At the moment, she didn’t care what he knew about her breeches. She was much more interested in what he knew about her naked body. He took his time looking at her. His gaze started at her head and traveled down to her shoulders, her chest, her belly, pausing at the juncture between her thighs. His fingers traveled the path his eyes took and she bucked at the new sensation when he gently stroked her hip and the side of her leg. He stopped at her knee. “So beautiful,” he whispered. “Danielle.”
“Touch me,” she begged, trying to guide his hand to where she wanted it.
But he eluded her grasp. His hand moved slowly, too slowly, back up her leg until it found the juncture between her thighs. Her legs spread open of their own accord. Maddeningly, he only touched her there for barely a moment before his mouth descended to capture one of her nipples. She gasped and her fingers tangled in his hair, holding his head to her chest. “Cade!”
“Oh, darling, you can’t be calling my name yet. We’ve barely started. Let me do something to truly earn it.”
Her panting breath was her only response to that exasperating statement. He traveled down, raining kisses on her belly, and lower, lower until his mouth was positioned just above her sex. He pulled her knees apart with his strong hands and wrapped his arms beneath them, leaving her open to him.
* * *
Cade breathed in Danielle’s womanly scent. His cock was so hard it was painful. He clenched his jaw. Never in his life had he wanted a woman as badly as he wanted Danielle. Never in his life had he taken such care and time preparing a woman for his lovemaking. He wanted his partners to enjoy themselves, of course, but it had never mattered more to him. He wanted her to come so hard, she wouldn’t be the same. Why? He didn’t want to examine that question at the moment. All he knew was that tonight her pleasure was his pleasure and he was about to make her explode with it.
His tongue dipped into her cleft. She clamped her thighs against his head. He smiled and pulled them away with his hands at her knees. “Shh,” he murmured, blowing softly into her sex. She gasped. His tongue dipped a second time and she moaned. It was the most erotic sound he’d ever heard. He was dizzy with the sight and sound and smell and taste of her. He swiped his tongue along the seam of her sex. Again, he burrowed his tongue between the cleft, finding the nub of pleasure. Her feet pushed against the bed and her hips arched off the mattress.
“Shh. No.” He pulled her hips back down.
“I can’t.” Her head fell back against the sheets, tossing from side to side.
“Relax,” he murmured against her soft, wet, hot skin.
He pushed his tongue between her cleft again and nudged at the bud. Her fingers tangled in his hair. He glanced up at her. She was mindless with want, her head thrown back, her beautiful dark hair splayed out behind her, her eyes closed. She wriggled beneath him but he held her thighs tightly with both hands, not letting her slip away. All the while he kept up the pressure with his tongue, nudging at the bud between her legs, moving in small circles as her panting increased and her thighs tensed. She bit her lip so hard, it turned bloodred and still he didn’t stop, lapping at her, licking her in long strokes until she finally took a deep breath to scream his name. His hand shot up to cover her mouth and muffle her scream.
She lay panting for several moments, her eyes wide, unfocused. “Cade, did I just…? Was that what I…? I never knew my body was capable of…”
“Now, that was something to scream my name for,” he said, pleased with himself. “Though I daresay you’ll need to be more careful next time. You’ll bring the entire crew running.”
“Next time.” Her brow furrowed. “Oh, but I said there might not be a next—”
“Of course there’s going to be a next time.” He moved up her body and covered her with his own. “Because I’m not done making you come.”
* * *
His words made Danielle wet all over again. She had no vocabulary in French or English for the pleasure she’d just experienced. It was mind-numbing, indescribable. She didn’t think her body could take it again, but when Cade began kissing her neck, she was more than willing to try. Besides, she knew he hadn’t been satisfied. After the pleasure he’d just given her, she wanted to return the faveur.
“Love?” he asked, rising up on his elbow, his finger tracing her cheekbone.
“Yes?” Her lust haze still hadn’t cleared and she felt a huge smile sitting on her face like a well-fed cat.
“Forgive me for asking, but … are you a virgin?”
This was it. The moment of truth. She’d decided long ago to refuse to be ashamed of her past choices. Besides, he’d been with other women. Well, she’d been with another man. One. One inexperienced one. She’d chosen poorly the first time. She was about to make up for it now.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Does that make a difference to you?”
“Not at all. In fact, it’s a huge relief.” An honest look of contentment covered his face.
“A relief?” she murmured against his head. His hand was making its way between her legs and touching her in that same indescribable spot again, making it difficult to think. “Why?”
“Because.” He kissed her eye, her ear. “When I slide into you there will be only pleasure. No pain.”
She shivered at those words and when one of his fingers slipped inside, her eyes fluttered back into her head. “Mon dieu,” she whispered. She hadn’t known that. She had assumed it would hurt every time. She sighed and allowed her eyes to flutter closed.
“That’s right.” He pulled out his finger and pushed it in again. “Tell me how much you want me. In French.”
“J’ai envie de toi,” she murmured.
“I want you, too. I’m going to make you come again so hard you see stars.”
“Baise-moi.”
“Oh, sweetheart, with pleasure,” he whispered. “First, touch me.”
Danielle reached down to close her hand around him.
“That’s right,” he said, his eyes closed. “Stroke me.” Then, “Show me where you want me.”
She guided him to the cradle between her legs. There was a hot pressure, a prodding for a moment, and then he slid slowly inside her.
“Mon dieu!” She shouted into the pillow to muffle the noise.
* * *
Cade stopped. He was entirely still. Sweat beaded on his brow but still he didn’t move. The unholy torture of being sheathed to the hilt inside Danielle was too much to bear. If he moved he wasn’t certain he wouldn’t spend himself like an untried lad. He bit the inside of his cheek to control himself. Danielle wasn’t helping. She was frantically kissing him, her body straining up to reach his, her hips rocking against his. She murmured French love words in his ear and that alone was enough to make him come. She’d asked him to ensure there was no baby. He had no French letters with him. The only choice was to pull out. This was going to be a bloody act of heroism.
He wanted her so badly he couldn’t see straight. His entire body shook with pent-up longing. He’d never experienced anything like it. His intense desire to make her happy. His overwhelming need to ensure she took her pleasure first. His body thrummed with unreleased passion. He forced himself to count to ten, hovering above her, his arms braced against the mattress on either side of her body. His lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with all the pent-up desire he felt for her.
* * *
When Cade began to move, Danielle went mindless. The feel of him inside her was nearly too much to bear. It was nothing like the painful poking she’d experienced with Robert all those years ago. This time, she was filled entirely by Cade’s big cock and she was pinned beneath his gorgeous body while he pumped into her. Her knees clamped against his sides and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. Mon dieu. The man knew exactly what he was doing. He pumped into her again and again, making her take him, owning her body. She muffled her cries of pleasure against the pillow, murmuring mindless words of love and lust in her native tongue.
/> He reached between their bodies and touched her sex again, making her body wind up like a spring. When he finally sent her over the edge with a flick of his thumb, she bit his shoulder fiercely. He pumped into her again and again. Finally, he wrenched himself from her and spent his seed on her belly with a savage groan.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Cade woke in the middle of the night. He rolled over to stare at the gorgeous woman lying next to him. Had he told her she was beautiful? She was incomparable. Trying not to wake her, he pulled her gently into his arms, cuddling her against his side. She sighed and snuggled into him, one arm draped across his middle. That got him hard again.
Damn. He wanted her again. He’d expected that. He wouldn’t have seduced her if he’d thought he’d bore of her quickly. It wasn’t as if he could escape her on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Yes, he’d known he’d want Danielle again and again, but he hadn’t expected to want her so fiercely, so constantly.
He traced his fingertip along the veins on the back of her delicate hand. Her hand was lovely, petite. He gently turned it over and … calloused? She had unmistakable calluses on her palms, the pads of her fingers, between her fingers. The same calluses he had from pulling lines and running sails for years. She was telling the truth about her time on a ship.
These were the hands of a sailor. He’d know them anywhere. She’d truly worked on a ship? For years? Just like he had. Incomprehensible, but apparently true. Why would a beautiful young woman choose to work on a ship? What had forced her to it? “What are your secrets?” he whispered to her sleeping form.
How could he ever let this affair end? The thought surprised him. He’d never, never had such a thought before. He’d always been the one to end his liaisons with a woman, always been the one to get bored soon, first. Always been the one to walk away. Danielle had left him a note once. She was clearly willing to walk away. That was a new experience for him. Then last night, before they’d made love, she’d gone and given him a speech he well recognized. He’d given it himself countless times. It was the speech about how them spending the night together didn’t mean anything, that they had made no promises to one another. No commitments. The most insane thing was that he hadn’t even wanted to give that speech this time. The one he could practically recite in his sleep. No, he’d just been ravenous for her, wanted to touch her, kiss her, hold her, have her. He’d been willing to agree to anything to give her pleasure. And now, now he only wanted to pull her closer.
He turned her hand over again and stroked her arm. He’d intended to turn her over to Grim in San Sebastian. Now? Now he didn’t know what the future held. He’d be interested to hear Grimaldi’s excuse for his actions, but whatever the general was up to, Cade and Danielle would be in each other’s company for at least two more days. They might as well enjoy themselves.
* * *
Danielle pretended to sleep, but she felt Cade stroking her arm, tracing the calluses on her hand. She heard him whisper, “What are your secrets?” For the first time, she was actually tempted to tell someone. He was holding her, actually holding her. That had been a surprise, to wake up in his arms with him stroking her and whispering in her hair. She’d been shocked—paralyzed really—and she hadn’t known what to say. Should she pull out of his arms, push him away? Hadn’t he heard her when she’d told him their physical relationship didn’t mean anything? Did she need to repeat herself? Remind him? Only it felt so good to have his hand stroking her skin, his arm cradling her. She moved her hand, pretending to still be sleeping. She touched his flat abdomen, allowing her fingertips to glance over the muscled planes. She might just get used to this. He’d rubbed the tips of her fingers. Was he horrified by the evidence of her hard work? He might be a pirate but what did he think of her being one? She was thinking too much, wasn’t she? She must stop that. At least while she was in bed with a ridiculously handsome man. She let her hand stray a bit lower. She might as well enjoy herself. As long as they were careful.
She was glad her head was on his shoulder so he couldn’t see her face. A grin cracked the corner of her lips. Her hand moved even lower before he caught it and lowered it even farther to curl around his stiff member. She squeezed it.
“I have an idea,” he said into her hair.
She laughed against his shoulder. “I can guess what it is.”
“Do you want to take a bath with me?”
CHAPTER FORTY
It was tricky getting Martin and a few of the deckhands to bring heated water in buckets from the galley to fill the brass tub in the captain’s cabin. To avoid scrutiny, Danielle gathered her clothing and hid in the wardrobe.
“Cross isn’t feeling well.” Cade’s voice boomed as the crew filed into the cabin. “I expect he’s somewhere hanging over the side of the ship casting up the contents of his stomach while I had to bother you poor lads to prepare my bath. Damn cabin boy might not last the rest of the journey. I might toss the useless baggage overboard.”
A few minutes later, Cade whispered into the wardrobe, “Martin’s gone. He left a towel and a bar of soap. But wait a moment. I’m counting to fifty to ensure he hasn’t forgotten anything. Don’t want to be surprised by him coming back.”
Danielle couldn’t help but squirm inside the wardrobe. She wanted to jump out, wrap her arms around Cade’s neck, and have her way with him. The count to fifty seemed interminable. Finally, Cade knocked three times on the side of the wardrobe.
Danielle pushed open the door with her bare foot and climbed out, naked and smiling.
“You’re going to sack me for my incompetence before we reach San Sebastian, are you?” she huffed in a mock-angry tone.
“Cross might be sacked for incompetence,” Cade clarified, “but you, my lady, are welcome to stay as long as you like.”
She approached the tub, ignoring those words. He didn’t mean them. He wouldn’t allow a woman to stay as long as she liked. She was a novelty at the moment and unlike her stolen moments with Robert, Cade happened to be a captain and have a private cabin to himself. So they might enjoy themselves a bit longer. But she mustn’t ever forget that this was still only temporary. Amusing, but temporary.
“Only one towel?” she asked, staring into the steaming water.
“We’ll have to share.” He came up behind her and traced the outline of her neck with his finger. She tilted her head to the side to provide him with better access. He swept her hair aside, bent down, and kissed the top of her shoulder. She closed her eyes and he pulled her back against him. His erection was rigid against her back. He’d already pulled off his breeches sometime after Martin quit the room.
Cade’s mouth trailed over her neck, her shoulder. His hands moved up past her belly to cup both breasts. He twisted the nipples lightly and a zing shot between her legs. The man knew where and how to touch her. She had chosen wisely for her second lover.
“Bath time?” he whispered against her ear.
“Mmm hmm.”
He scooped her into his arms, cradling her, and slowly lowered her into the tall tub. She sighed as the steamy water slid over her skin.
He handed her the waxy bar of soap and she dunked it, then rubbed it in both hands, creating a plethora of bubbles along the steamy surface. She breathed in the lavender scent and relaxed back into the deep, heated bath. “Did you have this tub specially designed for two people?”
“Yes.”
She blinked. She’d been jesting because the tub was so large, but it stood to reason.
“Then why aren’t you in here with me?” She gave him a sultry look.
“With pleasure.” He climbed in without a hint of embarrassment at his total nudity. She took her time watching his perfect body move. He slid in across from her, then pulled her atop him. They were both facing the overhead. He stroked her shoulders, her neck, her breasts. He worked both nipples with his thumbs and forefingers until she was mindless with wanting him again. She squirmed against him. The soap bobbed along the surface of the water,
forgotten. “I want you,” she whispered, this time in English.
“In due time,” he whispered, her breasts cupped in his large hands. One of his hands moved down between her legs and he found the nub between her thighs once again.
She nearly arced out of the water. His one hand continued to tug and torment her nipple, the other rubbed that spot of pleasure. Her hand clenched his upper leg beneath hers. Her thighs fell open on either side of his legs and he pushed out his knees to widen them. She moaned. He kept up his gentle assault on that perfect spot in her cleft until she clenched her jaw. “Remember, you can’t scream,” he whispered in her ear, teasing her unmercifully.
It was a fight to keep her mouth closed. When she finally came, Danielle closed her eyes, arched off him nearly out of the water, and moaned loud and long. Her body was still deliciously shivering when he flipped her over as if she weighed no more than a doll, positioned himself with one hand, and let her drop onto him.
The long slide of him inside her made her moan again. She’d never imagined anything like this before. The steamy water and the soap bubbles, their wet skin sliding against each other, and now this. Cade’s wide hands moved down to her hips and he guided her movements. He pulled her up, to slide up his length, then pushed her down, showing her exactly how he wanted her to move. He braced his hands on the sides of the deep tub and let her take over. His face was a mask of pure ecstasy.
The cords in his neck went tight. “God, Danielle, you feel so good,” he murmured. His eyes weren’t closed. On the contrary, they remained quite open, watching her breasts bounce as she slid up and down him. Watching the look on her face as she took him fully into her body. Watching her set a rhythm she enjoyed.
The second time she came, it was underwater and Cade held her while she muffled her screams against his shoulder. He pumped into her again and again and again until he clenched his jaw and pulled out, spending his seed in the water and groaning.
He held her against him, panting, his heart pounding madly until his breathing was right again. Then he cradled her in his arms, stepped out of the tub, set her on the edge of the bed, and used the towel to dry her off before drying himself. He pulled back the covers and laid her down. Then he climbed in next to her, pulled the covers over both of them, and clasped her against his chest.
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