Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72233 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
This wasn’t about pleasing her, but the desire to do so was undeniable. No one should have that sort of power over him. Who was the master manipulator here, her or him?
He’d shown her too much leniency, and it was fucking with his head. She needed to learn who was in charge. Then he would send her back ruined as promised, and Peter would learn never to fuck with him or his property ever again.
His knuckles whitened, the railing groaning beneath his grip as his cold façade slid back into place. Turning abruptly, he set his thinking to selfish. She was his toy, his captive. Her feelings should not come into play.
His heavy footfalls thudded against the deck as he proceeded with absolute purpose. He planned to destroy her, and he was sticking to the plan.
The wind whipped at the black sails billowing above, reminding him exactly who he was. He was a black-hearted sea captain who relied on no one but himself. A cold, loner of the seas, perfectly content to make his own rules.
When he thought of her delicate, silky skin, he fantasized about letting his darkness rub off on her, marking her with his mouth, hands, and seed. He allowed no room for regret. Regret was a festering weakness. He only needed confidence. This was his ship, and he had complete authority over everything on board—including her.
Bursting into his quarters, he startled her back from the table, where she nibbled the fucking food he’d ordered. He slammed the door, irritated by her audacity to first send food away without knowing when her next meal might come. A show of privilege if there ever was one.
Detecting his dangerous mood, she had the good sense to scurry onto the bed. “I didn’t think—”
“Quiet.” He wanted no words to pass between them. No chance of her softening his resolve.
“Y-you seem upset.” She darted to the far side of the bed.
“I said no talking.” His cock hardened as he grabbed her ankle and hauled her back to him.
“Wait!” She tried to slip his grip, but he caught her and bent her over the mattress, showing her who was in command.
“You will learn to take orders without question while on my ship.”
She drove her elbow into his ribs and he grunted, forcing her to her belly and kicking her ankles apart. “Yield.”
She struggled as she panted beneath him, but he kept her restrained.
“You signed yourself over to me, darling, and I’m far from satisfied. Yield, or it’s down to the barracks you go.”
She gentled immediately, which only enhanced his anger. Yes, he wanted her to surrender, but he also wanted her to fight. Her self-control infuriated him for reasons he couldn’t understand.
She should have clawed and kicked and bit him. Instead, she submitted. Why? Did she do so out of fear or was this one more way she hoped to influence him?
It seemed sacrilegious to cause such a fierce woman to cower, but he had no choice. She had to bend to his authority like everyone else on his ship.
Just as his crew had signed contracts, so had she. The end.
He wouldn’t actually send her down to the barracks where his men slept. And he’d never force anyone to live off rats in captivity. But he needed her to believe he could go that far if challenged, or she would continue to defy him to the very end.
He truly was a monster.
But there was no going back now.
“You will not confuse me with heroes from your storybooks. Do you hear me, darling? I’m not someone you can save. Any thoughts of redemption are wasted on me, so keep your gentle caresses and give up any hopes that you could soften me by use of my name. I’m not your fucking friend. I’m the enemy.” A truth both of them needed to see. “And that contract you signed says your body belongs to me.”
“I wasn’t fighting you. I was only doing what came naturally to me.”
Bullshit. She wanted to disarm him with kindness to turn the tables on him.
“Maybe you should have fought. At least then I’d believe your sincerity.”
Fisting her hair, he aligned his body with hers and offered no warning as he shoved into her, asserting his total authority with a satisfied groan. She gasped, rising on her tippy toes as he buried himself to the hilt, but then she leaned into him and moaned.
He covered her mouth, not wanting to hear such sweet sounds of pleasure. Every time he expected her to hate him, she somehow had the opposite response.
“Your body fits mine like a glove,” he growled into her ear. She moaned against his hand and he flexed his hips, grinding himself deeper into her heat. He needed her this one last time. Enough to get her out of his system so he could give her back and move on.