The Ladys Pirate

by The lady's pirate (lit)

He groaned again, no, not a groan, but more of a moan of one under torture.

  "Here," he said, his voice angry. "Drink and, for God's sake, pass out."

  A little pain pricked her heart at his tone. "Why are you angry with me?"

  "I'm not angry."

  "You sound angry."

  "I told you, I'm not angry."

  "What did I do?"

  His answering sigh came from deep in his wonderfully broad chest. How she longed to touch his skin and learn the feel of him.

  "Sweet woman, you have done nothing except be yourself."

  "Will you tell me?" she dared ask.

  "About what?"

  He sounded exactly as her old tutor, Mr. Gillett, had sounded when she pestered for some answer he was unable to provide.

  "About lovemaking."

  "No, Ellie. I won't."

  "Why?"

  Hal sat back down beside her and poured himself another glass of wine. After he'd taken a long drink-fortifying himself, no doubt-he turned toward her.

  "Because making love is better done than talked about."

  He held her gaze for a long time, adding unspoken meaning to his words. Did she dare believe what she saw, what she wanted to see in his eyes?

  "Am I a desirable woman, Hal?" she asked.

  He sighed again, though less deeply, less troubled this time.

  "Yes, sweet, you are."

  "Do you desire me, Hal?"

  The words came from her deepest heart. They represented a risk, one such as she had never made before, for she had never risked as she did now.

  "Yes, Ellie. I do."

  Whether he meant the words or not, whether he was speaking his heart's truth or simply giving her what she so plainly, so pitifully, wanted, his admission filled an empty place in her heart. Could she ask her champion for another boon?

  "Hal," she whispered, almost not hearing her own words for the thundering of her heart. "Would you kiss me, please?" When his lips parted and she knew from the look in his eyes he would refuse, she added, "I've seen people kiss, when they didn't know they were being watched-" Her blush burned her face. "I'm not a voyeur, you know, but sometimes, I've come upon my mother and Alex and..."

  Elspeth flinched from the expression on his face. She should not have asked such a thing. How could she ever face him in the daylight again?

  "I'm sorry, Hal. It's the wine. I'm talking stupidly. I'll-"

  His strong fingers clamped her chin and turned her face toward him.

  "Shut up, Ellie," he whispered just as his lips touched hers so gently tears formed in her eyes.

  He brushed his mouth across hers tenderly, barely making contact, then, incredibly, his tongue touched the corner of her mouth, and he pressed. Elspeth felt her mouth open to him and his tongue sweep across the inner side of her lips.

  This was like no kiss she'd ever experienced. The warmth of his lips, the heat from his breath, the silken texture of his tongue as she tasted him, all were new sensations.

  He held her face away from him and studied her. His fingers followed his eyes as he touched every feature, outlining her nose, her brows. She obediently closed her eyes when his finger smoothed downward over her lids.

  She kept her eyes shut when he moved on to touch her throat, gliding his rough hands along the column of her neck. The power in his hands made her tremble, but not in fear. Even when his hands closed around her neck, she could not be afraid.

  "Ellie, what have you done to me?"

  Her eyes flicked open, sudden dread enfolding her heart. Richard had asked her the same question often enough, always before accusing her of witchcraft. But Hal's voice wasn't angry. Only tender feelings touched his words. His eyes glowed with an emotion she now recognized as desire.

  He truly desired her. Did she dare allow this exploration go where it would?

  Covering her mouth with his, he took away her thoughts of choice. This kiss wasn't tender as the first. His strength forced her back and she realized she was lying on the deck, cushioned only by the blanket.

  His kiss overcame her will, bending her to his. And she went willingly, her whole body pulsing, yearning for more. His lips, his tongue, his hands all worked together to tear her senses from her, to force sounds from her she'd never made before. She moaned in need as he ran his hand up the inside of her thigh. He touched her most private place and a jolt of agony ripped through her. She cried out for the agony to continue.

  "Don't stop, please."

  Then she groaned in frustration as he did stop, only to purr in pleasure when his big warm hand covered her breast.

  "What the hell am I doing?" he muttered and sat up.

  "Don't you know?" she asked. He had certainly seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

  "Go to bed, Ellie. Before-"

  "Before what?" She slammed her hand on the deck. "Damnation! I want to know before what?"

  He laughed and raised his hand to brush back her hair.

  "You have beautiful hair." He touched her face and sighed. "You don't want this, Ellie-"

  "Please do me the courtesy of not telling me what I don't want. I believe I am a better judge of that than you are."

  He smiled broadly. "There's my feisty Countess."

  "I am not your Countess, feisty or otherwise. Even though I've offered myself to you like a common harlot." She made up her mind. "I'll show you what I want, Captain Merritt!"

  Elspeth placed her hands on the sides of his face and pulled him to her, claiming his mouth with fierce determination. She swept her tongue along his lips, pushing forward when he would have denied her entry. Plunging inside his mouth, she rubbed her tongue against his as he had done to her, then she softened her attack, asking him with tiny sucking kisses at the corners of his mouth to kiss her again.

  He did, throwing her onto her back and sliding between her legs. She felt the hard length of his manhood against her and reveled in the heat of him against hers. Her body responded with a sudden hot moisture and she knew she was ready for him.

  Elspeth no longer felt like a civilized Englishwoman. She pulled him to rest on her, to take her. She was no Countess now. She was merely a woman who wanted a man who clearly wanted her.

  Was she nothing more than a whore?

  She didn't care. For once she would take what she wanted. And she wanted Hal.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  The sound of a door slammed into his brain and Hal realized where he was and what he was about to do. Elspeth urged him on with unschooled enthusiasm. Even as he regretted it, he drew away. Her eyes opened slowly, half-way, and she looked well-tumbled already. She smiled, her kiss-swollen lips curving as she touched his face.

  Hal kissed her cheek and lingered for a moment to memorize the scent of her, slightly different now that she was aroused and most likely wet and ready for a man to take her. His cock argued with his head and normally would win such an argument, but not this time.

  Her smile faded as he drew away, pulled her skirt down to her ankles, and sat down on the deck. Her expression made words unnecessary. She believed he was rejecting her. He couldn't let her leave with that thought.

  "Ellie-"

  "No, please. I understand."

  "No, you don't. I'm not rejecting you."

  She wasn't listening. "I apologize again." She chuckled humorlessly. "To think in my twenty years, I've only thrown myself at a man twice and it was here in one night." She glanced at him. "I shall blame the wine. Good night."

  "Ellie, please." He grabbed at her hand, but she snatched it away.

  "There is no reason to try to explain. I have had it explained before. I am not... I am cold."

  "Who would tell you such a thing?"

  She avoided his gaze and his question.

  "Your husband?"

  "I do not wish to speak of him again."

  "I've told you before he's a fool." Again Hal reached for her and pulled her closer. He molded her fingers around his engorged member. "Do you believe I don't want you?
"

  Elspeth closed her fingers tighter through his breeches. Hal clenched his jaw to hold back a groan of delight.

  "Ah," she whispered. "I see now."

  "What?"

  "Why Richard could not-" Her eyes darted up and then away from his. "He never... was like this." She stroked him tentatively. "I had wondered... But I suppose any woman could make you..."

  Her voice drifted off as he sat there, enduring her touch, yearning to rip his breeches open and feel her slender fingers encompass him fully, then he would take her around the waist and sit her astride him and watch her face as she received her pleasure.

  "No." His refusal to pursue his fantasy echoed against the lacquered decking. Elspeth removed her hand and sat away.

  Perhaps that was for the best.

  "Ellie," he began, "I can't do this, though more than anything I want to. But more than that I couldn't bear to make you hate me."

  "How could I hate you? You have only done me good."

  "I took you from your home."

  She shrugged. "I know, but I believe you did what you thought was for the best."

  "I'm going to kill your husband."

  "I know. I wish you the best of luck."

  "I'm going to kill him as my people would kill him. Then I plan to take his scalp to Mary."

  She shivered, though there was no breeze. "Before or after you kill him?"

  "It depends."

  "How will you kill him?"

  Hal studied her face, though the dim light hid much of her visage from him. "I don't know exactly, but I plan on making him suffer."

  "All right, you've told me plainly what you intend. How is that supposed to make me hate you?"

  "I can tell you, but it's not real yet. Once it's done, I'm afraid..."

  The realization that he was afraid shocked him, even more so that he'd admitted it to her. Elspeth pressed her lips together. He could see she meant for him to finish his sentence. He wouldn't, though.

  "We are from worlds so different, Ellie-" He shrugged. "It's almost as though we're not of the same blood." He met her steady gaze and confessed the rest. "You're not a woman to be taken for a tumble then returned home." He looked away, no longer able to face her hurt.

  "I suppose I should thank you," she said. "Unfortunately, I don't feel very thankful right now."

  Her soft footsteps faded as she went below. Hal stood and walked to the wheel. He finished his watch, but he could have been going to Antarctica for all the attention he paid to the compass. He missed her already.

  * * * *

  They made landfall the next day. Hal called her up onto the deck and pointed toward a speck on the horizon.

  "There, Ellie, Hispaniola. We'll take the Mona Passage to the east, there, and approach Jamaica from the south."

  Hal held out the glass to her. Elspeth took it and raised it to her eye. A group of islands rose from the blue-green ocean. Large white birds, gulls, soared over their heads. She hadn't realized until now how empty the sky had been as they'd made their crossing. As empty as she felt now.

  They made excellent time rounding Hispaniola and into Spanish Town.

  She tried to stay out of the way while the men readied the ship for docking. They were efficient, every one of them running up the rigging or down below or leaning their shoulder into raising or lowering a sail. It all looked so complicated, she wondered how Hal kept it all straight, but she saw he did, for he barked orders from his spot on the cross-spar near the top of the mainsail. Most of it made no sense to her, but the crewmen jumped to obey.

  Spring Moon entered her berth. George and Isaac leapt a six-foot gap to reach the dock. Hal swung down from the mast and landed like a cat on the deck, then took the wheel from the pilot. The ship responded like a living thing, answering his gentle hand and easing closer to the dock. Crewmen tossed lines, George and Isaac tied them.

  She stood alone, apart, while the men went about their duties. In all the excitement of landing, she almost forgot her situation. Until Hal approached her.

  "I promised to deliver you into the governor's gentle hold, but-" He turned toward the town. "If you would care to, I can have a dressmaker brought aboard so you can be better outfitted before you debark."

  "I have no money to pay a dressmaker, Captain."

  "I insist you allow me to pay. I owe you more than a trunk full of old clothes."

  She glanced at him. His face was set in an inscrutable mask. There was no expression on it at all. Whether he was joking or serious, she had no idea.

  "I accept your generous offer, Captain."

  He bowed to her, not once letting his eyes meet hers, then summoned Isaac with a bellow. She was grateful his ill-humor didn't appear to be directed solely at her, though she did pity the boy who had to put up with Hal Merritt's changeable temper.

  First, kisses. Then, heated embraces in the dark. Now, cold propriety. At least there had been some warmth, though it made the cooler exchanges more cutting than slivers of ice.

  "Isaac will bring the dressmaker to you as soon as she arrives. If you would care to wait below decks?"

  His tone made the question sound more like an order. And Elspeth was in no mood to be ordered about.

  "It's too hot down there. I'd prefer to remain up here."

  He nodded curtly. "My lady's will be done." Spinning on his heel, Hal strode away from her.

  Hurt evaporated under the heat of her irritation.

  "How dare he?"

  She only barely restrained herself from shouting after him. Time to return to being a proper Englishwoman. Proper Englishwomen didn't shout at rude men.

  Pity.

  * * * *

  Elspeth sat in his cabin, staring out the small window at the open sea behind them. Her intent was to be angry. Parting from him was coming soon and it would be much easier if she hated him when it happened.

  Footsteps in the hallway gave her time to wave away the stray tears on her cheeks. In spite of her determination to be angry, the deep rumbling vibrations of his voice thrilled her soul.

  "And remember, Imogen, I am paying for this, so no running up the prices."

  "Hal, my dear friend, why would I do such a thing?"

  The door opened and Hal escorted a middle-aged woman in somber gray through the door into the cabin.

  "Mrs. Carberry, may I present the Countess Greymere. Lady Greymere, this is Mrs. Carberry, Spanish Town's foremost dressmaker."

  "My lady," Mrs. Carberry said, making a deep curtsy. "I am so happy to meet you."

  The woman's eyes popped open as she took in Elspeth's clothing.

  Elspeth nodded. "And I you, Mrs. Carberry. I trust you will be able to assist me in obtaining a suitable wardrobe?"

  Mrs. Carberry's eyes narrowed and Elspeth, who had seen the look before, knew the dressmaker was calculating how much she could make from the project before her.

  "Absolutely, my lady." She shoved Hal toward the door. "Off with you, Captain Merritt. The Countess and I have much to do." One flick of her heavy boned wrist slammed the door shut behind him. "And now. How would you like to begin, my lady? I assume you are in need of a complete wardrobe?"

  "Indeed, Mrs. Carberry. I require everything." Elspeth realized she could get some small, harmless revenge for being stolen away. She smiled at the dressmaker. "Undergarments, and they must be the finest linen, of course."

  "Of course." Mrs. Carberry licked her lips.

  "And petticoats. And at least two lace fichus, one cream and the other ivory. I prefer Belgian." Elspeth strolled the small area of the cabin, ticking off her order on her fingers, then she stopped and turned. "Shouldn't you be writing this down, Mrs. Carberry?"

  The woman smiled. "No, my lady. I shall remember everything."

  Elspeth was certain that she would.

  * * * *

  "What the-" Hal slammed Imogen's estimate on the table of the main mess. "No. Pick out one of each thing."

  "Now, Hal, you must provide a suitable wardrobe fo
r her. After all, she is a peeress of the realm." Imogen tipped her head and gave him a censorious stare. "And you kidnapped the poor girl from her home."

  "She told you that?" Indignation propelled him from his seat. He leaned against the table. "Imogen, you know me better than that."

  "Perhaps, but her story will carry more weight than yours. You'd do well to give her what she wants."

  "She's just trying to punish me. That's all."

  "Why would she want to punish you? I assure you she isn't asking for anything unreasonable." Imogen laid her hand over his. "Hal, have you given any thought to how things will look for her if she lights from this boat full of men with no luggage? No maid? No chaperone of any kind?"

  Imogen was silent for a moment as Hal considered her question.

  "I see you have not thought of that. Let me enlighten you, dear friend. The Countess will be seen as a fallen woman-" She raised her hand to cut off his stillborn objection. "No matter what did or did not happen, my dear. She will be ruined. Let me and Lady Greymere put as decent a face on this situation as possible." She chuckled. "And consider the cost as owed for an impulsive error in judgment."

  Hal sighed and fell down into his chair again. "Fine. Go. Sew. Give her whatever she wants."

  Imogen laughed and picked up her estimate.

  "I will provide for her only what befits a lady of her position." She patted Hal's hand. "I would never embarrass you, my sweet." With that, she breezed out of the mess, humming a merry tune.

  George took her place at the table. "May I assume we will make no money on this voyage?"

  "I'll handle the cost. Don't worry about your money."

  "I do worry, Rabbit." George twisted a stray thread from his sleeve. "My family depends on the money we make on these voyages. I would not like to see them end."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "You." Dark eyes met Hal's own before George tipped his head in a gesture to a person several compartments away. "And her. You'd be better off just taking her and being done with it."

  Hal leaned forward. "Mind your own business, George."

  "When your cock gets in the way of this ship's business, then it is my business. Because of her presence, we did no hunting. March Shipping had at least three vessels making the crossing. We could have intercepted any one of them. It was pure luck we ran across that slaver."