The Pirate's Heart

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  That was precisely the problem. Jack hadn’t been thinking. At least not with his head.

  No, he had been thinking with his cock and that only led to problems. He knew better.

  Still, Katherine had tempted him. She had teased him. And fuck it all, he had wanted her! She had wanted him too.

  At least he’d been able to stop at only a kiss before he’d stripped her naked and simply fucked her the way he wished to. He wasn’t certain why he had stopped, actually. Perhaps he did still have some morals after all.

  He simply remembered tearing his lips away from hers with a growl and then tying both of her wrists to the bedposts.

  He was punishing her for his actions, something he shouldn’t have done, but he couldn’t help himself. She inflamed him. Drove him to the brink of madness.

  Katherine made him want to lose control. He couldn’t risk losing control. Not when he was so close to stepping away from this life forever. It would be bad form to die on his last voyage. Or worse, find himself at the end of a noose.

  So he had bound her to the bed, lest he do something completely and utterly stupid.

  Jack would also untie her when he was certain they had both calmed down. He had only left his cabin a quarter hour ago. Not nearly enough time for whatever had flared between them to die down. If it even could.

  With a shake of his head, Jack headed below decks to the cargo hold where the ship was packed full of both supplies for the voyage and booty they’d plundered along the way over the last few months. Though his primary goal on this voyage had been to kidnap Katherine, he hadn’t wanted his crew to suspect anything was amiss. So he’d raided two French ships and staged a small raid on an unguarded plantation on St. Lucia, gathering as much bounty as he could along the way.

  Despite his relative confidence in his crew and the promise of whores in Tortuga, Jack’s men were pirates at their core. Just because he promised them a gruesome death if they touched Katherine, they might still attempt to defile her anyway. If one of his men did, Jack would kill them, of course, but in the meantime, since he could not be with her constantly, he thought it best to assign her a bodyguard of sorts. One that could be trusted not to lay a hand on his prize captive. A crewman that everyone aboard, save for himself and Ramsey, believed to be a eunuch.

  The year before, Jack had been gathering supplies in St. Augustine when he had been approached by a scrawny lad with a curiously raspy voice who had identified himself as Rupert Smith, a runaway from farming life who had been looking for adventure. The youth had offered his services as a deckhand, willing to do anything for passage to the West Indies, specifically Montserrat. Jack had been about to refuse the boy’s request, but something in the young man’s eyes had reminded Jack of himself at that age, and he had found himself bringing the lad aboard to perform the rough work that most of the crew disliked, as well as assist Ramsey in the galley.

  They’d been at sea only three days when Jack’s cook had brought Rupert to the captain’s cabin and announced in no uncertain terms that Rupert wasn’t really a Rupert at all. He was actually a she and her name was Mary Dabney, a young girl who had been kidnapped in Falmouth, England, by pirates. Her brother, whose name was in fact Rupert, had been kidnapped at the same time and was last believed to be on a pirate vessel bound for Montserrat.

  Jack’s first inclination had been to toss the girl overboard for causing him trouble, but eventually cooler heads – and his sense of honor of decency – had prevailed. Ramsey, who had once been a butler in a fine English household had agreed to keep watch over Mary, at least until The Darkness reached the island nation. If anyone questioned why the lad wasn’t developing as a young boy typically might, it would simply be explained that he was a eunuch and that there was naught to be done about it.

  The plan seemed reasonable and, as Jack really had no wish to toss the girl overboard anyway, he had agreed. Everything would be fine, or so he believed. Until, of course, they reached Montserrat only to discover that Rupert Dabney had been killed in a battle with another pirate ship, leaving Mary with no one save for the pirate crew aboard The Darkness.

  Now unwilling to leave the girl alone on Montserrat, Ramsey had lobbied for her to remain aboard the ship. She could continue to work in the galley with him, mostly out of sight of the rest of the crew. He would train her to fight and do what he could to perpetuate the myth that she was a eunuch. Then, when they reached someplace safe like Trinidad, both Ramsey and the girl would leave the ship and return to England. Oddly enough, the old cook had taken a liking to the girl, viewing her as the daughter he had never had, and, as the old man wished to retire from piracy anyway, returning them both to England to live out their lives in safety and comfort seemed like an excellent plan.

  All of which would have worked out beautifully had Jack not caught word of Lord Wilds’ plans for Katherine. Now, both his cook and his only female crew member were still aboard, though for once, that was actually a stroke of luck.

  Over the last several months, Mary – still in her disguise as Rupert – had proven her worth to the rest of the crew, particularly when they had encountered a Dutch pirate named Janssen who had hoped to add the crew of The Darkness to his own. The young lady had singlehandedly cut down not two but three members of Janssen’s crew and more than proven her mettle to the others. Now, everyone aboard Jack’s ship believed that Mary was simply what Jack and Ramsey both insisted she was – a poor young eunuch named Rupert who was looking for a life of adventure and to earn a living he would not have the chance to elsewhere.

  Now that Katherine was aboard, however, Mary – or rather Rupert – could serve as Katherine’s maid and protector and no one would be the wiser. After all, if Jack wished to keep his prisoner only for his own pleasure, who better to protect her, at least in the eyes of the crew, than a man who could not defile her?

  Eventually, Jack planned to fetch Mary from the galley and tell her of his plan, but in the meantime, he needed to gather a few things first.

  Though Katherine was Jack’s prisoner, he would not treat her like one. Or at least not as harshly as he might an actual prisoner. No, his plans for the lovely lady went far beyond the length of their voyage to Tortuga, though she did not need to know that yet. The more he kept her relatively happy and content, the better for him in the end, or so he hoped.

  He also had to consider that when she learned the truth of him, she might despise him. He hoped she would not, but it was a possibility. Then, he would be faced with the choice of letting her go and hoping she stayed with him by choice or continuing to keep her unwillingly bound to his side. Providing her a few creature comforts now might help in convincing her later that life with him was better than whatever other fate might await her elsewhere.

  Because she had been correct in what she said earlier. She couldn’t return to Barbados. Neither could he. At least not as they were now. And if she did return home? Jack was certain that Wilds would have men waiting to abduct her the moment she set foot on the docks in Bridgeport.

  No, Katherine’s life as she had known it had ended the day the bastard Wilds had put a price on her head. She had no choice, whether she knew it or not, to go forward and forge a new path. Jack simply wanted that path to be by his side and a little bribery often went a long way in order to make a woman willing to do what a man desired.

  Therefore, while his crew might not agree with him providing Katherine any physical comforts, save the necessities, Jack didn’t give a damn and he would gut any member of his crew who dared contradict him. Best remember to have Davis spread the word about that threat as well. Or he could deliver it himself later that afternoon.

  Just as he was finishing gathering what he required, Jack heard the stomp of feet on the stairs and, as was typical these days, his hand went to the hilt of the cutlass at his side. The thought of retirement, such as it was, was making him more than a little unsettled.

  “Ramsey?” Jack asked when the big man blocked what little light was coming d
own the stairwell. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for onions, Cap’n,” the man replied as if it should have been obvious. “We took some off that Dutch ship and Rupert says we need some for the stew. Don’t hold with that myself, but the crew seems to like it better with ‘em in. Too English for my taste.”

  Jack barked out a laugh. “You are English, Ramsey!”

  “Not for a good long time,” the older man replied. “I was nigh on nine and twenty when I last served Lord Kingsbury.” He sighed and, as Jack had done last evening, seemed to look off into the distance without seeing. “Seems like another lifetime. Or at least a different one. But I want it back, strange to say. At least the land part.”

  This time, Jack simply shook his head. He would be glad when Ramsey and Mary could be off this ship. Things like adding onions to the stew might seem minor but if “Rupert” displayed too many feminine traits, that might lead to questions that his crew would not like the answers to very much.

  “Very well. Over there in the corner. Harcourt says the things stunk unbearably and moved them to the far corner.” Jack gestured to where his second mate had stacked the offending vegetables well away from everything else in the hold. “Speaking of Rupert, I have an assignment for him.”

  The old cook nodded as if he had expected that, too. “Though you might. He an’ I talked about it earlier.”

  “Did you now?” Jack raised an eyebrow.

  “Seemed logical, Cap’n.” The bigger man shrugged. “You can’t watch the lady all the time and it makes sense.” He paused. “The crew was talking ‘bout it at breakfast, as well. Some might try to get near her, even with Rupert there, but I think he’ll be effective in keepin’ most of ‘em away.”

  Jack nodded, considering his options for a moment. “So they still fear Rupert, then?”

  “Much as they fear anyone like him, I s’pose. ‘Specially after that run-in with Janssen’s crew.” The cook dug out an onion from the bag and inspected it. Harcourt was right. The things did sink. “But that won’t last forever and we both know it. That’s why it’s good we’re leaving. Much longer and the risk to Rupert might be too great.”

  That was something Jack understood all too well. His crew was not comprised of fools and eventually, they would notice that young Rupert wasn’t growing, at least not in the way a young man should, even a eunuch. Someday, however, the lad himself might slip up and do something as simple as forget to bind “his” breasts. Then there would be hell to pay.

  “When we reach Tortuga,” Jack began but Ramsey cut him off.

  “When we get there, we’ll see what comes next, but either way, Rupert and I are gone once we reach shore. I know some people and we can get passage from there back to England. Our time here is endin’ sure enough and we won’t sail without you. This isn’t our home any longer. Not without you.” The cook studied Jack for a moment. “Word is out, Cap’n, that this is likely your last sail.”

  Leave it to Davis to open his bloody fat mouth. “And what? They think I’ve gone soft?”

  “Nah. Think you want to get a child on the fancy bit of skirt is what they say. Bind her to you and get her plantation and her money. Easier to do on land than here.” The cook’s face remained impassive.

  “And you?” Out of all of his crew, Jack knew that Ramsey, the only one who even suspected Jack’s own secret, would be honest with him. A man who had once been a butler to a duke would do no less.

  The other man considered Jack for a moment. “I think you’re tired. I think you want to go home. You’ve been away too long. I think this isn’t who you are and it never was. It was a means to an end for a time and now you’re done with it. Think you’ve got a plan for what comes next that you’re not tellin’ any ‘o us about. As it should be, less these fools get it in their heads to take what you want. You’re also a bit insane for the lady, and I’ve no idea why. But you are and that’s the way of it.”

  Ramsey suspected, then, that Jack had plans he was not revealing. He shouldn’t be surprised. Nor was he surprised that the cook and Rupert both still wanted to leave piracy behind.

  The beginnings of a plan began to form in the back of his mind. They would need more refinement, certainly, but if this man and the girl who would become his ward also wished to leave the crew soon, there might be an easier path to safety. For all of them.

  Until then? Well, he would not say a word until he was certain it was wise.

  “The lady is lovely. And rather fuckable. She is also mine.” Jack held up one of the items he had uncovered in the trunks. “I am fetching her new clothes as her old ones stink nearly as bad as that onion. Does that make me daft?”

  The cook shook his head, a sly grin on his face. As if he knew there were things Jack was not saying. “Nay. It does, however, make you a man. What lady wouldn’t be grateful to a man who brought her pretty things?”

  Jack arched an eyebrow. “My thoughts exactly.” Then he sobered. “So you can spare Rupert then? As you have so correctly pointed out, there are men on my crew who might test me by trying to lay with her. Just to see how far I can be pushed.”

  “Of course.” Thankfully Ramsey did not hesitate. “She’s a lady, Cap’n. If she’s to be your lady, then she’s yours. Lord above, we all know you don’t like to share. Those of us who want to keep our cocks intact anyway.”

  Laughing, Jack tossed Ramsey the gown he’d held up earlier. “Then have Rupert deliver this to her. No revealing of secrets now.”

  “And if she balks?”

  Jack considered that for a moment. “She won’t. She’s clever that way.”

  Ramsey shook his head but didn’t bother to contradict his superior. “If you say so, Cap’n.”

  Tucking the frock beneath his arm and holding the reeking onion in the other, the cook inclined his head and then slowly made his way back up the stairs toward the kitchens.

  For a long moment, Jack watched him go, the fact that the man was aging rapidly not lost on him. For as loyal as Jack’s crew was, perhaps the only one he could truly trust with his life was that man. After all, Ramsey had been the one to discover Mary’s secret and been the one to beg Jack to keep it.

  When Jack had done as asked, that had earned him a great deal of trust and goodwill with the older man. Ramsey also suspected that Jack wasn’t some lowborn wharf rat, either, though he never directly said anything. Instead, there were subtle hints that, as a man who had once served the nobility, Ramsey could see breeding in Jack that was not obvious to others. No matter how well Jack tried to hide it.

  Still, Ramsey had also made it clear that whatever he suspected Jack’s secret might be, it was not his to tell. The other man had made it plain that no one would hear a word from him about whatever secrets Jack might or might not be hiding.

  If Jack offered Ramsey the opportunity he was now contemplating, would the other man take it? Especially if the offer meant securing Mary’s future? A future where she could marry well, likely into the nobility, and not have to risk her life any longer or risk discovery amongst a disreputable band of pirates? Where she could live the life of a lady back in England and Ramsey the life of her father, a gentleman landowner of some means? Possibly even a baron, if things could be properly arranged, as Jack was not without influence back home. Jack believed the other man might be tempted.

  In the meantime, Jack would trade upon the goodwill he’d built up with the cook and the young crewman he protected in order to ensure Katherine’s safety.

  He would also use every weapon in his possession to make Katherine desire him enough that she would give in to him. He wanted her willing or he did not want her at all. Perhaps that made him a fool, but he held her in high enough regard that he would not force her to do something she didn’t want. He wasn’t like Wilds.

  No, if Katherine came to his bed and offered him her body, she would do so willingly.

  That way, she might be more willing to forgive him when she learned the truth.

  Or so Ja
ck hoped.

  Chapter Six

  Katherine took a peek into the silver-backed mirror that “Rupert” had provided for her.

  Rupert! Ha! Not very bloody likely!

  As if Katherine was foolish enough to believe that Rupert was really a boy. Honestly, what sort of game was Jack playing at? No man was capable of lacing up a corset the way that young man – or rather woman – could. If the pirate captain thought he could fool her into believing that young lady was really a eunuch, then he was sadly mistaken.

  She was also a bit disappointed. Katherine had assumed Jack knew she was more intelligent than this.

  She also wondered why he had even bothered to try and trick her. He had all but told her he didn’t lie. Wasn’t this deception a type of lie?

  On the other hand, she was thankful for the bath – a rare and true luxury on any ship to be certain – the new gown, and the protection he had provided, along with the few brief moments of freedom from her bindings when she had to tend to her needs. But especially the protection.

  As the afternoon had worn on, Katherine had heard some of the crew passing by the captain’s door. Though it was securely locked, a few of them had tested the handle anyway, and more than that had uttered crude words about what they would like to do with her, no matter what the captain had decreed. They had said those things loudly enough that there was no question she’d been meant to hear them. Though a few had also mumbled something about their cocks being cut off if they touched her. While that was reassuring in one sense, given that she was alone and tied to a bed, she wondered if any man would be brave enough to take the risk anyway.

  She also wondered what she would do if they did. It wasn’t as if she could fight back.

  When the door lock had clicked open not much later, however, Katherine had coiled into a tight ball, ready to fight and kick if necessary. She was thankful she didn’t have to when the slight figure that had entered the room introduced himself as Rupert, a eunuch sent by the captain to see to both her needs and her safety.