“What are you...?” was the extent of his vocabulary and thought.
She dropped down a single step, hands perched royally on her hips as she peered over the hall. “I’m commandeering your ship, Captain. As of this moment, it belongs to me.”
James blinked. “What?”
Warm, hazel eyes found his. “That’s how it works, isn’t it? I have more men, more guns. I have you surrounded and your men have already surrendered to me.”
He glanced back at the men in question. They all had the good graces to lower their heads.
“You can’t come on my ship and take it,” he sputtered, his outrage overruling his shock. “You don’t even like this ship.”
She shrugged. “True, but I’m willing to negotiate terms. If you’ll please step into my office.”
“Your...”
But she was already stepping back into the bridge, leaving him to scramble after her.
“Shut the door,” she instructed with a dismissive flick of her wrist. “We’ll need privacy for this.”
He did, but not because she told him to, but because he didn’t want anyone stopping him when he strangled her.
“What the hell are you doing?”
She flopped down in his chair, and grimaced. Her pert ass wiggled a couple of times as if his worn seat was causing her pain.
“You seriously sit on this?”
“Cora, how did you get here?” he stressed through his teeth.
“It wasn’t as difficult as you might think.” She smirked. “I asked Deidra, who told me about your plans to meet a Nathanael Corbett in Tangier for a drop off. From there, I calculated roughly how long that trip would take you, especially if you stopped to take that job Deidra sent your way, the Columbian cocaine. I added an extra week for that. From there, I had my Dad’s source in Tangier keep an eye for your arrival. Once you landed, he called me and I cashed in a favor an army buddy owed me—”
“You were in the army?”
“No, but I dated a guy who was. Don’t interrupt!” she warned when he opened his mouth. “Anyway, I had him and his men fly me over where I roughly estimated you would be once you left Tangier. From there, it was a matter of boarding the ship.”
He stopped listening after dated a guy.
“Is he on the ship right now? The guy.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s all you heard?”
“Did you sleep with him?”
“James!”
He never thought about the other guys in her past. She clearly hadn’t been a virgin when he’d taken her, but her with other guys, guys who were willing to cross whole oceans to track down a pirate ship, kinda pissed him off.
“I just want to know if he’s on my ship right now,” he muttered.
“My ship,” she corrected. “And Andrew is a really nice guy.”
Oh Christ, the fucker had a name.
“What kind of stupid name is Andrew?” he mumbled to himself, and folded his arms. “So, he was completely willing to just help you track down your husband for you?”
“No, I’m not answering anymore of your questions until you’ve answered mine.” She glowered up at him with a tangled knot of pain and anger. “Why did you leave?”
He wished she’d started with a simpler question, one that didn’t require him to look like a complete ass, because he couldn’t explain why. He didn’t know how to tell her with it coming out sounding like some lousy copout.
“Just tell me,” she pressed. “Was it because you were done with me? Because you realized you couldn’t stand the thought of being with me anymore? That I repulsed you?”
James recoiled. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I get it.” Her voice wavered. “Ours wasn’t exactly a normal relationship to begin with. Honestly, you leaving should have been the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but you told me ... warned me not to love you and you warned me you could never bring yourself to have a family with someone like me.”
“Cora—”
She shook her head, deliberately avoiding his gaze. “I’m clearly a clingy, pathetic mess, one of those women I’ve always hated. The ones who don’t know when to fucking quit. He’s clearly not into you, right?” She bit her lip hard enough to make him wince. “Yet here I am, after traveling thousands of miles searching for a boat in the middle of the Atlantic because I’m an idiot. A fucking idiot who can’t take a hint.” Tears clung dangerously to her lashes, making her eyes luminous as they bore into his. “So, just tell me, to my face ... tell me you don’t love me. Tell me you don’t want me. Tell me to leave, and I’ll go. I’ll ... and you’ll never see me again.”
He closed the space between them in three aggressive strides. His hands fisted in her hair and he hauled her out of the chair and into his chest.
“You are the most infuriating woman I have ever met,” he snarled into her upturned face. “You’re mouthy, disobedient ... violent. You never fucking listen. You drive me crazy. I never know if I want to throttle you or put you over my knee.” His tone softened as his grip did in her hair. “But you’re perfect for me, sweetheart.”
A tear slipped the soft contour of her cheek. “Then why did you leave?”
He sighed and lowered his forehead to hers. “Honestly? I thought I knew.”
She jerked back. “What?”
“I thought I knew,” he repeated. “When I wrote that note, it made sense to me. I had a reason, a purpose. Over the last three weeks ... I have no fucking idea what that reason was.”
“Well, you have to tell me something,” she said. “I don’t know isn’t good enough for what you did.”
Using the time to let his brain process properly, James took the seat she’d vacated and pulled her into his lap. The weight and smell of her brought back memories and images he’d fought like the devil to avoid for days.
It made him homesick.
It made him want to burrow his face into her neck and never let go.
“I was trying to do the right thing,” he said at last. “I took you against your will. I held you prisoner. I forced you to marry me. None of those things are normal. None of it was what you wanted. I know all about Stockholm syndrome, sweetheart. I know how powerful it can be. I didn’t want you to love me because you were twisted into it.”
Cora glowered at him. “I really hate that word. I hate people using it like I’m some brainless girl easily swayed by what others tell her. I don’t have Stockholm, James. I don’t love you because it’s easy, or because you twisted me into it. I love you, because, despite all the horrible things you’ve done, you cared for me. You made sure I was happy. You made me laugh. You protected me. I fell in love with you because you gave me no other choice.”
“Fuck, sweetheart.” He cupped the side of her face. “This is a bad idea.”
She pressed her smile into the palm of his hand. “What part of anything we’ve done so far was a good idea?”
She had a point. Their entire relationship was built on wrong, and yet...
“I can’t leave the sea,” he told her quietly. “It’s my home. I don’t know how to live on land. But you ... you don’t belong here. It’s dangerous weather and months away from home.”
Cora shrugged. “You’re forgetting, I’m adaptable. I’ll learn to be a pirate’s wife. I’ll learn about sails and ropes. I’ll even learn to manage the bad weather, especially if you distract me the way you did that first night.”
She grinned when he chuckled.
“What about your parents?” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You won’t see them very much.”
She drew in a breath and rested her head against his shoulder. “Have you ever heard the story of Persephone?”
The unexpected turn in their conversation took him a moment to grasp, but he nodded.
“She was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of harvest. One day, while she was out, she caught the eye of Hades, the god of the underworld. He fell so madly in love with her that he
kidnapped her and took her to the underworld to be his queen. Demeter was devastated. All the crops failed. People began to die of hunger. It was chaos until Zeus stepped in. He told Hades to give Persephone back six months out of the year. Hades could have her for the remaining six.”
James frowned. “Are you suggesting I give you back six months out of the year?”
Cora laughed. “No!” She raised her head and peered down into his face. “I’m suggesting we sail the oceans from spring to fall. Then from fall to spring, we stay on land.”
“Interesting.” He coiled a strand of her hair around his finger. “Did you know Persephone was also called Cora?”
His Cora blinked. “Really?”
He nodded as he gave the strand a gentle tug. “Does that make me Hades?”
She hummed softly. “Yeah, I guess it does.”
“Your mother is quite scary,” he went on. “I can see her burning the city down to get you back.”
She laughed. “She would.”
“Cora?”
“Hmm.”
He tipped her lips to his.
“Be my pirate queen.”
He swallowed her laugh with a hard slant of his mouth.
But she broke away, gasping. “Wait! I had a whole thing in my head, an ultimatum if you didn’t comply with the rules.”
James arched a brow. “There’s an ultimatum?”
Wiggling higher in his lap, she cleared her throat.
“I have your ship,” she stated evenly. “It now belongs to me, so you belong to me. There are two ways we can settle this.” She folded one leg over the other, a slow, seductive motion that momentarily made him forget everything. “You can submit to me, be mine, and get your boat back.”
“Or?”
Her head cocked to one side. “Or you can refuse. Your men will be dumped into a raft, or whatever it’s called, and you will remain here as my prisoner.”
It was a task biting back the grin he could feel threatening to take over his face.
“So, no matter what, I’m still your prisoner.”
“Exactly.” She bounded to her feet and stood before him, legs a dominating V. “Except, in one scenario, you’re willing and will be treated fairly.”
“And in the other scenario?”
She lifted one bare shoulder to nearly graze the gold hoop in her ear. “You’d still be willing, but it won’t be nearly as much fun.” She took a lazy step forward, eyes seducing. “So, what will it be, Captain? Will you come willingly?”
Fuck me.
“Will you treat my men fairly?”
She nodded. “Very fairly. I promise.”
“Will you take care of my ship?”
She nodded again.
He slipped his hands around her waist and hauled her the rest of the way to straddle him.
“Will you still be my pretty little toy?”
Her smile was a radiant sunburst splintering across her face. Her arms lifted and found home around his shoulders.
“Yes.”
“Then yes, sweetheart, I surrender.”
“You let her onboard.”
From his bent position over the rails, Nicholas turned his head as James joined him. The cigarette in his hand flicked, casting ashes into the ocean.
“She had armed men. What was I supposed to do?”
“Not let armed men board the ship,” James rationalized. “Wake me up.”
He considered that while inhaling a lungful of smoke. He blew it into the cool night.
“I’ll remember that next time.” Nicholas squinted into the horizon. “I guess she’s staying.”
James chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, I guess she is.”
“There’s still time to throw her overboard.”
A scuffle behind them had both men turning to find Cora standing in the doorway, clad in nothing but one of his long shirts. His belt dangled at her side, the buckle jingling softly.
She grinned at James. “Come on, Captain. You owe me three weeks of orgasms.”
James felt his mouth twitch. He turned back to his best friend who had suddenly become insanely interested in the crap under his thumb nail.
“I think I’ll keep her for a little while.”
Nicholas smirked. “I thought you might.”
Epilogue
Four Years Later...
The sun blazed hot against the flawless heavens, a blinding pulse high in the distance. It rained warm slivers of light across warm, calm waters, turning the mist to diamonds.
It was the perfect day for sailing.
“You won’t be raiding or plundering, will you?”
James squinted away from his ship to the man looming beside him, looking as sour and annoyed as ever when it was time to set sail.
“You know I don’t do that anymore,” James muttered. “At least not with them on board.”
By them, he nodded in the direction of his three girls, two beautiful, dark haired pixies and a siren. They stood with Elise, saying their goodbyes before boarding.
“Where are you taking them?” De Marco demanded, voice edged with the familiar unease and protectiveness James was too used to.
“A little island off of Hawaii. Perfectly safe,” James assured him. “Elle wants to find a conch shell.”
De Marco twisted his lips together. “Those things have things living inside them. What if she gets bit?”
“I’ll be sure to check,” James promised.
“What about all those things you hear about people catching on islands, Hepatitis B and Ebola?”
James burst out laughing. “They have their shots. All of them, and I’ll make sure to keep them away from chimpanzees and rainforest areas.”
De Marco wasn’t listening. He kept watching his granddaughters with the look of a man who was debating whether or not he had time to snatch them up and stuff them back into the car before anyone could stop him.
All three of them wore soft, white cotton dresses that seemed to glow in the sunlight. Ellianne still had her white, straw hat on, determined to be just like her mother, while Nicolette had ripped hers off her head the moment she’d been placed in the car. The one year old sat perched in her mother’s hip, glowering at the world like it had betrayed her. Her sister clung to Cora’s hand, bouncing slightly on the balls of her slippered feet, anxious to get on the water already. But she knew better than to interrupt the adults when they were talking.
“Are you taking any protection?”
James tipped his head to the side to eye the man squinting at him. “I thought you wanted more grandchildren.”
He knew exactly what the man had meant, but the livid fury that came over his face was too good to pass up.
“I meant a gun, jackass!” De Marco hissed.
James rolled a tongue over his teeth and faced forward. “Don’t worry, De Marco. I won’t let anything happen to them.”
As if sensing they would be there forever, Elle turned her head and caught sight of them. She tugged her hand free of Cora’s and sprinted across the pier.
James started to bend to scoop her up, but she veered straight past him and into her grandfather’s arms.
“Traitor,” James muttered teasingly, poking her side and making her squeal.
“Nonno? When are we leaving?”
De Marco gasped, feigning horror. “Do you want to leave me already?”
Elle’s face twisted into one of someone faced with the most exhausting task. “Nonno!”
“Just as soon as your mom and Nonna finish talking,” James told her. “Don’t worry.”
With a groan, she dropped her head on De Marco’s shoulder. “They talk forever, and cry. They cry a lot.”
James bit the inside of his cheek and glanced over to where Elise had scooped Nicolette into her arms. The child was clinging to her like they would never see each other again, which had Elise in tears.
It was always the same. Lots of tears, lots of hugs and goodbyes until they finally raised anchor. Then they�
�d be at sea and it would be just him and his family exploring the world. They just needed to get past this part.
Cora took Nicolette back, ignoring her whimpers to be returned to her grandmother’s arms and pressed her close. She said something to Elise, shared a quick embrace before stepping back and turning to where he stood.
Four years and she still made his blood hot when their eyes met. He wasn’t sure what kind of spell she’d used on him, but he still couldn’t get enough of her.
Not her taste.
Not her smell.
Not the way she could set his whole world on fire with just a glance.
He fucking loved this woman.
“Hey Captain, ready to go?”
He straightened and slipped a hand around her back. He pulled her and their daughter into his chest and kissed her.
“Ready,” he murmured against her mouth.
She gave him a soft smile before turning to her father.
While they exchanged final goodbyes, he took Nicolette from her. The infant whined and strained in his hold. Her pudgy little hand opened and closed rapidly for Elise.
“I’ll see you soon, my little bug.” The woman sniffled, kissing the girl’s palm. “Bring me back a shell, okay?”
“No-No,” Nicolette whimpered, the only word she knew.
Elise choked back a sob and hurriedly turned away.
James leaned down and kissed his mother in law’s wet cheek. “I’ll bring them back soon.”
Elise only nodded.
He turned to his other daughter. “Elle, time to go, love.”
With a squeal, the girl shimmied out of her grandfather’s hold and scrambled to take James’s hand.
“Did you forget something?”
Wincing, she hurried back to throw her arms around Elise’s legs. “Love you, Nonna.”
Elise bent and gathered her up tight. She kissed Elle’s cheeks.
“Love you, too, baby. Watch over your sister, okay?”
Promising she would, Elle scurried back, calling a quick goodbye to her grandfather from over her shoulder.
“Daddy?” she said as they started up the ramp. “Can I be a pirate like you when I grow up?”
He safely set both his girls down inside the Passport 545, prolonging his answer the longest he could.
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