I hadn’t realized how sensitive and full they felt until now. My soft moan shook loose one of his dark chuckles.
His hand slipped back and forth between the two, squeezing and exploring as if he were testing what movements caused different sounds as I whimpered lightly from his touch.
“Am I the first man to touch you, Maggie?”
That deep voice sounded thick. Strained. As if he were holding himself back from something.
“Yes.”
Those perfect lips crashed against mine in a feverish kiss. His tongue slid against mine as he overtook my senses, my body, until it almost felt like we were one person.
“I’ll be the only man to ever touch you, my sweet girl.”
That murmur was different. A command. I didn’t know why that made my belly tighten so sharply.
“Yes.”
His hand slipped out, then reached lower, hitching up my skirt to my knees. As he caressed my inner thigh, his work worn hands against my soft skin, it felt like I was in a dream.
His fingertips inched higher, and I felt myself shift to spread my legs an inch further apart.
I wanted him to touch me everywhere. No, I needed it. It was the most unusual, overwhelming feeling I’d ever experienced.
The door to the bunkroom opened, as Dobbs stumbled in, crawling straight into his hammock. I nearly whined as those thick fingers pulled away.
“Time and place,” he whispered, but I could hear the disappointment in his voice. “We need to get to breakfast so the others don’t talk.”
“All right.”
In my mind, since we weren’t alone, he shifted back to the Captain. Yet it was Levi’s hands who held me so carefully as he helped me out of the hammock. Definitely Levi who dragged his lips along the back of my neck as we climbed the steps.
And definitely Levi that was making my heart race in circles like a confused squirrel.
~ Chapter 10 ~ The Captain ~
* An Important Free Job *
Sleeping so close to my darling Maggie made me feel energized. Like I could take on the world.
Even though I was the Captain of a vessel, and in charge of a crew of five, well, six now, I didn’t feel like a particularly powerful man every day.
Caring for Maggie made me want to be more powerful. Made me want to be an admirable man. Someone worthy of her love.
After checking our position, and making sure we were on course for Fleeryville, I went down to see Maggie working merrily alongside Cookie.
“Thank goodness you were there to help us heat the bunkroom, lass,” Cookie said as he began dishing out bowls of porridge. “I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep had I been listening to Willy’s teeth chattering the whole time.”
“You’re kind of like a sister,” Dwyer said, nodding both to Maggie and his mug of strong tea. “I’ve never had a sister. And I was tiny when my ma passed. I like having a girl around who knows different things.”
“Thank you,” Maggie said softly. She looked genuinely touched by his praise.
It warmed my heart to see her fitting in with my men so well, and to see them studying her as we all learned more about her ways.
“She’s also saving us a bit of money, Cap’n,” Cookie said to me. “Maggie knows lots of wee tricks, like thickening a stew by crumbling stale bread into it.”
My proud grin made her blush. My girl was a clever one.
We arrived in Fleeryville shortly after breakfast. The crew made short work of trading cargo and selling off one barrel of rum.