To Love A Space Pirate (10 page)

Chapter 10

Elizabeth stretched as she woke up. Every muscle in her body protested against the movement. A throbbing ache was centered in her core and left her feeling embarrassed. Another night of hot sex with the pirate had left her beyond the point of exhaustion. The man did things to her that she never imagined could happen between a man and a woman. Every time she felt the burn starting to return, Carden was there in an instant making it go away. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought she would have enjoyed the things this pirate did to her! She should feel ashamed and angry, but she wasn’t!

It was still dark when he woke her up to kiss her goodbye. He said there was some business he needed to attend to and would be back by the time breakfast was served. If for some reason, the burning feeling returned while he was gone, she was to contact him immediately on the comlink he left next to the bed. She wondered what he had to do but figured it was none of her business. The sooner she was rescued; the sooner she could forget about what happened. But, did she want to forget?

The last three days of being locked up inside Carden’s room brought her to a new light about the man who kidnaped her. He certainly was not a cruel or mean individual. Nor was he acting like the pirate he claimed to be. To her amazement, he was kind and gentle with her each and every time they came together.

Images of his naked flesh flashed before her causing her to smile. The man didn’t have an ounce of fat on his body and was toned in the way bodybuilders worked for years to achieve. The scar on his face was the only thing that marred the perfect body as far as she was concerned. She had been tempted several times during their quiet moments to ask what happened, but didn’t. The less she knew about the man, the better. Once she returned to Tarwick, she was positive there would be a flood of questions and a party sent out to capture the elusive pirate! No, she didn’t want to put him through that even though she was still his prisoner.

In fact, he could have just let her suffer from the effects of the Loto juice. He took it upon himself to fight the burn that had ravaged her body for three days and nights. He never left her side long enough for the burn to ignite completely again. He saw she ate and bathed while she was awake and feeling cool. She could tell he was tired too by the bags forming under his eyes last night before she fell into a dreamless sleep. Once, when she woke up to use the bathroom, she returned to the bed and studied the man lying next to her.

In sleep, Carden had a boyish, innocent look to his face. Without the scar, he would be considered extremely handsome by any female’s standards. But with it, he looked hard and unforgiving. She knew better than that, though. She saw a side of him she never thought he would possess. A pirate wasn’t supposed to care about his prisoners! Money was the only thing they were supposed to care about.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a moment. Her stomach let out a growl to tell her to feed it. Last night’s meal had consisted of bread and cheese Carden brought up from the kitchen himself. It was as if he didn’t trust anyone in his house to bring her food. In all actuality, she shouldn’t trust anyone either! Someone tried to hurt her. Someone wanted her out of the picture, and she wanted to know why. Surely, whoever it was couldn’t think she wanted to remain here! No, she wanted to go home.

The door to the bedroom swung open and in walked the man in question. He held another tray of food in his hands as he kicked the door shut. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”

Lizzy felt the blood rush to her face as she watched him walk over to the bed. She shouldn’t still be embarrassed in front of him, but she couldn’t help it. “I feel okay right now. Just a little tired is all.”

He set the tray on the bed next to her and pulled up a chair. “I am glad to hear it. Faxon said he would come by later this afternoon and rerun the blood test, but he thinks the toxin should be depleted by now.” He picked up a slice of orange bread, broke it in half and handed her a piece. “Eat,” he ordered.

Happily, she took the bread and shoved half of it in her mouth. It was fresh and sweet tasting. They ate in silence until they had their fill and wiped their mouths with the napkins provided. For the first time in days, she was at a loss for what to say. Her time had been spent either in the throes of passion or asleep. Striking up a conversation with Carden felt awkward. Thankfully, he spoke first.

“Would you like to see the rest of my home,” he asked as he finished off the last of the water in his glass.

Surprised, she nodded quickly. “Yes. It would be nice to get out of this room for a while.”

“There is a change of clothes for you waiting in the bathroom if you care to take a shower first.” He leaned back in the chair and watched her. She was still naked and holding the sheet up to her body to prevent him from seeing her body.

You fool! He's already seen every inch of you!
She heard her mind shout at her.

“Thank you,” she said and slipped off the bed with as much grace as she could muster while dragging the sheet with her. “I won’t be long.”

Inside the bathroom, she leaned against the door and let out the breath she had been holding as she rushed out of his view. Her legs trembled, and her heart was beating rapidly. What was wrong with her? Was the Loto juice still in her system? Was she about to have another attack? God, she hoped not! She needed a few minutes to herself to figure things out before she faced her captor again.

The hot water felt wonderful on her tired and sore muscles. She stood under the waterfall and let the heat work out the kinks until she felt water logged. A knock on the door caused her to jump.

“Elizabeth? Are you alright in there?” Carden’s voice came through the door and shouted over the sound of the pouring water.

“I’m fine. I will be out in few minutes,” she shouted back. She must have been in there for some time for him to check on her. Quickly she soaped up her body and hair then rinsed off. By the time she stepped out of the shower, the entire room was fogged up. A towel had been laid on the counter for her alongside the stack of freshly cleaned clothes. She didn’t have a clue to whose they were; she just hoped they fit.

Five minutes later she was opening the door again to find Carden waiting patiently for her on the bed. “Ready to go,” he asked.

“Sure,” she said as she pushed back a strand of wet hair that had fallen forward.

He took her hand and led her out the bedroom and down the hall. The house was quiet as they walked down the stairs. Sunlight was streaming in through the oval glass on the door. She could tell it was beyond midmorning but not the exact time.

“Where are we going,” she asked as he took the path she had seen from the bedroom window before the burn started to affect her.

“I would like to show you my favorite spot,” he said and pulled her after him.

The path wasn’t too long and ended near a stream she couldn’t see from the window. On the way to the house when she arrived, she could hear the sound of water but couldn’t tell where it was located. Now, she was looking at the source, and it took her breath away.

“This is magnificent,” she said when they stopped near a large cluster of boulders near the water’s edge.

“I like to come here and think sometimes. It’s one of those places where you can be at one with nature.” He released her hand and sat on the rock.

Lizzy moved closer but stayed a few feet away from him. She was growing suspicious of why he brought her out here. “Why did you bring me here?”

Carden turned to face her. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what he was about to tell her.

“I didn’t know you were on that ship when my men and I raided it. The man assigned to scan it for life forms failed to do so before we cut our way in. Once the hull of your ship was breached, there was no turning back. When I raid a vessel, I take what cargo is there and leave the crew. But, in this case, I didn’t know there was a crew member alive. When I found you, I knew I had no choice but to take you as my prisoner. The ship was unfit to let you stay, and you would have died immediately after we detached from the hull. I hope you can understand that.”

“But, why keep me as your prisoner? You could have dropped me off on any of the planets we passed.”

“That was out of the question. I may be a space pirate, but I would never dump a female off on a planet where the dangers are often worse than I am.” His face was grave as he looked at her. “I know you don’t want to be here, but I am hoping that will change over time.”

“Change? How would that change? I still want to go home.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Have you had any word from Tarwick yet?”

“No,” he said.

“I don’t believe you,” she countered.

The sound of the rushing water filled the air around them. A struggle was going on inside of her, and she couldn’t figure out why. Part of her wanted to leave this place immediately while the other half wanted to stay and see what kind of life she would have with this pirate who rescued her from certain death. She was crazy to think even about wanting to remain with Carden, but there was something pulling her to him.

“I swear on my life I have not heard from Tarwick.”

      She couldn’t tell if he were telling the truth or not. She wanted to believe him. Needed to believe him.

“Come, let us enjoy the view,” he changed the subject as he held out his hand to her.

He was hiding something.

~~~~~~~~

Carden wanted to pull Elizabeth onto his lap and smother her with his mouth. Her skin seemed to glow out in the sunlight. The harsh redness was gone from the burn and left her looking fresh and renewed. He knew she was still tired and weak from the days of endless sex because of the poison running through her veins, but he thought she never looked better.

“I brought you out here to see the beauty of my land. Not to argue with you,” he said.

“You are the one who brought it up, not me,” Lizzy replied. She looked away from him and out over the green water of the stream.

“I know, but I thought you should know the truth about why I had to take you. I could not leave you behind to die.” Ever since he kidnaped her, he was wrestling with the overwhelming feelings consuming him. His first glance at her in that cargo bay, he knew she would one day be his. First, though, he needed to make her realize she was where she belonged.

They sat watching the water rush by for an unknown amount of time. By her reaction, he would probably never get to her understand how he felt about her. The pheromones coming off her in waves were still driving him crazy even though he had had her numerous times over the last three days. He needed more time to work his magic! He was not willing to return her to Tarwick.

“I want to know if you have sent the ransom for me? I am positive my father is searching for me and will pay for my safe return,” she said.

“After everything we have shared, are you still wanting to return home?”

Lizzy faced him. “Are you serious? What we shared has nothing to do with the fact that you kidnaped me, held me against my will, and refuse to release me. Of course, I want to go home. What kind of question is that?”

He could tell she was becoming angry with him. “I have you and do not plan on letting you go.” The words rushed out of his mouth before he could stop them. The horror on her face told him he made a major mistake in his game of trying to win her heart.

She rushed up to him until she was standing toe to toe with him and her neck was craned back looking up at him. One slim finger jabbed him in the center of his chest as she spoke. “Let me tell you something. I wouldn’t stay with you even if you were the last man in the fucking universe!” She flushed, and her bottom lip trembled.

“I told you before I wanted you and now that I have had you, I do not plan on letting you go!” His anger was surfacing as they stared at each other. He knew he was in the wrong but would never admit it to her. He knew how she felt about being held against her will; he was held for over ten years by Bork! But, he couldn’t let her go. She was meant for him no matter she thought. In time, he hoped she would come to accept that and possibly love him. He just prayed time wouldn’t have the opposite effect on her by making her hate him.

“I want to go back to the house,” she said stiffly and turned away from him. She walked back up the path to the house, never looking back at him.

  He followed her from a distance. It wouldn’t do any good to continue their conversation for the time being. The walk he had planned for them turned into a nightmare. He was hoping she would be happy to get out of the room and spend some time with him. Obviously, he was wrong. He was stupid to think things might have changed between over the last few days. Nothing had changed. He would have to change tactics if he had any hope of keeping her.