by Tamara Gill
“Please, please finish me. I cannot wait through all the preliminaries tonight, though they are nice.” She wriggled beneath him, moaning in desperation as his rigid cock rubbed her swollen folds. “You do that on purpose to torment me.”
“Of course. I adore torturing you.” Adrian’s deep chuckle warmed her ear. “And I will finish you as you ask, but you must tell me exactly what it is you wish me to do to you.”
“I want to partake in relations, you crazy pirate. Intercourse with you.” She smacked his shoulder. When he pulled away from her, she cried out. “Don’t leave.”
“I don’t intend to.” He positioned himself between her bent knees. “I want to hear you say the ancient word for intercourse, for coitus, for sex. Tell me what you want, love. I’m waiting.”
She gripped his forearms, felt his muscles strain under her fingers. “Please.”
“Please, what?” He entered her passage with a quick, shallow stroke then withdrew. His grin was devilish in the gloom. “I don’t know unless you tell me.”
“Oh, you wicked man.” A cry of frustration escaped her throat. She racked her brain for an inkling of what he wanted her to say. Snippets of raunchy conversation from some of the crew came to her. Surely, he didn’t mean… The warmth of a flush sank into her skin as she thought about it. “I cannot say that.”
“Ah, more’s the pity then, since I cannot give it to you.” He made ready to depart, but she clutched his arms. What was the harm, really? She’d already been instructed to say ‘cock’, why should she still be reticent to say the next bit? Being with Adrian was intense. Shouldn’t she rise to match him in a part of it?
His eyes glittered in the moonlight streaming through the opened shutters. “Have you reconsidered?”
Reconsidered, submitted willfully and desired everything he’d give her. Sarah swallowed to force moisture into her mouth. “I want you to… to…”
“Yes?” He slid his hands down her legs and gripped her hips. The heat of his fingers branded her.
The need for release was greater than her embarrassment at talking like a dock worker. The last of her inhibitions shattered. “I want you to fuck me.” She smiled as a rush of power washed over her at using the word. “Fuck me hard, Captain.”
The words had barely left her lips before he shoved into her with enough force to propel her backward across the bed. Her cry of gratitude echoed in the room. Pleasure surged through her lower belly, fading as he withdrew once more. “Adrian—” She craved his touch.
“Lift your legs. Lock your ankles behind my back.” He guided her limbs into the position he wanted them. Her hips tilted upward and his cock brushed her sensitized nub.
Sarah squirmed in an effort to experience the shivery hot sensations again. Once wasn’t enough. “Please.” What a wanton she’d become since meeting him. She wriggled, desperate for him.
“Sarah.” Warning rang through the command. She crossed her ankles, digging her heel into his skin. “Now, brace your hands against the wall.”
The moment she’d followed instructions, Adrian thrust inside her and seated himself to the hilt.
Her legs trembled. Her thighs ached with tension. A sense of fullness flowed through her core. Her heart raced in a quest to flee her chest. A series of tiny contractions began deep inside her channel, springing to life at each pass, but the moment of truth danced just out of reach.
He moved into a powerful rhythm of long strokes alternating with quick, short penetrations. Coiling pressure, spiraling need and climbing pleasure all hit a boiling point on one of the long thrusts as his cock rubbed just right within her passage. Sarah’s reality exploded into a million white stars. Joy pirouetted through every part of her body. She opened her mouth on a scream. Adrian released her legs, leaned over her and muffled her shout with a soul-binding kiss.
As she floated in the void of bliss, he pushed once more and broke the kiss. Her name whispered from him. He collapsed onto her, his breathing ragged in her ear, the warmth of his seed shooting into her core.
Sarah threaded her fingers through his hair while the tremors faded. She kissed his chin and settled into a more comfortable position beneath him. As much as she enjoyed sharing the intimacy of sex with him, experiencing the tactile wonder of feeling his body against hers, his sweat-slicked skin, smelling his manly scent, or hearing his harsh breathing had no comparison. He was real. This life was real. They were both hers. She hugged him closer. A short time later he rolled to the side and took her with him, tucking her against his ribs. She sighed as pleasant exhaustion settled into her limbs and she nestled into his strong embrace.
I belong here, with him. For all that he is, for ill or for good, both parts of his whole, I want him to be mine.
Promising herself she’d tell him tomorrow, she closed her eyes and let sleep claim her.
Chapter Nine
Adrian walked the upper deck as was his custom near the end of his shift. Minutes after midnight, the sky clear, and the breeze less than fifteen knots, the atmosphere on deck conveyed calm. With precious little wind gusts, the sails hung silent, mere specters of themselves, and ghostly in the pale light of the moon.
He nodded at the men in steering and continued on through the waist. The sailors who had completed their tasks for the night sat around makeshift tables made of barrels—some played cards and the occasional game of checkers, some smoked, some carved random shapes from driftwood, some simply slept. Others still with tasks to accomplish checked rigging, patched nets and sails, or worked at cleaning pistols and muskets.
Life aboard the Lady Catherine ran like clockwork—as it should.
Adrian prowled the decks, working out the kinks he’d acquired earlier in the day as he’d helped move cannons and organize the cargo they’d taken from the French vessel. As he stood beneath the overhang of the forecastle, his heart constricted. The remembrance of the panic he’d felt when Sarah had been cornered by the Frenchmen echoed through his head.
He’d thought he’d lose her that day, yet she’d fought like a lioness, surprising even him. At the time he’d been fascinated by the novelty of her, as a toddler was with a new toy. Now, when he thought about Sarah, his feelings shifted into new and frightening territory. He refused to acknowledge them on the off chance his gut instinct was wrong. It hadn’t been enough time, not nearly long enough for something this concrete to have taken root. Of course, stranger things had happened. During the silly dance the night before, the realization that she was coming to mean more to him than a bed partner had hit him square in the gut. The gratitude mixing with a deeper, more mysterious emotion in her dark eyes had nearly done him in and left him as vulnerable as if he’d been hit with cannon fire. He hadn’t known what to do, so he’d abruptly fled to the relative privacy of his cabin.
Never had he met a woman like her before or wanted another as fiercely as he did her.
Standing at the railing, Adrian gazed out over the dark waves. Ever changing, ever in constant motion, the ocean’s force couldn’t be denied. Sarah’s moods matched the water in the ebb and flow. At times, like a hurricane, she was dark and angry, full of stinging words, but at others, she was as gentle as a breeze, pleasant enough that he wanted to encourage the attitude, keep it bottled to enjoy on halcyon evenings like this.
A powerful urge to see her, to touch her, crashed into him, tightening his chest. When he’d left his bed early that afternoon, she’d already gone, presumably to work with the doctor. He and Doc Anderson had purposefully set her hours in a staggered schedule to Adrian’s so that she’d be under continuous supervision and protection. Though he was confident she wouldn’t run, old habits did take a while to break. And, yes, he trusted his crew like family, but even family sometimes had a rotten egg among them. Rumors of disgruntled crewman made his constant vigilance where she was concerned even more urgent.
She didn’t need to know what they’d been about. Much as she didn’t need to know how deep his feelings for her ran. At least not unti
l he was certain of them himself. In this, he refused to make haste. Like every other important decision, he didn’t wish to rush and thereby make an error.
He grinned while he imagined the fury she’d present if she became wise to the plan. His Sarah had the heart of a warrior, even if she didn’t realize it yet. That spirit perfectly suited a life at sea, meeting adventure and danger as each new day dawned. He frowned at the inky water below, except she hadn’t said definitively that she would remain with him past making port in the Caribbean. A vague ache plagued his heart. Why should she? This sort of life was far from what she’d been accustomed to. She deserved more than he could give.
His good humor all but vanished, Adrian swung around and strode along the deck. Piracy had chosen him. He was a slave to it no matter what else he might want. She needed to understand he couldn’t—wouldn’t—give it up for any other life, not even for her. Except… that wasn’t exactly true. Once again, he’d fallen into the old way of thinking, that taking comfort in his usual defense. But with the advent of Sarah, he’d begun to think differently—at least a tiny bit. He enjoyed the life being a pirate afforded, and he intended to ride it out until it wasn’t feasible to make a living in such a way. After that, it might be nice to retire to one of his properties and spend the money he’d been hoarding over the years.
The one thing that would make such a life complete would be having her by his side. Perhaps it was time to have a serious conversation with her, tell her about his budding plans for the future, let her know about his Caribbean properties and see if she might show an interest.
He raced along the deck, past the officers’ cabins and tore into Sarah’s. She wasn’t in residence nor did the cabin have the usual feel of being lived in. His stomach clenched. Adrian strode across the floor and yanked open the door connecting their cabins. Perhaps she waited for him in his bed, ready to receive his pleasure. That thought died when he swept his gaze around the darkened cabin. No trace of Sarah lingered. His pulse accelerated and foreboding rode his spine.
“Tommy!” He yelled for the cabin boy. He cursed under his breath. He’d given permission for the boy to have a free evening to do what he pleased. The only caveat had been he check in on Sarah then report to him before retiring for bed. The fact he hadn’t had such a report wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; he’d merely assumed Tommy hadn’t yet retired. “God damn it, Tommy. Where are you?” There was no pattering of young feet on the planking, no expected chatter outside. Giving the lad the evening off notwithstanding, Adrian knew he’d never be far from Sarah’s side. The boy had taken an interest in her that bordered on infatuated adoration.
He pulled open the outside door to his cabin. This was why he ran the Lady Catherine with such precision. When something didn’t occur to schedule, he could recognize a potential problem right away. The absence of the cabin boy meant trouble. He felt it heavy on his breastbone.
Hellfire and damnation! Is there malice afoot on my ship?
Taking the wooden stairs two at a time without a care to his safety, he plunged to the orlop deck. By the time he arrived at the sick bay, the annoyance that had started brewing above had whipped into a small gale.
“Anderson? You in here?” His bellow echoed in the small quarters.
The door to the adjoining surgeon’s cabin creaked open to reveal the doctor’s tall form clad in a long, striped night shirt. “Ah, Captain Westerbrooke, how nice you decided to pop down here with enough racket and to raise the dead.” Censure hung heavy in his voice.
Adrian ran a hand over his jaw. “I apologize.” He glanced around the cabin. None of the bunks contained an occupant. “It is good all the men are healthy.” The room also didn’t show Sarah in residence nor did Tommy hang about on the stool in the corner as was his most recent custom. The boy had an interest in medicine. Perhaps he’d be a surgeon once grown.
“Aye, but you are not here to converse about the state of your crew. You do me a disservice with the small talk.” The doctor ambled into the sick bay and gestured to one of the two crude wooden chairs. “What ails you, Captain?” He sat, appearing much like a ghost. “You look a bit wild around the edges.”
“I am searching for Miss Covington. In fact, I had assumed when her shift ended around dinner she’d return to her cabin. She has not.”
One of the doctor’s eyebrows rose. “You have checked?”
Heat rose up the back of Adrian’s neck. Who was the doctor to question him? “Yes of course. Her cabin appears not to have been occupied recently.”
“There could be many explanations. Perhaps she’s gone for a stroll. You have no direct facts she’s gone missing.”
“It’s a feeling.”
“That’s not like you, Captain. Perhaps an assumption?”
“I suppose, and I’d believe that bit of fluff if it weren’t for the fact Tommy is also missing. He regularly checks in with me during the day or night depending on the shift, once an hour, to appraise me of her whereabouts.”
“But didn’t I hear you’d given him this night off?”
Good Lord, the gossip on the ship astounded him. “I did. I figured I’d spend the night with Sarah after my shift ended, thereby having no need for Tommy’s monitoring, but the cabin boy is smitten with Miss Covington. It’s unlikely he’d stray far from wherever she was. This becomes a particular issue when she and I are… intimately occupied let’s say.” Knowing the boy probably listened to their activity outside the cabin had his ears burning with embarrassment.
“I see.” The doctor nodded. “I’d wondered why Tommy seemed overly keen on trailing her. It had to go beyond your orders. Does she know of your surveillance?”
“No. The woman would find several new ways to threaten my life if she did. I rather think she values her independence, and I don’t begrudge her that.”
“This is true. You’ve done an admirable job of exercising trust.” The doctor tapped his chin with a forefinger. “I had to answer a rather urgent call of nature around midday. While I was in the head, Sarah offered to administer care to a man who’d dropped by twenty minutes’ prior. When I returned to the sick bay, both the crew member and Sarah were gone.”
He hated Anderson used her given name. He’d thought he was the only one who’d been given that honor, yet he supposed it would be awkward to expect formality in such intimate confines as the sick bay. “Was there anything untoward you noticed on your return?” Someone had to know her whereabouts.
“I didn’t think so. Now that you mention it, the sick bay did reek somewhat of opium. I questioned it at the time, never thinking Sarah would have indulged in drugs, nor young Tommy, yet it is puzzling.”
“You didn’t question her absence?” Adrian curved one hand into a fist. Why had he not been informed of the incident?
Doctor Anderson shrugged. “Why would I? She’d treated the patient’s infected hangnail. I assumed you’d requested the honor of her presence once the task was finished.”
“Don’t be an arse, Anderson. I spent my day in the hold.”
“Has that ever stopped you from sequestering a woman’s attention before?” The look he shot Adrian was hard. “Or making her disappear once you were tired of her?”
“What the hell are you trying to say, man? Are you accusing me of doing away with Sarah?” Adrian stared at the doctor. As much as he’d like to shake the man senseless, keeping a cool head was vital. Her absence, plus the opiates in use when they were strictly forbidden except for medicinal purposes, troubled him more than he cared to admit.
“No, but there have been instances of guests who’ve worn out their welcome suddenly departing our decks.”
“That is not the case with Sarah. She hasn’t, and I would never—”
“Let me ask you one question.” The doctor rose to his feet. “What are your intentions toward Miss Covington?”
“I beg your pardon?” Adrian shoved a hand through his hair. “What gives you the right to inquire into my private business?”
“Simmer down, Captain, and lower your rampant protection a notch.” The doctor chuckled. “There are other men on this ship who care about Sarah. I work long hours with her. I talk to her of many things. Of course I want to know what her future entails.”
“Once again I must apologize.” Adrian sighed. He was grateful that she had the respect of his officers. “My intentions are far from clear even to me I’m afraid.” He dropped into one of the chairs only to spring back to his feet and pace the small confines of the sick bay. “I know everything is ‘more’ when Sarah is around.”
“I see. Have you ever experienced such a phenomenon with a woman before?”
“Not that I can recall, but with Sarah, it’s almost as if she haunts my mind, my thoughts, has infiltrated my blood.” What the hell did any of this matter? They wasted valuable time in idle conversation. He should be combing the ship for her if only to set his mind at ease. And if it was true she’d only went for a stroll on deck, he’d give her the worst dressing down she’d ever experienced.
“Perhaps you should give me an example.”
“There is no time.”
“Captain, this is a ship. She cannot have gotten far.” Was that a smirk on the older man’s face?
He ignored it, yet the words tumbled out before he could stop them, almost as if he’d wanted to share, as if talking about her would make her appear. “Her eyes are the most perfect brown, like the deer from back home, except hers have gold flecks in them, especially when she’s annoyed at me.”
“Which would be what, eighty percent of the time? You are not the easiest of men.” The doctor laughed. “What you’re feeling is perfectly normal, Captain. When a man is romantically interested in a woman who fascinates him on every level—physically, mentally and sexually—the first symptoms present as odes to her eyes.”