Page 1 of The Lord who Seduced Me
Prologue
Cabe
Somewhere in the ocean, 1811
Cabe wished that he was anywhere else. Not waiting in the brig of his own ship to be tortured.
When they were captured weeks ago, Cabe had been a cocky, young sea Captain
He had several missions that he had done for the Navy and had never had a single ounce of trouble.
He had a solid crew and was confident in his ability to keep everyone on board his ship safe.
He never thought once in all his time as Captain that his ship would be taken, and when it had? Well, that was a harsh wake up call to be certain.
He had seen the good men of his crew slaughtered in the fight, and those that were left were taken. And day after day they were tortured and beaten. Some survived, most did not.
The ones who survived their endless torture and pain were often brought to the brig, where they would rest for a few days and then be taken back to do everything all over again.
Cabe hated those moments. Seeing his men wither, weep and wish for death to claim them, and then ultimately die under their ministrations was horrible.
Cabe wished that he could give them some of his strength. But he couldn’t.
The captain of the other ship that had taken theirs was famously called the Renegade.
He was an evil man who had made his way around the world, torturing and raping as he went, all the while accumulating a vast fortune. He was feared in every port and sea town from England to India.
The Renegade had earned his reputation many times over and having him aboard Cabe’s ship was hard.
Cabe and Nathaniel, -his first mate- had been saved for last. They hadn’t been touched by Renegade, or his crew.
Nathaniel sat waiting, knowing his time would come and Cabe did the best he could to prepare himself for it.
He really thought he could handle anything that was thrown his way.
But nothing could prepare your body for the pain the Renegade put him through. Being stabbed in places you knew wouldn’t kill you, just cause you the most amount of pain, wasn’t even the worst of his pain he dealt with. He had his skin sliced open with knives, flayed from his bones with whips, with chains.
He had his fingers broken, one by one as they tried to get him to make noise. Had his body strung up on a table where they stretched him, until his shoulder had popped out of its socket. Cabe struggled each and every time not to scream.
The Renegade didn’t like that. He lived for the screams of his victims. Doing more damage to them than necessary because he loved hearing their pain.
The mental warfare was hell on earth too. The Renegade would torture their minds along with their bodies until some of his crew would just lay on the floor, unmoving. Unblinking. Their eyes dead, and their bodies not far behind.
Cabe tried his best to stay strong and would never give in to the Renegade’s wants of his screams. No matter what happened, Cabe wouldn’t cry out.
When he was put back to his cell, he would curl up on the floor and silently cry. His body felt like it could take no more.
But knowing that it would not end until every last man had given into death.
He was ready to give in and give up, could take the pain of his injuries and hearing his men weep for their mothers, no longer. Then the unexpected happened.
The navy came to their rescue. Had somehow found their ships and knew the black ship that sailed alongside Cabe’s was not a good one.
Cabe and Nathaniel could hear the fighting above their heads. So could the few left of his loyal crew.
They looked at each other and Cabe could see hope in people’s eyes. He could feel their excitement, their hope. Because he too was the same.
When a man came down the stairs wearing the uniform of a naval officer, Cabe felt his body sag. He was so relieved to see the other man, that he could feel the tears coursing down his face.
