Chapter 6

S HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE it. Any of it. The dance. The fleeing. The room. The banter. And now…the kiss.

Who even was she?

This was not her normal behavior. She played it safe. Conformed to the rules. Adhered to her mother's strictures. She was the one who always had the straightest spine, the most agile dance steps, the perfect conversational reply. Never in her life would she have considered going against the expectations placed upon her. Except in her writing. That secret part of her that was her true self. Perhaps having that release rejected was forcing her to find release in a new way.

But what was it about this pirate that brought out the wildness in her? Made her want to release something with him? She didn't even know what she wanted to release, but she could feel something coiling within her. Almost like a snake. She was watching her prey and she was about to snap and snatch him up. That was the most ludicrous thought that had ever pranced through her mind. More so than even anything in her writing. Yet here she was. Thinking about snacking on this pirate .

With each decision and each action that followed, there had been that gentle little voice warning her that she shouldn't do it.

Weak!

That's what the voice was. It was the same voice that had led to her receiving rejection after rejection after rejection. She was tired of it all now. If life experience was what it took to get her books in print, then she would damn well get herself some life experience. Even if it involved a fake pirate.

A fake pirate was better than no pirate.

A grumpy, albeit handsome, pirate wearing a ridiculous eye patch. How he had gone all night with the use of one eye was beyond her, but some people really committed to their costumes. And this man was a champion at it. He hadn't broken character for a moment.

So for the first kiss of her life, she was planting her lips on him. And his hands were gripping her hips with some intensity she had never felt before. As her chest heaved against his, the friction rubbed her nipples into pebbles, so she took another shallow breath hoping for increased sensations. The pause was just enough for him to pull them both back to the desk behind him where he rested his backside. Spreading his legs, he pulled her between his legs.

When she pressed in closely, he lifted her skirts and she felt something hard press against her thigh. It should have terrified her, but life experience was calling. Never mind the ache in her core. That was bellowing at her as well. Desperate for some attention. Some relief. Something. Perhaps this was all relevant to that release she was looking for.

She nuzzled her center against the rock hard bulge in his breeches and they both gasped. At least, she thought they both did, but perhaps her gasp had been loud enough to count for two people. Because when she glanced up at him, he didn't have the look of a man who had just inhaled a large puff of air. No, his half-lidded eyes smoldered as he studied her lips. Her gaping lips.

Yes. Life experience. God. She needed more of that. Her body wanted to mount itself upon this behemoth of man. She could already picture herself climbing up his thick torso and placing her knees on the desk while she straddled him, desperate for closer contact.

As if he could read her mind and wanted to slow her pace, he anchored his hands on her bare skin while her skirts billowed over his forearms.

But no, he wasn't going to be the one in control of this. He wasn't the one who got to set the pace. Who the hell did he think he was? And who did he think he was toying with?

Slowly, she pulled her knee up, running it along his outer thigh, pressing in closer. Watching his head roll back and his eyes close, she propped her knee on the desk.

"Give me something to dream about tonight," she whispered, and though her words sounded confident, her mind raced wondering who the hell she thought she was?

Upon reflex, his hips arched toward her, rubbing his bulge against her core. A whimper desperately clawed its way out of her throat.

"You can't handle the dreams I could give you. You'd never want to wake up." His hot breath sent shivers down her spine and her arms. A powerful shudder flew up her arm causing her to almost lose her balance, but his grip on her was strong. Pulling her in. Holding her tight. What was this daring safety she felt with him that was such a contradiction of terms? This familiar foreignness. This open door that felt so forbidden. As though she could have him…if she wanted him. But did she dare?

With this man. This fake pirate. But nothing felt fake. It felt so damn real. His body responding to her. And eliciting such strong reactions from her. His grip on her hips was not about to let go. In fact, it might even leave marks on her the next day. A shiver ribboned through her, twirling, twisting, tugging.

She wanted to moan. Call his name. What even was his name? Here she was having her most intimate moment to date with a nameless man. God, she was wanton.

But then again…never had she felt so free. So herself. She wanted everything that was happening. She was choosing it. Enjoying it. Encouraging it. Desperate for it.

Oh. That tension coiling in her stomach, God, she knew what that meant. She wanted to open her lips and beg for more, but not wanting to play all of her cards, she bit down on her lip instead.

"Open for me," he whispered into her ear. And the words trickled through her, as if lighting a hidden pathway that she had to discover on her own.

And as much as she wanted to set the pace and be in control, her body wasn't entirely her own. At his command, her body obeyed, so she brought her other leg up onto the desk.

The move startled him. Oh. Had he not meant that?

But before she could give it thought, one of his hands reached behind him and swept the desk clear. He perched himself more fittingly on the desk and with his other hand under her bottom, he secured her to his cock and ground her against him.

With a grunt, he said, "Open your mouth for me, Siren."

Her lips parted involuntarily and he dove in. His tongue making the moves that his cock was barricaded against making.

And oh, how sweet he tasted. How manly. How did man taste? She had no idea, but this was it. It had to be. It was intoxicating. Heady. His scent wrapped around her. Fresh soap and salty air. And though she was sure she imagined the fragrance of the ocean on this fake pirate, she didn't let that stop her from inhaling his essence and savoring it.

This was exactly the life experience she needed. She could feel it changing her from the inside out. As though she had always been herself but never fully herself before. But she already knew that. She had always hidden most of herself to appeal to society. But here, in a mask, with a nameless, eye-patched fake pirate, she could be exactly who she wanted to be.

And apparently that was a woman who liked to kiss a man. Who liked it very much and wanted so much more from him.

Another roll of his hips and she could feel her insides starting to quake, as if they hadn't undergone enough shifting already. But then every single muscle in her body tense, waited, anticipated some grandiose revelation. And it didn't disappoint.

White, hot pleasure rippled through her. Stars pinned themselves to the backs of her eyes. And he—whoever he was—muffled her moans with his relentless kiss. Hot, devouring.

He didn't back down. Even after her body grew heavy, he grunted against her. And then, to her utter stupefaction, his body tensed, and she knew what came next for him. Though she had never thought it possible that she would be the cause of such a reaction, especially full clothed. Especially in the library of someone else's home. Especially to a man she didn't even know. It was pure fantasy. Yet real.

His hands squeezed her hips with one final clench, and then she felt his hardness softening. Her heart was pounding and her breaths were still short as she tried to find a semblance of a coherent thought again. It was like they had both softened for each other. Which was…odd.

Her body together with his made sense in a way that made no sense. She didn't know him, yet her body knew him. Longed for him. Released for him. And she felt his body had done the same. It was enough to make any woman go mad, never mind a virgin losing her innocence. What was she supposed to do now? What was the normal response after such an exchange with a man? She knew what she could have, but she didn't dare think, never mind ask for it. No. Even though she had just experienced the most pleasure of her life, that's all that it was.

"What the devil did you do to me?" he muttered peevishly as he dragged a slow hand down his face.

And really, that should have outraged her. But it didn't. He hadn't tricked her or coerced her. He hadn't taken advantage of her, that was for sure. He wasn't ugly. God, he was probably the handsomest man she had ever seen in her entire life. Forget that. Not probably, he was absolutely, without any doubt whatsoever the handsomest man she had ever seen. And he had wanted her. Her body shivered in delight. So, no, she wasn't angry with him in the least. She was quite pleased with him.

She got the experience she was looking for, which she was certain would make for excellent writing. Her writing, that's what this was all for. And beyond that, she didn't care.

That is, until the knock on the door.