by Neesa Hart
Her other hand went to the zipper of her windbreaker. “Can we talk about this later?” Her voice was sultry.
“No, we will not…” He forgot what he was going to say when she lowered the zipper. Beneath the windbreaker, she wore a black leather corset, laced over a white satin camisole.
“I see I have your attention,” she said.
He decided he was having delusions. That was the only possible explanation for this fantasy unfolding before him. Cora shed the windbreaker and stepped into his arms. “Make love to me now,” she whispered. “We’ll argue later.”
“What are you doing?” he choked out when she wrapped her arms around his waist.
She smiled and kissed his throat. “I’m pillaging.”
AN HOUR LATER, Cora rolled onto her side and eased her thigh over his. “I should have tried this a long time ago,” she said.
He grunted. The sound was so primitively male, she laughed. Propping herself on one elbow, she looked down at his rugged, beautiful face. “I had no idea this pirating business was so satisfying.”
He opened his eye. The heat she saw in his gaze made her shiver. “You scared me to death,” he grumbled.
She traced a finger along the curve of his upper lip. “You weren’t any more scared than I was.”
Molding her hips with both his hands, he pulled her on top of him. “You could have tried calling, you know. I have a cell phone.”
Cora smiled and shook her head. “You wouldn’t have believed me.”
He frowned. “So you decided to shock me to death, instead?”
She thumped his chin. “No.” She picked her way carefully into the explanation. “Rafael, I had no idea when I fell in love with you what it would do to me. I…I was so scared of what I felt for you.”
“Cora…”
She shook her head. “No, really. It was…potent. It was consuming. I couldn’t imagine what I was going to do when you left.”
He frowned, and she smoothed the crease from his forehead with her fingertips. “So I did something stupid,” she continued. “I pushed you away because I thought I could keep you from hurting me.” She shook her head. “I didn’t realize until it was too late that nothing in the world would hurt as much as spending the rest of my life without you in it.”
“Cora.” He pressed his hand over her mouth. “Stop it. You don’t have to apologize for protecting yourself.”
She pushed his hand away. “Rafael, do you love me?”
His gaze darkened. “More than you can imagine.”
Her heart soared. “You are the most beautiful man I have ever known.”
“Marry me,” he said, cupping her face in both his hands. “Marry me and let me prove to you that I will always come home to you.”
Cora kissed him, deeply. When she raised her head, her breathing was erratic. His hands had moved to the laces of her bustier. “If I marry you,” she said as he pulled at the strings, “can I be the pirate at least half the time?”
“I’ll pillage you,” he said with a smile, “and you pillage me.”
Epilogue
Five years later
The strange noise carried through the old house, and Cora tipped her head to listen. It was late. She glanced at the clock. After midnight.
She strained her ears. She heard the creak again. Her youngest son, Robert, hadn’t been feeling well that afternoon. He might be out of bed. Her mother’s ears and instincts told her no. Just as quickly, she ruled out the other children. Will, her oldest son, was a sound sleeper—he never got up in the night. Kaitlin, Molly and Liza were staying with them for the summer, but Kaitlin was spending the night with a friend, and Molly and Liza were asleep down the hall. She listened more intently. Perhaps Will had forgotten to pen Melody before he went upstairs, she thought with a frown, and began to push the covers back.
Then she heard the distinct sound of the security code being entered into the alarm system. She relaxed back against the pillows with a soft smile and a sigh of anticipation. He was home early.
Seconds later Rafael’s booted feet struck the stairs as he took them two at a time. He was shedding his jacket as he entered the room. He paused long enough to kick his boots off, then he covered her body with his in a swift move that simultaneously staked a claim and fulfilled a promise. He laced his fingers through hers and pressed her hands to the pillows. He kissed her, warmly, intensely, for breathless minutes.
When he raised his head, she laughed. “I thought you wouldn’t be home until Friday.”
He kissed her throat. “I worked hard.”
An understatement, she thought as his mouth glided over her jaw. He would have had to push himself relentlessly to be home two days early. His discovery of the Isabela five years ago had sent his scientific credibility skyrocketing. Each new success brought increased demands on his schedule, but Rafael always hurried home to her. “You must be exhausted.”
His chuckle rumbled against her skin. “I’m not that tired,” he said.
She could feel her blood pressure rising. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and clutched him to her. “I’m glad. You’re, ah, raising my expectations.”
He shifted against her and jerked the sheets away. “I missed you,” he breathed. “I missed the kids.”
“They missed you, too.” Their two sons had their father’s dark good looks and winning smile. “Robert will be so thrilled that you made it home for his T-ball game.”
He managed to remove the rest of his clothes and her nightshirt without breaking the kiss. After five years he could still impress her. She stroked his bare shoulders. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
He lifted his head. “I am, too,” he whispered. He touched her lips with his finger. “The girls are here?”
Since that awful day when Lauren had arrived for the girls, Rafael and Cora had worked hard to ensure that Kaitlin, Molly and Liza would always know they had a home with them. Lauren was on her second marriage since her affair with George ended, but her daughters spent every summer in Cape Marr. “They arrived last week. They’re dying to see you.”
His hand had found a particularly sensitive spot. He drew a circle on her flesh. “Me, too. How’s Kaitlin?”
Cora had told him on the phone that Kaitlin had changed more than the others in the past year. Adolescence was having its way with her. “She’s dating,” Cora informed him.
His fierce scowl made her laugh. “And she’ll be happy to argue with you about it tomorrow.”
“She’s too young.”
“How old were you?”
“That’s why I know she’s too young,” he grumbled.
Cora slid her hands down his back. The feel of his flesh against hers was exquisite. “I love you desperately,” she told him.
His gaze softened. “What in the world did I do right in my life to have you in it?”
Cora opened herself to him. “You showed me how to live,” she whispered.
“I love you, Cora. I love you.”
She cradled her pirate in her arms, wrapped her heart around his and softly responded, “Welcome home, dearest. Welcome home.”
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6816-9
HER PASSIONATE PIRATE
Copyright © 2001 by Neesa Hart.
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