by Tamara Gill
“Ah, but it was not in this context.”
“You are only seeing me like this now because you wish it?”
“Perhaps, but then, I fully believe there is a part of you that wishes it as well.” A rumble of laughter cut the silence. “You’re a creature of high emotion, and you don’t hide it well.”
Sarah’s cheeks blazed. Answering warmth blossomed through her body, culminating in her core. “As much as I hate to agree with you, especially on this point, you are correct. I’m curious and a bit excited.” She eyed his length again. “And somewhat intimidated.”
“I’m happy to hear it.” He joined her on the bed. “I’ll teach you an outlet with which you can direct your stronger emotions.”
“Instead of attempting to kill you?”
“Since you haven’t tried to do that yet today, let’s say instead of attempting to boss me.”
“Agreed.” She gulped as he settled his much larger, harder body on top of hers, resting the bulk of his weight on his arms.
“That would result in a nice change of pace.” He claimed her lips, moving on her mouth with a gentle grace that belied her earlier dealings with him.
Sarah surrendered to the kiss. How could she not? He nibbled her lips, not demanding her acquiescence, only gaining an acquaintance. Growing bolder once she’d acclimated to the sensations of his mouth as it caressed hers, of his hands as they stroked along her sides, of his weight pressing her into the mattress, she mimicked his movements. When he drew his tongue along the seam of her lips, she parted them, inviting him inside, longing for greater intimacy despite their disparate stations aboard the ship. All of the previous ugliness was forgotten as silky heat stroked her tongue. She hesitated, not understanding what he was about, but he thrust his tongue inside once more, fitting his mouth more resolutely over hers.
She slid her palms over his arms, tracing the outline of his biceps with her fingers, and then continued upward until she held his face between her hands. His short whiskers rasped her skin and sent ripples of arousal through her body. The undeniable masculine feel of his strength, the earthy scent of him overwhelmed her senses and encouraged her onward. Sarah fenced with his tongue, went so far as to explore other parts of his mouth before returning to the task of perfecting such a kiss. She’d never known a mere joining of lips could bring such eroticism or breathless excitement nor make her body yearn for his touch.
Adrian lifted his head and held her gaze, his as storm-tossed as the seas. “That is only the beginning of the things I’ll tutor you in. You’re a quick learner for a virgin.”
A tentative grin curved her lips as she stared into his face. She eased her fingertips along his forehead, brushed at the lock of hair falling over an eyebrow then stroked his stubble-covered jaw. “If the lessons are as in-depth as your kiss, I am sure I’ll quite enjoy them.”
His answer didn’t come in words. Instead, he trailed his lips down the column of her throat and nuzzled the spot where her collarbones met. The scrape of his whiskers brought heightened sensitivity. His tongue lapping over her skin sent flutters through her body. The caress of his hands seemingly everywhere on her person made her drown in foreign sensation she struggled to name. Need simmered just below the surface.
Sarah relaxed into his care while he kissed and nipped her skin. He didn’t seem in any hurry to complete the deed. She appreciated the consideration. Contented warmth flowed around her, weaving a pleasant cocoon. She kneaded his shoulders then shifted and threaded her fingers through his hair. If he continued his soothing attention, she might fall asleep—
Oh, dear heavens!
All thoughts of slumber fled as Adrian’s mouth found one of her nipples. Hot desire coursed through her veins. When he flicked the hardened bud with his tongue, the feelings intensified, shooting tingles straight into her heated nether region. She dropped her hands to his shoulders and dug in her nails. “Adrian.”
He switched his attention to her other breast, giving it the same treatment. Sarah arched her back, pushing her nipple deeper for his ravishment. It was heaven, what he did to her. Now she understood why her father hadn’t wished her to mingle at parties with gentlemen. Had she had even a tiny clue what pleasure could be sought her life might have been far different.
Adrian dragged his mouth up to hers, reintroducing her to the wonders of intimate kissing. All other musings fled. More urgent this time, he demanded her permission, asked that she surrender immediately with the forceful thrusts of his tongue. She clung to him, unable to summon resistance even if she’d wanted to. And resisting him was the last thing she wished to do when his every touch sent her crashing along an unknown path full of dark promise. She held him tighter, silently pleading for more as she matched his every movement.
A groan from him signaled a change in the seduction. He smoothed his hands over her body, caressing her skin until she was in a frenzy of need and desire. She gasped when he kneaded her breasts. He rolled the distended nipples between his thumbs and forefingers, his touch gentle, his calloused palms against her skin adding exquisite sensation. She panted her enjoyment as his mouth replaced his hands in favor of skimming his fingers over her abdomen and then lower to brush the curls at the apex of her thighs. Her breath stilled. He parted her legs with a knee. She squirmed and his fingers lightly teased the curls covering her sex. What did he intend? She remembered his touch in the carriage. Would he repeat that action or introduce her to something even better?
He moved lower, through her wet folds to trace her opening. In the space of a heartbeat, he dipped one digit inside her channel. When he pumped in and out, Sarah moaned at the delightful friction, the decadent feeling of being violated by him. What would it be like when his member replaced his finger? “Adrian, I need…” What did she need? Desire clawed at her insides; it coiled low in her belly to get free, be released into what she had no idea.
“Aye, I know what you need.” He withdrew his finger.
Sarah regretted the loss of his attention. “Don’t go.”
“I have no plans to right now.” He lifted slightly off her and took his member in his hand. “You want this.” He guided the head against her swollen nub.
“Yes.” A host of tingles fell through her lower body. Would he do that again?
“In this you and I are of one accord.” Adrian released his shaft and resettled on top of her. “You desperately need it, I’d wager.” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, hard and without mercy, bruising her lips much like the man she’d first met in that St. Augustine carriage.
She gripped his upper arms and prayed the act wouldn’t hurt as much as the girls at school whispered about. When he entered her in one powerful thrust, she dug her nails into his flesh as a flash of pain seared across her consciousness. Heat burned through her insides. His penetration had torn through her maidenhead with no warning. A quick inhalation preceded a cry, but he claimed her mouth again, gently soothing away her anxiety and pain, the kiss no longer forceful. By increments she nudged him, wriggling underneath his body, taking him in while his rigid member stretched her until he was sheathed as far as he could go. The quick pain faded beneath budding bliss.
Her wonder fractured into a million pieces as he moved with leisurely strokes within her body. Steady, determined, he commanded the joining as he oversaw everything else on his ship—with control. “I never knew a man’s appendage could be so sizable or could lend so much pleasure.” She glanced into his face. A look of fierce concentration filled his expression.
“Hush.” A grunt followed the word. “Relax. Talking lessens the enjoyment you will derive.”
“I don’t understand what I should do. How should I touch you to ensure you’ll enjoy this as well?” Panic threatened to chase away pending euphoria.
“Men always find their pleasure no matter what the woman does.” He held his weight on his elbows. “Match me like you did the kiss.” Tension roughened his voice, a testament to his restraint. “It will come more
naturally with each session.”
Sarah lifted her hips each time he pushed. When his thick member rubbed against her inner walls, the coiled pressure in her belly tightened. The tingling sensations intensified. She slid her hands over the long muscles in his back, pressing him closer. Quickly, she established a slow, if slightly awkward rhythm until his control snapped and he drove into her, urgent and frantic. Gone was the slow seduction. Her breath caught. The trapped tension loosed and unwound through her body like a broken spring. With a slight lancing of intense feeling through her core, she relaxed into the bedding. Her channel contracted around his swelling shaft.
Seconds later, Adrian slammed once more into her aching passage. His member pulsed. Streams of warmth invaded her. He grunted what sounded like her name before collapsing on top of her. The deed was over before she’d been able to enjoy it properly. Frustration settled in to wipe away any lingering heat.
Sarah turned her face to the wall and stared out the bow windows at the dark night. He’d taken her virginity, though she’d agreed to their joining; he’d claimed her body after she’d given him permission. Shouldn’t there have been more… wonder to the act?
A tear rolled down her cheek and into her ear. I’ve done it wrong. He’s disappointed. Another tear followed the first. She couldn’t say which thought she was most regretful of. In the end, she supposed none of them mattered. He’d gotten what he wanted. Now, he had little use for her. Instead of the shame she expected to feel, sadness seeped in. Her adventure, her new life—her quest for redemption and absolution—was almost over. Pushing at his shoulders, she shoved. He moved off her body and settled next to her. She rolled onto her side, still refusing to look at him. She should leave his cabin and bear her conflicting emotions alone, but she had no strength to spare. Whatever else he’d done, he’d worn her out.
His harsh breathing regulated after a few minutes. When a scratching noise broke the silence, she imagined him rubbing a hand over his jaw. “If it’s any consolation, there isn’t a person alive who understands the finer points the first time.”
“Of what?” She fought back a sniffle. She didn’t want his pity if that’s what he intended.
“Sex.”
The blunt answer sent gooseflesh over her skin. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, he pulled her backside flush against his front. Sarah drew a shuddering breath and let it ease out. Perhaps he hadn’t meant to pity her after all. “Will you keep me on the Lady Catherine?” She hated the hope which had threaded into her voice, but couldn’t recall it. Despite everything that had occurred since he’d plucked her from Florida, she wanted to succeed onboard the ship. She had nothing else. If, at first, it had to be as a companion for him, so be it. She’d ask for more responsibility later, once they’d established deeper trust.
“Your debt to me is nowhere near repaid, Sarah.” His voice tickled her ear. Dark with promises unfulfilled, it had the power to revitalize her reaction to him. Need pulsed between her thighs. Was it normal to desire relations again so soon? “I apologize for not bringing you to release. I’m afraid I haven’t bedded a woman for months, and things went rather too quickly for me to finesse the act.”
Her heart trembled. Absurdly pleased he took the blame instead of calling attention to her inexperience, she smiled into the gloom. “There is more than what we shared?”
“Most definitely. You have my word you’ll experience all of my carnal knowledge while in my care.” He tugged at a lock of her hair. “After all, I do have my reputation with the ladies to keep intact. I don’t want to leave you with rumors I give lackluster performances.”
“Oh.” Of course. To him, she was merely one of a long line of conquests. How many women did he have waiting in each port of call? How many beds did he warm the world over? Knots twisted her stomach. She’d have to make peace with that too. While she remained on the ship, her life was literally in his hands. “What will happen now? Am I to remain a guarded prisoner?”
“Sleep.” He curled his body around hers. “Tomorrow’s worries will come soon enough. Don’t sully today’s triumphs with the thinking of them.”
Oddly, the cryptic response gave her more comfort than an empty platitude or gruff order. Soreness worked through her back, hips and nether bits. Glad for it and for the lessons learned with each complaint, she relaxed fully. Will I regret my transgression into sin in the morning? She had no idea, but hoped she wouldn’t. Adrian had shared a personal, vital part of life with her, and for that, she could find no fault. On the heels of a tired, pleased sigh, she closed her eyes and reveled, for the first time in her life, in the feel of a man’s strong arms protecting her.
*****
Sarah awoke to excited shouts from outside the cabin. Furtive movements within made her turn over and glance around, despite her once-again aching back. Adrian no longer lay with her. Instead, he dressed with haste in the early glow of dawn. “What is it?” She rose up on an elbow, forgetting for the moment she was naked and vulnerable to his view. “What is wrong?”
“The French ship Casabianca has been spotted just off shore.”
“We’re near Bermuda?” She’d heard enough from passing conversation to know that was their destination.
“Yes. Elmwood assures me we caught favorable winds. They’ll put us into St. George’s within the hour.” A loose white shirt followed his breeches, which he then topped with a long brown leather vest that he buttoned with more haste than care. He pulled on first one scuffed black boot then the other.
“What is the significance of sighting this French ship?” But she knew. As sure as the sickening dread filled her stomach, she knew exactly what he intended. Her suspicions were confirmed as he donned a belt with a dagger and revolver dangling from it.
“I have a contract with the Spaniards to disable the ship and take her cargo.” His jaw set in the stubborn angle she’d become accustomed to. In this matter, his mind would remain firm.
“You intend to kill the crew, don’t you?” Gone was the tender, gentle man of the night before. He’d been replaced by the cruel, powerful pirate captain, the man who would show no mercy. Even his hair, caught back and held with a leather tie, proclaimed him master of all he surveyed—her included.
“That is none of your concern.” He added a pouch to the belt then lifted a three-corner hat from the table and jammed it on his head.
“You are.” She left the safety of the bed. As he raked his gaze along her body, she shivered. No hint of the earlier passion remained in this persona. No trace of the lover he’d been lingered in the cold blue-gray gaze. “If you must rob them blind, at least leave them their lives. They’ve done nothing to you.”
“Damnation, Sarah, you have no idea what’s at stake here.” He shot a hand out and gripped her upper arm, propelling her across the planking toward her cabin. “For the love of God, stay in here during the battle. Artillery will fly. Too much will occur on deck for a woman to handle.”
She stumbled before halting them both on the threshold. “I managed to draw a blade on you twice.” Anger from his high-handedness flared in her chest. “I do have some skill in defense.”
“A mistake I am certain you won’t repeat—challenging me again.”
“Not with a blade.” She cocked an eyebrow. “I can take care of myself.” She returned his glare. How dare he assume he knew what was best for her? When he shoved her through the doorway, she staggered but wasted no time in turning on him. “Is it for my own protection you persist in locking me away, or is it that you wish to have your property unharmed?” Belatedly, she spied her cloak folded on a sea chest at the end of her bed, yet she snatched a quilt from the bunk and wrapped it around her body. Being nude was not conducive for sea battles after all.
“Both. Do not disobey me.” His jaw worked as if he’d say more, but he swung the door closed. The heavy click of the lock rang in the silence he left behind. His cabin door slammed seconds later and the thumping tread of his boots confirmed he’d gained the
deck. “Elmwood, pursue the French ship. Brax, employ full sail and prepare the crew to engage!”
The orders rang in Sarah’s ears as he passed the cabin. Soon the roar of cannons would fill the air along with the screams of the dying. Nausea rose in her throat. Which man was Adrian really? The cutthroat pirate or the attentive lover? Which one did she want him to be more? Both disturbed her in different ways. However, she suspected he couldn’t be one without the other.
She hoped she wouldn’t need to decide which persona she couldn’t live with.
Chapter Six
Adrian paced the upper deck. At intervals, he’d pause, take out his spyglass and check his ship’s progress as it drew closer to the Casabianca. The Lady Catherine, with all her sails unfurled, gained fast on the smaller, docked frigate. No other ship of consequence sat in the harbor, which meant when they attacked the French vessel, no one would oppose the fight. In the distance, past the ship, the shoreline of Bermuda beckoned.
Through the spyglass, he peered intently at the Casabianca. Very little activity happened on deck. Was it too much to hope for the bulk of them had gone ashore on leave? Excitement churned in his gut. It would certainly make his job easier. After disposing of the French ship, they’d also put into port for a couple of days and take on supplies needed for the longer voyage to the Caribbean Sea. Somewhere in the network of small islands, the Spanish ship awaited him. Once they engaged it, the real work of securing money and trade would begin.
He returned the spyglass to his belt. God, he hated the negotiation process. Luckily, Elmwood had the skill and patience he lacked. Adrian’s strength lay in securing cargo, charting out courses and enforcing order aboard the vessel. In pieces, each of these things was vital in their own way, and together, the two of them had made the Lady Catherine a formidable enemy to others and very profitable for the crew. He liked it that way. As long as his crew did their respective jobs in an efficient manner that netted the best results and biggest payoff, life operated at an even keel.