by Eliza Knight
“Ye defy me and then dare to question me?”
She shook her head and bit her lip hard to keep from saying anything else.
“Answer me!” he bellowed again.
“Nay,” she whispered. She tried not to look around as she sensed more people coming to watch their spectacle. Good God, she prayed Wraith did not see this!
Shouting from whence Lady Faryn had fled drew Wraith’s and Loftford’s attention.
“What is this?” the Lord Chancellor asked, irritation marring his features.
Wraith didn’t wait to find out. For as much as he believed Faryn had betrayed him, he couldn’t see her come to harm—at least by anyone other than himself.
He led the way from the viscount’s receiving chamber through a series of doors until they came to a large crowd. In the center, a man held a woman by her arms as he bellowed in her face.
“Answer me!”
“Father, ye’re a murderer! How could ye be so cruel, so evil?”
The baron’s face blanched white, and even from this distance, Wraith watched Faryn’s shoulders shake on her lithe frame.
Her father growled something under his breath and then yanked her with him, clearly intending to leave the area.
“Halt!” shouted the Lord Chancellor.
The baron continued to try to drag his daughter away but several of the nosy members of the court blocked his escape.
“The Lord Chancellor has ordered ye to stay where ye are,” Wraith said, his voice deadly calm.
Slowly, Baron Claneford turned, recognition plain in his eyes as he viewed Wraith.
“Nay,” he whispered, shaking his head as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Let the lady go,” Wraith demanded. He avoided Faryn’s gaze even though he could feel her eyes penetrating his soul.
“She is not just a lady but my daughter. She ran away from home and her marriage, and I must see that she is guarded. This is no concern of yours.” Baron Claneford’s meager attempt at playing nonchalant was not lost on Wraith.
“But it is my concern. She didna run but was taken. By me. She is mine.”
If possible, Claneford’s face paled even further.
“By ye? How?”
“Let her go. Ye and I have business of our own to attend to.”
“Nay!” Claneford shouted. “Ye’re dead! Your whole family is dead! I saw to it myself!”
“I assure ye, I am here in the flesh.”
With Baron Claneford’s last comment, Wraith saw from the corner of his eye Loftford wave to his men. Several guards surrounded the baron, who was forced to release his daughter.
He shoved her away and the force of the move sent Faryn sprawling forward and knocked a couple of his guards off their steady feet. Wraith lunged to catch Faryn before she hit the floor but at the same time, the baron pulled a dagger from some part of his person. He waved his arm in an arc, the blade aimed at his daughter. Wraith changed his angle and nearly missed the downward plunge of Claneford’s dagger. Faryn fell to the floor in a pile of skirts and wriggled away from the fray. Wraith clicked his ring, flicking his hand in time to leave a gash along the baron’s arm.
The older man screeched in pain and dropped his dagger, reaching instead for his bleeding limb. The Lord Chancellor’s men took the opportunity to grab Claneford and drag him away.
Wraith stood and held out his hand to Faryn. She stared up at him, confusion in her eyes.
“Forgive me?” he asked.
She nodded silently and took his hand.
“Ye’re not your father. I know ye. I know ye for the innocent and kind-hearted woman ye are. I spoke out of anger.” He pulled her into an embrace, not caring that they had an audience. She sagged against him and the gentle shaking of her shoulders told him she was crying. He had never wanted to hurt her, nor see tears in her eyes, and yet here she was sobbing quietly against his shoulder. He leaned down, kissed her atop her head, and then whispered in her ear.
“Hush now, leannan. Dinna cry. All will be well. We shall be together just as we dreamed of.”
She looked up at him, her eyes watery, her lips red where she’d bitten them. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers, savoring her taste and her affection.
Against her lips he whispered, “I love ye, Faryn.”
Her voice cracked on a sob with her reply. “I love ye, too.”
“’Lo there.” The Lord Chancellor’s voice cut through their reverie. “Ian, cease manhandling the maiden.”
“Ian?” Faryn asked, pulling away to glance at him quizzically.
Wraith shrugged, a wicked grin curving his lips. He realized they’d never gotten around to him telling her his true name. “’Tis not so dreadful and mysterious as Wraith.”
She chuckled at this. “Nay, but suits ye all the same.”
“My lord,” he said, turning to face the Lord Chancellor, their hands gripped tightly together. “Might I have your permission to marry this fair maiden?”
Viscount Loftford’s eyes sparkled. “Ye may inquire, Lord Drohgard, and I am happy to give ye my blessing.”
“Lord Drohgard …” Wraith’s voice trailed off.
“Aye, ye have proven your innocence, and I have waited these past years for ye to return to your rightful place. However, there is one condition of my gift.”
Wraith stiffened, lowered his eyes. What could the Lord Chancellor ask? “Aye, my lord.”
Loftford lifted his chin in challenge. “Ye have pirated our shores and taken the innocent. If ye wish to fully receive a pardon, your title, your lands, ye must first retrieve the Irish men and women ye adducted.”
The Lord Chancellor’s demand would be a daunting task. But it was one Wraith was eager to complete, and with Faryn by his side. Orelia kept good records of her human booty, and once he had a hold of where each one was finally taken, he could easily begin retrieving them—which he would relish as he’d never wanted to be a party to such a thing, but his safety had required he be the deliveryman. With the help of his brethren, the Devils of the Deep would see that every man, woman and child were accounted for. ’Twas also a chance to seek vengeance on the pirate queen who’d tormented him.
“My lord, as ye wish.” He bowed before the king and when he rose addressed him once more. “A boon?”
Loftford nodded.
“Might I marry first, so my lady can accompany me on the seas?”
The viscount grinned knowingly. “Och, aye, as soon as possible.”
Wraith too broke out into a grin. Excitement coursed through his veins, for together he and Faryn would travel the world re-abducting those he’d enslaved to others and pirating pirates who would seek their fortunes on the high seas.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Wraith wrapped one strong arm beneath Faryn’s knees and another behind her back and lifted her into the air. He carried her through the door of their cabin aboard The Avenger and toward the bed, where he gently laid her down before covering her with his body.
“We did it, my love,” he whispered, nipping at her lips with his teeth.
Faryn wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer for a kiss. Their mouths connected in an arousing melding of tongue and lips.
“And now we shall sail back to Ireland?” she asked, panting from how his kisses always seemed to take her breath away, make her blood pump hard through her veins and send her body singing.
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps not?”
He chuckled and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Faryn arched her back and tilted her head to the side, allowing him a greater expanse of her flesh to kiss and suck.
“’Tis true we have recaptured the innocent. Thank ye Gods Queen Orelia sold all of them to only a select few. But I thought for us to drop them on an Irish beach before sailing to a remote island, where I might enjoy your body for days on end, until we can both no longer stand, without taking on any further responsibilities.”
His hands traveled ov
er her ribs, down her hips and to her thighs, where he gripped her behind the knees and pulled them up around his waist so he might settle between her legs. His rigid cock pressed against her heat, which was already wet with wanting.
He rocked back and forth against her, sending frissons of desire and need sparkling through her limbs.
“Mmm…aye…” she moaned, arching her back and undulating her hips in time with his.
“Not so fast, leannan. I want to make love to ye all night.”
He stood abruptly and pulled her up with him. The light faded through the porthole, bathing them in an ethereal tranquility. The ship swayed back and forth against the dock. Save for a few men on watch, the rest of the crew and the brethren were in port, no doubt at a tavern or whorehouse, as the captain had given them the night off as thanks for all their hard work.
“I love ye with a fierceness that grips me right here.” He tapped his chest.
Faryn reached up and pressed a palm to his chest, then trailed her hand lower to pull the linen shirt from his breeches. She trailed her hand beneath the fabric up his smooth stomach to his chest and again flattened her hand over his heart. She could feel the strong, steady beat of that organ beneath her fingertips. Wraith—for she had a hard time thinking of him as Ian—placed his hand over hers and threaded his other hand through her hair.
Their gazes locked in an intense stare—gray passionate storm clouds melded with blue desire.
“I love ye, too,” she whispered. “I could never live without ye.”
Wraith growled from deep in his chest and hauled her against him, his mouth coming down on hers with a fierce craving, claiming her once again. The stark, raw passion in their kiss was unmatched by any other kiss. They had been through so much together, learned so much from each other, and still come out on top, thriving, loving. Their lips slanted back and forth, teeth nipping, tongues sucking.
Hungrily they tore at their clothes, wanting nothing more than to press heated flesh to heated flesh. When finally neither wore a stitch of cloth, they pressed their bodies together, gasping at the silky sensation of her soft warm flesh against his sinewy hot length.
Her hands rubbed up and down his body, massaging the muscles of his back, buttocks and flanks, over his taut arms, broad shoulders and the ridges of his chest and stomach. Fingers swirled around his nipples and gently toyed with the crisp yet soft chest hair. She paused just short of his hard, thick cock to run her hands back over the muscles of his strong form.
He let his hands trail over her rounded hips, tight buttocks, lithe thighs, flat belly and supple breasts. She’d taken to using a sugaring technique Orelia had shown her, and now every inch of her body was smooth and hairless. Unable to wait a moment longer, he trailed his fingers in a path to her core, where he grazed between the bare folds of her sex, where she was slick with moisture. He delved two fingers inside her, groaning when she moaned and arched against him, her channel tightening.
With slow, torturous movements, he pulled his fingers out only to push them back inside, his mouth making a path from her lips to her neck and to her breasts.
“Your skin tastes heavenly to a man as full of sin as myself.” He drew a nipple into his mouth and sucked hard.
She shuddered and threaded her fingers through his hair.
“The day ye found me upon the beach was a day that forever changed our lives. If it is sin, then I will gladly sin with ye.”
She lifted a leg and hooked it behind his thigh, pressing her hips forward so she might feel the length of him against her more fully.
“Oh God, Faryn,” he murmured against her flesh. “I want this to last forever but I am swiftly losing control.”
“Then lose it. Take us both to ecstasy,” she breathed in his ear and nipped his lobe. She reached between them and gripped his arousal. She stroked up and down his shaft, teasing the head with her thumb. Gliding it over her core and pressing the tip to the center.
“I think I will,” he promised.
Wraith lifted Faryn’s other leg to hook around his waist, so she was wrapped around him. He carried her to the bed, where he sat down, Faryn still straddling his lap. She rolled her hips against him, pressed her breasts to his chest and captured his lips in hers. He teased her mouth with his teeth and tongue. His hands gripped her buttocks, massaging, stroking.
“I want to be inside ye,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Aye, please,” she whimpered.
Wraith gripped her hips and lifted her up, positioning his himself at her entrance. He slipped the tip in just a bit and held her still. The muscles of her sheath clenched tight and she tried to press down, to take him in farther, but he wouldn’t let her.
“Not yet,” he murmured.
He pulled out, rubbing his length between her folds, over her pearl, back and forth, the same way she had teased him. Her moans deepened and she rocked against him. Her whole body hummed with need and desire. He slipped the tip inside her again, teasing them both. She gyrated her hips and begged for him to plunge deep but still he made her wait.
Her stomach clenched, her nipples were hard and tight, her pleasure bud throbbed and she wanted nothing more than for him to take her to ecstasy and back.
She reached her hand between them, gripped him and stroked up and down with fervor. He was so hard in her hand, slick from her essence, and she could feel the pulse of his blood as it pumped harder.
She positioned him at her opening and locked her gaze with his. “Take me, Wraith.”
He gripped her hips tight and thrust upward, impaling her.
Her head fell back and her body stretched to fit him. Her entire length tingled and inside she pulsed with delicious need.
Wraith pressed his lips to her breasts and lifted her only to pull her back down, burying himself deep within her. They moved together rhythmically. Her lifting her hips and him thrusting back inside but doing it with torturous slowness. Neither one wanting to climax right away, both wanting to let the pleasure build up with a power neither one could comprehend.
Their limbs shook, sweat trickled down their spines and still they moved at that slow, sensual pace. Faryn curled her arms around Wraith’s neck and he leaned up to capture her lips in an erotic swirl of tongue and lips, tasting, licking, nipping.
Lost in their kiss, they moved their bodies faster. In and out, up and down. Hips pressing forward and back. Tongue caressing tongue. Breaths were hitched. Hearts beat a rapid pace as one.
Then a slow rumbling started from the core of Faryn’s being—a vibration from the inside out. And, as if the ship had fired its cannons, they both exploded into mind-numbing, body-shattering climax. Their bodies shook with pleasure, until finally they collapsed against each other onto the bed in a sweaty, tingling heap of limbs.
Lazy hands stroked up and down sated bodies as they caught their breath.
“’Tis a wonder to me that every young lady does not wish to be a pirate’s bounty,” Faryn murmured on a sigh.
Wraith’s chest rumbled against her ear as he chuckled. “Ye, leannan, were a booty well worth taking.”
If you enjoyed A PIRATE’S BOUNTY, please spread the word by leaving a review on the site where you purchased your copy, or a reader site such as Goodreads or Shelfari! I love to hear from readers too, so drop me a line at [email protected] OR visit me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elizaknightfiction. I’m also on Twitter: @ElizaKnight. If you’d like to receive my occasional newsletter, please sign up at www.elizaknight.com. Many thanks!
About the Author
Eliza Knight is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling indie author of over fifty sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. Under the name E. Knight, she pens rip-your-heart-out historical fiction. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting wi
th family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain with her own knight in shining armor, three princesses and two very naughty puppies. Visit Eliza at http://www.elizaknight.comor her historical blog History Undressed: www.historyundressed.com. Sign up for her newsletter to get news about books, events, contests and sneak peaks! http://eepurl.com/CSFFD
Also by Eliza Knight
Pirates of Britannia: Devils of the Deep
Savage of the Sea
The Sea Devil
A Pirate’s Bounty
The Stolen Bride Series
The Highlander’s Temptation
The Highlander’s Reward
The Highlander’s Conquest
The Highlander’s Lady
The Highlander’s Warrior Bride
The Highlander’s Triumph
The Highlander’s Sin
Wild Highland Mistletoe (a Stolen Bride winter novella)
The Highlander’s Charm (a Stolen Bride novella)
A Kilted Christmas Wish – a contemporary Holiday spin-off
The Highlander’s Gift (coming soon)
The Conquered Bride Series
Conquered by the Highlander
Seduced by the Laird
Taken by the Highlander (a Conquered bride novella)
Claimed by the Warrior
Stolen by the Laird
Protected by the Laird (a Conquered bride novella)
Guarded by the Warrior
The MacDougall Legacy Series
Laird of Shadows
Laird of Twilight
Laird of Darkness
The Thistles and Roses Series
Promise of a Knight
Eternally Bound
Breath from the Sea
The Highland Bound Series (Erotic time-travel)
Behind the Plaid
Bared to the Laird
