Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
The sting from her palm still burned across my cheek, and the laugh that escaped me was low and sinister. I lashed out, fingers curling into her hair and locking at the base of her skull as I forced her head back until her eyes met mine. Her glower shot straight down to my cock.
“Careful, Beastie,” I growled. “Filthy pirates like myself often take that which doesn’t belong to us. You’re playing with a fire you’re not prepared to manage.”
She hummed, a low, throaty sound that vibrated against the quiet air. “Is that a threat, then? Because I find myself rather curious about what a flame like you might do.”
I chuckled and stepped away. Grabbing my shirt from where I’d tossed it on the bed, I threw it on to hide my ruined back before facing Corynne. Her mess of brown curls was still damp from the swim she’d taken earlier, and those pouty lips were still blue. Did she realize she was shivering?
“Are you cold?” I asked stupidly.
“Well, I’m not warm,” she responded, teeth chattering.
Of course she was fucking cold. She hadn’t bothered with herself because she was too busy having to patch me up instead.
I crossed to the trunk at the foot of the bed, pulled out one of the many plain linen shirts I wore under my coat, and offered it to her without a word.
I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.
I didn’t want to think about her undressing in my cabin, or about her wearing my shirt with nothing but her creamy, porcelain skin underneath it.
Fuck me.
She looked at the shirt, then back to me, her brow scrunched as if searching for the catch in my kindness. “I have clothes.”
“Wet ones,” I pointed out.
“They’ll dry.”
I pushed the shirt toward her again. “Stop being a pain in the ass and put it on.”
Corynne took the shirt hesitantly, turning it over in her hands as if something might jump out from it and bite her. “This is yours,” she said.
“Astute observation, Miss Godwin.”
Her lips thinned as she stared at it. What was so godsdamned difficult about listening for this woman?
“I don’t need—”
“Corynne,” I scolded, and she stilled, her gaze finding mine from under tired, hooded lids. “For once, will you please just fucking do what you’re told and let me take care of you?”
Her eyes went wide as she wet her lips, and I found myself wishing I could take the bottom one between my teeth. But she fixed me with a look of defiance. “As you wish, Captain,” she whispered.
She reached for the lacing at the front of her blue dress, deftly undoing each stay so painstakingly slow that I nearly begged to do it for her.
The witch was doing it on purpose, that much was clear.
The panels parted another inch, revealing the supple curve of her breasts, and I briefly forgot my name.
I needed to stop this, to regain control and show her who held the power. It was me, and not some sharp-tongued hellcat who threatened to unravel me with nothing but a sultry look.
I was goading her into a game that I knew damn well I shouldn’t play. But gods, I wanted to.
“Keep going,” I dared, my voice low and rough, betraying the true feeling beneath the taunt. I stepped closer, crowding her against the desk until her body brushed against mine. “Show me how brave you really are.”
Corynne inhaled sharply, but a rebellious spark ignited in her eyes.
She worked the laces until the bodice slipped from her shoulders.
Gods her skin—pale, flushed, and so fucking perfect.
My shirt dangled forgotten in her hand. Part of me wanted to rip it from her grip, cover her, and run.
The other part wanted to tear the rest of her clothes off and devour her.
You can’t have her. Not now, not ever.
I knew that was the truth, and yet…
I reached out, dragging a knuckle slowly down the valley between her breasts. She shivered, nipples tightening into peaks that begged for my mouth.
“Still cold?” I mocked, even as my cock strained painfully against my breeches.
“Burning hot,” she whispered, arching into my touch, still testing boundaries neither of us understood.
Her words nearly broke my resolve. But I was going to win this game.
Corynne Godwin would break first.