The Stolen Heart (19 page)

 

 

He tested her readiness, stroking the delicate folds of her feminine
flesh until she was flooded with warmth and desire. He rubbed his
whole body against her like a cat, and then pressed into her deeply,
and stilled. She tried to move her hips, lift to him, but he
whispered, “Don’t move.”

 

 

“But-”

 

 

“There are many ways of making love. We’ve tried quite a few of them
already. I don’t want to hurt you, but I need to be inside you
desperately.”

 

 

“I need you too!” she begged urgently, trying to set a rhythm under
his rock-hard hips.

 

 

He pressed in deeper, pinning her to the mattress. He laced his
fingers though her hair and kissed her hard, effectively sapping her
resistance, letting him take control.

 

 

As she relaxed, he slipped in even further, filling her until she
could feel the throbbing heartbeat at the huge engorged head of his
penis. It seemed to get larger with each tiny stroke, and met an
answering pressure from deep within her.

 

 

She was fascinated, enthralled, stunned. She thought she had known
herself, known her body, until last night when he had entered her
for the first time.

 

 

Since then, she had become a wanton woman, with her body taking over
while all common sense and rational thought flew overboard.

 

 

“Jared, please,” she begged.

 

 

“I’m here. Just relax, enjoy it.”

 

 

Her orgasm was gathering with such powerful force, she was reminded
of the storm they had encountered the night before. It was almost
frightening in its intensity. There was nothing she could do to
control it, to stem it, or let it come on.

 

 

Jared only controlled her, with his maddening alluring subtle
rhythm, when all she wanted was for him to pound into her until she
could no longer beg for more.

 

 

She grasped his buttocks hard, digging her nails into his flesh, and
pushing up off the bed with her hips as hard as she could, driving
him even deeper.

 

 

“You little vixen,” he rasped. "That is sooo good."

 

 

“Please, Jared. Please.”

 

 

“It will be over in an instant if I do,” he whispered against her
lips.

 

 

“I don’t care. Now, please, now!” She raked her nails down his back
and sobbed out her need against his torrid kiss.

 

 

He clung onto her head, and moved his other hand down to clasp her
bottom, then drew back and plunged with such force that she exploded
in an instant, writhing and twisting until he could barely hold onto
her.

 

 

His own body responded in kind, driving forward, filling her as he
climaxed with a desperate urgency that went on and on.

 

 

“Almira, my God, Al,” he almost sobbed.

 

 

For far from quieting in his arms, she clutched at him and continued
to move her hips until, to his utter amazement, he felt hard and
ready all over again.

 

 

He rolled onto his back and she gasped as she slid down onto him,
driving him ever deeper.

 

 

“Take what you need, my love. I’m all yours, Almira. I don’t want to
fight you or control what this is between us any more.”

 

 

She stroked his chest, face and shoulders, and rotated her hips
until he saw stars. She reached back to his hard thighs and stroked
upwards, so that he rammed the back of his fist into his mouth to
stop a roar that would have roused the entire ship.

 

 

His climax was torn from him as she moved backwards and her inner
muscles clamped down onto him with devastating ripples, wave after
wave of taut desire wringing him dry.

 

 

“Almira, please-”

 

 

She kissed him then, and he was sure he had died and gone to heaven.

 

 

At last, spent by her efforts and the overwhelming pleasure they had
shared, she collapsed onto his chest.

 

 

He gathered her to him tightly, like a man clutching a life
preserver, and at last they both slept the sleep of the deepest
satisfaction, their words of love unspoken on their lips as they
drifted off.

 

 

 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

 

 

Seven bells was the signal for breakfast, but Jared opened one eye
blearily and decided the last thing he wanted to face was maggoty
ship’s biscuit and tea so strong he could stand his spoon up in it.
Not when he had an incredible woman like Almira in his arms.

 

 

She was still sleeping on his chest, and he tried not to disturb
her, but the temptation to stroke her baby soft hair and plant a
kiss on her rosy lips was almost too much to bear.

 

 

He frowned as he looked at her face and chin-his bristles had
certainly left their mark in the pinkness of her cheeks.

 

 

In fact, he thought with equal parts of pride and dismay, he had
never seen any woman look so well and truly loved. He stroked one
tentative finger down her cheek, and jolted in shock as she opened
her blue eyes, and sucked it into her mouth, her pink tongue
caressing it in such a way that brought an instant answering
hardness to his loins once more.

 

 

He pressed down on her back and filled her, wondering all the while
at the urgency of his desire for her. This had never happened to him
before, and he was confused, and concerned. It couldn’t be normal,
natural… Could it?

 

 

But as she sat up, spread her legs on either side of him and moved
forward with undulating movements of her hips, he didn’t care what
was normal. He only cared about the moment, the sheer joy of losing
himself inside her.

 

 

Finally, at five bells in the next watch, he sought to gain control
of his reeling world. He kissed Almira one last time and dragged
himself from the bed and over to the tub, which he began to fill.

 

 

The water was warm enough from the sunshine overhead, not that he
would have cared. He wondered if he was going to need some polar ice
to stop the burning need he felt for Almira every time she looked at
him, touched him, kissed him.

 

 

He immersed himself in the tub and sighed, rubbing his eyes with his
fingers as he soaked. Though he rarely got headaches, he felt a
fierce one coming on.

 

 

He was confused, felt out of his depth. He needed to get control. It
was bad enough that he and Al were forced to be in close proximity
to one another. He simply could not keep taking advantage of her in
such an appalling way.

 

 

She was his friend and colleague Jed Hussey’s daughter, a tender
young girl, and he had seduced her. The fact that she had been a
more than active participant meant nothing. It was wrong.

 

 

He had no future to offer her except waiting at home for him to
return from the sea. They would be able to share, at best, a couple
of explosive days of reunion, and then he would be shipping out
again.

 

 

And all the time he was away, he would be worrying if she were well,
happy, happy with another man, sharing with him what they had just…

 

 

Oh Lord, this was insane. He had no right…

 

 

He had to let her go, before it was too late. He didn’t want her to
become a thin pining shadow of herself, as his mother and Dare’s had
become waiting for their husbands to come home.

 

 

He only prayed she would not be saddled with a child as a result of
his immoderate desires. She deserved so much more than a whaleman
for a husband. She deserved a fine home, beautiful clothes, not her
sailor’s slops…

 

 

“Are you all right?” The soft question came from the bed.

 

 

“A bit of a headache is all. You?”

 

 

“I’m fine. You were groaning. Not a happy groan,” she added with a
blush.

 

 

“Sorry. The water’s still warm. I’ll get out so you can have a
turn.”

 

 

“I’ll come help you with your back and hair.”

 

 

“No, really, it’s fine. I have to get up and out. You wash, and then
go back to bed.”

 

 

She shook her head, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her fists
like a child. The sight made him feel even more of a guilty pang.
She was only nineteen, he was older, should have known better….

 

 

“Now that I’m feeling well again, I should resume my duties. We’ve
already lost two men, and Cook was telling me there were some others
sick.”

 

 

“Nothing huge to worry about, malaria,” he said, reluctant to
mention the other two men with the clap. "Not anything that would
spread throughout the ship."

 

 

“Oh, that’s good.”

 

 

As she approached the tub, he asked her quickly to hand him a towel.
He practically snatched it from her hand and covered himself, then
began to search for some clothes under her concerned gaze.

 

 

“Can I help? I’m supposed to be looking after you.”

 

 

“No, really, just get into the tub and enjoy it.”

 

 

She stepped in and scrub herself, while he struggled to find shirt,
cravat, waistcoat and trousers that he could be satisfied with.
Either they didn’t match, or they needed mending, or they smelt
musty to him, or…

 

 

She was there by his side, touching his shoulder and turning his
face to her for a kiss.

 

 

“Almira, we can’t-”

 

 

But as the kiss deepened, he not only could, he
had
to. He
lifted her against him and entered her before they ever even hit the
mattress, and he devoured her with kisses as she clung onto him with
astonishment and need.

 

 

It was over for both of them in minutes, and then he sat up in the
bed and began to apologize in a trembling voice.

 

 

“I don’t understand," she said, shaking her tousled blond head. "It
was wonderful, Jared. It always is. Why are you saying you’re
sorry?”

 

 

“I grabbed you and tossed you onto your back like a common tart, for
goodness sake. That’s wrong. I mustn’t let any of this happen ever
again.”

 

 

Her face fell, and she thought she had been punched in the stomach,
she felt so winded. “But I don’t understand… What have I done
wrong?”

 

 

He smoothed her hair back and laughed bitterly. “Nothing, my dear.
Nothing at all. This is all my fault.”

 

 

She stared at him through her tears. “Fault, apologies. Blame? I
don’t see how you can act like this. I thought everything was
wonderful.”

 

 

“It was, but-”

 

 

She pulled the sheet up over her, suddenly feeling dreadfully
exposed. “But
what
? Please, Jared you’re not making any
sense to me.”

 

 

“But don’t you see, Almira, I forgot
everything
when I was
with you! The storm, my ship, the crew! Surely you can see how
dangerous that can be. I can’t trust myself around you, and you
certainly don’t seem to be able to resist me either. We can’t let
this, this thing between us, ever happen again.
Ever
. For
your own sake and safety, my dear, you need to get off at the next
port.”

 

 

She stared at him in disbelief. “Have I done something wrong? Been
foolish, disappointed you?” she asked tearfully.

 

 

“No, not at all," he insisted, shaking his head. "This is all my
fault. I should have been a better man, resisted my temptations. I
took advantage of your proximity, and I’m truly sorry. I’m
responsible for you as a member of the crew and I’ve damaged you
irreparably.

 

 

"I have my duties, to you, and to the rest of the crew. I forgot
that duty, and for that I’m sorry. We must not be together alone
like this again. It mustn’t be allowed to happen again for all our
sakes.”

 

 

He was asking her to say no to him, but she could no more refuse him
than stop the sun from rising. Almira was hurt, crushed by his
seeming rejection of her, but was not about to accept it without a
struggle.

 

 

“Well, how does Dare manage? He has his wife with him when he sails,
and his son. Are you saying he is less of a captain that you are
because he is happily married, and has his wife and family on
board?”

 

 

“No, but-”

 

 

“I'm not asking you to marry me if that’s what you are worried
about,” she said angrily.

 

 

“I’m not worried about it. In fact, I insist up on it,” he heard
himself saying pompously. He hated himself for the words as soon as
they were out of his mouth. He really wanted to be truly romantic,
and get on his knees and beg her to have him for her own true
husband. Instead he said as primly as a parson, “You were under my
protection and I’ve ruined you. I must do the right thing.”

 

 

The slap across the face she gave him set his ears ringing, and
echoed around the cabin. '“Ruined me! How dare you! No, don’t say
another word! I’m going back to my duties. We’ll talk later when
we've both calmed down.”

 

 

Jared ran after her, but she had snatched up her clothes and was
already gone. He prayed there was no one in the companionway to see
her coming out of the cabin naked. The last thing he needed was
someone else knowing she was a woman.

 

 

He sighed as he looked at the shut door. Short of carrying on their
argument right on deck in front of the entire crew, there was little
he could do at the moment.