Part 33 (2/2)

”What's wrong? I mean other than the usual you hate me and this s.h.i.+p.” He touched her face hesitantly. She'd pushed him away so often he scarcely ever tried touching her anymore.

”I don't hate you.”

”No?”

She shook her head. She didn't. She was angry with him and disappointed he refused to become the man she knew he could be. The truth was she loved him. She knew part of her would love him until the day she died.

She sat up and looped her arms around his neck. He embraced her so tightly she could scarcely breathe, but it was a wonderful feeling. She'd missed him, though they'd been living together at sea for several weeks.

”I thought you did hate me.”

She shook her head. ”I love you, Lock.”

He looked into her eyes, the slightest smile on his lips. ”That's good to hear.”

”Do you still love me?”

”What kind of a question is that? Of course I do.”

”Prove it,” she pleaded, taking his face in her hands. ”Tomorrow when we dock, leave this s.h.i.+p and don't look back.” He didn't reply, but remained with his eyes fixed on hers with confusion, sadness, and guilt. She sighed. ”You won't.”

”What would we do if we left the s.h.i.+p? I have nothing to offer you. No home. No money. No work.”

”We can build a home and find work. d.a.m.n it, Lock, I was a princess and was cast out of my kingdom with nothing. I survived. You survived in the Archipelago with that b.i.t.c.h of a mother and-”

”You deserve more than just surviving.”

”I deserve to be stuck on a s.h.i.+p full of cutthroats waiting for you to be overthrown like you overthrew Rino? Is that what you want for me? For our children? I will not raise a family with a pirate! I don't care if you have nothing. You'll have dignity and honesty. Doesn't that mean anything to you?”

”Dignity?” He laughed humorlessly. ”You know my life, Sparrow. You expect dignity?”

”For an intelligent man, you have no vision.”

”No...What are you talking about, girl? Vision. I have more visions than I'd like.”

”I'm talking about vision of the future as you make it, not something that comes to you in dreams. Stop remembering what you were and think about who you want to become.”

”I can see the near future.” He kissed her mouth, her neck.

Sparrow didn't argue, didn't push him away. Instead she clung to him and kissed him deeply. Her tongue slipped between his parted lips and stroked his. Lock buried his hand in her hair and wrapped his arm around her waist as he tugged her close, tilting her across his lap. Sparrow's fingers gripped the steely muscles of his shoulders and back. She wanted to memorize every inch of his magnificent body to sustain her for the rest of her life.

Lock took her upper lip gently between his, running his tongue over it before his mouth traveled across her cheek and down her neck. Lowering her to the bed, he began undressing her, licking and nipping every inch of her flesh as it was bared.

His mouth covered one nipple, his tongue teasing the stiff nub with broad strokes. At the same time, his fingertips caressed her other nipple, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger and stroking it with the pad of his thumb.

Sparrow wanted to close her eyes to better enjoy the sensations, but she couldn't keep from staring at him. She needed to see the muscles of his powerful body as he moved over her, to relish the beauty of his white and brown hair. She wanted to remember forever the expression on his handsome face as his pa.s.sion built.

”I never thought I'd be so lost to one woman,” he said in a husky voice as he slipped to his knees on the wooden floor, grasped her thighs, and dragged her to the edge of the bed. He lowered his face between her legs and ran the tip of his tongue down each side of her c.l.i.t. Sparrow s.h.i.+vered with impending desire and moaned softy when his tongue rimmed her p.u.s.s.y lips. The bed itself was low enough to the ground that Lock could thrust into her waiting p.u.s.s.y from where he knelt. He straightened and slipped his thick, hard c.o.c.k inside her. Sparrow's eyes closed halfway and her pulse quickened. How she would miss him!

As he thrust, one of his hands stroked her c.l.i.t while his other played with her nipples, rubbing them in tender circles and gently tugging them. The sensations on so many sensitive parts of her body were enough to fling her headlong into a fiery, moaning o.r.g.a.s.m. He continued thrusting and stroking until she lay still beneath him.

He slipped his stiff c.o.c.k from her body and tugged her fully onto the bed. Stretching out beside her, he stroked wisps of hair from her face and brushed a kiss across her lips.

Sparrow turned to him, searching his face. ”What about you?”

”I can wait. Tonight is for you.”

”But-”

”I want to convince you I still want your happiness, Sparrow.”

”Happiness isn't just about physical love, Lock.”

His gaze held hers and she thought she saw a flicker of hesitation and perhaps regret.

”It's one way I know I can please you.”

”I'd rather you pleased me less in lovemaking and left the s.h.i.+p instead.”

”Enough talk. We can have another discussion tomorrow. For tonight...” Lock's mouth devoured hers. Though she knew she should push him away, she also realized it wouldn't matter. He'd made up his mind, as she'd made up hers.

Lock rolled her onto her back and sifted his fingers through her hair. Brus.h.i.+ng the soft ma.s.s aside, he kissed her nape then her shoulders. The tip of his tongue ran from the top of her spine to the indentation of her b.u.t.tocks. One hand slipped between her legs, his fingers fluttering across her perineum then gathering moisture from her p.u.s.s.y. His damp fingers stroked her c.l.i.t while his other arm snaked around her waist, lifting her slightly. Sparrow rose to her knees, her forearms flat against the pillow. His kisses covered her bottom.

Grasping her hips in both hands, he drew a deep breath as he entered her from behind.

”Oh, Lock,” she panted.

”Tell me what you want, girl.”

”I want you,” she said. In every way she wanted him, but as filled with pleasure as she was at the moment, it was not to last. It seemed the only way she could truly have him was in bed. Sorrow mingled with building desire in the pit of her belly. What else had she expected from a SothSea wh.o.r.e?

Sparrow gasped and moaned, o.r.g.a.s.m hurling her into a quivering frenzy. His ragged breathing told her he must be close, though again he slipped, rock-hard, from her.

Rolling her onto her back, he covered her body with his, gazing deeply into her eyes. She stroked his face, trailed her fingertip over his lips and kissed him.

”Tell me what you want,” he whispered. His c.o.c.k pressed between them and his eyes gleamed with pa.s.sion.

”I want to feel your pleasure,” she said. ”I want you to explode inside me. I want to hear my name on your lips when you come.”

His lips curved upward in the slightest smile before he kissed her. Sparrow reached between them, curling her fist around his thick c.o.c.k and guiding him to her p.u.s.s.y lips.

In a swift motion, he filled her and began thrusting. Ignoring her own desire to close her eyes as his slow, steady movements rekindled her pa.s.sion, she watched him. His blue eyes slipped shut, his lips parted as he drew sips of air. He buried his face in her neck and kissed her, his stubbled jaw pleasantly rough against her tender flesh.

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