In the Arms of a Pirate (A Sam Steele Romance Book 2) (32 page)

Because this would be their last time together, Aidan lingered. She was smooth, so exquisitely soft. Her hands, neck, shoulders, he kissed each as he undressed her, exposed her to his touch. Up the inside of her arm, down the sides of her torso until her flesh quivered beneath his mouth. She moaned his name, dug fingernails into his shoulders. He continued his seduction, giving her legs and the back of her knees his undivided attention. She writhed, begged. Stoked the fires in his blood until he thought the flames would come through his skin. She reached for him, fingernails catching his arousal. Aidan hissed and nearly came undone.

He needed her. Surrounding him. Surrendering to him. He wanted it all. Needed it all.

He entered her hard and fast, catching her cry in his mouth. She was wet and ready and, thank God, because he was beyond stopping. Holding him, murmuring his name, rising to meet him, Aidan knew nothing had ever felt so right. Every kiss made him yearn for more. Every touch of her hand on his body drove him faster, harder. Her whispers and pleas fueled him, filled him. Racing for the precipice, Aidan wished he could hold the moment forever, where he had both Sarah in his arms and the title of Sam Steele. For there, in that moment, was perfection. But the ledge rushed up and, helpless to stop it, Aidan tumbled over it.

Sarah snuggled against his side, her hand rested on his heart. “Thank you.”

She’d given him everything and
she
was thanking
him
? He gathered her close, held her tight and pressed a kiss to her brow.

Every Captain Steele has fallen in love on board of the Revenge.

Those words once again came back to taunt him. This time, however, they didn’t bother him. He already knew and acknowledged that he’d fallen in love with Sarah. No, falling in love no longer scared him. What scared him was the fear that he wouldn’t be able to let her go after all.

Sarah’s body went soft; her breathing slowed and evened as she fell asleep in his arms. He knew he should do the same but despite the weight of his eyelids and the fatigue pulling at his body, his mind refused to be silenced. Visions of saying goodbye to Sarah alternated with those of him watching the
Revenge
sail away without him at the helm. Aidan refused to accept either reality yet one loomed near in his future.

If he was lucky.

If he wasn’t, Roche and his armada would be upon them come morning and all his worrying would be for naught as there wouldn’t be a future to worry over.

On that cheery thought, Aidan closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

S
arah awakened the
moment Aidan stirred. She was loath to move, to let reality intrude. Here in his cabin, safe and secure in his embrace, nothing and nobody else mattered. In the darkness, she could pretend it was only the two of them and they had their whole lives together to look forward to.

If only it were so simple.

But Aidan had obligations and dreams that didn’t include her. And despite knowing so all along, she couldn’t stop the unbearable pain that filled her chest at the thought of saying goodbye to him. She’d known his heart lay with Steele when she’d all but begged him to take her and she wouldn’t cry and hold him to anything. No matter how much it cost her not to.

Reaching through the darkness, she brushed her fingers over his stubbled cheeks. She’d always thought him attractive with his whiskers that weren’t quite a beard.

“Were you able to get some rest?” she asked.

He turned his head, kissed her palm. “Enough.”

His curt response told her everything she needed to know and she struggled to hold onto the vow she’d just made. “Our respite’s over, isn’t it?”

His sigh echoed her regret. “I’m afraid so.”

She said nothing as he padded through the cabin and lit the candles on the table. Light and shadows danced over his body as he bent to retrieve their clothes. Shamelessly, she watched him, trying to memorize every plane of his chest, every ripple of muscle across his shoulders. Her cheeks flamed as the studied the firm curve of his backside, saw the faint red lines her fingernails had left behind. They’d fade, she knew, just as his memories would. Eventually, he’d struggle to remember her face, the sound of her voice. She had to look down when he returned with her clothing.

“Thank you,” she said.

By the time Sarah trusted herself to look at him, he was dressed. After tugging on his boots, he removed the cover from Carracks’ cage she’d placed before going to sleep.

Carracks, unaware of the tension building in the room, bobbed on his perch and nipped at the bars with his black, shiny beak. Aidan dropped a few nuts into his bowl and the parrot happily hopped over to the food.

“The moment we see your father on the horizon, I want you here. Take the covers and pillows and hide under the bed.”

As Aidan’s back was to her, Sarah slipped from the covers and began dressing. “Surely, they’ll think to look there.” She pulled the shirt over her head, reached for her trousers. “After all, they know I’m with you, either he or his men will turn this ship upside down looking for me.”

Aidan peeked over his shoulder first, then turned when he saw she was clothed.

“I’m not after hiding you; I’m after keeping you as protected as I can once the cannons start firing.”

Sarah’s hand went lax and the shoe she’d grabbed thudded to the decking. “You think he’s going to fire while I’m aboard? He wouldn’t want me hurt. Not when he’s spent my entire life protecting me.”

Aidan finished tying his sash and crossed his arms over his chest. Of the shirts she’d seen him wear, she preferred him in this black one.

“I told you before he may now see you as soiled. One woman, a ship full of men?” He raised his brow. “You said yourself you’ve felt like a possession, a link to your mother. I’d say he kept you locked up and protected to keep you virtuous, pristine. If he no longer sees you in the same light, maybe he won’t feel the same about you either.”

“You truly think my father will attack with me aboard?”

“I think we need to prepare for every possibility. You said yourself you knew he’d come after me, whether you were aboard or not.”

“Come after, yes, but I thought he’d negotiate my return before he did anything else.”

Aidan’s laugh held no humor. “If there is one thing your father does not do, it’s negotiate.”

Sarah sat heavily on the bed, her emotions waging a battle within her. While it made no sense, it hurt to think of her father disowning her simply because she’d bedded a man. She hadn’t murdered anybody, hadn’t destroyed lives. She didn’t feed off the pain of others the way he did. She could hate him and want nothing to do with him; it was justified. But she’d done nothing to him. To think he could fire upon her without even speaking to her, or trying to save her…

Aidan crouched before her. “You knew what kind of man he was,” he reminded gently.

“Toward others.” She pressed her fingers into her eyes. “I’m so naïve. I know he’s coming after us, but I believed he’d try to save me first. I thought, when he did, I could find a way to buy you time, or an advantage.” She shook her head. “It was stupid. I was stupid.”

Aidan grabbed her wrists, lowered her hands. “You’re anything but stupid and you being naïve and kind is what makes you special.”

How was it a heart could feel full and warm and empty and cold at the same time?

“What can I do? I want to help.”

“When it’s time, come down here and do as I’ve asked. Protect yourself so I can concentrate on what I need to do. Promise me.”

She’d do anything for him and she easily gave her word. He passed her shoes and she slid them on, buckled them.

“I’d like to ask one thing, if I may?”

“What’s that?” he asked as he stood.

“That I stay with you on deck as long as it’s safe.”

He reached out a hand. “As long as it’s safe, there’s no place else I’d rather you be.”

With her chest tight, Sarah put her hand in his.

“It’s going to be all right,” he reassured.

No it wasn’t and both knew it. And, as Sarah followed Aidan up the ladder, she cursed both her father and the name Sam Steele.

Because both had broken her heart.

But only Steele would take hers with him when this was over.

*

The sky had
lightened from black to deep blue but remained too dark to see the horizon. Relief eased the tension in his shoulders. There was time yet. He’d steal these moments like a thief slipping his hands into pockets, grasping everything he could.

It was what he’d done last night when Sarah had asked him to be with her. He’d taken the offering, cherished it. He’d known it wouldn’t last, known they were borrowing time. Now the time was nearly gone and his mind raced with how he could stop it, change it. He’d never been one to back from a fight. A boy couldn’t grow to a man on a pirate ship and not enjoy the battles, but with this one there would be no winner.

Even if he won, if he somehow managed to keep the
Revenge,
he wouldn’t be able to look over, see Sarah standing at the gunwale of his ship. There would be no tender glances, no soft touches. No lingering kisses in the night. He’d be Steele, but he’d be alone. It was hardly a victory.

“Hardest part’s the waitin’,” Chunk said as he stepped to Aidan’s side.

If only, Aidan thought.

“How many ships do you think he’ll have?”

Aidan shrugged. “Depends how fast Peter reached him. With luck, Roche won’t have had time to gather more and we’ll only be facing four. Otherwise seven.”

Chunk cursed. “Bloody hell, I hope it’s only four. We’d stand a chance then.”

A slim one at that. “Shouldn’t be too much longer.” To the east, pale blue was now breaking the blanket of night into smaller pieces. They would know soon whether Roche had caught up to them overnight. He prayed, not for the first time, that they could at least have time to reach shore. He wanted Sarah safe and out of the way before they were attacked.

As though she knew his thoughts were of her, Sarah turned from the gunwale and stepped to his other side. She greeted Chunk, offered Aidan a tentative smile. She chafed her arms, rocked onto her heels. Apparently, everyone’s nerves were high this morning. As they usually were when a battle loomed, Aidan didn’t worry. It was better to be anxious than complacent. Complacency could get a man killed.

Still, Sarah’s anxiousness was a distraction he could ill afford. Aidan reached for her hand, squeezed. He felt her trembles and grinned when her smile fell short. “We may be outnumbered but we’ve a good crew and we’ve done this a time or two. All is not yet lost.”

“There is a chance, is there not, that my father could want my safe return before he attacks?”

He raised her hand, kissed it. “There is, yes. Though one so small I wouldn’t wager on it.”

Chunk clapped his hands, the snap reminding Aidan of the man’s presence. Even before his first mate spoke Aidan knew what he’d say.

“Didn’t Lucky and I tell you?” Laughter shook his belly and shoulders. “You denied it but we knew this would happen.”

“Knew what would happen?” Sarah asked. Her gaze traveled between both men.

Aidan could have gladly clobbered Chunk. He wasn’t prepared to tell Sarah yet how he felt. After all, a man didn’t profess his love without offering a future and Aidan was hardly in a position where he could make promises. Even if they bested Roche and managed to come out alive he had yet to come up with an acceptable solution to his problem; how did he keep Sarah and Sam Steele?

He glared at Chunk, who did a terrible job of hiding his mirth. His first mate feigned a glance to the horizon. “We’ve a bit of time and I, uh, need to check something below. I won’t be long.” And with that, Chunk leapt down the stairs and disappeared through the hatch.

Bloody coward
.

“What’s happened?” Sarah asked.

For the first time since he’d made it, Aidan regretted his promise never to lie to her. Damn Chunk and his big mouth.

“Ask me again when this is over and I give you my word I’ll answer you truthfully.”

“Why can’t you tell me now?”

He touched her cheek. “I don’t have all the answers yet.”

“Answers to what?”

“Everything,” he answered.

She frowned. “This has to do with you being Steele, doesn’t it?”

Hell. Aidan shook his head. He should have known she was intelligent enough to figure some of it on her own. “Yes.”

“I won’t pretend I’m particularly fond of Steele at the moment, but I will say this. It’s because of Steele that I met you and for that I will always be grateful. However it’s not Steele I love, it’s you.”

Aidan’s breath caught. He wobbled as his knees turned to water. Even with both hands gripping the wheel, with the sea nothing more than a gentle hand rocking the ship, Aidan had never felt so unsteady.

Sarah jutted her chin forward. Too late he noted the stricken look on her face. He should be flogged.

“You needn’t look so afraid, Aidan. You are certainly under no obligation, if that’s what’s weighing on your mind. If that’s what Chunk was referring to. I simply wanted you to know how I felt. In case…”