Read Bound by the Buccaneer for Free Online Page A

deeds must be punished? Is that what you’re saying?” she asked, defiantly.
    “Frederica, you are not a child. Do not behave as one. Pirates, as a rule, do not share your scruples. Perhaps I should never have gone along with your idea to raid other pirate ships, but I did, and there’s no sense in rehashing events from the past. What’s done is done.
    “The answer is simple. We need protection, a larger force. There is strength in numbers and these three captains are willing to join us with their ships and their crews. That would make us four hundred strong, Frederica! Imagine that… The only snag is if they think me a dandy who dances to a woman’s tune, they will have no desire to be associated with the Ocean’s Knave.” He shook his head. “And no pirate worth his salt would blame them.”
    Knowing he spoke the truth did little to quell her concerns. Her stomach tightened. “I still don’t understand why they must bed me,” she complained. Gaston was treating her as if she were a possession to be shared without a hint of concern for how his actions would affect her, and it hurt.
    Running out of patience, he sighed. “My dear, if I offer you as a gift they will view you more as my property than as my shrew, thereby proving their concerns are unfounded.”
    Rolling her eyes she repeated his words with a sneer. “Your property ?”
    “Yes, my property,” he said in a no-nonsense tone.
    “But…” she tried to find words. The idea of three men, strangers to her, taking her body as they wished frightened her. However, along with the fear, she felt a little glimmer of excitement and possibly curiosity. Gaston was the only man she’d ever been intimate with, and now she wondered what it would be like to be taken by another man.
    “But what?” he asked.
    “Nothing,” she said slumping down on the bunk next to him.
    “Ultimately, I will leave this as your decision.” He stroked her hair. “Not to put too fine a point on it, but consider the men, Frederica, our men. Each time we go into battle we take them with us. To a large degree their lives rest in our hands. If we do not provide them with the best protection possible, we’re sending them to their deaths, don’t you see?” He tilted her chin up so that she had no choice but to meet his gaze.
    Staring into his dark, coffee-colored eye she let the information sink in. Guilt rose up inside her, that uncomfortable yet familiar emotion that had threatened to eat her alive after Cassandra’s death. No, she didn’t want the blood of their men on her hands. She’d suffered that enough.
    Unfortunately, she knew Gaston was right. If it hadn’t been for her and her idealistic views, they would be plundering every ship they came upon, regardless of its passengers or their situation. In that case, they’d be no special threat to pirates and there would be no price on their heads. But now, resulting from their edict to only steal from other pirates, some of the most bloodthirsty men in the world were after them. She knew Gaston was right. Their men were loyal and good to her. She should sacrifice for their crew. But at what cost?
    Making up her mind she set her jaw and asked bravely, “What do I need to do?”

Chapter Six
     
     
    Gaston took an unopened bottle of rum out of the chest in the corner of the room and sliced the top off it with his cutlass. He handed the bottle to Frederica. “Drink.”
    “What?” she asked.
    He indicated the bottle. “Drink. You’ll likely need the courage.”
    She took a sip.
    “More,” he insisted.
    With a groan she took a long draw from the neck of the bottle. The rum slid easily down her throat leaving a trail of warmth behind as it settled in her belly. “Happy?” she asked.
    “That’s not exactly how I would describe my frame of mind, no.” He frowned.
    “Pray tell, what has you so vexed?”
    Gaston sat across from her on the chest and sighed. “My dear, before you rendezvous with Appling and the