Plunder by Knight

by Mia Pride

  “Ye must cease, Kat.” Walking over, he pulled the silk blanket down from beneath her body, trying to pull it over her. Instead, she scrambled to her knees and grabbed his tunic, pulling it over his head.

  “Come. Lay down. Feel the silk, Thomas.” Her warm hands reached around his neck as she tried to pull him down with her.

  “Nay, I cannot.” He whispered gently in her ear. “Ye must rest, love.”

  “Why not?” she pouted, and with her plump lips so close to his, it took all his strength to not kiss that frown off her face.

  “Because ye are not in yer right mind. Here, put on yer nightdress.” He tried to move away to collect her garments, but she tugged him harder, refusing to let go.

  “Nay. I usually sleep naked and I plan to do so on this night.”

  “A lady does not sleep naked.” What had he gotten himself into with this woman?

  She giggled and began to bounce on the bed on her knees, her breasts swaying with the movement and her legs partially spread in a straddling position. “I am nay lady, Thomas. Ye knew this from the moment ye met me.”

  Damned if she was not telling the truth. Still, as badly as he ached to touch her, to taste her, to lay her down and take all of her, it would not be right. “Ye are making this hard for me, Kat.”

  “Oh, aye?” she said, looking down at his groin. “How hard?” Before he could move, she lunged forward and grabbed his shaft in her tiny hand. “Oh... Quite hard indeed,” she whispered.

  He pushed her off him and stepped back. “What the bloody hell is the matter with ye? Ye are no innocent, are ye?”

  Suddenly, all her playfulness disappeared, and she slouched onto the bed. “Aye, I am! Do ye know how many companions I have had in my life? None. How many men come to court me? None! I have lived a sheltered life, Thomas! Only a pirate port, a spyglass, and one cursed book have kept me company! I long to feel a man, Thomas! I am twenty-two years old. Ye were my first kiss and now ye are my husband. Can ye not touch me? Make love to me? Am I so disgusting to ye, because of who my father is, that ye cannot even look at me?”

  Shame and guilt washed over him for dampening her spirits. “’Tis not that lass. If ye want out of this bind, allowing me to take ye is not the way to do it. Once I take ye, ye are mine. Forever.”

  “That is not so. Ye know very well that under Irish law we can separate at any time.”

  “My honor is my own! If I take yer innocence, I shall never give ye up! Never! Once my seed touches yer womb, ye are mine!”

  Her eyes widened at his words and she blushed. “Have I no say in any of this? Ye just steal me away and then decide to ignore me for days while on the ship, and now ye will turn me away once more? Ye do not want me, do ye, Thomas?”

  Taking a deep breath, he stepped closer to her. “I want ye more than ye understand. I have since the moment I saw ye. Why do ye think I was so disgusted with myself when I thought ye were my sister? Ye have caused me so much trouble, lass, and yet, I cannae help but want ye.”

  “Then, take me, Thomas.” Her eyes glittered with need and her cheeks flushed, not with embarrassment, but with lust. She licked her lips slowly and leaned in. Gods help him, he moved in to meet her halfway, feeling energy ignite him when their lips touched. Every time he touched her, he felt this same force pulse throughout his entire body like he was meeting with the second half of his whole. No woman had ever felt this good, and he had only ever kissed the lass.

  It was dangerous and he knew he should stop. She was not in her right mind, even if she was begging for it. She may have been an innocent, but he knew she knew what happened between a man and a woman. Pulling away, he put his hands on her shoulders and put his forehead against hers. “Ye tempt me to no end, lass. But I cannae touch ye, not until I am certain ye willnae hate me in the morning.”

  She snorted and pushed him away. “Och, I already hate ye, Thomas. Ye have been awful to me. That does not mean I do not want to bed ye. Funny thing, that.”

  He almost laughed at her declaration, for it was unexpected and bold, much like she was. Yet, he had been awful to her. Four days on the water and, aside from checking in on her wounds, he had treated her like unwanted cargo. “I am sorry, Katherine. I was a bastard to have stolen ye away to ruin ye. Then I was a bastard to bind ye to me even when ye said it was mad. Then I was a bastard to ignore ye once ye had no place else to go. I do not deserve what ye offer.”

  “Did I put up a fight when ye took me, Thomas?” She pulled him onto the bed when he was least expecting it and he fell against the soft mattress, head resting on the long red bolster.

  “Ye were too injured to fight me. And I forced ye onto that horse. Ye must have been in so much pain.” He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, never having felt more shame in his life.

  “Open yer eyes when I speak to ye,” Katherine demanded, and he felt her straddling his legs. He opened his eyes and looked up at the most beautiful woman, completely naked, towering over him. He had to focus on her eyes else he would be removing his breeches. Once again, she surprised him with her authority. No woman had ever spoken to him that way and damn it all if it did not arouse him. “I came with ye willingly, Thomas. I knew, even then, that I was safer with ye than I was with my father after all I learned and witnessed. Ye are a brute, I ken, and I cannae decide if ye are more knight or pirate… but I dinnae care. Even if this is not to last… tonight, I want ye.”

  “And I told ye that once I have ye, I will never give ye up,” he said through clenched teeth. He wondered how he had bedded and walked away from so many other women, but to do so with Katherine would feel like a sin against his own soul.

  “That is bollocks, and ye know it.” Her hand came down swiftly and unbuttoned his breeches and before he could so much as blink, she held his rigid flesh in her hand, stroking him with ease, as if she had done this a thousand times before.

  He groaned and clenched his teeth while he watched her work his turgid flesh, her breasts suspended above him as she moved. Dear God, he was losing his resolve. She was bloody seducing him and doing a fine job of it. He silently thanked whoever made that book full of erotic images that she had studied so well, for no maiden could ever be so bold otherwise.

  Running her tongue across his lips, down his throat, she shifted her weight until she was gliding down his chest, making sounds that drove him wild. His head spun with need. No amount of honor was going to stop this madness. Her hot mouth came down on his cock and next thing he knew, she had him fully in her mouth.

  With a curse, he pulled her off. “Devil take it!” Flipping her on her back, he shoved her back onto the bed, his weight coming down on hers. She giggled beneath him and licked her lips.

  Then it dawned on him. She was no maiden. There was no way on earth she had not done this before. She was a temptress of the highest order and God knew how many men she had pulled this on.

  “Ye want this, Katherine? Ye want me to take ye right now?” he growled, leaning his head down to finally take one of her succulent breasts into his mouth, nipping the tip with his teeth.

  She arched and groaned as he switched back and forth, lathing her nipples, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. “Aye! So much it hurts, Thomas! I want ye!” Her legs were already spread before him and he could see with his own eyes how ready she was for him.

  With no further questions, Thomas pushed himself into her with a loud grunt, feeling her consume him as she cried out her pleasure. Her body arched, writhed, and begged for more beneath him. A tear trickled down her cheek and he wondered how she could already be so filled with pleasure that she should cry.

  He held nothing back, showed no mercy. He had tried to warn her, tried to keep his hands to himself, but she had pushed him over the edge with her clever tongue and boldness. She was so warm and tight, he groaned as he pushed into her, taking her with a force he had never known.

  She whimpered and clawed at his backside, demanding him to continue as her hips met his with audible force. “Aye, Th
omas…” she whispered, eyes closed tight.

  “Open yer eyes when I am taking ye, Katherine. Watch where we connect.”

  Her eyes opened, and he saw the blazing passion in those blue depths. It was not the blue of the ocean or even the sky. It was the blue of a fire when it was at its hottest, raging in a hearth, blazing with heat. That’s what she was. Blue fire.

  Then her eyes looked down at where he entered her again and again and her gaze hooded as she watched while he took her. He never thought he would think this, but this lass was more than he could handle. She was wild with an all-consuming desire to take and be taken, unlike anyone he had ever bedded.

  Sweat dripped down his forehead as he bit back a curse, struggling not to lose control as she lifted her hips off the bed and used her elbows to prop herself up for a better view. It was like she had never seen anything so enthralling and could watch him push inside her all day. But he couldn’t. He was going to lose himself fast, and not just because she was so cursed beautiful. It was her wild spirit, her fiery temper, and yet a fragile vulnerability he had seen in her more than once. She smelled of honey and citrus and felt like the smoothest silk. She was everything he could ever want in a lass, and in that moment, a moment so filled with lust and need… he found the one thing he never thought he wanted: love.

  It struck him like lightning, so hard in the chest that he could actually feel the ache. He had not meant to fall in love with the lass, but he had never stood a chance.

  Knowing he would finish any second, he reached between their bodies, stroked her in the one place he knew would set her off, and with the very first stroke, she tilted her head back and screamed her release, her entire body shuddering beneath him, around him. She kept whispering his name reverently and it was over for him. One loud roar left his throat and he gave himself over to her, the first real love he had ever made, the first release into a woman he hoped would actually stick and create life.

  Bloody hell. What had she done to him? Collapsing from the impact, he landed beside her, rolling her over on top of him, their sticky bodies panting in unison, her blonde hair sticking to her neck. He scooped it away and ran his hands up and down her slick back and the slight curve of her perfect rear.

  “By all the saints, Katherine Esmonde. Ye took my breath away.” He wanted to say how he truly felt, but the lass had said she hated him just before. He prayed she had not meant it, but if she did, he deserved her ire. Still, he would never treat her foully again and cursed himself for ever thinking that this wild-spirited, yet soft-hearted lass could ever intentionally aid their enemy. Now, they shared everything, including a common enemy in her father.

  “That was… I have no words, Thomas. Better than I ever imagined.” Her finger spun circles on his chest, playing with the short dark hairs spattered over his muscles and tracing the lines of his battle scars.

  “Better than ye’ve ever had, aye?” he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

  Lines of confusion marred her forehead. “I told ye I was a maiden. Ye think I was lying to seduce ye?” Her finger stopped spinning circles just before she pinched his nipple hard, causing him to wince.

  “Ow! I am sorry but ye knew so much. I have never bedded a maiden, but I wouldnae think she knew to put my cock in her mouth!”

  Katherine flushed. “I have… watched it happen many times. Remember? Spyglass? The men, especially the ones with the kilts…” Her voice faded off and she turned her head away in embarrassment.

  He was shocked at her admission, yet rather amused. No wonder she was so educated. But then, a realization hit him, making the blood drain from his face.

  “Katherine.” He gripped her and laid her down on the mattress beside him. “I took ye… really took ye. Hard. I thought… Och.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I was not gentle. I am so sorry.”

  “Nay. It was perfect. I loved every second of it. It did sting at first, but mayhap it was best that it was over with quickly. I rather enjoyed the rest. Watching you move inside me was the most fantastic moment of my life!”

  He chuckled at that. Aye, they would have a lively time in bed. She was just as eager as he was. “Still, I apologize for not believing ye.” He kissed the tip of her nose gently. “I will believe ye from now on about all things. Ye are my wife and I will respect ye always.”

  She licked her lips nervously, wanting to say something, but clearly decided against it. He did not want her to hate him. The thought of it made his chest seize up painfully. “What can I do to make this right between us?”

  “Let me help ye find the Treasure of Danu. Tell me all about it.”

  Chapter Ten

  Katherine lay in bed beside the most amazing man she had ever known, listening quietly as he told her everything about himself. How his mother sent him away as a young lad, and how he became knighted and fought beside Drake against the Armada. The man was truly so much like her, born to one country, yet raised in another. Yet, their loyalties were both to the Irish people and that made their bond only stronger. She wanted to help him in any way she could, to make up for the harm she had caused in the past and prove that she cared. It was about more than this treasure. It was about saving a people.

  “Do ye know what is said to be in this treasure?” she asked.

  “It started with only three items, said to have been crafted by the gods and sent over with the very first people to settle in Ireland, the Tuatha de Danann. They were a god-like race, made of the gods, keepers of the land until they were defeated and forced to live beneath the earth, now called the Otherworld. It is said the faeries are their descendants.”

  “Oh! How fascinating!”

  “Aye. It is. The items were a golden cauldron said to never run out of its contents. It could feed an entire group of people forever. Then there was the Sword of Light, said to glow when the enemy approached, alerting its rightful owner to danger. The third item is the spear of Lugh. It never missed its mark. Supposedly, when my ancestor hid it, he hid it somewhere special to the gods, though everything is special to the gods in Ireland and Scotland. So it was never found.”

  “What if it was found and ye seek something that does not exist?” Katherine asked, then shuddered as he bent to kiss her lips softly, running his finger in circles around her nipple. It made her core tingle again, but this was the first time they had ever truly spoken of anything important and she wished to know all about him.

  “I thought of that before, but I have been plagued with dreams of the treasure my entire life. I see the sword glowing in a cavern in my sleep. I feel my thoughts being pulled toward it. I feel it in my gut. It’s somewhere in a cave, awaiting the right person to find it… the person willing to use it as it was intended, to save Ireland.

  She nodded and shivered, not just because his finger had moved lower and now ran up and down her flat belly, but because she felt his conviction. He was so passionate about this and, more than anything, she wanted to be a part of it with him.

  “Any other items? What of the items of the people who hid it?” her eyes closed and her heart pounded. His touch was making her dizzy. She could not focus with his fingers running up and down her body, and when she felt his stiff rod poking the side of her thigh repeatedly, it drove her crazy. She still felt a bit woozy from all the mead and whiskey earlier, but lucid enough to understand everything they discussed and loose enough to respond to his every move.

  “My family descended not only from the original god-like people of the land, but also from a faery known as Dana. It is said that when Dana left the Otherworld to live amongst the humans, she brought a red ruby brooch with her that was passed down through the generations to the eldest female descendant. At the time, the Sisters of Danu, my descendants, had it in their possession… according to legend. It is so ancient, it is impossible to know for certain,” he grumbled in frustration. “They had no written language. The entirety of Irish history was passed down orally through the generations. The only reason I believe the treasure exists
untouched is due to my dreams. There may be a ruby tiara as well as some old coins. Ireland had no coins at that point, but my traveling ancestor who buried it was said to have found gold coins from another group of people.” He shrugged, and she knew he felt foolish telling her what sounded like nothing more than folklore to most people.

  “I believe ye, Thomas.” Then she shifted her body toward his and faced him, both of them propped up on their sides using their elbows. Something he said caught her attention more than anything else. She had been to almost every cavern that could be reached within a day’s ride on a horse, sometimes traveling for hours, not worried about her father noticing she was gone. He was never home. Caves littered Ireland’s coasts, but some were inland as well. Could it be that Thomas’s ancestor buried the treasure inland, so it was not so accessible by water where a pirate would first search? It was in one of the inland caves that she had once found something of much value, something she had hidden beneath the floorboards of her bedchamber to keep safe. She had always thought her random finds were items dropped or left behind by Grace’s men, but part of her had always believed they were gifts from the fay below the earth who knew she would find a way to help the Irish with their offerings. It was childish, she knew, and had never told a soul.

  “Thomas… once, about a year or so ago, I was wandering in a series of caves that are in Connaught, a long distance from the shore. They are high up in the hills, but they face the east, so they cannot be seen by anyone approaching from the shore to the west. It took me several hours by horse to reach them—”

  “Katherine, ye should not be wandering around so. ‘Tis most dangerous. Why would ye think to do that?” She wanted to balk at his scolding, but with his hand running up and down her hip, she decided not to ruin their delicate relationship with an argument.