A Pirate's Bounty Read Online Free PDF Page A

he hated that.
    He hated that she was scared. That this woman who’d come at him with a flashing tongue could be cut down to something so small.
    “You looked cold,” he murmured with a smile.
    “You lie, Captain.” Her words were filled with mirth and accompanied by a small smile. “You seek to comfort me. But you needn’t do such a thing. I know what I must do, and I promise I will do it. You shall have me, you shall have my family’s money. And I shall be free.”
    More than her fear, he hated the fact that he would bed her only because she wanted freedom. He wanted her to desire him. He wanted her to beg him. But with a woman of her stature, her moral code, such a thing would be impossible without marriage. Hell fucking no was he going to promise that.
    But perhaps he could hint…
    “ Mademoiselle, ” he sighed. “I know you to be of noble birth. And while a pirate may not be who you’d thought would take away your most valued possession, it is so. If it pleases you—”
    She rolled her eyes and chuckled, shocking him into silence.
    “Captain Noir, please do not tell me you are about to humble yourself and offer marriage to me?”
    He couldn’t speak, only stared.
    “You can if you wish, but know that I will deny you. I have a fiancé already and he is sure to find us upon the open sea for my wedding date is set to be very soon.”
    “Do you love this man?”
    She crinkled up her face and snorted. “Does any woman ever love the man her parents have chosen for her to marry because it will strengthen both families’ place in the realm and their coffers?”
    “No,” he said flatly, his lips thinning.
    “I sense from your response that perhaps you were at one time betrothed?” She shifted on the bed, the sheet sneaking down to expose the tops of her breasts.
    Why did that bit of flesh entice him more than seeing her nude had? He could imagine every inch of her breasts. Imagine pulling the sheet away with his teeth to nip at her tender flesh.
    He snapped his gaze back to hers. “I was once. But ’twas long ago and in another lifetime.”
    “Truly?” Her eyes narrowed as she tried to read him.
    The little imp. “On my honor.”
    At that she laughed aloud. “Captain, you have no honor. You are a pirate set to steal ladies from their beds and plunder their riches.”
    At her choice of words he too chuckled. He didn’t know why but a piece of the steel he’d surrounded himself with to protect his identity opened. This woman was able to wrench a hole in his armor. “’Tis true of me now but I haven’t always been Captain Wraith Noir, mademoiselle . Everyone has secrets.”
    “Tell me yours.”
    Her gentle demand was alluring. Made him want to open up to her, to tell her his secrets, which had never passed his lips. Get hold of yourself, man ! He was about to spill his entire life story in her lap when he should be enticing her to enjoy what they were soon to experience.
    “If I told you, they wouldn’t be secrets anymore.”
    “So mysterious you are, Noir. You know nearly everything about me, and yet I know nothing about you.”
    “’Tis not about the knowing.”
    “Then what is it about?”
    She had him there. How to answer her? Wraith sighed deeply. He was no good at this wooing thing. The women he cavorted with came to him, hopped on his lap and demanded a ride.
    He grinned at her and winked. “’Tis about l’amour . The sharing. The sealing of one’s fate. ’Tis about opening up the most private part of yourself and allowing another to explore it. ’Tis about my soul touching yours in that one moment when earth shatters and disappears, and we travel up into the stars, melding as one being. That moment when nothing else matters but the person in your arms.”
    He wasn’t sure which part of what he said exactly made her smile, made the fear melt away. Or at what point he knew she was ready. Her muscles relaxed, her eyes widened.
    “Yes,” she whispered. Her lips glistened where