The Panther's Second Chance (Book 10 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 22

"Wait a minute. So you returned to England even though you spied for the Americans and you didn't even move here after the war ended?" she asked, her eyes wide, as she sat back again.

He smirked. "Yeah. I was a member of the English aristocracy. I wasn't going to give that up. Not at that point at least."

"But did people notice your immortality?"

"Not really. I kind of figured out how to get around it. I'd disappear for a while. I ended up in Jamaica and then would come back. I pirated for a while too," he said, twirling a piece of her long hair with his fingers.

"You were a pirate?" Her eyes grew wide.

He shrugged. "Yeah I was a pirate for a while."

She tipped her head sideways, scrutinizing him. "I think I could see that."

He laughed. "It's not nearly as romantic as those books make it out to be."

"I can see that too. We love to romanticize everything," she said in disgust. "Did you have your own ship?"

"Not at first, but I ended up buying one because I pissed off the captain," he said.

"How did you do that?"

"I killed off some of the crew for raping women," he said. "He didn't care for that. But I abhorre rape."

"So what happened?"

"I got tossed overboard." He said it so nonchalantly that she blinked up at him.

"They tossed you overboard?" she repeated. That made her so sad, especially because he'd been protecting others.

He nodded. "Yeah. Into the Atlantic. Fortunately I wasn't too far from shore, so I was able to swim for it. Then when I got my own ship, I got revenge."

She reached up and cupped his cheek. He placed his hand over hers, his gaze intently on her, as he moved her hand down and kissed her palm softly.

His blue eyes glowed briefly as he looked at her. "Ready to play?"

She swallowed and nodded. "Yes."

"Take off your shirt. I need to see if you wore what I asked."

Natalia leaned forward and pulled her shirt off of her head. It hadn't even crossed her mind to not wear what he'd wanted, and she wondered what he would have done if she hadn't. She sat her shirt down and leaned back against his legs again, aware of his heated gaze on her, warming her.

Dominic's eyes traveled over her slowly. They glowed brightly for a moment and she wondered what he was thinking. He was relaxed though. Talking about his past hadn't really seemed to bother him much.

He finally reached out and touched the swell of her breast above her black lace bra. The touch felt good, and the tingles danced over her skin. He traced his fingers lightly over her bra and she sighed softly, eager for him to touch her more.

"I want your pants off. I want to see the whole package, kitten," he said, his eyes flashing.

"Okay," she breathed.

Dominic lifted her up off his lap which almost made her swoon. He was awfully strong to be able to do that. She turned to him and pulled off her sweats, then straightened for him, letting him look her over.

His breathing became a bit harsh as he stared at her. She watched him swallow hard and felt a little thrill that she was able to affect him. She knew he'd probably seen thousands of women naked, but she couldn't really let herself think about that. It made her a bit jealous.