Ruined by the Pirate (9 page)

“That’s right, love. Come with me. Fall over the edge with me.” He palmed her ass. His balls tingled and nothing mattered in the world but her.

She tipped her head back and moaned his name.

At the same time she moaned, he came. He filled her with his seed. For a moment, the room blurred. He gathered her limp body in his arms and petted her hair. She slumped against him and his cock slipped from her sopping heat.

“Love you, Sarah. So much. My bride.”

Sarah clung to his chest. She didn’t talk for the longest time, making him wonder if she’d fallen asleep. He listened to the waves outside his window and watched the sun streak in blue and purples across the sky.

“Killian?” Sarah patted his chest over his heart. “I’m glad I was ruined by a pirate. Life with you will always be filled with love and adventure, just the way I imagined.” She lifted her head and gazed into his eyes. “Here’s to one long and happy life together.”

He grinned. “Absolutely, first mate.” He’d found his heart and his home in her arms. Best treasure yet.

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

Sunshine of Your Love

Wendi Zwaduk

Excerpt

Chapter One

“
Mr Tony Rowe, please report to the service desk. Mr Tony Rowe. Report to the service desk. This is your third page. Thank you
.”

Noel scrubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. The noise in the terminal grated on his nerves. Intercoms blared over shouts of hello and homecoming. Somewhere behind him a woman wept. Children shrieked and laughed. He didn’t know the Mr Rowe being paged, but, damn it, couldn’t the guy answer already?

Noel sighed and made his way down the steps to the baggage area. In less than three hours’ time, he’d be home—not sitting waist deep in foetid water, not being shot at by unseen individuals brandishing AK-47s, or having rocks thrown at him in California by protesters who only saw the war on television, but home in his bed with a woman in his arms.

If she still cared.

Staying the course for three tours of duty had been his decision, but, every time he’d come home between tours and asked her what she thought, Sophie had brushed him off. Did she even love him at all?

Noel grabbed his duffle and glanced around the cavernous room. According to Sophie’s letters, she’d be coming to greet him when he landed in Cleveland. Then again, he hadn’t received a letter from her in more than nine months. Maybe she was upstairs in the main lounges. Maybe she’d brought Mario with her. God knew Noel hadn’t exchanged more than a couple of words with his brother in almost four years. Maybe it was time to bury the hatchet.

On the way through the terminal, he’d noticed signs directing travellers where to go, but, wherever he looked, nothing mentioned the baggage area. Where was a sign or map when he needed one? He groaned. He’d been so confident before his deployment. The confidence was still there, just buried down deep in his gut. He’d seen things in Vietnam very few people would understand.

Taking one step at a time, Noel forced himself to go back on to the main floor of the airport. If Sophie was up there, he’d find her.

Shouts erupted from the far end of the room. “Make love, not war!” Signs bounced and footsteps thumped on the floor.

“Power to the people.”

“Nixon’s a liar!”

“Get us out of there!”

“Peace is the answer.”

Noel ground his teeth together and turned his back on the protesters. If they only knew what had really happened. He’d heard about the reports on the television and seen them first-hand when he’d been laid over in California. The news only told the bloody part of the story. He’d been there. The horrors shown on the television barely scratched the surface of what went on in Vietnam. So many men dead and too many lives destroyed. He tamped down his anger and scanned the room once more. Where the hell was Sophie or Mario? One of them should surely be here to greet him.

“Noel?”

He paused. That voice wasn’t Sophie. Too smooth and sweet. Noel glanced over his shoulder, turning slowly. The blonde grinned and twiddled with the bracelet decorating her thin wrist. Her green eyes sparkled in the harsh lighting.

“Welcome home, Noel.” She nibbled on her bottom lip then smiled.

His bag snagged on his elbow. “Cindy? Cindy Lou?” He suppressed a chuckle. The last time he’d seen Cindy Stephens, she’d been wearing raggedy jeans and sneakers. Back then, her shirt had slipped off her shoulder and braids had kept her hair back from her face. She’d been adorable at eighteen, but looking at her four years older and in a dress knocked him off his feet. Had she always been such a minx under those rumpled clothes? The pleated bodice hugged her body in just the right places, accentuating her ample chest, and those hips… Damn, she’d really come into her own while he was away.

She rolled her eyes. “You know my middle name is Marie.” She opened her arms. “Welcome home!”

Noel swept her into his embrace and spun around. Cindy squealed and clung to him. Her hair tickled his nose. The scent of strawberry wrapped around him. She always did smell so sweet. She’d been the innocent girl next door, forbidden from seeing him. As much as she looked grown up, there was also an air of weariness to her.

He shouldn’t be holding her, shouldn’t be enjoying her body pressed against his. She wasn’t his girl, except in the letters they’d shared. Part of him had hoped she’d be the one waiting for him. Seeing her smile reaffirmed his faith in the world. Some people still had light, joy and happiness. Not him.

Guilt riddled his soul. Soon he’d have to leave her, too. Their correspondence couldn’t continue if he and Sophie took up where they’d left off. Sophie wasn’t one for sharing, even for platonic reasons. Besides, he shouldn’t be thinking about Sophie’s sister being anything other than his future sister-in-law. He was supposed to be in love with Sophie.

The longer he held her in his arms, the harder it was to tear himself away from her. She was here and happy to see him. He placed her on her feet. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she threw her arms around him again. He couldn’t help but hold her once more. Emotions he’d long packed away welled to the surface. He swallowed hard and tamped down the hurt and sadness, and accepted the relief. He was home… Confused, but home.

She let go and stepped back. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m crying.” She wiped the tears from her face and smiled. Her chin quivered. “You’re home. This should be a happy time.”

“Being here with you is a happy time. Being on American soil is a happy time.” Noel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You look… I’m glad you’re here. Thought I’d be taking a taxi home.” He picked up his bag to keep from looking at her. He’d known her all his life. She’d never mentioned another man when she’d written to him, but, looking the way she did, she probably belonged to someone. God knew she deserved anyone better than him.

“Noel Flynt, do you think I’d let you come home to no one?” Her smile wavered. “I jumped at the chance to come get you.” Her gaze didn’t quite meet his. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re a returning hero and my friend. Berlin Heights won’t be the same now that you’re back.”

Did she not want to be there? Was she embarrassed? His skin crawled and the blood thumped in his ears. Out… He needed to get out of the oppressive building.

He strode forward, through the sliding doors. The light June breeze swirled around him and cooled his body. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. Coming home wasn’t supposed to be so damned confusing.

Cindy’s footsteps thumped on the concrete as she caught up with him. She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. She trembled. Unable and unwilling to ignore her, Noel gathered her in his embrace once more. He opened his eyes. The top of her head barely reached his shoulder. The pillow of her breasts against his ribcage warmed his blood. Shame washed through him. Damn his traitorous libido, she turned him on.

“I never thought we’d see you again.” She clutched his shirt. “I dreamed you’d come back, but seeing you is so much better than a dream.”

“I’m here.” He smoothed her hair off her forehead and tipped her chin. He shoved the confusion and remorse aside. She was right there with him, not hiding at home or circumventing him. “Let’s go to the car. We can talk there where it’s not so public.”

She nodded and let go of him. “Third tier. I’ve got a black ’62 Impala.”

Noel placed his arm around her and walked with her up the three flights of stairs to the top deck of the parking garage. He stole glances at her from the corner of his eye. Instead of looking at him, she simply stared straight ahead. He wondered what ran through her mind. If she was embarrassed, she didn’t show it. Hell, he couldn’t read her expression at all.

Cindy wriggled out from under his grasp and pulled her keys from her purse. “This is my boat, otherwise known as our ride back to Berlin Heights.”

He snorted. The car was huge, but, then again, there weren’t too many models made in the early sixties that weren’t the size of watercraft. “Isn’t this the McCoys’ old drag-racer?”

“I always have been a little offbeat.” A crimson flush spread across her cheeks. “They painted over the numbers, but she still runs like a dream.”

“Offbeat and driving a bad-ass car? Cindy Lou, who are you? You’ve always been innocent to me.”

Cindy fumbled with her keys. Innocent? Apparently Noel was the only person who saw her that way. Before he’d left, everything had been so simple. She palmed her purse. Why had Sophie and Mario insisted she be involved in telling Noel the news? She hadn’t been the one to make the mess. She hadn’t wanted anything to do with it.

Noel plopped the duffle in the trunk and slammed the lid. He tipped his head. A lock of dark hair swept across his brow. Tingles started in her lower belly. The crew cut he’d sported when he’d left for basic training had been attractive on him, but she favoured the sloppy, lanky look. The lines around his eyes gave him a weathered, old-Hollywood-hero look.

“When did you get the dragster? I thought you weren’t going to get your licence.”

“Things changed when Sophie crashed the station wagon. No car, no way to get around. The accident was her fault. She took out three mailboxes and wrapped the engine around a maple on Broad Street, then walked away from the accident. The law doesn’t like abandoning the vehicle so Judge Murphy took away her licence. We needed a way to get around, meaning I had to get my licence. I was her taxi service for a while.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. There was so much she wanted to tell him, but she didn’t know where to start.

Noel splayed his hand on the trunk of the car. “Seems cool enough. Wouldn’t want to burn your pretty little ass.” He took hold of her waist and plunked her on the trunk lid. “There.” He settled between her knees. “Now would you tell me what’s going on? I hate being shitted.”

The mild-mannered boy she remembered had been replaced by a hardened, blunt man. Given the choice, she liked him a little rougher around the edges. Cindy ducked her head and moved her purse strap. She sighed. Better now than never, since he wanted to know. She opened her purse and withdrew the letter. Her hands trembled. “I am the bearer of tidings.”

“Aren’t you supposed to say good or bad tidings?”

“I don’t know if this is good or bad.” She handed him the rumpled envelope. “I don’t know what it says or what Sophie wrote to you about.”

Cindy stared at her bare toenails. She should’ve worn polish, but, really, who had she been kidding? Wearing the dress and fancy sandals hadn’t been a good idea. He could have any woman. Tears threatened behind her eyes. There was no way in hell he’d ever look at Cindy the way he’d looked at her sister. And once he read the letter her chances of catching his eye would be completely gone.

Noel leaned one hip against the bumper of the car and tore into the envelope. Something clinked onto the pavement. He glanced at her once, then read the crisply folded page. His jaw tightened and his brow furrowed. Whatever the letter said, it couldn’t be good.

Noel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well.” He leaned over, retrieving whatever had ended up on the ground, then fisted his hands on his narrow hips. “I had the feeling something was up, but I thought she was angry I’d been away so long. I never expected she’d dump me.”

Cindy folded her hands, unsure of what to say. Cars inched past, leaving parking spots and exiting the garage. The whoosh of a plane taking off sounded in the distance.

“Would it help to say I’m sorry?” She rearranged the bracelet jangling on her wrist and smoothed the smudges off the heart charm. “This is supposed to be a good day.”

“It is a good day. Give me your hand.” He took her right hand in his. “This is now yours.” Noel slipped a ring on to the ring finger of her right hand. “You’ll enjoy it more than I will. Diamonds aren’t my style.”

Despite the cloudy day, the diamond gleamed. Her heart lodged in her throat. The ring wasn’t just any piece of costume jewellery. It was Sophie’s engagement ring. “I can’t take this.” Cindy grasped the band and pulled. “I—this isn’t mine.”

Noel placed his hand on hers, stilling her movements. “Yes, Cindy Lou, you can because it’s mine to give to you.” He hooked his fingers under her chin. “She didn’t want it any longer and I can’t wear it, so it’s yours. You’ll cherish it.”