this?”
“No you do not,” whimpered the man before crawling away.
Chance struggled to keep a tight rein on his fury and, truthfully, his fear. In his world, there was a hierarchy just like in any other society. There were pirates like himself. Generally educated, ruthless only when necessary and in it purely for the adventure and coin. Gentlemen pirates as they were called.
Then there were the dregs. The low-life pirates who thrilled at being cruel for cruelty’s sake. Dirty scum who gave pirates a bad name. Below them, there was Heartless Hal.
A disgusting coward who didn’t earn his treasure the honest way by attacking a ship, but rather with marauding. He attacked quiet seaside villages, killed the men and took the women captive. There was rarely any coin to be found in these hand-to-mouth havens, so he makes his money by selling the women off at his infamous auctions.
Chance had never been to one, finding the whole enterprise distasteful. It was one thing to enjoy a female captive who happened to fall into your lap after a raid. It was another to drag them out of their homes and sell them for sex slaves.
And now this cruel, cowardly scum had Belle.
Chapter Nine
Her White Knight
The women were pushed and shoved out of their underground prison into the blinding light and fresh salt air. Repeatedly poking their guns into the women’s ribs, the awful pirates herded them into a straight line, marching them down to the sea.
Belle strained her neck, trying to get a glimpse of Fortune’s Fate from where she was standing. It was no good. There were too many ships. She quickly scanned the crowd of unwashed, rough pirates, knowing Chance would stand out among such rabble. He was not there. Belle felt a wave of despair and lost hope.
She wondered for the thousandth time if Chance was even looking for her. Would he care enough to try or just move on to his next conquest?
She had to believe he was out there looking for her. She could not have been so wrong as to fall in love with a man who cared nothing about her welfare. Belle wasn’t so foolish to think he was in love as well, but was it too much to ask for her charming pirate to turn into a white knight?
* * *
Chance watched from the obscurity of the crowd as the women were ushered down to the beach to stand on a rough-hewn platform. Scanning the dirty and worn-down faces, he desperately searched for a pair of sapphire blue eyes. Finally, he saw her close to the end of the line. His chest constricted at the sight.
Her borrowed dress was filthy and torn. Her beautiful hair dull and lank as it hung about her shoulders. But it was her eyes that troubled him most. From the first moment he saw Belle, her gorgeous eyes flashed rash defiance. It was one of the things he enjoyed most about his little spitfire. Watching as she scanned the crowd, he saw hope vanish from their blue depths.
There was not a doubt in his mind she was looking for him among the sea of dirty, callous faces. Chance was offended at the look of resigned disappointment that crossed her expressive face. As if she had only half expected for him to search for her! He would add that to the ever-growing list of why he was going to severely punish her when he got his hands on her.
The despicable auction began. It was obvious Heartless Hal was saving Belle and one redheaded comely lass for last. The majority of the women were older, matronly. In an odd way, it helped their fate. If a pirate was fortunate to make it to old age, it was not unusual for them to want to settle down, to find someone to keep their house and warm their bed. Being a pirate, they could not go the usual courting route, so procuring a bride through this non-traditional way was common.
The fate of someone as young and beautiful as Belle would not be so fortunate. Chance did not want to dwell on those possibilities.
It was the redhead’s turn on the auction block. A wave of excitement rippled through
“No you do not,” whimpered the man before crawling away.
Chance struggled to keep a tight rein on his fury and, truthfully, his fear. In his world, there was a hierarchy just like in any other society. There were pirates like himself. Generally educated, ruthless only when necessary and in it purely for the adventure and coin. Gentlemen pirates as they were called.
Then there were the dregs. The low-life pirates who thrilled at being cruel for cruelty’s sake. Dirty scum who gave pirates a bad name. Below them, there was Heartless Hal.
A disgusting coward who didn’t earn his treasure the honest way by attacking a ship, but rather with marauding. He attacked quiet seaside villages, killed the men and took the women captive. There was rarely any coin to be found in these hand-to-mouth havens, so he makes his money by selling the women off at his infamous auctions.
Chance had never been to one, finding the whole enterprise distasteful. It was one thing to enjoy a female captive who happened to fall into your lap after a raid. It was another to drag them out of their homes and sell them for sex slaves.
And now this cruel, cowardly scum had Belle.
Chapter Nine
Her White Knight
The women were pushed and shoved out of their underground prison into the blinding light and fresh salt air. Repeatedly poking their guns into the women’s ribs, the awful pirates herded them into a straight line, marching them down to the sea.
Belle strained her neck, trying to get a glimpse of Fortune’s Fate from where she was standing. It was no good. There were too many ships. She quickly scanned the crowd of unwashed, rough pirates, knowing Chance would stand out among such rabble. He was not there. Belle felt a wave of despair and lost hope.
She wondered for the thousandth time if Chance was even looking for her. Would he care enough to try or just move on to his next conquest?
She had to believe he was out there looking for her. She could not have been so wrong as to fall in love with a man who cared nothing about her welfare. Belle wasn’t so foolish to think he was in love as well, but was it too much to ask for her charming pirate to turn into a white knight?
* * *
Chance watched from the obscurity of the crowd as the women were ushered down to the beach to stand on a rough-hewn platform. Scanning the dirty and worn-down faces, he desperately searched for a pair of sapphire blue eyes. Finally, he saw her close to the end of the line. His chest constricted at the sight.
Her borrowed dress was filthy and torn. Her beautiful hair dull and lank as it hung about her shoulders. But it was her eyes that troubled him most. From the first moment he saw Belle, her gorgeous eyes flashed rash defiance. It was one of the things he enjoyed most about his little spitfire. Watching as she scanned the crowd, he saw hope vanish from their blue depths.
There was not a doubt in his mind she was looking for him among the sea of dirty, callous faces. Chance was offended at the look of resigned disappointment that crossed her expressive face. As if she had only half expected for him to search for her! He would add that to the ever-growing list of why he was going to severely punish her when he got his hands on her.
The despicable auction began. It was obvious Heartless Hal was saving Belle and one redheaded comely lass for last. The majority of the women were older, matronly. In an odd way, it helped their fate. If a pirate was fortunate to make it to old age, it was not unusual for them to want to settle down, to find someone to keep their house and warm their bed. Being a pirate, they could not go the usual courting route, so procuring a bride through this non-traditional way was common.
The fate of someone as young and beautiful as Belle would not be so fortunate. Chance did not want to dwell on those possibilities.
It was the redhead’s turn on the auction block. A wave of excitement rippled through
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