and crowded Blackbeard out of the way. “I too am very rich.
Additionally, I’m much more refined than this scalawag. As to the rest, I
will let you draw your own conclusions, my lady.” As he finished, he
strategically tucked his thumbs into the waistband of his velvet britches,
bringing attention to the bulge in his trousers.
The Quartermaster was long gone, having fled shortly after shoving
Joanna into the stateroom. Joanna rubbed her head as it was beginning
to pound incessantly.
Really? Not one-- but two horny pirate ghosts! Joanna stifled a chuckle by
turning it into a groan. God, Royce would never let her hear the end of this. That
is, after he got over being pissed that she had boarded a ghost ship alone in the first
place.
“Please. Sit down my lady,” Stede insisted as he grasped her elbow to
guide her to a large table dominating the room. “May I get you some
sort of refreshment, something to eat or drink?”
“Um-- I’ll stand. Thank you. I’m not hungry, but I could use a drink,”
Joanna said, casting a wary glance toward the assortment of bottles and
glasses lining the table.
Blackbeard scrambled to direct Joanna’s attention back toward him.
“Allow me to pour for you,” he proposed grandly, already splashing grog
into a mug for her. He winked broadly as he wrapped her fingers around
the mug full of dark liquid.
Joanna eyed both pirates suspiciously. They each grabbed a mug
and poured themselves a drink from the same bottle. Stede and
Blackbeard crashed their mugs mightily together in a silent salute, took a
deep swallow, and then held their mugs high in her direction. Ok, maybe it was safe to drink? Trying not to think about how many
hundred years the refreshment had been on board this ship, she lifted
her mug to salute them with a gentler bump. “To new friends,” Joanna
toasted before drawing in a healthy mouthful of the liquid. Oh, God! Room temperature grog flowed over her taste buds.
Joanna felt tears sting her eyes and try as she might; she just could not
bring herself to swallow. Reflex and self-preservation overtook good
manners…Joanna could not help herself; she spit the disgusting muck
back into the mug.
“What-the hell-- is that foul tasting mess?” she asked scrubbing her
tongue on her hand. She desperately searched the room for something
to clean her mouth with. They evidently didn’t stock bar napkins on pirate
ships.
“You idiot,” Stede said reprimanding Blackbeard. “She is obviously
too delicate for the potency of grog,” he observed, snatching the mug
of regurgitated liquid from Joanna.
“Please accept my apologies, beauty,” Stede beseeched. Nodding
toward Blackbeard, he observed, “He obviously left his brain in the
grave. Not,” he continued in a loud whisper, “that he was all that
smart to begin with.”
“Grog?” Joanna croaked, “What the hell is grog… and is it fatal?” “No, my lady, ‘tis nothing harmful. Just a refreshing bit of fire.” “You’ve obviously never heard of a skip-and-go-naked or sex-on-thebeach,” Joanna complained, shivering a little. Talk about an after-taste. Both men began to chuckle, eyeing her with great interest. She was
going to be a fine shipmate for one of them. She was beautiful and full
of enthusiasm.
“We will, no doubt, have to duel for her,” Blackbeard announced to
Stede wearing a bemused expression. “Pistols at dawn?” he suggested. Ok, enough is-- too much! Joanna decided it was time to get some
answers. She took a moment to pull herself together by finger
combing her hair and smoothing her shorts. She was desperately
wishing for a mirror, her favorite tube of lipstick, oh… and a breath
mint.
Joanna took a deep breath as she prepared to dive into the Where’s
and What For’s. Both pirates’ eyes immediately dropped to her breasts
and intently watched as they expanded with her indrawn breath. WTF? She felt a static-electric sizzling feeling engulf her and fought to control the surge of anger. These two idiots would not understand a sparking
Witch.
“Excuse me, boys,” Joanna gritted between clinched teeth. Bending
her knees to put her face in their line of vision, she pointed out, “My
eyes are up here.”
Blackbeard sighed. “Ah, but you have such lovely--”
“Stop right there!” Joanna interrupted. She spied a coverlet draped
over the foot of the bed. She snatched up the piece of cloth and
wrapped it securely around her shoulders.
Distractions concealed, she began, “If you would have a seat,
gentlemen,” she said gesturing toward two of the uncomfortable looking
chairs surrounding the massive table. “I have some questions. I would
appreciate honesty from you both,” she insisted as she aimed an I-meanbusiness look toward both men.
“Now, as I started to say--” Joanna began, only to be interrupted as a
knock sounded on the door to the stateroom. This knock sounded more
frantic in nature than