A Pirate of her Own by Kinley MacGregor

deck. And each one knew the other’s thoughts as well as his own.
    Kit was an easy mark for someone as beguiling as Serenity.
    Worse, Kit was the one person on the ship who knew the entire truth about Morgan and Jake.
    “What?” Kit asked as he neared them.
    “Stay away from Serenity,” Morgan and Jake said simultaneously.
    Under more normal circumstances it would have been funny.
    “Seduce her, Drake,” Jake said, his gaze returning to the source of their discussion. “A woman in love will go to her grave before she betrays her man.”
    Morgan shook his head. “And a woman scorned will cry out your darkest secrets from the highest mountaintop. Which is exactly what she’ll do if I seduce her, then refuse to marry her.”
    “Then marry her,” Jake snapped. “Leave her pregnant and at home to tend your brats while you’re away.”
    It was a thought. It was definitely a thought. But he’d made that mistake before and to this day, he paid for that mistake in nightmares and guilt.
    He’d left one wife to die while he was off at sea. He’d never leave another.
    If only he could convince Jake of that fact.
    Kit spoke up. “I don’t see why you’re worrying, Captain. She loves the Sea Wolf. I don’t think she’d ever tell who you really are, so what does it matter if she writes her story?”
    Morgan took a deep breath. “Serenity only knows that the Sea Wolf was a blockade runner during the war and that he now frees impressed sailors. What she doesn’t know is who I really am.”
    “No,” Jake corrected. “She doesn’t know who we really are.”
    Jake looked back to where Serenity sat next to Ushakii. “The day she learns that, Drake, I’m going to cut her throat, and you won’t be able to stop me.”

Chapter 7
    By noon the sky had turned a dark, ferocious gray. The winds whipping around Serenity felt like giant hands trying to pull her in different directions. The ship pitched, sailing over the water like a stone skimming the surface, and every time it hit the ocean, it jarred her to her bones.
    “All right, men,” Morgan shouted above the howling winds. “Batten down.”
    He moved to stand by her side. “And that also means you, Miss James. I need you to go below deck before you get swept overboard.”
    She looked over the side at the swelling waves that appeared to be nearly the size of the boat. “Since this doesn’t appear to be swimming season, I tend to agree,” she said.
    Morgan guided her across the deck with one firm, strong hand at her spine. She had learned from talking to several crewmen that this was what had kept Morgan and Jake busy all day—discussing the storm and how best to deal with it.
    It didn’t take them long to reach Morgan’s cabin. “Will the ship hold up?” she asked, her voice cracking from nervousness.
    He nodded, and she saw the concern deep in his brown eyes. “We’ll be fine. I’ve seen much worse.”
    She tried to be strong. Really she did, but the sudden reality of what could happen to them hit her full force. “The Willowood went down this time last year,” she whispered. “They were just miles off Savannah’s coast when they sank from a hurricane. Pieces of the lifeboats washed ashore, but no one ever found a body.” She swallowed. “Ever.”
    Morgan took her hand in his and gave a comforting squeeze. “Don’t light a lantern, and stay in the bunk, and I promise you you’ll be fine.”
    She gave a half laugh. “Do you always make promises you can’t keep?”
    Against all his better judgment, Morgan took her in his arms and held her tightly against him. She shook in his arms, and if the truth were known, so did he, only the tremors of his body weren’t from fear. They stemmed from the demanding ache that throbbed through him for the warmth of her body. I could make you forget your fear.
    If only he could.
    “Believe me, Serenity, if there’s one thing I know, it’s how to survive.”
    “Then I shall trust you, Captain Drake. And I must