Disclaimer: The usual.

Finally! The end is nigh! Well, I hope it turned out well. It took quite a bit of re-writing and…uh…total lack of updating. Eheh. Anyway, short and with possibilities for another, if I ever get around to it. Enjoy!

An hour past dawn found Kat awake and on deck. All her jewels and face paint were gone, and her hair taken down from its elaborate coif and rebraided in one long, simple plait down her back. She walked a little stiffly, after having endured the restriction of a corset for the past few days—one that had pressed and rubbed her back raw enough to make any kind of movement uncomfortable. At the end of the deck, sitting on a rail and gripping a length of rigging, was Laurent; he looked out at the sea, and didn't see her until she was near.

"It looks to be a fair wind," the Barracuda said. "We'll have smooth sailing for a day at least."

Kat smiled a little and leaned against the rail next to him. "And where will that be to, Captain?" she asked.

He glanced down at her, then swung his feet over the rail and slid to the deck. Leaning his back against the rail, he met her eyes with a steady gray-blue gaze. "To wherever I choose. That's a pirate's life, Contessa—without bounds or bonds to hold you back."

Her mouth quirked. "I don't know why you insist on calling me that. I'm not a Contessa anymore—just Kat."

Laurent nodded. "All right—Kat it shall be. I told you last night that we would discuss your future in the morning. So, what will you do now that you are free to choose for yourself, Kat?"

She took a deep breath of the cool, salty air, then another. "I want to sail," she said finally. "I love the sea, and being on a ship. If I went to Tortuga, I imagine I could find a vessel to take me on." Kat looked down the rail at the deck, where a few of the pirates were just starting their work, adjusting rigging and sails. "I suppose I don't have a plan beyond that. I wasn't raised to this life; I don't know if I can survive it. But I will try."

A hand came to rest against her cheek, and she looked up, startled. "Stay on the Barracuda," Laurent said. His voice was soft, and there was a look in his eyes that she had only seen once before—in his cabin, after the affair at the tavern in Tortuga.

Kat's mouth forced itself into a smile to cover the surprise she felt. "Here? Haven't I caused you enough trouble, Señor Barracuda? Why risk having to deal with the displeasure of my family as well as the Spanish Crown? They're likely to send hunters out after me, when they hear what's happened to the Viceroy. That would be a whole new threat to you and your crew. You'd do better to be rid of me, if it came to that."

Laurent didn't move his hand. His eyes had softened, crinkling at the corners as they did when he was amused. "Ah, but perhaps I don't wish to be rid of you, Kat," he said gently. "Did you ever think of that?"

Before she could move, or think to do anything, his lips brushed hers in a soft kiss. A delicious shiver ran through her when he deepened it and slid his hand around the nape of her neck. Her eyes closed, and a burning warmth seemed to spread through her. Laurent broke the kiss, but left his hand where it was and slid the other around her waist to pull her closer. His eyes had a mischievous glint in them as he said, "Can I persuade you to stay?"

Her thoughts were impossibly jumbled, and her pulse pounded in her ears. This had been the other reason he'd kept her on board, the unspoken "perhaps". He had more than taken a liking to her—and, she realized, his feelings did not go unreturned. "I'm dangerous goods, even for a pirate," she said, smiling slowly. "Are you sure you're willing to take those risks?"

For an answer, Laurent bent to kiss her once more. They were both out of breath when the kiss was done, but Laurent recovered quickly and said, "Sail with me as my wife, Katarina, and you would make me very happy."

"Your wife?" She still smiled, but there was a certain firmness in her voice when she spoke again. "Laurent, I just escaped marriage. I never wanted it, not to Alvarado, not to anyone. I'm not ready yet for that kind of bond." She gently disengaged his hands, but didn't push him away. "I love you, Laurent Van Horn, but you'll have to give me time."

For the barest moment, his eyes were sad, but the impression was fleeting. When he reached up to stroke her hair, his touch was all tenderness. "I'll respect that. But you will stay?"

Kat laughed. "Of course. Though I ought to trounce you, Señor Barracuda, for calling me Katarina. I thought we had an understanding." She hooked the dagger out of his belt, tapped him with the point, then spun away, balancing the blade on end at the tips of her fingers. Completing the trick she'd learned from the old guardsman at her home in Mexico, she flipped the dagger into the air, where it flashed in the early morning sun. Chuckling, Laurent plucked it out of the air as it spun toward the deck. "The day you trounce me, my dear, will be the day I'm not fit to command the Barracuda," he said, shaking the blade at her.

She arched an eyebrow. "You'd best watch yourself then, Laurent. We exiled nobles can be tricky."

Laurent laughed heartily at that. "Enough! To the helm with you, Contessa. If you're to earn your keep on this ship, you're going to learn everything there is to know about sailing her."

"Aye aye, Captain," she replied with a salute. Kat let him lead her down the deck to the ship's wheel. Once she'd taken hold of the smooth wooden grips, he stood behind her, his hands over her own. His presence felt more comfortable, more natural than anything she had known before. She closed her eyes, savoring her freedom, her luck, and the possibilities that lay ahead. They all combined into a heady mix that she could almost taste on the sea air, and she knew that she'd finally found her place.

Then she looked up at Laurent with an exultant grin. "All right, Laurent. Set the course, and be sure it heads us for adventure."