Pirate's Heart Ch. 08

He ran up to his rooms and began to pace. Just the idea of leaving her was tearing him to pieces inside. He now knew there was no way he could leave, but could he live her life? Could he do that? He had a sudden thought and stopped in his tracks. Of course, why hadn't he thought of it before?

Nathan stayed away and she began to fear that he would leave without saying goodbye. After a few days, she insisted that Maria take her outside. "I've been cooped up for weeks. I'm going to go crazy if I don't get out of here."

The housekeeper pulled a wheelchair from the wall and helped her mistress into it. She didn't have her strength back and it was an effort but once she was settled, with a blanket over her lap, Maria wheeled her outside. Catherine breathed in the fresh air, scented with the smell of the ocean. She titled her smiling face up to the sun and sighed happily. "Thank you Maria. This feels wonderful."

She sat for a few minutes before asking to be taken down to the dock. "I want to see my ships." Maria wheeled her down the drive and she kept hoping she would see that the Themis was still there. Her heart leapt when she saw that it, indeed, was still there. The small boats were ferrying supplies and crew members back and forth, preparing for departure.

"Do you know when they're leaving?" she asked Maria.

"Not exactly, but it will be soon," she said.

Nathan soundlessly approached from behind and touched Maria on the arm.

She looked up at him, into his eyes, and then turned back to Catherine. "Will you miss him?" she asked her.

Nathan started at the question but then held his breath waiting for her answer. She sighed and said, "Yes, Maria, I will. I don't know what that man did to me, but I will miss him every day for the rest of my life."

He couldn't believe his ears. He released the breath slowly and just stared a the back of Catherine's head. Maria turned to him and smiled. "I think he will miss you as well."

"No, he won't. He only rescued me because Simpson promised him his ship back. And now that I'm on my way to being well he'll be leaving. Look at them," she said, indicating the small boats, busily sailing back and forth. "Nathan said himself, they're eager to leave."

The housekeeper looked up at him again before responding to Catherine. "Perhaps it's just his crew that are eager to leave and not him."

"No, he's leaving. Why would he stay? He told me enough times, he doesn't even like me." Her voice broke and her eyes again filled with tears.

"You love him, don't you?" she asked gently.

Nathan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. His pulse quickened and he again held his breath waiting for her answer.

"Yes, Maria I do," she said sadly.

Maria turned to Nathan and giving his arm a squeeze, she silently left. He looked down at her and struggled to make sense of the confused emotions swirling in his heart. She loved him, was the only thought that came through. He knew at that moment that as much as he tried to deny it, he loved her as well and would do anything to stay with her.

"Perhaps, I was mistaken," he said softly.

She gasped and twisted around in her seat, staring up at him with wide eyes. "How long have you been standing there?"

He stepped around in front of her and knelt down level with her eyes. "Long enough. I love you too, Catherine. Despite everything, I love you."

The tears the had been threatening to spill finally did, and tentatively, she reached out and touched his cheek. "But Nathan, it can never work between us. We're too different."

"Yes it can. You're an outlaw pirate and I'm a law abiding private sea captain. If we make the right contacts in the Americas we can be hired as privateers. We would work for England, raiding pretty much any ship we like, except British ones of course, and keep all the wealth. It's the best of both worlds."

She looked at him with wonder, fresh tears filling her eyes. "It could work," she said slowly. "You would stay, then? Here, with me?"

He took her hands in his and kissed each one. Looking deeply into her eyes, he said, "Yes, I would."

She threw her arms around his neck and laughed. She pulled back and still smiling, said, "So, you do like me?"

Smiling back at her, he replied, "Yes, I do, a great deal."

Six months later

Nathan held the grape just out of Catherine's reach. She was sitting on his lap and had to strain to grab it with her teeth. She finally did and while chewing the sweet fruit, Nathan plucked off another one. He held it in front of her and as she moved forward for it, he dropped it. It landed in her cleavage.

"Oh no, look what I've done," he lamented.

"That's the third time you've done that in the last fifteen minutes," she admonished him with a smile.

They were in their cabin aboard the Perun, enjoying a lavish meal to celebrate their first raid as privateers on a French ship a few days prior. At his request she had worn the daring purple velvet gown.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to retrieve it," he said with a smile, dipping his head down to her breasts.

He flicked the fruit out of the way and tugged down the bodice of her gown. He cupped her full breast in his hand and brought the pink nipple to his mouth. He sucked and nibbled it, eliciting a moan from her. She tipped her head back as his hand burrowed beneath her skirts seeking the soft flesh of her thighs. He slid his hand up the silky flesh and as he expected, his fingers encountered a nest of soft curls, not lace. He slid a finger between her already wet folds and then inside her and she moaned again, her breath coming faster.

He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to their bed. They tumbled onto the sheets and were immediately lost in each other's arms. Their lips met hungrily and their kiss quickly deepened. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth before gripping her hips and quickly turning her over. She rose on her hands and knees as he impatiently pushed her skirts up. He stared hungrily at her bared backside while fumbling with the buttons on his trousers. When he had freed his erection, he pressed it against her behind. She bucked against him slightly and with a low groan he slowly slid inside her. She pressed back and met each of his thrusts, pulling him deeply into her.

He reached around her and gently squeezed her breasts in his hands, finding the nipples and rolling them between his fingers. Catherine flung her hair back and cried out, pressing hard against him as her orgasm began to build to an exquisite height. It exploded in her and she cried out again, bucking against him. He held her hips tightly, and pushed in hard, as his own orgasm roared through him.

They collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily, still dressed. Nathan rolled off of her and playfully slapped her behind. She cried out in protest. "What was that for?" she pouted.

"You're a very naughty pirate, Miss Veleslav," he said rather seriously.

"I am not a pirate, Mr. Kincaid. I am a privateer," she replied indignantly.

He slid his hand between her thighs, feeling the wetness of her curls. He began caressing her and she sighed with pleasure, pushing her hips into the air. "Either way, you are very naughty," he whispered.

She rolled over and began undoing the laces of her gown. She pulled it down and off of her, revealing her naked body, before reaching for him. She slid her hand into his trousers to feel him hard again.

"You have no idea how naughty I can be," she whispered seductively, as she began to stroke him.

The End