knee is starting to ache. Will you give me an answer,
ma belle, or do I have to kneel here forever?”
She wanted to say yes. She opened her mouth to
do so, but the words stuck in her throat. How could
she agree? How could she become the wife of a pirate?
The wife of Captain Cutlass? The wife of the man
who’d killed Timothy?
And how could she not? He wasn’t Captain Cutlass
anymore. He was Bastien, and little as she liked to
admit it, she loved him.
Did he love her? He hadn’t said so…
“I…”
His jaw tightened, and he began to rise. “If you
need time to think about it—”
“No.” She sank down beside him, joined both of
her hands with his. “But before I agree, I need to
know what happened. I need to hear it from you.
The truth.”
“Are you ready for the truth?”
He knew exactly what she was talking about. She
had known he would, had known he would under-
stand without her having to explain. “I thought I
knew the truth. One of the men from the Valor told
me the story. But I’m willing to hear your version
now. I want to know what happened.”
OnceRogue.indd 256
10/10/11 4:23 PM
The Rogue Pirate’s Bride
257
Bastien nodded, squeezed her hands. “We were off
the coast of Greece, and our holds were full of cargo.”
“Stolen from other ships, I’m certain.”
He flashed her a quick grin. “Not British ships,
ma belle.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“I think you like that about me.” He put a hand
on her waist, and her whole body tingled. “But as I
was saying, we were low in the water, and I think the
Valor must have thought we’d be… what is the term
you English use? Easy pickings?”
She nodded. She could see the Shadow in her mind,
see it as Timothy might have—an easy target. Except
he didn’t know Bastien.
“I could see the Valor was not fully manned. I think
your Captain Bowers saw an opportunity to press
sailors and take a prize. I did not approach him.”
She looked away. The story she had heard had
been very different. Bastien clenched her waist. “Why
would I, Raeven? A British ship-of-the-line? There’s
no profit in that for me or my men.”
“Perhaps you wanted the glory.” The words were
out even before she could think. And she regretted
them immediately.
“You know me better than that.”
She looked at him, looked at his face, so familiar to
her now. “I do.”
Bastien wasn’t seeking glory. She didn’t imagine
he ever had. But Timothy… he had needed to prove
himself if he hoped to advance in the ranks of the
navy. The glory would have been his. “Go on,” she
whispered. “Tell me the rest.”
OnceRogue.indd 257
10/10/11 4:23 PM
258
Shana Galen
“The Valor went straight for us. If we hadn’t been
so laden with cargo, I would have turned and run.
I wasn’t looking for a battle. But when he came for
us, I didn’t shy away. I don’t need to tell you, if he’d
won, I’d be dead and my men part of the British
Navy—whether they liked it or not.”
She didn’t agree with the British practice of impress-
ment. She knew ships needed to be manned, but taking
a man against his will seemed wrong. And when her
father had impressed sailors, they usually caused more
trouble than they were worth. And still it was a sort
of slavery. She could see why the men of the Shadow
would fight it. What man, or woman, wouldn’t want
to be in control of his own destiny?
“I think he expected me to run,” Bastien continued,
“but I turned and came alongside him. The weather
was stormy, the seas rough, and he had to close his
lower gun ports. We closed with him amidships. I
fired my guns, and he his. But as I said, he was under-
manned and cocky. I’m sorry, but there it is.”
She nodded. Timothy could be cocky. He was a
good sailor, but he had always enjoyed easy victories.
“Still, we took a beating. Damage to the bowsprit,
the sails, a few of our guns taken out. But we kept them
spitting, and we had the weather gage. He couldn’t
maneuver as quickly. When the tide turned against him,
he couldn’t get away, and we damn near blew him out
of the water.” He tightened his grip on her waist, and
she looked up at him. She realized she’d been staring at
the floor, envisioning the battle, picturing it in her mind.
“I could have sunk him, but I didn’t. Merde. I didn’t
need the whole of the British Navy after me. I spanked
OnceRogue.indd 258
10/10/11 4:23 PM
The Rogue Pirate’s Bride
259
him and limped away to lick my wounds, which were
fortunately few. I didn’t intend to kill Bowers. One of
the men told me later he’d seen the captain go down,
and the next time we were in port, I heard he’d died.
It wasn’t my intention to kill him, but neither do I
apologize.” He released her now and stood. She sunk
down onto her heels. He’d been holding her up, and
she felt weak.
“He asked for a fight, and I gave him one.”
She nodded, stared at the oak floors beneath her. It
wasn’t the story she’d been told, but considering that
story had been related by a sailor from the Valor—the
losing ship—she could see why it had been altered. No
one would want to highlight mistakes the lost Captain
Bowers had made. Especially not to his grieving
fiancée. Much better to paint him as a hero and Cutlass
as a villain.
But perhaps no one was hero or villain. Perhaps
both men had done what their natures dictated.
Bastien emerged the victor.
“You loved him.” Bastien was turned away from
her, staring out the dark windows at the endless ocean.
“For that I’m sorry—sorry I killed someone you loved.”
Her head jerked up, and she stared at his back. The
tenor of his voice, the way he said it—she wanted to
tell him she loved him. She wanted to tell him no one,
not Timothy, no man had ever touched her, body or
soul, as he had. But he had not said he loved her…
She rose, went to him, and wrapped her arms around
him. He was solid, his body warm and hard against hers.
She pressed her cheek to his back, inhaled, and smelled
sea salt and tobacco.
OnceRogue.indd 259
10/10/11 4:23 PM
260
Shana Galen
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll marry you.”
She felt him stiffen, realized he was surprised. He
hadn’t expected her to agree. But when he turned
to take her in his arms, his face showed nothing but
confidence. “We’ll marry in Franc
e.”
“Brest?” she said with a raised brow. “It would
be appropriate.”
“Brest then. I’ve already told Mr. Khan to set a
course. We’ll sail directly. If the winds are favorable,
we should reach the harbor in a few weeks.”
“If my father doesn’t find us first.”
He looked at her long and hard. “And if he does?
What then?”
She knew what he was asking, knew he wanted to
know whom she would choose. But she didn’t know
the answer. If it came to a battle between the two
men, the two ships, she could not bear to lose either.
So instead of answering, she wrapped a hand around
his hair and tugged his face to hers. The kiss was hard
and meant to distract. She felt his initial resistance, felt
it melt away as his arms came around her.
It was enough, Bastien told himself as he buried his
face in Raeven’s long, dark hair. Having her with him
now, holding her, feeling her warm body press eagerly
against his. It was enough for now.
Her loyalties were divided. Understandably so. But
what she did not realize, or perhaps did not want to
acknowledge, was at some point she would have to
make a choice between father and husband. Between
navy admiral and privateer. Between duty and love.
OnceRogue.indd 260
10/10/11 4:23 PM
The Rogue Pirate’s Bride
261
Or at least passion. There was love between
them, though neither wanted to acknowledge it. He
suspected she feared the fragile emotion as much as
he did. What neither feared was passion, and that
bloomed effortlessly between them.
She had kissed him, long and hard, but he quickly
wrested control from her. She didn’t give it easily. She
grasped his hands and tugged his shirt over his chest,
kissing his chest and licking her way to the waistband
of his breeches.
Just when things were about to get interesting, he
pulled her up, yanked her own shirt over her head.
Rather, it was his shirt, and he was disappointed to see
she’d bound her breasts. She reached for his waistband,
but he captured her wrists in one of his hands and
reached for her bindings with the other. “I want you
naked,” he growled.
“I want you naked first,” she countered. She tried
to wrest her hands away, but he held fast, grasped
the knot of her bindings with his free hands, and
yanked it loose. He spun her around, and the fabric
fell away. When it fell to the floor, he took her in
his arms again. Her warm, soft flesh pressed against
his bare chest.
She looked over her shoulder toward the door.
“Perhaps we should lock it.”
“There’s no lock,” he murmured, taking one of her
rosy nipples in his mouth. Bon Dieu, he loved the taste
of her. He could not seem to get enough.
“Mmm…” She arched her back, offered the other
breast. “But what if the crew should… oh, yes… I
mean, the crew… if they…”
OnceRogue.indd 261
10/10/11 4:23 PM
262
Shana Galen
“It’s a small ship, Raeven,” he murmured against
her, cupping her now and tasting her. “I think the
men know what’s going on, and if they value their
lives, they won’t interrupt. Now wriggle your hips so
I can slide these breeches off.” His hands slid down the
curve of her bare hips. “Why don’t you wear a dress
once in a while? Then I could just toss you on the
table and lift your skirts.”
“That’s too easy.” She stepped out of the breeches,
gloriously naked before him. “But you can still toss
me on the table.”
He lifted her without a word and did just that. With
the swipe of a hand, he cleared the dishes away—
Salviati would have something to say about that, but
Bastien would worry about it later—and set her down.
She sat up, reached for his breeches, but he pushed her
back on her elbows, took a long moment to enjoy the
sight of her, then kissed her.
Every inch of her.
He knew her body now, knew what she enjoyed—
what made her laugh, what made her moan, what
made her buck and claw and cry out. And when he
was finished, he did it all again. But somehow she
managed to take control long enough to divest him
of his boots and breeches. And when she touched
him, he couldn’t stop a growl of pleasure. She
clamped her legs around his waist, and he sank into
her warmth.
He had intended to take her hard and fast, but
once inside her, he slowed, savored and enjoyed. In
couplings with other women, he had always sought
release—not that he didn’t make sure they enjoyed
OnceRogue.indd 262
10/10/11 4:23 PM
The Rogue Pirate’s Bride
263
the experience, but he made love because he enjoyed
the end result.
But with Raeven, time seemed to stand still. It
wasn’t simply about his release or hers. It was about
them, together, the connection between bodies and—
he looked into her eyes—hearts. She felt it too. She
hadn’t been a virgin with him, and he wondered if it
was as different for her as it was for him.
“Mon coeur,” he whispered as he moved inside her.
“Mon amour.” He’d never said those words before,
barely realized he was saying them now. But at that
moment, at every moment since the first time he’d
held her, she’d been his heart. His love. How could he
made for him, and he for her.
“Bastien,” she whispered against his neck and
arched against him. And he could contain himself no
longer. With a groan, he went over the edge, holding
her tightly, taking her with him.
OnceRogue.indd 263
10/10/11 4:23 PM
Sixteen
He gathered her into his arms, held her tightly,
and Raeven wished they’d waited until they were
back in his—their—cabin so she could lie against him,
rest her head on his chest and listen to his heart.
That’s what he’d called her. My heart. My love. Had
he realized he’d said those things, or did he say them
to every woman?
No, he’d never said them to her before. He’d called
her many pretty endearments in French and English
and even Spanish, but he’d never called her his love.
She took a deep breath, bolstering her courage. If
she didn’t tell him now, it might be days before she
gathered her courage again. And who knew if they
had that much time. She’d never expected to lose
Percy or Timothy. “Bastien,” she began, hating the
way his name stuck in her throat. She sounded like
such a girl.
“Hmm?” He’d pulled her into his lap and was
rubbing his hands along he
r bare back, keeping her
warm. In a moment, he’d put her down, suggest they
dress, and her chance would be lost. She needed to say
OnceRogue.indd 264
10/10/11 4:23 PM
The Rogue Pirate’s Bride
265
it now, while his face was buried in her neck and she
didn’t have to look him directly in the eye.
Lord, she was such a coward.
“Bastien, I-I wanted to tell you… I mean, I wanted
you to know…” She could feel him smiling. Irritating
man! “I think I…” No. That was no way to say it. She
should sound confident. Sure. He hadn’t said, I think
you’re my heart.
“I’m listening.” He pulled away, looked into her eyes.
Damn it! Now she was going to have to say while
he was looking at her. She felt heat creep into her
cheeks. She took another deep breath and made
herself say it. “I love you.” She stood up, paced away
from him. “There. I said it.”
He didn’t answer right away, and she risked a glance
over her shoulder. He was smiling. But then she was
walking around naked. Of course he was smiling.
“Come here, mon coeur.”
She felt the tightening in her heart ease. She hadn’t
misheard him then. She went to him, happy when his
arms came around her. He kissed her neck. “Raeven—”
“Cap’n!”
She recognized Ridley’s voice outside the cabin
door. Bastien stiffened immediately, released her, and
reached for his breeches. “What is it, Mr. Ridley?”
“We spotted something. Want you to come take
a look.”
She hastily pulled on his shirt as he strode to the
door and yanked it open. She was half naked, but
to his credit, Ridley’s eyes never wavered from his
captain’s face.
“Why haven’t we beat to quarters?”
OnceRogue.indd 265
10/10/11 4:23 PM
266
Shana Galen
Now Ridley’s eyes strayed, just for a moment, to
lock with hers. “Oh, God,” she breathed. She bent,
fumbled with the breeches and pulled them on. Her
hands were shaking, her body was shaking, and her
heart was pounding so hard she thought the whole
ship could hear it.
“Are you certain?” Bastien asked. “It’s the Regal? ”
“I doan know the ship well. Can’t tell from this
distance. But it be a British man-of-war. Dat much
I knows.”
“I’ll go look,” Raeven said, pushing past Bastien.
“I’ll know instantly.”
Ridley moved out of the way, and she rushed up