Chapter Thirteen
Celeste was kissinghim again.
But this time, something had shifted. Something monumental. She’d taken what she wanted by pushing him to action. Baiting him. Enticing him with what she knew he coveted. Her.
She threaded her fingers through his hair and leaned into him. Her breasts were pressed against the thick leather of his coat, her lips were branded by his, their tongues dueled in a desperate dance for dominance and desire. He tasted of the sea and star-speckled darkness.
Of all the men she’d dallied with, none had set her alight with need the way he did. The simple press of his hand at the base of her spine, along with the heated kiss, kindled a fire deep within her. She hated the way he made her feel out of control, feral and needy.
His guttural moan reverberated through her as he broke away. He touched his forehead to hers, and his shaky breath teased her moist lips.
“Turn around, little star.”
The husky command sent a shiver along her spine.
She drew her lower lip between her teeth and slowly turned to face the bed. When his hand brushed her nape, she arched into the touch. Pressure drifted over the laces of the corset until his fingers rested on the knot binding them in place. Slowly, they loosened, pulling free until the bodice hung loose around her torso. He unbound the laces at her shoulders.
Carefully, he unraveled her.
First the sash around her waist, then the bodice, layer by layer, until she stood before him in only the flowing tunic, leather trousers, and boots.
“I must say these garments are quite unnecessary.” Amusement laced his words. “What was it you said...make me beg?”
She gasped when his warm hand came to a rest on her waist, sliding around until it splayed over her stomach. The movement brought his body flush against her back.
“How would you prefer I do that, little star?” His lips teased her ear. “Shall I lick that pretty cunt? Would you like that?”
Her breath caught at his wicked words. She melted against him, molding herself to his hard planes. No man had ever done that. Every encounter had been at her direction, quick, unfettered by teasing words and tender caresses. Fumblings in the dark. A release, an escape from the rigid expectations surrounding her.
But this...his command of her unspoken yearnings...it shook her.
“Is that what you want, Princess?” His hand drifted lower to catch the hem of her tunic. Up and up, he tugged until his fingertips caressed the bare skin of her stomach. “Me on my knees. My head between your thighs. My tongue buried in your sweet cunt.”
“Yes.” Her hoarse response echoed in her ears. “Hook.”
A whimper escaped her as he unfastened the buckle keeping her trousers secure.
Sinking to his knees, he removed her boots. She trembled as she stepped free of the confines, her unsteady body swaying with the ship.
When he rose, he captured her lips in a bruising kiss. He laid claim to her, stole her wits. She held his arms, bracing herself, a willow in a raging storm.
“Take them off, Princess,” he murmured against her parted lips, his fingers trailing over the waist of her trousers.
She slid her thumbs beneath the material and pushed down until the fabric pooled at her ankles. Stepping free, she kicked it aside. Air caressed the most sensitive part of her. She ached for his touch. For what he promised.
But she could not beg. No matter how much she wanted it. He would not wring pleas from her.
He grabbed a small stool beside the bed and sat before her. His hand rested on one hip while he guided her opposite leg until it rested on the edge of the bed.
Warmth flooded her. In this position she was bared to him. Exposed. His face was level with her quivering sex.
His gaze settled on the patch of hair between her thighs. His eyes darkened to midnight as he licked his lips. A smirk settled there as his fingers traced the crease of her hip down. When he brushed her center with his fingertips, she whimpered and grasped the bedpost.
He watched her intently as he slid his fingers between her folds. Her arousal coated the tips of his fingers.
Shame and excitement washed over her in equal measure at the realization of just how much she wanted this.
“So wet.” He drew his hand away and licked his fingers. “So sweet.”
She bit her lip so as not to say anything that could be interpreted as begging. Her limbs shook as her body hummed with need. Touch me, she wanted to scream. Touch me until I fall apart. Until I shatter into a thousand shimmering stars. Until the world fades in the distance and all I can feel is you.
The captain grasped her hip and dipped his head, drawing his hot tongue across her aching cunt. One hand gripped the bedpost while the other threaded through his hair. The cold press of his hook lingered on her thigh, but it was his tongue driving her to distraction.
He licked her folds, tasted her. Little nibbles and kisses between the lingering press of his tongue. It delved deep, teasing, caressing. When she thought she could take no more, he slid two fingers against her opening, stretching her.
He took her pearl into his mouth and suckled gently. She bucked against him. Her body shook as he gently rolled it between his teeth. His fingers pressed deep inside her, filled her. She whimpered and hung her head, unable to form a clear thought.
Sensation overwhelmed her. Release hovered in the distance like a flag over the sea. She raced toward it, urged on by the steady caress of his mouth and the thrust of his fingers.
Saints...this wicked man and his sinful mouth.
She opened her eyes to find him gazing up at her, his face coated in her arousal, a smile on his lips as he languidly stroked her with the flat of his tongue. A cat licking cream. Satisfied, smug.
Celeste pressed her hips against his mouth. His laughter rocked through her, vibrated through her cunt. She gasped and held tighter to the bedpost.
“You...wicked...” Her panted words drifted into the air.
He redoubled his efforts, and the hum of her climax rose like a beacon before her. Just a little more. She tugged his hair, earning a groan from him which reverberated through her.
“Captain—”
Her body thrummed as he brought her closer and closer. She bit her lip, cursing herself for nearly begging him to make her come. It was right there, just out of reach.
He paused, drawing back just enough to free his mouth from its task. “James.”
“What?” she asked, dazed by the sudden absence of his touch and the deep edge to his tone.
“I want to hear my name when you come, little star.” He licked her once, making her suck in a breath as the sensations ricocheted through her. “Say it.”
She licked her dry lips. “James.”
He groaned, taking her in his mouth again. His lips and tongue moved in tandem with his fingers as they fucked her, rubbing sensitive spots no one had ever before explored. Her grip on his hair tightened as her release rushed to meet her, a wave crashing upon the shore.
It consumed her. She closed her eyes, sparks igniting warmth through her body as it swept over her like the gentle flow of water over rocks.
“James.” His name broke from her lips as she slowly drifted down from her high.
With care, he eased himself away and lowered her to the bed. Her sated haze left her boneless and buoyant. She stretched out on the velvet, basking in the luxurious slide of fabric against her bare skin.
James stood at the edge of the bed, staring at her, his brow creased as though lost in thought.
“I won,” she murmured triumphantly.
“Aye.” His dazed expression shifted to that of the cocksure captain she knew so well. “Now that you have had a taste of my talent, it is only a matter of time before you beg me to take you completely.”
Her cunt pulsed at his words. She did want him. All of him. Her gaze dropped to the bulge in his trousers. When she reached out, he snared her wrist with his hook.
“Not this night, Princess.” He turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” she asked, frustrated at the abrupt shift in his attentions. After what she’d let him do to her, she wanted more, damn it. “Are you finished with me, then?”
He paused at the door. “I am far from finished with you, little star.”
“But you’re leaving.”
“In due time, Princess.” He winked. “Rest.”
She rose to her knees, ready to protest. The words dangled on the tip of her tongue. Please. Stay. She bit her lip before they could spring free.
“I almost had you.” He teased with a grin. “What a shame.”
“Get out!”
She hurled a tufted pillow at him, but he sidestepped it, ducking through the door and pulling it closed behind him. His laughter echoed through the wood.
She groaned and threw herself back onto the bed. Even the comforting embrace of soft velvet could not ease the discomfort twisting inside her. He nearly had her, giving her a taste of what he could offer, then leaving her to her own devices.
To his credit, he did not leave her wanting. He’d given her pleasure beyond anything she’d experienced before. It would have been cruel to leave her unfulfilled. But he did not do that.
Celeste sprawled across the bed, staring at the timbers above her and swaying with the gentle motion of the ship. It cradled her, rocking her into complacency.
There was something about this life, this ship, this crew. But most of all, this captain. Pirates all, they held to their own code and banded together. Curiosity tugged at her. If she befriended them, would they accept her presence aboard the Raven?
She shook her head. Such thoughts were madness. Her sister needed her, and she would give Captain Hook and his crew whatever they could take from the cavern vaults. It was a simple negotiation. Unfettered.
But what of her deal with the Mapmaker? She had promised to vindicate him when she retook control of the kingdom from her uncle. But such a venture required an army...a loyal army. She sighed. It was impossible.
Slowly, a plan formed in her mind. It would create complications and break alliances, but it would ensure the best outcome for everyone, especially for the people of Nevarro. She pondered it, allowed the details to meld into a cohesive proposal.
When the captain did not return, Celeste rolled onto her side and drew the blanket over her bare thighs. If he thought she was foolish enough to beg him, he was wrong. She would use their agreement to save her sister and free Nevarro.
Even if it meant sacrificing this tenuous parlay between them.
Captain Hook was a pirate. His only loves were treasure and the sea. There would never be room for her.
She was the princess of Nevarro. Her duty was to her people. To her sister.
He could show her the ways of pleasure and reap the benefit of their agreement, but she could never surrender her heart to him. There was no place for her here. Or for him in the castle.
Pleasure was all it could ever be. Pleasure and heartache.
“Curse your hide, James,” she whispered to the blanket and the sea surrounding her.