Page 42 of Devil of the High Seas
Pirating, it turned out, was not as easy as Josephine had imagined.
Despite the number of books she’d read on the subject, nothing had prepared her for the sheer intensity of work that went into being a sailor. There was no question that she loved the ocean and being on the ship, but she simply hadn’t fathomed the sheer intensity of a sailor’s duties. The first part of her morning had been a mental test in her ability to memorize and recite the names of the masts, yards, rigging, and sails, all while running up and down the ratlines to point at each one. There was the foremast, mainmast and mizzenmast. She’d been most familiar with those, but she had no idea that even the wooden spars affixed to the masts had names.
When the masts and spars were completed, a ship was considered “rigged,” which meant all the ropes, cables, and chains used to support the masts and bars were set up. Gavin had drilled all of this information into her over and over with rigorous quizzing while she’d run about the ship like an excited young powder monkey, learning the work to be done on the deck level.
“Climb the shrouds,” Gavin ordered for the second time that day as Josephine reached wearily for the rigging that ran from the ship’s sides up to the masts. A ratline had been constructed on the ropes that formed a ladder for any sailors going aloft. After the second ascent and descent from the rigging, her lungs heaved and her arms and legs shook with the effort. Sweat dewed on her skin, and now that she was standing still, she shivered a little as she started to feel cold.
Gavin, hands clasped behind his back, watched her closely, his face a polite but cool mask. “Perhaps a third time will help you master the climb.” The stern persona he assumed when he was playing the part of captain sent nervous flutters through her and made her heart pound from something other than excitement. It was so different from the man who’d been such a sweet lover the night before. With a shock, she realized she liked when he pretended to be stern with her. It made her more aware of him as a man, in a way a woman is when she can barely think of anything other than wanting to be in his bed and in his arms. In short... Gavin, the captain, aroused her.
“I think I’vemasteredscaling the shrouds.” Josephine’s hands rested on her hips as she took in a few deep breaths. Her heart was still pounding hard. Gavin arched a dark brow, his lips twitching as he seemed to fight off a smile. If she hadn’t been so bloody tired, she would have smacked him for that.
“As a member of this crew, there are things you must always be aware of...” He began to drone on about her duties, but she was more interested in the crew who’d been observing her as she learned her tasks. Bartholomew chuckled openly as he and two other sailors descended the rigging. They watched her and Gavin with no small amount of amusement. He’d teased her about it earlier when she’d passed him as she’d been climbing back down.
“The cap’n has an odd choice in foreplay,” he’d said to her.
She had paused briefly on the ropes to speak to him. “Foreplay?”
“Aye, most men would have taken their wife to bed and...” He then seemed to remember he was talking to a lady and trailed off. Josephine guessed what he likely meant.
“I asked him to teach me all of this. I wish to learn what it means to be a sailor.”
“Aye, I can see that you do, lassie, but I think the cap’n has other desires. He stares at you something fierce when you aren’t looking at him, like he wants to tup you right there on the deck. So I ask myself, why does he look like a man who wants to but hasn’t yet bedded his wife?” The older sailor’s eyes sharpened with interest as he watched her face for any reaction to his words.
“I... Well...”
“So hehasn’tbedded you yet,” Bartholomew confirmed with surprise. “But it’s clear he wants to.”
“Move, Josie!” A blush had risen in Josephine’s face when Gavin bellowed at her from below.
“Off you go, lassie!” Bartholomew had laughed again as she’d finished her climb down.
That was how she now found herself facing her stern pirate captain as he finally ended his pacing and lecturing. He then caught her chin in his hand.
“Tired already?” he asked, a teasing tone in his voice.
“I could climb the ratlines all day,” she fired back, but her challenge was undercut by the shaking weariness in her limbs. They both knew she was exhausted, and she would be a fool to try to prove otherwise.
“Adventure sometimes comes at a cost,” Gavin said softly.
“My mother said anything worth having isn’t easy to claim,” Josephine replied.
Gavin stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “She’s right. I suppose we could shift our focus to those duties that relate to the mind rather than the body. Mr. Phelps!” He called for his “first mate,” as she had been instructed to call him. Apparently, pirates hadquartermasters, but merchant ships had first mates. It was important she learned the differences so she didn’t betray Gavin and Ronnie to the crew.
“Aye, Cap’n?”
“Man the ship. We are taking our studies below deck for the afternoon.”
Ronnie snorted. “About bloody time. A good tupping—er, somecompanionshipwith your wife is a fine thing indeed.”
Gavin cut his gaze to his friend. “Do not disturb us unless you absolutely have to.”
“Understood, Cap’n.” Ronnie prowled the length of the deck, issuing orders to adjust the sails as the wind moved across the ship’s mast from a new angle.
“Come with me,” Gavin said to Josephine as they descended the companionway to the decks below.
She followed him, but a little more slowly, her legs still weak from the activities of the morning.
When they reached the cabin, he pointed to a chair by the table in the middle of the room.
