Free The Pirate's Willing Captive by Anne Herries

whispered, a strange mixture of fear and hope spreading through her.
    ‘I am not in a position to offer marriage to any woman,’ he said and a little nerve flicked in his throat. ‘Since I do not wish to live alone for the rest of my life I may take a mistress…’
    ‘Why can you not marry? Are you married—is there someone anticipating your return?’ Her mouth was dry as she waited for his answer, which was a while in coming. ‘Someone you love?’
    ‘There was once a woman I loved.’ He frowned and looked into the distance. ‘That was long ago, before I became what I am now. No one waits for me and I have no wife. Love is something I cannot afford, Maribel. It softens a man and makes him weak—but I would be generous to any woman I took as my partner in life. She would have to be the right kind of woman, one who could share the hardships of the life I live.’
    Maribel drew a deep breath. What was he saying to her—that she could be his mistress if she chose? Or was he telling her that she was the wrong kind of woman? She knew that he desired her, and suspected that it would be heaven to lie with him. Part of her yearned to tell him that she would rather sail the seas as his woman than be wife to any other man, but something held her back. She knew nothing of this man or his hopes and dreams. It would be foolish to imagine that she could be more than a temporary amusement to such a man.
    ‘I accept your word that I shall be safe on the island,’she said at last. ‘It seems that there are some honourable men left. My husband was one such man and perhaps you are another.’
    ‘You told me your husband loved you—but did you love him? Are you still grieving for him?’
    ‘Yes, I loved Pablo. I did not wish to marry again, but my father forced me to agree.’
    She had loved Pablo, but she was beginning to understand that perhaps she had only ever loved him as a brother. However, she could not admit the truth to this man.
    ‘And you truly wish to find your mother’s family?’
    ‘Yes…’ she whispered, though her heart spoke otherwise.
    She could not deny the strong attraction he had for her, the way something deep inside called to him, but he had spoken of taking a mistress. He did not need or want a wife. She was sure that he had been warning her to keep her distance, for he felt the attraction too. He would take her as his mistress and treat her well for as long as it pleased him but then, when it was over, she would be truly alone.
    At least he had been honest with her and she must respect him for that, but there could be nothing more than a wary friendship between them.
    Justin inclined his head. ‘You will excuse me, lady. I have much to do.’
    ‘Yes,’ she said and smiled at him. ‘I must not keep you from your work. I know I must often be in your way when I come on deck…’
    ‘You would never be in my way,’ he replied, and for a moment the heat in his eyes seared her.
    Maribel went below to her cabin, feeling restless. Sometimes when the pirate captain looked at her that way she had feelings that were hard to ignore. Without his realising it, he had lit a fire inside her and she could not ignore it no matter how hard she tried.
    It was merely physical. The result of a marriage that had not satisfied the woman in her. She had not realised then how much she would have missed as Pablo’s wife, but she was beginning to understand now. There was something inside her that craved the kind of love she should have known with her husband—but it was the bold pirate who filled her dreams and made her restless, not her gentle husband. Yet it would not be just physical for her, because if she gave herself she would give her heart and he wanted only her body. He had loved a woman once and he did not wish to love again. Could she be content with such an arrangement?
    A part of her cried out that she would take what happiness she could, but her mind denied it. She might long for the kind of loving that