A/N: Happy Valentine's Day and if you live in any of the states with the recent winter storms, I hope you and your family are safe and warm.
To my utter disappointment, the pirate captain was absent all day. I was on pins and needles. I expected him to pounce on me every time I turned a corner. As the day went by, I grew more nervous. How long was I supposed to keep this secret? My stomach was in knots. Finally, I excused myself soon after dinner and went to my room. Maybe if I went back on deck tonight, I'll see him again. I convinced myself, that the only reason I wanted to see him was because I wanted to find out what he was up to. Once this decision was made, I felt better. I told Mary I wasn't going on the deck so she retired for the night. When I thought the other passengers had turned in, I dressed in my disguise and slipped out.
Standing on the deck under the stars, I thought of the way my body had come alive at his touch, and I realized my stomach was fluttering in nervous anticipation. To be truthful, I'm fascinated by the way I had responded to his nearness, and no matter the consequences, I wanted to explore those feelings. It was a startling, and exhilarating realization. I took a deep breath, marshaling my fortitude. This trip was shaping up to be every bit as exciting and adventurous as I had hoped.
"There you are Isabella." The deep, dark voice of my pirate intruded upon my thoughts. I watched him stalk over to me, covering the distance between us with a few powerful strides. "I was beginning to think you were a mystical sea creature who had teased me last night." We stared at each other. The look in his eyes made my knees feel wobbly. I needed support. I leaned back against the rail. This is what the romance writers spoke about; meeting that someone who threw your world off kilter.
I strived for a sense of normalcy, so I held out my hand to him. "Goodnight Captain Masen." Again, our touch shocked me to the core. I tried to pull my hand back, but instead of releasing it, his thumb gently caressed my fingers. He was touching my hand, but every nerve ending in my body came alive. I watched spellbound as he pressed his lips to my sensitized skin. I gasped in shock at the feel of his tongue. I pictured those lips kissing me in other places and my body answered by tingling in my most intimate places. In twenty-four hours, he had made me feel more than any of the gentlemen I had met in my life. I needed to clear my head. I turned my back on him, taking deep breaths of the cool night air. I felt him move behind me until my back was flush against him. I was acute aware of every part of my body that touched his. Each time he breathe, the hairs on the back of my heard stirred, sending shivers down my back. It was scandalous. Even here, where the strict rules of society were relaxed, if anyone found us alone together, it could ruin my reputation, but nothing mattered, except the two of us and this deliciously forbidden moment.
"Why so formal? Please call me Edward." His seductive voice made my toes curl. I ached. So many emotions raced through me. A little voice warned that I should run away while I had a chance, but hadn't I deliberately come up here for this? Before tonight, I never understood how girls got themselves in disreputable situations, but if I had met him in my world, I would have gladly succumbed to him. He was a master seducer. I'd agree to do anything. Go anywhere as long as I could be with him.
~~~~BATP~~~~~
The air around us sizzled. Being with her was different. I felt like a boy on the brink of sexual awakening. No other woman had ever aroused these turbulent feelings in me. I'm an unrepentant bachelor, who was not into seducing virgins, so taking her to my bed was out of the question, but what harm will one night of stolen kisses do? My desire for her eclipsed my commonsense, so instead of walking away, I gently kissed the nape of her neck. I felt her shiver. I wrapped my arms around her, placing them tantalizing close to her breasts. I nipped her ear, then placed kisses up and down her neck. It was difficult not to rip her shirt off and lavish kisses along her shoulders, but I didn't want to scare her. I kissed and nipped my way to the other side. This time, when I reached her ear, I spun her around. She gazed up at me. Her eyes were wide with wonder, her lips were slightly parted, and her chest was heaving. She affected me the same way.
My lips captured hers. She moaned. I kissed her as if I needed her taste to survive. Of their own accord, my hands slid down to cup her behind, pulling her closer to the hard, throbbing ache between my legs. Instead of pulling away and slapping my face, she rubbed herself against me. We could have been on a deserted island. Nothing else mattered but her scent, her taste, and the feel of our bodies meshed together. The kiss went on and on. She was making the sexiest sounds. Sounds that made my cock so hard, it was about to rip a hole in my trousers. If she had been wearing a dress, I would have lifted it to bury myself into her. I pictured making love to her. Not fucking her, but actually making love. It could be so easy to take her to one of the seats, remove the barrier separating me from womanhood, and burying my face in there. Would her nether regions taste as delicious as her mouth? I've pleasured woman with my fingers, and my cock. I'd never put my mouth down there, but I knew if I suck her little nub, or flick it with my tongue, and use my tongue as a finger to plunge it in and out of her, she would experience immense pleasure. I love her perfect breasts. Those nipples that had tantalized my dreams. I wanted to latch my lips around them and suck as if I was a baby. Could I make her come by sucking and massaging her breasts? After she climaxes and relaxed, I'd lift her legs to my shoulders and slowly slide inside her. I'd have to take it slow. Loving her. Touching her. Tasting her. How many times, how many ways could I pleasure her before she collapses from exhaustion? I could make her first time so enjoyable, she'd hardly remember the pain. I groaned. My cock jerked. I lifter her off her feet. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around my waist. I took a step away from the rail. I wanted her. She wanted me. I was about to carry out that sensual vision, when something clicked in my head. This was an innocent girl. I should know better than to treat her like a barmaid or some seaside doxy. I wrenched my lips away from hers because along with this all-consuming lust she stirred in me, there was also a sense of tenderness, a need to protect her from my baser nature.
She looked at me with so much trust in her expressive eyes, it made me want to be a better man. I gently untangled her legs and slid her feet back on the deck. I had to step away from her. She reached out to me, but I moved away. If she touched me all will be lost. My heart was pounding like a drum. I breathe in deeply. Again and again, until I was in control again.
"Isabella, I think you should go back to your cabin." My voice sounded husky as if I had been drinking all night.
"Why?"
"Have you been kissed before?" I felt an unreasonable flash of jealousy at the thought of anyone tasting her sweet lips.
"No." She ducked her head to hide her blush. She was embarrassed. Something squeezed at my heart. "I apologize if I frightened you."
"You didn't. I enjoyed your kisses." Her cheeks got redder.
"That's why you should leave."
"Didn't you enjoy kissing me?"
"I enjoyed it too much."
"Then why do we have to stop?"
"Because if we continue, I may not be able to stop at kisses."
Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed the most delectable O. It was enough to drive me to my knees.
"We don't have to stop."
Was my mind playing tricks on me?
"What?"
"We don't have to stop."
"Isabella, you don't know what you're saying."
"Yes I do. For years, Mama had tried to get me to think of marriage, but I never found anyone I was interested in. After meeting you last night, you made me feel like a woman. You made me want things I never thought of before. I'm afraid that after this voyage I'll never feel this way again. If I have to spend my live in a marriage of convenience, then all I want is one night. One night with you would make up for all the empty years of being with a man who married me because of my connections or my father's money. Please don't make me act like this happens every day. Please don't send me away." Then she did the unthinkable. She cried. I was powerless to refuse her anything. I kissed her tears away and whispered soothing words. I found myself promising her anything. I may have even promised her the moon and the stars. My heart would break when I left her in New York, but it would be best for both of us. There was no place in my life for her. Until then, I'll fill her nights with pleasure. I would leave her maiden head intact. It will be the greatest test of my control, because just thinking about it had my blood whishing through my veins. It may possibly be the hardest thing I've been faced with, but for her, I'm willing to give it a try. If my men saw me now, they would lose all respect for me. I'm a pirate. I should kidnap her and keep her locked in my cabin, but instead, I'm planning on nights of secret assignations that does not involving fucking. I laughed at myself. Isabella is proving to be my Achilles heel.
I cupped her cheeks and placed a gentle kiss on her sweet lips. "We have about two weeks before we get to New York. If you're absolutely positive this is what you want, I'll make them the best two weeks of your life. Think about it carefully." She beamed. No full moon, sunrise nor brilliant sunset in the tropics, had ever been as beautiful as the look on her face. I felt a sense of contentment wash over me. I bid her goodnight. Just before she left, I kissed her wrists, the palms of her hands, then each fingertip.
"Sweet dreams my Isabella." I watched her walk away. This is going to be torture. How did I go from wanting one night with her, to offering her weeks of pleasure? Whom am I fooling? I'm a rake. A scoundrel. My passions would frighten her. More importantly, will I be able to walk away? At least, if I never saw her again, I would have two weeks of bliss to soothe my soul. This is turning out to be an unforgettable voyage. Will it be my last?