The Pirate's Heart

by Bethany M. Sefchick

  Katherine had been able to tell with a single glance that the newcomer was female, but she hadn’t said anything. If Jack – she’d ceased to think of him by any other name around the time they’d kissed – wished to perpetuate this ruse, who was she to say otherwise? Instead, she had thanked Rupert for coming and asked what he intended to do. When he’d said that a bath was being brought and that she should begin preparing for dinner with the captain and the crew, she’d been elated. Until she remembered the “crew” part of that invitation and recalled their filthy words right outside her door.

  Still, it wasn’t as if she’d had any choice, so she had allowed Rupert to assist her with the bath and with washing her hair. Though the so-called eunuch couldn’t style hair, he had helped her draw it up into a loose knot while Katherine had used a pair of diamond and ruby hair combs that had come with the gown to secure the silken strands. The combs had beautifully matched the scandalous red silk dress that Rupert had brought with him. Somehow, Katherine did not think that was an accident.

  Someone had excellent taste and fine manners. Katherine would bet every last minute of her freedom that someone was Jack.

  Before leaving, Rupert had loosely bound Katherine’s one wrist to the desk with a warning not to try to escape. Looking as she did in the low-cut gown that bared more of her breasts than it covered, Katherine would never dream of such a thing. Moving amongst the crew without protection would be extremely foolish and she had no wish to endanger herself. Or Jack for that matter.

  Given the way he had spoken last night and with the arrival of Rupert the “not actually a eunuch” this afternoon, Katherine felt certain that if anyone touched her, Jack would likely cut them to shreds. Hence the comment about the removal of a man’s cock she’d heard in the hallway earlier. Still, Jack was one man against an entire crew and she knew enough of the pirate way to understand that if the crew turned on him, he would likely not survive the mutiny.

  Even though he had kidnapped her and planned to keep her as his prisoner, Katherine didn’t wish the man harm. Actually, the thought of him coming to harm worried her quite a bit. Nor would she wish to be the cause of his death. She already had the death of one man that weighed heavy on her mind. She would not add the pirate captain to that private misery.

  So for the moment, she would do as she was told and behave herself. That didn’t mean she wasn’t still planning to escape if she could manage it; she was. However, she would not take any action that would cause Jack to be injured on her behalf. She’d endured enough death and injury in her life that she had no wish to be associated with more. Though on a pirate ship, she might not have a choice.

  With a sigh, Katherine took another look in the mirror before putting it back on the desk. It didn’t matter what she looked like, she supposed. It wasn’t as if she was trying to deliberately make herself attractive for the man. She wasn’t. Truly she wasn’t.

  In fact, she would prefer it if Jack found her unattractive, though she supposed that was unlikely. The bulge in his trousers as he pressed his body into hers had made it rather evident how he viewed her. As had the way he had kissed her. He desired her and she had only encouraged him by kissing him back. She would not do so again.

  Last night, and very well, again this morning since she was being honest with herself, she had not been thinking clearly. Katherine was no loose woman, though Jack might debate that point given her loose tongue and even looser way with her mouth. Now she was more clear-headed and with that clarity came the realization that she could not kiss him again. If she did? That would only encourage him to keep her as his prisoner. She didn’t want that. She wanted to be free.

  Though free to go where she could not say. Not back to Barbados, at least not yet. By now, she would have been reported missing and if Jack was right, at least two other pirate ships would have been noticed anchored off the coast, even though The Darkness had not been. The logical assumption was, she’d been kidnapped by pirates and everyone knew – or at least thought they knew – what pirates did with their female captives.

  A woman who returned home after being held by pirates was always assumed to be impure. Tainted. No longer an innocent. A loose woman.

  Even if all of that weren’t true, in Katherine’s case at least, it wouldn’t matter. Her reputation would be in shreds from simply having been held aboard the ship. No respectable man would want her now, not that she cared. However, she was also certain Uncle William wouldn’t allow her back in his home either. Not if the scandal surrounding her might taint Lizzy. Therefore, she had no home to return to.

  Damn Lord Wilds and his lecherous ways, Katherine thought to herself. Because of him, I have no home any longer!

  Then again, she hadn’t had much of a home before that, either. Especially not with the jealous and willful Lizzy always pouting about, never making a secret of her desire to see Katherine gone.

  The one person who might have understood, who might have forgiven her for being taken against her will by pirates was long gone and he’d had no family that might assist her anyway. Or at least none on Barbados save for an elderly aunt who had passed away long before Daniel himself had. Had Daniel still been alive, he would have been the obvious choice to turn to for protection. So much, Katherine mused, would be different if only he had lived, including her own life.

  Had Daniel still been alive, there was a chance they might have wed and then, Lord Wilds would have never been an issue. After all, even though Daniel had been a third son, he was still the son of a duke while Wilds was merely the third son of a viscount. And no matter what, sons of dukes, no matter their position in the line of succession, trumped sons of viscounts each and every time. Even if Katherine hadn’t wed Daniel in this mythical, fairy tale world of hers, his family could have possibly offered her some form of protection as Daniel’s friend. Would they now? It was possible, she supposed, because she was known to them, or at least to his parents, provided they were still alive.

  She could flee to England, she supposed, though she had no way to pay for passage. If she did return to her homeland, she was certain Uncle Charles would take her in, possibly even protect her from scandal since he preferred life in the country – which was always an excellent place for a desperate young woman to hide. Assuming, of course, that Katherine could reach her uncle and assuming she could make it off this ship. As they were in the middle of the ocean at present, that was not possible. Therefore, those plans needed to be set aside and she needed to focus on more immediate issues, which included keeping the notorious Midnight’s Jack’s hands off of her person. Not to mention his tongue out of her mouth.

  As if merely thinking of the man could conjure him up, when Katherine caught movement out of the corner of her eye, she looked up to see Jack standing there, having entered through the private privy. For just a moment, he had reminded her of Daniel. Silly, really, even though her old friend was the one person she most longed to see just then. Even if he would only be a ghost.

  “Duchess. I see you’ve dressed for dinner.” Jack’s voice was thick with what was likely desire once more. One glance below his waist and his need for her was evident enough.

  Rising as gracefully as she could, given that her wrist was still bound, Katherine dipped into a curtsey as gracefully as possible. She had to remember to stick to her plan – make Jack like her as much as possible but not let him touch her again. Then she caught a glimpse of his muscled chest through his open shirt and knew that would be easier said than done, especially the way her traitorous body responded to his.

  “As you requested, Captain. I’d not dream of doing otherwise.” From the smile on his face, he knew she was teasing him. Drat. Not that she thought she could outwit him. She couldn’t. But a bit of a tease might buy her a few more hours of his goodwill. A few more hours before he pressed her to give him what she wasn’t quite ready to surrender yet. Even though she was beginning to suspect she would. In time. And of her own volition.

  Instead of rebuking h
er, Jack shook his head and entered the room, stripping off his shirt as he did so. When he looked up and noticed her wide eyes, that tiny smile grew into a knowing grin.

  “What’s the matter, Duchess? Have you never seen a man’s naked chest before?” There was a dark glint in his eyes, one barely visible beneath the head covering he still wore. Still, it spoke of a wicked desire that was impossible to ignore.

  Swallowing hard, Katherine notched her chin higher, determined not to allow him to rile her. “As a matter of fact, I have.” Though to be fair, at the age of eighteen, Daniel’s still-youthful chest had looking nothing like Jack’s finely sculpted and muscular one. “Although it has been some time.”

  “What then? Six years? Twelve?” he asked roughly and Katherine frowned, unsettled a bit by his question.

  “Ten, actually. Why do you ask?” It was an odd question, but then this man was an odd pirate. Of course, he might simply be testing her, to see how loose her morals actually were. That would make more sense.

  The captain shrugged, as if her answer didn’t matter to him, though she suspected that it did. “Merely curious, Duchess. Just wondering how many heads you turned back on Barbados, actually.”

  Ah. Well, that explained things. Jack was fishing for information about her morality where sexual issues were concerned. She should have guessed that in the first place. “Very few, I’m afraid. Men don’t find me attractive. I’m not quite sure why you do.”

  This time when Jack stalked toward her, Katherine refused to lower her eyes. If he was going to possess her body, then he would do so knowing she was not afraid – and only partly because she actually didn’t feel any fear.

  For a long time, they did nothing but stare at each other before Katherine’s gaze began to roam over his naked torso despite her best efforts to keep her eyes averted.

  Jack was so perfectly sculpted and so purely male that she could hardly do otherwise. His skin was bronzed from the sun, which she already knew. What she hadn’t noticed before was the light sprinkling of coarse, dark hair that dusted the well-defined muscles of his chest and abdomen or his flat male nipples that looked altogether too inviting. That made her want to touch them. Made her want to touch him. Not just there but everywhere. Including where she should not. At least not if she was a proper lady.

  Once more, he smelled of sandalwood and a bit of salt, a scent so familiar Katherine wanted to cry. The scent indicated that he had just washed up himself and she briefly wondered what his skin would feel like if she touched him. Would he be merely warm or burning hot? Would he be soft in places, as she was, or hard all over, his body roughened from a life of piracy? Strangely enough, she wished to know.

  Boldly curious now, Katherine’s eyes took in the rest of Jack’s torso. She noted a series of faint lines that ran from his right shoulder down over his chest. They were still tanned but lighter than the rest of his skin, perfectly straight and unwavering, as if something had taken a swipe at him. They looked like claw marks, she supposed.

  Katherine could feel Jack’s eyes upon her now, studying her as she studied him, but she refused to avert her gaze. Instead, she continued her slow and steady perusal of his naked chest. Some of the marks she saw on his skin were so faint that she couldn’t tell if they were old injuries or odd marks inherent to him. Not that it mattered. Still, for some reason, every mark upon his body intrigued her.

  There was also what appeared to be a jagged scar from a dagger wound on his left shoulder. And lower, in the center of his abdomen, there was a deep, slashing scar where it appeared that someone had tried to gut him. That scar made her shudder and she briefly wondered if he would try to hide his body from her now as her gaze drifted lower. He did not. Instead, he allowed her to look her fill and for that, she was oddly thankful.

  It was as if he was revealing a part of himself to her. Something she desperately needed if this man was to bed her, which she knew he would – sooner rather than later. And, inexplicably, he seemed to know or at least sense that about her.

  All of which led Katherine to one inescapable conclusion.

  Despite his fine manners and speech, despite his fine clothes, despite everything that hinted of a man born into another, much higher level of society, these scars reminded Katherine that Jack was, at his heart, a pirate. No matter who or what he had been before. He would take and plunder and there was little she could do about it.

  All of her grand plans to resist him? To try to keep him under control? They were simply foolish dreams. This man was dangerous. He would not be controlled, least of all by her. And if he wanted her? Really wanted her more than he wanted to be a gentleman of any sort? He would have her. And she would be powerless to resist.

  “You may touch me if you like, Duchess. I think we would both enjoy the experience. I know I would. I would make certain you did as well.” Jack’s voice was soft again, that same seductive whisper she was coming to know so well.

  Katherine shook her head, doing her best to be strong and not give in to her baser desires which were suddenly flaring to life inside of her. “No. That would not be…”

  “Proper. Yes, I know.” Jack smiled once more and Katherine looked away, unable to meet his hungry yet teasing gaze. “But you have to know that a man, any man, would very nearly sell his soul to feel your caresses, don’t you?”

  She bit her lip and shook her head. “You are wrong. You desire me simply because I am here and nothing more. If I was truly that desirable, why hasn’t any man wished to touch me before now? Before a man like Lord Wilds?”

  Why didn’t Daniel?

  That single thought echoed through Katherine’s mind and she had to stop herself from drawing in a sharp breath at the pain that lanced through her with the thought.

  “You really don’t see yourself as you are, do you, Duchess?” Jack asked finally, tilting her chin up with a single finger so that she would look at him. She hadn’t even realized he had done so.

  Katherine shook her head in confusion, her mind muddled from her sudden realization of his power. “I see myself just fine, and what I see is a rather plain and unremarkable woman.”

  “Then you truly don’t see!” he insisted, angry now. “Now look and see what I see, damn you!”

  Without warning, Jack pulled Katherine to him and spun her around, pulling her body hard against his. With her back firmly pressed to his front, he snaked one hand around her waist and used the other to flip over what she had thought was simply part of the desk to reveal a large, oval mirror.

  In this position, Katherine could see Jack watching her through those damnable hooded eyes of his, his gaze still hidden behind that ever-present mask. She saw the way her chest heaved beneath her low-cut bodice as she struggled to breathe, not from physical restraint but more from fear – and more than a little desire. Then she watched as Jack’s free hand, the one that had flipped the mirror over, rose in front of her before he slowly traced his fingers down the length of her throat.

  And then lower. Down over the curve of her breast, Jack’s thumb brushing over her taut nipple, and then back up again before sliding around her shoulder so that he could hold her in place while using the pad of his thumb to caress the vein pulsing hard and fast in her neck.

  But more than Katherine saw him, she felt him.

  Katherine felt Jack everywhere. She felt the burn of the bare skin of his chest against the exposed skin of her back. She felt the pad of his damnable thumb stroking her tender flesh, more of a caress meant to tease and arouse than to frighten. She felt his muscles tremble against her body for reasons she could not understand. More than all of that, however, she felt the hard press of his cock into the globes of her arse.

  His cock was long and thick. Hard as iron. And growing harder still the longer he held her body imprisoned against his.

  In short, she felt his desire. Desire for her. And, damn it all, but she felt a matching desire roar to life within her.

  “Don’t you see, Duchess?” Jack all but purred in h
er ear as he continued his lazy caresses. “Don’t you see how your body responds to mine with just a simple touch?” He drew his hand down again to cup her breast, his rough hands stroking the soft flesh, making her quiver.

  Making her want.

  Making her desire.

  Desire this. Desire him.

  Desire everything he could teach her. If only she would give in.

  All she had to do was say the word.

  Katherine couldn’t help herself. She pulled in a sharp breath and arched into Jack’s touch with a low moan. “I don’t…I can’t…”

  “Don’t lie to me, Katherine. Don’t you dare. Not about this.” Jack sucked hard on her tender neck before he scraped the area with his teeth and she knew he had marked her. Marked her as his property. Instead of feeling fear, however, an almost languid heat uncurled inside of her. “Tell me what you see, damn you!”

  Katherine wanted to resist him, but the sight of her reflection in the mirror, with her body arching willingly into Jack’s touch, all but begging him to give her pleasure, twisted and freed something inside of her. Something she hadn’t even known she’d been holding prisoner inside of herself.

  But now she knew. And she let it go.

  The sensation was freeing. And more than a little seductive.

  Because for the first time since Daniel’s death, Katherine had given herself permission to feel. To desire. To want.

  And she wanted this man – Midnight Jack, captain of The Darkness. The man who held her prisoner. The man who had kidnapped her from Barbados. The man who had said he was keeping her. Forever

  However, none of that mattered. All that mattered was Jack and how he made her feel. How much he made her want. Want not just his touch but for him to take her and bed her and do with her all of those wicked, wicked things she had only dreamed about.