Hours later, bored with sitting around our room, doing nothing, I grabbed ahold of Ella from behind when she came out of the bathroom.

She gasped as I spun her around in a few dizzying circles. And when I set her on her feet, she swayed, staggering as she said, “What the heck is wrong with you? Have you gone stir crazy already?”

I’d gone well beyond that. Shut away for a few hours pacing the floors because I couldn’t settle had left my mind wide open to all sorts of things. From Ella in the bathing suit she’d tortured me with to the pretend marriage trap we’d fallen into. From there my thoughts skipped over to the phone call from Oliver and his warning about the possibility of being boarded at sea. All of it had circled around my head like a demented merry-go-round. People with over-active imaginations should never be left to their own thoughts for too long. All sorts of things played out in my head when I had too much time to think. Or maybe it was daydreaming. Either case, thinking or daydreaming had built a scene in my head that begged to be set free or I’d burst.

“Pirates,” I said, circling her, allowing my imagination to come to life as I came to a stop in front of her and looked deep into her eyes.

She shook her head and went to brush past me, but I grabbed her arms and hauled her against my chest.

“Josh…” she warned as I bent down, mouth close to her ear.

Her skin was warm, her scent invading my senses. “First, the captain has all the women rounded up for inspection and then claims the most beautiful of them all as his prize.”

“He sounds like a real bastard. Let me go,” She tugged against my hold, but I refused to let her go.

“She’ll fight him, but the captain holds the beautiful woman close, hand clamped on her wrist as he drags her to the side of the ship.”

She groaned, though there wasn’t much weight behind the sound. “Okay, fine, I’ll play your silly little game, but stop yanking on me.”

““Silence, woman,” the pirate captain says as he stands over her. Watching her. Mentally taking each piece of her clothing off until he can see nothing but the naked flush of her skin. He’s burning from the inside out, this pirate captain, knowing she’ll give him pleasure beyond his wildest dreams.

“When he reaches the rail of the ship, he pushes her in front of him. His body pinning her. His arms caging her as he grasps the rail.”

Ella obliged me by opening the sliding door that led to the balcony. The salty air swept over us, catching her hair and lifting it as we moved to the railing. Our view of the horizon was painted in shades of pinks and oranges and it caught her silhouette as if she were a painting before me. But she wasn’t a painting. She was flesh and blood and I was drawn to her like the moon pulls the tide. Time could easily stop and I’d be the happiest man in the world knowing it was just her and me on a balcony drenched in the light of the sunset backdrop before us.

“And then?” Ella asked, bringing me back to the moment.

I cleared my throat and stepped closer, needing to feel her skin touch mine. Wanting to have her in my possession even if it was make believe. My hands came down on the metal rail on either side of her, putting her back flush with my chest. I knew she could feel the way my heart beat madly. Knew she could feel what she did to me. And it took every bit of rational thought to continue what I’d started.

“His captive fights his hold, but he isn’t willing to let her get away so easily,” I said, letting go of the rail, wrapping one arm around her waist, and turning her. “He forces her to watch his men plunder the deck, throwing stupidly courageous men over the side as he shouts orders. He wants things wrapped up so that he can carry his beautiful captive to his quarters. But he’s underestimated her, she’s stronger than he would have thought a woman could be, and she twists out of his hold, slips free and runs.”

I dropped my arm from around her, giving her room to get away.

She stepped to the side, snorting as she said, “Are you done yet?”

“The pirate captain was enraptured by the stubborn wench—”

“Wench? This wench is about to kick your ass,” Ella snapped, leaving me on the balcony as she walked back into the living room. Her tone had been harsh, but there was a smile underneath her forced aggravation.

The blood fired in my veins, watching Ella play along with me. “She was a feisty one, this woman he’d claimed. She wasn’t going to be taken captive again so easily, but what she failed to understand was there was no place for her to go except overboard. She spun in a circle, looking for a way out of the madness she found herself in. The truth donning on her. He saw it reflected in her eyes as she darted to the other side of the vessel, hair streaming behind her like a silken banner.

“Run while you can, I enjoy the chase as much as I enjoy the plunder, he called out to her. And before she could gather up the nerve to toss herself overboard, he’d crossed the deck, stalking her like the predator he was.”

I moved across the room with slow and deliberate steps, watching Ella’s eyes widen. Her breathing changed, becoming a little more rapid as she backed into the TV stand.

I didn’t stop until I stood looming over her. Her hand splayed against my chest, pushing weakly against me as she said, “Please.”

Reality and fantasy blurred as I hauled her against me and said, “I enjoy the chase, as much as you’ve enjoyed being caught.”

Her heart hammered against her chest, banging against my own. It sucked me even further into what had started out as nothing more than a distraction. “I should carry you off to bed and damn the consequences,” I said, fighting the urge to kiss her as I stepped back, putting a little room between us.

“Isn’t that what pirates do? They take what they want and never give back,” she asked, slowly following the wall at her back, making her way to the door of the bedroom.

“Contrary to rumors, we’re lovers and fighters. We take what we want and give back to those we deem worthy,” I answered, taking a step closer to her.

Need flashed in her eyes as she said, “And am I worthy?”

I wasn’t sure who moved first, or if we’d moved at the same time as her legs wrapped around me. I carried her, fingers digging into her backside until my legs hit the edge of the bed.

When I let her go, she scrambled backward, saying, “And what if I don’t want to be plundered?”

I caught her by the ankles, dragged her down the bed, and then lowered myself on top of her. When her legs parted, my hips settled in against hers as I asked, “And what if you do?”

Her hand found its way under my shirt, nails digging into my back as she hooked her heel around my thigh and said, “I don’t care if this is real of fake. I need you.”

She nipped at my lips, hips urging my own to move.

“If I start, Ella, I won’t be able to stop,” I said, panting against her mouth as she rubbed her body against mine.

“Good,” she answered, fingers digging into my hips.

I grabbed her wrists, raising them above her head, and then leaned down, lips hovering close enough to touch, but not enough to kiss. Instead, I nipped a path along her jaw, moving down the side of her neck. Her back arched and I let go of her hands, pushing myself up until I was on my knees.

She watched me with hooded eyes as I trailed my hands down the center of her chest until I reached the flare of her hips, pausing for a moment as I willed myself to slow down.

My hands shook with a need so intense I was scared to unleash it. Scared I’d lose myself and come to at the end, not remembering anything but blind lust and a sense of completion.

Ella reached for me, taking my hand in hers, and guided it under her dress. The material bunched over my arms as she moved my hands to her breasts. She lifted herself enough to take the dress off over her head, and then unfastened her bra and peeled that away too.

I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and discarded it as she guided me down until our skin met.

Fingers trailed over heated flesh. Lips hovered touching lightly without kissing. It was as if we both knew once our lips met, our bodies would follow.

I was past the point of waiting. Past the point of caring whether it was right or wrong. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing but that moment mattered.

I dug my fingers into her hip as she arched against me. My control snapped. I fisted the band of her underwear in one hand and then the other and she drew her knees back allowing me to drag them down her legs.

Once removed, they sailed over my shoulder. Ella came up on her knees grabbed the waist of my shorts and popped the button free. I stood, letting them fall to the floor and then knelt back on the bed. Her arms went around my neck as I spread my knees and then pulled her onto my lap. Her legs wrapped around my waist as I reached up for her hands. She let go of my neck and arched her back until her shoulders rested against the bed. Her legs slipped down past my hips, feet resting beside my knees she reached for me.

I lowered myself, catching her lips with a kiss that promised to ignite us both. Teasing her and torturing myself as she rubbed her body against mine. I wanted her to enjoy every moment of it. Wanted her to remember how I made her feel, because as long as I lived, I’d remember everything—up to the way her skin was shadowed from my own body.

But Ella had other plans and I found myself deep inside of her, both of us gasping as she said, “I want to forget. Make me forget, Josh.” 

The telephone in our room blasted a shrill ring as we lay together, her body draped over mine. Chests heaving as if we’d run a marathon.

I wasn’t ready for reality. Didn’t want it sticking its interfering nose in the middle of the moment we’d lost ourselves to. A moment that would pop like a soap bubble and be over with, never to return.

But the phone didn’t stop ringing and the more times it did, the further we were dragged back to reality.

“One of us should answer that,” Ella said, lifting her head and then lowering it again.

“I’ll get it,” I said, rubbing my hand in light strokes up and down her back.

The phone stopped ringing only to start up once more. Ella grumbled, rolled over, and then sat up. With the heat from her body gone, I stuck a fork in the moment. It was done.

And whoever the hell calling wasn’t going to stop until one of us answered. I pushed myself up from the bed and snatched the phone from the receiver. Cleared my throat a few times and then answered.

“Did you two forget about dinner?” Summer asked. Her bubbly voice held a hint of laughter.

I darted a look at the clock beside the bed and sighed. Dinner at seven, Summer had told us. It was quarter after. We were late.

“Ella’s getting ready now. We’ll be there soon,” I answered, adding, “Where are we having dinner?”