Emma awoke the next morning sore in places she didn’t usually notice. The night before had been spectacular-thoroughly so-but her body was unaccustomed to that level of exertion and was now voicing its complaints. She stretched slowly, careful as she eased the ache from her limbs, and in doing so became aware of the solid warmth pressed against her back.

  She turned gently and found Charles lying beside her.

  In sleep, the fierce captain softened. His brow was smooth, his breathing slow and steady, a stark contrast to the hard-edged authority he wore among his crew. For a moment, she simply watched him, struck by the quiet intimacy of seeing him like this.

  “Stop staring at me.”

  His sudden command made her jump. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth before he opened his eyes, clearly awake already.

  He must have stirred when she did.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” Charles asked, his hand sliding to her hip as he turned her toward him.

  “Fair,” she answered honestly. “A bit sore.”

  “Good.”

  The word had barely left his mouth before his hand came down sharply against her backside. Emma rolled her eyes at his behavior but didn’t retaliate.

  “It’s probably morning by now,” she said instead. She had no way of knowing the hour, but the muffled sounds of activity throughout the ship suggested the crew was already well into their day.

  “So?” Charles replied lazily, rolling onto his back and stretching as though he hadn’t a care in the world.

  “We should probably get up.”

  In a flash, he rolled back over, pinning her beneath him.

  “You seem a little too eager to leave my company,” he hissed.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Emma began, panic rising in her voice, but he cut her off with a kiss that stole the words right from her lips.

  When he was satisfied with her silence, his attention wandered. His callused fingers were tracing familiar paths, his lips following, his teeth occasionally catching her skin whenever she dared to protest. He took his time, deliberate and unyielding, until her body betrayed her completely.

  By the time he positioned himself between her legs, Emma was already trembling. Charles waited for her, but his patience didn’t dull the savage intensity of his movements. He drove into her deeply, rhythm steady and punishing, until her body clenched tightly around him. He stretched the moment as long as he could manage, drawing it out until she was breathless and shaking.

  Even after, she could feel him pulsing inside her, still hard and unrelenting despite having spent himself once more.

  They lay catching their breath, foreheads nearly touching. Charles looked into her eyes with an intensity that made her chest tighten, as though he were on the verge of saying something important.

  “LAND HO!”

  They both looked upward instinctively, as though they might see the speaker through the ceiling, then snapped their gazes to each other. Without a word, they scrambled for their clothes and made for the deck.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  The land in question was little more than a dark smudge on the horizon. So, this was Nassau.

  Emma leaned back against Charles as they stood at the rail, one of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other braced against the wood. She wondered what awaited her there. What sort of life was she sailing toward? She remembered the names whispered in newspapers echoed in her mind. Rackham. Bonnie. Would she meet them?

  Was this place worth living in at all? Strangely, she thought it might be better than what she’d left behind.

  “How long until we reach her?” Emma asked, glancing back at him.

  “A few hours,” Charles replied. “But we won’t go ashore until nightfall.”

  “Why?” she asked, turning fully to face him.

  “I caused a bit of trouble before we left,” he said lightly. “Best to see how things have settled first.”

  “Like Charlestown?” she asked, arching a brow.

  Charles chuckled. “A bit like it.”

  “I need to speak with you.”

  The voice came from behind them. Flint stood there, his expression unreadable.

  Emma stayed where she was as Charles nodded and stepped away, pausing only long enough to kiss her neck.

  “Be right back.”

  She watched them walk off together. Considering the severity of the night before, it was strange how easily they fell back into step. She suspected that was simply the pirate way. Left alone among a deck full of grinning men blowing her exaggerated kisses, Emma scanned for a friendly face and quickly found one.

  Silver sat nearby in the place she and Charles had occupied earlier.

  “Good morning,” he greeted cheerfully as she approached.

  “Good morning,” she replied with equal warmth.

  She lowered herself beside him and immediately flinched as her body met the unforgiving wooden planks. She pressed her lips together, determined not to make a sound.

  “How are we feeling this morning? Good?” Silver asked, watching her closely.

  “Mm-hmm,” she nodded, refusing to meet his gaze.

  “Bit sore?” he asked, his tone far more amused than sympathetic.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Wouldn’t have anything to do with where you were last night, would it?”

  Emma groaned. “How do you already know?”

  “I’m a man, love. I always know.” He flashed her a smug grin.

  She narrowed her eyes at him. He laughed.

  “Oh, don’t look like that. Nothing embarrassing about it. I’m sure you raised his mainsail just fine.”

  “Silver!”

  “There’s no shame in letting a pirate bury his treasure,” he said solemnly. “All of us do it.”

  She sighed. “How long have you been holding onto those?”

  “Hours.”

  “And how many do you have left?”

  “Dozens.”

  She shook her head. “I’m glad you’ve used your time so wisely.”

  “You left me alone with Flint,” he complained. “I had to entertain myself somehow.”

  “I didn’t plan for what happened to… happen,” she said, though she knew he was teasing.

  “No feelings hurt,” Silver shrugged.

  “What will you do once we reach Nassau?” she asked, eager to change the subject.

  “Not sure,” he admitted. “Suppose I’ll need this to heal first before I go far.” He glanced down at himself, the loss evident even in the casual way he spoke.

  Emma could tell how much he missed his limb and how desperately he wanted not to be a burden. Still, he carried it with humor. In the pirate world, it was sink or swim.

  “I don’t suppose you’d want to keep me in your company?” she asked carefully.

  “I’ll need it more on the island than I do now,” Silver replied.

  Hope stirred in her chest.

  “Truly?”

  “You’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”

  His laugh held a bitter edge, but Emma was already resolved. If she could help him, she would. Perhaps they had become friends.

  It wasn’t a paid role, caring for Silver, but it was something. Charles had given her freedom, yes, but freedom came with questions. How to live. How to survive. They talked for a while longer. Charles hadn’t returned yet, and Emma quietly hoped he and Flint hadn’t killed one another. If it was taking this long, it had to be important.