Page 26 of Paid to the Pirate

“Scurry along to your duties. And remember -- until we leave Nassau, your job is to keep her from any who would do her harm,” Colt said. “I’ll get the truth from her before it comes to the lash.”

Redhands sauntered off the forecastle deck with a self-satisfied spring in his step.

I had no way of knowing what Colt next planned. But I didn’t believe he would seriously hurt me -- cut me or lash the skin from my back. Would he?

I gulped and whispered, “You’d whip a lady, captain?”

Perhaps a ridiculous question, considering what he’d done to me the night before. I knew he was thinking about those events as well from the heat in his gaze. The memory brought a flush to my own cheeks. No, the mere proximity of Colt’s body made a warmth spread all over my flesh. The recollection and the hunger in Colt’s stare made my breasts heavy and full, as if he willed it with his eyes.

This man, this stranger, could picture my bare breasts at any time. My naked arse. My exposed cunt. For the rest of his life, and mine, we were connected in this intimate manner.

And yet I had seen nothing of his form.

Ridiculous of course. I was glad for it. Not having him remove his breeches meant he couldn’t threaten me with the equipment beneath them.

Thick, stiff, and designed to bring such pleasure --

“You know I wouldn’t,” Colt interrupted my thoughts, dark eyes considering me. My brief relief turned to stomach-sinking fear when he added, “But Redhands would. Unlike the king’s navy, a pirate ship is a democracy. As you’re well aware. And you’ve given the entire crew just cause, especially if they learn what you’ve taken from them.”

“Their Crimson Eye?” I asked, as innocently as possible.

“Theirfuture,”Colt said, eyes narrowed. “Though they’re not aware of it unless Robert tells them.” He cocked his head. “But we’re getting somewhere if you’re willing to address your theft. I’m pleased you’re finally starting to speak the truth. But if you don’t finish speaking it by the time we leave port, there’s nothing I can do to protect you.”

“You could release me,” I pointed out.

Colt’s eyes widened ever-so-slightly with alarm and he grabbed my arm. “Don’t think you can escape again. Nassau belongs to our kind. There’s nowhere you can hide where I won’t find you. No one you can ask for help who would oblige.”

Something in my face made Colt declare, “If you run from me again, so help me God, Lady Charlotte. You won’t be able to sit down for a week after I’m done with you. And you can spend the rest of your days with your ankles shackled. Do I make myself clear?”

Shockingly, his threat made me tingle between my legs. What was it about being the focus of Colt’s attention that I found strangely exciting? Heat and hate warred within me. Emotions battled on Colt’s face too, and I think they were a combination of dread and desire. The air between us crackled with something akin to the energy of the impending rain… of an impending storm between the two of us.

Gritting my teeth, I mocked, “Aye, captain.”

Colt dropped my arm and I felt oddly… disappointed.

But then he cocked his one-sided grin and declared, “I’ll see you this evening in my cabin.” Colt spun on his heel, but before leaving, he looked over his shoulder and added,“allof you.”

I shivered as Colt left me alone to consider my fate, and there was much to consider.

Had I truly stolen gold and a gem of some kind? What did a gem have to do with the crew’s future? It must have been quite a large stone if finding a buyer was a problem, as Redhands suggested.Perhaps I’d only stolen the gem in order to return it to its proper owner,I reasoned.

Yet… where was it now? If I’d escaped this awful pirate ship with a key piece of their treasure, where had I stashed it? Had I been attacked and injured in my quest to return it?

More importantly, what was I going to do now? Redhands would never believe that I didn’t know.

Balling my hands into fists, I stared at the choppy sea and fought the tears welling in my eyes.

I’d thought that if things turned out badly enough, I could confess the truth about my memory loss. It was the one hope I held onto, giving me some sense of comfort and safety.

But now… would the crew even believe me? Would Colt?

Why should he when I’d been lying to him the entire time?

No. Somehow, I needed to escape when we reached Nassau. I believed Colt when he vowed to punish me if he caught me.

Ifhe caught me. And anyway, the promise of Colt’s belt was better than the threat of Redhands’s lash. I gripped the railing, dizzy from the thought.

He’d whip me until I died,I thought.Because no matter what I said, I’d never be able to confess to that which I did not know.

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