“Impressive ain’t she?!”
I remained silent, not knowing what to say.
“Don’t worry!” The eyeless man spoke. “I know for a fact that Captain Fox will take care of you.”
The rest of the pirates laughed. I sensed when he meant take care of, he didn’t mean in a soft loving kind of way.
“Get her on board! It’s time to go, gentlemen!”
Before I knew what was happening, I was being led onto the deck and having my hands tied behind me. Afterwards, I was gagged with an old rag that tasted like salt and booze.
“Hey, boys! I think this one likes that!” The eyeless man spoke again.
The rest of the crew erupted in laughter. I looked around the deck and noticed how many pirates this ship really contained. I couldn’t believe the size of the ship and its crew. It was almost like they had their own city. I felt the ship rock below me as more cannon balls smashed into the side. I lost my footing and collapsed to my knees. One of the pirates, an older man with greasy hair and a nasty scar on his face grabbed my hair and forced me to look at him. The scowl on his face was a mean one and his eyes held evil and disdain like I had never seen before. He scared me, and I knew he could see it in my eyes.
“Better get used to being on your knees, girly! You’re a pretty one… the pretty ones always get the most action from the rest of the crew. It’s been awhile… hasn’t it boys?!”
Only a few of them sniggered this time. Before I knew what was happening the man was undoing his buttons on his pants. My eyes widened! What was happening?! I began to squirm and tried to scream through my gag, but nothing mattered. I was helpless. My eyeballs were frantically moving back and forth, looking for help, but the dirty pirate had a firm grasp on my hair. Just as he finished undoing his pants the large man from earlier who had escorted me to the ship appeared behind him. He towered over the other man by a good two feet. The man stood where he was for a second, feeling a presence behind him, and then slowly turned to face the giant.
“What’re ya lookin’ at, big boy?!” The pirate said to the giant. “You got a problem with what I’m about to do?! Take it up with the Captain!”
As he said this he spat into the large man’s face and turned around, removing his penis the rest of the way from his trousers. I began to scream through my gag again and collapsed back on to my butt, trying to push myself away with my feet. The dirty pirate advanced on me, playing with himself as he bared down. I truly thought it was going to happen… this is how I was going to lose my virginity. I stopped and closed my eyes, praying once again to be saved. I waited to feel the man grab me and flip me over. I waited to feel him penetrate me and the pain that followed, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I heard a scream. I opened my eyes. The giant man who had escorted me onto the ship now had the dirty pirate’s genitals in his hand. The man screamed louder as the giant pirate squeezed harder. In one swift motion the giant man ripped the dirty pirate’s organs from his body, testicles and all. The dirty pirate immediately passed out from the pain while the rest of the crew stood around in horror. The giant man held his wounded comrades member high in the air for everyone to see and spoke for the first time. His voice was deep and booming.
“Nobody touches the captain’s property before the captain!”
He walked to the edge of the boat and tossed the genitalia into the sea. He walked over to me next and picked me up and put me on my feet without any effort. He removed my gag, but left my hands tied, and turned to walk away.
“Thank you.” I choked out, trying to hide the tears that had fallen down my face.
The man stopped for a moment and then walked back to me.
“I didn’t do it for you.” He growled. “Take her below!”
He shouted this as he walked off to somewhere else on the ship. Before I knew what was happening I was being swept beneath deck in to a damp, musty cell with the other women captors of the village. I looked around and noticed Connie cowering in the corner of the cell. We made eye contact, but I quickly looked away. Even if these men were pirates, I would consider them more of a friend to me than her. I found an open space and slumped down, leaning my head back against the bars. I knew I had gotten what I wanted, but I hadn’t imagined what I wanted would ever be like this. I closed my eyes and drifted off as the ship rocked me to sleep… the sounds of cannon fire in the distance.
Chapter 3
I awoke to the jingling of keys and the sound of rusty hinges as the cell door screeched open. My eyes fluttered open. I could feel the salt on my skin and the crust in my eyes. A couple crew members marched in to the cell and started forcefully standing us on our feet. I got up willingly, as to avoid any further contact with these men. We filed out on to the deck from underneath the ship. The sun was bright and hotter than I had ever remembered feeling it. I looked around but could see nothing but ocean in all directions. A slight smile crossed my face. I loved being on the sea. It brought back memories of times on my father’s vessel.
“On your knees!” Someone shouted.
Memories over. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I let myself get in to this situation? I shouldn’t have run. I should have stayed in Sunhaven. Tears began to form in my eyes, but I fought them with all of my might. I wasn’t going to cry over Johnathan any longer. It was his fault I was here in the first place. I was so lost in thought, I jumped when the entire crew yelled.
“Captain!”
It was a chorus of echoes across the open sea. I noticed that all of the crew members were standing at attention along the sides of the ship. This was the first time I had seen them so still and heard them so quiet. I heard the footsteps as the Captain began walking. He was blocked by the main mast at first, but as he came in to view I couldn’t help thinking how handsome he was. He was without a shirt and his muscles glistened in the sunlight. He was fit and tan, and his hair was long and black. He had a goatee that was tied in to a long braid and his eyes… they were a beautiful green. How could I tell? He stopped in front of me. As soon as I made eye contact I looked down at the floor. After a few moments he continued walking down the line. I watched him out of the corner of my eye. Why had I looked away? I wasn’t afraid of him. My heart was beating quickly now? Was this really happening to me? Why was I so nervous? I mean, it is quite normal to get nervous in front of a handsome man. Once the Captain reached the end of the line he turned on his heels and leaned in toward one of his crew. He whispered something in his ear and quickly left the deck. He looked at me with a kind smile on his face and a spark in his eye as he walked by. This time I didn’t look away. After a moment of silence, the crew broke formation and began speaking.
“On your feet!” I heard a voice say. Quick, light and friendly.
This was the first voice I had heard that sounded pleasant on the ship. I looked around to see who it was and noticed a man coming down the stairs from the wheel platform.
“Take over.” He said to the giant man I had met the night before.
This man was dressed in a long, red overcoat. He had a hat that shaded his face and shoulder length dirty blonde hair. His goatee and mustache were trimmed nicely. I watched him for a moment before realizing he was walking directly at me. He was taller than me by two feet. He stopped directly in front of me and grinned with no teeth. He raised his left eyebrow, looked me up and down and then tilted his head slightly to the right.
“Captain Fox would like to see you in his quarters tonight around sunset.”
He looked at a crew member behind me and quickly jabbed his head in my direction, signaling it was time to release me from my bonds. It felt nice to have my hands untied. I shook out the tension in my wrists and stretched my shoulders.
“Until then you are free to roam the ship. Do what you want to do. You know, the normal.”
I could tell he was slightly intoxicated.
“Am I free to leave the ship?”
The man looked at me a moment, looked out at the horizon around us and then smiled at
me. He had a silver tooth where his right bicuspid was and another gold one near his front left molar.
“You’re a funny one.”
With that he turned and began walking back toward the helm. I immediately caught up with him. I decided I was going to stay with this guy. He seemed friendly enough, and he was the only one who hadn’t made me feel uncomfortable.
“What is going to happen to the other women?” I said, glancing at them as I walked.
“Ah, don’t worry about them. They will be released once we get to Tortuga.”
“Tortuga?”
“Pirate city.” He said, looking at me like I was crazy.
“I’ve never heard of such a place.”
“Well, yes… I suppose that a lady such as yourself never would have.”
We had walked up the stairs and were now at the helm. The giant man from the night before stepped aside and made his way back down on to the deck of the ship. He didn’t take notice to the fact that I was there.
“Were you hoping he would be your friend?” The pirate steering the ship asked.
He must have noticed I was looking at the giant man in a sad sort of way.
“I saw what he did last night. He is just very loyal to the captain. Doesn’t like when people disrespect Fox. He’s an amazing brute, but very slow.” The pirate said, swaying toward me and pointing to his head. “I don’t even think he understands the concept of friendship. I on the other hand do. Benjamin Grey, my lady.”
He took his hat off and bowed, quickly returning it to his head and turning toward the helm.
“I’m Helena.” I replied. “I’m surprised you all have names.” I said sarcastically.
“Oh, don’t take it too hard, what happened last night. The crew may be a little rough around the edges, but they are a good crew. That guy last night, he was new. We usually don’t handle things in such a way… hence, why he had his dick ripped off.”
My eyes widened at the hearing of the vulgarity. I wasn’t used to people speaking in such a way where I came from. Benjamin laughed when he saw my face.
“You better get used to hearing words like that, dearie.”
“You are very perceptive.” I said.
“Well, thanks!” Benjamin said. “It’s the drink. Speaking of!”
As he said that he pulled a flask from his waist band and began to chug it. After a few moments he put the top back on it and place it in to his waist band. We both stood there for a few moments saying nothing to each other. I was looking out at the horizon of the sea, feeling… something. I felt as though I should be nervous, but I wasn’t. Staring in to Captain Fox’s eyes brought me a familiar comfort. One I hadn’t felt since the first time I- No, that couldn’t be it… could it?
“You are oddly calm, Madame.”
“Yes. You are right. I am, aren’t I?”
“Most women stumble around the ship and hide away from everyone. They speak with a tremble in their voice as though they see ghosts.”
“Most women?” I asked quickly.
“Well… yeah! Of course! You think you have been the only woman invited to the Captain’s chambers? Or did you just wish it to be so?!” He chuckled a bit until he realized I was offended.
“Does it happen often?”
He smirked his friendly smirk at me and looked at me with admiration in his eyes.
“Three times. That has been it.” He squinted at me a moment. “You feel something for him, don’t you?”
“No. I don’t know… maybe I do. I’m not sure.”
Grey smiled at me for a second before looking back out at the sea again. There was another moment of silence before Benjamin spoke. Within that moment I had so many things going on in my head. I wasn’t sure how to feel. Captain Fox had been with women before; I hadn’t been with anybody. The last time I fell in love I fell hard and I had been betrayed. Not only by my fiancé but by my best friend as well. How could I trust a stranger? Not just a stranger, but a pirate! Almost as if to answer me, Benjamin spoke.
“He might not admit this to you at first, or maybe ever at all; but the one thing he is looking for is someone to love. Someone who will be there for him and not abandon him. There’s a lot these guys…” He said motioning to the crew. “…don’t know about Dimitri, but he and I have been friends for a long time now. All of this.” He opened his arms and gestured to the sea and ship around him. “It is all just to find that. The crew gets paid and they stay happy, while he gets to sail the world looking for that one special woman. No one is the wiser, except for me!” He smiled and took a swig of his alcohol. “Problem is, when you are looking for love that hard, you tend to trick yourself into believing the wrong one is the right one; When if you look, there were signs the entire time that they were always the wrong one.”
As I reflected on what Benjamin had said, I knew that he was right. There had been a lot of signs that Johnathan had been the wrong one for me.
“The problem is, by the time you see that they were the wrong person for you, your heart has already been broken.”
I tried to hide my sadness, but I couldn’t. I excused myself from beside Benjamin and made my way to the farthest part of the ship, hiding away in a corner so nobody would find me. I cried my eyes dry, reflecting on everything that had happened with Johnathan. This time, I wasn’t lying to myself. I was sad because the entire time I was with him, there was a voice inside of me that was telling me he wasn’t the one. He held me back, talked down to me, and disappeared for months at a time while on his trips. He made no effort to want to see me when it was inconvenient for him. For all of this, I felt stupid. I felt used and I felt like love would never be the same again. Yet, at the end of it all, when I finally cried my last tears, I still felt as though there might be hope. Fox’s eyes crossed my mind and for the first time in a long time my stomach was full of butterflies.
By the time I had gathered my emotions, my eyes were puffy from crying. I emerged from beneath the deck, just as the sun was beginning to set. Benjamin spotted me and helped me to Captain Fox’s chamber door. My heart was beating so loud I could hear it in my ears. My hands were trembling lightly and I reached out for the door knob. I hesitated.
“Don’t be afraid, Helena. He may be labeled a pirate, but he is a great man. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
I took a deep breath.
“Thank you, Benjamin.”
My voice was so light I could barely hear myself speak. I reached out and turned the doorknob slowly, my heart pounding against my ribcage. I opened the door and stepped inside the Cabin, ready to face my future.
Chapter 4
The cabin was made of solid dark wood, and smelled of musk and pine. Candelabras hung on the walls, illuminating the room with a warm glow. There was a large bed perched near the back of the room. Behind it was a wall full of windows that looked out on to the ocean from the stern of the ship. The bed was on a platform with a few stairs, and just in front of the steps was a long table with fancy chairs with purple felt cushions. There was a bath tub tucked away in a little alcove in the corner of the room and a door leading off to somewhere, I assumed the kitchen. I closed the door lightly behind me. As it clicked shut, Captain Fox, who had been standing staring out of the large windows, turned lightly. He had a glass of wine in his hand. As he spotted me, he stared for a minute, and then smiled at me.
“Hello.” He said smoothly.
“Hello.” I replied lightly, glancing down at the floor.
There was a moment of tension between us as he looked at me in awe. He swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and made his way over to me, setting the wine glass down on the table.
“Please, have a seat.”
He made his way over to me and led me to my seat, the whole time placing a hand on the small of my back. I got goosebumps and felt a slight tingle of pleasure. He pulled the chair out for me and allowed me to sit down. Once I had, he poured me a glass of wine.
“Thank you.” I said lightly.
My heart was beating so fast, I thought it was going to leap from my chest. I didn’t know what to say or how to act. On the one hand, he was a gentleman and very polite. On the other hand, how many girls had he done this for already? I didn’t want to appear rude or bother him with my insecurities right away, so I remained quiet.
“I have something for you.” He said as he disappeared into the doorway behind me.
While he was gone I gulped down as much of the wine as I could and poured myself another glass. I needed to let go of my tension. I heard his footsteps approaching and before I knew it he was standing back in front of me, holding a beautiful dress in his hands. The silk was so fine I had to reach out and touch it. This was the smoothest and softest silk I had felt in my entire life. There was a gold trim around the bosom area, the cuffs of the sleeve and where the waist line met the skirt. The bodice had a built in corset and was designed in silver and gold on top of the blue. The blue of the dress faded from dark at the top to light at the bottom. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“This is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.” I said, a light smile crossing my face.
“Would you like to put it on?” He wondered.
I nodded my head yes and changed in the opposite room, which was not a kitchen but in fact a walk in wardrobe. As I slipped in to the dress I was amazed at how it fit so perfectly. The silk on my skin was so soft I felt as though I was wearing nothing at all. The corset stretched perfectly to fit my back and my breasts sat comfortably, outlined perfectly by the golden trim. I could feel the wine starting to take effect as I stared at myself in the mirror. By the time I had finished dressing, food was on the table. As soon as he saw me, he stopped setting the table and his jaw dropped open in amazement.
Romance: Pummel Me: A Boxing Romance Page 76
