Carried Away Chapter 2

For disclaimer and other details please see chapter 1.

CHAPTER 2

As she was hoisted up into the other ship speedily Mary wanted to just scream out loud. She wanted to scream that she was a human being and not just something that could be passed from person to person like this. Of course she didn’t do that. If she did then she was sure that it would just cause a huge wave of laughter to go off amongst these people and she had no intention of being the butt of anyone’s jokes. All that they would do was look at her, say that she was a woman and that she should be used to being treated as such. And in a way it was right. Most women that she knew were so accepting of everything in their lives. They weren’t so much participants as spectators.

As she clambered over the side of the ship she paused for a moment. If nothing else to just take in her surroundings. It was a fine vessel. One of the first things that had struck her was the fact that it seemed to be in better condition than the ship that she had just been taken from. Everything was in its place despite the fact that she had a suspicion that the crew on this vessel was smaller ... the ship was a little larger though. That was something that she had just noticed.

Then she was almost pulled off her feet as the man who had escorted her here gave her a yank. A clear indication that he was sick of her slowness but she couldn’t help the way that she was dragging her feet. Before she could stop herself she looked at him from under her lashes. It didn’t occur to her that doing this was making her look all the more feminine. She had never watched men all that closely before so didn’t know how they moved or acted in any given situation. It was actually on the tip of her tongue to spit out something cutting to him but she didn’t. If he heard her voice then his suspicions would surely be confirmed.

Even as she had that thought she wanted to just laugh out loud at the insanity of it all. If he had gone to the extremes of just carrying her off then he was already pretty sure that she was a female. She had noticed that no one else had been brought over from the other ship. Damn. A part of her was already wishing that she had listened to her father. He had told her that he wasn’t happy about her travelling without at least one or two members of staff accompanying her but she had waved him away. She wouldn’t hear of it. To her it had just been an extravagant expense that they could well do without right now. What was the point? She had told him that she would be fine. That it was merely a matter of a simple journey by ship. That she was looking forward to it ... and everything would be fine.

Oh well. That would be a lesson to her. Perhaps the words honour thy father and mother weren’t so ridiculous after all. She bit at her lip as she envisioned her father being given the news. He would be devastated. This would mean the end of everything for their family. Her thoughts were jerked back to the present as she stumbled slightly over a raised board in the ships otherwise smooth deck. Again she bit at her lip wincing when her teeth nearly went right through it but she had almost let out a squeal there and had only just caught herself in time.

Looking over his shoulder as he felt the way that the person behind him jerked Shawn frowned at her. Well not at her as such ... more at what she had just tripped over. Then he couldn’t help the sly grin that covered his face. He had no clue why she was keeping up her ridiculous charade. It was obvious to anyone who cared to look at her for longer than five minutes that she was definitely female. Hell he had been holding her hand now, true it was against her will, but it had been for a long while and that was enough evidence to convince even the stupidest of men that this person was definitely of the feminine persuasion. The smooth, uncalloused skin was one thing and the slender tapering fingers another. Proof positive in his way of thinking.

“Are you ever going to break your odd silence and speak?” He asked as he turned away from her once more to guide them across the deck towards the stairs leading to the lower parts of the ship.

Her eyes widening as she caught sight of exactly where they seemed to be heading Mary said nothing but instead just ducked her head down even more.

“Oh well ... no matter.” Shawn said with a sigh. “I’m sure that the captain will be able to devise some way to have you desperate to end this habit ... you’ll be talking before this hour is out.”

She gulped and was certain that she had done so audibly. This was confirmed when she heard him laugh. Not able to stop herself she childishly and petulantly poked her tongue out at the back of his head. There was no rule that said she had to do whatever she was told here. So she began to deaden her weight slowly and dig her heels in.

“That won’t help you little one.” He tossed the words carelessly over his shoulder before looking at her with the same smile still in place. “Or do you really want me to throw you over one of my shoulders and carry you the rest of the way.

Again her eyes widened even more at his words even though she made sure to keep them fixed on the deck beneath her feet. There was no way that she wanted him to do that. At the same time she found herself wondering just what kind of a man the captain of this vessel was.

-o0o-

Pacing the floor of his cabin a little aimlessly Kevin wasn’t sure if he was happy with how things had gone on that raid. True it had been exceptionally civilised but there was still that little part of him that missed the old days. He rolled his eyes when he had that thought. Now when he put it like that he made himself sound positively ancient. But the thought was true nonetheless. No matter how old it made him feel. He had been involved in this ... well it seemed strange calling it a business but in a way since all of the new laws and bylaws had been introduced piracy had never been more like a business. And the way that he ran his collective he guessed that it was better than most merchants put things together. Anyway, he had been involved in all of this for a very long time. Almost thirty years. And things had changed so damn much in that time.

In the old days he and his men would definitely have lightened the weight of the last vessel by taking the cargo off their hands. Now of course things were slightly different in that most of the ships that used this stretch of water had captains that he had made arrangements with. Not that that wasn’t nice ... not that it didn’t make things easier because it did. Just striding on board, finding the man that they were looking for and lifting a nice purse filled with gold coins from his belt. That was an enjoyable experience. But at times he found himself longing for a little wanton destruction. He had no real idea where this mischievous side of him was surfacing from.

Then he was laughing out loud. Of course he knew where it was coming from. They had been able to make off with something from the ship. In fact it might be something that would turn out to be even more precious than any kind of golden treasure that they could stumble across. “That is if Shawn ever gets back here.” He muttered to himself through gritted teeth.

At the same time he found himself wondering if perhaps Shawn would even bring her back here. “He will if he knows what’s good for him.” He added and then laughed again lightly.

“If who knows what’s good for him?”

Spinning on his heel Kevin shook his head when he noticed the way that Shawn was just lounging in the doorway as if that was a place that he had every right to be. Perhaps he had made a mistake making him his right hand man. And then he pulled himself up to his full height. That little spin wasn’t exactly something that would look impressive but he knew that his height would. To someone who had never been introduced to him that is. And that was when he spotted the person in question. They were practically cowering behind the other man and he once again had a strong desire to laugh loudly. He didn’t. He knew that to so would only make him look less of an imposing figure. “So ... is this the one that you told me about?” He asked perhaps a little redundantly.

“Yes sir.” Shawn replied by rote and rolled his eyes. He never used that term with Nash unless someone that they had never met was around. Tugging on her hand once more he pulled her in a wide arc around him till she was in the middle of the room. “This is the one.” He said with a shrug.

Looking the person that was now standing in the middle of his cabin up and down Kevin pulled a face. She wasn’t looking at him but that was something that he had actually expected. “What is your name ... boy?” He added just for devilment and could tell by the look on Shawn’s face that the other man was also trying not to laugh.

Mary kept her face turned down and of course she didn’t say a word.

Tapping his foot impatiently on the floor Kevin said nothing for a moment or two just in case she did decide to answer. Again he wasn’t that surprised when she didn’t. “Ah ... you don’t speak? Perhaps you are some kind of soft brained idiot.” He said and nodded sagely as he spoke. At the same time he was sure that the saw her eyes flash. It wasn’t something that he could be completely sure of because of the way that she was holding herself turned away. “Or perhaps you just have nothing to say. Maybe I can work out a way to make you want to talk to me.” He said and rubbed his hand over his chin thoughtfully.

Moving quickly his hand shot out and he pulled the stocking cap that she was wearing off of her head in one quick movement. He resisted the urge to crow out loud as he did so. The moment that the cap was moved even a little her hair had begun to fall back down into place. Hell it was a wonder that she had been able to pull this tight material over her head at all. Her hair ... there was just so much of it. He eyed the lustrous sable locks as he tossed the cap to one side. Then he fisted his hand tightly at his side. If she knew the kind of will power that it was taking to stop himself just sliding his fingers through her hair then she would laugh in his face. “Beautiful.” He muttered without being able to stop the word escaping him.

Feeling her hair falling around her face again and sure that she couldn’t have heard him properly Mary lifted her eyes. The moment that she found them locking with his she knew that she had just made a huge error. She attempted to jerk them back down to look at the floor but he was one step ahead of her. His hand shot out again and this time he moved it to her chin. She flinched back automatically.

He paused as he saw the way that she flinched away from him. Hot anger poured through him. She thought that he was going to hurt her? She actually thought that he was going to do something like that? He shook his head and placed his hand under her chin. Taking no time he jerked her head up so he could look at her. “What do you think that you’re hiding behind?” He asked and again wasn’t surprised when he received no answer. “Okay boy ... have it your way.” He sighed out as he heard the faint sound of Shawn laughing somewhere in the corner. He shot his friend a look then lifted his hand to the neckline of the loose shirt that this person was wearing.

The moment that she saw his hands moving to the neck of her shirt Mary had known what was coming next. Still that didn’t mean that she wasn’t shocked when she heard the ripping sound of the material with her own ears. Her eyes widened so much that she was sure that they were about to pop out of her head. She jerked back a couple of steps in a desperate attempt to get away. All that that achieved was to rip the shirt from her body even quicker. A sob caught in the back of her throat as she realised that her greatest nightmare was about to come true.

Looking her up and down slowly Kevin wasn’t surprised when her arms automatically wrapped around her body. Not that she was actually hiding much. He caught each of her hands and pulled her arms away from her body. Then he let the laugh that had been desperate to break free out of his throat. She again tried to jerk away from him but he held tight to her hands. “Ahem ... are you suffering from some kind of ailment or ... malady ... boy?” He asked and then lowered his eyes once more to where her body was hidden thanks to some tightly wrapped bandages.