Taken by You Read Online Free PDF Page B

God, was he losing his mind? He should do what his conscience demanded. Ravish her, then let his men have her.
    “The ship is in need of repairs. I’m taking her to our home port in the Bahamas. You will come with us.”
    Luca swallowed hard. “Why? Of what good am I to you?”
    “Perhaps I will find some value in you. Do you come from a rich family? Would they be willing to pay ransom for your return?”
    Luca stared at him. If she told him the truth, the nun’s habit would no longer protect her. If he ransomed her back to her father, Don Eduardo would send her to Cuba to a marriage she did not want. But if she continued with her charade, the possibility existed that she might talk Morgan into letting her go. Then she could make her way back home, quietly reenter the convent, and take her final vows. By the time her father found out, it would be too late to do anything about it.
    Luca knew she could place herself in grave danger if she gave the pirate captain the wrong answer. On one hand, she had no guarantee she wouldn’t be ravished if she admitted to being Luca Santiego, and on the other hand, claiming to be a mm might not deter the pirate from any nefarious deeds. Yet she had to say something. She made her decision in a split second.
    “Alas, my family is poor, Captain. I was placed in the convent at the age of ten to relieve them of another mouth to feed. I was the only girl in our large family. The boys were useful to work our worthless piece of land, and I was given over to die church. I beg you to free me so I may return to the convent.”
    “I cannot do that. My men would mutiny if I released you They expect me to give you to them when I’m finished with you.”
    Luca swallowed visibly. Fear sent icy claws deep into her gut “I beg you to spare me. I’ve done nothing to you Why do you bear such hatred toward my countrymen?”
    Morgan’s expression hardened and he looked past her, stirred by memories she couldn’t begin to understand. He could still feel the whip flaying his back and hear his Spanish tormentors laughing cruelly as they threw saltwater on his wounds and watched him writhe in pain. They had worked him excessively and kept him on starvation rations for five years, and he wouldn’t have survived much longer under those intolerable conditions. If not for the Spanish, his parents and siblings would still be alive today. And the woman standing before him carried the accursed blood of Spanish murderers.
    Luca recoiled in terror when she saw Morgan’s fierce expression. Whatever her countrymen had done to him must have been terrible indeed, she reflected dimly.
    Morgan noted her fear and gave her a lethal smile. “You are wise to fear me, Sister Luca. Your countrymen made my life a Irving Hell and destroyed everything I once held dear. I vowed no mercy for the Spanish, and now you must suffer for it. You will accompany the Avenger to Andros and submit to me in any way I want you.”
    Standing so close to the pirate, Luca felt overwhelmed by the solid, unyielding strength in him. The rush or his anger, the heat of his body… the tenacity and determination of this man, the sheer power he wielded flooded her with a dread so intense she felt utterly without hope. Yet despite all she knew about the English pirate, all the terrible things she’d heard that should have sent her swooning, what she felt was a heady sense of being alive after merely existing for many years.
    “I will kill myself before I allow you or any of your vicious men to touch me,” she vowed, sending Morgan a look of utter disdain. It was an empty threat for she didn’t think she had the courage to kill herself. Hopefully, though, it would make the pirate think twice about touching her.
    Morgan’s generous mouth curved upward in a smile that offered little comfort. “Oh, no. Sister, death is the easy way out, and you are no coward. Your eyes speak clearly of your love for life. It will be amusing to let you stew about your