Free Capturing the Pirate's Heart (The Emerald Quest Book 1) by Annie Seaton Page B

behind with each wave
it ploughed through.
    Madeleine rolled over and pushed
herself to her feet before he could touch her again. She regarded him steadily
as he walked toward her.
    He returned her gaze, but
strangely Madeleine felt no fear. For all his words and threats—and his
actions—she sensed that he would not go through with them.
    Unless I am being naive and it
is only wishful thinking .
Perhaps it was self-preservation that had dispatched her fear? Crossing the
cabin toward him, she spoke slowly and clearly to convey her calm.
    “Tell me what you shall do with
me.” A memory of the horror stories that Jake had told her of pirates making
their captives walk the plank, or abandoning helpless souls on desert islands
flitted though her thoughts.
    The man she now knew as
Sébastien Leclerc, the pirate, ran a hand through his hair. Madeleine was used
to seeing men in powdered wigs with their hair rolled back from their
foreheads. She examined him as he let out an exasperated sigh. His hair, as
black as a raven’s wing, was pulled back into a piece of leather and his skin
was deeply tanned. His eyes were a dark brown and ringed by long, dark lashes.
She looked at the loose, white shirt which was still unbuttoned to his waist,
and allowed her a glimpse of smooth skin on his chest which was as tanned as
his face and neck. Her gaze dropped lower and still he didn’t speak. A dark
pair of close fitting trousers molded the muscles of his long legs and a rush
of warmth filled her belly as she lifted her eyes back to his face.
    His expression turned to one of
amusement as he noticed her close examination. The warmth that had coiled in
her belly now ran up her neck and onto her cheeks, as the gentle quivers in her
private parts reminded her of the unfamiliar feelings she had experienced when
she had read Aunt Josephine’s diary.
    Oh no. She would not let these strange
feelings take her mind off her quest. Madeleine put her hand to her mouth. Her
desire to evade Uncle Titus and now the worry of being on a pirate’s vessel and
leaving New Orleans were uppermost in her mind, and would stay that way. She
must figure out a way to get back to the New Orleans in order to find the
heirloom and, more importantly, restore Bellerose for the friends she had left
behind in England.
    Frustration filled her and she
dropped her chin to her chest. Determined she may be, but how she would achieve
that was now out of her hands.
    And in the hands of a pirate.
    “You are quite the innocent,
aren’t you, Madeleine Bellerose?” He reached out and took her hand, his clasp
strong and warm, yet still she felt no fear.
    “Please?”
    “Please what? Tell me how I may
please you? Is that what you ask?” His deep voice washed over her and she
closed her eyes.
    “What will you do with me?”
    She lifted her head again and
brushed the back of her hand impatiently at the tears that spilled onto her
cheeks. She met his hooded gaze. She would not appear as a lily-livered sissy.
Father had always taught her to face adversity head on, and she allowed herself
a grim smile. One thing she was certain of, when Father had been teaching her
that, he would never, in his wildest dreams, have imagined her being orphaned,
on the other side of the world and a captive on a pirate ship. But the lessons
he had taught her had made her the person she was.
    The pirate lifted his hand and
wiped away the tear with the pad of his thumb and his kindness opened a flood
of tears. Madeleine sank to her knees and put her hands over her face as she
gave into loud sobs that wracked her body.
    “Come now.” His voice was kind
as he lifted her to her feet and led her back to the bed, but Madeleine couldn’t
stem the flow of tears. “I promise I won’t hurt you. You are quite safe with
me.”
    “I am not frightened.” She
hiccupped. “I just don’t know what to do.”
    “Well, then, compose yourself
and we shall decide what is going to happen.” The bed dipped beneath his