Deep,DarkandDangerousSMASH

by Sydney Allan

  "Get used to it, buddy," she said. As he moved his hand, her gaze dropped to the pocket he'd stashed the cylinders in and she had a thought. It would be very easy to slip her hands in there if she allowed him to get a little closer.

  Would the cylinder help Morgan somehow? She had a feeling, from the defeated look on Morgan's face as well as their conversation, that it was essential to him in some way.

  A moment's disgust in exchange for whatever that key thingy was?

  That was a no-brainer. She'd done worse than flirt with an ugly pirate.

  She forced a smile and widened her eyes, giving him the best lusty come-hither gaze she could muster. "Then again, maybe I've been too hasty in making a judgment. If you would kindly untie my hands, I'll show you exactly how attracted I am to you."

  "Kath, what are you doing?" Morgan said.

  Knowing he was probably about to drop dead in shock, she avoided his gaze, stepped toward the pirate and waited anxiously as he unsecured her hands. With one hand, she toyed with the buttons of his dingy coat as the other inched down toward the pocket. "You do have a point about the men of my world. Perhaps a man who can throw me over his shoulder and carry me to his bed is what I want."

  "Kath!" Morgan shouted.

  Captain Davies didn't laugh. He didn't speak. He just stared at her with a cool, discerning gaze. When she didn't let her gaze waver from his, he scooped her up–heavy anchor and all–and tossed her over his shoulder.

  As she was lifted, she slid her hand into his pocket and pulled out the key. Quickly, before he discovered what she'd done, she called out, "Morgan, catch!" and tossed it at him.

  With catlike reflexes, he caught the key in his hand and barreled past them out the door. He halted at the railing, the joined cylinders dangling over the water by the chain.

  The captain set her on her feet and gave her the scariest stare she'd ever had directed toward her, then swaggered toward Morgan, who looked less than convinced he was about to do the right thing. Instinctively, she knew this was a moment of truth, a decision that would impact not only Morgan, but also the pirates and her, forever.

  She held her breath and her tongue, wanting to let him make his own decision.

  "You will be known forever as the wicked Captain Morgan Hawk, the murderer of women and children." Captain Davies took several steps closer. "You will be trapped in this world, forced to captain pretty party boats, working for men you cannot respect, unable to appease the lust for freedom that beats in your heart." He took another step forward. "And you will never see that lusty wench you call your wife."

  His wife?

  Morgan looked at Kath, his expression pained.

  "You will never claim the treasure your mates died to steal from me," the captain added.

  Morgan froze, his arm held straight out over the water, the chain held between his forefinger and thumb. "To hell with you!" he shouted and released the chain.

  The captain's scream was loud in her ear for a split second, then it faded. The wood below her feet became transparent, then turned to mist and, she dropped into the sea. The splash was loud in her ear as she hit the water. That sound was quickly replaced by the sound of her own thrashing as she fought to swim to the surface.

  It was at that moment that she regretted never having taken swimming lessons. The anchor, she assumed, didn't help either.

  Her head popped above the surface, but no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't keep it above water. She was able to drag in a deep breath before she sunk below again but she knew if Morgan had vanished like the pirates, she was a goner.

  Sinking, she thought about Marie, and all the things she had hoped to accomplish someday but never would. There were so many things, like seeing Marie happily married, and finding a husband of her own and having a child...

  She resumed her thrashing and found herself back up at the water's surface. Then she saw Morgan swimming toward her. He wrapped a powerful arm around her chest. She looked down. It was only then that she realized the anchor had vanished. Where had it gone? And how long ago had it disappeared? Had she been imagining the weight pulling at her waist all this time? Had it vanished into the mist with the pirate ship?

  Most likely, she thought, answering her own question. Stupid, stupid, stupid. If her arms hadn't been busy keeping her afloat, she would've smacked herself in the forehead.

  Still, even without the anchor dragging her into the great abyss, she needed Morgan's help swimming back to the yacht. Exhausted, every muscle in her body trembling, she climbed the ladder and lay on her back on the deck, struggling to catch her breath. Morgan sat next to her. Although he looked a little depressed, he didn't look the least bit tired.

  When she finally caught her breath, she sat up, looked in the general direction of the pirate ship, and said, "Wow. When I planned this vacation, I never expected to live a scene from my favorite movie. I should've packed my kirtle. Were those real pirates?"

  "They were," he answered, staring toward the eastern horizon, which was glowing with the light of dawn.

  "And to think I left my camera down in my room," she joked. "Where's Stella?"

  "Gone. Drowned. I couldn't get to her in time."

  "Oh. I'm so sorry," she said. Her mood instantly sobered.

  "Stella was a good friend. I'm very sorry she died."

  "What about your wife? The pirate captain mentioned your wife."

  "Dead." He looked at Kath. "For centuries. How are you feeling?"

  "Confused but fine. What about you?"

  He didn't answer for a while, just sat and looked at her with an expression that she couldn't quite read. "I'm feeling okay." He nodded. "Actually, good."

  Cold from being wet, she shivered. "That was too weird. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I'd never have believed it."

  "We had better get you inside and warm." He stood and took her hands in his, pulling her to stand.

  "I don't want to be alone." She struggled to stand, her leg muscles so weak they trembled. "Please, stay with me."

  Facing a boatload of pirates, the death of a crewmember, and nearly drowning herself, all she craved at the moment was the comfort of Morgan's strong arms around her and the steady beat of his heart in her ear. She needed reassurance that she was okay, that everything would be okay. She could've been killed, like poor Stella. She'd never been closer to death, not even that time when she'd stupidly gone whitewater rafting with some friends and had fallen overboard.

  He smiled and lowered his head, giving her a gentle, exploring kiss that made her knees even more wobbly than they were before. He gripped her wet hair in his fists and pulled back, exposing her throat. He kissed, bit, and nibbled his way down to her collarbone then, just as she felt her legs collapsing, he swept her into his arms and headed down the stairs. "As you wish, my lady."

  Chapter Seven

  Morgan moved like a powerful jungle cat as he prowled toward the belly of the boat where Kath's room was located. He lowered her onto the bed, then took a single step backward, his expression troubled.

  Kath scooted up to the head of the bed, slipped her legs under the covers, and drew them up until they covered her from the breastbone down. She didn't know what to say to him, couldn't read his thoughts.

  He sat on the edge of the bed and reached toward her.

  She took his hand in hers and gazed into his eyes. "Will you hold me?"

  He nodded slowly, then climbed under the covers with her. Silent, they laid down and held each other. Her head on his shoulder, Kath closed her eyes, listened to the steady drumming of his heart, and inhaled the scents of man and seawater. He kissed her forehead and stroked her damp hair, pulling it away from her face.

  This was right. Somehow, even though she'd only known Morgan for a few days, she knew she wanted to be with him forever. But what did he want? He'd made it pretty clear that marriage was definitely out for him.

  "Morgan?"

  "Hmmm?" he answered. His fingers traced her neck, down to her
shoulder, then across the top of her chest.

  "Are you sure you're okay?"

  "Yes. I'm fine." He licked his lips and she mirrored his actions, tasting salt from the seawater and the lingering flavor of his kiss. His gaze followed the path of his finger.

  "Thank you for saving my life."

  "You're welcome." He lifted his forefinger to her lips and she parted them and slipped her tongue out to flick it over the tip.

  "I owe you."

  He shook his head, pulled his hand away, and scooted off the bed. "Don't pay me back this way..."

  She couldn't believe what she was watching. A man was running away? From her? At the mention of sex? "Unbelievable. I bet that's the first time in history a man has refused sex as payback for a favor." Embarrassed and feeling rejected, she crossed her arms over her chest, pulling the covers snug over her torso. She tugged at a loose thread on the blanket's hem. "Am I that pathetic that you'd turn down an offer of free no-strings sex?"

  "No. You're not pathetic." He captured her face between his palms and she looked up into his eyes. "You're sweet. And beautiful. You deserve a man's respect."

  "So you couldn't make love to me and still respect me in the morning?" She twined her fingers in his and gently removed his hands from her face. "Gosh, doesn't that sound like a sorry cliché."

  "I remember what you said. You can't sleep with a man without a connection here..." he pointed at her head, then her heart, "and here."

  She closed her hands around his. "I do have a connection with you. I guess surviving a storm at sea, a pirate attack, and a near-drowning kind of speeds things up a bit. Make love to me, Morgan. No, I take that back. Ravage me, you sexy pirate." She lifted a hand to her forehead and feigned an over-the-top, Hollywood starlet swoon.

  He hesitated for no more than a heartbeat before grinning. There it was, that wicked Morgan-the-Dangerous beam she'd had the privilege of receiving the first day she'd met him! She'd missed that playful expression the past couple of days.

  His gaze suddenly ablaze with passion, he sat on the bed, then on hands and knees crawled toward her. She giggled and leaned back against the headboard, anxious to feel his weight on top of her, to taste his kisses, and run her hands down his smooth-skinned, muscular back.

  He was upon her in a flash. A man who clearly knew what he wanted and saw no reason to wait any longer, he wasted no time with witty pre-sex chatter but went straight for the good part. He kissed her thoroughly, his tongue stabbing in and out of her mouth in a primal rhythm that made her warm within seconds. His hands were restless, stroking, exploring, tickling.

  Her body responded quickly and intensely. Her heart galloped, her breathing quickened, goosebumps covered every inch of skin from her forehead to her ankles. Both hot and cold, she squirmed and groaned into his mouth as her tongue met the stabbing invasion of her mouth with rhythmic strokes.

  He found her breasts, literally ripped her delicate lace bra in two, and drew circles over her nipples with his callused fingers. She gasped and arched her back. An ache pounded between her legs, a throbbing, growing hunger she couldn't ignore. It begged for completion, already.

  "Oh, God," she moaned when his mouth left hers to take the place of one of his hands on her right breast.

  His tongue laved her nipple, and teeth gently nipped while his other hand worked her left breast, kneading it until she was breathless and writhing. "You will trust me completely," he murmured.

  Not sure if that was a question, an order or an assumption, she merely nodded and whispered a hoarse, "Yes."

  "Good." He sat up, his legs bent and rear end resting on his ankles, and ripped away her lace panties. As he pulled, the material was briefly caught against her mons. It didn't exactly rub away the ache but it helped, temporarily. That was, until the material gave way and she was left lying there, completely nude, her legs stretched out flat on the bed.

  She'd tease him about owing her a new panty and bra set, but her tongue wasn't following her commands at the moment. The best she could do was sputter out some unintelligible utterances that sounded more like the moans of a satisfied woman than actual spoken words.

  "Open your eyes," he said.

  Of course, curious to see what he wanted her to see, she opened them.

  Obviously pleased, he smiled, lifted the ripped lace to his face, and visibly inhaled a deep breath.

  He was a panty sniffer? For some reason, that didn't seem weird at the moment.

  "Heavenly. Sweet like honey. I can't wait to taste you."

  And that was downright sexy! She couldn't wait, either.

  He held one end of the lace in each hand and leaned forward. "I'm going to bind your hands now. With your panties. Do you like to be tied up?"

  She'd never been tied up before. She had no idea if she liked it or not, but at the moment, she guessed she would. A lot. "I...uh..." She tipped her head to watch as he tied her wrists together with the torn lace. Considering what he'd done to it, it did its job well. When she tested her bindings, not so much because she was scared but more out of curiosity, she found they held fast. "It feels very sexy."

  "You look very sexy, too. So sweet and innocent. Your body is so beautiful. Smooth and soft." He ran his hands down her torso, stopping them a few inches above her mound. He bent over until his face hovered only inches from her belly. "The scent of your pleasure is driving me insane."

  She had no response for that one.

  His attention focused on parts far from her face, he ran a single fingertip down the center of her belly and over her mons. It teased her labia as he wedged his hand between her thighs.

  Instinctively, she spread her legs a little bit, giving him easier access to the parts of her anatomy that burned the most for his touch.

  "That's it, love. Open to me." He encouraged her to bend her knees and open her legs more. "What a beautiful sight." He parted her labia and kissed her there. His tongue and lips gave her pleasure like she'd never known. As he kissed and stroked, her body stiffened.

  Sensations, scents, and sounds played across the blackness behind her closed eyelids, turning into colors and flashes and sparkles. She could hear the slightest sound clearly, like the sound his tongue made as it flickered over her sensitive bud. The scents of her own pleasure mixed with sea air and man to make a sensual bouquet that only increased her passion.

  With hands on her knees, he urged her to draw them up higher, toward her shoulders. Then, as a reward, he plunged a finger inside her as he continued to tease her clitoris with his tongue.

  Heat spread up over her chest. She was in heaven. Eager to make the most of his intimate caress, she tipped her pelvis in time to his steady thrusting. Still, it wasn't enough. She wanted him deep inside.

  "Please make love to me now."

  "Open your eyes."

  Again, she complied and was happy she did.

  He scooted off the bed and pulled off his T-shirt and baggy shorts. His erection was much larger than she'd expected. She heard herself gasping. Her lower parts clenched as expectation coursed through her body in rippling waves.

  He reached to the bed, grabbed her ankles, and pulled until her legs were off the bed and her rear end was barely resting on the edge. Then he pushed her ankles back until her knees bent and her legs were opened wide.

  Kneeling so his pelvis was in line with her bottom, he gripped the shaft in his large hand and teased her folds with the head of his penis. "That book you were reading. Was it sexy?"

  "Oh...yes."

  "What part made you the hottest?"

  "The love scene..." she mumbled, trying like heck to scoot closer so that he would finally breach her barrier and bury himself deep inside.

  "What part?"

  "When...he pushed her legs up and just plunged deep inside."

  "Like this?" He pushed on the soles of her feet until her legs were as wide as could be then thrust his erect penis as deep as it could go.

  The instant feeling of fullness sent her hurling towa
rd orgasm. As he drew out and plunged back in, her body trembled, her breathing sawed in and out of her body in noisy gasps and huffs. Her blood simmered in her veins.

  As his pace quickened, so did the heat pulsing through her body. One of his hands found her clitoris and stroked it in time to his thrusts the other found her breast. Just when she thought she couldn't take another moment of the sweet torture he was putting her body through, he changed positions, easing her over onto her stomach and taking her from behind.

  Her focus narrowed as she concentrated on the sensations hurling at her too quickly to comprehend. His fingertips bit into her flesh as he squeezed her hips, vying for all the leverage he could muster. Shaking and tight all over, on the verge of orgasm, she dropped her head and lifted her chest off the bed, using her arms to meet each of his thrusts with a backward push off the mattress. They both cried out in pleasure as his rod found refuge in the deepest parts of her.

  When his finger pressed oh so gently into her anus, she felt her body soar. Spasms shook her from head to toe and liquid heat pulsed up and out from her center. In the distance, she heard Morgan's cry as he, too, found release.

  Afterward, she basked in the glow of after sex tingles, snuggled close to Morgan, her head on his shoulder and one leg flopped over his. She thought about her life, about all the things she had not accomplished and how many things she would've missed out on if she'd died last night. There had to be more in store for her than being a secretary making peanuts working for a bean counter and sharing a tiny apartment with her best friend.

  She thought about Morgan's life, and about the small fortune in jewels he'd given her. About sailing on the ocean, visiting tropical ports, living a transient life. Such a contrast to her boring, predictable life.

  "I need a first mate," he said, seeming to answer her question. "Can you cook?"