand over his heart. “My sincerest apologies, Frederick.”

“You still ought to dress finely when you’re a pirate,” Cecily said, eyeing Hein’s uniform. “Not nearly enough of them do, from what I’ve seen.”

He gave her a similar once-over. “You do.”

“Only since today,” she told him. “You should’ve seen me twelve hours ago.”

“Then I must have a truly abysmal mind,” Hein said, his words like honey, “because I can’t imagine you any less beautiful in any circumstance.”

He said it so smoothly that Cecily nearly believed he meant it. But regardless of whether he was honest, she began to laugh rather merrily—and so hard, in fact, that the sound of it surprised her because it had been a long time since she’d found anything so funny. It felt good to laugh. It made her glad.

And then Jack appeared at the head of the path.

It couldn’t have been any more perfect if she’d planned it. His gaze locked on her, noting her laughter and the handsome officer next to her. His eyes swept over her once, twice, then dipped to her waist where her vest narrowed above her hips.

She knew what he saw. What had once been a moderately lovely, rather dirty snipe in baggy clothes was now a formidable woman clad in beauty, her anger presented as strength and confidence.

She hoped she was devastating. She hoped he wanted her, and hoped it hurt that he knew he couldn’t have her.

His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. His fingers curled into fists for the span of a breath before he relaxed them.