Within a Captain's Hold Read Online Free Page A

did indeed.”
    He looked quite pleased with himself. Annalise tried once more to get to her feet and escape, but her legs failed to support her causing her stomach to crash like waves against the rocks.
    “Don’t hurt me.” The room started to sway. Bracing herself against one of the trunks, she held on to her head. The sickness crept over her. No, not again. “Does this damn floor ever stop rocking?”
    Captain Steele swung open one of the diamond-paned windows that followed the bow of the back wall. He helped her stand, despite her struggles against him. “I’m not going to hurt you. Stand still. You need fresh air.”
    The first signs of a pearl-gray morning showed her miles and miles of dull green sea, but with it, a blessed breeze blew past her cheeks.
    “Take some deep breaths and keep your eyes on that line, there,” he pointed, “where the sea and sky meet.” His voice was low, and somehow calming.
    She gripped the windowsill pulling great gulps of salted air into her lungs. Her head began to clear, but her legs still trembled like sponge pudding.
    The captain caught her around the waist and held her against the solid wall of his chest. His nearness unsettling. It muddled her brain. One minute he seemed intent on killing her. The next he was being kind. She didn’t know what to think or which to fear most.
    The heat of his body penetrated the thin fabric of her chemise. His warm breath brushed her cheek. Where had he told her to look?
    He spoke to her as if she were a child. “I’ve got you. Just keep taking the air. Deep breaths.” The smell of the sea, rain-washed air, and the unique spice of his skin made her dizzy in a different way.
    “I hate this boat,” she rasped.
    Captain Steele gave a short laugh. “And she hates you calling her a boat. The Scarlet’s a fine sloop, and you need to call her a ship. She likes being the only woman about, too. No wonder you two got off to such a rocky start.”
    “I’d be most happy to leave.”
    He chuckled again. The rich rumble spread through her body. “And I’d be more than happy to oblige you, but there’s still the matter of who you are and how you came to be here. Why are you so desperate to get to Port St. Maria?”
    Anna stiffened. How could she begin to tell him about the months leading up to this moment? Where would she start? Should she tell him about fighting her way through a devastating fire to save Alice and herself while flames licked at their hems, only to lose everything and everyone most dear to them? Perhaps she should tell him about being sent to London to start anew and meeting the madman who brought a new, indescribable horror to their lives. He believed she wasn’t bound to a member of his crew, but would he believe she was truly in danger and didn’t sneak aboard his ship on some brainless whim? Would he believe Port St. Maria was the only place she and Alice could find safety and their last scrap of hope? What could she possibly say to convince him to turn his ship in another direction? The mere suggestion sounded crazy, even to her.
    Everything went horribly wrong. They were foolish to believe their plan would work. Now she was in the hands of pirates, barely able to stand on her own feet. How would she save them? She was adrift with nothing. She didn’t even have the clothes on her back. Panic threaded up her spine again. Wait. Her bag. The meager remnants of her life’s possessions were in that burlap sack.
    She pulled out of his grasp. “Did you find a small bundle? I left my…provisions in that awful hold.” Just the mention of food sent her stomach on another tumble. She clutched at his arm to steady herself and made the mistake of falling into the changing depths of his blue eyes. His dark brows knit into a scowl. A growth of beard shadowed his jaw and framed his grim mouth. Her traitorous leg failed her again.
    He caught her. “You’re still green around the gills. I doubt you’re thinking about food. You’d