Page 24 of His Pirate Wife

She didn’t hear him step up to the bed over the sound of the pouring rain outside the window, didn’t know he was that close until he lifted her foot and slipped off her shoe. She heard each when they hit the floor. Holding her breath, she waited to see what he’d do next. She didn’t wait long, and that breath came out with a panicked cry as he flipped the hem of her dress up over herback.

“No, Captain. No stop. Please,” she begged trying to roll to her side and push down her skirts at the same time. She already knew she couldn’t roll over, even on the soft bed her ass hurt toomuch.

“Mia, be still,” he said rolling her to her stomach and shoving her skirts high. She reached back to protect her stern only to hear him chuckle and feel the tug on her garters. “You will be out this last pair of stockings Mia if you don’t holdstill.”

His warm fingers slipped inside the top of the stocking on her right leg and carefully eased it down before doing the same with the left. He gave her toes a squeeze and chuckledagain.

“Your feet are cold,” he said, and his hands took hold of her waist. There was nothing solid to grab but she held on to the covers as he pulled her back off the foot of the bed. “Stand up now. Stop being ajellyfish.”

A jellyfish? Did he really think her one? Damn it! She had a spine like the mainmast. Pulling her shoulders back, she straightened. There. If he wanted to fire cannons at her again he’d have a target. His fingers brushed the back of her neck as he undid the first button. She wasn’t sure but she thought he was doing it on purpose, the way his knuckles trailed along the exposed skin as he worked his way down the row. And when he pushed the dress off her shoulders and down her arms she felt them there too. Then his lips lit on her shoulder for only a moment, but it was enough to send a ripple throughher.

“Step out,” he said, holding the dress at her knees until she did. With a sniff she set her focus on listening for him, heard him step on the squeaky floorboard to the left of her dressing table. She heard something drag along the floor, and knew it was her chair. “I’ll set this here, you can put it on when it’s dry.” Again the board creaked and the soft clang of metal said he’d undone his buckle. The room was filled then with the soft silence of Devin removing his shirt and she thought perhaps his pants judging by what she could hear of his movements. And when he stepped up behind her and pulled her back against his chest she knew she wasright.

He wasn’t quite naked, bare-chested and -legged, but he still wore drawers. “Want this off? I know you hate them,” he asked but didn’t wait to pull the ties on her corset loose and work her free of it. He tossed it aside then set his hands on her outer thigh, one on each side and slid up, taking the shift withhim.

Mia bit down but the whimper escaped. “Shh,” he breathed right in her ear, the sound and the feel making her shiver. The back of the garment rose past her ass and she held her breath as he held it against the small of her back with one hand while the other pulled the ties on her drawers for the second time today. “Shh, Mia. Everything is all right,” he said and until then she’d not noticed how she shook or that her breaths were coming in shortgasps.

How was it possible to be so afraid of what might come next and still have such a heat pulsing through her body? The drawers slipped down, hooked on her knees, then fell to her feet. Devin stepped to the side and Mia crossed her arms over her chest to brace for whateverhappened.

“Looks painful, Mia mine,” he said a little louder than she was ready for. That combined with the feather light sweep of his hand down the right cheek and up the left made her flinch. But she was more prepared for the nexttouch.

Just his fingers, and just a little firmer than the last, and Mia shifted, moved her feet a bit apart. Down and up the same side, then down and up the other. Then across the underside below the curve, where ass became thigh. Then a little lower and at center his fingers brushed her sex. Mia closed her eyes and held on to the feeling that rose like the tide in hernow.

“My poor little pirate. So battered and bruised. Lost with no compass.” Devin’s lips again briefly touched her shoulder then his hand brushed around her waist as he moved off to the side of the bed. She watched him flip back the covers and take a seat. “Come here,” he said holding out his hand toher.

She looked out the window hoping to find distraction but only saw the rain was letting up. She wanted to resist. It was no less than the call of the sirens, and she couldn’t have resisted even if he’d had the brush in his hand again. But when she stepped up to his right knee he pulled her around to stand in front of him, facing him. Forcing her knees apart so his could get between. Then he pulled her down, but she couldn’tsit.

“Steady forward, Mia,” he said holding her above him as he lay back then easing her down so she lay on him. When he shifted and put his feet on the bed Mia’s body came with. He pulled the covers over both of them, tucked her under his chin and rubbed her back as tears rolled down her cheek and pooled on his chest. “Tell me now,love.”

The sobs weren’t so harsh this time, but they took a long while to stop and Devin held her through them. “I hate her,” Mia finally managed as she sucked in air and gulped down any moresobs.

“This is not news, Mia,” Devin said softly and it seemed withoutjudgment.

“No, I hate her. And I can’t stop, and I don’t know what to do. And then I did this and it’s almost as bad as before and now…” She pulled the edge of the bedding up and wiped herface.

“Bad as before? What happened before,Mia?”

“Angelette Barons,” Mia said and shuddered. “She wouldn’t stop. She just kept buying all the dolls and the silk linens and the feather pillows with embroidery and she hired in two extra maids and a cook. She brought in a cook just for herself. With dishes and silver. And she only let certain people be with her. My best friend wanted to be with her. She made the house mothers favor her too,” Mia paused and took a deep breath. As bad as the school year was to that point what followed was much worse. “So when I got the report from my ship I took it and went to every shop she’d been at and bought everything she had. I used up almost two-thirds of the income.” She heard Devin’s sharp intake of air. “But I shared. With the other girls, the ones Angelette wouldn’t share with. I shared. Only Papa didn’t care about that. He said it was wrong and wasteful. He took my ship and sold it away from me. I should have four ships now, but I only have three. And it’s because I couldn’t stop hating her. I still hate her, and I hate Mallory too and I…I…”

“All right, Mia. Stop. Hush,” Devin said and with each word he was a bit more demanding. “Stop, haul in your sheets, drop anchor. Everything will befine.”

“It won’t,’ Mia wailed. “It won’t because I hate her and I’mbad.”

“You’re not bad, now stop,” Devin said rolling to his side and letting Mia slip off, so he could hold her better. “You’re notbad.”

“I’m spiteful, a braggart. You said and Papa said.” She pressed her face into hisshoulder.

“I didn’tsayyou were, I asked youifyou were,” Devin reasoned. “You said no, you sent the necklace back as proof you’re neither of thosethings.”

“I must be those things. I do this every time. I can’t come about. I just sail right into the rocks. Everytime.”

“Well this is the last time, Mia, because you’re not captain anymore,” Devin reminded her. “And you didn’t hit the rocks this time. We turned her in time. Aye?” Devin pulled back and lifting her chin, looked her in the eye. “And now we know these waters and we’ll chart a different coursesooner.”

Could they? Mia searched his face for some assurance that with him as captain the next time she felt the pull of the current she’d not get caught in it. He smiled at her, lifting his hand to her cheek and wiping away a tear with his thumb before bending his head and setting his lips overhers.

“We sail through this together,Mia.”

“You will stay withme?”

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