The Red Drifter of the Sea (Pirates of the Isles #3) - Celeste Barclay Page 0,14

mouth. He laved her swollen lips before sucking her nub into his mouth, grazing his teeth along it. He reveled in her taste as he listened to her short, shallow pants.

When Moira couldn’t stifle a moan, Kyle slid three fingers into her, pulling his mouth away, which earned him a whimper from Moira. He worked her core, sensing that she was drawing closer to release. He flicked his tongue over her bud and felt her body tense. Releasing her, he stepped back. Moira looked at him in shock as she struggled against her bindings. He knew her body ached with unspent lust. Just as he wanted.

“You found your release without my permission earlier, Moira. Then you refused to admit you had,” Kyle pointed out.

“But I tried to make it up to you,” Moira gasped.

“And you did,” Kyle kissed the tip of her nose. “But in nearly the same breath, you refused to answer my simple questions. Give me the answers I seek, and I will give you the pleasure you crave.”

Kyle watched as Moira fumed. Her nostrils flared with each inhale, and her chest rose and fell as she struggled to maintain control. She narrowed her eyes at Kyle but remained silent. Kyle shook his head and turned to the table where he sat and lifted a bowl of soup to his mouth. He sighed as the warm broth slipped down his throat, chasing the chill of the early evening air from his bones. He watched Moira as he lowered his bowl and picked up the other. He stepped to her side and brought the soup to her mouth. She looked at him with such distrust that he nearly reconsidered his plan. He nodded, and she slipped her lips around the edge. He held it to her mouth until he sensed she needed a moment.

When she finished her soup, he brought a heel of bread and a sizeable chunk of cheese back to her. He broke off pieces and fed them to her. She licked his fingers with each bite, sucking them into her mouth. Lust reflected in their gazes as Moira ate each item he brought to her. When she could eat no more, she watched as Kyle ate. Despite his taunting at the beginning, he’d fed her each bite and forewent his meal until she was full.

“I don’t understand you,” Moira blurted as Kyle chewed the last bite of bread.

“What is there to understand? I am captain of this ship and in command of all who are on board. Obey me, and you shall be content,” Kyle explained with a diffident shrug.

“No.” Moira shook her head. When she didn’t elaborate, Kyle came to stand beside her. She gazed into his eyes, and for the first time in years, she felt tears threatening. She saw the doubt flicker in Kyle’s eyes when he realized she was close to crying. “That.”

“What?” Kyle asked in confusion.

“That. That moment where you want to be kind, but you won’t let yourself. I don’t understand you. You insist upon trying to intimidate and manipulate me as the dreaded Captain Red Drifter, but then you let me see Kyle MacLean. And it’s confusing because I think you’re both men. I just wish I knew how to prepare when your mood shifts,” Moira whispered.

“You can believe Kyle MacLean still exists, but you will only be disappointed,” Kyle warned, disconcerted by Moira’s perceptiveness.

“I may not have confessed my secrets, but I haven’t lied to you either. Don’t lie to me,” Moira countered.

“What lie have I told?” Kyle challenged her.

“The one you just spoke. Kyle, Drifter, whoever the bluidy hell you want to be called. Perhaps you are the coldest, most calculating man I’ve met. Perhaps you use gentleness and kindness as your weapon against me, silently coercing me. I don’t know because I don’t understand. But Kyle MacLean, the man I met last year, still exists.” Moira closed her eyes and turned her head into her arm, suddenly too drained to argue, to even think. She didn’t open her eyes when she felt the rope slacken, but they flew open when she felt a blade slip under the binding. She watched Kyle free her; just as she had earlier that day, she sagged against him. “I can’t any more tonight. I'm just too damn tired to fight, to keep up with you. Please, just let me sleep.”

Kyle looked around, realizing he hadn’t thought about where Moira would sleep. He’d held other captives in his cabin before, and