“Certainly not,” she gasped.
And then he did.
Lorelei moaned at the unexpected pleasure that assailed her as his lips grazed her neck. He drew his arm tight about her waist and a thousand ribbons of pleasure spiraled through her body.
Pull away! her mind shouted. But she didn’t want to. She wasn’t even sure if she could.
Jack surrounded her with warmth. It was the most incredible thing she’d ever before felt.
“I want you, Lorelei,” Jack breathed in her ear. “I want to feel your entire body against me, to taste every inch of your bare flesh.”
She didn’t know what to say because right then, she wanted the same thing. He just felt too good. His touch too seductive, his body too wonderful.
Jack moved his lips to her mouth and plundered it like the pirate he was. She savored the taste of him, the smell of ocean and man.
She grabbed his shirt in both fists, clinging to him, needing to press herself closer to him.
Heaven help her, but she wanted this man for her own. And just as she was sure she was doomed beyond redemption, a knock sounded on his door.
“Captain? I be needing a word with you.”
Jack pulled back with a fetid curse that made her blush. He took one look at her and snarled toward the door, “It can bloody well wait.”
Then he was on her again. Lorelei surrendered herself to his touch. She couldn’t fight him. ’Twas more than her mortal senses could do.
“Captain, it be urgent,” the voice insisted.
This time, Jack tore himself away from her. He took two steps back, his breathing every bit as labored as her own.
“Go, Lorelei,” he whispered to her. He doubled over and grimaced as if someone had struck him a fierce blow.
Never one to argue with logic, Lorelei did as he commanded her. She rushed from the room and almost ran over the poor pirate in the hallway.
Muttering a quick apology, she continued on her way without looking back.
Once she was safely in her room, she slammed the door. But as she did so, she made a terrible discovery. What she was really running from was herself.
Jack trembled from the weight of his need. From the pure agony of pent-up lust and desire. Even now he could smell her sweet perfume clinging to him, feel her body pressed against his, and imagine all too well how much better she would feel naked in his arms.
Gerald, one of the first men who had ever signed on board his ship, stuck his head in. “Blimey, Captain,” he said in a fearful voice. “I had no idea I was intruding.”
Jack clenched his teeth and glared at the man, wanting to tear Gerald’s head off his shoulders and stick it on a pole. “What do you need?” he growled.
“There ain’t nothing I need right now, Captain. Nothing at all. You just go right ahead and do whatever it was you was doing and I’ll just make myself scarce.”
His sight darkened even more. “Why the hell didn’t you do that when I told you to?”
Gerald tore off like a frightened rabbit that had just stumbled upon a hungry wolf pack.
His body still throbbing, Jack crossed the room and slammed the door shut. How he wished to all that was holy a squall would overtake them. He needed a good dosing of ice-cold water to stamp out the painful flames stabbing his groin.
Much more of this and they’d start calling him Mad Jack the Pirate.
“Little vixen,” he snarled, angry at himself for letting her get to him this way. He’d always been the one in control, and yet the scent of her drove him to near madness.
One moment more and he would have forced himself on her.
Why?
She certainly wasn’t the most attractive woman he’d ever seen. She wasn’t the most charming or beguiling, and yet there was something about her he found irresistible. Something that called out to him in the most alarming way.
What he felt for her went beyond plain lust. It was something almost tangible, something frightening and…
It was something he had no wish to confront.
“I’ll just stay away from her,” he said, pouring some water into his basin. He washed his face and splashed the cold water over his neck.
Aye, that was the answer. Avoid her. It would be better to cede defeat on the issue of her seduction than to have her possess any part of him.
How, you fool? his reason demanded. The ship’s not that big.
And the temptation of her was just too great.
“I’ll bed the wench and be done with it.”
Aye, that would purge her from his system. A few quick tumbles in his bed and all would be right again.
Wouldn’t it?
“It bloody well better!”
Lorelei ate dinner alone that night in her own cabin. Jack hadn’t bothered to even send word to her. Not that she had wanted him to.
Still, it would have been common courtesy for him to take dinner with her, his captive.
A knock sounded.
Her heart pounded at the thought that he’d come to her room after all. “Enter.”
The door opened to admit Alice. Concealing her disappointment, Lorelei greeted her with feigned enthusiasm.
“We thought you might want to join us topside for awhile,” Alice said.
It would certainly be better than sitting in her room, bemoaning her situation and the fact that Jack had better things to do than waste time with her. If he wanted to do whatever it was he was doing, then fine with her. She would entertain herself.
“I would love to.” Lorelei folded her napkin and placed it on the tray beside her plate. “Just show me where to take this,” she said, indicating her tray.
“We’ll get it later.”
Lorelei followed her up to the main deck where men were lounging about, some of them still eating their meals.
A group of three sailors held instruments in their hands, a guitar, drum, and fife, and they were playing a beautiful ballad while another sailor sang in a deep tenor. Several other groups of pirates were off together playing cards or dice.
It was a rather congenial scene, one which might be found in any small town, she thought as she trailed along behind Alice across the deck. One of camaraderie and friendship. No doubt their shared time and experiences had forged strong friendships between the sailors.
On the poop deck, Mavis and Kesi sat with their husbands and Billy, who was smoking a pipe while he leaned back against a coiled rope.
“There she be,” Billy said as they joined the group. “I told you Alice could get her out of hiding.”
Lorelei blushed at his words. “I wasn’t hiding.”
“He’s just funning with you,” Alice said as she sat down beside him.
“Come, child,” Kesi said, motioning for her to sit to her right. “We’re just watching the sun go down.”
Lorelei sank down beside Kesi and studied the men around her. A few of them appeared truly gruff, but most of the crew were young men no older than twenty-four or so.
“Rain’s coming,” Tarik said as he studied the ribbons of pink lacing the dark blue and orange horizon.
“How can you tell?” Lorelei asked as she looked out at the beautiful sunset.
“I can feel it in me bones.”
They fell silent for a few minutes. Then Tarik and Billy began playing a game of dice while Alice opened a small hemp bag and produced yarn and a set of knitting needles.
Lorelei watched as Alice set about knitting with expert skill and if she didn’t know better, she’d swear ’twas a baby blanket Alice was making.
“Do you do this every night?” Lorelei asked the small group.
“Aye,” Kesi said.
A soft breeze blew in from the ocean and the sounds of the waves enveloped Lorelei with a sense of peace. Though it was too bizarre to comprehend, she actually felt safe on board this ship of miscreants.
Was this how her grandmother had felt when she’d sailed on board her grandfather’s ship?
She’d often told Lore
lei of card games and songs they’d sung all those years ago. But never had any of that seemed real to her. Her elderly grandmother hardly looked or acted the type of woman who would run off to sea with her lover. If not for Granny-Anne’s infamy, and her ability to handle a sword, Lorelei would have completely discounted her stories.
But they were real, each and every one. She knew that now.
“Hey, young Kit,” one of the sailors called from across the deck. Lorelei looked to see Kit and Jack climbing up to the main deck. “Isn’t it time for you to be in bed?”
Kit stuck his tongue out.
“Kit,” Jack said with a hint of laughter in his voice. “Don’t be rude.”
Unaware of her, Jack urged Kit toward a group of men playing cards while he talked with the man who had spoken. A few minutes later, Kit went rushing back to his father with a winning hand.
Looking at the cards, Jack smiled at the boy and congratulated him before he patted his back.
She smiled at the sight and warmth rushed through her. Whether he admitted it or not, Jack loved that boy. A boy who had no relationship to him whatsoever.
You know what I miss most, Lori, she heard her grandmother say. I miss your grandfather’s laughter. The way he could make me feel happy when I was doing nothing more than looking at him. One day, I hope you’ll know exactly what I mean.
Lorelei tensed at the thought. Wherever had that come from? She certainly didn’t feel that for Jack. ’Twas Justin who made her happy.
Placing her knitting in her lap, Alice leaned over and said to her, “He’s a handsome man, isn’t he?”
“Who is?” Billy snapped, pulling his pipe out of his mouth. He scanned the crew as if looking for a man to pulverize.
“The captain, Mr. Bill,” Alice snapped to her husband as she wound her hand in another length of yarn. “And I’m not talking to you.”
Alice looked away from him and met Lorelei’s gaze. “You know, he once took a bullet for my Billy.”
“He took more than that to keep me safe,” Tarik added as he tossed his dice against the edge of the ship. “There’s not a man on this ship what doesn’t owe his life to the captain for one reason or another.”
“And I owe him for you,” Kesi said as she snuggled up into Tarik’s arms. “I’d have never known you if he hadn’t shown up at my father’s party uninvited.”
Tarik smiled as he stroked her chin. Their love for one another was more than apparent.
“Pardonnez-moi, Mademoiselle Dupree.”
Lorelei looked up at Henri, who was bestowing a handsome smile her way. He wore a pair of white breeches and shirt with a tan waistcoat embroidered in blue. His long hair was secured in a queue and he looked rather dashing and debonair.
“They are about to play a jig and I was wondering if you might care to join me for the dance?”
Lorelei wasn’t sure what to answer. The last thing she wanted was to be the center of everyone’s attention.
“Ah, go on,” Alice said, setting her knitting aside. “Kesi, Tarik, Billy, and I will all join you.”
Tarik looked up from his game like he wanted to argue, but one glance at Kesi’s arched brow stifled whatever objection he’d been planning to make.
You shouldn’t do this. And yet the fact that Henri had gone to such efforts on her behalf made her refusal impossible. “I would be honored.”
He beamed, and held his arm out for her.
Lorelei took his arm, then warned him, “I’m afraid I don’t know how to dance a jig, Henri. I hope you’ll forgive me if I trample your toes.”
“’Twould be my pleasure to have you grind my toes to dust, mademoiselle. But then you are not so inept, I think. Non, you will be a most excellent dancer.”
“How can you tell?”
“Your joi de vive. Surely such passion as yours is not merely limited to your ability to paint.”
He took her hands in his and arched them up and away from their bodies.
“I certainly hope you’re right,” she said as the musicians began playing.
Lorelei did her best to keep up with the intricate steps, but still she trampled his toes about as much as Justin abused her own. Henri didn’t seem to mind, though. In fact, he merely laughed about it and kept giving her hints on how to improve. Even though she was doing a terrible job of it, she enjoyed trying to match his steps.
By the time the music stopped, she was breathless and completely disheveled. Exhilarated, she patted the wayward strands of her hair back into place, then straightened her skirt, which had shifted slightly while Henri had twirled her about.
Henri turned to her and whispered, “I hope you’re a better artiste than danser, mademoiselle.”
She laughed, until she caught sight of Jack, who had come forward to watch them. The raw hunger tinged by fury in his eyes froze her where she stood.
However, since Henri had his back to Jack, he was completely unaware of his captain’s displeasure. His face was alight while he gave her a stiff bow. “Thank you for humoring me, Mademoiselle Dupree. It’s been a long while since I had a proper woman dance with me.”
Deciding to ignore Jack, she purposefully directed her gaze to Henri. “It was truly my pleasure.”
He held his arm out for her.
Casting a “So there!” look to Jack, she curled her arm into Henri’s and allowed him to lead her back to where Tarik and the others were regrouping.
She forced herself not to look back to where Jack was no doubt scowling at her, and walked over to the railing. She leaned against it so that she could focus on the ocean. But in truth, she could still feel Jack’s gaze on her like a physical touch. Henri moved to stand by her side and then duplicated her pose, leaning his arms against the railing.
Henri was about as handsome as Jack and he was definitely kinder. Why, then, didn’t he make her heart beat faster, or her body ache the way Jack did?
Point of fact, why had Justin never made her feel that way?
Unwilling to examine that thought, she asked Henri, “How is it you learned to paint?”
“Mon père, uh, my father, he was a painter.”
“Really?”
“Oui, he studied in Paris. But like so many others, he could never make a living doing what he loved to do.”
“That’s a pity,” she said, feeling for the man. “I take it he taught you?”
Henri shrugged and looked a bit sheepish. “What can I say? He tried, but I…I was not an apt étudiant. I was determined not to make his same mistake. I listened to my mother when she said such things were a complete waste for a man, and so I ignored my destiné.”
It was obvious that it bothered him that he had forsaken his father’s work. Poor Henri. “Is that why you became a sailor? To make a better living?”
“Non,” he said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. “I was working the docks in Paris unloading ship cargo to help feed maman when a press gang caught me and sold me to an English ship that was in the harbor.”
“Oh, Henri,” she said, reaching out to touch his hand and offer him comfort. “It must have been terrible for you.”
“Mais oui.” He gave her hand a gentle pat. “Worse so, for I spoke no English at the time. I had a hard time learning what it was they wanted from me.”
“Did one of the sailors teach you?”
“Non, a few lashes of the whip along with a few kicks of the boot and I learned very fast what it was they wanted me to do.” He shook his head and sighed. “At the time, I thought, Henri, you stupide fool, for this you gave up art.”
Her heart went out to him and all he’d suffered. “How is it you became a pirate?”
The right side of his mouth quirked up and he laughed. “Captain Jaques took the English ship a few years back. He offered freedom to those of us in chains if we swore ourselves to his service.”
“And for that you were willing to have yourself hanged by the authorities if you are ever taken?”
He tilted his head. “Better that
than to serve the English crew who paid me nothing and treated me like a dog. After the horrors I witnessed, one day of freedom is worth the possibility of death. I would rather die a free man than die a slave.”
She knew numerous men who felt the same way. Numerous men she’d grown up with who were fighting a war at home for just that ideal.
Henri turned slightly sideways so that he could look at her. Lorelei kept her gaze on the waves and the ever darkening sky. “I think, mademoiselle, that you understand that need?”
“I do,” she whispered. “Much more than you would think.”
Henri reached out and smoothed a strand of her hair which had come free of her braid. “You are a brave woman, Lorelei.”
“Not half as brave as you, Henri,” Billy said, drawing their attention back to where he sat on the deck with Alice.
Billy inclined his head in the other direction.
Lorelei turned to see Jack glaring at them with a fierce scowl.
Henri quickly removed his hand from her.
Billy clucked his tongue. “He hasn’t looked that mad since we heard of what Wallingford did to the Dove.”
That drew Lorelei’s attention away from Jack and his temper.
“What did the admiral do?” she asked, hoping he would be more forthcoming with the information than Jack had been.
Billy exhaled a wreath of smoke, then tapped his pipe against the deck of the ship. “After he took the ship in battle, he ordered the crew tied up and the ship burned.”
Her stomach lurched. Lord Wallingford? Surely not. “Nay,” she argued. “He would never do such a thing.”
“The one they call ‘Butcher Gabe’ has done much worse than that,” Henri said, drawing her attention back to him. “I heard he captured a colonial merchant slave ship and when his men found guns he suspected were for the Patriots, he ordered it burned as well.” Henri’s eyes turned dark, angry. “There were over eight hundred men and women chained below the deck. It is said you could hear their screams for leagues.”
Lorelei tried to reconcile their stories with the fatherly man she knew so well. It was true the admiral was quite stern, but could he truly be capable of such atrocities?