* * * *
Pulling on the clean clothing Orshy’s sister-in-law had brought to her room, Ethan tried not to watch himself in the enormous looking glass above the washbasin. Where was he that a bathing room had flowing hot and cold water with the turn of a handle?
Her family was wealthy even by Black Sam Bellamy’s standards. The private room for seeing to one’s personal needs had a toy-lette, allowing its owner to urinate in the porcelain bowl rather than traipsing to an outdoor privy or pissing in a chamber pot. Light came from strange wires and bulbs instead of oil lamps and candles. Stacks of washing and drying cloths filled a large cabinet next to the shou-her.
He studied the odd metal pieces where a row of buttons belonged on his borrowed trousers. A small tab stuck out near the bottom of the placket. Giving it a tug, the tab slid upwards, catching the tender skin of his cock in the teeth-shaped parts.
“Son of a bitch!” He gingerly eased the tab back down. “Damned new-fashioned trousers!”
With water dripping from his hair, Grant peeked out from the shou-her. “What happened?”
“The fastener on these breeches almost cut off my prick!” Shoving the breeches down his legs, he stepped out of them and threw them in the corner. He picked up his damp towel and wrapped it around his waist. “I have no need of clothes anyway. Our unfinished business with Orshy is my only want. I am certain we’ve found the treasure we sought.”
Grant grinned as he made the water stop spraying from the pipe. “I’m of the same mind. After a satisfying tumble in the sheets with her, we can discuss over a meal how the hell we came to be here.”
Nodding, Ethan crossed his arms over his chest while his cousin used a cloth to dry. “The man who looked like you—she called him Kazmer. His appearance was changing as we...left the ship. He had the hands of a very old man, and Orshy sounded frightened when she said his name. If he hadn’t been trying to accost her, I’d suspect he was responsible for sending us here. Do you believe he is the magician?”
With his towel much the same as Ethan’s, Grant frowned. “I believe he is. If we hadn’t returned to the cabin when we did, I fear he would’ve hurt her. And had we not traveled from the ship, our lives were at risk from the flying debris as well. Logic tells me not only that the Whydah ran aground, but our destiny has arrived as well.”
Orsolya’s confusion over the name of Bellamy’s three-master took on new significance in Ethan’s mind. Had the storm made widows of all their shipmates’ wives? They had no way of knowing since not only had they instantly moved from sea to land but also to a place with amazing items not yet invented in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, or the English Colonies. “Let us postpone this speculation for now. I wish to make certain Orshy is well and unharmed.”
“And I.” Grant opened the bathing room door and gestured for Ethan to enter the bedroom area of her apartment.
Her tentative smile greeted him as she rose from the couch.
A white-haired woman remained seated, her unwavering stare making Ethan stand up straighter and very aware of his state of dress. “Accidents never happen in these matters, daughter. Accept what you have been given.”
Orsolya seemed to consider the old woman’s advice. “Great Grandmother, meet Ethan Whitmere and Grant Templeton. Gentlemen, may I introduce Romána Macska, the matriarch of the family. Um, didn’t the jeans and shirts fit?”
Grant stepped forward, guiding the way past the bed to enter the sitting area, evidently comfortable with his unusual attire. “Ethan had a bit of trouble with fastening on the trousers and opted not to wear them. I’m honored to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Mach-ka.”
Dark brown eyes brightened. “Ah, zippers can be tricky. You may call me Romána.” She aimed her steady gaze at Ethan as he inclined his head. “Welcome, gentlemen. I’ll have a meal brought up in a couple of hours. You’re in need of a rest after your adventure, I’m sure.”
Ethan offered the matriarch his hand as she began to stand. “Your hospitality is greatly appreciated, Romána. Would you care for an arm to lean upon?”
“Thank you, but no. You have more important matters to attend to.” She walked at a steady pace to another door with her spine straight and her bearing regal. “Until tomorrow.”
Grant forced his mouth to remain closed while Orshy’s grandmother exited the apartment. That she hadn’t scolded his and Ethan’s lack of clothing or accompanied them to other accommodations shocked him. The guardian of an unmarried woman didn’t allow men in her private chamber without an attendant to protect her virtue. What was this strange place?
“Zipper problems?” Orsolya’s mischievous smile brought his cock to full attention. She perched on the edge of the seat and folded her hands in her lap. “I don’t think Great Grandmother believed that excuse for running around my suite mostly naked.”
“It tried to bite me!” Tearing the towel from his hips, Ethan strode the couch and pointed his dick at her face. “Look what the contraption did to me!”
She seemed to study his appendage. “Shall I kiss it and make it better?”
Before he could answer, she licked a path up the length, only stopping when she pressed her lips to the head. “Ah, Orshy. No teasing.”
“I’m not teasing. We were very rudely interrupted earlier.” Her tongue flicked out to lick a drop of fluid from his slit, making him suck in a breath. “Mm. Tasty. I’m ready to finish what we started.”
Grant sat down beside her and smoothed her hair away from the side of her neck. “Your grandmother doesn’t mind that we shall compromise your reputation?”
She frowned. “Compromise my reputation? I don’t understand.”
Tipping her chin up to meet her gaze, Ethan saw the lack of comprehension in her eyes. “Any man who discovers you’re no longer untouched will refuse to court you. By allowing us in your room with no one else present, people will talk, assume you’ve been deflowered. That it will be true is beside the issue.”
“What an archaic attitude! Sex is a vital part of being human.” She shook her head, sending her hair cascading down her back. Her jaw tightened. “You didn’t care about any of that when we were on board the Whydah Galley. I was about to suck you and fuck Grant. Now you’re worried about ruining me for another man?”
She pushed past Ethan, her arms swinging as she marched toward the bathing room. When she reached the doorway, she turned to glare at him and Grant. Her gray eyes had turned stormy, and her lips were pursed.
Ethan stared at her, too shocked by the answer to her question to respond. Not once in his twenty-eight years had he experienced jealousy at the thought of someone else touching a woman he’d slept with—until this one. While he didn’t mind sharing her with his cousin, another man would have to fight him to the death for the privilege of making love to his Orshy. She had to be the one they’d searched half the world to find.
“Confounded men! You want me, but you don’t want me. I can’t have you because some other man might decide I’m worthy of him. You know what? Sex with a man isn’t worth the aggravation. You’re just like my brother. Overbearing, overprotective, and...and...Oh, never mind!” A tear trickled down her cheek as her shoulders slumped. “I can’t even send you back since your stupid ship sank.”
Distracted by the flush of color above her heaving bosom, he almost missed her last words. Sank? The Whydah Galley? How did she know what had happened to their ship?
“Send us back?” Grant stood, bracing his hands on his hips. “You brought us to this place, Orshy?”
“Ohhh.” Sliding down the wall behind her, she sat on the floor with her face buried in her knees. “I messed up everything.”
Unable to bear seeing her distraught, Ethan crossed the room and knelt in front of her. While he and Grant had to be sure of her identity, he didn’t care for upsetting her. “Don’t cry, love. Please don’t cry.”
“Don’t patronize me. I always cry when I’m angry.” She swiped at another tear and gave a dainty sniff.
&nb
sp; Joining them on the floor, Grant reached for her hand, grasping at it until she surrendered to him. “Did you bring us here?”
She nodded, looking more miserable by the moment.
“Do you have the ability to return us to the place we came from?”
She shrugged and looked away. “I don’t know.”
“Were you among the accused at the Salem Witch Trials?”
Jerking her hand from his, she scrambled to her feet and crossed her arms under her breasts. “No. I wasn’t alive over three hundred years ago. Besides, those people were innocent. Real witches do not consort with the devil, nor do they—”
“Three hundred years?” Ethan stood, fighting a bout of lightheadedness at the sudden movement—or perhaps from the realization that he might be in the twenty-first century. “The trials ended little more than a score of years ago.”
Grant frowned, still sitting on the floor. “The Colonies’ Puritans are as judgmental as the European counterparts from which they wished to escape. Misunderstood oftentimes means condemned. I will not judge you, Orshy. Are you a witch?”
Chapter 5
All the air rushed from Orsolya’s lungs. First, she’d accidentally spelled herself into the past. Then she’d brought two pirates back into the future with her attempt to escape her family’s deadliest enemy. Now, she had to choose between telling the men she wanted as lovers the truth about being a witch or lying to protect everyone in the mansion. What do I do?
If Ethan and Grant had shown any interest in becoming her permanent mates, she could’ve rationalized being honest with them. If they’d cared about having sex with her as much as they seemed concerned about keeping her desirable to other men, she might’ve thought she had a chance at an orgasm. They hadn’t. In fact, they’d all but told her that no man would want her after they’d finished with her. Did every woman have to tolerate men’s fickleness to find a suitable mate? Or a simple sex partner?
“No, I’m not a witch.” The words tasted bitter coming off her tongue. She’d finally gained some skills in the craft, and she had to lie about it. Pacing to the window, she considered transporting herself down to the gardens, where she’d try to forget she had ever met her pair of pirates. No, not mine. “I know someone who can send you back.”
Picturing the print on the final page of the chapter about Black Sam Bellamy and the Whydah Galley’s shipwreck made her stomach cramp. If Great Grandmother returned Grant and Ethan to the moment they’d come forward in time, they would die like their crewmates. Their mutilated bodies would wash up on the shore during the night, to be found tomorrow morning—nearly three hundred years in the past.
Why do I feel like I’m losing part of me when I’ve known them only a few hours? Orsolya forced her mind toward finding another man to take their places. Having learned her lesson well, she wouldn’t consider two again. One male would probably cause enough problems. Unfortunately, she couldn’t leave the estate again to search. Somehow Kazmer had known where she was. Stepping outside the estate grounds would be suicidal. She’d been right—sex with a man wasn’t worth risking her sanity or her life.
Whispers hissed behind her, but she didn’t bother looking at the men. More than likely, they were discussing whether or not to believe her denial.
“What if we would prefer to stay?” Ethan’s words took several seconds to sink in.
Straightening her spine, she kept her gaze trained outside. “Why would you want to stay? You know nothing about this time and nothing about this world. You have to go back.”
“You said the Whydah sank. You would send us to our deaths?” Warm breath teased her temple as Grant sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I didn’t intend to sound accusatory, Orshy.”
Resisting the pull to lean against him, she scoured her brain for some common sense. “It doesn’t matter. Perhaps you can be returned to another place. I’ll have to ask about that.”
“You’ll ask no such question!” Ethan spun her around and tucked his finger under her jaw, forcing her to look at him. “We wish to stay. No other man is going to lay a hand on you, and I beg your forgiveness for allowing you to believe we would discard you after sharing the intimacies of our bed. I only meant to warn you of the consequences should our liaison be of a fleeting nature. The future is unpredictable.”
She closed her eyes and tried to shake her head. His hand halted the movement, sending another burst of frustration to her already irritated mood. She clenched her jaw and drew in what should’ve been a calming breath before opening her eyes to glare at him. “You are like my brother—always thinking you know better than I do what’s best for me. We could’ve all died today, and instead of seizing life by the balls and living, you want to treat me like some fragile flower. I wanted to have sex with you without worrying about tomorrow or next week.”
He cupped her cheek in his palm. “Your family would have nothing to say against your taking of two lovers?”
An unladylike snort escaped before she could stop it. “My brother and his best friend are mated to my sister-in-law. Her sister and her cousin have also each taken a pair of men as their life-mates. My sexual partners are my choice. One, two, or many. I make that decision. Would you have regrets if we hadn’t been interrupted in your cabin?”
Stepping closer to press himself to Orshy’s back, Grant grasped her hips, holding the indentation of what had to be the seam of her ass against his half-hard cock. “I regret we were unable to please you then. Shall we postpone this discussion until after we remedy that injustice? None of this talk requires our immediate attention. You, however, are in need of some reassurance.”
Her somewhat aloof attitude didn’t fool him. She hid her hurt well behind a mask of haughtiness and sharp words, but her eyes revealed every true emotion—from the pain of rejection to the discomfort of lying. She was a witch. He’d stake his life on it. Considering she hadn’t cursed Ethan or him, the likelihood of a devilish practice of the craft seemed slim at best. Her grandmother’s mere presence had made the hair on his arms stand on end, suggesting a powerful coven of communal witches with Romána as their leader. Had she been the one to transport them to a different place and century? No, Orsolya is the one we seek. Her skills brought us here.
Ethan leaned in to the front of Orshy, covering her mouth with his, and a moan vibrated through Grant’s chest. He slipped his thumbs into the waist of her skirt, easing it downward to puddle around her ankles. She arched against him as he removed the tiny scrap of fabric covering the shapely curve of her bottom. Pressing her bare skin to his dick, she trembled, encouraging him to trail his fingertips along her thighs.
Another set of hands lifted her chemise over her breasts and higher. She moaned when Ethan severed their connection to pull her clothing past her head and hair. Her body was now as exposed as theirs. Nodding at Grant, Ethan swung her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He followed her down onto the thick covers, pulling one of her lush, ripe nipples between his lips.
Focusing his attention on her pleasure as well, Grant settled on the mattress at her feet. He held her calf as he kissed a path along the graceful line of her instep and up her leg to the silky skin behind her knee. The musky scent of desire drifted to his nose when he shouldered her thighs apart. Moist, pink folds sheltered by black curls greeted him, making his mouth long for a taste of her.
He inhaled, savoring her tangy smell before surrendering to the need to lap up her sweet juices and tease her precious jewel with his tongue. His cock swelled to aching with the first swipe through her muff. He’d prefer to fuck her after he made her come, but he’d gladly accept her mouth as a substitute if she wanted Ethan in that position. Either way, they’d share all the passion and satisfaction they could find together.
Her breath grew shallow as he plunged his tongue into her tunnel and then flicked across her clitoris. “Yes, right there! Don’t stop! Oh, please don’t stop!”
Concentrating on the nub of swollen flesh, he fluttered then su
cked until she tensed and cried out. Without a moment’s hesitation, he released her and crawled up to bury himself in her still-contracting cunt.
She rolled him over, straddling him and never losing their connection before she rocked her hips backward to take him deeper. “I want to suck you, Ethan. I need your cock in my mouth. Hurry.”
Ethan stood, bracing himself against the headboard above her and offering her his dick. When she took his length to his balls in one swallow, he groaned. “Make me come, Orshy. Make us all come.”
With her hands on Grant’s chest, she set a rhythmic pace of back and forth as she tweaked his nipples, sending sparks of fire to his balls. He watched Ethan glide in and out of her mouth, and he couldn’t resist grasping her ass to quicken her movement. “You feel so good. Come again with me. Almost there! Suck Ethan hard!”
A flood of pure paradise stole his breath, and he gave a quick upward thrust as she let out a muffled scream and tightened around him, pulsing and squeezing every drop from him.
Ethan growled above them as he stiffened. “Oh, yes, Orshy!”
Heavy panting filled the sudden silence in the room. Grant gathered Orsolya in his arms when she wilted on top of him. The pounding of her heart thumped against his stomach, keeping time with the erratic beat of his own heart in his ears. Ethan dropped to his knees and then collapsed beside them.
A whisper tickled Grant’s neck. “That was worth dying for.”
Her proclamation seemed to come from someone who had never experienced sex, but her readiness and lack of pain spoke of a woman without her virginity intact. Had she lied when she’d told them she was inexperienced?
“Great Grandmother was right. I’m glad I prepared my body for fucking.”
Her casual use of the coarse language confused him. “Were you a virgin, love?”
“Do you mean with men?”
His brain reacted to her question with an image so shockingly erotic he nearly choked. Surely she hadn’t engaged in sex with other women, had she? “Ahem. With anyone—have you ever had sex before today?”
Szereto, Mellanie - Two Pirates to Treasure [Bewitching Desires 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 4