Page 86 of Paid to the Pirate

I whipped her backside enough to leave marks for days. Angry red strips bloomed across her pert rear. Charlie shrieked the loudest when I struck her thighs. The sight of her helpless bottom and the sound of her cries sent bursts of almost blinding pleasure in my brain. As she kicked, I caught fuller glimpses of her cunt, each one like a draught of rum heating my blood, until I was drunk on the sight of her sweet sex.

I didn’t stop until she stopped struggling. When she submitted and lay sobbing over my knees, I put the belt down. I hadn’t before a more intense sexual experience, yet I hadn’t even touched one milky breast, nor had she even laid a finger upon my stiff cock.

For several long moments, neither of us moved. Charlotte was too humbled and I was too entranced. Her wails must have brought all work to a standstill. But I didn’t want to leave any room for doubt.

I licked my lips, realizing my mouth had gone dry staring at Charlie’s well-striped arse. Gently, I guided her to her feet. Charlie refused to meet my eyes, staring at the floor.

“Will you ever lie to me again?” I asked.

“No, captain,” she whispered.

“Will you ever strike me again?”

“No, captain,” she repeated.

“I will protect you. I won’t allow any of the men to touch you. But I expect full obedience. Do you understand?”

She licked a tear by her lips. “Yes, captain.”

As she re-dressed, I shook my head, plagued by the lingering image of Charlie the boy and possessed by the desire to claim Charlotte the girl.

This whole damn thing is too confusing.

Focusing on the matter at hand, I marched Charlie onto the quarterdeck.

“Let’s get this over with,” I ordered. “Hands on the mast.”

Charlie obeyed without question. Sniffling, she grasped the mast as if the wood could provide some comfort. At least it gave a place for her to hide her head in her arms as I yanked down her breeches and drew up her shirt, displaying her thoroughly punished backside for all the crew to see.

You brought this on yourself. If I don’t show them, they’ll do worse.

“She’s been punished and she’ll continue to be dealt with by me and me alone,” I announced to the crew. I let Charlie’s shirt fall, quickly covering her backside against some of the more lecherous stares. “I will decide her fate,” I declared, folding my arms and angling to stand in front of Charlie.

“If any man on this ship acts with anything less than the standards of propriety I’ve set forth concerning women, he will be shown no mercy and will have forfeit any claim on his life.” I held each man’s eyes as I scanned the crew and broke down the meaning. “You understand me. Touch her and you’ll be lashed to death and tossed overboard.”

“Robert,” I said, hoping to keep my enemy close and drunk on the power I knew he relished. I hoped, if not to have him on my side, to at least neutralize him by offering a shiny toy I knew he enjoyed -- the suffering of others and the ability to cause it. Like Maurice.

“You’re in charge of any justice that needs meting out,” I told him. “If you hear any griping or dissent from the crew, you have my permission to dole out however many warning lashes you think it merits.”

Distracted for the time being, Robert grinned and nodded.

Turning to leave, I first stopped by Conks and whispered, “Bring salve from the infirmary to my room.”

I grabbed Charlie’s hand but on our return to my cabin, her legs wobbled so much that I had to half carry her. She was both too terrified and too tired to fight me. When we reached the threshold of my cabin, she tensed and tried to pull away.

“Shh…” I hushed. “I’m not going to punish you anymore.”Tonight,qualified a voice in my head.I can’t make promises about the future.“I’m only intending to keep you safe in here for the night, until I figure out what to do with you.”

Charlotte’s head fell in submission and I escorted her into my cabin. A knock came a moment later and I collected the jar of soothing ointment from Conks.

Charlotte didn’t protest as I laid her flat on my bed. I pulled down her breeches once more and scooped a generous amount of the salve into my hand.

Even with the lightest of touches, Charlie gasped and whimpered as I spread the soothing ointment over her punished legs and arse. I was careful not to touch too deeply between her legs, though I had to dip my fingers slightly into her cheeks to rub the ointment where the tip of my belt had occasionally snapped. Whipped into compliance, she didn’t protest. Between her soft whimpers, she sighed.

I’d meant to carry her into the brig, to sort out what to do with her on the morrow, but when I heard her even breathing, I realized she’d fallen asleep in my bed, bottom still on display. I started to lower her shirt to cover her, then thought better of it. It was nothing I hadn’t seen already and it looked like any contact with cloth would be painful. I also couldn’t make myself move her. Instead, I pulled one of the chairs next to the bed and watched Charlie as she slept. Her head was turned to the side and I let myself imagine what she’d look like with longer hair. Would it wave or curl, those long strands of honey whipping with the sea’s winds?

Not that I could keep her aboard now. Could I?

My gaze fell upon her lips. How could I have been so foolish? How could we all? Those lashes, too.Pretty boy,we’d all called her when the sunlight reflected in her big eyes.Useless boy,when her muscles weren’t strong enough to do what we thought she should have been capable of. I cringed, remembering how roughly the men shoved and kicked her when she wasn’t quick enough with the day’s work. No wonder she’d caked herself in dirt and grime whenever possible. No wonder she hid under her tricorn hat and the loosest clothing available.

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