Page 24 of Paid to the Pirate

Without thinking, I slipped my finger inside, probing deeply. Instantly, Charlotte sucked, her tongue laving my digit. She moaned as if I rewarded her with my penetration and it went straight to my cock. It was impossible not to imagine her hot, wet mouth around it.

Quickly, I withdrew my finger and though she didn’t open her eyes, she gave a little squeal of protest. Backing away, I brought my finger to my own lips and sucked her saliva from it, picturing what it would be like to freely swipe my tongue inside that willing mouth.

I closed the cell and locked her in, frowning. That was twice now I’d resolved to punish her until she broke, and twice she’d thwarted me.

Although, she’d broken in another manner entirely; once in a way I’d never anticipated and another in which I couldn’t explain.

Had she blossomed into a temptress in my absence? Was that her game? To beguile me? Break me with lust and longing?

Maybe I’d break her with lust and longing first.

Storming above deck, I joined Conks and Johnson at the table they’d dragged from the galley. Gentle waves rocked the ship and a light wind gave us fair speed.

“Rum,” I ordered, and Johnson poured me a drink. From the corner of my eye, I caught a small nod he gave Conks.

“What you’re doing to the girl ain’t right,” Conks said, spinning his cup.

“And you think a pleasant chat will get us the answers we need?” I countered.

“But why we all gotta play along with her game?” Sedge piped up with anger from across the table. “To learn the truth or so you have an excuse to see what’s under her skirts?”

Before I could reply, Robert plopped down next to me, clapping me on the back too presumptuously. “Heard the bitch squeal, captain. Nice work. A few more nights under your hands and she’ll be singing like a bird for us.”

I grunted. Sharing a cup with my men had been a mistake. I didn’t want their opinions.

I took another deep swig of rum.But I needed them.

Charlotte’s game provided a distraction, an amusement. The trip to Nassau would take several more days and she wasn’t going to escape again anytime soon. Once we docked, I’d get each of the men a turn to crack jenny’s cup, on me. Maybe I could find a whore for myself while I was at it.

With honied hair and hazel eyes. Green by the light of the sun and brown by the moon. With an elegant neck to wring as I spent my seed inside her.

I scowled and drank deeper.

Charlotte thought I meant to beat her into submission? Then I’d unsettle her by devising more intimate punishments for her displeasure.

Chapter 15

Charlotte

Conks’s kind face was the first thing to greet me as I awoke the next morning.

The unwelcome rush of memories was the second.

I thought Captain Colt would be a quickly-following third, but he didn’t appear. Instead, I looked down in surprise to realize my clothing had been changed. I wore a man’s shirt and a lady’s skirt… though I bore no stockings beneath the skirt to cover my legs nor any apparel to guard my intimate regions.

I smoothed my hair into what few pins remained in an effort to maintain some dignity.

Hearing me stir, Conks entered the hull and this time, I gratefully accepted the tonic he proffered.

Drinking the contents, images of the night before flashed through my mind. Curiously, the later into the evening the memories progressed, the fuzzier they became. I recalled with clarity Colt stringing me to his ceiling and wielding that awful leather with precision upon my bare breasts. Each hit stung so dreadfully I’d slipped into a strange state of mind where they didn’t smart as badly.

For my own protection, as I’d done before. Clearly.

I’d gone to a place where, instead, it began to feel almost… pleasurable.

Curiouser still, I’d next travelled to a world where I hardly felt anything at all or barely even registered my surroundings. As I tried to recall what transpired toward the evening’s conclusion, it was as if a gray mist clouded my eyes, blurring out the picture of Colt’s cabin.

Released from my cell by Conks, I was once again free to ambleThe Dread Nightalone, and the first place I headed was the galley. I wanted to see if I could loosen Miguel’s lips a little more, but when I arrived he grumbled something about being busy with his duties and politely -- but quickly -- escorted me out.

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