Pirated Love (19 page)

“No, David,” Tina said, firmly.  “Lady Claire is
my
wife, not yours,” she corrected him.

He grinned showing several misshapen teeth that stuck oddly from his jawline.   He cocked his head sideways.  It was obvious he did not understand her words.  “A lady,
your
wife?” he repeated for clarification.

“Aye, David. 
My
wife,
my
lady,” she explained patiently.  Claire could see her keeping her jaw taut, as though it was taking effort to explain to him.

“You did not bring me a present, a lady for me?” he asked in a petulant, spoiled-boy voice.

“I brought you a present.  That is for later.  This is not your present.  She is
mine
,” she emphasized carefully.

“Oh, okay,” he said, mollified by the promise of a present for later.

“Let us eat now, David.  Go pick up the chair
now
,” their grandfather ordered the boy.

Claire was trying to catch Tina’s eye, but she avoided it.  And when Claire tried to talk to her she ordered, “Later,” in a no-nonsense voice.  Claire tried to be understanding as she could see Tina looked distinctly uncomfortable.  She was led to the opposite side of the table from David who had returned to his seat and was indeed hopping on it again, seeming unable to sit still.  A reprimand from his grandfather had him sitting still for a moment.  Tina sat her between her and her grandfather, across from the odd man-boy.

The servants began to bring in the first course, a fish that apparently was native to the waters in Canada. Claire had never heard of this fish, but it was delicious and Claire found herself hungry.  She ate it delicately and saw that Tina was back to being the lady of elegance she had noted from time to time.  She was not imitating her ‘betters’ as she once thought it came naturally to her, obviously.  She was even using a fork, something that some of the houses in England did not use as yet.  The same could not be said of David, who dripped, dribbled, and drooled on the tablecloth and his lap throughout the meal.  The other adults ignored his outbursts and occasionally Jacques would say quietly, “Now, David,” reminding him to behave.  Claire tried not to stare, but it was the first time she had ever seen an adult behave this way and she could not help but wonder what was wrong with him.

Over the courses of dinner that were served, Tina and her grandfather caught up on what had happened in the six months they had been separated, and what her plans were.  This was the first time that Claire heard that a long voyage was in store for the Black Betty, although it would be sailing under its other name the Red Bettina. 

“So we are to become traders?” she asked with a humorous addition to the conversation the two relatives were excluding her from.  She did not appreciate that Tina had not warned her about her brother or their future voyage.  In fact, now that she thought about it, despite their long talks there was a lot about Tina she did not know.

Jacques must have realized they were talking over and around her and at her comment he smiled.  “We have always been traders, just a matter of degrees,” he said jovially, with a twinkle in his eye.

Tina got to the part about how she had infiltrated Claire’s wedding at the governor’s mansion and the complaints of her crew over the outfits they had to wear, and how some had to trim their moustaches, some their beards.  She told how she had forced the priest to marry them; Jacques was in tears of laughter.  He turned to Claire and asked, “And you wanted to marry my impetuous granddaughter and live with her forever?”

Claire had enjoyed Tina’s version of events, not much different from what Tina had told her, but told humorously.  She nodded ‘of course’ and said simply, “I love her.”

Jacques leaned over and patted her hand.  “She is very lovable.”

“I love Bettina too!” David said, proving he was listening to the conversations despite his hijinks on his own side of the table.  He did not look at any of them directly, but past them up into the air.

“Of course you do,” Jacques said jovially.  “Your sister is the best sister, is she not?” he asked the man-boy.

David nodded emphatically and returned to shoveling in his food, frequently missing his open mouth.

After dessert was served, a nurse came to get David, who did not want to leave the gathering.  He threw a fit until Tina promised to visit with him later, but only if he behaved.  He went docilely after that.  Both Tina and Jacques breathed a sigh of relief.

“What say we give your bride a tour of my home, eh?” Jacques offered as he stood up for the ladies and escorted them from the dining room.  In the back of the house under the stairs were the kitchens, and a morning room that could seat a dozen people for breakfast.  It over-looked the back yard that went out a ways, overlooking the river down below.

“That dog of yours, he has worn a path across the back yard to his spot waiting for you,” Jacques told Tina.

“He is a smart dog,” she smiled, knowing that Sir Barkley would not let her out of his sight for a while.  In fact, he had sat underneath the table during dinner and followed them now through the tour of downstairs.

Through the morning room and into a large ball room with mirrors that made it seem even larger they continued towards the front where the estate office led back to the enormous library.

“Below us we have cellars and of course my brig,” Jacques teased, but there was something about what he said that told Claire he probably was not teasing.

Ascending the stairs, they went through the day rooms and a couple of bedrooms, up more stairs and through many more bedrooms with enormous balconies that afforded them a view of the river that was simply breathtaking.  From the other side of the house-castle there were views of endless miles of trees and the village, which was not that small once they viewed it spread out on the other side of the hill.

“Most of these people, they come with me when I say I want to settle here,” Jacques told Claire.  “I provided the transportation and they provided the work force I needed to build my home.  Together, we carved much out of this wilderness.”  He told her a few stories of bears, moose, and other animals they came across as they built farms and the community.  Claire had never seen a moose, not even a drawing of one, and she could not imagine an animal that was eight feet in height at its shoulder!  “Now, my ships bring us much to trade with the Indians and others, all the way to Quebec!”

“Your grandfather’s enthusiasm is contagious,” Claire told Tina as they were shown to their room, where their trunks were already in residence.

“He is infectious.  He cannot seem to understand why I do not stay at home and run the empire he has created,” she spread her hands out to indicate the castle.  “There is so much I still want to see and do.  I hope you will always come with me,” she said, taking her hands and tugging her close.

“Why did you not mention your plans to me? We have been together for months,” she asked, feeling hurt and excluded.

“I am used to making all the plans and my people following my orders.  I am not used to sharing with anyone.  I am sorry.  I understand if you do not want to sail all the way to the Orient with me, but I will be gone at least two years and I want you with me!” she told her earnestly, her slate green eyes looking deeply into Claire’s cobalt blue ones.

“The Orient!  That sounds so exciting, but two years, that is so long,” she worried.

“Is there somewhere you need to be?” Tina teased as her lips hovered close to Claire’s.

“With you, only with you,” Claire answered, as she closed the gap between their lips in a searing kiss.

It would have gotten very heated if Tina had allowed it.  Claire was certainly enthused.  “Wait, let us bathe first,” she offered.  They bathed at least once a week on board the ship, twice if it rained frequently enough to replenish their fresh water stores.  The thought of bathing, together, had its possibilities.

“This tub is huge!” Claire said, in awe, as they walked into the bathroom attached to Tina’s room.

“Aye, I saw something like this when I was in Rome.  It is supposedly modeled after Grecian bathrooms, but I do not care.  I can soak in it for hours!”

The tub was wide enough they could sit side by side in it and have enough room to lay out flat and float.  It was not overly-deep compared to the one on board, but it was deceptive because of its width.  The castle was modern enough to have running water pumped from the kitchens and it was soon filling the tub from the faucets. It was placed to the far side in front of a bay window that gave them a fine view of the river and back yard.  A marble ledge with small shelves lined three sides of the tub.

“When were you in Rome?” Claire asked, as they waited for the tub to fill.

Tina shrugged.  “A few years ago we went through the Mediterranean to trade.  If you want to see pirates, it is much worse than in the Caribbean.  There, they are not just stealing for cargoes, there they are stealing for slaves.”  She shuddered at the thought and they both thought back to Claire’s early days on the Black Betty when she asked about cargo that they carried.  Tina would not trade in human cargo.

“That sounds so lovely.  I would love to go if this is the kind of marvel that you see,” she said, as her hand caressed the marble that lined the unique tub.

“If we go to the Mediterranean again,” Tina started.  “We will have to take a fleet.  One ship, alone, is never a good idea.  I was with others.  We banded together to defend each other against those pirates.”

“But you are a pirate!” she responded, not understanding.

“It would not stop another pirate from stealing what is mine.  My ship is quite a prize.  Being female and a captain intrigues other pirates.  I would not want them to get what is
mine
,” she emphasized, looking hard at Claire so she got the general idea.

That was not the first time that she had said that Claire was hers and she stood up next to the taller woman to put her arms around her and hold her close.  “Yours eh?”

“Mine, forever,” she murmured, and kissed her deeply to further emphasize her meaning.  The kiss was deeply passionate and as she began to undress Claire, it began to develop further until she picked Claire up in her arms and dropped her in the now full tub, splashing water over the edge and onto her own clothes.

“Ohhhh!” Claire cried when she landed in the wonderfully warm water.  She had thought Tina would take her to bed, but watching her strip off her now wet clothes, she thought this would be more fun.

Tina did not disappoint as she turned off the water spouts and got into the tub, naked, with her.  Immediately, she reached for her and resumed kissing her.  She also reached behind her to a small shelf and began to wash Claire’s lush body with a sweet-smelling soap that had been kept there.

“Mmmm,” Claire enthused as she returned each kiss and caress against Tina’s tall form.  She could not get enough and wished they would retire to the bedroom.  Once she and her hair were washed, Tina boosted her onto one of the ledges and leaned her back so she could kiss her on her lower lips.  As she took her clit into her mouth and plunged her fingers inside, Claire arched back thrusting her breasts out towards her lover in supplication.  “Moooore,” she moaned, pleadingly.

Tina complied, but only because it was on her agenda too.  Her fingers plunged into the slick heat of Claire’s welcoming body and her mouth kissed between her legs hard, before starting to climb her now clean body, latching onto first one and then the other breast.  Her fingers plunged in and out rhythmically as her thumb rubbed Claire’s now hard appendage.  Her other arm held Claire exactly where she wanted her as she played.

Claire could not understand how quickly this woman could make her body tingle, but she enjoyed each and every moment Tina did this to her.  They had an active love life on board and her days, and most of her nights, were filled with loving.  She felt more confident as time went on and more often than not their dinner was interrupted for lovemaking that she initiated.  She was still young and her juices were flowing, and Tina, who was older, was enjoying it completely.  As Claire’s crisis mounted, she was thrilled to find Tina moaning into her breast.  She knew that moan, it meant she too was nearing her own crisis by what she was doing to Claire.  She would hold it off so that Claire could cause it in her.  Tina added a second and then a third finger as she frigged her.  Suddenly Claire lost all sense of reality for a moment as she convulsed in her wife’s arms, grinding and twisting to get every feeling of what her body was craving.  Tina did not stop there though.  She forced her up that mountain a second time, her own crisis nearly causing her to stop as she was so excited at seeing Claire come undone.  She pulled back, readjusted Claire so she was in the cooling tub with her head on the ledge, and rose up to grind against her mouth. 

Claire immediately grabbed at Tina’s buttocks to help hold her in the position so she could take her lover’s essence into her and pleasure her.  It was terribly exciting to look up and see the naked red-haired captain with her unbound breasts bobbing above her.  Her wild, red hair un-clubbed and wet against her head, she was obviously enjoying what she wanted as she ground into Claire’s mouth.  Her hand reached up to touch the wet orbs, squeezing them slightly, one by one, hearing Tina’s breath catch in her throat as she let her body finally go over the edge instead of tamping it down as she had before.