Lord of Pirates

by Scott, Scarlett

  She told herself it did not matter, that any tentative bond she’d felt burgeoning between herself and the Scourge of the Atlantic should never be allowed to flourish anyway. Like a weed in her herb garden, it must be plucked. Besides, she had far graver concerns than the whims of a notorious pirate.

  She had a patient who needed her, and that was all that mattered.

  Edmond stalked the deck of the Freedom, cursing himself. He hadn’t meant to treat Lizzie with such coldness. But damn his eyes, watching helplessly as his brother slipped closer to death with each breath was more than he could bear. He did have a ship to captain, and above decks he could feel the ocean breeze, watch the rugged beauty of the sea around him. He was at home. Allowing himself to entertain tenderness toward Lizzie was foolhardy. He could never be happy anywhere but aboard his ship.

  Ollie, his gunner, approached him, wearing a look of concern. “Captain, we’re being followed.”

  Damn. He couldn’t afford another battle, not now with Lizzie aboard and Thomas so close to death. “Sodding hell, this is not what we need. How far off and can you tell who the devil it is?”

  “Looks as if it’s English colors, just over there.” Ollie gestured to a speck on the horizon that was unmistakably the silhouette of another ship.

  His own countrymen wanted him dead. It was a sobering thought. With the price on his head, navigating the waters he’d come to know like the palm of his hand became more treacherous by the day. Every man with a frigate at his disposal was trying to hunt down the Freedom. They’d earned their enemies the hard way, taking more ships than Edmond had even bothered to count.

  “Another bastard wanting a piece of us, do you think?” He stroked his beard, already strategizing. He excelled at battle, and in its fiery depths, he could lose himself, forget about the sight of his brother so damn pale and still below.

  “Very likely, Captain.” Ollie grinned, showing a row of teeth as brown as the planks beneath his feet. “We’ll take them on, no problem. Always do.”

  They were fighters, the men of the Freedom. They’d all seen their fair share of hell. Many of them had been pressed into the navy against their will. Others had been assured pay by unscrupulous merchants who never fulfilled their promises. Still others had joined their ranks from the ships they’d plundered.

  Together they had become a menace so great that the cry for them to be stopped had been raised as far away as London. The Governor of Virginia wanted Edmond’s head on a pike. None of them were yet ready to stop pirating. It was in their blood. It was the only life they’d come to know.

  His mind churned. “How many grenades have we?”

  “I had the lads working up more through the night,” Ollie replied. “We emptied a few rum bottles to aid in the task. It was a hardship, but we managed.”

  Edmond laughed. They’d long ago discovered a grand use for the rum bottles they drained. Stuffed with gunpowder and bits of metal, they made formidable weapons. “A hardship indeed. If you’re ready, we’ll bide our time and let them come to us.”

  Ollie nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  But as the day wore on, the approaching ship slipped from their sight. Perhaps they weren’t to be attacked by an enemy ship after all, the men reckoned. Edmond wasn’t convinced. He watched and waited, an uneasy sensation settling in his bones. He had a feeling they hadn’t seen the last of the ship on the horizon.

  Chapter Four

  Lizzie endured a long, wearying day of tending to Thomas. As the hours dragged by, she expected Edmond to return and inquire after his brother’s welfare, but he disappointed her. Jean was a man of few words but nevertheless proved himself an invaluable help. Together they spooned marigold tea and fresh broth between their patient’s lips. She cleansed his wound repeatedly. By nightfall, Thomas’ fever appeared to have broken for good. She deemed it an excellent time to allow herself an hour or two of rest.

  Jean guided her to a cabin where, as she discovered the moment the door closed behind him, she was about to face yet another battle. Edmond was within, seated, a bottle of rum at his side. He didn’t bother to acknowledge her presence but she knew he was as aware of her as she was of him. Before the door even closed at Jean’s back, the tension emanating between them hung heavier than the scent of seawater in the air.

  Edmond took a swig directly from the bottle, staring into the planked floors. “How is he?”

  “Thomas is improving.” She stayed close to the door, uncertain of his mood. He appeared raffish at the moment. “He has yet to wake, but his fevers have subsided.”

  “Will he live?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

  “You needn’t linger at the door as if I’m about to accost you.” His voice, like his countenance, was forbidding.

  “I don’t fear you, Edmond.” She took a step closer to prove her point, realizing as she said the words how true they were. Try as she might to view him as a murderous criminal, she had witnessed his vulnerability. He had put his life in jeopardy in an attempt to save his brother’s. There was good to him, undeniable good, and she could no longer convince herself that he was a scoundrel unworthy of her care. “To others you may be a pirate, but to me you are merely a man.”

  He swigged another gulp of rum, his dark, glittering stare burning into hers. “You’ll need some rest, I expect. I will sleep on the floor if you wish it.”

  She moved closer again, taking in his appearance, haggard and ashen in his worry. Seeing his brother’s condition had affected him. Thomas was in a bad way, she knew. But she also believed in the efficacy of knowledge, of medicine well researched and practiced. Her father had spent scores of his life perfecting his science. She possessed only a scant handful of his education, but she believed in his methods. She believed saving Thomas’ life was possible, especially since the fevers had gone.

  “Thomas will have a fighting chance,” she promised Edmond, understanding him perhaps better than she ever had in that moment. “You’ve done your duty in seeing to that.”

  “How have I done my duty?” He roared the words, shooting to his feet to stalk across the length of the cabin. “Answer me that, Lizzie. Damn my blood, how have I done my duty when my younger brother lies on his deathbed at this moment?”

  Something shifted inside her then. Her heart ached for him. His pain was palpable, obvious. Others would likely find it difficult to believe the feared Scourge of the Atlantic possessed a heart. Had she not known him in their youths, Lizzie would have had the same belief. But she knew him, knew his vulnerability was real and not affected. Thomas meant a great deal to Edmond, and he felt responsible for Thomas’ grave condition.

  She went to him, almost afraid of the anger emanating from his strong body but knowing she had to attempt to give him solace. She closed the distance between them, placed her hands on his stiff shoulders. “Edmond, you cannot carry on this way. It does no service to either yourself or your brother.”

  “To hell with your soft woman’s words,” he scoffed, shrugging from her touch.

  She gathered her courage and matched his angry strides even in the constraints of her mantua and petticoats. “To hell with nothing, Edmond Grey. Listen to me. Did you force your brother to join you?”

  “Christ, no. He followed me without my knowledge or consent, thinking a pirate’s life a rum adventure. The truth is this life isn’t for anyone who wants to live beyond the next plunder. One mistake and everything we’ve earned, all the prizes and glorious ships we’ve overtaken, each battle we’ve won, is gone. In the end, pirate or no, you’re just a goddamn head on a pike.” His voice broke. “I warned him. I bloody well warned him.”

  His back was to her. Without speaking, she followed him. Tentatively, she wound her arms around his waist, holding him, knowing instinctively it was what he needed. Perhaps what she needed as well.

  The night was silent around them but for the gusting of wind and slosh of waves. The ship pitched but she was fortunate to not yet suffer the ill e
ffects of seasickness. She’d seemed to have found her balance. It hadn’t been that long since she’d made the long passage from England to the Americas.

  “Why must you persist in being so damn kind and good?” He turned suddenly in her arms and yanked her against him. His reaction was almost violent in his passion. His eyes shone like twin pieces of coal. “Why, Lizzie?”

  Before she could answer, his mouth was on hers. The kiss was fierce, insistent. It claimed, it took. He slanted his firm lips over hers, his tongue sliding into the wet recesses of her mouth, plundering the same way he would a ship. She opened to him, giving willingly, because she could no longer deny what remained between them, undiminished by years and distance.

  Her tongue mated with his. Her every sense was on edge, aware of his masculine scent, the way he tasted like spice, his hands caressing her bottom through the layers of her dress. She was wet, throbbing between her legs, hungry for him to claim her. Needing him to. The emotions she’d managed to hold at bay, the restlessness, the pent-up longing, unleashed. She was helpless. Unable to stop, to fight, to resist.

  To think of all the reasons why wanting the Scourge of the Atlantic was wrong.

  She cupped his face, relishing the sensation of his rough beard on her fingertips. She wanted him with a savagery that frightened her. The magnetism between them was powerful yet new to her. While she’d been wed to Richard for three years, their life together had been complacent, comfortable. He had been content to wade through his books, she to care for their home. Although they’d shared a quiet affection, there had been no passion.

  This was different in every way. It was wild. Thrilling.

  Edmond pulled the sash from her mantua and pushed the heavy brocade from her body. The pins holding her stomacher in place tinkled as they hit the floor. He slid his hands from her waist to her breasts, weighing each one in his hands. Her nipples puckered and poked against the thin fabric of her smock.

  He broke the kiss, meeting her gaze. “I swore to myself I wouldn’t touch you. Tell me to stop.”

  “I don’t want you to stop,” she confessed.

  “I have nothing to offer you. I’m a wanted man, Lizzie.”

  He was a pirate, a man who took risks with his life each day. She was not naïve in giving her body to him. Perhaps it was wrong, but for the first time, she felt needed. It was a rare, extraordinary thing.

  “I haven’t asked you for anything more than what you’re free to give.”

  With a groan, he began working on her petticoat. She helped him off with his shirt. They were suddenly half nude, frantic. Kissing and stripping away each other’s garments, they made their way to his narrow bed. They fell upon it naked. Lizzie tore her mouth from his and pushed him to his back. Though he was far stronger than she, he allowed her control over him and the realization heightened her pleasure. She dropped a series of kisses down his neck, over his muscled chest, moving lower still. His cock was stiff and ready.

  She wanted to take him in her mouth and give him pleasure, to grant him release from the weary heaviness of his worries. When her hand wrapped around his thick shaft, he moaned and jerked his hips. An answering blossom of heat unfurled in her. She took the tip of him in her mouth, running her tongue over his satiny skin in circular whorls. Then she sucked, taking as much of him as she could. Guided by instinct, she mimicked the motions of lovemaking, stroking him with her mouth as she sucked and licked. His breathing became ragged as he struggled to maintain control.

  “Lizzie, sweet Christ. I won’t last much longer.”

  She didn’t care. She wanted to bring him to release with her mouth, to taste him. Sucking his cock left her wet and aching between her legs. It was delicious and debauched. She loved the heaviness of him on her tongue, the moans she wrung from him.

  “Come here to me,” he growled.

  Lizzie glanced up the solid length of his body and met his gaze. “Tell me what you want me to do,” she whispered.

  “Come and I’ll show you.” Wicked intent underscored his tone, glimmered in his dark eyes.

  She rose to her knees and scooted away from his tempting cock. He gripped her waist with one hand and her thigh with another. “Turn around and sit astride me.” He helped her to position herself, arranging her so that she was on her knees, one leg bent on either side of his chest. “Now rise. I want to taste you while you suck my cock.”

  Lizzie did as he instructed. His tongue dipped inside her, making her cry out. Nothing could have prepared her for the sweet, sinful seduction of Edmond’s mouth upon her intimate flesh. She lowered her head to take his beautiful cock in her mouth again. His tongue teased the bud of her sex, plumping the aching nub. He sucked it between his teeth. She laved his cock with her tongue, panting, mindless with pleasure. He rubbed his face in her folds, his beard abrading her delicate skin. His cock was slippery with her saliva, her sex soaked by his ministrations.

  Just as she feared she’d lose herself, he groaned and tore his mouth from her. “Enough. If I don’t have you soon, I’ll go mad.”

  Lizzie rose, allowing him to guide her until she faced him. In the low light, she could see the slick sheen of her juices on his sensual lips. He reached between them, probing her entrance with his stiff cock. “Take me inside you.”

  She ground her hips against his in response. He thrust upward, his cock impaling her in one swift motion. His big hands anchored her waist, helping her to begin a rhythm. She rode his shaft, taking him inside, then lifting so that he almost slipped from her body before pulling him back in once more. His eyes closed, his expression one of relaxed gratification.

  “That’s right, my girl. Ride me as hard as you like. I’m all yours.”

  At his words, she began a faster pace, loving the feel of him within her, loving the sense of control being the dominant partner gave her. She wanted more, faster. She never wanted to stop. He rocked his hips beneath her, deepening the penetration. His right hand slid from her hip, coming between them to play with her sex. She tightened on him instantly, pleasure shooting through her body.

  “Fuck me, sweet Lizzie,” he growled, rocking into her.

  With a throaty moan she continued sliding over his cock, each jerk of her hips bringing them both closer to release. The wet sounds of their lovemaking filled the chamber. Lizzie reached her pinnacle again, gripping him so tightly with her passage that he came too, pumping his seed inside her. He swiveled his hips, getting as deep as he could, filling her. Gasping for breath, her body covered in a sheen of perspiration, she collapsed at his side.

  His arm slid around her, drawing her to him. “I cannot give you enough thanks for all you’ve done for Thomas this day.”

  Was their lovemaking nothing more than his appreciation for her efforts on his brother’s behalf? Not liking the thought, she drew her head up to gaze at him. He was beautiful in a rakish sense, his hair a wild black tangle around him. His eyes sparked into hers.

  “I do not require your gratitude,” she informed him. “If that is all you feel—”

  He pressed a finger to her lips. “Don’t say another word or you’ll make a fool of us both.”

  He was right, she knew. Why complicate what they shared? They were two people with an appreciation for each other, two people both a bit lost in their own worlds. Why not seek comfort in each other? Why not taste passion before returning to her life of loneliness?

  “Forgive me,” she murmured, dropping a kiss on his chest.

  He ran his hand over her hair in a comforting caress. “Always, Lizzie. You’ve been an angel since the day I met you.”

  “Surely not such an angel or you wouldn’t have gone off to sea.” She tried to keep the edge from her voice but could not.

  “If I had stayed and married you, neither of us would have been happy. Even I knew that much, stupid lad that I was. I have roaming in my soul. I was made to sail these seas until they claim me. It would’ve been pure selfishness to subject you to my way of life.”

  “Would
you never like to call one place your home?” She knew she shouldn’t ask, that it was certainly not her place to pry. But she couldn’t resist. Part of her had wondered ever since he’d left.

  “The sea is my home and mistress both,” he said simply.

  She was left with the same dismaying realization that had struck her all those years ago. Although she’d loved him with uncompromising fervor, Edmond Grey was not capable of loving anyone but the sea. Trying to ignore the pang in her heart, she shifted away from him. If she wanted to keep her feelings from being dashed once again, she’d do well to keep her distance.

  “I should like to check on Thomas again.” She rose and began scooping up her discarded garments. Best to stay the course she knew and stay far from the one she didn’t else she’d be facing the same sad ending she’d experienced ten years before. And she’d be standing alone as she watched Edmond Grey walk out of her life.

  Chapter Five

  Edmond watched Lizzie pick up her garments. Her body was truly a thing of beauty. She’d matured and bloomed into the breathtaking woman he’d always known she would be. He’d never thought to see her again, and now he’d lain with her. He should not have allowed his baser urges to overcome his judgment. She was having difficulty keeping her emotions at bay and he could sense it.

  “Lizzie, I’ve been honest with you.”

  “Of course you have.” There were tears in her voice as she threw on a shift, ending his view of her tempting backside. “You’ve always been the same Edmond Grey, and I’ve always been helpless to resist you.”

  “If I could be the man you need, I would.” Christ, he could still smell her on his skin, in his bed. He felt just as helpless as she claimed to be.

  “Think nothing of it,” she said quietly, pulling on her dress. “I have a patient to attend.” With that, she was gone.

  He had to go to her. He knew it the moment she left the cabin. Damn it, he was making a mess of things, allowing their intimacy to go so far, allowing her to once again have hopes for a future with him. He couldn’t hurt her a second time.