The Pirate's Heart

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  Before climbing into the bed – alone – the last thing Katherine had done was contemplate removing the necklace. Before dinner, Jack had commanded that she leave it on so that the crew would know she belonged to him, even though she was certain no one would mention the bauble, which they hadn’t. At first, she had wanted to snap at him, as was her nature, but had somehow resisted, thinking that the better course of action. Keep him happy with her and all of that.

  She had still intended to remove the gaudy piece of jewelry at the first opportunity, however. No matter the consequences.

  Now? Well, in truth, she had quickly and surprisingly become accustomed to the weight of the heavy gems, and the idea of removing the piece made her uneasy, especially when she gave the matter some more thought. Jack had hinted that the necklace would be a deterrent to the crew and prevent them from pawing at her. Perhaps he was right. He would know far better than she about these matters after all. She was also alone in his cabin. Unbound so that she could fight if necessary, true, but she was still without male protection and no sign of Rupert about this evening. Not to mention that the crew was made up of men far bigger than she.

  So instead of removing the necklace, she instead slipped into a sheer, gauzy nightrail that had been left on a chair and climbed into bed, the sparkling diamond and ruby necklace still in place. All the while, she had hoped that Jack would return to bed her before her courage deserted her, but in her heart, she knew he would not.

  The moment had passed. It was too late.

  Unfortunately, Katherine hadn’t slept much after that, the fear of someone breaking into the cabin too great for her to be able to rest. She hadn’t realized how safe Jack made her feel until then. That realization annoyed her, but she also understood the reasoning behind it.

  At his core, Jack was a gentleman. He might say a lot of horrible things, especially where she was concerned, but he would not act upon them. Not even to rape her, no matter how much he might desire her. The other members of the crew? Katherine wasn’t so certain.

  In the end, Katherine had passed the night curled up in Jack’s bed, an ancient, rusty – and likely quite dull – saber that she had found propped in a corner clutched to her side for protection. She had dozed off and on but had never really slept all that well. Once the first light of morning had begun to creep into the cabin, she had risen and dressed for the day in a new frock, this one silk and just as scandalously cut, but also a bit more appropriate for daytime, that had appeared during the night.

  If Katherine had to hazard a guess, the pale pink gown had likely been delivered via the private privy by Rupert at some point while Katherine was dozing. After all, she knew that Jack trusted the “young man” and that the privy connected to somewhere else other than the captain’s quarters.

  Now that she was properly dressed, Katherine debated about leaving the cabin in search of food for she was finally hungry, but once again decided against doing so. She had no idea who she would encounter out there and she still had not seen Jack since last night.

  Though it had only been two days since her kidnapping, Katherine had given up the pretense that she didn’t want to see him. She did, if for nothing else than the protection he offered her. As alone as she was just then, such a thing could not be discounted.

  Instead of venturing outside, she moved to the desk and flipped over the mirror just as Jack had done the night before. Then, with shaking hands, she lifted her skirts to reveal her bare arse.

  As she had expected, her arse cheeks were bright red, with the outline of Jack’s fingers visible in some places. She knew he hadn’t spanked her as hard as he was capable of doing, since she could still sit down and her backside hadn’t been too uncomfortable last night. But it had been hard enough. Hard enough to arouse her anyway.

  Back on Barbados, her Uncle William had once spanked Lizzy for sneaking off with a footman during a ball. When he’d caught the would-be young lovers just as the footman was about to lift Lizzy’s skirts, Uncle William had taken his daughter over his knee immediately. Lizzy hadn’t been able to sit for a week, though her twenty swats had been double what Katherine had received last night.

  Once again, Katherine remembered the feel of Jack’s hand coming down hard on her arse, the feeling of being spanked in front of his crew, and once more, she felt the first stirrings of arousal begin to unwind within her.

  What was wrong with her? This was not normal behavior or normal desire for a proper young lady. Though as Katherine had reminded herself last night, she had never actually been as proper as she pretended to be.

  How many times had she dared Daniel to do something that skirted just on the edge of propriety because it secretly aroused her? Many. Too many to count. From watching him strip off his shirt so they could go bathing in the sea to insisting that she needed to hold his hand while crossing a narrow stone wall that connected the ruins of an old estate burned to the ground by pirates years ago, lest she fall to her death.

  To allowing her to caress his face under the guise of wanting to feel his scar…

  How many times had she thought that it would not matter if they were caught when they were up to mischief? Each and every time.

  Those had been innocent acts, true, but at their heart, Katherine knew they were always just a bit more than that. She had done those things to be closer to Daniel, to catch a glimpse of his body and yes, perhaps more, should he be willing, particularly during their final year together.

  Because she certainly had been. Willing, that was. The horrible truth was, had Daniel offered, even in jest, to divest Katherine of her virginity, she wouldn’t have hesitated. She would have disrobed before he even finished asking her if she wanted him. Because she had wanted him so very badly. Because she loved him.

  Even though they had never done so much as share a kiss.

  Now, with Daniel gone, was she transferring that youthful desire to Jack? Did she wish to find in Jack’s arms what she had never been able to in Daniel’s?

  Katherine didn’t believe so. There was a hardness to Jack that had been absent in Daniel. She would not go so far as to say it was a cruelty, but this man had seen a much harder life than Daniel had, no matter that he might have been born into the same class.

  No, Katherine was convinced that this attraction she felt for Jack was unique to him. It was not a reminder of something she had once felt for Daniel. However, that still did not explain her desire to immediately jump into the pirate’s arms or her lack of concern – not to mention her obvious arousal – at being exposed in front of the crew.

  The only man who had ever made her lose all control in that fashion was Daniel. She found it difficult to believe that Jack could make her feel the same.

  Then again, Jack lost control around her as well, didn’t he? Perhaps it was possible to find that sort of all-consuming passion with more than one person.

  However, until Jack returned, Katherine was in no position to discover the truth.

  Very well. She was a patient woman. She could wait. She hoped.

  From the peephole cut into the wall, Jack watched Katherine study her reddened arse in the mirror. From the slight smile on her face, he had the impression she liked what she saw – the mark of his hand on her arse.

  God knew he liked the view as well.

  Last night, he had come close to crossing a line that he had vowed long ago he never would. He had come close to simply tossing Katherine on the bed, hiking up her skirts and sinking his cock into her wet, waiting cunt without even asking her if that was what she wanted.

  He was not that kind of man. Or he never used to be.

  When he finally realized what he was about to do, Jack had stalked out of the room with an aching cock but his morals – and Katherine’s virginity – still intact. He was a pirate; not a monster. Nor would he act like one.

  That didn’t mean he hadn’t wanted her. He had. He still did.

  However, at some point during the course of the day yesterday, Jack had de
cided that before he made Katherine his, she deserved to know that truth of him. She deserved to know who he truly was, and until that happened, he would do well to avoid her. Lest he realize he was not quite as moral as he assumed he was.

  So Jack had done the honorable – or possibly cowardly, if one were to quibble – thing. He had tossed Katherine on the bed and then promptly left, choosing to spend the night alone in the hidden cabin that had been designed as an escape cabin of sorts for him should the ship ever be taken over and his crew murdered.

  The room was fully stocked with all manner of weapons. It also possessed a single bed, several peepholes into his normal cabin, and could only be accessed through the private privy through a hidden panel in the wall. Making it extremely convenient if one wished to, oh say launch a murderous attack on an enemy aboard his ship. Or hide out in mortal fear of getting too close to a beautiful prisoner.

  This morning, Jack had been determined to rouse himself properly, march into his cabin and announce to Katherine that he had something to tell her. Then he had managed to catch a glimpse of her dressing, her lush, bare breasts swaying as she shimmied the new gown he had left for her while she slept over her head. And he’d been entranced. She was truly a beautiful woman. Then, when she had lifted her skirts – sans drawers, of course, which he had conveniently removed from the room last night and not returned – to study her freshly spanked arse he had been so hard he’d been unable to move.

  So instead he had simply watched.

  Jack had watched Katherine move about, her hands examining the flesh he had struck last evening before lowering her skirts and fingering the diamond and ruby necklace she still wore. As he had instructed, she hadn’t taken it off. That had surprised him, though he was glad of it. It also made him wonder what she would look like if she wore that and nothing else when she was spread out on his bed before him.

  Perhaps it was time to find out.

  Which he would have done had something not rocked the ship violently from side to side, making the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. And making him fear for Katherine’s life.

  Chapter Nine

  Despite her vow to remain in the cabin until Jack came for her, hopefully in time for luncheon, when The Darkness rocked violently nearly a quarter hour later, Katherine was more fearful of staying below than she was of going to the deck and encountering the crew. If the loud boom that had accompanied the rocking was any indication, they were under attack and any help, probably even hers, would be welcome.

  Opening the door, Katherine could hear shouts coming from above. The men sounded angry and perhaps a bit fearful as well. She heard the words “grappling hooks” and “rammed but missed” so she had a fair idea that the ship was about to be invaded by another pirate crew which, as the only obvious female aboard, would be disastrous for her.

  Dashing back into the cabin, Katherine tossed aside the curtain near where she had found the old saber and began digging around frantically, figuring that if she found one weapon hidden there, others might be as well. While she could not lift a sword to save her life – well she possibly could, but now might not be a good time to test that theory – she was fairly proficient with daggers and supremely skilled with a bow and arrow, thanks largely to Daniel.

  Before he had sailed for England that long-ago summer, Daniel had insisted that Katherine learn to protect herself “just in case,” especially since she had likely returned to Barbados for good. His insistence had made little sense to her at the time, but perhaps he had known or possibly suspected that a day like this might come. Life in the West Indies tended to be dangerous on occasion, something Daniel had been far more well aware of than Katherine had ever been.

  “Ah ha!” she cried when she uncovered a small cache of what looked like ceremonial daggers. Their handles were bejeweled, but a quick test of their blades proved their sharpness.

  Katherine would have preferred a bow with some well-tipped arrows, but she doubted she would find those here. She was much more proficient at hitting her targets from a distance than up close, despite all of Daniel’s training, but beggars could not be choosers.

  Despite her better judgment, she also picked up the old, rusty saber as well. It did not weigh as much as she had anticipated, last night not being a good judge of such things, and she felt that if she belted the weapon to her hip, she might be able to carry its weight rather easily. And, well, a rusty saber was better than no saber at all, she supposed.

  Katherine also did better battling in breeches than she did in fancy gowns, again, something she had learned from Daniel. As she had not had anyone to assist her that morning, she’d not put on her corset or stays, so it was little work to strip off her gown and locate some of Jack’s old clothing. A pair of his older leather breeches were a near fit but his shirts were far too large for her, meaning his jackets would be as well.

  Then there was the little matter of the lack of buttons on the shirts since Jack didn’t tend to bother with them. Him being a man and all. Still, Katherine picked the smallest shirt she could find and decided it would have to do. Even if that meant that her breasts were exposed for all to see. Better a man catch a glimpse of her tits than they all end up dead.

  Once she had changed her clothes, Katherine snatched up a bit of black silk, likely one of Jack’s head scarves from the scent of it and bound her long, thick tresses into a modified queue. No one would mistake her for a man, certainly, but in the chaos of battle, her disguise might buy her a little time. She had no boots but thankfully her satin slippers did not have heels but did have some sort of sticky substance on the bottom, likely ale spilled from dinner last night. They would suffice.

  Satisfied with her disguise, such as it was, Katherine quickly located a leather pouch and stuffed the heavy daggers inside. Daniel had trained her for close hand-to-hand combat with this sort of weapon, which was why she had occasionally carried a knife back on Barbados, especially to balls. Still, if she threw the daggers, as she had seen some men do, her aim might be more accurate. She might not kill anyone but even if she wounded one of the invading pirates? Well, that was one less man that Jack would have to worry about.

  Jack.

  For a brief moment, Katherine’s thoughts strayed to the man who had nearly claimed her body for his own last night. She wanted him. It was senseless to deny it, even though this attraction made no sense after so short of a time. If they lived through this, she would offer herself to him and be done with things. They desired each other and she was bound only to a ghost. Why not indulge in the temptations of the flesh? Once she was released – if she was released – it was not as if she would have many other opportunities.

  Determined, Katherine ran for the door again and took the stairs to the deck two at a time. When she dared to peek her head out the door, however, what she saw made her question her decision to join the fray.

  From the look of things, The Darkness had been rammed, or perhaps partially rammed was a better term, by another ship. Given the swiftness of this ship, the attacking ship must have been hiding behind the small, rocky outcropping to the port side.

  Lying in wait for Jack.

  Though most islands in the West Indies were habitable, there were others that were far smaller with a tiny beach, thick forest and a single high mountain that were no more than a half mile wide – which was still wide enough to hide a pirate ship behind if the other captain was clever enough.

  While it did not appear that The Darkness had taken much damage, she had been knocked off course when she’d been rammed, making it possible for the other ship to launch grappling hooks that dug deeply into The Darkness’s deck boards. Small skiffs that had likely already been waiting in the shallow waters of the nearby beach had latched on to the ropes attached to the hooks and were using them in conjunction with rope ladders to scale the sides of The Darkness.

  She had heard of a similar grappling hook tactic before. It had been employed centuries ago by Viking marauders or so she thought. It m
ight have been another sea-faring race, but no matter. What mattered was the tactic and the outcome it hoped to achieve.

  As long as the hooks remained attached to The Darkness’ deck, the other pirates could continue to invade the ship and The Darkness herself could not run. But remove the hooks or cut the ropes if it was possible to get close enough to them without getting one’s self killed? Well, the ropes and hooks would sink into the sea like anchors and prevent pursuit, as both objects were still attached in some fashion to the attacking ship.

  Such a maneuver would allow Jack and his crew time to get away. Given that The Darkness was known to be the fastest ship in these waters, it was likely that the captain of the other ship knew he could not catch Jack on open water. Thus, an ambush had been his only chance.

  A few pirates had already made it aboard and Katherine could see the crew doing battle. Swords hissed as metal scraped metal and the sound of swishing blades cut the air. She heard muted cries as some pirates fell, though on whose side, she couldn’t say. She could smell the coppery tang of blood and knew that even if everyone survived, there would be injuries. Possibly fatal ones.

  Living on Barbados for so long, she had seen first-hand the wounds inflicted by pirates on hapless sailors. She had treated many of them herself at the local hospital where she nursed the injured whenever her uncle banished her from the house. Typically, that was when Lizzy was in a particularly bad fit of pique over one thing or another but always having to do with Katherine.

  If Katherine and the others survived this battle without capture, she would offer Jack her nursing skills. They likely paled in comparison to those possessed by the ship’s surgeon, but she would make the offer anyway. At a time like this, there was no such thing as too few hands.

  But first, those grappling hooks and ropes had to go. Preferably without anyone else being killed or maimed in the process.

  As quickly as she could, Katherine scuttled across the deck towards the hooks. While she knew very little about grappling hooks, she did know something about metal, especially tipped metal from having grown up on a sugar plantation. If the metal were well forged, then the hook would be solid. However, if the hook was poorly made or used inferior materials, there would be weak points in the metal. She was counting on pirates not having access to superior metalsmithing for her plan to work.