“How about another kiss?” Edward’s hand shifted into her hair, his fist working through the pins and ribbons until he grasped her firmly.
Alice winced at the sudden hurt, but something about the act seemed to placate her, and Edward watched as the dark middles of her eyes grew larger.
“I should not want such a thing,” she mumbled into his face. “It is seldom right to do so.”
His lips grazed over her mouth. “There is no one here to judge you but me.”
Alice gasped. “There is God,” she whispered. “He shall know of my wantonness.”
Edward smiled. He had rarely given thought to the legal consequences of his actions, let alone the spiritual ones. If there was a God, he had never seen anything that had proven the point on any of the oceans he had crossed.
“God will forgive you,” Edward murmured as he pressed a chaste kiss to her mouth. “But if you turn me down, I may not, Miss Jaggers.” Edward’s tone was playful, and he was relieved to hear a small giggle from the beautiful young Alice he held so decisively in his hand.
“What should I do then, sir?” She fluttered those dark eyelashes at him. “Permit you to take what you want and rob me of my innocence?”
His cock swelled at her suggestion. When Alice put it that way, she almost made his pleasure peak too soon.
“It would not be robbery,” he chided. “Not if you want me to pluck it away.”
She panted under the weight of his gaze, and for a long moment, Edward just took in the sight of her. He had no idea Jaggers could have created anything as wonderful as the alluring Alice. It had always seemed everything the old man touched rusted or turned to dust, yet here she stood, as beautiful and flawless a woman Edward had ever laid eyes on.
“I do not know what to say.”
Edward pressed his body against her bodice.
“Yes, you do,” he purred. “You’re just too embarrassed to admit it.”
“Even if you are correct,”—Alice bit her lip, flustering—“it is still not moral.”
He captured those sweet lips in an instant, his mouth claiming her while his hand continued to hold her in place. Alice groaned, but she did not try to pull away, her lips parting and her body yielding to his demands. Drawing away, Edward gazed down at her flushed face.
“You can say I made you succumb,” he suggested in a raspy tone. “If they ask, tell them I made you—you had no choice.”
Alice exhaled. “But that would not be the truth, sir.” Her gaze flitted around his face frantically. “And it is also a sin to lie.”
Edward smiled at her innocent appraisal.
“Then choose which sin you would prefer, Miss Jaggers,” he advised. “Because I am feeling errant.”
Chapter Fifteen
Alice
It all happened so quickly. One moment, Alice stood beside him, her head immobilized by the powerful palm lodged in her hair, the next Edward had lunged, sweeping her off her feet, carrying her the short distance to the bed. Alice yelped, her arms clinging to his neck, but Edward dropped her unceremoniously onto the covers below. Gazing up, her chest rising and falling at a rapid rate, she observed the man who now sought to claim her.
His large fingers were at his shirt, pulling it from his body to reveal a toned and muscular torso. Alice’s hand shifted to cover her mouth. Never in her life had she witnessed a man without his attire and knew she should be shocked, appalled even, yet somehow, she could not muster disgust. All she was aware of as her gaze absorbed his defined pectorals and ran lower to his obliques was the overwhelming sense of need he provoked in her.
Edward was temptation personified—a dark and wicked man who thought nothing of plundering his way across the seven seas. She should not desire him and certainly should not be allowing him to look at her with the hungry eyes that devoured her now, but she had little will to resist—even though she knew she should.
He was on the bed with her a moment later, inching toward her with a sinful look in his eyes.
“I want you out of this gown, Alice,” Edward breathed as he approached on his hands and knees.
Oh my. How could she possibly survive an assault on her virtue like this? It was so obvious Edward wished to do bad things with her, and for the life of her, Alice could not think to protest. She tried to remember the warnings of her governess about the corrupt will of man and what her priest had taught her about carnal sins at church, but Alice’s mind was blank, clouded by the heat which seemed to be radiating from her core.
“Edward.”
His name slipped from her lips, though she could not say why she called for him. His every sinew of attention was already focused in her direction, those blue eyes glinting with lust as his face approached. Edward climbed over her body, his gaze searing her.
“What is it, my naughty stowaway?”
She inhaled. Was he ever going to let that go?
“I don’t…” She hesitated, her voice trailing away. “I don’t know what you expect from me. These things are acts destined to be surrendered to only my husband.”
His brow arched at her words. “And are you betrothed?”
Alice shook her head. There had been a few gentlemen who had caught her eyes over the years, but none who had met with her father’s seal of approval. She dreaded to think what he would have made of this scene. No doubt, her father would have been awfully disappointed in his only daughter.
“So, you have no husband, and with your father gone, I suspect there is no match pending.”
She swallowed at his words, his assessment depressingly accurate.
“I, for one, think it would be a dreadful shame if a lady as delightful as you, Alice, never had the opportunity to truly become a woman.”
Alice clenched the muscles between her thighs. She had heard whispers of the deed he inferred, salacious tittle tattle between her maids when she was growing up, yet the sad truth was, Alice knew virtually nothing. All she had managed to ascertain was the deed was painful and often shameful, and frankly, something to be avoided at all costs, but the way Edward made her feel made her wonder—perhaps those analyses were wrong? Maybe it was possible for a lady to enjoy the act of carnality.
“Why are you still dressed?” Edward’s voice was firm. “Did I not tell you to be rid of that gown?”
Fresh heat pooled at the authority in his tone, and instinctively, Alice’s fingers shifted to the ribbons at her bodice. Edward knelt between her thighs, nudging them outward until she laid in the most ungainly way, watching as she slowly unlaced the front of her dress.
“Very good,” he praised as she concluded work on the final ribbon.
Alice’s lips curled at his words. She had no idea why, but gaining his approval made her absurdly happy.
“It will not be easy to be free of my gown from this angle,” she told him. “I usually have to stand and have a maid help me disrobe.”
“Perhaps you do not need to be rid of the garment completely,” Edward grinned at her. His tone was contemplative, his fingers shifting to her half-open bodice. “I can ease this section open myself, and we already know those skirts rise nicely to your middle, don’t we, Alice?”
Heat bloomed in her cheeks, her mind flitting back to her earlier trip over his knee.
“Y-yes, Mr. Law,” she stammered.
His grin widened. “Sit up then,” he instructed. “And allow me.”
Edward edged backward, permitting Alice just enough space to sit upright, then his hands were on her, yanking at her expensive bodice until the thing relinquished its hold on her breasts and tumbled toward her middle. Alice gasped at her sudden vulnerability. In all her days, no one had ever seen her topless, even her maids averted their gazes when she undressed—not Edward. Edward was quite the opposite, his hot gaze drilling into the swell of her chest, and as she looked on in horror, she saw him licking his lips.
“My, my, Alice.” Edward’s voice sounded strained. “You are even more delectable than I’d imagined.”
She lowered her gaze, her hands rising out of instinct to cover her chest, but Edward’s large palms stopped their progress.
“No, Miss Jaggers.” The stern resonance was back in his voice again. “You shall not conceal yourself from me.”
“But you have no right.”
It was Alice’s last desperate plea to dissuade him, yet even as the words left her lips, she already knew it was futile. The lust brimming in Edward’s gaze was resolute and emphatic, and even with Alice’s limited experience of gentlemen, she had the feeling she would not be able to change his intent—and she was not certain she even wanted to. The warm feeling at the apex of her thighs was becoming consuming, a low throb more and more difficult to ignore.
“I have every right,” he assured Alice. “You are onboard my ship, and we both know you want this, Alice. Do not delude yourself. I know you consent.”
She bit her lip, struggling to contain the surge of emotion his words had elicited. How was it that Edward knew those things? Was she really so easy to read, he could tell she wanted him?
“Edward.” Her voice was a plaintive sob. “Please, I am afraid.”
He leaned over her, his hands grasping her palms and drawing them up above her head. “I shall not harm you, Alice.”
Her eyes closed as his lips neared, and she felt the sweet pressure at the side of her neck, lowering to her collarbone. All the while, he held her down, pinioning her to his bed while his mouth explored her chest.
“You are a beauty,” he drawled, taking in the look of her displayed breasts once again. “I am going to enjoy these, but first…”
Edward’s gaze rose, and at that moment, Alice strained down the length of her body, locking eyes with him again.
“First?” Alice’s heart pounded with the sheer uncertainty of the whole thing. She did want him—she knew that—yet the humiliation of being exposed to this pirate was mortifying.
“First, you wait here.”
Edward was gone in a heartbeat, leaping from between her legs and pacing in the direction of the opposite corner. Alice’s gaze widened. What was this? After all the ordeal, had Edward tired of her already? She gulped as she saw him returning, her body lifting from the bed, and her gaze falling reflexively to what was flexed between his hands.
Rope.
“Here we are,” he concluded as he climbed back into position. “This should help.”
“Wh-what are you going to do?”
Edward was on her in a matter of seconds, his sudden proximity causing her to lie flat against the covers again.
“What was that, little stowaway?”
Alice stared at him in disbelief. The man was such a contradiction—one moment content to lull and reassure her, the next, hell-bent on intimidating Alice into whatever he wanted.
“What are you going to do, sir?” she corrected herself in a painfully breathy tone.
Edward smiled. “I am going to make this easier for you, Alice.” He pushed his body flush against her as he answered, the soft hair of his chest tickling her skin and goading the peaks of her breasts into tight little knots. Alice gasped at the sensation, and Edward’s attention flitted to the space between their chests.
“You like the sound of that?” he teased.
Alice shook her head—she most definitely did not like the sound of that. Edward laughed.
“How will this make things easier, Mr. Law?” she probed, trying desperately to ignore the incredible way their flesh felt as it skimmed over each other.
This was sinful. Surely, this was not even moral between a man and his wife, let alone virtual strangers, and yet the small nub at the front of her sex throbbed with urgency as though it was inclined to disagree.
“I am going to bind your hands to the end of my bed, little stowaway,” Edward’s soft purr reverberated over her.
“Bind me?” Alice’s mind reeled at the news. “Why will that help me, sir?”
“Is it not obvious, my dear?” he asked in a sardonic tone. “Then, when they ask you what transpired, you can say, in all honesty, there was nothing you could do to stop me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Edward
Alice looked stunned at his suggestion, the tension radiating from her fabulous body. “Say you took me by force?” she muttered in apparent disbelief.
Edward drew her hands back over her head. “If it makes it easier for you to bear, then yes.”
She nodded as he wrapped the length of rope around her delicate wrists. Alice was so small and fragile, and his ropes were so large, Edward was worried about damaging her.
Alice tilted her head back to try to watch him work.
“But what if you keep me here?” she demanded. “Restrained and entirely at your mercy.”
Edward’s erection screamed for relief at her suggestion, but there was none forthcoming. First, he had to quell the rising fervor in Alice.
“I like the way you make that sound,” he replied in a playful tone as he knotted the rope securely around her wrists and yanked them both in the direction of the wooden bedstead. Climbing further up her body, Edward went to work, attaching Alice’s bound wrists to the bed.
“I am serious,” she tried to scold, scowling, though he imagined it was difficult to chastise when you were the one vulnerable and tied to the bed.
Edward smiled. “As am I,” he reminded her. “And I truly like the idea of keeping you my captive here, Alice, but I swear that is not my intention. I just want you to surrender control and give yourself up to me.”
She blinked at his words. “What if I cannot?”
“Then, the ropes will ensure your compliance.”
Alice gulped at that as though she finally understood their meaning, but Edward’s attention was already falling south to the place where her exposed breasts were on display. Alice had an ample bosom, and even with her hands stretched high above her head, her breasts still looked magnificent. Slowly, Edward trailed his fingers down her chest, circling her right breast for a moment before his digits journeyed sensually toward her beading nipple.
“See how your body responds to my touch.” Edward’s voice was almost a sigh. “Your nipples are hard for me, just as your sex was wet.”
She pulled in a gasp. “I did not intend for it to be the case,” Alice assured him.
“It matters not,” he told her. “Your body betrays your desire, even if your head will not yet allow you to admit it.”
Alice bit her lip, and he smiled again.
“And now for the other delicious breast,” he mused aloud, his hand shifting to the left side of her chest.
This time she jerked away, trying to roll from his touch, but it was useless. Edward pinioned her to the bed with ease, applying just enough pressure to keep her in place but not enough to hurt her tiny frame.
“Oh, no,” he whispered. “Oh no, you don’t. You stay right here, where I can see those fabulous breasts, and you let your captain play with them.”
Edward knelt over her, both of his hands massaging her chest before tugging gently at her lengthening nipples. Alice moaned in response, a signal she was relishing his treatment of her every inch as much as he was enjoying it himself. But it was not enough. Edward wanted more. He wanted Alice soaked with desire. He wanted her to beg for relief.
Leaning down over her body, he grazed his mouth over her lips.
“I am going to show you pleasure you have never known, Miss Jaggers.”
Her gaze flashed with concern, but Edward was already gone, moving back down the length of her body, planting hot kisses on her chest as he went. He moved past the fabric of her gown, now caught around her waist, easing her skirts up to meet the rest of the dress.
“Edward, sir!”
“Hush,” he soothed, lifting the endless layers of skirts and petticoats that concealed the treasure he sought.
“But I am a maid, and—”
Edward lifted his chin to meet her frantic expression.
“I am not going to hurt you,�
�� he reassured Alice. “Not unless you want me to, of course.” He threw her a wink before his body lowered again, nudging his way between her splayed thighs. Alice’s sex was exposed now, her final petticoat already lifted, and Edward’s gaze feasted on the thatch of chestnut hair that protected her pussy.
“Oh, Lord!” Alice gasped.
He could feel her straining against the ropes at her wrists but knew the gesture was futile. Yes, the lady was worried about his intent, but she was also intrigued. The fact her knees remained wide and pliant for his attention suggested she was, in fact, more than intrigued. She wanted to see what Edward would do.
“Just relax,” he breathed as he inched toward the apex of her thighs. Slowly, he reached for Alice, stroking the soft hairs before his fingers pressed between her lips. Alice panted above him, her body tensing at the intimate caresses.
“You are wonderful,” Edward assured the bound woman. “I cannot wait to taste you.”
“T-taste me?” Alice practically shrieked the words.
Edward had to smile. She was such an innocent—naturally, she had not heard of the art he wanted to perform, but it had always been one of Edward’s favorite ways to pass the time with the fairer sex. They all had such magnificent bodies, and despite their differences, he had rarely met one with thighs he did not want to bury his head between.
Edward pounced, shifting his hands to her inner thighs, holding them down as his mouth moved into position. He lapped at Alice’s seam. She was still wet from her spanking earlier, or maybe it was his ropes which had burgeoned her desire? Edward was not certain, but as he ran his tongue along her lips, he could taste her arousal, and the flavor sent his own need escalating out of control.
“Sir, what are you doing?” Alice’s voice was weaker now, shocked and desperate.
Had Edward’s mouth not already been busy, he may have chortled at that question, for surely, it was obvious what his intent was, but as it was, there was no chance to respond. Instead, he tongued her delicious cunt, reveling in the way she tried to jerk away from his attention, but of course, bound as she was, that endeavor was futile.
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