The Black Morass (Pirates of the Coast Book 1) (4 page)

At his pronouncement, she gulped.  “Fair game?”

“No prey, no pay, Maddie.  And we accept all forms of compensation, especially those of the flesh.”  With a flick of his wrist, he beckoned, and despite her reservations she took a single step in his direction.  “If you wish to avail yourself of my cabin and, thereby, my protection, you must obey my orders, as agreed.  What is your answer?”

With nary a protest, she stomped to the tub, snatched the soap and cloth, worked up a thick lather, and scrubbed his back.

“Lower.”  He chuckled, and she bit back a curse but, oh, what she thought, as she inched further below the water line.  “Lower.”

Biting her lip, she stretched long, grazed the cleft of his bottom, and shrieked.  Recoiling, she met his taunting expression, flung the wet rag at his face, and fled the cabin.

THE BLACK MORASS

CHAPTER THREE

A sennight later
, anchored just off the coast of a tiny island, Jean Marc handed Maddie to Tyne, who stood in the jolly boat.  “Careful, as she is valuable cargo.”

“Where are you taking me?”  The lady yelped, as a wave crashed against the hull of the
Morass
, and the smaller craft shifted.  With jerky movements, she glanced left and then right.  “Are you sure this is safe?”

“Easy,
Mon Chou
.  You will be all right.”  In a flash, he slid down the rope.  When he sat on the bench beside her, she scooted so close she might as well have occupied his lap, which was fine with him.  “Shove off, Tyne.”

“Aye, Cap’n.”  With another scowl of disapproval, the first mate grabbed the oars and heaved hard.

As they neared the coast, he admired the palms gently swaying in the soft breeze, while she fidgeted and peered over the edge.  Ah, his plan worked perfectly, and with a little luck she would sleep in his bed that night.  A sharp lurch signaled they landed on the beachhead, and she jumped.

“Oh, dear, are we sinking?”  With a death grip on his elbow, she met his stare and widened her eyes.

“No.”  Laughing, he shook his head, stood, and leaped into the tide.  Then he turned, outstretched his arms, and flicked his fingers.  “Come.”

Just as he expected, she hesitated.  “But I cannot swim.”

“It is shallow enough that you can walk,
Mon Chou
.”  At the end of his tether, he cursed, and she gasped.

Wrinkling her nose, she looked on the ocean as though it were some sort of mud pit.  “But I will get my dress wet.”

To wit he snapped his fingers.  “I am waiting.”

“You will not be satisfied until you kill me.”  Grumbling incoherently, she did as he bade.

“Cease the dramatics, as I have no patience for such nonsense.”  A sack filled with provisions rested at the bow, and he snatched the bag.  “Tyne, return for us just after sunset.”

“
Return
—wait, where is Mr. Tyne going?”  Maddie craned her neck, as he caught her about the waist and led her to the shore.  “Jean Marc, what is happening?  Am I to be marooned?”

“How your imagination twists and turns, Madalene.”  When she dug in her heels, he tightened his hold on her wrist and trudged alee through the dense tropical foliage.  “If I were going to abandon you, do you think I would be here, now?”

“I have made no secret of the fact that you frighten me.”  She shrugged.  “And I do not understand how that surprises you, given what you asked of me, this morning.”

“You object to something as innocent as brushing my hair?”  In that instant, he drew to a halt and prepared to play the ignorant, because he knew precisely what ruffled her pretty little feathers.  “Explain how that was offensive.”

“You made me stand between your legs, which defied logic, given I could scarcely reach the back length.”  As he cleared the way with his cutlass, she ducked to avoid low branches.  “Are you never reasonable?”

“I am always reasonable.”  Not to mention savvy, as the position Jean Marc required of her, as she combed his long locks, afforded a spectacular view of her breasts when she bent at the waist.  “The real question is why you buck my authority, at every turn, when I have been nothing but a gentleman.”

She snorted.  “Do you even know what that word—” Her shrill scream pierced the relative quiet.  “
A snake
.”

To his delight, she flung herself at him, pressing her feminine curves to his frame, and he savored her lush body.  In seconds, he located the source of her distress and chuckled.  “
Mon Chou
, that is a harmless creature, and I wager it will not bite if you do not pester it.”

“Are you sure, as it appears quite dangerous.”  Twining her arms about his neck, she buried her face in his chest.  “And I would not know, as never have I seen a snake, in my life.”

“Then you should rely on my expertise, as I am familiar with these parts.”  Ever so slowly, he skimmed his palm along her hip, continued to the swell of her derriere, and discovered her fear tempered her awareness.  Instead, she shuddered and squeezed tighter.  “Please, take me to the ship.  I promise I will do whatever you ask, and I will protest not.”

“Why do I doubt you?”  Hefting her to his side, he trudged the last few strides and parted the greenery.  “Now relax and enjoy the day I have arranged for us.”

“I beg your pardon?”  As he set her down, she peered over his shoulder and blinked.  “Oh, Jean Marc, what is this place?”

“It is an isolated cove, and we must descend carefully, using the rocks as nature’s staircase, to the beach crevasse below.”  Inch by inch, and holding her hand, he preceded her down the rudimentary path.  “Worry not,
Mon Chou
, because I will catch you if you fall.”

“The water is like crystal and smooth as fresh-pressed sheets.”  She paused.  “Is the cove completely enclosed?”

“The limestone breaks just beneath the surface, and we should deposit our belongings here, as the tide will rise as the afternoon passes.”  Using a large boulder as a seat, he stopped and doffed his boots and shirt.  As he unhooked his breeches, Maddie averted her gaze.

“What are you doing?”  Wringing her hands, she shuffled her feet.  “Although I have no knowledge of your motives, and make no claims to apprehend your rationale, just this once, can you remain clothed?”

“No.”  How fetching she appeared, in her pretty pink frock, with her hair piled in charming curls atop her head, and he savored her eventual defilement.  Naked, he approached his soon-to-be fallen angel from behind and whispered, “Now take off your clothes, as I intend to teach you to swim.”

From the rear, silence reigned supreme when he bargained on additional protest.  Checking on his lady, he found her standing stock-still, just as he left her, and her face deathly pale.

“Jean Marc, please, do not make me do it.  I am terrified of the water.”  A tear streamed her cheek, and he returned to her.  “What I said earlier I meant.  Whatever you command of me, I will perform the task, if you let me stay here, where it is dry.”

With hands on her shoulders, he rotated her.  In seconds, he untied and loosened her laces, and she wept and shivered.  “Will you remove the rest or shall I, because you will do as I say?”

A few minutes ticked past, and he tugged on the dress, but she broke free.

“If I cooperate, may I retain my chemise?” she inquired in a small voice.

“It may weigh you down.”  When she did not budge, he huffed in frustration.  “All right, but nothing else.”

As he waded into the water, she used a large outcrop as a makeshift shelter, and he waited.  At last, she skittered to the spot where he stacked their things, dropped her bundled garb, and lingered on the beach.  Looming in naught but her thin slip, she hugged herself, and he waved for her to join him.

Halfway to him, she paused and cradled her face in her hands, and he realized she harbored genuine fear.  So he retraced his path, scooped her up, as he would a child, and carried her into the drink.  In a panic, she cried aloud, wrapped her legs about his hips and her arms about his shoulders, and he cupped her bottom through the thin linen.

“Shh, Maddie.  I will not let you drown.”  While fear could be quite provoking, he found nothing arousing in Madalene’s raw terror.  Rather, her distress struck a nerve, and he nuzzled her ear.  The water ebbed and flowed, and he bobbed with her secure in his grasp.  “The shallow ledge drops off, here, so I will maintain my grip.  Is this not cool and refreshing,
Mon Chou
?”

“No, it is horrible.”  Despite his efforts, he could not pry her loose, so he reclined and floated.

“Stretch your legs and kick your feet.  Come on, Maddie.”  Kissing the crest of her ear, he patted her bottom.  “Relax, and glide with the tide.”

“Why are you making me do this?”  With a sniff, she lifted her head, and what he spied in her blue eyes fractured something inside him.  “Why do wish to hurt me?”

“You are mistaken, because I am trying to help you.”  Guilt flared, and she invoked a part of him he had not used in years—his conscience, so he resolved to reason with the stubborn woman.  “What if we are attacked, as was the
Trident
, and I cannot defend you?  What if I cannot get to you, and you fall into the ocean?”

“I will die.”  Her sorrowful expression called to him, to some strange yearning he could neither identify nor resist.

“No, you will not.”  Tipping her chin, he claimed a kiss while she wallowed in a vulnerable state, and he savored the subtle hitch of her breath.  “We are going to work together, and by the time we depart the isle, you will swim like a fish,
Mon Chou
.”

As he floated on his back, he tangled his legs with hers and schooled her in the proper technique.  Of course, their respective positions coupled with her feminine form and loaded the cannon in his crotch, but she appeared not to notice.  Gritting his teeth, and leashing his sordid hunger, he made several laps about the cove.

“You are doing well, Maddie.”  Whereas he preferred to keep her close, he needed to release her to continue the impromptu lessons.  With great reluctance and a wicked erection, Jean Marc separated from her, and she immediately flapped and submerged.  In an instant, he yanked her above the surface.  “Take it slow, and remember what I taught you.”

“I will have your solemn vow not to leave me.”  In her fear, she almost swamped them, and they both came up sputtering.  “I cannot do this.”

“Wait.”  A new idea occurred to him.  “Let us return to the shallows.”  With the sand beneath his feet, and the water lapping at his waist, he stretched out his arms.  “Lie down.”

“Jean Marc, you are determined to torment me.”  As she stood upright, he almost dropped to his knees.  Wet, her chemise all but disappeared, and he glimpsed a vision that could bring a grown man to tears for want of her.  When she obeyed his directive, he offered support but could not stop staring at the cleft in her round bottom.  “What now?”

Ah, what he wanted to do to her sweet arse.  “Hmm?”

“You are distracted, which does not inspire confidence.”  She wiggled in his grasp, and he shifted a hand to graze her breast, which elicited another shriek.  “Check your behavior, sir.”

“My apologies, Maddie.”  There was the haughty tone he adored.  “Now, kick with your feet, and sweep with your arms, in long strokes, and I will support you.”