by Haley Travis
Strange plumes of heat radiated through my entire body, as my blood felt too thick. Like the sludge scraped off the bottom of old fishing boats.
My lungs were tight. I couldn’t pull in enough air to stretch them back out.
Shivers ran through me as I realized I was about to either faint, or scream. Either way, the Captain would see I was a weak little girl, possibly not suited for life at sea.
Even worse, I had no idea what sort of trouble we would be in with these scoundrels and criminals.
As I heard the shriek welling up in my throat, I realized with horror that I was not going to be able to control what happened next.
~ Chapter 14 ~ The Captain ~
* Those Little Noises *
I didn’t have time to explain to Maggie that I knew the ways of these men. They were settled into the pub for the day. Once they’d had their fill of spirits and food, Captain Scovell would select two men to do the job.
When they found out that Mrs. Wescott was unavailable to be kidnapped today, they would return to the pub for another round, then set sail at sunset, their task incomplete.
I knew these men. They only took on jobs that involved other people if they were simple. No complications.
It was almost as if they were looking for an excuse to not follow through. Especially when it was a job that couldn’t publicly further their reputation as scoundrels.
Above all else, I did not want to get into an altercation with any of them.
Not only did I not want any member of our crew to associate with theirs, I didn’t want them to get riled up on rum, and start any sort of rivalry.
I just wanted to set sail.
Hiding with Maggie for a few moments was the clearest path to our escape. All we had to do was wait until they checked on the ship, then returned to the pub.
They were almost certainly grabbing more coins from the Captain’s quarters. As far as I knew, every ship had a little stash for when the lads needed to get rowdy. They would never notice us packed into the cupboard.
It was almost pitch black, except for a few tiny streaks of dim light from cracks in the door that illuminated Maggie’s face.
She was trembling, her mouth open, as a strange grinding sound began in her throat.
“It’s only for a few moments, my lass,” I barely breathed into her ear. “Please stay quiet. I promise you’ll be safe.”
Then I realized that she wasn’t worried about her safety. It was our cramped quarters.
Dammit and tarnation. How could I have been so ignorant?
In my quest to keep her safe from those men, I hadn’t kept her safe from her fear of being enclosed.
She was trembling in my arms, her eyes locked in an expression of pure horror. After being locked in the cellar so many times, not even my presence could help her relax.
I was a monster for putting her through this. But it had been the fastest, clearest choice at the time.
Her little grinding noise became a raspy cry, just as boot steps thumped closer. In order to keep her safe, I was going to have to be the worst kind of scoundrel.
“Maggie, my darling girl,” I murmured, “you have no idea what it does to me to have your sweet body pressed to mine.”
Kissing her gently, the little noise stopped, and was replaced with a whisper soft sigh. Her lips parted, allowing me to explore her tender mouth and feel her passion.
It felt like some sort of surrender. Like she wanted me to take her completely right there. As if she wanted me to take control.
Raucous laughter came from the other side of the wall, and there was some scraping and thumping right beside our ears.
“Don’t be frightened, my love,” I breathed. “There’s only two of them. I could take them both out in a blink. That is, if I wasn’t so busy fondling the most exquisite woman I’ve ever seen, like the scallywag that I am.”
My hand slipped down to cup her round bottom, squeezing gently as another sigh overtook her.
“Relax, my darling.” Reaching lower, I hitched up her skirt, holding it out of the way awkwardly so I could stroke her hip and thigh through her thin, silky knickers.
Ignoring the cursing and laughter on the other side of the boards, I whispered, “You like the way I touch you, don’t you, beautiful?”
Her chin tipped up and down quickly, as her raspy breath came hot and quick. I was fairly certain that she wasn’t panicked any longer, simply aroused by my wandering hands.
My fingertips glided up to touch the bare flesh at the small of her back. I had to cut off her whimpering moan with a deep, slow kiss.
It was horrible having my attention split in two. I was completely enjoying this naughty tryst with my sweet girl, yet had to listen sharply for the movements of the two crew men.
Nothing was more important than keeping my girl safe.
The realization poured over me yet again like a warm summer storm. This was my girl. Forever.
It didn’t matter that we had taken her by mistake. She chose to stay on my ship. She clearly wanted to be with me. It was time for me to tell her how I truly felt.
Just not while two of us were pressed together in a closet.
Close on the other side of the wall, the two men were bickering about how much money to take from the stash. I could feel Maggie begin to quiver nervously again.
“Breathe nice and slow, my beautiful girl,” I murmured into her delicate ear. “What can I do to help distract you?”
“Keep touching me. Please.”
The haunting desperation in her whisper turned my shaft between us to stone, almost pulsing with need. How I ached to feel her around me. But certainly not here.
My fingertips skimmed over her hip, then tucked into the front of her knickers, teasing along the top of her little thatch of curls. “Is this where I should touch you?”
Quick nodding. A tiny, breathless whine. Her fingers were tangled in the back of my hair, holding me close.
“Pinch my neck if you want me to stop, my girl.”
She responded by running her fingers up and down my neck, sending tremors of lust down my spine. My hand slipped deeper into her knickers, as my fingertips reached down to explore her softest skin.
It was almost impossible to hold back my groan as I explored her tender folds. She was clearly untouched, her breathing stuttering with nerves.
Parting her flesh, I found the particularly sensitive bud that made her shake from head to toe.
Running my thick, rough fingertip around it gently, I kept my other arm firmly around Maggie’s waist to hold her up. Her knees seemed to buckle as she turned to pudding in my arms.
“Breathe, my beautiful angel,” I whispered. “Stay calm.”
I was vaguely aware of the two men settling on an amount, and putting the rest of their stash away. But most of my focus was on Maggie’s eyes in the dim light.
“What’s happening?” she breathed. “How can that feel so good?”
Working my fingers gently but quickly, I pressed the heel of my hand against her mound. “Does it feel like there’s a deep pressure that wants to explode?” I whispered.
“Yes.” She was blinking slowly, as if she’d been pulled under by a dream. “What happens…if I explode?”
“It will feel so good, my darling,” I breathed against her ear, rubbing my teeth along the delicate shell. “But you must be silent. Can you do that for me?”
Her breath was coming in sharp, rapid gasps. “I don’t know.”
My fingers swirled around her soft button more slowly. The clump of boots faded away, then I heard the two men hollering to someone else along the dock.
“They’re gone, my lass. Do you want me to open the door now?”
“Just…another moment…please…”
I moved my hand faster, watching the strange glaze flicker through her eyes.
“You want to have an orgasm in my arms for me,” I growled, my body tightening against hers. “You want to let go completely, don’t you?”
>
Her tiny squeak was agreement enough.
“Breathe, lassie. Let it wash over you. Just feel everything you want to feel.”
Her body tightened like a fiddle string about to snap. I kissed her hard and rough as she began to cry out against my lips, her beautiful body trembling and quivering in my arms as she released.
“Oh!” She cried against me. “Levi…yes…”
It would have been so easy to tear those silky knickers off and sheath myself inside her. I was almost shaking from need.
Maggie was the most exquisite woman I’d ever seen, and knowing that she reacted to me so strongly meant that when we did finally lie together, there would be endless thunder and lightning consuming us.
It was guaranteed to be worth the wait.
When she stopped trembling, I pulled my hand away, helping her arrange her skirts. I listened closely, making sure the coast was clear.
I opened the cupboard door so that she wouldn’t panic again, yet held her still for another moment.
“The secret to sneaking around somewhere you’re not supposed to be is to act like you were invited,” I said quickly. “We’re going to stroll arm in arm, chatting brightly as if the King himself had just invited us here for tea. Understand?”
“Yes.” Her porcelain cheeks now held a lovely pink flush, her eyes bright and sparkling.
We walked arm in arm out of the chart-room and off the ship, while talking lightly about the supplies Dobbs and Dwyer had likely secured, and what we would be having for supper.
It was a boring conversation that no one would listen in on. Certainly not the kind of chatter one would engage in if one were sneaking around.
Once we were safely aboard the Midnight Treasure , I found that I couldn’t bear to leave her. “Maggie, I’m sorry, but I have to go check the charts before we set sail.”
To my relief, she wasn’t upset, or clingy. “Of course, Captain. I’ll start peeling potatoes.”
With a quick look around, I saw there were no crewmen in sight. Pulling her tightly against me, I kissed her slowly, deeply. I wanted the echoes of what we just shared to ring through her for a long time.
“My lovely Maggie, you’re even more beautiful when you’re breathless and squirming.”
Her deep flush was so precious, then she reached out to give my chest a smack that wouldn’t have harmed a flea.
“Don’t be saucy in front of the others,” she said quickly. “They’re not supposed to know about us, are they?”
I felt like a monster all over again. I’d been hiding our feelings from the crew, but not because I was ashamed of them. I had simply wanted to be certain before sharing everything. Both physically and mentally, a Captain knows to never rock the boat.
“We’ll have a little chat about that later,” I said, kissing her forehead before she dashed downstairs.
As I went up to the chart-room, I realized I had a decision to make. Possibly several.
The most important one was that I needed to decide whether being on the ship permanently was the right thing for Maggie. I couldn’t make her mine if she wasn’t cut out for the sea.
No matter that my heart clenched at the prospect of losing her. No matter that my blood ran cold from the thought of ever sailing away from her.
I wanted her with every bone in my body. Yet in my quest to be a better man, I could only do so if it was genuinely the right thing for her.
~ Ch apter 15 ~ Maggie ~
* Private Business *
There was something about cooking that I always found very relaxing. It was the ritualistic, repetitive movement.
Peel a potato, quickly rinse it, peel another. It required no thought.
Which left my mind free to spiral wildly with all of the other thoughts crowding my head.
The way Levi had played my body like a musical instrument… I was still shivering slightly every time I thought about it.
Even though I needed to focus so that I didn’t cut my thumb with the sharp knife, that astoundingly intimate experience in the cupboard would stay with me for the rest of my days.
It wasn’t just the way he had made me feel so wonderful. It was the way he had gripped me so tightly. Possessed me. It made me want to be his completely, sending fire through my belly, and lower...
“Maggie, do you feel alright?” Cookie asked, staring at me with concern. “You look a bit flushed.”
Bringing the back of my hand to my cheek, I laughed lightly, trying to hide my embarrassment. “I got quite a bit of sun yesterday, and again today,” I said. “I’m going to have to work on my sailor’s tan, apparently.”
His warm, rich chuckle filled the room, as he stirred the stew on the small iron stove.
“I’m glad you’re fitting in so well, lass,” he said as Dobbs and Dwyer came to the table, immediately grabbing a dinner roll each.
“Thank you. I really do like it here.”
“Is that because of the ship, or because of the Captain?” Dwyer asked, wide-eyed. Dobbs elbowed him in the ribs, causing his brow to furrow in confusion. “What? Why can’t I ask that?”
“That’s personal,” Dobbs explained. “Remember? We don’t ask questions about somebody else’s private business.”
“It’s all right,” I said gently. I didn’t want Dwyer to feel that he wasn’t permitted to ask questions of his crewmates. “I guess I’d have to say, both.”
“Good to hear.”
I spun to see the Captain standing in the shadows near the door.
He was even more handsome by lamplight. Dark and rugged, stern, but with an undercurrent of fire. I could feel myself blushing furiously again.
“We did well today, men,” the Captain said as Willy joined the table.
Everyone else gave him a significant look, then glanced at me.
“It’s fine,” I sputtered with laughter. “I know that when you say men, you mean everyone on the ship.”
“Good,” he said gruffly. “Forgive me, but we’ve never had a woman aboard before.”
“I, for one, I think it’s working out quite well,” Cookie said with a wide grin. “She’s plenty of help here in the galley, and it’s nice to know if I pop a button, there’s someone to sew it back on for me.”
“I like having a lady around,” Dwyer said carefully, cringing slightly as if he thought the others might poke fun. “She listens differently. Talks differently. I think it’s nice.”
Dobbs nodded, and Willy joined him, saying, “There are certainly many more jobs we could take, and services we could provide, with a nice lady in the crew.”
“We’ll not be using her as a pawn,” the Captain said sharply. “We will never put Maggie in danger.”
“Of course,” Willy said quickly, holding up his hands. “What I meant was, she makes us look more respectable. Certainly more like regular sailors and traders, rather than…”
“I understand,” the Captain cut him off. “And I agree.” He turned to me with a strange smile. “We are headed for Tegarren Point next, my lass. I’ll be taking you to my aunt’s house.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. Looking around, it was awkward having so many eyes trained on me. I knew of that town, since it was very close to my hometown of Claytonsfield. Just around the point, actually.
Thankfully, Cookie served the stew at that point, taking everyone’s attention off me.
My father and brothers had always done their best to ignore me during dinner. They discussed the events of the day, and news of the town, none of which was assumed to include me in any way.
My new crew mates already felt closer than my family ever had. They didn’t find it bothersome when I spoke, or asked questions. The only time I’d ever been silenced was when I was locked in the cupboard with the Captain, and for good reason.
Sneaking a look, he was enjoying the stew, chatting cheerfully with the men. I had to wonder if the extreme closeness we had shared meant as much to him as it did to me. I couldn’t tell.
Shaking my
head, I stared down at my tin plate. The Captain was much older. He had probably had many women over the years. There was no way to tell for sure whether he was interested in me specifically, or whether I was merely a convenience who had appeared at an opportune time on his ship.
It didn’t feel that way. I honestly felt a genuine pull between us.
