Pirated Love (9 page)

Tina stared at her, wondering if she should slap her-or just let her be.  She chose the latter, but it went on a wee bit too long and began to make her feel uncomfortable.  Finally, it wound down, and just as she was about to speak to the woman there was another knock on her door.  “Come in,” she called, relieved to be interrupted.  She was feeling very uneasy around the blonde, but considering what she had been through recently, perhaps it was best she broke down now.

“Sorry, Capt’n, had the devil’s own time making another meal for you,” Geoff apologized as he brought in the platter and went to place it on the table.

“Wait,” Tina called as she stood up to take it from his hands so it would not slide off again.  “I will take that,” she told him.

“You need anything else, Capt’n?” he asked, respectfully.

“Make sure the brig is secure,” she said warningly, and with a look he could barely see in the faint light.

He nodded understandingly and left, closing the door behind him.

“Come here and eat,” Tina commanded Claire, who had sat on the edge of the bed.

“I need to change,” Claire said in a small voice barely discernable over the roar of the storm.

Tina shrugged, wondering if Claire felt dirty from having that pig’s hands on her and then realized, as she began to unstrap her trunk, that there was a wet stain down the back of her dress.  “Do not untie that, use my robe,” she told the blonde instead.  All she needed was for a loose trunk to go flying and hit one of them, breaking a bone, or going through the windows at the back of the room.

Claire looked up from where she had been attempting to loosen the trunk and then nodded as she went to the hook where Tina kept her robe.  Knowing there was no privacy, she kept her back to the captain as she began to take off her skirt and blouse, leaving her chemise on until she had the robe wrapped around her and then removing that as well.  Wrapping the soiled clothes within themselves, she stuffed them next to her trunk and looked up tremulously at the watching woman, who was eating a sandwich and holding the tray at the same time.  She realized suddenly, how hungry she was; she was feeling odd with the water and whiskey in her stomach.

“Come. Eat,” she commanded, Tina gestured with the sandwich.

Slowly, almost afraid of the captain once again, she approached the table warily and sat at one of the benches.  She was very conscious of the fact that she was naked underneath the robe.  She wondered if the captain would demand sexual favors again and hoped not.  The ship was still locked in a struggle with the storm.

Tina handed her a sandwich and nudged one of the half-full mugs towards her on the tray, but she did not say anything.  She was extraordinarily tired, but she needed sustenance.  She also needed to sleep, but had to eat first or she would not wake up with enough time to eat.  She would have to relieve her first mate in a few hours.

Trying to put the events of the last hours behind her, Claire bit into her sandwich.  It was surprisingly good, with a thick slice of ham between the two pieces of bread.  Swallowing her first bite, she took a sip of the ale that was in her mug.  The combination was delicious and she wondered if it was because she was so hungry.  She was warm from the spirits, but tired from the drama that had unfolded this evening.  She wondered how long the storm had been going on and finally worked up the nerve to ask.  “How long have we been in this storm?”

“Two days,” Tina said, wearily, as she reached for a second sandwich and bit into it heartily.  Chewing around what she had to say, she gulped down some of the ale to make it go faster.  The sooner she finished her meal, the sooner she could change out of her wet clothes and sleep.

“Two days?” Claire asked, surprised.  She had not imagined the passage of time, but two whole days?

“Sometimes these storms can last a week if they are headed the same way we are,” she was informed.

“You must be tired,” she observed, finally looking up as she bit into her sandwich again.

“Aye, I have to be back on deck in a few hours.”  She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, all semblances of ladylike manners were gone now in her desire to feed herself and get to her bed.

“Aren’t you cold?” Claire hesitated to ask, as she realized she was wearing the robe that the captain had worn to bed the other night.

She shrugged.  “I have other clothes,” she dismissed.

There was another sandwich, but Claire had no desire to eat a second one.  Her body was not used to the strong whiskey she had gulped down and now she was feeling oddly tired herself and the heaving of the boat was not helping things.  She pushed it towards the captain, and with a grateful look, Tina bit into her third sandwich and it was soon consumed.  Standing up, she stretched and grabbed her mug, finishing the little ale that was in it.  Grabbing the tray before it could slide off, she put it on the floor outside the door.  Tina headed for one of her cabinets, rocking to and fro in the motion of the ship and handling it well.  She quickly pulled clothing from her cabinet and closed it, stripping unselfconsciously.

Claire swallowed as she tried to look anywhere but at the now naked captain.  Her eyes were drawn time and time again towards the nude woman, who toweled herself dry once her clothes were removed.  Her body was magnificent, from what Claire could see in the dim light.  High, tilted breasts were revealed once she removed strange wrappings from around them.  They were large, high, tipped and very white in contrast to the dark tan of her arms and face.  Her buttocks were firm, and the muscles in both her legs and arms were visible.  Slowly, she pulled on drawers and a loose-fitting shirt, pushing back the long sleeves.  Grabbing her brush, she began to untangle the unruly mass that had come loose in the storm.  It took a while and a lot of under-breath swearing until she began to plait the mass into a long braid.  By then she was ready to collapse.

“Are you ready to sleep again?” she asked Claire, who sat primly at the table.

Claire blanched.  She was not sure she could perform as the captain wished.

Seeing her look, Tina shook her head.  “I just thought we could lash ourselves to the bed and enjoy the warmth together, but if you are not tired...” she left off.

Claire blushed at her misunderstanding.  She
was
tired.  The spirits, the drama, and now a full stomach...she was more than ready to sleep.  “I am tired,” she quickly answered, and blushed again, but in the candlelight she was grateful that Tina probably could not see it.

Tina slid the bolt on the door and they quickly went to bed.  She brought the candle to the bed and put it in another holder that Claire had not seen.  She used the light so that they could see to bind themselves to the bed, ensuring they would not fall out of it while they slept.  The rocking of the ship was not lulling them to sleep, and both of them were stiff until Tina reached up and snuffed out the small candle that had burned down quite low.  “Are you all right?” she repeated her earlier question.

Claire nodded, and then realizing that Tina could not see her in the dark responded with, “I am fine.”

Tina nearly laughed.  She realized a long time ago, if a woman was ‘fine’ she really was not.  She was too tired to debate it though, and really needed her sleep.  “I am going to put my arm around you so do not panic,” she answered, trying not to laugh.  She had seen more than Claire realized, and with the attempted rape tonight, knew the blonde was on edge.  She just wanted to sleep and warm up.  The water on her body constantly for those two days-as they fought the storm, had chilled her to the bone.  She was tense and while lovemaking would have warmed her up, she knew Claire was not up to it.  And to be honest, she was too tired to attempt it.

Claire did tense as she felt Tina’s arm snake around her, but when nothing else happened to alarm her, she relaxed a little.  She was surprised to feel Tina’s body relax behind her on the bed, under the wraps she had expertly tied across their legs and middle so they would not be flung to the floor while they slept.  The captain was soon snoring lightly on the pillow beside her.  This relaxed Claire even more, and she joined Tina in sleep.

CHAPTER THREE

Claire woke at some point, but again she could not tell when it was.  She could tell it was day by the grey coming around the shutters, but the ship was still rocking in the rage of the storm.  She looked around, surprised that Tina was not in the bed beside her.  Claire was still tied to the bed with the straps, but it looked like she could get out on her own this time, and her hands were not tied to prevent it.  She wondered if she should get up, as the storm did not feel like it had abated.  She had never heard of such a storm, but then she had never been at sea when such a squall had occurred either.  Back in England, she had thought nothing about a three-day storm.  Her trip from England had been relatively storm-free.  Here at sea it was worse, much worse.  Lying in bed, she considered her options… and staying in bed seemed to be the best one.  Her body did not agree with her, as she realized she needed to use the chamber pot.  Quickly untying herself from the lashings, she swung over the edge of the bed and pulled it out from under the bed where she had returned it the previous night after vomiting in it.  The contents had not done well with the aging and she wrinkled her nose distastefully.  She had never realized how much her servants had done for her, and recalled the conversation she had had with the captain about slaves.  It was not that much different, but her servants had been paid for their services.  This was one distasteful job, she thought, as she peed into the pot and then had a bowel movement as well.  Seeing some ripped leaves of what looked like a book also under the bed, she realized what they were for and used them to clean herself.  She quickly pushed the smelly jar back under the bed and out of sight, but the odor remained in the cabin and there was nothing she could do about that.  She looked around and tried to stand, but with the ship still rocking it was impossible.  It was too dark in the room to read and she did not know what else to do, so she went back to the bed and lashed herself in again.  It was lucky she did, as some of the rolls of the ship seemed to have increased. 

She lay there a long time, dozing in and out, as she thought about her situation.  Twice since she had been captured, she had been nearly raped, and twice the captain had come to her assistance.  She thought about the captain’s demands and realized it had been such an amazing experience, not at all what she thought it would be like.  She could not help but wonder if it would be like that with a man, the right man.  She knew her fiancé was not the right man, but really, what choice did she have?  She wondered again if her father would pay the ransom or if she would be considered damaged goods.  How could anything that wonderful be wrong?  How had the captain known that was inside of her?  Was the captain just a good lover, or had the women and men she had known taught her?  She had so many questions and no one to confide in or ask.  She began to get hungry and thirsty, but as the storm had not abated she was sure she would not see food again until the captain came in, and knowing how conscientious she was, Claire probably would not see her again until it was over.  Once again, she dozed off as her thoughts swirled.

* * * * *

When Claire awoke again, it was to dead calm.  She did not even feel the slight rise and fall of the ship or hear the slap of water against the hull.  She looked around and was surprised to find Tina in the bed beside her.  Not lashed in as she was, but sprawled on the bed, fully clothed and sound asleep.  She looked exhausted.  Claire glanced at the shutters and could see by the light around them that it was day.  She wondered how long Tina had been lying there beside her.  How had she managed to lie down beside her and Claire had not been aware of it?  In the filtered light of the room, she examined the redhead as well as she could.  The woman looked younger, less commanding in her sleep.  The deep, dark circles under her eyes showed her fatigue.  Her open-necked shirt allowed Claire to see her full chest and the wraps that she used to conceal her breasts and hold them in.  Her jaw was firm and showed a strong and determined woman.  Her nose was pert and her eyebrows and eyelashes dark against her tanned and windblown face.  She sighed in her sleep and rolled towards Claire slightly, wrapping an arm around her.  It was not lascivious, and Claire felt protected somehow with the strong arm holding her close to the redhead’s warm body.  Remembering the thoughts she had the previous night about when the captain had made love to her she began to feel a different warmth to her own body and it confused her.  She did not understand lust, or want, or the sudden need she was feeling.  She was too young, too inexperienced, and she would have been horrified to find that she wanted Tina’s touch on her body. 

When Tina, in her sleep, began caressing her and murmuring slightly, her nose nuzzling into Claire’s neck, she began to get even warmer.  Claire pulled back slightly to be sure the captain was asleep, and satisfied she was, she snuggled back to her former position.  She enjoyed the caresses.  They felt so loving, so warm and...she did not know the word.  In her inexperience, she did not realize she was, in fact, arousing herself with her thoughts.  Tina snuggled closer, her body recognizing the warm form beside her and began to caress her in earnest.

Claire, unsure, did not know what to do.  It was progressing rapidly and already Tina had found the edge of the robe and began to snake her way inside it to find the blonde’s naked body.  Murmuring in her sleep at the softness of the skin
,
she began petting it intensely.  Claire began to squirm as she remembered how wonderful it had felt the other night.