Capture My Heart

by Bobbi Smith

  "No!" she quickly denied.

  "Thank heaven." Jonesey was visibly relieved. The night she'd been hauled out of Serad's cabin away from Tori, she'd feared desperately for her ward's innocence. Serad was a half-wild, fierce man, and she'd been haunted by the thought of Tori being left alone with him with no one to defend and protect her. Watching Tori's expression carefully now, Jonesey's fears were eased, for she could tell she was being truthful. She was glad to find out that the pirate captain had some sense of honor and was not a defiler of innocent women.

  "What about you? Have you been all right? I've been worried, too." Feeling uncomfortable talking about Serad, Tori changed the subject. It was bad enough that she was in such close contact with him and that she was becoming so very aware of him as a man. She certainly didn't want to talk about it.

  "I have not had an easy life, as you well know, but I must tell you I have suffered endlessly these last few days."

  "Why? What happened?" Tori worried that the terrible things Serad had warned her about might have happened to her guardian. "Have the pirates hurt you in any way?"

  "No, not physically, although I feel quite abused being locked up all by myself in a hot, dark, windowless storeroom. I have no means to wash and as you can tell, no clean clothing! Not allowing me the minimal standards of personal hygiene is barbaric!"

  "I'll speak with Serad for you."

  "I would appreciate that. It was kind of him to allow us to see each other. Do you suppose he's going to let us stay together."

  "I don't know," Tori answered. "Mallah said he was here on deck, but I don't see him anywhere . . ."

  Jonesey happened to glance up at the sails just then and saw Serad and another sailor climbing about in the riggings. She touched Tori's arm as she pointed heavenward. "He's here all right . . ."

  Tori looked up, and her heart lurched wildly in her breast as she saw Serad moving about on the crossjack high off the deck. She couldn't believe the grace, power, and confidence of his actions as he and the other man worked on the riggings, but tempering her awe of his ability was the terror that at any moment he might fall. Tori watched in helpless fear as he continued to work.

  The strength of the emotions that filled Tori as she held her breath waiting for Serad's descent bewildered her. She asked herself why she cared about him, but she could find no answer. He was a pirate, a man whose goal in life was to sail the high seas and raid unsuspecting ships. Yet Tori knew there was much more to him, and the conflict within her was growing, leaving her more perplexed than ever.

  "I can't believe he takes risks like that," Tori whispered in a strangled voice.

  Jonesey heard her distraught tone and glanced at her sharply. "This is his ship, and I'm sure he knows every inch of it by heart."

  "He did say that sailing was his life, that he'd loved ships and the sea since he was a small boy."

  "It would appear that there's more to this man than I originally thought."

  "I'm pleased and very reassured now that I know he's respected you," Miss Jones said. "I must tell you I feared for the worst when we were separated."

  "So did I," she agreed. "After seeing what happened to Capitaine Duval, I wasn't sure what kind of punishment he would mete out to me. Luckily, he chose to be kind."

  "He did?"

  "I only had to clean up the mess I'd made in the cabin."

  "He's a better man than I gave him credit for. I wonder how he became a pirate . . ."

  Their conversation was interrupted as Serad came sliding down to the deck on one of the nearby ropes. He had seen them from above and now joined them.

  "Thank you for allowing us to have this visit," Tori spoke up first.

  "It was very kind of you," Miss Jones added.

  "It will be your last for some time," he said sternly as his concern for the weather tempered his words.

  "But . . ." Tori immediately assumed that he was punishing them again.

  He explained quickly to silence her. "The weather will be changing soon, probably within a few hours. By dark we're going to be caught up in a bad storm. Enjoy the few hours of quiet you have for now. It's not going to last."

  Both women were satisfied with his explanation. When one of his men called to him, they watched him walk away. Tori's eyes followed him, and she couldn't deny that she was drawn to him in spite of herself. Miss Jones was studying him, too, and, though she would never have admitted it to Tori, she decided Serad was certainly one magnificent specimen of manhood.

  Chapter Twenty

  The storm struck with fury shortly after midday. The Scimitar was a worthy vessel and with Serad's sure hand at the helm, it rode the crashing waves with assuredness. High winds buffeted the craft, tearing at the riggings with violent force, but the crew had done their jobs well in lashing everything down and nothing was lost.

  For endless hours, Serad, Tariq, and the Scimitar's seasoned crew fought the battle. Each man knew what was expected of him, and each did his duty without question. They were one against the elements in their fight to survive.

  Serad's concentration was fierce as he piloted his ship, but several times during particularly dangerous moments, concern for Tori's safety was foremost on his mind. It bothered him that she could slip into his thoughts when he was trying to tend to this treacherous task, and he wondered how she had come to be so important to him that he would find himself worrying about her instead of his ship. The only consolation Serad could offer himself as he forced his full attention back to handling the Scimitar was that if he saved his beloved ship, he would also save Tori.

  Belowdecks, Tori sat alone in Serad's cabin. She had sailed often in her life, but she'd never experienced a gale of this force or duration before. Moving to the small window, she watched helplessly as the sea raged around them, and she waited anxiously for the tempest to end.

  The storm did not lessen with the progression of the day, if anything it seemed to grow in intensity. Tori wondered how Miss Jones was holding up and decided that, as stalwart as she was, she was probably doing fine. Darkness came, and she lit the one small lamp that was safe to use as she continued her vigil.

  Tori hadn't paid much attention to the sounds of the ship before, but now that it was night, the creaks and groans of the Scimitar seemed magnified to her. She shivered as her thoughts ran away with her, and she imagined the pirate ship sinking with her locked in the cabin. On impulse, she went to the door and tried the knob. To her surprise, she found the portal unlocked, and she realized that Serad must have ordered Mallah to leave it that way after he'd brought her lunch earlier that afternoon. It eased her anxiety considerably.

  Tori closed the door again and went to sit at the desk. As the winds howled about the ship, she found her thoughts centered on Serad. She wished he would return so she could be sure he was safe. Tori told herself that the only reason she cared about the state of Serad's health and safety was because if anything happened to him, she and Jonesey would fall into the hands of his crew. Even though she felt satisfied with that justification, she remained restless and apprehensive as the night slowly passed and he didn't return.

  Dawn came, but the skies remained gray and threatening, lending little brightness to the new day. The sea was rough, but not nearly as turbulent as it had been throughout the night. The worst, it seemed, was over, though the wind was still strong out of the north and a steady rain was still falling.

  "You should go get some rest," Tariq advised Serad as he joined him where he stood at the wheel.

  "You're right," Serad replied. He was desperately in need of rest. The battle had seemed endless until now, but it was over. It was the new day, and the Scimitar was in one piece. They had made it through the night. They had won.

  "Go on below. I'll take over for now."

  "If the weather changes . . ." Serad glanced up at the leaden sky.

  "I'll let you know, but you don't have to worry. It won't. It's about blown itself out."

  Serad was bone-weary as he made h
is way below, but foremost in his thoughts now was Tori. He needed to make sure that she was safe. She had haunted his thoughts throughout the night. Several times during the course of the storm when things had turned particularly violent, he'd been very glad that he'd told Mallah to leave her cabin door unlocked for her. If the Scimitar had gotten into serious trouble, he hadn't wanted Tori trapped below.

  Had Serad been less tired, he would have wondered at the unusual amount of concern he was feeling for this woman. True, he desired her, but he'd desired other women before. Tori, however, had a hold on him that defied explanation, and it only seemed to be growing more powerful with time. Right now, though, Serad didn't care about any of that. Right now, he only wanted to return to his cabin, make sure she was all right, and then get some sleep.

  Serad entered his room quietly to find Tori fully dressed, sitting at the desk, her arms folded on the desktop, her head resting on her arms, sound asleep. He stood there just inside the door, his hand still on the knob, just staring at her for a long minute, before he finally entered the room and locked the door behind him. With care, he moved to the desk to take her in his arms and carry her to his bed.

  "You're back?" Tori murmured as she felt Serad's arms go around her. She had been wide awake all night and had only fallen asleep a few minutes before.

  "It's over," he said softly in a husky voice. "You're safe now." He wasn't sure if he was reassuring himself or her.

  "Good," she sighed, and when he lay her upon the bed, she curled on her side and was once again fast asleep.

  Serad stood over her, debated for all of one fraction of a second whether to join her on the bed or not, then came to his decision. As exhausted as he was, there was no way he was going to sentence himself to sleep on the floor. He stripped out of his wet clothing, donned a dry pair of trousers after a moment's hesitation, and then stretched out beside Tori. Twenty-four hours before, he would have had trouble keeping his desire for her under control. Right now, sleep was the only thing on his mind.

  Serad lay still, thinking of how right it felt to have Tori slumbering by his side, and then closed his eyes. Within minutes, he found the rest he sought.

  Tori wasn't sure exactly what it was that woke her, but she slowly became aware that she was very hot and that something heavy seemed to be holding her down. She was lying on her side facing toward the cabin and she opened her eyes to look around, wondering how she could be so warm. As she did, the sight of a man's arm possessively wrapped around her waist came into focus. It was then that Tori realized that Serad's body was pressed tightly to hers. Her back was flush against his broad chest, her hips were nestled with great familiarity against his.

  Tori stiffened instinctively, and when she did, Serad's arm tensed around her. Though his hold on her was not at all painful, it was like a solid steel band pinning her to him. She tried to move away, but he held her still.

  "Why do you need to get up?" Serad asked, his voice sleep-husky and soft as his hand splayed out across her ribs, stopping teasingly just below her breasts. He'd awakened the moment Tori had attempted to move, and though he had no idea how they'd come to be in such an intimate position, he had no objections to holding her this way.

  "I told you before I wouldn't share your bed," Tori said sternly, pushing his hand away. If she hadn't been so nervous, she might have enjoyed being so close to him. As it was, she fought to remember how she'd gotten there. She had a faint recollection of Serad's return, but she'd been so tired at the time that she hadn't come fully awake. Now, however, she was awake, and she wondered desperately how long they'd lain together and how in the world she was going to escape from him.

  "You just did," he pointed out with some humor.

  "Against my will."

  "You certainly didn't put up much of a fight," Serad reminded her, enjoying the feel of her soft curves pressed so tightly to him. "As a matter of fact, I don't remember your offering any resistance at all."

  "I was tired then, but I'm not now. Let me up." She tried to sit up, but at her very first movement realized that not only was his arm around her, but her hair was caught firmly beneath his shoulder.

  Serad chuckled in her ear. "It would seem that you are bound to me in more ways than one."

  His words sent a shiver of excitement through her. "Only because I am forced to be." Tori denied the feelings that his nearness were evoking within her. Drawing on the only defense left to her, she used her fiancé as a shield against Serad. "I love my fiancé."

  "We are not speaking of love, Tori," he dismissed her claim as he sensuously moved his hand up over her ribs to her shoulder.

  "I am. Love means everything to me," she insisted, wondering how her body could be responding to his touch when she knew who and what he was. "Please, let me go . . ." It was a frightened whisper, but was it her fear of Serad or of what he was making her feel?

  "Let me see if I can help," Serad said, brushing the thick, silken cascade of her hair aside and leaning forward to kiss the nape of her neck.

  "Don't!" Tori exclaimed, twisting to her back to escape him as an almost electrical current jolted through her at the touch of his lips.

  Serad braced himself up on his elbows to rise above her. His movement freed her hair, but his expression was so intense as he looked down at her that Tori was held motionless.

  Serad's gaze raked over her, taking in her flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. He knew she was angry, but he didn't care. He'd heard her words about love, but they didn't matter. Right then, he could no longer resist his need for her. He had to kiss her. He wanted her . . . bending toward her slowly, his eyes locked with hers as he moved closer and closer . . .

  Tori could manage only a strangled, "No . . ."

  Then their lips met and it was too late. Serad's kiss was soft at first. Only after he felt her relax a little did he unleash the explosive passion that he'd kept under rigid control.

  His mouth slanted over Tori's with a fiery possession that stunned her into acquiescence. Her breath caught in her throat at his powerful arousing dominance, and she felt as if her very soul was being stolen from her. She told herself that she should deny him, that she should conjure up the image of her fiancé and hang to that for strength, but somehow under the onslaught of Serad's rapturous embrace, no mental picture of Alexander Wakefield would come to her mind.

  Tori's only previous experience with kissing had amounted to a few stolen kisses in a garden by a very young would-be suitor just before she'd learned of Alexanders return. That fumbling, rather sterile exchange had done nothing to prepare her for Serad's mature, demanding embrace. Serad was no untried youth. He was a man—a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it.

  As his lips claimed hers again and again, Tori could feel her will dissolving. She knew she should fight, but his kisses held her mesmerized. She had never imagined anything could be so wonderful. Without conscious thought, Tori linked her arms around his neck to hold him to her. With that, Serad knew complete and utter triumph. He took her action as a signal of her surrender and as an invitation. He moved over her and fitted his body to hers.

  The sensation of having Serad lying on top of her was unlike anything Tori had ever known. Heavy though he was, it was an erotic weight, a burden of desire. The very male heat of him seemed to burn her through her clothes, and deep within Ton, she felt a compelling need to get even closer to him. Instincts driving her, she began to move restlessly, her hips inadvertently rubbing against his, seeking that elusive something that would ease the ache he was creating inside her.

  Serad had never known kisses so exciting. His masculine pride and confidence were soaring over having conquered Tori's resistance to him without force. When she began to move invitingly beneath him, it was all he could do to keep from tearing their clothing from their bodies and taking her without delay.

  With eager hands, Serad began to loosen buttons at the bodice of her gown. He longed to caress the pale orbs that he'd only caught a glimpse of during her bath. H
is mouth left hers to trail heated kisses down her neck to her shoulder. Brushing aside the fabric of her gown, he continued to press hot, devouring kisses across the tops of her breasts, barred from him now only by the shift she wore. He stopped only when he came to the fine gold chain and locket that lay nestled between her breasts.

  Tori had been nearly mindless with building pleasure and excitement as Serad had caressed her, but the moment he paused to touch the locket and chain, the reality of her situation came back with a shocking vengeance. Her hand came up automatically between them to grasp the chain and Alexander's picture safely hidden away in the locket.

  "Tori?" Serad asked, sensing the sudden change in her. "What is it?"

  "Let me up!" she demanded, pushing at him with all her might. She caught him so off guard that she managed to dislodge him just enough so she could slip from the bunk. "Leave me alone . . . I don't want you to touch me!" Her eyes were wild as she contemplated the terrible thing she'd almost done. Backing across the room, she kept one hand on the locket that was the badge of her conscience. She never looked away from her captor, for she feared that he would be coming after her.

  Her sudden flight from his arms hit Serad painfully. He stared after her in confusion for a moment, then with a growing sense of anger and frustration. She had almost been his. He couldn't imagine what it was that had caused her to draw away from him at the very last minute.

  As he struggled to bring his raging passions back under control, Serad finally noticed how Tori was holding on to the locket so tightly, and he knew the piece of jewelry had to mean something important to her. Getting up, he stalked across the cabin, looking very much the fierce, savage pirate.

  "Stay away from me . . . I don't want you to . . ."

  "Shut up, Tori," he commanded.

  Tori did as he ordered, though her terror showed plainly on her lovely, strained features. She did not retreat any farther, however, but watched with great trepidation as he came ever closer. Tori felt vulnerable, weak and very, very, frightened. She knew she shouldn't give in to her fears, so she attempted to give him a look of utter defiance, but it did not work. She was too afraid—afraid of Serad as her pirate captor and afraid of the power of her own reaction to his touch.