I reach her, my lungs already aching from the lack of air. I grab her waist and push her up. I push myself up, too, in long, excruciating strokes. As my lungs begin to burn, my head breaches the water. I gasp and gulp the air like ale.
Lisa is in my arms, her hair in thick wet strands. She is blinking, inhaling hungrily, terrified.
We both move our legs and arms to stay afloat. I hold her close with one arm while working with the other one. “I promised I will not let harm come to you,” I whisper to her. “Not while you’re mine.”
She shakes and trembles in my arms, and I hold tighter. The ship is quite some distance away already, but it is slowing down. The anchor has been thrown out, and soon my team will put down a boat to come and get us. With one arm tight around the most precious thing I’ve ever held, I slowly make my way towards the ship.
I just hope that saving Lisa will not end up getting us all killed in a battle with the ship that is chasing us.
I must let her go before anything happens. I do not fully believe that she traveled back in time, but I know she believes that. She is pure and honest, and there is not a lying bone in her body. I can feel that.
And if for one mad moment I allow for the possibility that she is right, that time travel exists…
The strange objects from her pockets, the way she talks, her clothes, what she said about her betrothed—all that proves her words.
So.
If she is a time traveler, she will be gone sooner or later. It is better if she leaves before she gets hurt…or killed.
And as I imagine her leaving, my breath catches, and the water presses on all sides like a coffin.
Lisa
An eternity later, I’m wrapped in the mightiness of Cole’s body. We are lying naked on his bed, under the pretense that he needs to warm me up. He’s spooning me, his arm and his leg are on top of me, his hot erection pressing against my butt. There’s no warmer and safer blanket in the world than his body. We’re both under the sheets. Captain Bluebeard is sleeping safely in his covered cage.
I finally stop shaking, Cole’s body heat bringing me back to life. The water hadn’t been that cold. But the shock and the danger had sent shivers through me.
I feel heavy and tired, as though my whole body is filled with sand. Thinking of the night I’ve had makes me dizzy. My nerve endings have expanded and feel sensations like never before. My muscles ache with exhaustion. But despite that, I feel safe. Accepted. Protected.
That connection we had up on the mast is back.
“Do you still want me to go?” I whisper, and turn around to lie on my back and look at his face.
His eyes land on me, dark and warm and haunted.
“Did you really travel back in time?” he asks.
I nod. “I really did. I know it sounds crazy. But if you feel anything at all towards me, if you trust me, if what happened between us means anything to you, please believe me.”
His eyes bore into mine, intense, probing, searching. I hold his gaze.
“I believe you, Lisa,” he says. “Therefore, you must go.”
I let out a shaky breath. He believes me. Which means, there is something between us, and I will not give up.
“You owe me an answer, Cole. What are you afraid of?”
He closes his eyes briefly, as though to calm a distant pain somewhere in his body. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows, and he inhales sharply. “If you stay a day longer, I will give you the ability to destroy me.”
My chest tightens and my throat aches. “What?”
He opens his eyes and looks at me, and there is sadness in their depths. “Because you are a dream come true. A life potion for the dying. A siren that sings so sweetly a sailor doesn’t have a choice but follow the song to his death. You will leave me sooner or later. And once you do—”
A tornado of emotion whirls inside of me. It opens my chest and fills my heart with joy and adoration. It’s as sweet as the first warm spring day and as beautiful as a canary’s song. It reaches all the cells of my body and lights them up like a Christmas tree.
I recognize the feeling and yet I’ve never felt this before. I was in love with Hank, but the intensity of this is like turning the volume all the way up till the bass vibrates the whole car.
I’m falling in love with Cole.
But I must go. He’s right. I don’t want to go now, but eventually I’ll put on the necklace and leave him forever.
Right?
I don’t say anything. I have no words. Because what he’s saying resonates in my heart like a tuning fork. I’m sinking in his eyes again, in their black, molten danger. I cup his jaw, then reach out and kiss him.
Our lips touch, very lightly, like the touch of butterfly wings. But it sends a rousing wave through my body. Then we come together again, a deeper kiss and yet as soft. Fire begins to sizzle in me, and as his tongue dips into my mouth, I’m lost. I don’t belong to myself anymore. I’m his, lost in the power of his gentle hands, melting under the pressure of his powerful body, dissolving in him.
Becoming fully and completely his.
He gently cups my jaw as he continues to worship my mouth. He runs his hand down my body, so lightly it’s teasing and igniting me. He cups my breasts gently, and I arch myself into his arms, giving him more access. He growls and puts his mouth on one breast and begins to suck and nip it with his teeth, and then he takes it in hungrily. I jolt and put my hands on both sides of his head. He looks at me.
“Wait,” I say. “Not so fast.
“Fast, darling. This is how I want you.”
“Please, Cole. If this is the last time—”
I choke on the words, pain gripping my throat. His eyes become clouded with hurt.
“If this is the last time,” I say when the emotion settles. “There will be no tying of wrists, no gags, no flogging, or spanking. No rush. Let me make love to you the way I want. To show you how I feel with my body. I want to savor every moment with you.”
Chapter 10
Cole
She glides against me, and I tighten.
Her way. Show me how she feels about me. What does she mean?
“Show me then,” I say.
She kisses me, in those feathery kisses that light even more fire in my blood than full-skin contact.
She shifts to the side and guides me to lie on my back. She kisses me again, and her lips brush mine as though she’s enjoying a meal, sweet and tender.
Without stopping the kiss, she climbs on top of me and fondles my chest, spurring my desire and setting my whole body ablaze. She traces her lips down my chin, down my neck, and then down my chest. She continues to my stomach.
She is so beautiful, her still-wet hair hanging in long, thick strands. Her skin glows in the dim light of the lamps. Her breasts hang before me, ripe and full and sweet, perfect for my hands. Her thin waist flows into her round hips and the soft curve of her stomach, so seductive. I’ve had a fair share of my erotic fantasies fulfilled, but this woman—she touches me in ways no one has ever done. She seems to understand me in a way no one could. All women see in me is danger, the man who is not afraid to satisfy them in any way they want. In forbidden ways.
But she satisfies me. In my heart. In my soul.
And she is about to leave. She said it herself—sooner or later, she shall be gone.
And I can not bear it. I cannot say goodbye.
She goes on to lick and nip at my stomach, and then down to my throbbing cock. “I want to please you like you pleased me,” she says. “I want to send you to the stars like you sent me.”
“I am already with stars because I am with you,” I murmur.
A sweet smile brightens her face, and she lowers her head and licks the tip of me, sending a jolt of pleasure through me. She takes my head in her mouth fully, and I cannot suppress a low, animal-like growl that escapes my throat. I close my eyes as she pushes my cock deeper into her mouth. Her tongue adds to the sweet torture, and she begins sucking me.
“Oh, Lisa,” I hear myself moan. “Yes, like that.”
She moans in response and doubles her efforts. I swim in an ocean of bliss, in a sky of burning heat. My erection swells and tightens, and I breathe deeply to stop myself from bursting with pleasure right then and there.
Because I must show her how I feel about her.
“Sweetheart.” I raise myself slightly and brush her wet hair out of her eyes. “Come here. I must have you. I must—”
I pull her up gently by the shoulders, and she meets my eyes, as satisfied as a cat after a bowl of cream.
I dip my finger between her sweet folds to make sure she is ready. Her cleft is so sleek with her arousal, I get even harder. I center my erection over her entrance. Her eyes lock with mine, and there’s hunger and adoration and something I’ve never seen before in a woman’s eyes…could it be love? My lungs tighten. That can’t be right. But I will believe for now, that it is. Inch by inch, I push myself into her.
She meets me with a tight grip of her silky, soft walls, and I groan as she arches her back and moans in response. She begins to move up and down, slowly increasing the pace, grinding against me, and spilling intoxicating pleasure like rum through my veins. It is sweet; it is just her and me. Our eyes are locked, and I gaze into the amber depths of her soul.
I put my hands on her breasts and massage them, probing her hardened nipples with my fingers because on some level I feel that this is what would add to her pleasure right now.
She glides on me, circling her pelvis around my cock.
It is as though we are connected, as though she is a continuation of me and I of her. Like a sea goddess, she is rising and falling with the waves, and I must have her. The thought that she is mine, that her pleasure is mine alone, that I can give to her everything she wants, makes my chest expand with joy.
He cheeks become flushed, her breathing ragged, and moans of pleasure escape her throat.
I know she is close to her release.
“Oh, Cole,” she whispers. “Oh God!”
I thrust into her gently and make circular motions with my hips, and she gasps appreciatively. I increase the speed of my thrusts. Her inner muscles grasp me tighter, and my own pleasure is almost at its peak.
And then I feel her reach the top. She falls apart around me, her insides milking me, and with a deep groan my own release covers me like a giant wave. I stop seeing anything but her, and she’s made of stars. Sweet agony washes through me and around me in wide strokes.
And I know I’m not alone anymore. Because my heart is full with Lisa and always will be.
“Oh, Cole,” she whispers as she lies on top of me and breathes heavily. “Oh, Cole.”
Our chests rise and fall in one rhythm, and I know I do not want this to stop. I do not want her to go.
But if she wants to go, she needs to do it now. Because I won’t bear it if she makes me fall in love with her and then leaves me.
I gently kiss her on the forehead and softly push her to the side. With a heavy heart, my body still washed in the aftermath of our love making, I go to the chest where the necklace with the jade pendant waits.
Lisa
Still hot and sweaty and pliable, I watch Cole reach the chest, take the keys from his belt and open it. I sit up and cover myself with a sheet, not because I’m self-conscious about my nakedness but because I need protection from the pain of rejection that starts to spread in my heart.
“Cole—”
He reaches in and takes out the necklace. It glistens in the dim light of the room, hanging from his fingers. My arms and legs chill.
He comes to me and holds it out. “Here,” he says, his voice hoarse, his eyes dark and intense. “Here’s your freedom, Lisa. You fulfilled our agreement. You may go.”
I stand up, wrapping the sheet around me. “No. Why don’t you believe me when I say I want to stay?”
He closes his eyes for a moment and clenches his jaw. When he looks at me again, they are pure agony. “Because it is not me you fancy. It is the new you that you have become.”
“What?”
“Like every single woman I’ve been with in my life, you were looking for an adventure. A thrill. To become bad. And sooner or later, every single one leaves, having taken what they came for.”
“No. No. It’s different for me. I care about you, Cole. Come on.”
“Take it.” He shoves the necklace into my hands, and I hold it, shaking. “Put it on. Go on.”
I inhale raggedly. Then I raise my head. “Wait, I still have one question left.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, and a crease forms between his eyebrows.
“Madame, you are testing my patience. You asked me your last question.”
“Which you didn’t answer.”
He sighs and nods, a pained expression on his face.
I lick my lips; my mouth is dry and warm. My mind is racing. What can I ask him that will make him allow me to stay?
Someone knocks at the door. We turn and see Jenkins peering in. Cole is still naked, and I’m covered in only a sheet.
“Captain.” Jenkins’s face shows concern. “The ship is six miles away. And it changed its flag. It’s no Union Jack anymore.”
Cole darts to his dresser and shoves dry clothes on.
“Damnation!” he spits out, then rushes towards the door. But before he disappears behind it, he turns to me. His eyes are feverish and burn like two hot coals. He looks at me for a long moment, and there’s such pain in his expression it resonates within me and makes my hands shake. Then he breaks eye contact and looks at the jade necklace in my hands. “When I get back, you better not be here.”
The door closes behind him with a finality that makes my chest ache.
Chapter 11
Cole
Through the spyglass, I can see that this is a frigate. Against the dark sky and the stars, there is an empty void where the flag should be.
Which tells me the flag is black.
A pirate.
A pirate who desperately wants to reach us. And I do not think it is to kiss me on the cheek.
It is likely that blood will be spilled today. And I vow that it will not be my crew’s.
But we need to turn to an advantageous position.
The pursuing ship is fast, on full sail, and did not slow down while I was rescuing Lisa.
Jenkins stands next to me. The master gunner, and the shipmaster, Bowles, as well.
“It is fast approaching,” Jenkins echoes my thoughts.
I glance again in the spyglass. The horizon in front of the ship is beginning to lighten. By the time our pursuers reach us, the sun will be rising.
“Five miles,” I say. “Master Gunner, get the guns ready. Bowles, when they are in shooting distance, we will club haul and give them some iron to chew for breakfast.”
We will drop the anchor, turn, and fire. Changing from prey to predator.
“Aye, Cap’n,” the three men shout and take their leave.
“Jenkins, every man must hold a gun or a cutlass.”
“Aye, Cap’n.”
He leaves to spread the command and prepare the men.
The chaos of the ship preparing for battle whirls around me, but I do not take my eye off the spyglass. And I do not let my thoughts wander to my cabin.
To Lisa.
Did she leave? Is she still there?
My heart splinters with pain, as though a cannonball has hit me in the chest. This is the destiny for me. No woman would love me back, and thinking and hoping otherwise is a mistake. A mistake I learned long ago.
Time crawls, and our pursuers draw ever closer as the sky continues to lighten. With the first sunrays, I can see the ship better, the black flag, and I can even distinguish the people on deck. I strain my eyes to see if I recognize the pirate captain chasing me, but they are still too far.
Soon they are close enough. “Anchors!” I yell, and the shipmaster echoes my command.
A loud spl
ash, and the anchors fall fast. “Hold oooon!” I cry, grabbing the nearest cable. The ship careens and turns, and I run to the other side because now we are facing our pursuer’s bow, and we can fire right where the frigate is most vulnerable. I take the spyglass and raise my other arm, ready to drop it as the signal to fire.
I look into the glass again—now we are close enough and there is enough light that I can see the people.
And the sight makes my stomach drop and my mouth open.
On the hull of the ship, hugging the shoulders of a raven-haired woman and waving at me is James.
He beams, waving his arm in wide strokes. The woman next to him is beautiful, and she is smiling, too, a little nervously. James puts his hand to his mouth and shouts something.
“Do not fire!” I cry. “It is Captain James Barrow!”
Surprised outcries run through my crew, and they visibly relax. There will no battle.
My heart drums.
James found a woman? He looks so happy.
My chest squeezes, and my lungs hurt. If James found a wife, a woman to be happy with, I am happy for him. I know how much he longed for it, and how much Anne hurt him.
Just like Duchess Chestwitch hurt me.
And now I have a woman who wants me, too. And I pushed her away, just like Duchess Chestwitch pushed me away.
But what I have experienced with Lisa, the joy of true connection, the joy of companionship, the joy of—love…
I am falling in love with her.
I have been avoiding risking my heart by immersing myself in physical pleasure.
With Lisa, I found both. A connection of the heart and a connection of the body.
No. I am not ready to let her go. I will have her as long as she will stay. If she wants to stay until tomorrow, she will stay until tomorrow. And I will let her go if she wants to go. It will kill me, but I will not hold her hostage against her will.
I will ask her to stay.
If I am not too late.
I turn and run to my cabin.
The ship, the ocean, the surprised faces of my crew fly by. The breeze pushes against me, as if it wants to stop me.
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