“You still mean to go ahead with the p-punishment?”
“Of course,” he told her in a stern voice. “Why should I have changed my mind? Are you any less guilty now than you were before I addressed my men?”
Alice shifted her weight between her feet. Evidently, she felt awkward about answering him. Reaching for her face, he guided her gaze back where he wanted it.
“Alice, I asked you a question. You would do well not to give me any more reason to punish you this day.”
Her skin heated under his fingers, and her lips parted before she pulled them between her teeth.
“I am no less guilty,” she conceded. “Yet the surrender you speak of is still not right. It is not justice.”
Edward scoffed at her misguided sense of morality.
“It is my justice, little Alice,” he informed her in a soft, goading tone. “The only justice that matters on board the Dexterity.”
The ship lurched at that moment as though the vessel was responding to his words. Losing her footing, Alice fell backward, gasping as she was thrown from her feet. Acting on instinct, Edward swooped for her, capturing her at her middle and steadying her against his frame. For a moment, their gazes met, the cabin silent save for Alice’s exaggerated breaths.
“Did you hurt yourself?” he demanded, breaking the intensity between them.
Alice shook her head, leaning away from him as best she could, as though she could not believe she had permitted him to save her. Edward suppressed the snigger which threatened to rise at the notion. Evidently, Miss Jaggers had no idea what he had in mind for her, or perhaps she did, which explained the horrified expression painting her pretty features.
“I am well,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
Edward glowered down at her. “What was that?”
“Th-thank you, sir,” she corrected herself.
His erection strained against his breeches. Sweet Jesus, had anyone ever made those words sound as glorious as Alice did?
“You can unhand me now, sir,” she breathed, apparently still trying to give him directions, even when she found herself in such a delicate position.
“I know I can.” Edward’s voice had taken on an edgy quality, the resonance low as he glared down at the woman in his arms. Now he finally had a hold of her, Edward was struck by just how fragile she seemed. It was quite a contrast to her fiery temperament.
“Yet I choose not to.”
Alice panted, her eyes wild as she absorbed his will. “But… but… you cannot,” she insisted. “What if someone were to see us? It is not proper.”
Edward leaned forward, maneuvering Alice’s body, so she leaned over his desk.
“No one will see us,” he promised her. “And I care not for what is proper, Alice.”
She drew in a shaky breath. “What about the fact I want you to unhand me, sir?” she demanded in a trembling tone.
Edward assessed her flushed face intently. Was she truly terrified of him, or was there another emotion dominating her thoughts at this moment? One he could revel in a little more than her fear…
“Will that make you halt?”
“It may.” His gaze took in the length of her fine neck as she stretched it away from him, traveling down to her chest and the place her pale skin disappeared underneath the cut of her gown. “If I believed it to be true.”
Alice gulped. “It is true!”
Edward smiled. “Your words are contrived, Miss, and your body gives you away. Look at your skin. See how it flushes under my touch, and your eyes, Alice. Your eyes have dilated at the sight of me.” He paused, drawing away from her just enough to fully take in the assets he had mentioned. Alice truly was a beautiful woman.
“I’d be willing to bet that under this dress, your fine bosom is hardening at my words, desperate for my touch?”
“It is not!” She gasped. “How dare you say such things?”
Edward ran his tongue across his teeth. Alice was like a succulent piece of fruit, ripe and ready to be plucked.
“Oh, but, Alice,” he told her. “I do dare.”
Chapter 10
Edward
He had her now—her gaze locked with his and her body captured in his arms. As he leaned down toward her flustering face, Edward was certain of one thing—he had to claim her mouth next.
“Sir!” Alice’s small gasp stilled his approach for a fraction of a second, and he regarded her with satisfaction as she bit her lip nervously.
“What is it?” His tone was more demanding than ever.
“Please, I have never…” Alice’s words halted but her chest heaved, the swell of her breasts rising and falling even more rapidly.
“Never been kissed?” Edward smirked.
Alice nodded. It was clear just how uncomfortable the position made her. Her hands grasped his forearms for support though evidently, Alice was not sure it was the moral thing to do, and her eyes kept flitting between their tight hold and his knowing gaze.
“It is scandalous,” he mused, sliding one arm up the back of her gown until his fingers grazed her bare skin before rising into the tangle of her hair. “That a woman as wonderful as you, Alice, has never been kissed.”
Her lips parted at his words as if her body was silently begging him for the thing she had never had, the thing she so badly needed.
“I intend to rectify that situation.”
Edward’s fingers curled into Alice’s soft, brown locks, cradling her head as his mouth lowered. In one smooth motion, he swooped, capturing Alice’s lips. She was paralyzed at first, her muscles tense in his embrace, yet when his mouth moved against hers, Alice’s senses seemed to bring her back to life. Stirring, she moaned into the kiss, permitting his tongue to snake inside her wetness. Edward claimed her slowly, the analogy of his tongue inside her mouth not lost on his cock, which strained urgently to be allowed the same courtesy. Not wishing to overwhelm Alice so soon, he withdrew, planting a single chaste caress upon her lips as he departed.
“Oh my.” Alice fluttered her lashes at him, one small hand releasing his bicep and retreating to her forehead.
His lips curled at her response, and reluctantly, he pulled Alice back to her feet.
“Time for your punishment, my naughty stowaway.” Edward’s voice had become something of a sensual purr, a resonance he barely recognized.
“Now, sir?”
He nodded, taking her hand as he collapsed into the waiting chair behind him.
“I have promised you a spanking at my hand, Alice Jaggers, and that is what I shall deliver.”
Glancing up to her face, he noticed the change in the woman. The lust that had burned in her eyes had slipped a little, replaced by a larger dose of the trepidation she had experienced earlier. Alice wrung her hands like a small child.
“I have not been spanked before, sir,” she admitted.
“Not even by your father?” Edward’s eyes widened a fraction. It was unusual in an English household not to use corporal punishment.
The Jaggers Edward recalled had been a pedantic and cruel man. He could surely imagine him taking his belt to a petulant daughter.
“No, sir.” Alice shook her head, though she refused to meet his eyes.
“Then I daresay this will be something of a shock,” he informed her, grabbing the hand nearest his body and hauling her forward over his thighs. “But it changes nothing, Alice. Your penance still stands.”
She gasped as she went, her hands clawing at the wood below when she landed, her feet kicking out behind her. Apparently, the reality of her fate had well and truly registered at this point, but it was too late for little Miss Jaggers—Edward’s hands were on her, one palm holding her down while the other hoisted the skirts of her pretty gown up to her middle.
“What are you doing?” she hissed, struggling to get back to her feet. “You cannot do that!”
And just like that, the insolence returned, the defiant flame burning hotter than Edward had seen it. He pressed against the small
of her back with enough force to keep her in place as he chastised her.
“Actually, Alice, I can,” he reminded her. “The more you fight, the harder this will be.”
Capturing the bunched skirts with the hand pressed into Alice’s back, Edward dragged her petticoat back to join them. He was always amazed by the numbers of skirts some ladies seemed to wear. The ones he usually encountered were naked before he had time to worry, but not Alice, of course. No doubt, Alice had never contemplated a scenario like the one she found herself in, and no doubt, she would never forget it.
With her backside finally bared, Edward took the opportunity to run his palm over the goosing flesh. Her skin was cool and smooth under his hand, but the touch of her curves sent his arousal skyward. Alice inhaled, her body writhing over him like a serpent.
“Remain. Still.” He warned her, punctuating each word with a gentle slap to her backside.
Alice’s body halted on command, her every muscle seeming to tense at the swats.
“That’s better,” Edward praised. “This will be much easier for you, Alice, if you behave.”
“Leave me be,” she implored him, banging her delicate fist on the wooden floor. “You have no right to do this. You have no right to see me this way.”
Edward shook his head at her fanciful pride. He would wager a sovereign or two, he could soon spank that out of her. Raising his hand, Edward sent his palm crashing south, connecting with Alice’s prone derriere, the impact resounding around his quarters in a delicious wave of sound. She yelped, temporarily pausing her futile squirms before thrashing over his lap again, for good measure. He met her response swiftly, delivering a further four swats in fast succession, one after the other until Alice’s mewls grew louder.
“Stop it,” she panted, her fists smacking down against the floor. “That hurts!”
“As it is supposed to,” he reminded her with a fresh smack.
Edward watched, spellbound as the spank reverberated across both of her pert cheeks. The woman was truly beautiful, and he could not wait to explore that beauty further, but first, there was the matter of her punishment to deal with. Edward wanted Alice to feel the brunt of his palm and wanted her to recall what would happen every time she acted against him—for as Alice was to learn, his word was law on board this ship, and Alice would be on board for the next few months, at least.
“Remember, this is a penance, Alice.”
His palm stilled, resting over the curve of her delectable cheeks.
“Tell me what it is you’re being punished for.”
She twisted her body at his words, apparently furious.
“You already know what it is I am being punished for,” she protested, even now struggling against the weight of his arm which held her in place.
“Yes,” he agreed, rubbing her warming skin tenderly for a moment before he began the onslaught afresh. “Yet I should like to hear the confession from your lips while I spank you. Then there can be no doubt from either of us. We know the nature of your crimes and the punishment that awaits you the next time you break the rules.”
“Rules?” She practically screeched the word as he swatted her at a relentless pace. “What rules?”
Edward glanced down toward her face. Her cheeks were red and flushed, and the woman looked to be on the verge of tears. Shifting his attention back to her backside, he surveyed the punished area—her flesh was barely even pink. It would seem Miss Jaggers’ pain threshold would need to increase if she was to survive her time aboard the Dexterity.
Chapter 11
Alice
This was intolerable and borderline inhumane. Alice sniffed as Edward’s palm landed new strikes to one, then the other of her vulnerable cheeks. The swats stung, there was no doubt about that, but it was the injury to her dignity that caused her the most offense. How any man could think it acceptable to turn a lady over his knee and bare her petticoats was simply beyond her, and how she could have landed the misfortune to encounter such a man, God only knew.
“Yet I should like to hear the confession from your lips while I spank you.”
Edward’s voice interrupted her miserable inner monologue, and she jerked at the sound of it.
“Then there can be no doubt from either of us. We know the nature of your crimes and the punishment that awaits you the next time you break the rules.”
Alice’s body stiffened. “Rules?”
Fresh fury rose in her body. As though this humiliation was not great enough, now the man wanted to speak of rules. What an injustice this was, and even though she knew it was crazy, Alice began to wonder if the gallows may not have been a better—less ignominious—option, after all.
“What rules?” Tears burned in her eyes as she asked, but Alice had to know.
“The rules for your passage across the ocean,” Law responded as he spanked her once more. “The rules for your time on board.”
“B-but I can’t stay,” she stammered, though Alice didn’t know why she protested. Even with her limited experience, it was obvious the Dexterity was already moving—the ship her father had so carefully designed had begun her maiden voyage.
At any other time, she might have been proud at this moment, yet now, prone and exposed over Law’s thighs, Alice was mournful and ashamed.
Had what she had done truly been so awful that she deserved to be treated this way?
“Do not be foolish, Alice,” he chastised, landing a further set of swats to her tantalizing behind. “You are young, yes, but I do not take you for a fool. You know the ship has already sailed, and as such, your fate is sealed, young lady.”
She gasped as Edward’s words reinforced what she already knew.
“But how can I stay?” she sobbed, despising how pathetic her voice sounded even to her own ears. “How can I stay here with you?”
Edward snorted. “I am not so terrible,” he told her with a chortle. “As for my men, yes, they are a little uncouth, but they follow instructions, Alice. They obey orders, and they have been told to leave you well alone.”
Alice blinked down at the shiny floor. So, he had already told his crew about her? A shudder passed up her spine at the thought of all those filthy men thinking about her. Compared to that prospect, Edward Law seemed almost civilized.
Almost…
“I should think another twenty strokes should be sufficient.”
She tried to turn her head at his edict. “Twenty?”
Edward walloped her hard, the strike making her wince.
“Remember how you are to address me, Alice,” he growled. “I am your captain now.”
Alice tensed her muscles over his breeches. This was excruciating. Not only did she have to be bared to him during this painful ordeal, she had to regard him as her superior at the same time? She knew little about the man, but it was clear Law was far from her better. Based on his tatty appearance, the best profession he could possibly have earned was a blacksmith, but then, how many blacksmiths had earned enough money to purchase the Dexterity?
The answer came to her in a heartbeat.
Edward had not earned it. How could he have? He was obviously not a man of good breeding and wealth. A wave of terror washed over Alice the moment Law delivered a fresh torrent of spanks to her poor backside.
A man with wealth, who had his own crew and wished to sail across the Atlantic… there was only one possible explanation for that man’s prosperity, and it was nothing to do with inheritance or legitimacy.
Oh God… Alice’s mind reeled.
“How do you address me, young lady?” Edward demanded.
“S-sir,” she spluttered, trying to appease the brute while processing the conclusion she had drawn.
“Better,” he praised. “Your final twenty begin now. Count them for me, Alice. I assume a good lady such as you can count?”
She gulped, blinking rapidly at the floor. “Yes, sir, I can,” she ceded, bracing for the next impact.
Law did not make her wait, landing the first
of her final set with fresh intensity.
“One,” she whispered, pushing down the rising embarrassment as her brain settled over the obvious evaluation of her thought processes.
The only way Edward could have accumulated enough wealth to buy a ship like the Dexterity was through theft. He must have stolen it, there was no other explanation, and men who stole across the oceans of the Atlantic were known by another name.
A specific name.
A name she had been taught to fear for many a long year.
Edward struck her again, the sudden hurt splintering her unnerving appraisal.
“Two, sir,” she managed, but all the while, Alice was fighting to contain the burgeoning fear and disgust raging within her.
A pirate.
Edward Law was a pirate.
That is how he had found the funds necessary to outbid her at Christie’s and how he had the men and experience to set sail now, and somehow, she had seen fit to board his ship and now, she found herself entirely at his mercy.
He spanked her once more as though he wanted to emphasize the point.
“Three,” she gasped, her eyes brimming with tears.
How could she have been such a fool? It was one thing to be taken captive by a pirate, but to go to one willingly and conceal herself in his quarters? Oh, Lord! What must the man think of her? No wonder he felt it was acceptable to hoist her skirts over her behind and tan her bare flesh?
What was she going to do?
Edward walloped her again, the ache spreading over her buttocks. Alice pulled in a breath, but this time something was different. The injury still hurt, and her head registered it, but there was something new—the pain was not as awful. In fact, this time, the heat seemed to contract at her core somehow, goading that delicious sense of desire she had experienced when he had dressed her down earlier.
“Alice?”
His unimpressed tone sent panic spiraling around Alice’s brain. Oh goodness, in her torrid self-analysis, she had quite forgotten to keep count!
“Do I need to add extra strikes to your tally?”
Pirates, Passion and Plunder Page 61
