The Pirate's Heart

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  So try as she might, Katherine could not work up the requisite fear of the man who held her captive.

  She trusted him and she did not fear him. What an abysmal combination.

  She should fear him. Katherine knew this.

  Jack was a pirate and pirates did wicked, evil things. They had killed Daniel, after all. Except that not all pirates were evil. After all, at their heart, they were simply men. Not all of them were nice men, granted, but not all bad, either.

  When Katherine had been younger, she and Daniel used to sit hidden on the docks and watch the ships sail in and out of port led by men who seemed larger than life. Among those men had been a handful of pirates who held letters of marque issued by England. They might have been pirates, true, but it was there that she had learned that not all pirates were the bad sort.

  Yes, what they were doing was illegal, though it could also be argued that in many cases, what the English crown was doing was illegal as well. Or, if not illegal than immoral.

  On the other hand, she had witnessed pirates giving food to the starving young wharf rats; children abandoned to life on the docks when they were no more than four or five years of age. She had seen those same pirates make certain elderly men, likely former sailors, had safe shelter when the wicked storms blew onto the island late every summer, destroying everything in their path.

  Yes, those men bedded whores and drank too much. They plundered and murdered, too. But not all of them and for all that was bad, there was also some good.

  Nothing was absolute. Daniel had always told her that. There were some people with no goodness at all in them but most people retained a shred of humanity. Even pirates.

  Having seen that kindness first-hand and now having experienced a bit of it herself, Katherine could not quite bring herself to fear Midnight Jack as others did. He had been kind enough to her, at least so far. That did not mean that he would not change in time or that he might decide to rape her after all. But for now? He did not seem inclined to harm her and that was something she should probably encourage with good behavior. There might come a time to lash out later, but not now.

  Save your offense for when it is necessary, Daniel had also said. There are many times when a simple but effective defense will suffice.

  At the time, she hadn’t understood what he was talking about. Now? She did.

  And once more, she wished that Daniel was here with her. Beside her. But maybe in some small way, he was, because she carried a part of him in her heart.

  Either that or she was being a complete fool.

  Perhaps there was something wrong with her after all. Between longing for a dead man and being unable to fear the pirate who held her captive, she was not exactly showing a good deal of rational thought at the moment.

  Either way, it was time to open her eyes and get on with this day.

  “You’re awake, Duchess. Excellent. And just in time for breakfast.”

  She hadn’t heard the captain enter the room and when she looked up, she saw him standing in a small doorway she hadn’t noticed before.

  “Private privy,” he said with a rather cheeky grin. “I think you’ll find The Darkness a superior ship than those in the legendary pirate tales.”

  “And her crew superior as well?” Katherine couldn’t keep her tongue still, no matter how hard she tried. Thankfully, Midnight Jack did not seem to mind. Better he find her humorous and wish to keep her around than a shrew he could not tolerate, she supposed.

  “We are that,” he chuckled. “Her captain most especially. That would be me, in case there was any doubt.”

  “There wasn’t,” she replied as she tugged on the length of silk that still bound her wrist. “And if you are so superior, might I trouble you to release me for a bit?” She gazed longingly at the area behind him. “A lady does have needs, you know.”

  That might have been the wrong thing to say for behind his silken mask, the pirate’s eyes darkened. “As do we all, Duchess. As do we all.” Then he seemed to come back to himself for he shook his head, as if coming out of a trance. “But, yes. Of course. See to your business and then we shall speak as you break your fast.”

  For a brief moment, as he undid her bonds, Katherine took the notion into her head to run. But to where? She was on a ship – The Darkness. If she’d had any doubt before, she didn’t now and given the way they were rocking, she assumed they were under full sail and not merely leaving a harbor somewhere. They were at sea and there was really nowhere to run save for over the side.

  While she might have preferred death to having Lord Wilds touch her, she could not quite summon up the same amount of fear and repulsion when she imagined this pirate doing the same. She really was losing her mind. Lud, she needed help.

  With a brief nod of thanks to the captain, Katherine swept past him and into the tiny privy with as much dignity as she could muster. She could hear Jack’s laughter following her as she closed the door behind her. It was good, she supposed, that he found her humorous. Much more likely that he would treat her well until they reached their destination, wherever that was.

  As she saw to her needs and then washed up a bit, she replayed their conversation from the night before over and over in her mind. Jack hadn’t really said much. Then again, she had hardly been a sparkling conversationalist herself. The most important thing she didn’t know, she supposed, was where they were headed. If Lord Wilds really was behind the original plot to kidnap her – and she had no reason think the captain would lie about something so important – it was unlikely that they were destined for another island in the West Indies where he had influence.

  Most likely a pirate-ruled island or perhaps America, then.

  She also had no idea what would become of her when they reached their destination. Midnight Jack said he intended to keep her, but did he really? Or was he toying with her? Well, there was one way to find out, she supposed. She could simply ask him.

  Straightening her skirts as best she could and wishing she had both a proper bath and a comb, Katherine took one last look at herself in the mirror. She looked hideous. But then what could one expect when one had been drugged, kidnapped, brought aboard a pirate ship and then tied to a bed for the better part of a day?

  Oh, well. It would have to do. It wasn’t as if the notorious Midnight Jack was looking to take her for a lover. Even if the thought of him touching her sent not-unwelcomed shivers up her spine.

  Which would not do at all. Katherine had heard tales of captured women falling in lust with their pirate captors, some after only a few days. Well, she was not so weak of a woman as to be one of them. Yes, she found him attractive, but he was by all accounts a handsome man. Everyone said so.

  She had also been unsettled as of late with thoughts of Daniel, whom she certainly would have taken as a lover had she been more daring in her youth, haunting her dreams. She was merely transferring those unsettled feelings for him to the man who held her prisoner. It meant nothing. Merely that she was human and missing her old friend. And that she was lonely, though she had been that for some time.

  When Katherine emerged from the privy, she was pleased to note that the captain had been polite enough to have breakfast delivered here rather than forcing her to go into the dining hall below deck.

  “Thank you for this consideration,” she sighed as she sank into a chair. “Might I also ask that you not bind my hands again until I’ve eaten?” She looked at the bed where the length of red silk still lay. “It would be easier.”

  “Who says my goal is to make your life easier, Duchess?” the pirate taunted, though he made no move to pick up the binding again, either. “Still, this is my cabin and I’d prefer it not to be a mess so your hands shall remain free. For now.”

  Meaning she would be bound again later. Oh, very well. Katherine had been expecting no less. “Still. Thank you. I appreciate the thought.”

  “Always polite and proper, aren’t you?” Jack asked as he moved about his cabin.

  Kath
erine watched him move, the way his muscles were more sleek than bulky beneath his nearly skin-tight clothing. There was an innate grace about him that surprised her, as if he had not been born into this rough life but either chosen it or been forced into it. Everything about Midnight Jack, from the way that he walked and moved to the way that he talked and dressed spoke to wealth and taste. Whoever this man had been before he was a pirate, he had not been a low-born wharf rat. That much was certain.

  “I try to be.” She swallowed some of her breakfast which was far tastier than she had anticipated. “But I don’t always succeed. In fact, when I was younger, my family all but despaired of me ever taming my wild ways.” Mostly because they had been afraid that those wild ways would lead straight to a young man they did not approve of, or so she had come to believe over the last few years.

  A trace of a smile danced on Jack’s lips. “Why do I find that very easy to believe?”

  She shrugged and resumed eating. “Because you yourself are a pirate and hardly one to stand on ceremony?”

  “There is that, I suppose,” he admitted. “But I was proper once. Like you. No longer. But, as you are a clever sort, I think you already suspected as much, didn’t you?”

  Katherine refused to answer him on that point, for they both knew the truth of the matter. Instead, she asked another question of her own. “And now you are a pirate taking me to someplace where you what? Plan to leave me? Sell me into the slave trade?”

  “I told you last night that I meant to keep you.” Jack leaned back against a bookcase that had been carved into one wall. “I didn’t lie about that, Duchess. You are mine. There is no escaping me.”

  Well, that was hardly helpful and Katherine wanted to sigh in exasperation. “When you said that, I assumed you meant in the general sense. Not the literal. From what I understand, pirates do not keep the women they kidnap. Too bothersome, at least from what I hear.”

  Once more, the man’s eyes darkened and she had the feeling that if she gave him the least bit of encouragement, he would pounce on her. She also had a feeling she would not mind.

  Still, he did not make a move toward her, only stood there watching. Waiting. “I do not say what I do not mean, Duchess. I meant what I said. You are mine. Now that I have you, I am not about to let you go.”

  His voice was low and almost dangerous and yet full of promise at the same time. Suddenly, Katherine could imagine dark nights spent in this man’s arms and that prospect did not frighten her as much as it should have. If anything, it made her wonder. And wish – just a little bit.

  Unable to stop her own reaction, Katherine licked her lips. She watched as his eyes followed the path of her tongue and she saw the bulge in his breeches increase. No. She did not want to arouse him. She wanted to tease him, wanted him to like her well enough so that he would not hurt her. She had to stop this now. Before she went too far. Unless, of course, she already had gone too far. She had no way of knowing.

  Daniel had always said she wasn’t very good at flirting.

  “Very well.” She wanted to reach for the water glass that was on her food tray but she wasn’t certain she could pick it up without her hand shaking. “Then if I am yours, where are we going? I would think I have a right to know that much at least.”

  “Tortuga. For the moment anyway,” he growled a bit roughly, though some of the heat in his eyes had faded a bit. As if he was remembering why attacking her physically might not be a good idea. She assumed he had his reasons for not doing so already. She just hoped they were good ones.

  The pirate haven. She had guessed correctly then. “And after? For I don’t think you plan to stay there, do you?”

  “We shall see.” His voice was silky smooth now but he also seemed to have regained some of his legendary composure. “I am undecided as of yet.”

  “I can’t return to Barbados, you know.” God, that was a stupid thing to say but it was the first thing that had come into her head. “Neither can you. But I think you know that. You knew it when you took me, didn’t you? Which means that despite your indecision, you have a plan that I know nothing about.”

  Jack paused as he moved to his desk to rifle through some papers. “God, you are a curious creature, aren’t you? Not to mention more than a little madding!”

  Katherine would give him the maddening part. He was not the first to tell her that she drove people more than a little insane with her manners and questions.

  Biting into a bit of what she assumed was hard tack but was actually some sort of grain-based loaf, Katherine chewed thoughtfully for a moment before answering him, hoping to ease the bit of tension she had heard in his voice just now. “Curious how?”

  “Well, for one thing, you are not shrieking your head off as other women might when faced with the prospect of spending the rest of their lives with a pirate. You don’t even so much as protest, no matter what I say! Not even when I imply things that are not necessarily proper.” He didn’t exactly look pleased about this, though she could not understand why.

  “Would it help if I did?” she asked as she took a small spoonful of porridge. “I can start if you’d like.”

  He snorted, his cool composure returned once more. “Lord, no. You are fine as you are.” He crossed his arms over his broad chest and once more, Katherine’s eyes were drawn there. “You are merely confounding. And extremely confusing. Not quite as I expected.”

  “Neither are you,” she countered as she continued to study him. “You are hardly behaving as I would have expected. Shouldn’t you be throwing me on the bed and having your way with me? You, in fact, are nearly legendary for your seductive prowess. Isn’t that what pirates do? Enjoy the women they kidnap? I can see in your eyes that you’re thinking of it, you know.”

  This time, Katherine had the impression that she’d gone to far because once more, the man’s eyes darkened and he took a step toward her, a look of pure desire on his face. “Is that what you would like, Duchess? Is that what you want? For me to have my way with you? To fuck you until we both scream in pleasure? Because I will, if that’s what you desire. And I think it is what you want, deep down anyway. As you say, I can see the truth in your eyes.”

  “I didn’t…what I mean to say is that…” All thoughts of eating forgotten, Katherine scrambled up on the bed, which was perhaps not the wisest move to make. It placed her exactly where Jack wanted her.

  “I don’t think you know what you mean, Duchess.” Jack pushed the small food tray out of his way and followed her onto the bed.

  His bed. This was his cabin, after all.

  And she was his captive. He was a pirate. She would do well to remember that. No matter how kind he seemed.

  Katherine swallowed hard. This man stalking her now was pure pirate. His eyes were dark and glittering, his jaw hard-set. His black shirt was once more open at the throat and his breeches clung to his legs like a second skin, leaving very little to the imagination. And he was aroused. Very, very aroused just then. She did not have to wonder why.

  He wanted her and, clever man that he was, he likely also knew that she wanted him just as much. Her heart and mind might not, but her body seemed to have a will of its own that she could not control nor understand. Or make obey.

  And for the first time since she had awoken in this cabin, Katherine felt the tiniest bit afraid. But not of him. This time she was afraid of herself and what she might allow this man to do to her if he pressed.

  “I am not trying to tease you,” she swore as he backed her against the same pillows she had rested against last night. “Honestly, I am not!”

  “Oh, I think you are, Duchess.” Jack reached out, quick as a cat, and pinned her beneath him, his body pressing hard into hers so that she could feel the hard, long length of his arousal before he ground his hips into hers. “I think that you have decided to play with me. Perhaps because I remind you of someone?”

  She would not tell this man about Daniel! She would not sully her friend’s memory in that manner,
no matter that simply smelling this man brought back so many old memories.

  “Or perhaps because…” The words died on Katherine’s lips as Jack’s gaze bored into hers.

  “Or perhaps it is because you are attracted to me, Duchess.” His words were a mere whisper, teasing her ear in their seductiveness. “Because God knows, I am attracted to you.”

  Then he did what might have been the most foolish – or the most delightful – thing possible. He kissed her.

  Midnight Jack, the West Indies’ most notorious pirate was kissing her.

  And the kiss was hard. Demanding. His tongue in her mouth.

  Katherine’s blood pounded and she could hear a roaring in her ears. She felt hot and achy, her very bones themselves aflame with something she could not name.

  It was glorious. It was also terrifying. And for once, Katherine didn’t care.

  She just wanted more. More of the kiss and more of this man, even if doing so damned her soul for all eternity.

  Then she was kissing Jack back just as hard as he had first kissed her. Just as demanding. With her tongue now seeking out his. Demanding more, in fact.

  Because he had been right a moment ago when he had said she was attracted to him. She was and had been from the moment she had opened her eyes last night and saw him sitting there.

  Unfortunately, giving in to that attraction was probably one of the most foolish things she had ever done.

  Because now he knew. Now he knew that she was weak where he was concerned. He had probably also figured out that, in time, she would allow him to bed her. Because she would.

  Because, damn it all, he reminded her so very much of Daniel.

  And just then, she missed Daniel so much that she would have done anything Jack asked of her. Just so long as she could go on pretending that Daniel Montgomery was still alive. Pretending this man was him. Even if it was a lie.

  Chapter Five

  Fuck it all! He had kissed her! How could he be so bloody fucking stupid? And she had only been aboard The Darkness for a little less than a day! The next thing he knew, he would be fucking her in front of his crew! He had more self-control than this! What had he been thinking?