6
If anybody would ask Maria to think of, just one word, which best defined her, she would immediately say: "Curious!".
And that would be the best explanation why she got herself into trouble again.
After she tucked the children into bed, she stayed in her room, not wanting to join the Captain and his guests. She really didn't see any point, she felt somewhat out of place listening to the latest gossip about shameless relationships.
And if they weren't on the subject of gossip that night, then surely she would they wouldn't appreciate her honest and blunt opinion on various matters. No, she preferred solitude with a good book.
So she went to the library to find something new to read, which had become her habit since she came to Aigan 53. Every couple of days she would enter the library to lose herself in bookshelves full of so many different titles, of course arranged systematically and in order. Like their owner.
Sometimes the "little child in her", wanted to rearrange the books or dump them in a pile, but knew she would be easily discovered. At first, she was lost among so many books but now she could understand how the topics were arranged, thanks to the owner.
She was looking for some light fiction and slowly ran her fingers through the titles of the books while maintaining balance on the ladder. Then every now and then, she would pick up a title to flip through to decide what she was interested in, but suddenly something caught her attention.
Behind the titles, a book was hidden, Maria turned her head left and right, to check if she was alone and then started flipping through it. It was a book with the title: "Lady and the pirate." On the cover was a painted picture of a lady and a pirate in a passionate embrace, and in the background was the Captain of a ship watching them, looking hurt and angry.
Oh, ho, ho this was too good to be true.
She quickly got off the ladder and sat on the floor and was soon immersed in the story, reading in a soft whisper.
The story was beautiful and Maria was slowly drawn in, intrigued by a young girl full of life and eager adventure who was traveling with her father on a warship operated by her fiancé, a Captain. They traveled to St. Lucia where she would marry her fiancé and remain there to live on his estate which he received as a reward for his military achievements. She knew he loved her but he was so serious, stiff and sometimes boring, but she was content with him.
But one evening when they had already passed near Tortuga city and their journey to St. Lucia was coming to an end, they were attacked by pirates. Most of the soldiers were killed and she, her father and fiancé were taken as hostages.
During that period, there was more then one a big fight with the arrogant, devilish handsome pirate, then reconciliation followed by mutual respect and a growing desire to conquer, submit and possess each other. The girl in the story had never felt that way about her fiancé. The pirate was irresistible to her. Maria was captivated by the story.
"...His wet mouth devoured her and she responded with eagerness that she didn't know she had in herself, and kissed him back with the same furiousness. They touched each other wherever they could, indulging in the flames of desire. He knew exactly what he was doing, but she was driven only by instinct, being rewarded by his groans. Soon she was naked and then he gently urged her to take off his clothes revealing a sun-kissed body with strong muscles and scars while his aroused manhood invited her to touch him and explore..."
"Um, that looks like an interesting book!" Maria heard an intrigued murmur.
She snapped out of her daze back into to reality, to Aigen, to the library, while somebody purred behind her ear. Jumping up and turning, she found the Captain looking at her with a devilishly amused smile.
She has found herself in a terrible situation, still flushed from reading, at the same time hiding the book behind her and straining her brain to remember if she had read it aloud. When realized she had been she wondered in horror if he had heard any of it.
Georg had been quite bored with his late night-cap with his friends. It might not have been so annoying and tedious if his thoughts weren't constantly directed toward a certain governess. Where was she, was she going to join them, was she asleep, or maybe once again snooping through the house finding forbidden rooms. So with those troubled thoughts he excuses himself with silly "Maria like" pretense and left to check what was going on.
Going toward the children's rooms, the hallway and staircase were darkened, but his attention was drawn to the light from the library and the slightly ajar door. There in front of the bookshelves, she sat with her back turned and read quietly.
She was so engrossed that she could not hear him approaching and leaned over to confirm if it really possible that she was reading what he had heard. But when he saw her deep red cheeks, eyelids widened, with shallow breathing, it only confirmed what he thought. That was enough to cause the blood to roar in his veins and trigger an immediate arousal. To cover his state he approached stealthily.
"What are you reading about?" he casually asked feigning indifference, but inside he was on fire.
"What? Some book I found in the library!" her mind was whirling but she somehow managed to switch books behind her back, filling her with relief.
"May I see it?" he held out his hand.
Oh, yes he had seen and heard enough to conclude what kind of book it was, but why miss opportunity to torture her. It seems there was no limit about fascination to him. She was reading a forbidden book despite her future vocation. Her curious nature and her passionate reaction were going to be her downfall. He was not surprised when she shook her head.
"Oh, come on it's my house, and you are my governess, um, of my children, I certainly can see what you're reading" he coaxed her, with a smug smile and still with an outstretched hand.
Maria thought he was like a shark that had smelt blood. She knew he wouldn't give up but she would outsmart him, she thought to herself. With trembling hands she handed him the book to look at, hoping and praying it wasn't some religious reading.
He took the book from her outstretched hand and touched her lightly, and immediately felt a jolt of electricity from her trembling fingers that ran through his whole body, stopping below his stomach.
Yes, he was playing with fire, he knew that.
The book was "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri which he had bought in Florence a couple years ago, a very expensive and rare first edition. He realized he couldn't help continuing his devilry.
"I didn't know that you could speak Italian?" Of course he knew she didn't.
At this point it was really hard to keep his stoic mask, but inwardly he was laughing, gathering his fingers into a fist to maintain stability and to prolong the torture.
"Italian?" she said, surprised (shit, shit, shit, definitely double prayers), then she quickly composed herself, "Yes, it's a book in Italian, I want to learn it because I have always liked that language, it's very melodic!" Then she started to ramble, to avoid book topic, finally feeling let off the hook.
He stopped listening to her rambling, only observing and admiring her sharp intelligence, as she tried to get out of the tricky situation. In his whole life, he had never met any woman that was as captivating and intriguing. And he liked puzzles very much and now he just wanted to see where her curious nature would take her.
"Well if you need someone to help you with what you are just reading, I will be more than happy to provide it," Georg said casually, trying to hide a hoarse voice and an aroused state, with just thought of two of them sharing the adventure from the book.
He was fully aware that she stirred something very deep in him. At first he had been just amused by her constant curiosity, but now he just wanted to follow her everywhere and to see what new mischief she would get herself into. And to be completely honest with himself, he knew he would like to show her every line from that "pirate book" in reality.
"Hhhelp me?" Maria gasped, still wondering whether he had heard her reading out loud. She still had tomato cheeks while also trembling from the forbidden excitement and embarrasment of the tricky situation. And worst of all, why of all people, did he have to be the one to find her reading that blasted book.
He was wearing that smug smile that meant: "I know everything!" Grrrr...
Georg eyes became more intense and dark from his desire, his fingers still twitched, his breath became more heavy, but he was thankful for his self control, because his face was unreadable, thank God. Somewhere in the distance he heard her, and quickly composed himself and with a husky voice said: "Well yes Fraulein, with your Italian!".
Before Maria could even think of a response he turned on his heels and left with a low chuckle, while managing to hide his bulge.
"That pompous, arrogant, ungentlemanly, and, and...grrrr!" Maria fuming. How he dare he sneak up on her like that and make fun of her!
In her anger she promised herself she would drop that blasted book. It only confused her. But, the Reverend Mother had told Maria to explore the world, so that was just what she was doing, following her advice and nothing else.
Thank you all, for reviews I hope you have good time reading about Maria, the "trouble maker" :)