The Pirate's Stowaway

Chapter 8

*This chapter moves things along a little more slowly, but I had to lead up to chapter 9.* Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 8:

Emma was trying to braid or knot her hair back while she waited for the captain. She didn't know how long it would be before he came back, or if he would at all, but she knew it was really late and that she was exhausted, hungry, and bored.

She tried to listen to everything and everyone on the ship as they all moved. She knew of course that the couple of men she had seen couldn't be the only people on board, it was still a pirate ship after all and she knew that it needed an entire crew for it to work.

She couldn't really hear anything but a few scratches here and there, so she figured everyone had gone to bed.

Standing up, she put her braided hair behind her back, knowing that the strands would pop out of it, and walked to the little port window that was in the back of the quarters and on the wall between the basin and the bed, to stare out of it.

The way that water moved and swirled entranced her and she found herself feeling so relaxed. Underneath the moon everything was black with the little bits of light that reflected as the ship made its journey.

Donovan didn't make any noise when he came in except for the little click of the door as it closed. His eyes scanned for Emma and when they landed on her, a small coy smile made it's way onto his face. He liked the way she watched the waves with such content and how her body seemed so relaxed. Which, he was sure, would go away as soon as she realized she was no longer alone.

He also took his time walking over to her, looking over her backside as he never had a chance to when she had been pressed up against the wall.

Just like the front, she had curves where every man wanted them to be and her hair drove him crazy. He could tell that she had tried to fix it at least a little, but it was nearly undone and he was sure not much could keep it held back.

He also noticed that in the small of her back she had a nasty scratch that was almost a cut, from the way she had acted though, she probably didn't even know it was there. He didn't know exactly how she got it, but he knew it probably had something to do with the box she stowed away in.

She would never be able to reach it to clean it and he knew that she wouldn't want him to help her, and that made his coy smile turn into his devilish smirk as he moved up behind her.

"Emma, I brought you a little something to eat." He told her in a voice that was gentle because he didn't want her to freak out, he needed her to eat, if she didn't it would weigh on his conscious.

The voice brought her back from her sea-watching trance and she jumped as she turned around to face him, this time mentally preparing herself so she wouldn't have as much of a reaction to his good looks.

Keeping her head up so she wouldn't look at his chest, she politely told him thank you and took the food he offered, being careful not to touch his fingers as she did so.

The food tasted so good she nearly moaned because she hadn't eaten anything the entire day and it took a lot of will to not eat all of it quickly. Even though she knew he was a pirate, she still wanted to keep up the appearance of a proper lady.

"Lass," he told her, starting slowly because just like with the food, he didn't want to startle her and in turn she not allow him to do what he was going to ask.

"You have a cut in the small of your back that needs to be cleaned and dressed. You cannot reach it by yourself so I will need to do it. You do not want to get an infection, especially while out at sea where there are no doctors."

Emma was at odds with herself because she didn't know if the captain was lying to her. She didn't feel any pain from her back when she moved, but then again a lot had happened since she scraped her way into the box.

She wanted to fight with him about it, but she just felt so exhausted from the whole day and having that little bit of food only made her a little more drained. Even saying that though, she wasn't going to let him help her without him giving her something first, and at that present moment there was only one thing she really wanted.

"You can help me, but you have to tell me your name first." She told him, her chin up.

He looked at her and smiled a genuine smile which to her, was just as deadly as his muscles, as it was so white and straight, it shouldn't be allowed, especially on a pirate.

"My name is Donovan, Emma, Donovan Aubel. Now let me clean your wound." The way he said it held authority, but it was an authority that was almost soft, the kind that made her think he actually might want to help her.

He motioned for her to stand by the small basin and she turned around, so she didn't have to face him as he gathered everything he would need. That was when she realized something. In order for him to clean it, he was going to have to unlace the top part of her dress and remove her chemise, which would leave her nearly half naked.

She was thankful that her back was to him because she could feel her heart start pounding and the blood rushing to the surface as her entire body blushed.