Her body ached. No, her body throbbed. It took all her strength to open her eyes and vaguely take in the unfamiliar surroundings of a room that did not belong to her. Everything suddenly became fuzzy and she blinked, trying to clear her head of the slight buzzing sound.

She tried to move, but groaned as a stab of pain shot down to rest around her stomach. Her hands traveled down and she drew in a deep breath when they came in contact with a bandage that covered most of her abdomen. Where had this come from? And what was she doing in this bed? More importantly, precisely whose bed was this?

She turned her head slightly to the right and finally took in the sight of the man asleep in the chair a few feet away. His breathing was even, his chest steadily rising and falling. His curly hair was mussed from sleep and the bandana that had fallen to the floor; his soft lips were curled up in the slightest smile. Suddenly, it all came rushing back.

She sat up with a start, a hand automatically traveling to her head where her hat should have been. When she was met with a handful of her wavy tresses, she almost broke down and cried. She was a boy no longer and her secret had been revealed in the most awkward fashion.

Oh, she wanted jump off the ship and swim away. No, she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole. But neither option was available, so the only thing she could think to do was get out of there and back to the safety of her own cabin as fast as possible without waking the sleeping captain.

Moving quickly, she pushed the covers off and threw her legs over the side of the bed. She crawled out of the warm cocoon and took a few steps towards the door. But she underestimated the extent of her injury and cried out as the pain coursed red hot through her body.

She quickly collapsed to the floor, grabbing her stomach as she fell. The cool wood was unforgiving, and she cowered into a fetal position, willing the pain to just disappear. Tears filled her eyes, threatening to fall, but she just clenched her jaw, not allowing the hot liquid to roll down her cheeks.

In his chair, Justin jerked awake. He hadn’t realized he’d dozed off until he’d heard a noise and opened his eyes to find his patient on the floor, crouched into a protective position. With an aggravated sigh, he quickly got up and pulled her into his arms.

“Put me down!” Kalinna cried the moment his body came into contact with her’s. She squirmed against the hot steel of his muscled arms, suddenly oblivious to the pain of her wound.

Without a word or care, Justin dropped his bundle unceremoniously onto the bed. She shot straight up, intending to get complete her mission of making it to the door. But the pirate captain would have none of it. With an annoyed grunt, he pulled her onto his lap and held her tight.

“You’re not going anywhere until you answer my questions,” he ground out as he tried to contain her squirming figure.

“Like hell I am!” she cried, wiggling her butt in an effort to slide beneath the cage of his arms.

Much to his utter horror, Justin felt himself starting to get aroused. The thin material of her boys’ breeches betrayed the soft roundness of her butt and left little to the imagination. With a growl, he set her away from him and went to lean against the door to prevent her escape.

Of course, that wasn’t the greatest idea either. He got a full glimpse of her standing there, her breasts heaving from her exertion, her hair a tangled mess, her eyes emitting emerald fire. Lord, she was magnificent.

His heart beat just a touch faster as she gave him a haughty glare, unaware of how beautiful she looked. But this was Kip. Kip was anything but a lady, he kept telling himself.

“Sit down,” he suddenly said in a coldly quiet voice as he got a grip on his emotions, “You have already tested my patience far beyond its limit so I suggest you desist.”

Kalinna opened her mouth to give him a sarcastic retort, but thought better of it when she noticed the dangerous glint in his eyes. Her butt made a beeline for the bed, where she sat not saying a word, and waited for the captain to take the floor. He kept his guarded position near the only door, distrust screaming from the lines of his taut body.

“Okay Miss Davenport, the truth if you please,” Justin practically barked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I, well, that is…” Kalinna trailed off, her thoughts scattered like leaves on a fall wind. She shifted nervously under his piercing gaze, wishing she had not been so headstrong and had stayed home rather than follow her heart in its search for freedom.

“Now is not the time to be shy,” Justin growled, becoming more agitated as the minutes passed and he still had not received a single word of explanation.

Lord was he infuriating. He was arrogant, demanding and altogether too sure of himself for any one man. It amazed her that his head didn’t explode from the size of his ego.

Well, she would not be talked to like she was some common whore who’d gone to the bad. No, she was a lady and she would present herself as such despite the fact that she was still wearing lad’s clothing. She was done with men who thought of nothing besides satiating their own needs and wants.

“Do not take that tone of voice with me, sir,” Kalinna haughtily stated as she stood from the bed and drew herself up regally, retaining the ladylike skills she had learned years ago.

“I shall talk to you however I see fit. You have lied to me, and I do not take kindly to that,” Justin ground out as he took a step in her direction, “Now, I deserve an explanation, and I would prefer it now. Do not make me any angrier than you already have for the outcome will not bode well for you.”

“Do you threaten a lady?” she coldly stated, her hand itching to slap him and put him in his place. Good sense, however, kept her from doing so.

“You do not seem much of a lady to me,” Justin retorted, regretting the words the second they left his lips.

Kalinna’s eyes widened at the statement. How dare he insinuate such foul ideas. Despite the fact that she was dressed in a lad’s clothing and had pretended to be of the rougher sex did not mean that she deserved such treatment, even from the likes of a pirate captain.

She quickly picked up the closest weapon she could find, which happened to be Justin’s loaded pistol. She aimed it at his chest and he stared at her, his eyes wide with shock as he froze in place. Good thing he didn’t know that she hadn’t a clue how to use the blasted thing.

“Kindly move out of the way or I shall send you to kingdom come,” she whispered, her voice laced with ice.

“I want some answers, damnit,” he stubbornly cried as he stayed glued to his spot at the door, fearful of her finger that dallied near the trigger. At such a close range, he was sure to be a dead man.

“Don’t you understand? This is precisely what I was running from!” she suddenly cried, her hand that held the gun beginning to tremble, “You men are all alike. You take and take and never give anything in return. Well sir, I have been a pawn in my greedy father’s games since I was fourteen; I will not be bossed around by the likes of you, pirate or not.”

“Kip…” Justin began, as he slowly began to inch his way towards her.

“Stay there, or I promise, I will shoot you,” she threatened, her voice barely a whisper, “I…I mean it. Don’t make me hurt you.”

The arm that held the pistol slowly began to lower, her courage wavering under the pirate’s tense, unblinking stare. Unwanted tears, yet again, began to well up in her eyes and the world around her began to blur. Moments later, she was being crushed against the sculpted chest of the pirate captain as she finally gave into the emotions she had kept pent up for the past eight years.

“I couldn’t s…stay. Not any l…longer. I was supposed to m…marry this man so my f…father could get rich, but I couldn’t go through with it,” she prattled on through her sobs, “Ever since my mother d…died I’ve been pushed at men like there was n…no tomorrow. My father never c…cared that I was his daughter, his only child, just how m…much money lined his pockets.”

“Shh, everything is going to be alright,” Justin soothed as he held her and awkwardly ran a hand gently up and down her back.

“N…no, it’s not,” she protested, clinging to him for support, “You don’t k…know my father. Whatever he wants, he gets, no matter the obstacle in t…the way. I could run to Timbuktu and he’d s…still find me.”

Justin didn’t quite know what to say to ease her pain. He had never been a smooth talker, Casanova, whatever some men were called, so an emotional woman was completely new territory to the 28-year old man. And it definitely didn’t help that he was watching and searching for signs that her father was possibly entangled with the French in some traitorous plot against the English government.

So he just stood there, holding onto the young woman. Her arms were wrapped securely about his waist as if he was her life support. He had to give her a lot of credit though; she sure was made of some strong stuff if she had been able to survive in a man’s world for the past month. And on a ship to boot.

A few more minutes passed before Kalinna was finally able to get a hold of herself. She pulled away from the pirate captain, embarrassed at how easily she had lost control over her emotions. She stared at the floor as she felt the intensity of his gaze on her lowered head.

“I’m ready to answer your questions now,” she softly stated as she continued to find the wooden planks of the floor rather interesting.

“You need rest now,” Justin surprised her by saying; she quickly looked up at him, “I’ll save the questions for later.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, amazed that he was letting everything slide for the moment.

“Positive,” he assured her as he shuffled her back to her bed.

“But this is your bed,” she protested.

“And I’m not using it right now,” he responded while helping climb back beneath the sheets, “Besides, you need the rest more than I do and this is the most comfortable bed on this floating tub.” Kalinna managed a small smile at his attempt to lighten the situation.

Twenty minutes later, however, found the lass fast asleep, her worries and frustrations wiped from her face. Justin sat there staring at her for a few moments, trying to comprehend the puzzle that was Kalinna Davenport. But he got nowhere and quickly exited the room in search of Jackson.

“What did you do with Tobias Bontecue?” Justin asked his first mate as he approached the man at the ship’s wheel.

“He’s locked in the prison cell below the living quarters,” Jackson explained as he turned the wheel slightly towards the right.

“What do you reckon we should do with him?” the pirate captain asked as he lounged against the railing of the deck, “It’s obvious that he knows more than he’s letting onto.”

“I agree. I’m thinkin’ we should see if we can get anythin’ outta him,” Jackson began, “Then send ‘im back to London with the next spy ship that’s goin’ there.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Justin agreed as he got to his feet and stared off into the horizon, “Are we long from docking?”

“Little more’n an hour,” Jackson replied, “Course, that’s as long as this storm holds off.”

Justin stared broodingly at the approaching clouds, dark and threatening on the horizon. At the pace they were going, it was likely they would beat the storm. God knows the last thing he wanted was to be cooped up on this ship with Kalinna Davenport for longer than he had to.

He wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. She was the most stubborn, determined and headstrong lass that he had ever come across. And to top things off, she was beyond beautiful, a fact that she seemed utterly unaware of.

“She doin’ okay?” Jackson asked as if reading the younger man’s thoughts. Justin barely repressed a groan.

“She’ll be fine,” Justin assured his friend as he sighed and gazed into the horizon again, “I didn’t get around to questioning her…”

“Did she pull a sword on you?” the first mate interrupted, a twinkle in his eyes. Justin gave the man a light punch on the arm.

“Nope, just aimed my own loaded pistol at me,” the pirate retorted with a roll of his eyes, Jackson grinned, “I swear, she’s got more courage than ten men put together.”

“Yeah, what a hellcat,” Jackson commented. Justin laughed.

“Hellcat? What kind of name is that?” the young man demanded as he lounged, once again, against the railing of his ship.

“Fits, don’t it?” Jackson returned. Justin had to shake his head in agreement. “Ah, well what’s the lass’ name anyway?”

“Would you believe it’s Kalinna Davenport, Richard Davenport’s one and only daughter?” Justin revealed; Jackson didn’t seem the least bit fazed by the information, “Just think of what we could learn from her. She’s known the man her whole life and has to have some idea of his habits and addictions.”

“Or she might be in on the plot an’ will tell us a bunch ‘o lies just outta spite,” Jackson commented, “You gotta figure that as well.”

“No, I don’t think she has any idea what her sire is up to in respect to the English government,” Justin said, his gaze faraway as he recalled the incident that had happened in his cabin just a short while ago.

“What exactly happened that would make ye say something like that? You’re one ‘o the most cautious spies I ever seen and don’t ever take no chances on being wrong,” Jackson commented as he glanced in Justin’s direction.

“Nothing,” the pirate was quick to respond with.

“It ain’t nothin’ when you keep shufflin’ around like that,” Jackson retorted as he watched the younger man begin to pace the deck.

With a sigh, Justin quickly muttered what had occurred in his cabin as he rocked back and forth on his heels the entire time. Once he had concluded, Jackson threw back his head and gave a great roar of laughter. Justin glared at the man, not seeing exactly what was funny about the whole situation.

“Care to let me in on the joke?” the pirate captain questioned as he raised his eyebrows in Jackson’s direction.

“You’re turning into a softy Timberlake,” the burly man commented, a grin lighting his lips, “Like it or no, that lass has gotten under yer skin without ye even realizin’ it.”

“That isn’t so,” Justin scoffed, “Hell, I’ve known the chit as a boy for the past four weeks, not as a beautiful lass.”

“Beautiful? Lord ‘o mighty, ye are gettin’ soft on me,” Jackson stated as he continued to laugh, “Yer mother will be thrilled to know yer finally turnin’ an interested eye at the likes ‘o the softer sex.”

“I’ve always been interested in women,” Justin protested, crossing his arms over his chest in agitation, “It’s not like I’m some untried lad just barely out of his youth.”

“Bah, jus’ dancin’ girls and whores,” Jackson retorted with a wave of his hand, “Ye never been with a real lady ‘fore.”

“Kalinna Davenport is not a lady,” Justin stonily said, not enjoying where the conversation was headed, “My mother would have a fainting spell if she ever heard that I was taking up with a merchant’s daughter.”

“Yer mother just wants ye to marry one ‘o those silly heiresses that got lots ‘o money and a title to spare,” Jackson commented, rolling her eyes, “Crazy idea if ye ask me, but what do I know?”

Justin didn’t let on that he agreed with his first mate. There was no doubt about the fact that he thought the idea of marry a young woman with oodles of money quite ludicrous, but his mother wouldn’t have it any other way. So he just avoided the subject of marriage altogether whenever he was around the Dowager.

But he couldn’t deny the fact that all the conversations he’d had with Kalinna had been stimulating, a new challenge for him that he never tired of. If she wasn’t a merchant’s daughter, she sure would make him the perfect wife. Of course, a horror to his ever-proper and reserved mother, but when did he ever care what she thought?

Lord, he was getting himself into hot water now. He was already imagining marrying the chit when he didn’t even know a single thing about her besides her name and the fact that she could handle a sword about as good as any man. He needed to get her off the ship and fast before he did something rash.

Once they got back to Port Chamblay, he’d get her some proper clothes and send her back to England with the next spy ship on its way to dock there. He didn’t want to send her right back to her father, but what choice did he have? He had a duty to his government and no young woman, beautiful or not, was going to get in the way of his goal.

Satisfied with that decision, he turned back to Jackson, only to find the man grinning slyly at him. He gave him a questioning stare, yet the first mate did not back down. Justin sighed.

“What are you grinning at?” the pirate captain finally questioned.

“Softy,” was all Jackson said.

“Suddenly I feel the need to find some other company,” Justin said as he began to walk away, annoyance bogging down his normally springy steps.

“Ye ain’t gonna get no solitude below decks. The whole ship is buzzin’ ‘bout the lass. Old Trenton is livin’ in the spotlight cause he knew about her ‘fore everybody else,” Jackson revealed, much to Justin’s chagrin.

“Am I supposed to jump off this ship to get some peace and quiet?” the captain demanded as he stopped in his tracks.

“You’d be doin’ me a favor,” Jackson joked, “Always was mighty keen on havin’ a ship like the Christina.” Justin glared, not finding the statement in the least bit funny.

“I’m going to go lock myself in the cabin and pray that we get to Port Chamblay before the sun sets,” the young man ground out as he continued on his way to the stairs leading below decks.

“Don’t ye be thinkin’ of pullin’ something on the lass while she’s asleep in yer bed,” Jackson called, enjoying getting a rise out of the younger captain.

The only reply was Justin’s annoyed footfalls as he quickly made his way back to his cabin. Some of Jackson’s words had hit too close to home, but there was no way in hell that he was going to let some lass take over his mind. No, his plans had been laid years ago and there was no way he was changing now just because of one willful lass with big green eyes.