When he stopped speaking, Eliza was left with a thousand warring emotions. When James had disappeared, they had been speaking of getting married. Eliza had kept quiet, but she was fairly certain she had been with child. Wanting for the moment to be perfect, she planned on telling him the next day. But then he hadn’t come.
When it became apparent she was with child, her parents had disowned her, and Eliza was thrown out. The Church was of no help, the vicar was willing to find her work in exchange for her services. Eliza learned very quickly what she needed to do to survive.
Thankfully the babe wasn’t meant to be. As much as she had desperately wanted that baby and mourned for it when she bled, Eliza knew that her life wasn’t one to bring a child into. One benefactor after another saw to her sexual education, until she became a highly sought-after member of the great square of Venus.
When word came that her parents had passed, Eliza hadn’t the strength in her to cry. She had mourned the parents she thought she knew years before. They had died the day they threw their only daughter out of the house. No, she hadn’t shed a tear for them, nor would she.
Eliza learned that tears meant weakness. If used properly, they could bring a desired result. The goal from that time forward became finding a way out of the hell she had been thrust into. Now, at nearing nine and twenty, she had finally enough money to sail to the continents and to begin again.
Why did Marley have to show up now? Eliza was on the cusp of something wonderful. Was that to be her fate? To always have the bright future in front of her ripped away? Emotion roiled inside of her, but she refused to let it show.
The night she wept for the loss of Marley and her babe had been the last she had shed a true tear. The ones since served a purpose, just as every smile, wink, and fuck.
Marley moved in his sleep, pulling her tightly against his naked frame, reminding her of his proximity. He had called her his Lizzie girl, but the truth was that girl had been long since dead and buried alongside the life that was ripped from her.
Eliza knew how to endure a stranger’s touch. She knew how to survive in the face of devastation. Eliza would endure. She always did.
Chapter 3
“You are lovely, aren’t you?”
Eliza’s eyes opened to see a handsome young man sitting at her bedside. His face was open and friendly, and suspiciously clean.
“Where did you get the water to wash?” she demanded.
The man’s smile widened. “You noticed?”
“That you don’t smell like rotten cabbage. It’s hard to miss,” she retorted.
The man threw his head back and laughed. “We shall be the best of friends; I just know it. My name is Antony, but you must call me Tony.”
Eliza tugged at the rope attaching her wrists to the bunk. “Well, friend, I don’t suppose you can find a way to release me?”
Tony’s eyes danced with amusement. “The Captain said you weren’t to be set free. Mentioned something to the effect that he didn’t trust you not to attempt to swim back to England. I tried to assure him that there wasn’t a lady alive that would try and outswim the sharks, but Captain was adamant.”
Eliza flopped back on the berth. “Well Tony, looks like this friendship is taking a turn for the worse.”
Tony didn’t seem to mind her attitude. Hopping to his feet, Tony went over to the table where a fresh bowl of water sat swaying slightly with the rise and fall of the waves.
Eliza’s head popped back up, her eyes narrowing in on the water.
“Rethinking that last statement?” Tony teased.
“Just bring the bloody water over here,” she grumbled.
Tony did as Eliza bid him. Along with the water he included a bar of soap that smelled of jasmine and a clean cloth.
“Where did you get these things?” she demanded.
Tony’s brow rose as he placed one hand on his out-flung hip. “Darling, that is not how this relationship works. I gave you the water, now you give me something.”
Eliza snorted. “I haven’t got anything, and I am not sucking your cock if that’s what you are implying.”
Once again, Tony’s laughter filled the room. “Dear girl, I have more than half a dozen sailors that are more than willing to wet my dick. No offense to you, but I doubt you have the equipment I desire for the more illicit rendezvous.”
Eliza nodded slowly. “I see. I had several patrons like yourself at the bawdy house.”
Tony smiled, inclining his head. “Your favorite patrons, I trust?”
She barked out an unexpected laugh. “Well, yes, of course. For every reason you can imagine and more. Tell me Tony, it is rare to find a man so willing to share his sexual proclivities. What makes you so willing to share?”
His eyes met hers and she was immediately impressed with the intelligence that she saw there. He might be flippant and humorous, but he wasn’t stupid. The question was, could she trust him?
“Cut line, Tony, what do you want from me?”
Tony looked approvingly at her as he said, “I like the way you shoot. Well, Darling, I am in the business of information. The more information I have, the better that I can advise the Captain.”
“The better that you can take care of yourself,” Eliza added cheekily.
Tony nodded graciously. “As you say. Anyhow, you are something of an enigma. When I met the Captain, he had only just managed to break free from his indentured servitude and commandeer this vessel. I was looking for a situation and I liked the look of your Captain.”
“My Captain?” Eliza asked incredulously.
Tony’s lips twitched. “If you knew the way he had doggedly raced across the ocean and then searched all of England for your lily-white hide, you wouldn’t even question if he was your Captain. But since it seems you are unaware of the fact, let me be the first to tell you: whatever hold you have over him, it’s powerful. And I feel impressed to tell you that the other crew members aren’t as thrilled with having you abroad the ship.”
“Because I am a woman?” she asked.
“Because you are his woman. A man can be unwise when he thinks with his heart—or worse, with his cock. The Captain has been well respected until now, simply because he cuts the throats of all who defy him. But that was before you. The men aren’t sure what to think of you, and that makes you a threat.”
“I didn’t ask to be here,” Eliza said with a sigh. “Truthfully, I haven’t the slightest clue what James wants with me. I haven’t seen him in ten years.”
“That’s another thing,” Tony said with a smirk. “We have never heard of James Marley. All we know is Captain Bloodlust. Seems awful strange that he’d be called James. That is the name of an aristocrat, not a pirate captain.”
Chills raced across Eliza’s arms and she moved to cover them with her hands. Unfortunately, the rope held one back. With a growl she quipped, “You can’t really look at a baby and decide to call it Bloodlust—now can you? What kind of a mother would you be? And really, is that what they call him?”
“They don’t call him James, that’s for bloody damn sure.”
“Hm,” Eliza mused. “Well, on all accounts, that was his name, a long time ago. But I am telling you Tony, I haven’t seen the man in nearly ten years. I had a ticket to the colonies, and I was to set sail the night he nabbed me.”
Tony nodded. “That’s how he caught you. The Captain of the boat sold you out for a drink.”
Eliza made a face. “Not even the whole bottle? What a bastard. I shouldn’t have given him my real name. I just didn’t have the money for fake papers and the passage. Who has my money, by the way?”
Tony took the soiled water and rag back to the table. Plopping down into the chair he shrugged and said, “Who knows? Perhaps James?”
He drew out the name in a singsong way that ought to have bugged the hell out of her, but instead Eliza found laughter escaping her lips.
“You are incorrigible, you know that?”
Tony grinned. “I am a
lot of things, Darling. Now, let’s find you something to wear. No offense, but that ratty negligee needs to be thrown overboard.”
Her eyes widened. “You have clothes?”
Tony went to the large trunk that Eliza had assumed held James’ clothes. As he unlocked the heavy lid and lifted it, Eliza was struck by all the colorful fabrics and beautiful threads.
“You are right, Tony. We shall be the best of friends! Are there jewels as well?”
Their laughter could be heard through the heavy wooden door and out into the hallway. With a nod of relief, James left to go on deck. If anyone would protect her like he would, it was Tony. Besides, it was damn nice to hear her laughter. James had gone far too long without it.
Chapter 4
“I’m bored.” The declaration shot out of Eliza the moment that James re-entered his cabin.
Without so much as a word, Tony nodded to his Captain and left the room. James sat wearily on the vacated chair and turned to look at her.
Eliza was fine-boned and appeared to be extremely fragile. Upon first glance, one would suppose that she would break at the smallest of occurrences. But James knew better. He had spent the better part of the last year hunting her down.
He wondered if she had any idea how difficult it had been to locate her. James had been beside himself with worry when he finally reached English soil and learned of her parents’ deaths. No stranger to hardship, James had been certain that Eliza would be able to land on her feet.
However, nothing had prepared him for the places he would frequent as he had looked for her. The woman before him was an enigma. In some ways he knew her better than he knew himself. And yet, she was a stranger to him.
“I left you my gunner to keep you company,” he answered gruffly. “I could have used Tony above board if he wasn’t amusing to you.”
Eliza pouted, her lower lip jutting out. “I want to be untied. It’s been more than a day since we left, James. Honestly, we are on a boat. I don’t know where you expect me to run, but I assure you I have no desire to swim with the fishes.”
His lips twitched; it was so small a gesture that Eliza almost missed it.
“I cannot allow you to roam about the ship causing trouble with my men,” he said firmly.
Eliza scoffed, “I had to use the necessary whilst being trussed up like a Christmas goose. Is that any way to treat your oldest friend?”
His hot gaze traveled over her body, taking in the new dress that Tony had given her. The youthful figure had rounded out in all the right places. Her hips were lush, and her breasts full. James felt his cock twitching in his breeches.
Eliza had left her long red hair to curl about her shoulders and down her narrow spine. The images of her splayed out before him, naked as the day she was born, flashed into his mind.
“Stop looking at me like that,” she admonished, clutching her dress to her chest.
James laughed, a low rumbling sound that was rusty from lack of use.
“And how am I looking at you, Lizzie girl?”
“Like I am a steak, and you haven’t eaten in days,” she retorted.
James sprang out of his seat and in seconds was across the room, leaning over her body. Eliza’s breathing hitched and her heart raced. She had no idea what he had in mind or if she were ready to endure his nearness once again.
She had thought the night before, lying in his arms, had been an exquisite torture. Lessons in restraint were obviously necessary and restrain from his charm she must do. The alternative would be to allow him to capture her heart again, only this time Eliza feared that she wouldn’t make it through.
“Why am I here, James?” She had asked the question a dozen times or more since being kidnapped, and he ignored or evaded her every time.
“Isn’t it obvious?” he growled.
Eliza tried to cover her arousal with anger. “You bloody well know it’s not obvious to me.”
James studied her face, not speaking or moving away from his close proximity.
Eliza felt like a bug beneath a microscope. She wanted to slide away, to hide from the knowing eyes that had haunted her dreams these ten years and even longer. But James wouldn’t allow her to even move an inch.
“It’s safer for you inside of my cabin,” he said at long last.
Eliza huffed, her breath coming in little pants. She wasn’t as immune to him as she wanted him to believe. James wondered briefly if her pussy would be as wet and welcoming as it once had all of those years before. He had been a long time without a woman, and he desperately wanted her.
Some of the men had tried to get him to take a lover or doxy to bed, but James wouldn’t do it. His dick only wanted one woman. That wasn’t to say he didn’t take matters into his own hands on more occasions than he could count.
James also enjoyed watching some of the men mount their mistresses or even each other when feeling particularly amorous. He wondered briefly if such behavior would shock Eliza. She had mentioned that she was a hardened woman. But James saw through that shell to the scared little girl inside. The girl that he should have protected, and he was stupid enough to get nabbed and impressed into the Navy.
Without looking at his arm, James felt the phantom burning of skin as he thought about the numbers that had been placed there. He had been little more than cattle to the men who had taken him, stolen his life, and nearly beat him to death.
The only think that had ever kept him going was the woman currently laying underneath him with a scowl on her beautiful face. There wasn’t a day James hadn’t thought of her, hadn’t prayed to a God he wasn’t even sure he believed in to protect her. He loved her, always had, and always would.
“You can’t keep me tied here,” she said through clenched teeth.
James watched as her eyes began to darken. Was Eliza as aroused as he was?
Grabbing the knife out of his pocket, James brought it up and sliced through the rope attached to the bed.
Eliza let out a moan of pleasure as she was able to bring her arms down to her sides. Holding her hands up for him to cut them apart, James did as she silently asked. When he cut her ankles free, Eliza let out a sound that was purely carnal. Not only was he hard, but he was more than willing to make her moan with pleasure again and again.
Just as James went to move in for a kiss, he found a small booted foot flying toward his face. With the responses of a man who had fought every kind of bastard imaginable to get to where he was as a pirate captain, James snatched her foot, midair.
“Is this how you thank me, lass?”
“I don’t owe you anything, James,” Eliza snarled.
James chuckled softly as he pulled her kicking and screaming over his lap. He knew the moment when she felt his massive cock beneath her.
“What are you doing?” her breathless question was followed by a squeal of shock when James shoved her skirts up and exposed her bare bottom.
The first smack came as a surprise, and Eliza howled with disapproval.
James, impervious to her wails, spanked her again and again, loving the way that her bottom pinked and then turned a nice rosy red. Angling her better onto his lap, James spread her legs a little and began to spank her anew.
The screams of outrage had morphed into something different altogether. She was still angry, that was apparent, but by the way she squirmed, James had a fair idea that his Lizzie was enjoying her spanking.
Two fingers were shoved inside of her wet heat, taking Eliza’s breath away. Embarrassment flooded her as she knew that he would encounter the warmth that had been building since that first strike.
It angered her even further, and Eliza tried to wriggle out of his grasp. But instead of continuing the spanking, James had begun to slide his fingers in and out of her wet cunt. Eliza shuddered at the sensation.
There hadn’t been one man, not one, that could illicit the feelings and emotions that James could. His knowledge and control of her body was astounding. Pumping in and out, she could hear the squelch
ing of her desire as it leaked out, coating her thighs.
When had she begun to thrust her hips in tandem with his fingers? When had she allowed him to fuck her with those long, rough, calloused hands? Wasn’t she angry? Didn’t she want to run away from him as fast as her feet would carry her?
There was a knock at the door, and to her horror, James called, “Come in.”
Frantically she tried to cover herself, but James wouldn’t allow it.
The man who stepped inside seemed to be around the same age as Eliza. Not nearly the size of James, but he was still physically fit and rather attractive, in a dirty pirate sort of fashion. The moment he caught sight of his Captain’s fingers inside of her pussy, he stood transfixed.
“Fucking hell,” she muttered. “Let me go, you bastard!”
Eliza could almost hear the smile in his voice as he answered, “Not until you understand who owns you, Lizzie girl. You don’t make the rules anymore—I do.”
Eliza screamed in frustration, and another loud smack shook her bottom as he spanked her anew.
“Fuck, Captain,” the man’s gruff tone held a hint of reverence. “Your lass is mighty wet for you, Sir.”
To her shame, James spread her thighs even wider for the man to see.
“Look at her pretty pussy, Abe. She is aching for my cock but pretends that she doesn’t need it.”
The man swallowed hard. “It’s the prettiest pussy I have ever seen, Sir.”
“You may come closer, but if you touch her, I will run you through. Do you understand, Abe?”
“Don’t you dare take a single step!” Eliza threatened. But her clit throbbed, and her pussy was soaking not only her thighs but James’ breeches as well.
The idea that this stranger, this man, could see James do such intimate things to her. It literally brought her to the brink of spending. It was all Eliza could do to hold back.
“Blow on her pretty pussy, Abe. Don’t touch her, just blow gently. Let her know you are there. That you smell her desire for me. That you know who she belongs to.”
Pirates, Passion and Plunder Page 109
