by Connie Mason
“Relax, sweetheart,” he whispered against her lips. Then he flexed his hips and thrust again, driving himself through her maidenhead. “I’m all the way in!” he cried, exultant.
Pain. Relentless. Enduring. Tears stung her eyes; she tasted salt “S … stop! You’re killing me.” She stiffened and arched, trying to buck him off her.
“Easy,” he crooned, “easy. I promise it won’t hurt for long.” He moved experimentally, and Luca shuddered. Was there no way to escape this agony?
“It hurts, oh, God, it hurts.”
“I can’t stop now, sweetheart”
He smoothed the dark hair from her damp forehead and kissed her tenderly, waiting for her to grow accustomed to the intrusion into her virgin’s body. He kissed her until she began to relax and kiss him back, then he thrust forward, slowly, then out. She moaned but did not protest this subtle rocking.
Luca was stunned at Morgan’s gentleness, at the tender care he was taking of her. She doubted her intended husband would be so caring, so gentle with her on their wedding night. It was almost as if she were Morgan’s bride.
Morgan’s forehead glistened with sweat, his body drenched in it as he fought the urge to thrust himself to completion. He shouldn’t care so much about Luca’s comfort or pleasure, he told himself. He should do what his body demanded and to Hell with the woman. She was Spanish. She was the daughter of the man he had every reason to despise.
She was a sweet innocent he was using to slake his vengeance as well as his lust. Jesus! There were times he hated himself.
“Morgan…?” She exhaled slowly.
He knew what she wanted to ask. “I want to bring you to climax,” he told her. “I want to give you pleasure. Is the pain still bad?”
She felt the fullness of his manhood inside her, endured the subtle movement as he deepened his thrust. So slow, so careful, so gentle. So seductive. The pain still hovered at the edge of her consciousness, but it was swiftly fading. “It’s not so bad now, but I… I don’t know how to reach a climax.”
“I’m going to give it to you. Don’t fight it, and it will come. You’re not-blooded, Luca, I suspected you were from the beginning. Move against me. Ah, that’s it,” he said, grasping her hips and thrusting deeper. “Keep moving, don’t stop.”
Suddenly he touched something inside her. Something she didn’t know existed. She gasped and arched against him, inviting the hardened length of him deeper as he shuddered and tensed, in and out, again and again. He moved slowly, then rampantly, then slowly, thrusting, withdrawing, swift, sure, masterful.
The pain was gone, Luca realized, replaced by a newer, sweeter ache. An ache that burned like fire through her veins. She closed her eyes and let the feeling rush through her, overwhelm her. It was coming. It was close, so close. Rising, spinning, whirling. Sweet splendor rose from the point of their joining in rippling waves. It was coming.… She screamed and exploded in a burst of something so incredible it defied description Merely railing it pleasure wouldn’t do it justice.
Morgan began thrusting urgently now, his tension stretched so taut his arms felt like bands of steel. He raised her up against him, bringing her breast to his mouth. He seemed dimly aware that something astounding had happened to her, but he was focused now on his own pleasure. He shuddered against her, slick and damp, shuddered again and gave up his seed. Then he went still.
Morgan felt something shoving at him, and he groaned. He was weak and limp as a kitten. Still stunned from the most incredible climax he’d ever achieved, Morgan realized he was still laying atop Luca. Reluctantly he removed himself from her body and stretched out beside her.
“Are you all right?” he asked solicitously. “Did I hurt you excessively?”
“Si, you hurt me,” Luca told him. Her face burned with embarrassment.“But… but it did not hurt for long. What happened? I’ve never felt anything like that before. What did you do to me?” Would Don Diego have been as tender a lover as Morgan? Somehow she doubted it Morgan gave her a wolfish grin. “I gave you a climax. Was it not as wondrous as I said?”
Luca grew thoughtful. “It was… pleasant” He was far too arrogant she decided. “Does it happen to every woman? Can any man give me a climax?”
Morgan scowled fiercely. Just pleasant? The thought of another man, any man, giving Luca pleasure annoyed him. No, it angered him. He had been the first with her, she belonged to him.
“Morgan?”
“Ah, yes, your questions. Well, all women are capable of achieving climax, but it doesn’t always happen. Much depends on the man. As for your second question, I don’t know. It’s possible another man could give you pleasure.”
“Are you saying you’re better at… at this than other men?”
‘Jesus, you’re innocent”
“Not anymore,” Luca said ruefully.
“No, not anymore. I’ve never had any complaints about my technique. Most women seem to enjoy my lovemaking.”
Luca didn’t want to hear about the other women Morgan had bedded. “Will you be sending me back to my father now? Have you already contacted him about my ransom?”
“Not yet, but soon. Meanwhile, I’m going to enjoy you while the negotiations are in progress. After I’ve had my fill of you I’ll return you to your father.”
Luca sat up abruptly. “You’ve done your worst. I’m no longer an innocent. Of what possible good am I to you now? Let me go home and repent my sins in peace and solitude. I cannot marry now nor can I retire to the convent I hope my father will allow me the sanctuary of his home to repent my sins.”
Morgan felt rage building inside him.“Your sins! You did nothing. You never had a chance against me. You knew it was just a matter of time before I had you.”
Luca hung her head in shame. “The sin is mine. I didn’t have to enjoy it.”
Morgan’s tension eased. A smile hovered at the corners of his lips. “You’re truly an innocent, Luca. You had no choice in the matter. I was determined to wring a response from you, and I did. Beyond my wildest expectations.”
She looked at him doubtfully. She wished he weren’t looking at her with those keenly intelligent eyes. They had the ability to probe deep inside her, to find that vulnerable place no man had ever touched before. She couldn’t stand it. Deliberately, she turned her back on him.
“Go away, let me contemplate my sins in private.”
That angered Morgan. He forced her around to face him. “No, from now until I release you, my bed will be yours and I will be in it. I’ve had enough of your infernal prayers. I want to love you again. Now.”
“Haven’t you hurt me enough?”
“I told you it wouldn’t hurt again.”
“I’m not talking about physical pain.”
Morgan’s brow creased, “You can’t deny I gave you pleasure.”
“You don’t understand, do you? Si, you gave me pleasure, but it is nothing compared to the cost to my pride. I am nothing to you but an instrument of revenge. You’ll take your fill of me and send me away. Pleasure! Ha! You could give me pleasure every night, and it wouldn’t compensate for what you’ve stolen from me.”
“You place considerable value on your virginity.
I never wanted to hurt you personally. You’re Spanish,” he said, as if that explained everything.
“Why do you hate Spaniards so much? What have they done to you?”
Her question seemed to release a dam inside him. “What did they do, you ask? They stole five years of my life. They killed my parents and younger sister and brother. They enslaved me, beat me, and starved me. That one act of piracy thrust me into a living Hell. The ship upon which I was imprisoned was one of your father’s line.”
Luca’s eyes grew round in disbelief. “No! He wouldn’t allow such a thing aboard his ship.”
“You’re so damn naive,” Morgan snarled. “It happens all the time. Would you like to see some of your countrymen’s handiwork?”
He presented his back to her, revealing thic
k scars crisscrossing his flesh in a pattern only a whip could have produced. And it had to have happened more than once. Luca’s hand flew to her mouth.
“Dios! No!”
“Look your fill, Luca, and wonder no longer why I hate Spaniards.”
Unable to bear the sight of Morgan’s severely abused flesh, she turned her gaze aside. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I. Can you blame me for wanting to use you to punish your father?”
“I blame you for involving me in your vendetta against my country and my father. Since you have succeeded in ruining me and humiliating my family, I suggest you let me go.”
“No, not yet Revenge is a small part of the reason you’re in my bed. I want you. From the moment I saw you kneeling in prayer I wanted you. I know you hate me, but I can’t help myself. You must be a witch to affect me like you do. I’m not ready to send you back, sweetheart”
She turned to face him, her dark eyes glittering with emotion. “You’re wrong, Morgan, I don’t hate you. I pity you. I can understand your hatred of my people and even forgive you, as God would do. You may have given me a taste of passion, but I still yearn for the peace and contentment of the convent where worldly matters cannot touch me. When I return, perhaps I can convince my father to donate generously to the order. If he does, they will accept me despite my sinful state. I will pray to that end.”
She pitied him? The last thing he wanted from her was pity. “You don’t belong in a convent.”
“Where do I belong?”
Taken aback by her question, Morgan carefully considered his answer. “For the time being, right here in my bed. The Avenger is ready to take to the sea again. I’m sending her out with Mr. Crawford in command while I remain on Andros and take care of business. He will carry a ransom demand to your father and wait for him to deliver the payment for your release. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of months.”
“Morgan, I…”
“Luca, there is nothing more to say.” He didn’t want to think about the day he would have to send Luca home. He knew that day would arrive sooner than he liked, so he preferred focusing on the woman in his arms. He would have her again, and again, and when the Avenger returned he’d send Luca back to her father well used.
Luca squawked in protest when Morgan pulled her tightly against him. He silenced her with his mouth, kissing her until she no longer had the breath to deny him. Then she was kissing him back, responding with renewed ardor, shocked that she could want this again. Morgan had given her a glimpse of something she’d never expected to experience.
He had shown her soul-wrenching pleasure. And something deeper. Something she was reluctant to acknowledge. Then all thought ceased as his hands and mouth wrought their magic upon her. This time there was no pain when he slid inside her and moved with exquisite tenderness. There was only a splendid awakening of her body and a shattering climax that held her spellbound.
Stan Crawford and a full crew took the Avenger out the next day, leaving behind Morgan and the men who spent their days on the island attending to the plantation. Two days after the Avenger left Andros, the Queen’s Glory sailed for England with a load of lumber.
During the long, not days Morgan worked alongside the natives, providing Luca ample time alone to think of him and the carnal pleasure he gave her. Her sins were many, but the most serious was the sin of enjoying her nights in Morgan’s bed. Despite his hatred for the Spanish he hadn’t been brutal with her; quite the opposite. He was always gentle and careful of her, and always mindful of bringing her pleasure before seeking his own. She was no longer the innocent she once was. She learned volumes about kissing and arousal and climax. Especially climax, which she’d discovered was a state all men and most women aspired to above all others.
Did she still hate Morgan? Sometimes, she admitted. But more often, another emotion left scant room for hatred. An emotion that gave her insight into the intricate relationship between men and women. She learned that what she felt for Morgan was something on a higher plane than physical satisfaction. Luca preferred to give it no name. Besides, how could she hate a man who had ample reason to despise those responsible for taking the lives of his family? He must have been very young when his family was killed and he was forced into slavery. His hatred was so deeply ingrained that he had devoted his life to visiting vengeance upon his enemy.
Making love with Morgan during those soft, balmy nights on Andros gave Luca a glimpse of paradise. But afterward, when he finally fell asleep, curled around her in exhausted contentment, she was plunged into the deepest Hell imaginable. She knew that once he sent her back to her father he would forget her as if she had never existed. She meant nothing to him. He was using her to humiliate her father. And yet, when he turned to her in the dark of the night, she went willingly into his arms, aware that she would have long, lonely years ahead of her in which to repent.
Chapter 8
Cadiz, Spain
“Give us a ship, Father, and we will bring El Diablo’s head back to you in a basket,” Arturo Santiego swore.
“Si, Father, it is rumored that the pirate makes his home on Andros when he isn’t on the ocean, sending Spanish ships to the bottom of the sea or in England boasting of his accomplishments,” Cordero said, echoing his brother’s sentiments. “If King Philip wasn’t involved with gathering, arming, and provisioning a great armada to send against England, he would commission an expedition to Andros to destroy the pirate. Unfortunately our king is financially strapped and unable to afford more than one expedition.”
“We will rescue Luca and her dowry without King Philip’s navy and personally send El Diablo to perdition,” Arturo vowed.
The sons of Eduardo Santiego were hot-tempered Spaniards eager for blood. They had just received word from Havana that the Santa Cruz had been sunk and Luca abducted by El Diablo. Both Luca and her dowry were missing. Now the brothers were not for Morgan’s blood and for revenge.
“Let’s not be hasty. Perhaps we should wait for a ransom demand,” Don Eduardo suggested.
“We cannot wait that long,” Arturo spat. “While we sit here doing nothing that bastard is defiling our sister. Don Diego will no longer want her, we all know that.”
“Surely the pirate knows how valuable our sister is,” Cordero, the more levelheaded of the pair, said. “It is possible that he will not take her virginity, knowing that it will reduce her value to us. That’s why we must act swiftly and strike when he least expects it.”
“Si,” Arturo agreed eagerly. “Give us a ship and fifty men and we will rescue Luca and deliver her to her bridegroom in Havana, with her dowry intact,” he added.
“What about her reputation?” Don Eduardo asked. “Don Diego might no longer want her even if by some miracle El Diablo has spared her innocence. There will be rumors and gossip about her abduction that not even the governor-general will be able to quell.”
“Double the size of her dowry,” Cordero advised. “We will take it with us. Don Diego is too smart to turn down so great a fortune.”
“Are you sure you can find Andros?” Don Eduardo asked sharply.
“Give us a captain who knows the area and we will find it,” Arturo assured him. “We will slip in on a moonless night and strike when he least expects us.”
“Hmmm, it could work,” Don Eduardo mused after giving the matter careful thought, “if he’s on Andros. But instead of killing the bastard, take him to Havana. The pleasure of killing him should be left to Don Diego. Luca is his intended bride; he is the one most affected by her abduction.”
“Si, Father, we will do as you say,” Cordero concurred. “I feel certain he is still on Andros. He won’t leave until a ransom demand is delivered or an answer received. When may we depart?”
“I will make all the arrangements. The Santa Maria is in port now. Give me a day and a night to provision her, find the men you require, and gather additional funds from my coffers to increase Luca’s dowry enough to make her still palatable to Don Diego.�
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“We will not fail, Father,” Arturo promised. “We will rescue our sister and deliver her to her intended.”
Andros Island, the Bahamas
Three weeks later
Spreading her thighs with his knees, Morgan pressed into Luca, filling her with his strength, bringing a soft sigh to her lips. His mouth took hers, fevered, urgent, as he moved his hips in seductive invitation. Luca responded by arching against him, bringing him deeper into her honeyed sweetness. Morgan groaned, the taste and heat of her making him wild for release. His bronzed shoulders glistened with sweat, and his face was drawn into stark lines that bespoke the high degree of control he was exerting.
What was there about Luca that made him want her so desperately? he wondered, not for the first time. He never tired of thrusting into her tight sheath, making her his again and again. He had merely to look at her to want her. Once he had discovered her real identity, she had taken to wearing her own beautiful clothing, and sometimes the sarong Lani had given her. He loved her best in the sarong, with her feet and shoulders bare, her magnificent breasts unhampered by bone and steel. Even with her shorn hair she was an outstanding beauty. And though he tried desperately to deny the spell she wove around his senses, his body reacted in typical male style.
Moaning softly beneath her breath, Luca felt herself spiraling out of control. Morgan’s lips moved from her mouth to her breasts, licking and suckling her nipples, bringing her closer and closer to that moment of ecstasy toward which her body strained. She no longer feared that suspended moment of splendor when she exploded in shattering climax. She was not the innocent she once had been, for her virtue had been thoroughly compromised. Morgan had seen to that. Despite her inexperience, she knew beyond a doubt that Morgan was an incredible lover. An insatiable, demanding lover who held her spellbound in the web of his seduction.