“You don’t say?” Scar drained his cup. “The Royal Navy?”
“I’ve heard the news from trusted sources,” James confirmed.
Scar’s belly jiggled with laugher, clearly unconcerned. “Those vermin are welcome to try.”
“Our militia defeated the Spanish Navy just a year ago,” Smelly crowed. “The English will fare no better.”
“I remember it well.” Charity raised a hand to her chest and giggled along with them.
James tensed beside her, his excuse of leaving because of an English attack a failure. Best try another tack. She rubbed his shoulder, his muscles taut and unyielding. “That’s not the sole reason why we ask.” With her best pout, she turned to the men across the table. “He’s not the only one who’s ready to leave this place.”
Scar bared his teeth in a leering grin. “Now why would that be?”
“Why else? I want to find some place where I can make more money.” Charity leaned forward, offering a generous display of her chest. “Do you know of a ship where I can pay passage?” She flinched when James’s hand clamped down on her leg. He gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. What did he mean by the action? Scar snagged her hand.
“Don’t worry, lass. You can take on new customers to make more coin.” With a wink, he licked his lips. “How much would a tumble cost me?”
She tried to twist away, and his hand tightened around her wrist.
“Hold on now.” James stood and grasped Charity’s arm. “She hasn’t given me what I’m due yet.” His hand on the butt of his pistol, he stared the man down.
At last, Scar released her, his lip curling. He issued a curse and poured himself another mug of rum.
The pressure on her arm strengthened. “Come, kitten,” James gritted out. “Let’s go upstairs.”
His grip didn’t lessen as he pulled her to the edge of the room. He passed a coin to a man at the foot of the staircase and half dragged her up the steps. They reached the top and headed into the deserted hallway where James pressed her against the wall. His mouth captured hers, demanding, seeking. She tensed with the initial shock of it all, but the boldness of his lips slipped past her defenses. The subtle taste of rum on his lips. The rasp of his breaths.
She kissed him back, meeting his demands with a few of her own. Her body melted into him, and she raised her arms to his shoulders, drawing him closer.
The groan that rose from his throat quickly changed to a growl, and he pulled away with a curse.
She stood against the wall, her breathing ragged and her mind in a daze.
James paced two steps and turned, an angry glow in his golden eyes. “What were you doing down there?”
“What?”
He pointed toward the stairs to the tavern. “You can’t tease men like those. The situation could have become dangerous.”
The shouts and laughter below that had faded to nothing before now awakened her from her stupor. She pushed away from the wall. “I was attempting to get answers.”
His dark gaze didn’t change.
She threw her hands in the air. “You should be thanking me. I was trying to help.”
“Thanking you? For placing yourself in danger of being toppled by that rutting ox.”
Her virtue. That was what had put him in such a dander? Ha. Nonsense. “This has nothing to do with the men downstairs or what could have happened.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave her a dubious stare. “Is that so? Then enlighten me.”
“You’re jealous.”
She was tempted to feel the top of her head. If his incredulous look was any indication, she might have just sprouted horns. He barked out a laugh. “I don’t get jealous.” His laughter sounded forced, but the contemptuous edge it held skewered her through.
“Do what you will.” He waved her away. “Go back to those men if you’d like.”
She kept her reaction in check. He’d never know how he’d hurt her. Not now, not ever. Without a word, she moved toward the stairs on deadened limbs.
Behind her, James heaved a great sigh. “Curse my blood.” He seized her arm before she’d reached the first step.
When she glanced back, his eyes burned into hers. “No, damn it. You’re not going back down there.” He crushed her to him, his lips claiming her with so much passion, her legs wobbled. James tightened his hold, and her heart warmed. Never gets jealous, indeed. If she hadn’t been busy kissing the most infuriating man in the world, she would have grinned. Instead, she relished the moment, his strong arms around her, his mouth on hers. Oh, and his tongue. She opened her lips to his probing and touched her tongue to his. Velvety soft, and delightfully wet.
Together, they stumbled into an empty bedroom. James kicked the door shut and pinned her against it, his hands cradling her face. “The thought of another man with you drives me mad.”
“Then don’t think about it. Just kiss me.”
His mouth took possession of hers once again, the sensations he inspired within her so potent her head swam. He grazed his lips along her cheek and on to her ear where he nipped the lobe. The slight scratch of teeth sent a delicious shiver along her flesh.
“Let me touch you.” His voice rumbled in her ear, setting off another tremor.
His hand swept over the rise of her breasts, and she took in a tremulous breath, closing her eyes. The scrape of his beard replaced his hand, then his lips, the soft glide of his tongue. She threaded her hands into his hair. If only her life could always be like this. To be desired and cared for. Never lonely again.
His breath warmed her skin, and she arched back. All thought of her bleak future, a future without James faded away. Yes. More.
She tugged at the pins of her stomacher, her hands trembling. “Help me with this.”
“Gladly.” James easily finished the task. He pushed the gown from her shoulders. The cloth skimmed along her arms, bringing tingling bumps to her skin.
A warm flush spread over her body as she untied her petticoats and let them slide down her legs to pool at her shins. James released her from her stays, then nuzzled her throat and hugged her to him. He brushed the opening of her shift over her shoulder and pressed his lips there. Her skin tingled everywhere he touched. Did she have the same effect on him? A need to smooth her fingers against his skin consumed her. Grasping handfuls of material, she yanked his shirt from his trousers, but his belt thwarted her efforts. “Take off your shirt,” she groaned.
A magnificent smile raised the corners of his lips. “If you insist.” After setting his weapons on the floor, he unbuckled his belt, then stripped off the shirt, revealing his broad chest. “Now where were we?” James lifted her chin and kissed her until she could no longer think, only feel.
At last, her fingers explored his bare shoulders and the contrast of smooth skin over hard sinew. His hand slid up her outer thigh, dragging her shift upward until his fingers explored her bare hip. He leaned in, his pelvis tight against hers, his arousal thick and heavy. Her body responded with a surge of dampness between her thighs.
Charity tasted his neck, his shoulder, his chest. Right or wrong, she’d come to care for James far more deeply than she’d ever thought possible. He made her feel alive and free.
Pressing against his chest until he took a step back, she lifted the hem of her shift. The fabric slipped over her in a long, sweeping caress as she drew the garment over her head. James’s eyes sharpened with the look so primitive and carnal, she lost her breath. She wrapped her arms around herself, a pang of self-consciousness winning out.
Shaking his head, he tugged her arms aside. “You’re beautiful.” He brushed his hand along her face. “Truly extraordinary.”
She nestled her cheek into his palm, her shyness easing.
“Not only your face,” his hand slipped lower, past her jaw, “your neck—so long and graceful.” He knelt in front of her, his hands stroking down her sides. “Your breasts. Full and tempting.” Leaning forward, he ran his tongue in a path aro
und one nipple, then settled his mouth over it and suckled. She whimpered and grabbed hold of his shoulders. With each pull of his lips, tiny jolts streaked into her belly.
“Delicious,” he rasped, his smile bringing a dimple to his cheek. He sank lower. “Your navel,” his tongue flicked into the indent, “luscious.” He bent farther still. “Every part of you,” he nipped at the spot between her thighs, “is delectable.”
A shaky laugh escaped, her body almost vibrating with sensation. “Am I a woman or a cake?”
He straightened to stand before her. “Ah, love, there’s no doubt you are a woman in the full sense of the word.”
With an arm around her, he moved them to the bed. Even as he pulled off his boots, his lips stroked hers once more before he stepped back.
Her gaze traveled down to his flat belly and waist, where his hand released the first button of his trousers. A pulse of desire throbbed somewhere low in her abdomen. His eyes never leaving hers, he released another button.
Holy Mother of… Her eyes widened as his stiff length sprang free. When he spied where her attention lay, he stilled. “Are you certain about this?”
His body glistened in the sunlight that streamed through the window. Golden skin, toned muscles, and narrow hips—so well-formed. Perfect in every way. Reaching out, she tentatively grasped his shaft, and he expelled a sharp breath. She reveled in his response to her touch, her feminine powers at work. James was the man who’d introduced her to the world of pleasure. Under his nimble fingers, her body had come alive. She would do the same for him.
“I’m certain.” Settling her hand on the nape of his neck, she urged him toward her until their lips met again and their tongues entwined.
With a gentle hold on her hips, he eased her back onto the bed. His hand splayed over her stomach and trailed lower into the curls between her thighs. The first sweep of his fingertip made her gasp. The second brought a rush of wetness and a pulse of pleasure. He dipped a finger inside her flesh and the sensation grew in intensity. He repeated the motion, coaxing her body into a steady purr.
Eager to explore more of him, she brushed a hand down the smooth planes of his chest, past his navel, to what lay below. His stomach muscles clenched as she skimmed her fingertips around the ridge of his shaft. She clasped her hand around its girth, bringing a groan to his lips.
Her own moan mingled with the sound as his fingers plucked and teased. Her hand jerked with the intense excitement that leaped to her middle. He tensed with the movement, his breath a sharp rasp. She repeated the stroke, and he pulled his hand away from her thighs and stilled her roaming fingers. “Easy,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “There’s more to come.”
James rose over her and parted her legs with his knee. He placed his length between her thighs, easing the tip inside of her. A soft mewl rose up from her throat as he pushed deeper. He hesitated and his eyes softened. “This will hurt a bit at first.”
“Wha—” Her question became a cry of pain as he fully embedded himself. “James?”
He looked down at her with concern and sympathy. “It should fade in a moment.”
Charity swallowed, trusting him, and soon the sting eased.
“Better?”
She nodded.
He lowered himself onto her, and she savored the feel of him pressing her into the mattress.
With a short, slow thrust, he moved within her, coaxing sensations inside unlike anything she’d ever known.
“Again,” she demanded, her voice no more than a whisper.
His lips twisted in a wicked grin that made her stomach flip. Watching her, he eased himself out and pushed back in.
Her mouth opened in a silent gasp, the sensations so foreign but exhilarating. She slid her hands down his spine to his backside and pushed against his cheeks. “More.”
With a laugh, he thrust again, a mind-rending stroke awakening her every nerve. Her gaze grew hazy and her mind slack as she met his rocking hips with equal fervor, the sensations building again. Her fingertips dug into his flesh as the pulsations heightened to a thrum that crested in rolling swells, and she cried out.
James plunged again and tensed. He pulled out an instant before he spasmed in release. After a last shudder, he rested his forehead against hers and kissed her nose. “My God, woman, you’re quite the vixen.”
Content for this one stolen moment, Charity smiled and hugged him tighter, indulging in his strength and the safety of his arms, even knowing deep inside that what they shared was an illusion.
Chapter Thirteen
Still pressed against her soft curves, James stared down into Charity’s eyes as he caught his breath. Those pools of blue drew him into their depths, the sadness he saw there unsettling. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. It’s nothing,” she insisted, but looked away.
“Charity.”
She held a hand over her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t ask questions. Just hold me.”
James frowned and studied her face, her skin flush and her lips plump from their kisses. What had happened? Moments ago she’d been gasping with pleasure, and now she looked on the verge of tears. “Come now, love. What has you troubled?”
She said nothing.
“You do realize this is a terrible blow to my pride.”
Her weak smile barely tilted her lips. “I’m certain your pride will recover.”
“So you think.” He rolled off her to lie on his side, pulling her into the crook of his arm. If she wouldn’t talk, he’d at least offer her the comfort she desired. She rested her head on his shoulder, and her dark curls tickled his chin.
Voices and laughter from the tavern below invaded the room. A woman giggled in the hallway, followed by a man’s chuckle and the closing of a door.
Charity traced a line down James’s chest with a fingertip, her light touch sensual and teasing. “Let’s pretend we can stay here forever.”
He surveyed the dingy room, barren except for the bed. “You’d like to stay here forever?”
She gave a choked laugh, a sound that held more misery than mirth. “I suppose not.” Scrubbing her hands over her face, she sat up, swinging her legs off the bed.
Her despondency bedeviled him. James grasped her arm. “What’s going on here? Do you regret what happened between us?” When she didn’t answer right away, guilt rolled through him like a tidal wave. Had he been wrong about her feelings regarding what they’d done? She’d been an innocent, after all. “Charity, I’m sorry. I thought when I asked if you were sure—”
“It’s not that.”
“What then?”
Averting her gaze, she took up her shift and tugged it over her head. “We’re wasting time.” She stood and wriggled the cotton down into place, covering her luscious curves. “We need to secure a ship and free your men.”
He rose to his feet and caressed her shoulder, then drew her in for an unhurried kiss. She responded sweetly with a tender brush of her sensuous mouth.
“Let it be known that I have no regrets.” He swept his lips over hers once again. “You are the most desirable woman I’ve ever met. If I must be distracted from my purpose, I can think of no better reason.”
She leaned against him, her eyes closing as she took a deep breath. “I don’t regret what we’ve done, and I never will.” Straightening, she looked into his eyes, a reassuring smile on her lips. “And don’t worry. I understand completely.”
He flipped one of her dark curls around his finger. Tenderness surged within him in a way he’d never experienced before. He enjoyed women, but with Charity the feeling was so much more, deeper, somehow. The realization sank into him bit by bit. What he felt for her… What he felt… “What do you understand?”
She worried her lip for a moment, her small white teeth tugging the skin in a most tantalizing way. “I’m no simpleton. I know nothing has changed between us.” Her chin rising a notch or two, she picked up her stays from the floor. “And I’m glad of it.”
His mi
nd stuttered to a halt. “Glad?”
“Yes.” She donned her stays and pulled the ties tight. Her breasts plumped over the top of the boned structure, each one a handful he longed to hold again. “I’ll find a place for myself soon, and you’ll return to your ship.” While her smile wavered an instant, her voice was sure and true.
Glad was she? Glad they would soon part ways. He clamped his teeth together, her admission as grating as a slap across his face. Good then. The deed changed nothing. If that was what she wanted, far be it from him to destroy her plans. Soon she would be starting a new life, a life without him.
By sheer will, he forced himself to gather his clothes. Yet, as he dressed, his attention strayed to the beauty beside him. He drank in the view of her lush skin before his attention roamed to her narrow waist and rounded hips. She settled the red gown into place, hiding those delectable sights. Tearing his gaze away, he tucked his blade in his belt and held out the pistol for her. “Bolt the door when I go.”
A wounded look crossed her face, and her fingers sped to secure her stomacher. “You’re deserting me already?”
He couldn’t help himself. He stroked his thumb over her silken cheek. “I’ll return as soon as I can.”
She jerked away from his touch, indignation reviving the woman he’d come to know. “We’ve already discussed this. You can’t leave me here.”
“It’s safer.”
“Safe?” she scoffed. “With a horde of pirates one floor below?”
“Hence the pistol and bolting the door.”
Charity hurried toward the doorway. “I’m coming with you.”
“I see. You’d rather walk amidst a horde of pirates.” With a shake of his head, he wandered to the window and looked outside.
“I’ve done it before.”
Acting as a prostitute. The very idea rubbed him raw. She was clever and brave. She deserved more than to be ogled by the vermin below. The memory of a meaty hand clasped to hers rushed to mind, the scarred lout below demanding a turn with the strumpet. James’s determination to keep her here strengthened. “No. Bringing you with me to the tavern room below was a mistake.”
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