The excuse had worked, at least for the time being, and Melani was dressed in a flowing skirt and short-sleeved blouse that helped her blend in with the other tourists. She would change into her pirate wench outfit before she went to work in one of the ticket booths at three that afternoon. She planned to work until seven, leaving just enough time to catch one of the pirate shows that Russell put on aboard one of the ships.
And then ... who knew?
She bit her lip. She couldn't decide if she was going to take Royce up on his dinner offer or not. Doing so would surely put her in a situation that would be very, very dangerous. She'd barely gotten away from him the previous evening before succumbing to the desire to melt into his arms.
If she went to his house tonight, dressed as a pirate wench, she was sure that she would act like one and take him up on his offer of lovemaking. No, not lovemaking. Sex. He'd never once mentioned the word love. He'd simply made it obvious that he wanted her body.
And Melani was sure that if she were on his ship—scratch that—his houseboat, she just might let him have it.
Not exactly something she could include in her copy.
A loud bark caught her attention. Kidd sat in front of her. He'd dropped a package at her feet and she knew that the bark was a demand for payment—several good pats on the head. She did just that, scratching his ears and laughing when he barked his thanks and trotted back to Royce.
She picked up the package, amazed that it wasn't covered in dog drool, and offered it to the women next to her, who sat with two small children and a man who was obviously her husband.
The children were wearing pirate hats that they'd bought in the gift shop, and the boy, around seven, wore an eye patch.
"Oh we couldn't,” the woman said. “He gave it to you."
"No, I insist. I'm here doing a newspaper story. All I ask is that you let me see the map, and then meet me later so I can see what you found."
The family readily agreed to meet Melani at seven at the main ship. Then, the mother unrolled the map to the obvious delight of her youngsters. The parchment displayed a diagram of several park attractions with a large X near the food stations.
Great marketing ploy, Melani thought. Get them moving toward the areas where they had a chance to buy something.
Royce was now talking about how pirates became romanticized, focusing on their roles in literature and movies.
"The movies always showed the swashbuckling hero battling the bad guy, and getting the girl in the end."
He looked directly at her and winked.
"And we all know a pirate gets what he wants,” Royce said. “Some riches are just different than others."
She returned his grin and laughed when he invited a young audience member up to fence with him. He chose a young boy, who looked to be about nine, and in the end, Royce fell to the deck while the audience cheered for the victor.
Afterward, Melani watched him pose for pictures with the ladies and shake hands with the men. When the crowd cleared and the seats started to fill again, she went up to him.
"I'm impressed. You're very entertaining."
He gave her a private grin. “You have no idea. But you will."
She pointed to the gold hoop he wore in his ear. If it was possible, the earring gave him an even more roguish look than he'd had the night before.
"I didn't notice that last night."
"I forgot to put it on. Terrible of me, huh?” He took a step closer to her and she could feel the heat of his breath against her skin. Her body tingled in response. “Maybe tomorrow morning you can make sure I'm properly dressed before I leave the house."
His voice was low and before she could respond, he stepped back and slapped his hand against his thigh.
"Come here, Kidd. Meet Melani."
She bent down to pat the dog as he eagerly appeared for his introduction.
"How'd you train him to deliver the maps?"
"Kidd's a natural ham,” Royce said. “We practiced with him a few times, and he got the idea of what he had to do. He knows that it earns him his kibble."
A family came up then, and Royce shook hands with the father, pinched the mother's cheek and leaned down to give the children small bags that contained chocolate coins.
Melani took the time to exit gracefully, catching Royce's eye and mouthing her good-bye. He nodded, winked and went back to his work. The more she watched him, the more she knew that she wouldn't be able to resist him for much longer.
She still had a week to go, so she had to make sure that she didn't put herself in a situation where she would fall into bed with him, something she was sure she would regret.
Or would she? How many women could say they'd actually slept with a pirate?
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Five
Selling tickets and answering questions from park attendees wasn't nearly as easy as Melani had thought it would be. She'd spent the afternoon in a front booth with a woman named Jaynie Monvale, who looked to be in her mid-thirties. Jaynie seemed unflappable, laughing and smiling no matter what.
She deftly handled difficult customers and always had an answer for every question. Having never worked anywhere but in journalism, Melani was amazed bu the number of people who wanted freebies, or were angry at Jaynie if their credit card was declined—as if she had something to do with it.
"You learn to go with the flow,” Jaynie had said. “We want people to have fun, and that fun starts at the front gate. So you smile and let them know that you'll do anything you can to help them. And they're usually very appreciative."
Melani didn't doubt that the fun started at the front gate. The huts were all shaped like the bow of a ship, with railings at the front where customers lined up. Once at the gate, they inserted the gold coins given to them by the attendees and spun the wheel, shaped like a ship's wheel, which opened the gates for them to enter.
Each person got to spin the wheel, but Melani enjoyed the children's reactions the most. They giggled and laughed as they took a hold of opposing pegs and sent the wheel flying.
"Do you work here all year?” Melani asked Jaynie as she handed coins to the children.
"No, I'm a teacher,” Jaynie said. “I only work at Ahoy, Matey during the summer to earn some extra money. Plus, I love being out in crowds and watching the kids have a great time."
"So, can I assume that since you work here you are interested in pirates?"
"Are you kidding? When I was a kid, I used to watch Errol Flynn movies with my mother on Saturday mornings. It was a ritual. She'd pop popcorn and we'd drink sodas and watch TV. It was so much fun and I became fascinated with pirates. I have a whole room dedicated to them."
Melani's eyes popped open. “Really? That would make a great sidebar to my story. Would you mind if I came over to see it, maybe take some pictures?"
"Sure. I'd love it. Can I wear my saucy outfit?” Jaynie wiggled her hips and Melani laughed.
"It'll make the pictures even better. At least you wear yours well.” Melani tugged on her blouse in an effort to show less of her breasts.
"So do you. You just need to get more comfortable in your own skin."
The cry of “shiver me timbers!” ran through the air and Melani froze.
"What was...” She stopped mid-sentence and leaned out to watch as a group of about six pirate men ran into the crowd and grabbed a family, heading them toward the gate.
Jaynie laughed. “They just started that last week. Twice each day, a group of pirates “kidnaps” a family from the line and that family gets free admission."
"Great PR tool."
"Yeah, Royce came up with it.” Jaynie passed coins to a family and told them to have a good time.
"Really?” Melani tried to keep the interest out of her voice, but she knew that it didn't work.
Sure enough, Jaynie turned to her with a gleam in her eye.
"So, has the park's Errol Flynn caught your attention?"
"Errol Flynn?” A shiver ran up M
elani's spine.
"Yeah, the gorgeous swashbuckling hero that always get the girl in the end. He's pretty handsome.” Jaynie singsonged and Melani laughed.
"He's the park Lothario, huh?"
"He's a flirt, that's for sure,” Jaynie replied. “He catches the eye of a lot of the female workers here."
Are you one of them? Does he do more than flirt? Does he do more than look?
She couldn't figure out a nice way to ask, so she kept her questions to herself. Asking too many questions about Royce would indicate an interest, and she wasn't interested.
Or was she?
A soft grin lit up her face when she remembered their conversation from last night. If Jess hadn't interrupted them, Melani had no doubt that she would have gone to his houseboat with him and enjoyed a night of uninhibited sex. And while the idea was nice, in the long run it wasn't practical, or safe.
She would have to make sure that she wasn't alone with Royce again. He was one pirate that was just too tempting.
* * * *
Melani didn't bother to go to Ellie's and change clothes once she finished her shift. She went straight to the ship. She needed to view the “battle” between Russell and Royce so that she could write about it. Her plan was to go to the back of the ship, watch, and then hopefully make her escape without Royce noticing her.
The clatter of steel blades fighting for dominance reached her ears long before she walked the gangway onto the ship.
Royce and Russell were fighting, both of them thrusting their swords at each other and expertly dodging the blows. After a few minutes, Royce tumbled onto the deck and Russell put the tip of his sword near his throat.
"Do you yield?” His cry was met with applause from the audience, who yelled for Royce to “walk the plank ... walk the plank ... walk the plank!"
Melani bit back a smile. She knew that the true ending to the “battle” was Royce stepping off the edge of the plank that went into the lagoon. Ellie had told her that the “splash” that could be heard was faked, and that Royce actually landed on an inflated mattress to keep him from getting wet during each performance. Sometimes, though, he missed and ended up wet.
When Russell walked him toward his fate, at sword point, he caught her eye. So much for him not noticing her. He calmly walked to the edge of the plank, saluted in her direction and took a step off the end. The splash threw the crowd into a frenzy, as did Russell's announcement that the ship was his, and always would be.
Seconds after Royce fell overboard, Melani walked back down the gangway and made her way toward the food court. She'd promised Ellie that she would help her hand out treasure to the people who used their maps. Plus, she really didn't want to see Royce again. It was going to be difficult enough to resist his offer of dinner tonight without having to see him face to face.
Close to the time she was supposed to be there, she would call him and tell him that she wasn't going to attend. It would be easier to reject him over the phone. In person, he was just too damn appealing. If she went to bed with him, it would be little more than a one-night stand. She'd never done that before, and she didn't plan to start now.
When she arrived at the food court, she was surprised to find so many people waiting to claim treasure. The people had followed the maps given to them at Royce's talks that morning. The treasure ranged from discount tickets for a return park visit to free food to coupons for toys for the kids.
Ellie immediately put Melani to work, explaining that the families were given a choice of what they wanted. They worked for almost two solid hours before there was a lull in the action.
Ellie reached into a cooler under the table and brought out two bottles of water, giving one to Melani and taking a deep swig of her own.
"Is it always this busy?"
"Most of the time, yes. June is especially busy right after the kids get out of school. Business really picks up in July, and doesn't start to wind down until the end of August. Of course since it's Florida, we're open year round, but December and January tend to be the slowest months. After that, things pick up a bit."
Melani pulled out her notebook to jot down figures and facts that Ellie gave her.
She took advantage of the crowd to talk to a few people who agreed to be quoted in a small newspaper, with the possibility of the article going national.
When Ellie left her to go count tills for the day, Melani stored the rest of the pirate loot in a small shed, locked it up and headed toward the main park. She was near where the path diverged to go to the main park or the docks when she saw Royce. He leaned against the railing, still dressed in pirate attire.
She slowed her step and tried, unsuccessfully, to hide the grin that appeared on her face.
"You've been avoiding me,” he said, his voice deep.
"No, I've been working. That's why I'm here, remember?"
"Come on, Red. You don't have to lie to me. I know that you left the boat so you didn't have to talk to me. We have dinner plans, remember?"
She shook her head. Her pulse raced and she fought to get the image of him naked out of her mind. It didn't work.
"They were never finalized."
He sighed deeply and shook his head, a huge smile appearing on his face.
"Well, I guess I'm just going to have to be a good pirate and take matters into my own hands."
Melani's eyes widened, at first misunderstanding what he'd said. Then, when he took several steps toward her, she realized what he meant. He wasn't talking about sex. He was talking about abducting her. Pirate style.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Chapter Six
Royce grinned. Melani cocked her head in return and then gasped when Royce bent down, put his arms around her thighs, lifted her, and put her over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?” Melani tried to push away but couldn't break free of his hold. He had her firmly attached and he wasn't letting go. He started to walk back toward the shore at a brisk clip.
"I'm doing what every good pirate does. I'm taking what I want. And what I want right now is you."
Since the park was closed, the only people left were stragglers, who thought Melani's “abduction” was part of the park activities. Twice, Royce had slapped her ass and yelled for her to “behave, wench!"
Several park employees laughed as they walked by.
"Where are you taking me?” She'd given up yelling and pounding on his back. It wasn't doing anything but wasting her energy. Besides, being captured by a pirate was the most fun she'd had in ages.
"To my ship."
Minutes later he walked up the plank to his houseboat, which was decorated just like a pirate ship. He made his way below decks and unceremoniously dumped her on a large bed that fit into the bay window of the ship, facing the water.
"You're mine, wench."
Royce's chest heaved from exertion, and Melani, somewhat shaken by the short trip, knew that she could probably run off and he would let her. But she had no intention of doing so. Three hours earlier she'd been convinced that she wouldn't make love to him. Now she wanted nothing more.
They stared at each other for a minute, and then Melani trailed one hand down the front of her bodice. “Don't hurt me, Captain, for I am a virgin."
Where the hell had that come from?
"Not for long, wench.” He cupped his crotch and Melani moaned.
"Now, strip.” His voice was deep with desire.
"But my father is the governor. He will give you money, jewels, anything for my return."
Royce moved toward her and placed his hand at the vee between her legs, cupping it gently through her skirts and petticoats.
"This is the only jewel I want. Now, do as you're told, or I'll punish you. Then I'll take what I want."
Melani raised her eyebrows as if she were considering which option to take. Then she stood and turned.
"You'll have to unlace my vest."
She trembled as he went to work, his fingers as strong and sturdy as they
had been yesterday when he'd performed the very same chore.
This time, however, when the vest was undone she shrugged it off her shoulders and pulled her blouse over her head. She unhooked her bra, faltering for a moment before completely uncovering her breasts. It had been a while since she'd been naked in front of a man. The bedroom was dark save for the light drifting in from the living area, but still, she wasn't sure she wanted him to see her. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to him. Royce's sharp intake of breath let her know that he appreciated the sight of her breasts, and bolstered her confidence.
"You promise to be gentle?"
"I promise nothing."
An evil thought ran through her head. She was making it too easy for him. What pirate captive would just say, “OK, take me"?
Melani shook her head, and then said. “I've changed my mind."
The look of disappointment that spread across Royce's face was priceless and Melani knew in that moment that if she truly meant she didn't want to have sex with him, he would stop. He took a step back and she gave him a coy look.
"My virginity means too much to me. If you want my maidenhead, Captain, you're going to have to fight for it.” With her arms in place in front of her bra she bolted for the door. Seconds before she reached the portal, Royce's arm came around her waist and pulled her back into him.
"Your maidenhead will be mine, wench.” He picked her up and tossed her back on the bed. Then he moved to a dresser and began rummaging in the drawers.
While he searched, Melani made another halfhearted break for the door. Royce gave a cry of triumph and then captured her again. He straddled her and stared, the desire in his face evident.
Seconds later he held up a long, red sash, his lips turned up into an evil grin.
"You had your chance, wench. Now we do it my way.” He dropped the sash on her stomach as he pulled the bra off her body. Then he placed her hands together and wrapped the sash around them, securing them tightly before attaching it to the headboard.
With her arms bound above her head, Melani felt exposed and vulnerable. She also felt wicked and delicious. She struggled halfheartedly and fought to keep a smile from spreading across her face.
The Pirate Wench Page 3
