A Pirate's Tantalizing Passion (Historical Regency Romance) Page 2

  Feeling a presence on her leg, Maria looked down to see a rat trying to scurry up her stocking. Surprised and worried about being seen by the pirates, Maria tried to shoo the rat away, shaking her leg to make the rat drop down onto the wooden planks of the dock, but as the rat approached her again, Maria was forced to take several steps back.

  “Shoo you mangy rat,” Maria whispered harshly at the rodent, hoping to scare it away. She was surprised then when she bumped into someone, causing her to quickly turn in the hope that it was her brother.

  Maria’s eyes grew large as she looked upon the man, who was equally as surprised to see her. No longer was Maria worried about the rat as she looked into the man’s dark green eyes, his long brown hair swaying in the breeze around his shoulders. His skin was tanned, darker than any gentlemen she’d ever seen, yet his tall frame and broad shoulders didn’t remind her of any slave she had ever seen in pictures. He was dressed in fine leather trousers and boots, and a cotton shirt that was unbuttoned just enough to give Maria an unexpected look at his tanned chest. A rapier hung at his hip, along with a long spiral of cord. Then realisation dawned on her as she placed a hand over her heart in fear.

  “You’re a pirate?!” she softly said as fear steeled over her, freezing her in place, her legs feeling too heavy to lift and flee.

  ~*~

  James had never seen such a beautiful creature in all his travels through the Barbary Coast and the British Isles. When she’d stumbled upon him, he’d been completely surprised by both the fact that such a young lady would be close to the pirate packet ship alone, and the fact that her golden hair and piercing green eyes did something to him he’d never had happen before – he hesitated.

  Regaining his senses, James took quick action. Grabbing her arms, James quickly tied them up with the rope he always had fastened to his belt. The lady didn’t even have time to react as James pulled her near, securing her tied wrists behind her back, and before she could scream, he’d gagged her with a piece of cloth and secured a piece of rope around her head to keep the cloth in place. Having done the same thing many times before, for many years, James was an expert at kidnapping. Knowing that the rest of the crew would be returning any minute, James bent and pulled the lady up over his shoulder, making quick work of carrying her up the ramp and onto the waiting ship.

  Chapter 3

  Maria couldn’t believe what was happening. One minute she was in the port’s market enjoying the sights and smells, and the next she was being kidnapped by a pirate. She tried to scream despite the gag in her mouth, which was a foul-tasting rag that made her mouth water, with her lips sore from where the cord kept it in place. She hung over the shoulder of her kidnapper, the view of the dock passing her by as his strong arm held her waist securely to his shoulder, his other arm holding her legs to his chest. Never had she been touched by a man in this manner, sending panic rippling through her body as her cheeks blushed a crimson red.

  She felt the sway of a ship as her kidnapper took her onboard the packet ship. But she couldn’t understand why this pirate was taking her onto a privateer ship. Surely, he would be caught by the officials once they came back on board. In fact, she could guess that right now the privateers were fighting the pirates that had stormed the port’s market. She could only hope that was the truth as she was taken through a door that met a set of narrow wooden stairs which led deep below.

  Maria was assaulted by the harsh smells of sea, salt, and grime. The air was thick with humidity that made her sweat against her petticoat, stay, and shift. The space was dark, but her captor seemed to know where he was going. Before too long another door was opened, and this time when her kidnapper stepped through the door, he set her roughly on a grouping of sacks that barely broke her fall. A small candle lit the tiny space that was barely a fourth of the size of her bedroom.

  Despite the terror running through her, Maria glared at her captor as she fought against the cords that bound her. She pulled at the cords around her wrists as she screamed at the man until her lungs burned. In response, the man just stared at her, his hands on his leather clad hips, his dark hair falling over his green eyes as he simply looked at her as though studying her behavior.

  “I’d save my strength if I was you, kalos,” the man said in a deep voice that sent pleasant shivers down her spine. Never had she heard such a rich voice before, and his use of the Greek word for ‘beauty’ made her stop screaming. She was completely afraid of what was going to happen to her, but also slightly intrigued by this man. She stared up at him with wide eyes, pleading silently that he’d change his mind and release her. But when she heard a commotion above, as though many people were returning back to the ship in a hurry as the sound of heavy footfall sounded all around her, along with many other shouts and screams, Maria began to hope that her rescuers had come for her.

  Maria glared at the man, trying to show him that she wasn’t afraid and that pretty soon he’d probably be in trouble for trying to kidnap Lord Willcox’s daughter. However, the man just glared back at her with the same expression, as though he knew something that she didn’t.

  Then he was gone, closing the door behind him and locking it up quickly. For a few minutes Maria just stared at the door, listening to the sounds of pounding feet, shouts, and yells in the distance while all she had was a dim light from a single candle and shadows all around her. She listened until the sounds appeared to be coming from further away. This was followed by a swaying motion that caused Maria to tumble onto her side, pain flooding her body as her hands were still tied around her back. As she lay there for a few moments, trying to recover her breath, feeling the grime on the wooden planks below her, she felt the sway of the ship as it moved through the water.

  Maria cried out in fear as she heard the ship’s cannons firing off the sides, which brought a ringing into her ears that took many minutes to subside. Then she heard shouts of joy from the deck, as though a great celebration was taking place instead of fighting. Maria felt so confused as she continued to feel the sway of the ship, the sensation causing her to feel sick to her stomach.

  Pushing herself back up into a sitting position with the rest of the strength she had in her body, Maria pulled her knees up to her chest as she rested her head on top of them, tears streaming down her face as she feared the worst. That she’d been kidnapped and now her captor’s ship was setting sail for the sea. Maria had never been on a ship before and wasn’t sure what was going on around her, but all she could do was feel a great despair knowing that what was going to happen next wasn’t going to be good for her.

  She’d heard of smuggling before, how pirates would come to port in disguise and kidnap people from high society families. They would then be held for ransom and either later dropped off at a port where their family could rescue them once the pirates acquired their payment, or they would be sold as slaves down in the Barbary Coast.

  As Maria kept thinking about her current situation and what would happen to her next, with tears streaming down her cheeks and her golden hair framing her face, the one thing she knew for sure is that she would probably never see her family again.

  ~*~

  James didn’t want to leave the beauty he’d kidnapped, mostly because he was curious about her, but he knew the sounds of the ship and could recognize that the rest of his crew, a total of 56 of them, had returned from their raid. The goal had been to steal all the goods from this port’s market, but he’d ended up with something extra. He’d have to speak with the Captain in order to find out if she’d be sold as a slave or held for a ransom. By the way her high quality muslin dress felt in his hands, he could only guess that she came from a wealthy family and would be worth the ransom, even though it could always be troublesome business. The easiest thing to do would be to sell her as a slave and be done with it.

  “Aye, James. It’s good to see ye. I’m guessing you kept our lady of sea safe while we were gone?” Leonardo said as he clapped his hand to James’ back in celebration. The older ma
n was one of the few people James remembered from his childhood growing up in Tripoli. Leonardo had been a young man when James was forced to work on a pirate’s ship, and Leonardo had taken him under his wing to show him how a ship ran. Now, Leonardo had graying hair around his temples and several scars adorned his face and hands. Indeed, Leonardo had seen many fights and skirmishes at sea but still lived to tell the tale. And his tall, strong frame allowed him to still work the ship like he was still James’ age.

  “Of course, Leonardo. You know you can always count on me. And though I missed what sounds like a good raid, I have a feeling the Captain will like what I smuggled aboard,” James said with a proud smile, his thoughts turning back to the young lady.

  “Oh really, young sir? And what would that be?” Leonardo asked with raised eyebrows.

  “A beautiful, fair maiden,” James whispered, leaning close to Leonardo before he clasped the man on the back and went in search for the Captain.

  “Ye best be sharing her with me!” Leonardo called after him before moving onto his duties.

  James just smiled and shook his head as he watched varies groups of men moving crates to the lower decks via the pulley system. As James looked into the belly of the ship, he whistled as he saw the number of crates the pirates had been able to steal. He hoped that by the time they returned to the Barbary Coast, they’d all make a lovely profit.

  It appeared that the raid had been successful, but as James turned his eyes towards the side deck, there stood a group of men with somber, bowed heads. James didn’t need to approach them to know what they were doing. He wasn’t sure which men had lost their lives during the raid, but now they’d receive a proper sea burial for their service to Captain Maidus of the Emerald, their lady of the sea.

  James made his way to the other side of the ship and knocked on the door below the highest deck that housed the ship’s wheel. He waited a few minutes before he heard the voice of his captain, summoning him in. Taking a deep breath, James opened the door and stepped into Captain Maidus’ private quarters.

  Several lanterns hung from the rafters, giving the spacious room plenty of light. James first spotted a barrel of oranges, and noticed the room smelling of them and of varies spices that he found around the space, reminding him of home. These were good finds that would help them all return home safely.

  “What is it, James? I’m a little busy at the moment, as you can see,” Captain Maidus said as he looked up from his desk where he sat writing out several documents, no doubt taking inventory of all the crew had stolen.

  Captain Maidus was a handsome gentleman with flowing light brown hair that he tied behind his shoulders. He wore fine clothing of leather trousers, silk shirts, and always a vest of black silk that showed his status amongst their community. If he could afford such clothing, it showed others that he was a man of means, of power, and could wield it over the open seas. James knew him to be an intelligent man who used his mind to always be successful. From his previous experience fighting alongside Captain Maidus, he knew he could trust this captain with his life.

  “You should add one young lady to your list, Captain Maidus. I found her down by the docks while I was keeping nix for the ship. Depending on who her family is, she could fetch a handsome ransom,” James explained, enjoying the surprised look on the Captain’s face.

  “Is she beautiful?” he asked, putting his quill down as he stood from the desk.

  “Very,” James replied with a proud grin as he crossed his arms over his muscular chest. “I think you will be pleased with her, no matter what you choose to do with her.”

  “You’re so bright, my boy. Before too long, you’ll be captain of a ship like this, commanding your crew to plunder and steal all across the seven seas,” Captain Maidus said happily as he rubbed his hands together with excitement. “I assume you have her down below in the slave quarters?”

  “Yes, Captain. She is bound and gagged, but not worse for wear. She’ll survive the attack,” James said, his voice turning serious to assure his Captain.

  “Very good, James, very good. You have done me a large favor and for that I will reward you for such. For now, take these oranges to enjoy,” Captain Maidus replied as he handed James ten oranges, surprising James with his generosity. Normally citrus fruit was rationed amongst the crew till they returned to port, so having ten would give James leverage for trading amongst the crew.

  “Thank you, sir. I’m grateful for this offering,” James said, taking the fruit and dipping his head in response.

  “Now now, you know I’m a generous captain. Return to your duties, and we’ll discuss the young lady with the crew at a later time,” Captain Maidus said, returning to his desk to focus on documenting the new inventory. James knew that the Capitan enjoyed collecting the wealth of what the crew had stolen, so he was swift to leave his quarters with his prize in hand.

  Chapter 4

  Maria didn’t know what time it was because the single candle in the room had burned out a long time ago and there were no portholes in the room she’d been left in. She’d cried until there were no tears left in her, until her eyes were puffy and sore from despairing, and her mouth was sore against the bonds around her head. But eventually someone did come for her.

  The sound of the lock being turned brought Maria’s attention to the door. She lifted her head from her knees as the door was opened and an older man with gray hair at his temples stepped into the room, carrying a lantern in one hand and a cup in the other. He set the lantern down on the floor next to her and scooped up the burnt-out candle, pocketing it in his large tunic. Maria tried to scoot away from the man as he came closer, the scars on his face and hands scaring her, but he began to shush her like a scared animal.

  “Ye don’t need to be afraid of me, young one. I’m simply here to untie those bonds,” the man said as he crouched beside her and extended his free hands towards her head. “Me name’s Leonardo and I’m not going to hurt ye.”

  Maria starred at him, stiff with fear as he untied the bonds around her head, allowing the gag to fall from her mouth. Maria took in a deep breath as though she’d been holding the air in her lungs for hours. Her mouth was so dry that she couldn’t speak, and as Leonardo held the cup up to her lips she eagerly drank the water, the coolness of it refreshing her mouth and throat as though she hadn’t had anything to drink for days.

  “There you go. Much better,” Leonardo said as she finished. He stood to leave then but stopped when the young lady spoke up.

  “Untie me, you heathen,” Maria said to the man, wanting to be free again.

  Leonardo couldn’t help but chuckle as he turned back to the young lady sitting on a pile of old sacks as though they were her throne. “Me dear, you have nowhere to go and there is a ship full of men who’d love nothing more than to get to see a beautiful thing such as yer self. Being bound is for ye own good,” Leonardo said, staring down at her.

  Maria just raised her chin at the older man, unwilling to appear weak in his presence. “My family will come for me, and then you’ll all be sorry,” Maria said, her fury burning within her. “You’ll all hang for what you’ve done.”

  “Rest now, young one. If ye don’t behave, you’ll be in a world of trouble because Captain Maidus isn’t known for his good temper. I’d save my strength if I were you,” Leonardo said, surprising Maria that he had said the same thing that her captor had said. Maria sat quietly then, watching as the older man left, and wondered what that saying could mean. What would she need strength for in the coming hours, or days?

  With nothing left to do, Maria watched the lantern burn beside her, wondering how long it had been since she’d been kidnapped. A few hours, a few days? Time seemed to pass whether she knew about it or not, disorienting her. Maria’s mind began to wander as she thought about her parents. Would they be looking for her? Was her mother panicked? Her father concerned? Perhaps he was finally relieved to be free of her. How did it make him feel to know that his daughter had been stolen and p
ossibly sold as one of the many slaves he employed to work his plantations? All Maria could do was think of her family as she sat there, her hands still tied behind her back.