“I write historical romance novels,” said Kammie. “You ever hear of the Pirate Prince series?”
Wendy shook her head. “Sorry. I get all the pirates I can take here. I’m into biographies and true crime books.”
“Oh.” Kammie traced the rim of her glass. “I write about pirates because I like the fantasy of getting captured and seduced by a seafaring rogue.”
“You’re in the right place then.”
A group of four came in and sat down at the far end of the bar. Wendy walked away to tend to the new customers.
After Kammie had submitted her fifth Pirate Prince novel, her editor had suggested Kammie should consider writing a different kind of story. How about a paranormal, she enthused during their last phone conversation, could you put a werewolf in it?
She’d nearly choked on her own tongue. She lived in a real supernatural world. She didn’t want to write about it. She liked the fantasy of times gone by in human history. She was sure shifters had traveled the world, settling it along with the unaware humans. But Kammie wanted to write a paranormal about as much as she’d wanted to endure a double root canal. But she was also a writer who knew which side her bread was buttered on, so she roughed out a few ideas sans shifters. She went for something she knew didn’t exist—vampires.
Luckily, her editor had gone crazy for a vampire pirate pillaging on the high seas. If it meant getting to write another historical and keeping her Pirate Prince series alive, she’d put in as many preternatural creatures as her publisher wanted. Sure, she had a few logistics to figure out. Where did a vampire captain sleep during the day? What kind of crew would tolerate an undead leader? How would the heroine find her way onto the ship?
Kammie drained drink number two. She couldn’t help but wonder if Matt was trying to find her. After that whole wooing speech, she’d locked herself into one of the suite’s bedroom and opened her laptop. Writing wasn’t even a possibility, though, because all she could think about was Matt’s mouth. And hands. And … and other parts.
Damn him.
“You have an admirer. Some hot guy just dropped this off for you.”
She looked up at Wendy. The woman handed her a single white rose and vellum envelope. It had wax seal on it. Her heart climbed into her throat. This was the wooing, wasn’t it? If somewhere, deep inside, Kammie wanted to be courted by Matt, if she wanted to say, “I’m in love with you, too,” that could potentially ruin her plans to be a single, childless, lonely woman. Going down that road with Matt meant returning to the Moon Pack. As the first beta’s wife, she’d be expected to participate fully, and that meant constantly running into her parents, whom she had never forgiven.
Everyone thought they knew the story. Charles left Kammie at the altar, and she’d been so devastated, she moved out of her parent’s shining mansion and went off on her own, eschewing the pack and its males forever. But only she, Kevin, Charles, and her parents knew the truth. The reason her parents left her alone, and the reason a suddenly wealthy Charles jetted off to Europe to marry into an Italian pack, was because her parents didn’t want to anyone to know the truth about their precious bloodline.
Kammie popped off the seal and slid out the single sheet of paper.
A pirate on a quest
To find a maiden true
Honor this humble behest
And let him capture you…
BELOW WERE TWO words: Treasure Trove.
Kammie frowned at the handwriting. She recognized the sweeping, broad strokes. Matt had sent her an invitation to be shanghaied. She shivered at the very idea of being captured and seduced by Matt.
“What do you make of this?” asked Kammie, handing the page to Wendy.
Her gaze flicked over the words and she grinned. “You’ve been invited to the Pirate’s Pursuit. Pirates row onto Buccaneer’s Beach and chase their ladies.”
“What happens if the pirate catches you?”
Wench Wendy laughed. “Whatever you want.”
Kammie looked at the invitation. Yep. Matt the Wooer had sent her the note. What should she do? She didn’t want to give up an opportunity to get chased by a pirate. A werewolf pirate, no less. But encouraging Matt was like dropping a match onto gasoline.
Boom!
Oh, sure. Maybe she could play a little harmless game then return to the suite for room service and 1,000 words on the new manuscript.
Hah.
If Matt caught her … she would be his, and he’d seduce the living hell out of her. She knew his wily ways. Her heart turned over in her chest. They were on a fantasy island of sorts, right? Anything that happened here would stay here.
Kammie plucked her rose and invite from the bar then laid down a twenty. After waving good-bye to Wendy, she left Kidd’s Kavern and crossed the lobby to the concierge’s desk.
“Yes, mi’lady?” asked the thin man with graying hair. He was dressed in a stylish black suit. It was probably too much to ask a concierge to wear an eyepatch and sword and intersperse conversations with “yarr!”
“When is the Pirate’s Pursuit?”
“Tonight’s game begins at seven p.m.”
Kammie glanced at the paper again. “Do you know what the Treasure Trove is?”
“The shop is located in our mall. You go down the hallway until you reach the staircase. Go up the stairs, through the door is the first floor of our shopping center. It’s the third storefront on the left.”
“Thanks.”
Ten minutes later, Kammie entered the Treasure Trove. The small shop had paneled walls, red carpet, and low lighting. The store was filled with racks and racks of clothes and many shelves of hats, shoes, and accessories.
“’Ello, luv,” said a curvaceous woman with brassy red hair and sparkling green eyes. Dressed like a gypsy, in layers of purple and white, her bell-laden belt jangled as she rounded the counter. “What can I do for you?”
“I was invited to the Pirate’s Pursuit.” Kammie’s cheeks heated as she said the words. Oh, for heaven’s sake! Why was she embarrassed about indulging in an innocuous fantasy? She’d consider it research. Yeah. Research. Her editor wanted an authentic paranormal pirate, right?
“What’s your name, luv?” Her cockney accent was thick.
“Kammie Desmond.”
Genessa reached into a rack of plastic-covered clothes and plucked out a dress. “Oh-ho. This here’s a good ‘un. Your pirate likes his girls lusty.”
Kammie accepted the costume. “What do I owe you?”
“It’s been paid for, miss. All you need to do is wear it. Be sure you put on the colored sash—that’s how your pirate will identify you.”
Well, shiver me timbers.
KAMMIE SAT ON the couch in her and stared at the costume, which was draped next to her. Was she truly thinking about going on the Pirate’s Pursuit? Ha. More like the Werewolf’s Pursuit. Pirate werewolf. She couldn’t help but laugh. The very story she refused to write appeared to be unfolding in her own life.
According to Kammie’s mother, compatibility was the most important relationship quality. Mother had told her numerous times that the first bright passion associated with falling in love faded with time. Find someone you can like for the rest of your life, darling, she said. Intellectual conversation and table manners are worth their weight in gold.
Her mother was a cynic married to skeptic. Her parents didn’t seem to like each other all that much, though they had been united in their efforts to control Kammie and Kevin’s lives. Reputation was important to them—more important that little things like truth and love.
She knew that Matt was the opposite of Charles. At first glance, however, the men appeared to share the same qualities: successful, handsome, ambitious, and charming. Unlike Matt, however, Charles was obsessed with his position in society. He had the genetics of werewolf royalty, but the bank account of a pauper. Her parents were far more interested in his blue blood than the contents of his wallet. Werewolves jostled for rank, it was part of the territory. Th
e ambition of Charles coincided with the ambitions of her parents … at least until they found out about Kammie’s unforgivable flaw.
Kammie understood something about obsession—after all, she was a writer and often immersed herself in the fictional world to the point she eschewed showers, ate cereal for dinner, and lived in the same pair of sweats for a week. But she’d never understood her parents’ obsession with werewolf genetics. Modern-day packs weren’t run by pure-bloods anymore. In fact, the only wolves concerned about who procreated with who were people like her parents. Thank God, that number was only in the dozens.
Besides, Charles needed a woman more interested in him and his career and his goals for moving up werewolf ranks—and Kammie wanted a man who wasn’t a self-absorbed prick.
Why did the past always seem to rear up and bite her on the fanny? Seriously. She needed to stop thinking that life was like a romance novel. People didn’t fall in love in a day and stay madly in love for the rest of their lives. Passion burned bright and quick before it flickered out forever. Right?
Er, right.
She’d stayed away from dating males of any species. In fact, Kevin had been the only steady man in her life. Speaking of her twin betrayer…
She retrieved her cell phone and dialed Kevin. The fiend picked up on the second ring.
“Did you give in yet?” he asked.
“Ugh! Kevin! Why did you send him here?”
“Because love. And you need to move on from The Incident.”
Kammie sighed. “I know. But you’re pushing me off a cliff. A huge cliff. You know that, right?”
“No, I’m pushing you onto a Matt. And if the rumors are true, he is huge.”
“Kevin!”
He laughed. “Fine. We’ll go with cliff. Sis, it’s time to fall—or to fly,” he said. “Love you! Gotta go!”
She listened to the abrupt silence. “Love you, too,” she murmured and then pushed the “end” button.
Kammie stood up and plucked the dress off the couch.
Well, hell.
KAMMIE WALKED BAREFOOT on the beach dressed as a tavern wench. The knee-length skirt showed off her legs. The red sash cinched her waist; she’d knotted it on the side so that the ends would flow off her hip.
The white shirt puffed at the shoulders, leaving her arms bare. With help from her strapless push-up bra, the low-cut blouse gave new meaning to the word ‘cleavage.’ Bangles clinked on her wrists. On her left ankle she’d put a bell-filled bracelet. She’d taken her time getting ready, soaking in a lavender-scented bath and patting her entire body with a sparkly, scented powder. She kept her make-up light and left her brown hair long and straight.
Rows of bamboo torches offered the only light on the dark beach. Stars glittered like diamonds in the night sky. As Kammie walked toward the water, a warm breeze teased the edge of her skirt and tossed her hair. The low waves licked at her toes and she curled them into the sand, enjoying the sensation of the soft grit tickling her feet.
She scanned the ocean, enjoying its dark, shining beauty. In the distance, she spotted a large row boat headed toward the shore. Loud singing floated toward her:
“Yo-ho, yo-ho, a pirate’s life for me!”
Her heart turned over in her chest and adrenaline hummed up her spine. The boat hit the shore and men tumbled out of the craft, laughing and singing.
“We come for ye, wenches!” cried one.
The pirates swarmed the beach, brandishing swords and whooping loudly. Women giggled and screamed as they ran every which way.
One pirate swaggered toward her. He wore a red handkerchief over his hair and a red mask that covered half his face. His teeth bared in a lascivious grin. Wow. His loose shirt offered tantalizing glimpses of muscled flesh. As he passed by a torch, the flickering light revealed a chiseled profile. Oh, yeah. That was Matt, all right. He could cover his face all he wanted, she had his profile mesmerized due to years of crushing on him.
“Kammie! I’ll show ye a good time!” he crowed in a gravelly voice.
Her heart tripled its frantic beat. Oh, God. The pirate who wanted her! She sucked in a steadying breath. Time to put up or shut up, girl.
His arms opened wide. “Are ye gonna embrace me, ye bonny lass?”
She’d written enough pirate dialogue to know how to respond. “I wouldn’t let a scurvy dog like you anywhere near my goods,” she said saucily, as she tossed her hair over her shoulder.
His eyes flashed with surprise. He paused in the dark space between two torches, so his expression was hidden, but obviously he was calculating the distance between them.
He shot toward her.
Kammie turned and ran. Adrenaline spiked in her belly as he gave chase. She had the stamina needed to make her pirate work for his bounty. Even so, she didn’t want to run too hard or too long.
She didn’t need to worry. In mere moments, she felt him close behind her. She heard his boots dig into the sand and his breath draw in as he lunged for her. His arms snaked around her waist and he pulled her snug against him.
“Hey!” she yelled, flailing her arms and legs.
He laughed. “Scurvy dog, am I?”
She gulped in air and tried to calm down. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest.
“This is your game, sweetheart,” Matt whispered in his normal voice. “You end it whenever you want, just say the word.”
Slowly, the pirate released her. He still held her flush against his body, but her feet sank reassuringly into the sand. He leaned down and whispered, “What’s it to be, lass? Are ye with me?”
Kammie drew in a steadying breath. “You caught me fair and square. I’m yours.”
His low chuckle made her tingle. His fingers drifted up her arms and she shivered. “And I’m yours, lass. Now, I will make off with ye to my secret cave. Ye cannot know the way, so I must blindfold you.”
“Seriously?”
“Aye.”
A red cloth appeared over her shoulder and her pirate drew it across her throat, over her face, and finally, around the top of her head. She closed her eyes as he tied material.
“Are ye ready?”
She nodded. Delicious tension wound through her. Taken to a pirate’s cave for ravishing!
He scooped her up and she yelped, throwing her arms around his shoulders.
“Snuggle in,” he said. “It’s a bit of a walk.”
Getting toted around like a precious treasure was a new experience, and one that she enjoyed. Werewolves admired her curves, she knew, and many human men seemed to like them, too. But no one had ever made her feel the way she felt now in Matt’s strong embrace. God, he smelled good. He was all hard muscle and sinewy strength. As he proceeded toward destination unknown, Kammie smiled.
KAMMIE’S PIRATE PLACED her gently onto a soft surface.
“Where are we?” she asked as she reached up to undo the band’s knot.
His hands stilled hers. “Leave it for a moment, lass.”
“Okay.” She realized that he was standing in front of her. Her stomach felt as if it were filled with frantic butterflies. She pressed a palm against her belly. “What now?”
“We can talk. Or I can feed you.”
“Feed me?” She licked her lips. “Like that scene in Nine and Half Weeks?”
His low, sexy chuckle made her tummy butterflies do the mambo. “Aye. We have strawberries.”
How brave was she? Could she dive fully into the fantasy of being a pirate’s captive? Being with Matt was a fantasy. She wouldn’t let it go any further, especially since she knew that Matt intended to seduce her into marriage. Still. Just for tonight, she could be a saucy wench.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted.
The bed gave way as he sat next to her. She could feel him very near, but not quite close enough that he was touching her. “It’s a game. When you want to stop, you say so.”
His fingers coasted over her shoulder and grazed her neck. He brushed back her hair, combing hi
s fingers through the strands.
“Ye hair is like silk.” As his fingers sifted her well-brushed tresses, she felt him lean forward. His hot breath ghosted over her neck. “Hmm. Ye smell good, too.”
With each touch, her heart beat faster and her belly squeezed. It had been too long since anyone had made her tingle with anticipation. She found it discombobulating that Matt could so easily stoke her into the kind of sensual heat that she always wrote about, but rarely experienced.
When his lips dropped onto the rapid pulse at the base of her throat, she sucked in a startled breath.
“Do ye want me to stop?” he asked softly.
The words tickled her skin. She couldn’t articulate a response, so she reached for him and dragged her fingers through his soft hair. She pressed his skull lightly to let him know she wanted him to stay. He had taken off the mask and the handkerchief covering his head, too.
His lips traveled up her neck, resting on the spot just below her earlobe. His tongue flicked her skin, snaking up to tease the shell of her ear. Her breath quickened as desire sparked all the way through her.
“Ye are fine morsel. One I would gladly devour.” He lifted away from her. In a regular voice, he whispered, “I have to know how far you want to go, Kammie. Do you want me to kiss you, feed you strawberries, and let you go? Do you want me tie you up and ravage you while you protest? This is your fantasy, lass. I want to indulge your every desire. Tell me what you want.”
Kammie’s heart skipped a beat. “Even if … it stops here? Tonight only, Matt. No talk of wooing or … or other things.”
“I make no promises, Kammie. I want you. Not just in my bed, but in my life.” He sighed. His head dropped to her shoulder. “I want to kiss you,” he admitted in a ragged voice. “Everywhere. I want to kiss you and I don’t want to stop. Not tonight. Not ever.”
Kammie shivered at his confession. “Tonight, Matt. Please.”
“All right, sweetheart. Tonight, I’ll be your pirate prince.”
Her belly quivered at the very idea of being Matt’s captive. She could experience wanton pleasure. For once in her life, she could be the star in her very own romance.
The Pack Rules Boxed Set: The Complete Series of Wolf, Bear, and Dragon Shifter Romances Page 56
