Edward watched, spellbound as the spank reverberated across both of her pert cheeks. The woman was truly beautiful, and he could not wait to explore that beauty further, but first, there was the matter of her punishment to deal with. Edward wanted Alice to feel the brunt of his palm and wanted her to recall what would happen every time she acted against him—for as Alice was to learn, his word was law on board this ship, and Alice would be on board for the next few months, at least.
“Remember, this is a penance, Alice.”
His palm stilled, resting over the curve of her delectable cheeks.
“Tell me what it is you’re being punished for.”
She twisted her body at his words, apparently furious.
“You already know what it is I am being punished for,” she protested, even now struggling against the weight of his arm which held her in place.
“Yes,” he agreed, rubbing her warming skin tenderly for a moment before he began the onslaught afresh. “Yet I should like to hear the confession from your lips while I spank you. Then there can be no doubt from either of us. We know the nature of your crimes and the punishment that awaits you the next time you break the rules.”
“Rules?” She practically screeched the word as he swatted her at a relentless pace. “What rules?”
Edward glanced down toward her face. Her cheeks were red and flushed, and the woman looked to be on the verge of tears. Shifting his attention back to her backside, he surveyed the punished area—her flesh was barely even pink. It would seem Miss Jaggers’ pain threshold would need to increase if she was to survive her time aboard the Dexterity.
Chapter Eleven
Alice
This was intolerable and borderline inhumane. Alice sniffed as Edward’s palm landed new strikes to one, then the other of her vulnerable cheeks. The swats stung, there was no doubt about that, but it was the injury to her dignity that caused her the most offense. How any man could think it acceptable to turn a lady over his knee and bare her petticoats was simply beyond her, and how she could have landed the misfortune to encounter such a man, God only knew.
“Yet I should like to hear the confession from your lips while I spank you.”
Edward’s voice interrupted her miserable inner monologue, and she jerked at the sound of it.
“Then there can be no doubt from either of us. We know the nature of your crimes and the punishment that awaits you the next time you break the rules.”
Alice’s body stiffened. “Rules?”
Fresh fury rose in her body. As though this humiliation was not great enough, now the man wanted to speak of rules. What an injustice this was, and even though she knew it was crazy, Alice began to wonder if the gallows may not have been a better—less ignominious—option, after all.
“What rules?” Tears burned in her eyes as she asked, but Alice had to know.
“The rules for your passage across the ocean,” Law responded as he spanked her once more. “The rules for your time on board.”
“B-but I can’t stay,” she stammered, though Alice didn’t know why she protested. Even with her limited experience, it was obvious the Dexterity was already moving—the ship her father had so carefully designed had begun her maiden voyage.
At any other time, she might have been proud at this moment, yet now, prone and exposed over Law’s thighs, Alice was mournful and ashamed.
Had what she had done truly been so awful that she deserved to be treated this way?
“Do not be foolish, Alice,” he chastised, landing a further set of swats to her tantalizing behind. “You are young, yes, but I do not take you for a fool. You know the ship has already sailed, and as such, your fate is sealed, young lady.”
She gasped as Edward’s words reinforced what she already knew.
“But how can I stay?” she sobbed, despising how pathetic her voice sounded even to her own ears. “How can I stay here with you?”
Edward snorted. “I am not so terrible,” he told her with a chortle. “As for my men, yes, they are a little uncouth, but they follow instructions, Alice. They obey orders, and they have been told to leave you well alone.”
Alice blinked down at the shiny floor. So, he had already told his crew about her? A shudder passed up her spine at the thought of all those filthy men thinking about her. Compared to that prospect, Edward Law seemed almost civilized.
Almost…
“I should think another twenty strokes should be sufficient.”
She tried to turn her head at his edict. “Twenty?”
Edward walloped her hard, the strike making her wince.
“Remember how you are to address me, Alice,” he growled. “I am your captain now.”
Alice tensed her muscles over his breeches. This was excruciating. Not only did she have to be bared to him during this painful ordeal, she had to regard him as her superior at the same time? She knew little about the man, but it was clear Law was far from her better. Based on his tatty appearance, the best profession he could possibly have earned was a blacksmith, but then, how many blacksmiths had earned enough money to purchase the Dexterity?
The answer came to her in a heartbeat.
Edward had not earned it. How could he have? He was obviously not a man of good breeding and wealth. A wave of terror washed over Alice the moment Law delivered a fresh torrent of spanks to her poor backside.
A man with wealth, who had his own crew and wished to sail across the Atlantic… there was only one possible explanation for that man’s prosperity, and it was nothing to do with inheritance or legitimacy.
Oh God… Alice’s mind reeled.
“How do you address me, young lady?” Edward demanded.
“S-sir,” she spluttered, trying to appease the brute while processing the conclusion she had drawn.
“Better,” he praised. “Your final twenty begin now. Count them for me, Alice. I assume a good lady such as you can count?”
She gulped, blinking rapidly at the floor. “Yes, sir, I can,” she ceded, bracing for the next impact.
Law did not make her wait, landing the first of her final set with fresh intensity.
“One,” she whispered, pushing down the rising embarrassment as her brain settled over the obvious evaluation of her thought processes.
The only way Edward could have accumulated enough wealth to buy a ship like the Dexterity was through theft. He must have stolen it, there was no other explanation, and men who stole across the oceans of the Atlantic were known by another name.
A specific name.
A name she had been taught to fear for many a long year.
Edward struck her again, the sudden hurt splintering her unnerving appraisal.
“Two, sir,” she managed, but all the while, Alice was fighting to contain the burgeoning fear and disgust raging within her.
A pirate.
Edward Law was a pirate.
That is how he had found the funds necessary to outbid her at Christie’s and how he had the men and experience to set sail now, and somehow, she had seen fit to board his ship and now, she found herself entirely at his mercy.
He spanked her once more as though he wanted to emphasize the point.
“Three,” she gasped, her eyes brimming with tears.
How could she have been such a fool? It was one thing to be taken captive by a pirate, but to go to one willingly and conceal herself in his quarters? Oh, Lord! What must the man think of her? No wonder he felt it was acceptable to hoist her skirts over her behind and tan her bare flesh?
What was she going to do?
Edward walloped her again, the ache spreading over her buttocks. Alice pulled in a breath, but this time something was different. The injury still hurt, and her head registered it, but there was something new—the pain was not as awful. In fact, this time, the heat seemed to contract at her core somehow, goading that delicious sense of desire she had experienced when he had dressed her down earlier.
“Alice?”
His unimpressed tone
sent panic spiraling around Alice’s brain. Oh goodness, in her torrid self-analysis, she had quite forgotten to keep count!
“Do I need to add extra strikes to your tally?”
“No, sir.” She shook her head emphatically. “I’m sorry, four, sir.”
The warmth of Edward’s hand disappeared from her behind, and this time, she anticipated its return almost as much as she dreaded it. When it came, the sensation it brought was hot, intense, and distracting.
“Five.”
Alice could hear how breathy her voice had become, the desire that stirred within her lacing into her indignation and injury.
“How many more?” he probed, idly grazing a single digit over her left cheek.
Her gaze fluttered closed at the feeling. It was almost sensual.
Could this really be happening to a lady like Alice Jaggers?
“Fifteen more, sir.”
There it was again, that soft raspy tone. Alice had never heard it in her voice before, but it was there, and she could not deny it.
The finger at her behind slipped south, traveling between her legs and pausing just short of the nest of hair that protected her most intimate areas. Alice gasped, her hands balling into fists, though it was not the indignity that inspired the action. It was the warmth pooling at her core, the moisture she could feel at the apex of her thighs, and the odd need that seemed to be building.
Alice could not understand it.
She had never known anything like it before.
“Well, this is curious,” Edward’s voice floated over her head.
She twisted her head, conscious she should show acknowledgment of his words, yet unsure how to respond.
“It seems the lady is enjoying her punishment.”
His finger pressed deeper, and at that moment, Alice could feel the thing tickling those soft hairs between her legs. She panted in response, aware she should protest and seek to throw the man from his inappropriate pursuit, yet also conscious of the way the deed had made her feel. His exploration felt good, and to be frank, Alice wanted more of it—a lot more.
“Is it true, Alice?” Edward’s voice was insistent.
“I…” She hesitated. How could she possibly admit such a thing? “I do not know, sir. No one has ever done these things to me.”
His dark laughter filled the room, echoing around the walls of the chamber.
“I like your answer.”
“It is the truth,” she told him ardently.
“Oh, I believe you,” he replied. “And that fact makes me happy beyond reason, Alice.”
He edged further around her body, curling not just one, but two, or maybe three fingers until they cupped the warm place between her legs, then just as Alice thought she could no longer contain the emotions his touch produced, one of those digits slipped into her hair.
“You are wet for me,” he declared in a low, throaty tone. “Wet already, Miss Jaggers, and your penance is not even finished.”
Swiping his hand away without further explanation, Edward laughed as he spanked Alice again.
“There shall be time for that,” he advised when he caught his breath. “First, let us finish what we have begun.”
Chapter Twelve
Edward
Alice trembled over his thighs as he concluded her final few strokes. There was still tension in her body, but less than before, and if he was not mistaken, Edward thought he could sense her arousal growing even bolder than before. He had been genuinely shocked to find the evidence of her carnal response to the spanking. Edward had expected fear, angst, even indignation, but the last thing he had anticipated was Alice being excited by the treatment. It was surprising, but also fortuitous.
Edward had enjoyed tanning the pretty hide of a woman for many a long year and paid extra at brothels on dozens of occasions for the opportunity to haul a woman over his lap. One of the main disadvantages with his chosen profession was the lack of female company and attention. Piracy meant many months away at sea at a time, and inevitably, that implied no corporal punishment—save for the often-grim task of delivering a whipping to an unruly crew member—and no wanton antics at all, but having Alice here changed all of that. His unexpected stowaway had gifted him the chance to indulge in his erotic whims as often as he desired while they crossed the ocean. His cock throbbed urgently at that prospect.
He waited while she numbered the final spank before helping Alice back to her feet. Invariably, her skirts fell toward the ground, concealing her delectable, punished behind. Alice pulled in a shaky breath, refusing to meet his eyes as his stare drilled into her blushing face.
“You survived your first spanking, Miss Jaggers,” Edward told her in a sardonic tone.
Of course, it was obvious she had made it through the penance, and he had already ascertained how much she had come to relish the treatment, but Edward could not resist the urge to say so aloud. He wanted to remind Alice what would happen if she acted against his will again, and he wanted to reinforce her unusual reaction to it.
“I cannot believe you made me endure it.”
Edward’s lips curled at her petulant response. She had only been free of the sting of his hand for a matter of seconds, and look at her—already sullen, sinking back into ill-tempered habits.
“You deserved your sentence,” he reminded her. “But do not think I shall not take you back over my knee if you continue to brood and fail to address me properly.”
Alice sucked her lip between her white teeth. “As you wish, sir.” Her arms fell to her sides with a sigh. “I still do not see why you needed to bare me so.”
Edward chuckled, “I exposed your flesh because it was my desire to do so, Alice.”
Her gaze widened at his admission.
“Since you’re on my ship, it is my will which matters.”
“And that means you can do whatever you like?” she queried, those small hands rising to her slim hips. “Take whatever you want?”
The defiance was in her tone again, but while it riled Edward to hear it, there was a part of him that admired her pluck. He liked a woman with fortitude and determination, and whatever Alice’s flaws, it was evident she was not lacking in either of those traits. Yet had he not just warned her what the ramifications of her disrespect would be? Edward shook his head as he reached for Alice’s hand.
“That is exactly what it means.” His words made Alice gasp, his low tone resonating around the room. “And what did I tell you about addressing me correctly?”
She squeezed her eyes closed. “My apologies, sir,” Alice just about managed. “I am not used to showing deference to pirates.”
Alice practically spat out the final word, her gaze narrowing with the apparent accusation. Edward smiled at the venom in her voice. So, his beautiful stowaway had managed to identify his way of life had she and now, she disapproved? Well, that was hard luck—for her at least.
Edward Law was a pirate and a damn successful one. He had accepted the judgment that came with the role many years ago and avoided the noose ever since, but he sure as hell was not going to accept condemnation from a woman who broke the King’s law when she had skipped onto his ship without so much as a word of permission.
He dropped her hand, rising to tower over her as he lifted his palm to capture her chin between his thumb and his forefinger.
“Well, you best get used to it, Missy.” Edward ensured the full weight of his stare pinioned Alice. “Because from the moment you saw fit to climb onboard my ship, you became my problem, and every soul on my ship addresses me as their captain.”
Her expression hardened as that thought seemed to resonate.
“Yes, Captain.”
Now, that was more like it.
“I appreciate you feel an attachment to The Dexterity, but as you yourself have recognized, she is not your responsibility.”
Alice inhaled. “I know,” she muttered. “And I understand it, sir, though I do not purport to like the reality that faces me.”
&n
bsp; “Do not look so glum, Alice,” Edward grinned. “It seems your body is not so distraught about my punishment.” He paused, reveling in the bloom of a fresh blush on her cheeks. “Perhaps your time aboard the Dexterity shall not be so onerous, after all?”
Alice’s chest rose and fell between them, and unthinkingly, Edward’s gaze fell south to her bodice. She had a full pair of breasts laced into her dress, and his already excited erection strained furiously at the thought of getting his hands on them.
“I cannot think what to say to such a thing,” she huffed, though her face was almost crimson by this point.
“Of course, not, Alice,” Edward laughed at her supposed innocence.
He had no doubt she was still a maid, yet the idea she did not comprehend her own lust seemed ludicrous. Surely, even a woman could recognize when she had enjoyed a deed, and Edward knew firsthand, Alice had taken pleasure from the spanking he had bestowed upon her. There seemed little benefit in either of them denying it.
“But do you deny you were affected by the sting of my palm?” Edward shifted the afore mentioned palm toward her burning cheek, covering the heat radiating from her face with his skin.
Alice blinked wildly at him, and he half expected her to try to pull away from his touch, but interestingly, the lady did not.
“It is not right for me to answer your query, Mr. Law.”
Edward smiled in response. “Is it right to deny an order from your captain?”
She shuffled her weight awkwardly, one foot to the next. Edward had her there, and he knew it. Miss Jaggers may not be used to the ways of the high seas, but she seemed to know enough about the rules of society. Jaggers had been a man of some wealth and influence, and surely, his daughter would have known about hierarchy. It was one thing to ignore those of a lower social standing, but to flout the conventions of social order would be unthinkable. However much she begrudged the fact, Edward outranked her onboard the Dexterity, and he would wager she would feel obliged to obey.
“No, sir.” She tried to lower her gaze, but his hand held her chin firmly in place.
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