You are fierce with words,” he said, his eyes gleaming. “I have no other means,” she replied, leveling her chin.

Wants are never satiated. In fulfilling one desire, we neglect another.

She mussed her red hair with her fingers and flashed a whimsical grin. “We’ve all heard stories about her. What girl doesn’t want to be Kate Lindsay for a little while?

Thinking ahead was too frightening to consider. Is this what it means to be a pirate? she wondered as her gaze swept over a deck full of them.But she had never truly been one of them. She was their treasure, not their equal. The meaning of her value differed from captor to captor. Griffith saw a wife. Hornigold saw a map to his fortune. Vane saw a hostage to be exchanged.

No matter,” he assured her. “If it’s a concern, you may take me in your mouth.”Her smile did not falter. “Anything you put in my mouth will not stop short of my stomach.”“No doubt,” he boasted.“You miss my meaning.

A very old man once told me a pirate is always chasing after the horizon, fooling himself into believing he can reach it. It might be gold, it might be freedom, it might even be a girl he’s looking to impress. Always it beckons, beautiful and glorious, but no matter how hard a pirate pushes his ship, it remains just out of grasp. The woman who has stolen my cabin, I wager she was Jonathan Griffith’s horizon.

What’s gotten into you?” he wondered, blinking in sudden frustration.“Not you, that’s for a certainty.

Her hair was matted to her head, glistening dark red, like wine through a murky bottle. Her torn shirt hung loose, a breast carelessly exposed, and her breeches were taut against the lean muscles of her legs. She treaded through the waves, never swaying in the current, until she stood before him, face concealed in shadow. “You swim faster with one arm than I with two,” she said.Nathan laughed. “You frightened me.

Right,” Thatcher said, “let’s have a look at her.”Katherine hesitated. The kitten was fast asleep in her arms and she was afraid to wake her. “Something amiss?” Thatcher asked.Katherine giggled at her capricious emotions and shoved the kitten into the surgeon’s arms. The animal woke up as Thatcher examined it. He set the kitten on the deck and watched as she wobbled around on clumsy paws. “Yes,” Thatcher nodded conclusively. “This is indeed a cat.

Now now,” he said, setting his hand on her shoulder. He didn’t even see her turn. One moment she had her back to him, and the next her face was in his. Tears streamed from narrow, red eyes, her nostrils flared, and her mouth was twisted in a vicious snarl. She could have bitten his nose off if she wanted to.