Then I realized that she wasn’t worried about her safety. It was our cramped quarters.
Dammit and tarnation. How could I have been so ignorant?
In my quest to keep her safe from those men, I hadn’t kept her safe from her fear of being enclosed.
She was trembling in my arms, her eyes locked in an expression of pure horror. After being locked in the cellar so many times, not even my presence could help her relax.
I was a monster for putting her through this. But it had been the fastest, clearest choice at the time.
Her little grinding noise became a raspy cry, just as boot steps thumped closer. In order to keep her safe, I was going to have to be the worst kind of scoundrel.
“Maggie, my darling girl,” I murmured, “you have no idea what it does to me to have your sweet body pressed to mine.”
Kissing her gently, the little noise stopped, and was replaced with a whisper soft sigh. Her lips parted, allowing me to explore her tender mouth and feel her passion.
It felt like some sort of surrender. Like she wanted me to take her completely right there. As if she wanted me to take control.
Raucous laughter came from the other side of the wall, and there was some scraping and thumping right beside our ears.
“Don’t be frightened, my love,” I breathed. “There’s only two of them. I could take them both out in a blink. That is, if I wasn’t so busy fondling the most exquisite woman I’ve ever seen, like the scallywag that I am.”
My hand slipped down to cup her round bottom, squeezing gently as another sigh overtook her.
“Relax, my darling.” Reaching lower, I hitched up her skirt, holding it out of the way awkwardly so I could stroke her hip and thigh through her thin, silky knickers.
Ignoring the cursing and laughter on the other side of the boards, I whispered, “You like the way I touch you, don’t you, beautiful?”
Her chin tipped up and down quickly, as her raspy breath came hot and quick. I was fairly certain that she wasn’t panicked any longer, simply aroused by my wandering hands.
My fingertips glided up to touch the bare flesh at the small of her back. I had to cut off her whimpering moan with a deep, slow kiss.
It was horrible having my attention split in two. I was completely enjoying this naughty tryst with my sweet girl, yet had to listen sharply for the movements of the two crew men.
Nothing was more important than keeping my girl safe.
The realization poured over me yet again like a warm summer storm. This was my girl. Forever.
It didn’t matter that we had taken her by mistake. She chose to stay on my ship. She clearly wanted to be with me. It was time for me to tell her how I truly felt.
Just not while two of us were pressed together in a closet.
Close on the other side of the wall, the two men were bickering about how much money to take from the stash. I could feel Maggie begin to quiver nervously again.
“Breathe nice and slow, my beautiful girl,” I murmured into her delicate ear. “What can I do to help distract you?”
“Keep touching me. Please.”
The haunting desperation in her whisper turned my shaft between us to stone, almost pulsing with need. How I ached to feel her around me. But certainly not here.
My fingertips skimmed over her hip, then tucked into the front of her knickers, teasing along the top of her little thatch of curls. “Is this where I should touch you?”
Quick nodding. A tiny, breathless whine. Her fingers were tangled in the back of my hair, holding me close.
“Pinch my neck if you want me to stop, my girl.”
She responded by running her fingers up and down my neck, sending tremors of lust down my spine. My hand slipped deeper into her knickers, as my fingertips reached down to explore her softest skin.
It was almost impossible to hold back my groan as I explored her tender folds. She was clearly untouched, her breathing stuttering with nerves.