"Ah, Ricardo," she smiled up at him. "I think my husband’s right. You are becoming an old woman. Think of the adventures we have had."
"Adventures, pah!" he shook his head.
Scott looked down at his lovely wife, barely able to keep his hands off her. His arm was around her shoulder and he pulled her tight up against his side. Scott had recaptured his love without losing one man. It seemed appropriate that because of the count, Scott had learned to steal, and that the only meeting they would ever have, was Scott stealing back the one thing that was most important to him.
Thirteen
Scott stood at the helm of The Scarlet Eagle guiding her through the huge swells of the raging storm. He had tied himself to the wheel as the huge waves rose over the rail of the ship to splatter him with a vengeance. All sails were reefed, except for the main jib, as the ship rose heavily on the tumultuous waves.
Danielle was down in his cabin. She was finally clean! Scott had insisted she have a nice warm bath. And she had scrubbed her body and hair until she tingled. She did not know if he had insisted on this because he knew it was something she desired or the fact that he wanted her ready for him. Well, both had been attained. She smiled as she pulled one of Scott’s shirts over her head, this silk of the material slid smoothly over her body. She almost felt herself again. The ship made a violent roll and Danielle clung to the table. This damnable storm! She knew Scott would stay and fight the elements until he was exhausted, then take the time to think about himself. She was a little nervous she realized. She felt like a virgin, it had been so long! Her body burned at the thought of what she wanted to do to him.
Had it not been for the damnable storm, Scott thought, he would not have left her alone for second. He featured her naked in his cabin and he ached for her. His mind went over all the things that he wanted to do to her.
Thunder crackled and lightning illuminated the entire sky, outlining the lone man at the helm. His hair was plastered to his head and his clothes were soaked through to his skin. It felt good to fight the elements, Scott realized. In such a short time he had won his battle against the obsession that had possessed him for years. By his wit and cunning he had rescued his wife from almost certain death in the prison. And furthermore, he had released the French prisoners whom he formerly would have speedily dispatched.
Then, incredibly, he had finally met and settled the score with his father… Justice had tampered with mercy because of Danielle’s intercession. The soaking rain seemed to cleanse his every pore and renew it for a fresh new life ahead. Finally, at long last, he was free from his need for revenge against the French and he was elated with the loss of this hatred. He felt free, at last. And Danielle was safe below, waiting for him. He noticed two figures moving up the quarterdeck ladder. They looked vaguely familiar but he couldn’t place them.
"Captain, we’d like a word with ye," the oldest spoke up over the wind.
Then it dawned on Scott where he had seen them. They were two of the old sailors on Danielle’s ship. What were they doing on The Scarlet Eagle? Scott nodded for them to continue.
"We just want to know if you are going to keep the lass this time?" James asked gruffly.
Scott understood and relaxed his muscles. They were worried about Danielle. He smiled at their worried frowns. "Aye. I’m keeping her."
The two men nodded and turned back to the ladder to go below decks. Scott watched as the grins spread over both their faces when the lightning flashed.
"Wait!" Scott stopped their exit. The two men paused and turned once more to face him. "Would you be interested in sailing on a regular merchantman for a change?"
The men looked at each other before one turned and nodded. "Aye, we would be interested."
"Come and talk to me about it tomorrow."
Both men nodded and continued on their way below deck.
Scott motioned Ricardo to come to his side. "Take the helm!" he yelled over the storm as his untied himself from the wheel.
Ricardo took his place smiling up into his stepson’s face. "And what will you be doing?" he yelled back.
"I’m going to be busy," he shouted, pounding the Spaniard on the back and walked away. He could barely hear the roar of laughter from his friend of many years and husband of his mother over the sound of a crashing wave as he made his way to his cabin.
Once inside, he closed the door and leaned back against it, shutting out the storm. He looked at Danielle sitting on the window seat, under the glow of the lantern swinging from the ceiling. She was a vision he wanted to soak into his mind like a sponge and retain forever. Her hair, still damp, was shining with cleanliness and her body glowed from the scrubbing he knew she must have given it. She stared back at him. He felt she looked directly into his soul as he stood against the door. Rain dripped from his entire frame into a puddle on the floor, but he was aware of nothing except the woman, and his heart beating against his ribs in a sudden desire that he could not control. She stood. His shirt showed the deep cleavage of her breasts, causing him to draw in his breath.
Their eyes still clung to each other. Words were not needed. Everything each wanted to say was written plainly on their faces for the other to see.
Without hesitation he came across the room shedding his wet clothes in his path. His shirt was tossed in a chair and his breeches fell to the floor. He stepped out of them and continued moving toward her. The light was kindled into a white fire in his eyes by her smile. A tide of emotion swept over him as he quivered with excitement and anticipation.
Danielle felt like a volcano about to erupt. With an upsurge of feeling for the bronzed, iron-hewn form of masculinity before her. Even the now faint scar on his torso could not lessen the desire she was feeling. With a wildly beating heart and pulses racing, she opened her arms to him.
Neither spoke a word. They wanted to see, and touch and feel. Words were not needed.
The fire within him was fanned into an inferno as he pulled her against him. The smoldering in his eyes blazed fiercely the instant their bodies came together. His great arms tightened about her until she could barely breathe. His muscles rippled, his blood thundered in his ears. Her arms were about his neck, brands of cool white fire, tightening more and more. When he bent his head to kiss her, her mouth flamed under his, soft lips parting to allow entrance for his tongue to join with hers. He moved over her mouth as if he were eating her alive. He kissed her again and again, the power behind his kisses increasing with passion.
Danielle tightened her arms around him. She could not get close enough. Her body was one long sweet caress, held close to him, working slowly. Scott’s hands cupped her buttocks and pulled her against his hardness, a groan escaped deep within his throat. Danielle began undulating against him in a motion as slow and fierce as the pulse of life itself, so that even through her shirt his body felt scalded.
He reached down and caught the hem of her shirt pulling it over her head. He wanted to feel her breasts, fuller now since motherhood, pressing into his chest. They branded holes in him as if they were red-hot irons.
Danielle thought her knees were going to buckle when he finally picked her up and laid her on the bunk. His body followed her down and his mouth once more covered hers. Their tongues moved simultaneously arousing them to fever pitch. When Scott’s mouth left hers to kiss down her neck, over her slender shoulders, over the roundness of her breast to its budding peak. His tongue wrapped around the nipple hardening its tip before his mouth closed over it taking in as much of her breast as he could. Danielle rolled her head back and moaned. Scott’s hand slid down to her inner core and his fingers felt the moist hot heat of her. He slid one inside her, his thumb rubbing her swollen nub until she was writhing against him, arching her back. Her hands moved down between their bodies to boldly clasp his hardened manhood. She felt it pulsate in her palm and she slowly made the motions of sex against his organ. He was at his limit. He raised himself above her and entered her, burying his entire shaft in her entrance. On
ce inside her tight hot sheath he tried to slow down, but Danielle’s body was moving against him gathering momentum, finding her own release. He pounded into her as she screamed his name and he groaned hers as he spilled his seed inside her. He had withheld nothing. He had given her his heart, his soul and his entire being, keeping nothing back. Their breathing ragged, they still clung to each other, waiting for their heartbeats to gradually return to normal. Scott slid to the side, keeping her pulled tight next to him, kissing her temple.
Scott was the first to pull away. He threw his feet onto the floor and sat at its edge. He stood and walked across the room and back to the edge of the bed. Danielle watched him, wondering what was on his mind.
"Danielle, I want to get a few things straight between us." He frowned down at her.
"I thought we just did," she mocked.
"I’m serious, Danielle. I have fought unbelievable odds on the sea and I have never been as scared as I was with you in that prison. I demand you to do nothing else that would endanger you ever again. "
"Demanding again, pirate?" She couldn’t help her teasing. It was impossible to take a man serious when he walked around the room swinging his arms and ranting while stark naked.
He ignored the remark and kept talking as if he hadn’t heard her. "It’s time you decide to stay home and be a wife to me and a mother to our son. You will cease any other activity except our home!" He was warming to this subject and his voice rose in volume. "You’ll be lucky if I ever let you out of my sight again for any reason!" He continued on, never letting up. "You don’t seem to understand how precious your life is to me!
"First, you were a stowaway that could have got you killed if it had not been I who had found you. Then, the next time I see you, you are going back and forth across dangerous seas and rescuing Huguenots…" He ranted and raved while Danielle rested her cheek on her palm, still lying in the bed.
God, he was a handsome brute! How had she been so lucky to have him love her? He drew her attention back when she heard him yell.
"Do you understand me?"
"Yes." She hoped she answered correctly. It was very distracting watching him pace when her passion was once again growing and she wanted him back inside her.
"I know it will be an adjustment. You’ve led such a crazy life but I cannot live wondering if something is going to happen to you, or you’re going to disappear--What did you say?" Her words had finally penetrated his brain and he stopped in mid stride, standing near the bed looking down at her.
"I said, yes, I understand. You just told me in a thousand words, that you love me and want to keep me safe, and you want me to be a wife and a mother. That’s all I ever wanted to be anyway."
"God, woman, you drive me wild." He crawled back into bed and pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately. He had become an overly possessive man. He hated to yell at her when he was so happy to have her here in his cabin. But it was the one way he felt he could get his point across to her. She was a stubborn wench but he loved her with all his heart. He knew their life would never be boring and he relished the thought of each chapter unfolding over the years. The many arguments with this fiery independent woman… But the making up would be such a joy and he proceeded to do just that.
Meet Mariah Legrand
Mariah lives on a beautiful island in the Pacific Northwest, off the coast of Washington State, with her hubby, Ed of over 40 years. She claims he is her knight in shining armor.
Since she first read the written word she was hooked. She has read literally thousands of books over her lifetime and when she is not reading she is writing. Always a lover of romance, her novels remain in that genre.
She’s been a member of Pacific Northwest Writers, Romance Writers of America and the writing group called Seannache.
Her first novel THE REIVER’S PASSION was published earlier this year from Wings ePress, Inc. If you enjoyed this novel, you are sure to love the sexy Scottish Laird in that one.
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