of passion. He embodied primal danger and power and something else. Something that called to the instinctual needs of a woman.
He was a protector, a provider, and an incomparable lover. The way he used his lips and moved his body had been and always would be one of my greatest weaknesses.
“Come on my cock, Bennett.” He snarled the heated words into my mouth.
I responded instantly, trembling and gasping and clinging to his handsome hooded gaze. As he followed me with his own release, the sound of Jade’s windlass groaned into motion.
We froze, sharing a wide-eyed look.
“They’re weighing.” My chest clamped tight as I listened to the sounds of what was undeniably the anchor being hoisted from the sea. “Why are they weighing?”
The door opened, and we turned our heads.
Ashley stood in the gilded glow of dawn’s light, his eyes afire with a sense of autonomy. His posture was properly rigid yet less…stifled. He looked free, independent, and self-governing.
Relief crashed through me in glorious waves of warmth, and Priest’s spent cock gave an answering throb inside me. He caressed my thigh absently, his gaze locked on Ashley. Then he pulled out and drew me up to sit on the desk.
Ashley wore a white satin shirt, open at the collar. No doublet or waistcoat. No lace cuffs or jewel-encrusted buttons. Boots covered his feet. Jackboots. His legs—long and finely thewed—were cased in brown leather breeches, the likes of which I’d never seen him wear.
The sword he carried at his hip wasn’t a cutlass. But it was practical, the kind used for hacking and surviving rather than sport. With his cropped short hair, clean-shaved face, and perfectly erect carriage, he didn’t quite look like a pirate.
His muscled physique was that of a seafaring man, to be certain. But he clad it in fabrics from the most expensive haberdashers and bootmakers.
He looked like a pirate prince.
Elegantly masculine.
Strikingly confident.
Gorgeously male.
I perched on the edge of the desk and crossed my legs, poised like a lady, as if I weren’t nude and freshly fucked. “You’re late.”
“Am I?” He closed the door behind him, his mouth twitching in the shadow of a grin, begging to be kissed. “I arrived two hours before dawn. I gave Reynolds the orders to weigh since you were otherwise indisposed. And missing me terribly, I see.” His gaze drifted down my body. “Open your legs.”
Jade groaned and creaked with the roll of the waves. She was officially in motion, set on a course to my father’s treasure.
“You’ve been here for two hours?” I arched a brow. “What were—?”
“I have some demands in this arrangement.” He strolled toward me and flicked a finger in the direction of my cunt. “Open.”
Priest pulled on a pair of breeches from the armoire, his eyes alight with amusement. No help there.
Oh, blast it. I leaned back on my arms and spread my legs.
Ashley set the desk chair before me and lowered into it, reclining, his gaze on mine. “I sold my properties. All but one. The manor on the cliff, its tenants, staff, and land remain in my possession. I understand you wish to live on this ship, and I will remain at your side. But I require annual visits to England—all three of us—and so we shall call the manor our second home.”
I nodded, grinning, loving him with all my heart.
“What happened with your parents?” Priest sat on the bed, his back to the wall, and an arm dangling over a bent knee.
“They were so absorbed in what I was losing that they never asked what I was getting in exchange. They believe I’ve gone mad.”
“Perhaps, in time, they’ll miss you enough to ask,” I said.
“Maybe. Maybe not.” His expression showed neither sadness nor relief. This wasn’t a mask. He was genuinely indifferent about it. “Given the company I now keep, my answers would be lies anyway.” He set a hand on my thigh, his thumb absently stroking. “I ended the betrothal in person, and I daresay the young girl looked relieved. The Royal Navy, however, is a different matter. My superiors won’t know I deserted until they realized I’ve stopped reporting in.”
My pulse quickened at his somber tone. “Are you going to regret this?”
“What I’ve given up is a lot.” He gripped my waist with both hands and placed a kiss between my breasts. “What I’ve gained is precious. Inestimable. A value too great to measure.” He exchanged a fond look with Priest and returned to me. “Thank you for helping me understand that.”