I sighed and gave up. What did it matter, after all? It was just a pretend marriage in a pretend world. It didn’t really mean anything. If it made Corbin happy, then he’d likely be obliged to do what I asked in terms of ceasing the hostilities with Bart.
“—I pronounce ye pirate and pirate, bound together so long as the game runs.”
Holder paused for a moment. “Or until ye cancel yer account, whichever comes first.”
“Yarr!” shouted the crew.
“Ye can kiss yer pirate bride,” Holder told Corbin. “Anything else ye want to do is up to ye two.”
I tried to thin my lips at Holder, but Corbin claimed every last ounce of my attention when he ran a thumb over my chin, tilting my head back slightly.
The warmth and desire in his eyes stripped all thoughts from my mind but how much I liked him, and wanted to be with him… and just plainwantedhim.
“Shall we have a wedding night?” Corbin asked softly.
I stood clinging to him, my head spinning with the kiss he’d just given me, my lips tingling, my body demanding that I fling myself on him right then and there and satisfy all its wants. I started to say no, to explain that I didn’t find purely physical relationships at all desirable, that I needed an emotional bond before I could think of enjoying him in all the many and varied ways my mind was exploring, but before I could, Corbin nipped my lower lip.
“Fair warning, Amy—I’m falling in love with you. I know this isn’t the best way to say it, or even do it, but I can’t help myself. You’re all I can think of.
You make me ridiculously happy, and I just want to be with you. If you’ll have me, I’ll do my best to make you as happy as I am.” His eyes were bright, and full of so much emotion a lump rose in my throat.
All resistance melted. How could I refuse such an offering of a heart? I couldn’t.
“Yes, please,” I said, then gasped in surprise when he swung me up in his arms in the best romantic pirate hero tradition.
“Rum for everyone!” he called to the crew before carrying me below decks, to the captain’s quarters.
Their cheers and several suggestions of a ribald nature (which I hoped would go straight over Bas’s head) were shut out when Corbin set me on my feet, closing and locking the door behind us.
“What about Bas? I can’t just leave him—”
“He’ll be fine. Holder will keep an eye on him. He has three kids of his own.”
“He does? He’s married?”
Corbin nodded. “Since he was eighteen, to his high school sweetheart. Don’t let his flirty act mislead you— they’re very much in love. Hold just likes women, and comes across as a player, but he isn’t really.”
“Ah. Good.” I looked at the key he set on the desk bolted to the floor. “Are you holding me prisoner?”
His smile was full of promise. “That depends. Do you want to be held prisoner?”
“Hmm.” I thought about what I wanted for a moment. Aside from Corbin, which was a given at that point. “I’ve never been into men acting arrogant and domineering. I’ve always felt that a relationship, both the physical and emotional aspects of it, requires from both participants consideration, dedication, and an ability to receive pleasure from pleasure given.”
Corbin watched me carefully, nodding, his eyes glittering in the soft candlelight. Standing there in his swashbuckler’s leather pants, the loosely laced jerkin, the ruffly white shirt beneath it, he looked every inch a true pirate—a dangerous rogue given to heady passions who demanded everything, returning only what he wanted to give. Something incandescent deep inside me burst into being and gave me permission to indulge in my wildest, most secret fantasies.
“Oh, what do I know. Take me, Corbin. Take me now, however you want!” I threw myself on him, giggling when he whooped and scooped me up, depositing me on the big captain’s bed in the corner.
“Just so you know,” he said, his mouth hovering over mine, “I agree with everything you said about consideration and enjoying giving pleasure. In fact, I plan on being damned close to ecstasy with all the pleasure I will be giving you.”
“Oooh,” I said, my toes curling in my boots at the look in his eyes. I ran my hands up his arms, braced on either side of me. “How long does it take to sail from Turtle’s Back to your island?”
“About four hours,” he answered, his head dipping to claim a heated kiss. I squirmed with delight from the intensity of his mouth on mine, his tongue politely asking permission before sweeping alongside mine, curling around it in a way that had me tugging on him, desperate to feel the full length of his body.
He pulled back, gently nipping my lower lip.
“Hey,” I protested, disappointed.
He smiled. “You said I could do this however I want.”
