Page 16 of Hired by Pirates

Those lovely eyes looked up at me with a peculiar expression that I couldn’t read.

I would’ve assumed that she might be nervous or uncomfortable. Instead she almost looked…disappointed? Could she have been hoping that I would behave in a forward, even coarse, manner?

Her signals were powerful confusing, but I was determined to let her come to me. Or at least take the first step.

Astor began to move toward her bed, but as one foot was lifted, the boat lurched, sending her tumbling backward straight into my arms.

She looked horrified, but I held her close, and simply smiled.

“Just because I’m going to attempt to be a gentleman does not mean that you have to behave like a lady,” I whispered, reaching up to stroke her beautiful light brown hair. It looked even more coppery in the lamplight, making me wonder what she would look like when we swam together in the moonlight sometime in the future.

Astor didn’t pull away, simply resting her hands on my arms for balance. “I’m sorry, I’m still as wobbly as a newborn colt when the larger waves hit.”

I dipped my head, brushing my lips against her ear as I breathed, “I’ll always be here to catch you, my beauty.”

I felt the light shudder that ran through her, then her sweet, shy smile sent a roaring fire straight up my spine. She enjoyed the way I was holding her. And as she became comfortable with me, I somehow knew that she was going to show me what else she wanted.

Hopefully she would soon show me everything, from her warm heart, to her lovely soul, and the trembling little body in my hands.

~ Chapter 7 ~ Astor ~

* You’re Already a Pirate *

A strange sort of unsettling dread woke me from sleep. At first I was disoriented from not knowing where I was. Then I saw a sliver of faint light coming in the window, and heard the heavy, regular breathing of the Captain in the next bed, and it all came rushing back to me and I remembered where I was.

My bed itself was quite cozy, and the Captain had done everything that he could to make sure that I was comfortable in his cabin.

It had been oddly amusing to me at first that the beds and the small shelf were fastened to the walls. Then I felt the waves and understood why. Yet everything was neat and tidy, and laid out so that it was easy to find things.

While I was changing into my nightgown, the Captain had politely gone to the helm to check the course for the night. Once he had returned and checked that I was snuggled in bed, his hand had skimmed over the top of my hair and my eyes closed immediately.

That simple touch could have held many meanings, but the sweetness I felt made me feel truly touched.

But now, several hours later, I couldn’t get back to sleep. There was a sound that was absolutely unnerving.

When I was tiny, my grandmother described upsetting things as “putting the wind up her spine.” That was exactly what this felt like. A chilly breeze meandering up and down the center of my back.

It was likely only the hull creaking with the waves, yet it sounded like some sort of sad spirit crying out. I knew there were no such things as ghosts, yet people had told me so many tall tales about them that they swirled through my mind as I cowered in a stranger’s bed.

Usually it helped to focus on my breathing, an old trick to calm the body down for sleep. Tonight, it had no effect. Instead, I listened to the Captain’s heavy breaths. In the small room, he was but three feet away.

As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I watched his chest rise and fall. He looked so peaceful.

It was clear that he had to play the part of the strong, tough leader when the men were around, or when there was work to be done. Yet when he was with me, he revealed a softer side of himself.

The more I thought about the tiny ways he put his attention on me, the more I wondered if he could really be starting to feel the things I was already feeling.

It was something I was completely unfamiliar with.

I’d read poetry and story books, where they described the feeling of a heart thumping wildly in a person’s chest. That definitely happened to me when he looked directly into my eyes.

I was also feeling the unbelievable urge to reach out and hold his hand, whether the time and place was appropriate or not.

How I wished there were books on this so that I could study them. Learn if these fluttering feelings were normal, and what I was supposed to do about them.

Although I wasn’t sure if I knew him well enough to fall in love with him, I was certainly wandering down that path already.

Shifting restlessly, I gripped the blankets tighter, surprised at the chill of the sea air.

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