Bound by Decency

by Claire Ashgrove

  Obediently she set the back of her hand into his palm. “I could do this if you’d tell me what to use.”

  Cain dunked one cloth into the basin, squeezed out a liberal amount of water, and gently washed the dirt from her dainty fingers. She flinched at the light touch. Her arm tensed.

  India’s pain lanced through him like a sharp blade. He cringed inwardly, hating that she must suffer at the expense of Reggie’s humor. He’d wager the very ship they inhabited that Reggie had seen an easy target and purposefully sought to take advantage of India’s naivety. Just as Slater had.

  India squirmed and clamped her teeth into her lower lip. At her faint whimper, Cain silently cursed Reggie. He added Drake in for good measure. Beyond the fact Drake stood between Cain and the punishment he wished to extract on Reggie, it was Drake’s fault India had been injured at all. If he hadn’t refused to return her to the cabin, she wouldn’t suffer now.

  Her palm clean, Cain laid it in her lap and picked up her other hand.

  Wincing, she tugged on her arm. “Please…Is this necessary? They’ll heal fine, I’m sure.”

  Cain closed his fingers around her hand to keep her from pulling loose. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I know it’s uncomfortable.”

  And the worst was yet to come. The salve, although potent in its healing qualities, would burn. He’d seen it make grown men’s eyes water. Men who hadn’t uttered a complaint when pistol balls cut holes in their sides and swords sliced off digits that got in the way. With a little luck, she wouldn’t scream. Or faint. He wouldn’t survive either.

  India’s lower lip quivered, but she bravely dipped her head in acquiescence. Her eyes held his, and though she said nothing, he read the meaning in her unblinking gaze. I trust you. His heart skipped several beats as the unspoken words scalded into him. Aside from Richard, of all the people he knew, she had the fewest reasons to trust him. He’d done nothing to earn it. And yet, though he knew her faith in him was misplaced, the fact she gave it so freely settled a heavy weight atop his chest that limited his ability to breathe. No one had ever treated him to such genuine faith.

  He looked back to her hand, his throat tight. He swallowed to alleviate the constriction and hastened to finish the chore. Trust was a burden. With it came responsibility that exceeded the simple determination to keep her safe aboard his ship. Worse, trust meant inevitable failure, for when he did what he must do and took Richard’s life, he’d shatter every bit of that displaced faith.

  When he’d wiped away the last of the dirt and fibers clinging to her skin, Cain dropped the rag into the basin and cleared his throat. He gave India a brief glance before pulling out the opaque jar of salve. “This will be unpleasant.”

  At her hesitant nod and her wide eyes, he hastened to add, “The pain will pass quickly.”

  “Very well,” she murmured as her back stiffened.

  Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself against her reaction. A twist of the cap permeated the air with the strong aroma of camphor and mint. He scooped a liberal amount onto his index finger. The ointment cooled on his skin, a tingle that was altogether pleasant so long as he bore no wounds. He quickly spread it over both her palms and captured her wrists to prevent her from wiping the salve off.

  One heartbeat of silence passed. In the next, India gasped and struggled against his hold.

  “Easy, little wren,” Cain murmured. To ease her discomfort, he stroked the back of her hands with his thumbs.

  “Let go, that burns,” she choked out. Her eyes welled with tears.

  Saints’ teeth, her pain chewed him into pieces. He grimaced, feeling her agony as his own. Hating himself. Hating Reggie all over again. When her tears spilled, sending one crystalline drop down each sun-colored cheek, his heart twisted. He searched for words. Yet what to say eluded him. At a loss, he gathered her wrists in one of his hands and used the other to wipe away the salty drops.

  When two more trickled in their place, Cain let out a ragged sigh. He tucked a lock of her hair out of her face. Gentle pressure on her shoulder urged her forward enough he could slip his arm behind her back. Leaning in to her, he drew her cheek to his shoulder and stroked her hair. “Shh. It will pass.”

  She shuddered, but the sob that threatened stayed within her throat.

  He didn’t know how long he held her. But as seconds turned into minutes, Cain became lost in the heady fragrance of her hair, the warmth of her wet cheek against his skin. He held a woman, not the courageous spirit that had set foot upon his deck three weeks ago. A woman who possessed vulnerabilities she’d rather die than let him see.

  A woman who captivated him beyond all reason.

  Driven by the deep, unexplainable need to bring her even closer, he turned her hands loose and wrapped his other arm around her narrow waist. Gently, he dragged her out of the chair until she knelt in front of him. She lifted a watery gaze to his. On a blink, another pair of tears trickled down her cheeks. Something moved inside him then. Something so deep and unsettling, he couldn’t name it. And while it stirred warmth through his veins, it also terrified him.

  Desperate to escape the uncomfortable stirring in his body, Cain did the only thing he could think of to chase the sensation away. He framed her face between his hands, dipped his head, and caught her in a kiss.

  Beneath his, her mouth was warm and pliant and flavored with the taste of salt. He traced the fullness of her lower lip with the tip of his tongue. When she didn’t pull away and her lips moved against his, he surrendered to the yearning that plagued him. Sliding one hand into her thick dark hair, he nudged her lips apart to deepen the kiss.

  ****

  The stinging in India’s palms faded to dull pricks as Cain engulfed her senses. Slowly, languidly, his tongue moved against hers. Through the thin cloth of her shirt, the heat of his bare chest soaked into her. Her nipples pebbled in anticipation, and deep in her womb, longing took root. She lifted higher on her knees, awakening to the heady scent of sage and all the promise Cain’s kiss offered.

  Against her scalp, his fingers tightened. The hand he held to her cheek wound around her waist and crushed her into his powerful frame. Earlier thoughts of resistance crumbled. This was Cain, her lover, the man she had given herself to, and though he was forbidden, she no longer cared. What he stirred inside her was too great to combat. She looped her wrists about his neck and yielded to a quiet moan.

  Cain returned the sound of pleasure, and his mouth took on more demand. He untangled his fingers from her hair. With both hands, he cupped her bottom and dragged her hips against his. The hard press of his arousal against her feminine flesh sent a thrill racing down her spine. Though her trousers barred his kneading fingers, she felt the warmth of his palms. The strength behind his gentle squeeze. She arched her back in search of more contact, squirmed when she could not touch enough to ease the pleasant discomfort between her legs.

  His body tensed. As he sucked in a sharp breath through his nostrils, his lips clung to hers. Against her breast, his heart drummed fierce. But in the next heavy beat of hers, the sensual kiss gave way to feral hunger. Cain’s hands turned restless, roaming along the length of her back, skating over her ribs. With each caress, he stirred the same restlessness inside her soul. She couldn’t get enough. Couldn’t trap that elusive satisfaction that would still the gnawing ache of desire.

  As if he sensed her struggle, he captured her bottom once again and brought her against his swollen shaft. His hips undulated against hers, and that hard length stroked her feminine center. Indescribable pleasure shot through her body. She gasped against the force of sensation. Braced her palms against his chest to thwart the sudden feeling she might topple over.

  Her touch was enough to snap her into sense. Although pain didn’t sizzle up her arms, the discomfort of her hands was enough to draw her out of the spell Cain wove. She eased away.

  For a moment, she feared Cain wouldn’t let her go. He clutched at the waistband to her pants, steady pressure urging her back
into his embrace. But as his eyes slowly opened, his fingers relaxed. His gaze burned into her.

  “We can’t, Cain,” she whispered. Swallowing, she moistened her dry throat.

  Like someone cracked a whip above his head, all the dark intensity in his gaze shifted to reveal a spark of anger. “Surely you don’t intend to hide behind this falsehood of loyalty to Richard.”

  She twisted out of his hold and rose on unsteady legs. Free of his intoxicating nearness, sense returned. She shook her head. “It’s no falsehood. We are to wed. You know this.”

  A wry smirk danced on his mouth as he stood. “A wedding that can’t take place if the bride does not return.”

  Indignation rode her hard. The heaving of her chest began anew, and she whirled around with a fierce scowl. “You cannot keep me here forever!”

  One dark eyebrow rose to mock her. “No? I see no one to stop me.” In three long strides he closed the distance between them. His hand shot out to yank the leather strap from around her waist and wind it tight around her wrists. He held them in one hand. “Did you forget you are my captive? I can keep you as long as I desire. No one will stop me from tying you here, or binding you in the hold.”

  She gritted her teeth in a vain effort to still her tongue and tell him all the vile things that ran through her head. But at the sound of his low chuckling, her temper got the better of her. “If your intent is to keep me prisoner for eternity, I promise you I will find a way off this ship if I have to jump overboard. I may not possess the legs to sail, but I am quite capable of swimming.”

  With a broad sweep of his arm, he gestured at the window. “Swim if you wish. You will tire. When you do, I will be there to haul you in. And when I do, you will still be bound, and still my captive. And if we wish to enjoy each other’s bodies, we shall.”

  Spluttering, she opened her mouth to argue with logic, but sensible words eluded her tongue. All that tumbled loose was the ridiculous protest, “What you speak of is indecent!”

  Pain flickered across his face, so insignificant she wouldn’t have noticed had he not moved closer to the light. With a nonchalant shrug, the momentary crease to his brow smoothed, and his devilish smile returned to lift the corners of his mouth. “I have no place among decency.” He reached between them and gave her trousers a tug. They fell to the floor in a useless heap.

  She stood bare in front of him. His body heaved, his eyes glittered with an unsettling combination of anger and desire. Slowly, he skimmed a palm down her abdomen to press his fingertips between her legs. “Ah, India.” He shook his head as he slipped his middle finger into her slickened opening. “Surrender your false allegiances. Let me give you the pleasure you want. The pleasure we both need.”

  Despite the flames that ignited in her blood, India shook her head. In one last desperate attempt to dissuade him from the idea, she whispered, “I have no wish to be with you.” It was a lie, but she refused to give herself again and insure she would bear his bastard.

  Cain let out a hearty bark of laughter. He shook his head, his eyes alight with mirth. “I am a pirate, India. Do you think I give a damn what other people wish?” The burn of arousal fled from his gaze, replaced with the full strength of his anger. He removed his hand, strode for the door, and grabbed the knob. On a backward glance, warning filled his penetrating stare. “Your body speaks the truth. In my company, your mouth will do the same.”

  The door shuddered in his wake.

  She stared after him, shaken to the core. His fierce passion, the unacceptable thoughts he provoked—not once had she ever experienced such a wild rush. If he had been her husband, even her intended, she would have begged him to take her. Her body throbbed for him, yearned for his possession.

  Only common sense had kept her from doing so as it was. They couldn’t throw all cares aside, embrace this shipboard life, and sin to their hearts’ content. And yet, the idea held infinite fascination. Leave the world behind. Throw away all responsibility. Shrug off the chains of society and follow the impulsive yearnings of her heart, wherever they might lead.

  Embrace the fact they had been lovers instead of running from it. Allow her tongue the freedom to speak her fondest desires.

  She squeezed her eyes shut tight and pulled in a steadying breath. No. She wouldn’t go that far. She couldn’t abandon her father, and she wouldn’t give up the hope that through time, she could convince Richard to allow her the complete freedom to make North Atlantic Freight the success it should be. She could make a life for herself in business, even if her husband never wanted to touch her. All hopes of that would vanish if she became Cain’s willing mistress. She might have a willful mind, but she still possessed her loyalty, her honor.

  No matter how impossible it seemed, she’d find a way off The Kraken and return to England to honor her vows. While Richard didn’t make her pulse leap or fill her with the insatiable desire to strip away her clothes, he deserved her loyalty. Somehow, she’d find a way to crack through the layers of the pirate Cain and reach the buried gentleman. Cain might turn his back on loyalty, but Teddy would set her free.

  351

  Bound By Decency

  14

  Guided by demons he had no name for, Cain thumped through the entry to the main deck. The door crashed into the wall and rattled on its hinges. His men gave him a wide berth as he struck a direct course toward the main hatch, flung it open, and descended the stairs.

  What raged inside him he couldn’t explain. Never had he felt so out of control, both of himself and of a situation, than he did at this moment. In a thousand years he wouldn’t have dreamed he could experience the fury she ignited with her talk of loyalty and honor. Rage that spurred him backward into a world he had left behind and awakened parts of him he despised. He no longer knew himself. Was he the murderous pirate, who sought only his own satisfaction? Or was he Teddy, the perfect gentleman?

  The depth of his desire for India stunned him. He could not think around her without the overwhelming need to touch her overriding thought. Another rover would have taken what he desired long ago. Even Drake, who despite his goading tongue possessed a streak of gallantry, wouldn’t abide by such torture. He would have the girl and do so in a manner where she believed the decision was hers.

  It would be so easy to arouse India to the point where she forgot her loyalties. A few moments longer in the cabin, and he would have had her spread out beneath him, her legs parted in welcome. Yet, Cain couldn’t bring himself to cast India’s protests aside and prove the falsehoods of her claim that she didn’t want him.

  He raised a fist and hammered on Drake’s door.

  Confound it all, he had known kissing her would be a mistake. He’d expected her refusal, anticipated her protests. What he hadn’t anticipated was that she could arouse him so thoroughly that he lost all reason.

  He set his jaw. Nor had he foreseen she could provoke him so completely with her loyalty to Richard, that he’d entertain the very real idea of keeping her aboard The Kraken until he’d had his fill of her.

  The reminder of his treatment of her sent another bout of self-directed hate slicing through him. No matter how he had once tried to hide behind adopted manners and Teddy’s gentlemanly demeanor, he was, at the core, a bastard of the vilest kind.

  His first insistent knock went unanswered, and he pounded again.

  India claimed loyalty to one who didn’t know the meaning of the word. To a man who would forsake her in a heartbeat, were it not for the fortunes that came with her family name. Once Richard acquired her father’s fortune, India would quickly find herself cast aside. When her beauty passed, when her body filled out from childbirth, Richard wouldn’t honor her with the same allegiance. He’d take his fill of every whoring mistress he could find in every flat, carriage, or urine-covered alley London had to offer.

  Why Cain should care, he had no answers for either.

  He pivoted on his heel and squinted down the dimly lit hall. Where the devil was Drake? Reggie’s behavior
deserved punishment, and as the scoundrel’s ward, Drake must see to its execution.

  The sound of laughter drew Cain to the galley, where he found the wide room amassed with seamen, knee-high in their cups.

  “Cap’n!” a rough voice called out. “Sit ye down an’ fill a mug or two.”

  “Or three or four,” another voice added from a shadowed corner.

  Cain forced a grin and waved a dismissive hand. “I will sit this round out.”

  “Aye, he be havin’ better things ta do,” a man at his left murmured to his balding companion.

  “The girl,” someone taunted with a chortle. The voice rose courageously. “Come bring her here, Cap’n! We’ll show ’er ’ow ta be a seaman.”

  As laughter erupted, men lifted heavy tankards and raised their voices in congratulatory toasts. Cain’s blood heated as he peered through the shadows in search of the foolish tongue that didn’t know its place. At the rear, one man didn’t drink. His one-eyed gaze held Cain’s. Malice glinted behind the steely stare.

  John Slater.

  The sight of him clenched Cain’s fingers into a tight fist. The scurvy bastard should be locked in the hold. Preferably chained to a bulkhead while Stuart rubbed salt into the whip marks across his back.

  Boldly maintaining eye contact, Slater lifted his tankard to his mouth. He closed his eye only to toss the spirits back, then set the heavy wooden mug down on the scarred table. Rising, his mouth twisted into a hard, cruel line.

  Cain knew the look. Knew the intent behind Slater’s challenging glare. He’d seen the same from Slater on more than one occasion when a man dared to break the oaths of the brotherhood. Only in years past, Cain had the security of knowing the recipient would soon find himself at the end of Slater’s pistol.

  Cain took a step forward, intent on relieving himself of the problem before it could take life.

  “Cap’n!” Young Jim hollered from behind Cain.

  With a sidelong glance at Slater, Cain reluctantly turned around. Removing the threat would have to wait. The urgency in Young Jim’s voice demanded nothing less.