Hart's Passion (Pirates & Petticoats Book 2) (28 page)

Again, his lips descended upon hers, but this time they were soft and tender. Her pulse quickened, and a lovely warmth swirled inside her. His tongue beckoned hers to a dance in the moist warmth of her mouth.

“I taste honey and wine,” he murmured.

After adjusting the light from the lantern until the cabin was bathed in a faint, orange glow, he lowered her to his bed. Her gaze followed his movements in timid admiration as he undressed. Broad shoulders gave way to a narrow, tapered waist. There was no doubt Landon was in excellent physical form. His chest was lightly furred; his belly was flat with a thin line of hair running down… Landon’s male reaction to her stare brought a sudden hotness to her cheeks. She quickly blinked and raised her gaze to his face. How would she possibly survive being impaled by an erection of that size? She swallowed and for a moment, the panic swelled.

Sensing her unease, Landon gently brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek. “I’ll be gentle, love. Trust me, soon you will hunger for this as much as I do.”
 
He traced her jaw line down her throat with light kisses. He made a slight detour to a soft, sensitive spot behind her ear and she almost forgot what year it was.

“Your skin is soft, like rose petals,” he whispered.

His softly stroking fingers sent another shiver down her spine eliciting a soft sigh from her. Kneeling on the bed, he drew her up against him and captured her mouth in a soft, tender kiss. Keelan’s heart pounded erratically as he stroked her skin with reverence, as if savoring every touch from her neck, down her arms, over to the small of her back, and down her backside. A small gasp escaped her mouth as he pressed her hips harder against his. His kiss deepened, and his inquisitive tongue distracted her from the unfamiliar hardness. His hand returned to her breast. Waves of heat swirled around her then threatened to erupt when his thumb once again rubbed tight circles around the rosy peak. Her throat vibrated with a deep moan of pleasure.

“You like when I do this?”
 

She nodded, or at least she thought she nodded. He cupped her other breast and repeated the delicious caress, making her sway into him from the sheer pleasure of it. There was more, there had to be more. Something was building inside her, urging her into him, looking for more. The sensation pushed all rational thoughts from her mind, and she covered his hand with hers and pressed it more firmly and he responded by kneading her breast, making her knees weak. His lips moved to her neck then on to touch the delicate tip of her ear. Keelan could breathe only in small fragments and the air around her seemed to thicken as his caresses became bolder.
 

“If you like that, then surely you’ll enjoy this even more.”

He kissed his way down to her breast then took her nipple in his mouth. The wonderful sensation had her fingers convulsing and she delved them into the curls at the nape of his neck. Flames licked at her core as his hot, moist lips brought her near the brink of insanity. His hands wandered along her calves, moving behind her knees in a soft caress, up her thighs to the soft inner hollow near her womanhood.

Just when it seemed she would implode, he pressed her back to his bed and then began to leave a trail of molten kisses across her belly. “My God, you are so beautiful,” Landon’s voice was husky as he murmured against the pale skin of her stomach. “Like a goddess, bathed in gold and dipped in diamonds.”

Her skin tasted like wild cherries and sunshine. Landon inhaled the jasmine mingling with her womanly scent. When had he fallen in love with her? At the ball, when she had tried to fool him into thinking she was in love with Everett? Perhaps in the garden, when he had stolen a kiss under the guise of a payment for his silence, only because he could not resist the temptation of her sweet, full lips, which had fallen open in astonishment when he’d called her from her hiding place. Or was it in the early June morning, after dueling with Daniel, when she tore the blue scarf from her head and had given him a spry mocking salute before disappearing into the pines? Her look of brave determination when the
Dragon
had attacked?

Keelan.

His jewel. His love.

She was soft and strong, pliant as silk and strong as the tide. He wanted to hold her, love her, protect her and cherish her.

But more than anything, he wanted to devour her.
 

Her kisses drove him insane. It was all he could do to hold himself in check and not toss her on his bed and plunge himself into her to ease his own long, smoldering hunger which had consumed him for weeks. He wanted to love her gently her first time. She arched against him and he sucked in his breath. If she’d let him.
 

The dew-kissed moistness of her mouth was sweeter than nectar. He brushed his fingers over shoulders, her skin like soft satin. She was everything he desired. The only one he desired. How could have she not seen it?

“Landon?”

Landon raised his head and lost his breath at the image before him. His gaze moved over his new bride’s body. Fiery tresses teased by the sun fanned across the pillow beneath her head. Dark, auburn lashes touched her lightly flushed cheeks and her full, deep red lips parted in silent, passionate wonder. Firm, pink-tipped breasts curved gracefully to a creamy porcelain stomach. Lithe, shapely legs met at a tightly curled amber nest of wet heat. Her pupils had widened with desire then went soft as his hand caressed her thigh and then slipped further to touch her warm moistness. His desire to have her was so powerful, he had to remind himself to keep his movements slow, his touch soft. He paused to kiss the other tender pink peak and it pleased him to hear her swift intake of breath. Here was the most valuable treasure he’d ever seen, and she was his. All it had cost him, was his heart. He smiled. It was a good trade, a good trade indeed.
 

“What, my love?”

“I want you. I don’t know how—”

Landon kissed her again and pressed his body against hers. Keelan’s world was spinning through thick waves of pleasure. She ran her hands up along his hardened ribs, across his shoulders, and pulled him to her. Closer. There was no control, now. Her body reacted without a thought to guide it. He needed to be closer so she could breathe him in, envelop him.
 

“I love you, Landon,” she could only breathe the words.

“I love you, wife. I don’t want to hurt you, but I’ve been told the first time…”

He shifted gently and pressed himself against her opening and the tender shield of her maidenhead. She stiffened and her eyes flew open. “Landon…”
 

Landon’s voice was low and calm in her ear.“Shhh…Keelan, my sweet love, relax. Let me love you. I promise…I will make you crave this.” He caressed her breast then slide his palm down to cover the wet nest of curls joining her thighs; his fingers slid into her folds and she closed her eyes at the bliss she suffered from his fingertips. His caress deepened and she moaned.

“You are so wet for me, Keelan. So warm, so soft.”

His lips touched hers, and her hands slipped convulsively over the hardened muscles of his back. Her fingernails dug into his skin as the pleasure swirled and rushed through her like a mighty wave, curling then crashing into the core of her soul. When the pleasure exploded within her, he pressed further and eased inside; the pressure mounted until the thin membrane broke. Pleasure and pain. Inhaling swiftly, she buried her face into his neck.
 

He stilled. The heat from Landon’s body enveloped her; she kissed his shoulder then paused. The pain had subsided. Instead, she was filled with a warmth and a need she couldn’t describe.
 

She heard Landon’s hoarse whisper again in her ear. “Keelan. Look at me, my love.”

She leaned her head back and stared up into the deep pools of blue, which locked her gaze to his. His eyes were dark and sensual as midnight velvet, and she found herself falling into them like a petal into a glassy lake. His heartbeat was hammering against her chest. Or was it her heartbeat hammering against his? It was impossible to tell.
 

“I love you, Keelan Hart.”

She continued to search the depths of his eyes as he slowly, slowly started to move within her. There was little pain now, only movement, and her body took control, meeting his gentle, rhythmic thrusts. He filled her, fitting inside her as if his body was made for it. They moved together in an even rolling motion, like the tide moves to and from the shore, with no beginning and no end. Etherial pulses of sensation flowed through her into Landon and from him into her until they were connected by something stronger than sinew and flesh. Their souls entwined and melded together in a golden flare of light.
 

A deep hunger began to grow within Keelan’s belly, and a soft moan escaped from her lips. Reaching up to Landon, she slid her hand behind his neck, and he responded by crushing her mouth to his. His thrusts quickened and she rose to meet him. Landon’s breathing became ragged and he whispered her name. Little explosions detonated deep inside her and they both cried out with pleasure as he spilled himself deeply within her.

Fate brought them together.
 

Love bound them for life.

The cradle-soft arms of Morpheus seemed to have barely rocked Keelan to sleep, when a harsh, brutal pounding sounded upon the cabin door.

“Captain Hart!” An urgent voice penetrated the early morning quiet. “Sorry to intrude, sir, but you’re needed on main deck straight away.”

Keelan did not recognize the voice heralding her new husband from her side this morning, but she was immediately resentful. She wasn’t ready to relinquish her husband, her companion, her source of warmth, comfort and strength, so soon.

Landon acknowledged the intrusion with a growl, “What is it, man?”

There was a slight pause. “The prisoners locked in the hold have escaped, sir. They have stolen one of the canoes. Cap’n O’Brien’s fumin’ mad and means to give chase.”

Landon tensed at the news of the pirates’ escape. Keelan’s chest tightened. If the escaped spies reached Gampo and revealed the location of the
Seeker
, even the dense fog wouldn’t keep them safe. Gampo had made it clear he meant to avenge Crowe’s death personally. Since he blamed her for it, she was in the greatest danger.
 

Again.

She still wasn’t sure if Gampo had pursued them from Charleston because he’d found out she was aboard, or followed simply because the
Seeker
was part of Fynn Ahern’s fleet, Gampo’s long-time rival. She snuggled closer and Landon reached his arm around her shoulder.

“What started this feud between Fynn and Gampo?” she asked.

Landon took a deep breath, scrubbed his face with his other hand and gave a baffled laugh. “Those two salts had been at odds for the past twenty-five years, although no one seems to remember why. Fynn always remained tightlipped about it. His only plan of action was to do as much damage as possible to Gampo’s ship without killing anyone.” He shrugged. “Gampo seemed to have the same intent. Both did their best to hinder the other’s business and disrupt each other’s trade, like a couple of old, toothless dogs.”

“Have many people died?” she asked. A light shadow of whiskers covered his jaws. Curious, she traced her fingers along his chin.
 

“No lives were lost in all those years. Brendan, Fynn’s son, said Fynn died because he was hit by falling debris from a splintered mast. In truth, Gampo’s shot had been high. He didn’t rake the deck with grape shot, which tells me he had no intent to kill Fynn.”

She moved her hand to his chest and marveled at the ripple of muscle beneath her fingers as he shifted to turn toward her a bit more. She raised an eyebrow. “Now, you’ve lost Fynn and Gampo’s lost his first mate and his sister. It’s become a blood feud, hasn’t it? Gampo is still pursuing the fleet, so it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to call a halt to it.” She was a part of this now. It wasn’t because she married Landon, it was because she too, had raised the pirate’s ire.

Landon stared into her eyes a moment, contemplating. “Conal and Brendan are determined to see him hang for causing Fynn’s death.”

“Where’s Brendan now?”

“He’s waiting for us in the harbor with Fynn’s ship, the
Reward
.”

There was something else bothering her. In fact, it had been lingering on the fringes of her mind for the past few days. “When we were in the warehouse, Gampo mentioned something about his sister. He seemed to believe Fynn had somehow wronged her. He mentioned Fynn would know how much a Persian would pay for me,” she said. Although she felt safe in Landon’s arms, she couldn’t suppress the shiver which skittered across her shoulders.

He hugged her closer. “Fynn has never engaged in the slave trade, rather, he’s done much to foil it. His group of Freedom Runners is proof.”
 

“Gampo seems to be convinced Fynn sold his sister,” she said.

“Gampo is mistaken.” Landon smoothed a stray strand of hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.
 

“How did you come to be on Fynn’s ship?”

“My parents died when I was twelve. Then Fynn took me in. I was lucky.”
 

When he was young, it had taken wits and strength
and
luck. Landon twirled his finger in a lock of Keelan’s hair. “Fynn had recently lost his brother to the same fever which killed my parents on the journey to America from Ireland. Although Fynn and Risa had children of their own to care for, they took me in and raised me as their own.” He stroked his fingertips along the soft skin of her arm. “That old salt told the best yarns.”

Fynn’s stories invoked images of daring rescues, duels, and true love. He moved his fingers in small circles up to the silky skin of his wife’s shoulder.
 

“When Fynn’s wife, Risa, was a young maid, she was taken prisoner from a prize ship and sold by the pirates who’d captured it. Gampo gave the pirate captain a small fortune prior to the sale to buy her before she was placed up on the block.”