A Pirate's Tantalizing Passion (Historical Regency Romance) Read online

  ~*~

  Never before had Maria seen the bare chest of a man before. She was surprised to see that her kidnapper had returned to her room, expecting that Geoffrey had come again to try to force her to eat. Instead, she was now faced with the exotic man she’d faced on the docks before he’d kidnapped her. Her eyes roamed freely over his body, the sight of his tan chest making her swallow hard because she wasn’t sure if she should look away. Her eyes felt stuck to his body as she observed the anatomy of male flesh for the first time.

  “Are you just going to stare at me all day like a stick of meat?” James said as he rolled his eyes. For a young lady whose hands were bound, who was covered in food and smelled foul from sweat, she was sure provocative.

  Maria squared her shoulders then and stood, narrowing her eyes at his capture. “You presume that there is much to do for a girl like me in a place like this,” Maria said, her cheeks burning from the embarrassment. She certainly didn’t know what had come over her that seemed to attract her eyes to his body, but she couldn’t deny how handsome his swarthy skin looked. Maria remembered how his strong hands and arms had felt against her as he carried her aboard the ship, causing warmth to gather in her core; a sensation she’d never felt before.

  “You have plenty to do. That includes eating the food you’re given and not causing trouble for the crew,” James said, stepping into the room and taking a look around. The place was filthy, and he couldn’t stand to be in the place very long. But he knew he was going to do this favor for Geoffrey and get on with his day.

  “Like I would eat that filth. It’s probably poisoned,” Maria spat, turning her chin up as James approached her.

  He couldn’t deny that behind her current condition she was beautifully fierce, and the first time he’d rested eyes on her came into his mind. She’d been scared, but absolutely breathtaking as well. He’d never seen someone like her before, with such fair skin and golden hair.

  The closer the pirate came to Maria, the more her breathing began to come quickly, her heart pounding in her chest. If her hands hadn’t been bound behind her back, she’d have been tempted to reach out and feel for herself what tanned skin felt like, and if it was warm like sunshine. She looked up from his muscled chest and into his green eyes to see a smirk crossing his lips. She could only assume he knew she was looking at him in such a manner.

  “If Captain Maidus wanted you dead, you would have been thrown overboard last night to sleep with the fishes,” James explained as he set down the lantern and picked up the one that had been burned dry.

  “Then what do you plan to do with me?” Maria asked, her eyes fixing on his again as she gathered all her courage. She wanted to know what the future held for her, no matter what this captain had planned.

  James thought of what he’d like to do with her, but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside, simply staring at her as he refused to give her any information. He just looked at her as he watched fury build in her eyes.

  “When can I get out of this wretched room? I need to relieve myself and find nowhere suitable for that. I need a change of clothes, and I need you to unbind my hands,” Maria said, her voice rising till James shook his head at her, clearly irritated.

  “The men on this ship are not used to such a chatty woman. If you keep this up, you won’t survive long on board. The more you keep your mouth shut, the better,” James said as he turned from her and made his way back towards the door, entering the darkness he was used to while walking below deck.

  “But I can’t survive like this!” Maria called out, desperate to at least be free of the cords around her wrists.

  “Then I suggest you start cooperating,” James called back, turning to look at her one last time. He needed to head back up and return to his duties before someone spotted that he was missing. He knew that Geoffrey wouldn’t be able to cover for him long, and he wasn’t willing to face the punishment for skipping out on his assigned work.

  James turned to the door and opened it as Maria called out, “At least tell me your name!” He hesitated for a moment, cursing himself for even hesitating again with this woman, and with that last bit of irritation, he left the room and shut the door behind him without saying another word.

  ~*~

  Maria felt defeated as the door was shut on her again. She slumped carefully to the ground, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart. There was something about that man that caused her heart to pound in her chest and warmth to gather in her core. Never had a man had this kind of effect on her before, and she wasn’t sure if that was because of the situation she was in, or due to his daring features that she thought were devilishly handsome.

  Wanting to be at least free from the cords around her wrists, Maria set her mind to freeing herself. She pulled and tugged on the cords, no matter how painful it was. Determination stole over her as she wiggled against them, even trying to use the lantern to perhaps cut the cords or burn them away, but at the risk of burning herself or catching the room on fire, she gave up on that idea.

  When she started to feel a slick liquid start pooling in her hands, she knew she’d gone too far and was now bleeding. Defeated, she slumped against the wall as she took several deep breaths to try to rid her mind of all the pain she had caused herself. As she continued to think of ways she could get the cords loose, an idea came through her mind. If she couldn’t get them off herself, then she would have to rely on someone else. And if she was going to convince one of the pirates to aid her, then she was going to have to earn their trust.

  Maria started forming a plan in her mind, one that she had used before when preparing for a ball with the intent of winning over a gentleman’s heart. Maria already knew that she was a natural beauty, despite her current state of appearance, and would have to use her charms and wit to outsmart these mangy men. Maria could only assume that these pirates didn’t have the company of a woman very often, and she would have to use that to her advantage. But no matter what, she wasn’t willing to go beyond what was appropriate. She could flirt, she could smile and flutter her eyelashes at them, but she’d never give herself to a man who wasn’t her husband. No matter how handsome he looked bare-chested.

  Chapter 6

  “Breathe, my dear. You mustn’t worry so,” Lord Willcox said to his wife as she lay in bed, tears in her eyes as she held a handkerchief with a little peppermint in the cloth to help clear her sinuses. She’d been in tears ever since the day before, immediately bed ridden when Gregory and Lord Crawford had returned without Maria, detailing the pirate attack on the port’s market.

  “How can I not worry, Fredrick! My little girl is missing and there have been no signs of her since the raid. I know you keep saying that they only stole goods from the market, but that doesn’t explain why she is missing!” Lady Willcox cried, tears slipping from her eyes. Lord Willcox knew that his wife was inconsolable, but he wanted to do his best to soothe her while he had a free moment. He had a meeting with an acquaintance that morning in hopes of finding answers.

  A knock sounded on their bedchamber door, and Lord Willcox called for them to enter. The door swung open and Gregory stepped into the room, looking as though he hadn’t slept all night. His blond hair was tousled, and his normally fine attire was replaced by a simple muslin shirt, riding coat and trousers.

  “Do you bring news of your sister, Gregory?” Lady Willcox asked as she sat up, her eyes shining with hope as she looked upon her son. But Gregory simply approached his mother, sitting on the side of the bed as he took her weak hand.

  “No news, Mother. Simply that I’m riding out with Lord Crawford again this morning,” Gregory explained softly, his body riddled with guilt over the situation. He should have been the one leading Maria by the arm through the markets, not Lord Crawford. But he knew how much his best friend cared for Maria, and he had even encouraged the man to see if they had a mutual attraction. But the moment Maria had pulled away from Lord Crawford, the gentlemen had continued on a few paces, giving Lord Crawf
ord a moment to speak to Gregory privately about his opinion of Maria returning his affection.

  The small distance was all that was needed to be separated from Maria when the crowd began to run in panic. He tried to push against those running towards him, but when he’d gotten shoved to the ground, Lord Crawford had pulled him back up to his feet and to safety, assuring Gregory that Maria had probably run home. But when they made it back to the townhouse, she was nowhere to be seen.

  “You find her and you bring her back,” Lady Willcox said as her sobs choked her throat, a wail escaping her mouth as she covered it with her handkerchief, gripping onto Gregory’s hand for dear life.

  “Fear not, Mother. No matter what, Maria will return home,” Gregory assured her, drawing his hand back as he stood. He gave his father a simple look, no longer able to speak, but simply gave a curt nod before leaving the room.

  Gregory fought his own tears as he walked quickly down the carpeted hallway to the elegant stairway, taking the steps two at a time as he jogged down them to the foyer. He reached the landing just as Mr. Thatcher was opening the front door, revealing Lord Crawford.

  “Did she return home in the night?” he asked, a riding hat covering his hair, but the darkness underneath his eyes showed that he too had been awake all night. Gregory hadn’t been able to sleep due to the worry that coursed through him. He’d sat by the front door all night, praying that she’d just turn up, safe and out of harm’s way.

  Gregory shook his head as he took his riding hat from Mr. Thatcher and donned it. “We must notify the papers, speak with the magistrate, and look over the docks again. I’d hate to think she fell into the sea and hasn’t been discovered yet,” Gregory said, sobs choking his words as he spoke the horrible fears that plagued him.

  Lord Crawford gripped his shoulder, forcing Gregory to look into his eyes which were also filled with tears. “Don’t lose hope, my friend. We shall do everything in our power this day to locate Miss Maria. We will do what we must to bring her home safely,” Lord Crawford declared, giving Gregory enough courage to straighten his posture and follow the man out of the townhouse and to the stables. Gregory needed a fresh horse for the day, and one that would be able to keep up with his demands. They had a lot of work to accomplish.

  ~*~

  The next time the lock was turned, Maria was ready. She’d taken the time she’d been left alone to clean her face the best she could by drawing her knees to her face and rubbing her cheeks over her dress. She couldn’t tell if that helped her appearance, but she greatly hoped so as a pirate stepped into the room.

  “Good day, miss,” the young man said, coming into the room with a cup and a plate of food. “I’ve been assured that you wouldn’t be giving us any more trouble.”

  Though his features were young, it appeared as though the years had been hard to this man. His blond hair was cut short, there was an eye patch over his left eye, and he wobbled slightly as he stepped forward. His clothes were rather big, and he didn’t appear like the other pirates she’d seen. He didn’t even carry a sword at his side.

  Maria didn’t say anything but simply smiled at the young man, sitting up as he came closer and knelt beside her. The plate he offered her contained little more than boiled potatoes and cold meat. But when the man offered her a bite, she took it without hesitation, chewing quickly since it had been the first thing she’d eaten since breakfast with her family. The food was flavorless, but she was glad to have something filling her stomach again.

  “There now, you’ve done good. Captain will be glad to hear of it,” the man said as he raised the cup to her lips, allowing Maria to quickly drink the contents, the liquid refreshing her.

  “Thank you,” Maria said softly, pulling a smile to her lips as she stared into the man’s eyes, causing him to blush. “You’ve been so kind.”

  “Ah, it’s nothing. Just doing my duties,” the man replied, quickly gathering the plate and cup and putting them in his tunic as he stood to leave.

  “Really, it means a lot to me,” Maria said, causing the man to stop and turn and look at her. It had been a while since this man had had the company of a young lady, and though the room stunk, he couldn’t deny she looked beautiful. “But I could really use a chamber pot.”

  The ship hand looked around the room, realising there wasn’t one. “I’ll go get you one, miss,” he replied with a small smile on his lips as he wobbled from the room, causing Maria to wonder if he had some sort of limp. Maria stood then, stretching her legs but not trying her luck by leaving the room though the door that had been left open. Down the hallway she heard a door open close by to the room she was in, and soon the man returned with a small chamber pot in hand. He set it in the corner and turned to Maria, obviously proud of his accomplishment.

  “You’re such a kind man. Do you think you could untie my hands so I could use the chamber pot?” Maria said sweetly, even turning around slowly to show the man her hands, dried blood covering her fingers.

  Maria watched as his brows furrowed, as he was either confused or contemplating what to do. But eventually he seemed to make up his mind as he withdrew a small dagger from his boot and approached her, cutting the cords, and quickly stepped back towards the open door.

  “Now, don’t you try anything funny,” the man warned as he replaced his dagger into his boot.

  “Of course,” Maria said sweetly. “Whatever could I do on a ship full of pirates? I’ll be sure to behave.” She even winked at the young man despite how much she loathed to do so. But it caused him to smile widely at her before he left the room and shut the door, locking it tight.

  Maria sighed as she slightly rubbed her fingers over her sore wrists. Her shoulders ached from having her arms behind her back for so long. She stretched them slowly, not wanting to injure them anymore. Steadily, Maria walked freely over to the chamber pot and took care of her business, feeling more relief than she had since she’d been kidnapped.

  Maria then set to work looking through the sacks to see what else she might have in the room with her. But after looking through each one, she realised that they were all empty and dirty, so she tided them up, placing them in the corner of the room. She then took the lantern and carefully found a hook for it on one of the rafters above, allowing the light to shine further. Not that the room was very big, just big enough to walk five steps from one side to the other, but at least she could see more clearly.

  As she stood, Maria felt the sway of the ship and tried to relax into it instead of constantly trying to fight the motion. She practiced walking around the room, knowing that exercise would be important for keeping her strength up. If she simply sat all the time, she would only become sore and weak. So, for the time being, Maria walked around the room, trying to ignore the smell of the chamber pot which added to the stench of the room in general. Sometimes, she would close her eyes as she walked, envisioning that she was walking through the gardens of her family’s townhouse, picturing the flowers that would be in bloom and the vibrant colours of nature around her.

  Other times Maria would walk with her hands dancing in front of her as though she was playing a song on the piano. She would picture the music and press the invisible keys in front of her, humming softly to the tune as her fingers moved in front of her. There were very few musical pieces that Maria had memorized over the years, so when she finished exercising her fingers, she simply hummed the songs she knew. After a while, she even started singing a few, pausing every once and a while in her walk around the room to accomplish a rather difficult part in the song. However, her voice became silent the moment the lock sounded again on the door.

  Maria quickly moved back towards the furthest wall as a different man stepped into the room, a wide smile on his greasy face. Out of all the men she’d been faced with thus far, this one scared her the most. Even with Geoffrey she’d been able to gather her courage before, but not this man. He was short with a large, round belly, a rapier and cutlass by his sides, and when he stepped forward with a c
up, his tunic jingled as though he had several knives hidden there.

  “Water, for the beautiful singer,” he said, holding the cup out to Maria. She took it carefully, trying to give the man a smile even though she was full of fear. He smiled in return, his eyes roaming over her body in such a way that it made her shiver. When she was finished, she quickly handed it back to him.