Cutlass Anne

Cutlass Anne - Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-two

I stood at the helm with my compass keeping the ship heading northeast. I had not spoken a word since we set sail. My mind was lost in thought. I had to decide what to do about Andrew.

"What is the verdict, cap'n?"

"Mm?" I asked absently.

"With the doctor. What are we to do with him?" Scully came up beside me, staring to the horizon.

"Have you talked to him?"

"Aye."

"What do you think?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Since you have not gutted him or thrown him to the sharks yet, you believe him."

"Do you?"

"I s'pose it is possible." He took a deep breath as we sliced through a rather large wave.

"Yes, yes it is. All right Scully, let him out."

A smile crept across the old seaman's face as he headed below deck.

"Don't seem so happy about it!" I yelled after him.

A few minutes later both men emerged from the darkened bowels of the ship. Andrew glanced up at me and nodded. I never moved. I kept my gaze dead ahead, clenching my jaw. He went back below deck to do who knows what. Scully took his place back next to me.

"He is getting food and water."

"Good."

"Talk to him," he urged.

"I already did."

"Not as a prisoner."

"Not now, Scully. It will take time."

"He is an asset to the ship."

"What if he is lying to us?" I asked.

"I don't think he is, cap'n."

"How can you be so sure, Scully?"

"You get wise in old age. I have seen my share of liars and murders. He is neither."

"He killed two men," I said.

"In order to save the life of his cap'n. I woulda done the same thing had I been there."

"I suppose," I mumbled.

"Have you seen Flynn?" he asked.

"Not for a few hours."

"Go be with him. I'll keep the ship going."

I handed over the wheel to my first mate and headed to my private quarters to check on Flynn. I was afraid to see him. "Okay."

I opened the door to see him sitting up and devouring a bowl of whatever Cooky had made for super.

"Where have you been?" he asked between mouthfuls.

My heart leaped to my throat. It took every ounce of my being to not leap on him.

"You are okay?" I asked softly.

"I'm fine. I told you not to worry." He grinned.

Christopher tried to stifle a laugh. "I will give the two of you some time to reacquaint yourselves."

"Thank you." I patted his arm as he left the small cabin.

I sat on the bed next to Flynn. He tossed the bread down on the table, swallowed a gulp of ale, and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me onto his lap.

"Inappropriate, Flynn."

"I don't care, Anne." He nuzzled my neck, inhaling deeply.

"I smell like a sweaty man."

"You smell like the sea. You smell remarkable." He breathed into my ear.

I put my hand on the nape of his neck and kissed the side of his head. "I really did think you were gone."

"You can't get rid of me that easily." He grinned while tangling his hands in my hair.

He pulled my head back slightly, covering my mouth with his. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing up into him. I could feel a slight stirring beneath the covers, but I did not care. Flynn was alive. He was going to be all right. He shifted his body and lowered me to the bed. He began to furiously unbutton my ridiculous jacket, eventually giving up with the buttons and ripping it open.

"I liked this jacket," I protested, looking around for the scattered gold buttons.

"I will buy you a new one." He kissed my neck and nibbled my ear.

"This is highly inappropriate for a lady to do."

"I suppose it is a good thing you're a pirate."

I looked up at him and he just smiled. "They told me what happened while I was indisposed."

"Everything?"

He nodded.

He tossed the jacket on the floor as though it were the most offensive thing he had ever touched. He then turned his attentions to the light cotton shirt I was wearing. There was such a determination in his eyes. He untied the collar of it slowly and untucked it from my skirt, which had pushed up knee. He pulled it off me and tossed it over his shoulder. He sat there trailing his hands down my sternum to my navel and back up again.

"You are simply exquisite."

My heart thudded against my chest. No man had ever seen me in such a state of undress. I reached out and pulled his shirt off. His chest was such a fine specimen of the seafaring life. It was hard, chiseled, and such a lovely tanned color, even after having spent a week with a fever in bed. Sweat glistened on his neck and slowly trailed down his body to the top of his pants. I reached down to untie them, but he stopped me, tsking lightly as he pulled my hands back up.

"Not yet," he whispered.

"Why?" I struggled against his grip, wanting him.

"It is not time for that yet."

"What if I want it?" I caught his lips with my own.

"You will get it, just not yet. Be patient," he said before returning with a determined, hungrier kiss.

I relented and allowed him to continue with his exploration. He leaned down and kissed the hollow of my neck. My lips parted slightly and a soft moan escaped. I had never experienced such a sensation. My stomach felt as though it were tumbling like the waves that carried the ship along its path. His lips trailed down to my now swollen breasts. He reached up and grasped them firmly. I let out a yelp of surprise. He smiled devilishly. His fingers tweaked and pulled at my nipples, and all the while it sent me into such a fit of sexual insanity. I reached for his back, clawing at it, wanting to feel his body on mine. I wanted every bit of him. I had never craved such things before. I had never thought much about what it would be like. A proper lady did not think such things.

I guess it was a good thing I was no longer a lady and was nothing more than a dirty pirate.