Privateer (The Five Kingdoms #1)

by Robin Roseau

  "You think so, do you?" she said. "Sit up." She climbed onto the bed behind me and pulled my arms behind my back, slipping one of the bonds over my wrists. She spoke the word, and it tightened.

  "Who can release this?"

  "You. All the officers. Not me, not while they are on my wrists."

  "Maybe you shouldn't have made me an ensign. I bet the list would be longer otherwise."

  And then she made me cross my ankles, and she bound my ankles together, then adjusted my position on the bed. It wasn't at all comfortable. I complained.

  "Tough," she said. And then she crawled across the bed, delivering a line of kisses along my side. It tickled and I squirmed.

  "Ticklish?"

  "Yes."

  "You are so hot, Sorri," she said. "Seeing you like this gets me so excited." Then her mouth was on mine, and her artistry was gone. I tasted her hunger. She sucked and nibbled at my lips until they were swollen from the attention. Her tongue invaded, diving deeply, filling my mouth. I sucked on it and squirmed under her hands.

  She ran her fingernails up and down my sides, causing me to squirm. She kissed a line of kisses down my throat, and then she pressed her mouth to my neck and began to bite and suck, and I knew she was leaving an outrageous mark.

  "No!" I said.

  She didn't stop, but her hands pressed on my shoulders, shoving me more tightly into my bed. I think I moaned, helpless to her touch.

  Finally she withdrew. "You are mine now," she said. "You wear my mark, and you will remain mine for however long you carry my mark."

  "They heal quickly."

  She smiled down into my eyes, her smile feral. "Do you believe you will not receive another one tomorrow morning before I allow you to return to being ship's captain? And tomorrow night? And the next morning? And if I decide to keep you forever, I am going to pierce your skin, and you will wear my earring, forever mine."

  "Oh god, Rani."

  Then she stopped talking. Her mouth took mine, and her hands kneaded my flesh. She was not gentle, she was not at all gentle, and I would not have wanted her to be.

  But then she reached between my legs, and her touch changed. "Is this what you want?" she asked.

  "Yes," I said.

  "Do you want me to release you?"

  "No."

  Her fingers parted me, teasing me, stroking me, and I went wild with need. She kissed me, her fingers still teasing me, then she shifted, and her mouth was over my clitoris, sucking, teasing, nipping twice, and I cried out in passion.

  She took me, she took me like no one had ever taken me. And when, finally, I came, it was her name on my lips, my taste on her mouth.

  When I was done quivering, she kissed me, then said, "Lick me," and I did, licking her lips and her mouth, cleaning my juices from her face.

  She threw a leg over me, sitting on my hips and leaning over my face. "Do you understand, Rani?"

  I nodded.

  "We will do this often," I said. "Just like this."

  I nodded.

  "You are mine."

  I nodded.

  "Good." Then she removed the bonds from my ankles and wrists. "Now make me yours."

  And I did.

  Morning After

  Rani Karden

  Sorri woke first. She woke me when she rolled over and wrapped me in her arms. I mumbled pleasure, barely awake. We had worn each other out, taking and giving. She had been far gentler with me than I had been with her that first time, but I had a lot of need, and when I apologized she laughed. I was gentler at the end, and she enjoyed that. As we mumbled together later, she assured me I had done everything exactly the way she wanted.

  I didn't have that much experience. Mori and I had been exuberant, and I'd had a few other brief flings, lasting little longer than my mouth getting away from me. But Sorri seemed satiated and grinned sleepily at me when we cuddled together at the end.

  "Radha lost her wager," I mumbled.

  "She certainly did," Sorri said into my ear. "Regrets?"

  "Have you lied to me?"

  "No."

  "Then no regrets. Was last night a fling?"

  "No."

  "Is this a cruise fling?"

  "No."

  "What happens when we return to Southgate?"

  "If your brother has reached an agreement with the negotiator, then I am obligated to return you, whether you want to go or not."

  "But she'll be asking for far more than he'll pay."

  "Yes. And I am able to keep you for six months until your bank pays."

  "What happens if I don't tell you the name of my bank?"

  Sorri began laughing in my ear. "I don't know."

  "Do you want to know my bank?"

  "No."

  I rolled over to face her. "Are you playing with me?"

  "Yes," she said. "But not the way you mean."

  "I don't want you baiting me anymore. Glora or Radha need to do it. I don't want to scream at you. If I lose it with you, you must gag me immediately. Do not let me scream at you."

  "We will see."

  "No, Sorri. This is now a relationship rule, and for that, I am the captain. You agreed."

  "I will obey your orders in the relationship if you obey my orders as captain of the ship."

  "I can not help you against Noridan targets. You must confine me. It is not right to ask me to betray my country, even if war is a stupid game."

  "We don't need to figure it all out this morning," she said. "I want your body."

  "You may have it when I return."

  I began crawling over her. She tried to stop me, but I told her to release me, and she obeyed instantly. I hadn't expected her to, but it felt nice that she did.

  I ran naked to the head, cleaning up a little, then returned to her. She waited in bed for me, her head propped on her arm.

  "Do you need to get up soon?"

  "Yes."

  "You may do anything you like to me until it is time to get up."

  "Including leaving marks?"

  "No marks. Ever. I am the captain of this relationship."

  "Including tickling you?"

  "Yes, if that is how you want to spend your time." I crawled into bed with her. She tested whether I was fibbing by beginning to tickle me. It took moments to have me squirming, but at no point did I order her to stop, and then her touches turned into something else.

  * * * *

  Sorri Westmere

  She was a vixen, a complete vixen, and she owned me completely. I couldn't have been more pleased.

  She offered no artifice. She gave and she took willingly. If she wanted me to do something, she told me, and every time, I did it. And if I did it wrong, she told me. And when I did it right, she thanked me.

  I had never had a lover like her. I had never had a lover so verbal.

  She did not have the technique of some of my past lovers. She was deeply enthusiastic, and she asked frequently if she was doing it right, or if I wanted something else. I wanted her, and whatever she did to me, but I told her what I liked, and what I liked was her.

  I hoped her brother did not pay her ransom. I didn't know what I would do. I wondered if I would have to give up the ship to be with her. I wondered if I could. I didn't think I could be happy on land. I would grow restless.

  I tickled and teased her and made her squirm badly, then threatened to leave her like that, but she ordered me to finish what I started, so I did.

  I tried to get up after, but she clutched me and wouldn't let me go.

  "I do not have a life on shore," she said. "I will not ask you to join me there. If you choose to make a life on shore, because that is what you want, okay, but the sea is your life. Find a way to make it work for us."

  I smiled. "Perhaps you will grow tired of me soon."

  "Do you think so? I will not give up my morals for you. I will not give up Minori for you. I will give up everything else. Does that scare you?"

  "No."

  Again I tried to leave her, but
she said, "Just one more minute, Sorri, if you can spare it."

  "I can spare it. Radha will be handling everything."

  "Tell me my duties."

  "Arrange breakfast for us."

  "Who is us?"

  "Radha will come."

  "All right. Am I serving?"

  "And then joining."

  "Yes, Captain. Now, hold me tightly and tell me what you want from me."

  "I want you in my life, and in my bed, for as long as you wish to stay."

  "That's a start," she told me.

  I held her. She lay with her head on my shoulder, studying the mark she had given me. She traced it with her fingers. "You will wear my mark with pride."

  "Yes, Rani."

  "Everyone will see it. They will know I have marked you."

  "Yes."

  "Radha will know she lost her wager."

  I laughed. "Yes."

  "All right. You may get up."

  I slipped from under her, heading for the head. By the time I was done, she was dressed, and she had laid out clothes for me. The bed was made, and she was straightening the room. I dressed, and then together we stepped out onto deck.

  It was another dreary day, but I thought perhaps the poor weather would end soon. At least we hadn't encountered any severe storms, just dreary skis and light rain for the most part. None of our passengers had been ill, which was a blessing.

  We were, as I'd ordered, heading due west, and it looked like we were making eight knots, a little slow, but the winds would not favor more sail, so this was what we would make. I wasn't in a hurry.

  I quizzed Rani on the rigging. She answered all my questions, although I had to prompt her twice.

  "Commander Halfheart's quizzes are more difficult than mine, and she is the one you must please, Ensign."

  "I understand, Captain."

  We toured the deck, first the deck over the forecastle, making sure all was shipshape. The deck needed scrubbing. The deck always needed scrubbing. And there were places that needed to be resealed. Radha would already have inventory and a plan to handle it while we were anchored at the island.

  Nothing else was amiss, and we turned to the aft quarterdeck.

  Radha was waiting as officer of the watch; Sergeant Titan was due shortly. He would eat and would have a seaman selected to man the wheel.

  Rani was acting the ensign, not my girlfriend, which was disappointing but probably proper. Still, Radha saw the love mark she had given me, and she guffawed. "Congratulations, Rani."

  "Radha, my lover has already answered this, but you will also answer. When was the last time she had a steady partner in her bed?"

  Radha looked away. "That is a bad story."

  "Pera?"

  "Yes."

  "Thank you."

  "I can't believe you checked up on me," I protested. "Shall I check on you?"

  "Would you care if I'd had six lovers last month?"

  "No."

  "But I care if you do this every voyage."

  "Rani," said Radha, "this is the first time I have ever seen that mark on her skin."

  Rani glanced over at me. I was uncomfortable with the conversation, but I wasn't going to interfere with Rani's attempts to reassure herself I wasn't playing games with her.

  "I was wondering what her usual type was," Rani said carefully.

  "Willing," Radha said immediately.

  "So. Low standards."

  "Quite."

  "She's lying," I said.

  "Are you going to believe her or me?" Radha asked.

  "She's going to believe me," I insisted.

  The seaman was studying the compass intently and I detected a blush. As soon as I glanced at the seaman, Rani followed my look. Then she stepped in between Radha and me and headed straight for the seaman at the wheel.

  "Seaman," she said. "What is your name?"

  "Forbin," he said.

  "Is that your first name or last?"

  "First, ma'am," he replied.

  "Do I make you nervous, Seaman?"

  "Um-"

  Rani stepped closer, looking up at him. "Captain, why is this seaman afraid of me?"

  "He doesn't know your status. Are you a passenger, and thus subject to his authority, or a ship's officer-in-training, and thus he is subject to yours?"

  "Is that it, Seaman?" she asked. "Or is it something else?"

  "Um. Ma'am."

  Rani cocked her head, looking up at him. "Perhaps you are afraid of my temper."

  The seaman glanced at her, then turned his attention to the compass. He didn't respond.

  "Forbin, look at me," she ordered. And he immediately looked and then returned his eyes to the compass.

  "Forbin, is the ship going to sink if you don't stare at the compass?"

  "No, ma'am."

  I glanced at Radha. She was watching the exchange without word.

  "Should we rescue him?" I asked her quietly.

  "She's spreading her wings," Radha replied. "She isn't sure she has any."

  "Seaman, look at me," Rani said again. Forbin finally tore his eyes off the compass and looked down at her. "Am I so hideous you would rather look at a compass?"

  "I don't understand the question, ma'am."

  "Forbin," she said softly. "Are you afraid of me?"

  He gulped and glanced at me. I didn't say anything.

  "I don't know, ma'am."

  "You don't know if I frighten you?"

  She spun back to me. "Captain, I don't understand."

  "Forbin," I said. "At ease. Report."

  "Heading is west, winds are moderate with a light chop. Skies are heavy overcast. It rained earlier."

  "Forbin, answer Ms. Kardin's questions as best you are able."

  "Aye-aye, Captain," he said. I looked at Rani pointedly, and she turned back to him.

  "Are you frightened of me, Forbin?" she asked.

  "No ma'am."

  "But I make you nervous."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "I would like to understand why. Are you afraid I am going to lose my temper with you?"

  "No, ma'am. Ma'am, I don't know your status. It's like the captain said. Are you a passenger?"

  "I am a hostage, Forbin. Passenger is a pretty word, but I am a hostage."

  "Ma'am, the captain doesn't like us calling the passengers with words like that."

  "Well. Hostage. Prisoner. Guest. Passenger. They all seem to be the same thing on this ship. That's all I am."

  "Begging your pardon ma'am, but you seem to be in a different category."

  "What category is that?"

  "I don't know, ma'am."

  "Am I in a different category because of the mark on the captain's neck?"

  "No, ma'am. Well, yes, but no."

  Rani shifted, standing up straighter. "Do I need to get my niece to ask these questions, Forbin?"

  He cracked a smile. "I like your niece, ma'am. She's a sweet girl."

  "Are you sucking up to me, Forbin?"

  "No, ma'am."

  "Because that sounded like sucking up."

  "Rani, cut him a little slack," I interjected.

  She nodded. "You are right. She's a sweet girl, and I love her to pieces. You seem to think I am in a different category. You must have a reason to say that."

  "We've never had a passenger on the quarterdeck before, ma'am."

  Rani spun around and stared at me. "Never, Forbin?"

  "Not that I know of, ma'am. There may have been some that were invited briefly, but if so, I never witnessed it."

  "And the captain's playmates from the ports you visit, they haven't been on the quarterdeck, either?"

  "I don't know anything about any playmates," he said. "But if she has any, they haven't been on the quarterdeck that I saw, and I've never seen her bring one on board the ship."

  "It makes you nervous to have a passenger on the quarterdeck? Are you afraid I'll run off with the compass? It looks securely bolted in place."

  He grinned for a m
oment. "She calls you Ensign, ma'am."

  "Ah ha!" Rani said. "Forbin, unless and until the captain announces I am something else, I am a passenger. Perhaps one with somewhat more access to the ship than other passengers. Perhaps one the officers amuse themselves to offer a playful title. But they call me that as a game amongst themselves and perhaps to tease me. I have no authority greater than any other passenger."

  "Yes, ma'am," Forbin said.

  "Forbin, do you recall your last batch of passengers?"

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Do you recall the name of the one the captain gave special attention to?"

  He blinked. "Ma'am, I don't understand the question."

  "The passenger that slept in the captain's cabin. What color hair did she have?"

  "Ma'am, I don't recall any passengers sleeping in the captain's cabin. Ever."

  "She told me herself she has the occasional dalliance, Forbin. It's not a big ship. I bet those things don't go on without the entire ship knowing."

  "Um. No ma'am, they don't. I mean. Dalliances go on. And yes, everyone knows, I guess. I think. At least we do when it's the captain."

  "So, the last passenger that slept in the captain's cabin. What color hair did she have?"

  "Ma'am, do you mean, um."

  "I mean slept, Forbin. Went to bed. Closed eyes. Got up. Repeat again the next night, and the night after that."

  "Then ma'am, there haven't been any passengers that have slept in the captain's cabin. Before you. Ma'am."

  She turned around, and I knew I was grinning at her in vindication. "Satisfied?"

  "He could be lying. You could have set me up, knowing I would grill him."

  "Do you think that's what happened?"

  "You're a planner, an elaborate planner. I think you get your thrills by enacting your plans, like how you stole this ship. You could do this every voyage, making some poor girl think she's special when she's not."

  "Are you accusing me?" I asked her.

  "Stating a possibility," Rani replied. She looked down. "You may have my body, Sorri, however you want, for the duration of this voyage. If you do this every voyage, tell me. I do not want to feel a fool at the end, not that big a fool."

  Forbin looked away, and Radha suddenly found a section of the ship's railing that needed a fresh polish from her sleeve. I stepped closer to Rani and lifted her chin to face me.

  "I don't know how to convince you."