He drove into her so hard and fast that the heavy oak table shook.

"You're going to break my furniture!" she gasped, then shrieked with pleasure as his teeth gently chewed one nipple, his tongue lapping the pebble-hard peak. She struggled to free her hands from his grasp, wanting nothing more than to cling to him as her body erupted beneath his carnal onslaught.

She shouted his name and he released her wrists, his arms closing around her and crushing her to his chest. She clutched him so tightly her arms and legs ached, but she didn't care. All she felt was waves of throbbing ecstasy. His climax forced her back onto the table, and for a long moment, she lay beneath him, both catching their breath amidst a table full of half-eaten food.

She laughed. "That was the best meal I've had in a long time."

"That was the first course."

Her eyes widened slightly as he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.

The night's heat awoke Sparrow. Though she lay on top of the bedcovers, her skin felt hot and sticky. She reached for Lock, but found the bed empty beside her. A breeze blew through the window at the far corner of the room. She slipped out of bed, hoping the wind might cool her.

Even the wind's too warm, she thought, stepping closer to the window. She caught sight of Lock in the middle of the moonlit field, the white stallion grazing in the distance behind him.

She slipped on her boots and a thin cotton shift and went to join him.

As she approached, she saw he was moving across the field with the grace of a big cat, performing kicks, blocks, and strikes. Though she knew he was practicing fighting, his motions reminded her of a dance. She vaguely remembered taking a trip with her father years ago. They'd visited a kingdom in the North where they'd watched several Knights of the Ruby Order perform an exhibition of their fighting techniques. The Knights were healers and warriors, and such performances were rare, since they lived by strict vows and a stern code of ethics. The Northern King had been a friend of their leader, however, and the Knights had agreed to the exhibition as a favor. Watching Lock made her think of the Knights. His practice looked so similar to theirs.

She sat on the fence and stared at him, her eyes devouring his lean, muscled torso glistening with perspiration. She gazed at his long, powerful legs as they shifted in low stances or kicked at various levels-at times above his own head.

Finally he stopped and glanced at her, wiping damp hair from his forehead.

"Where did you learn how to do that?" she asked.

He approached, his breathing returning to normal, and stood in front of her, a hand braced on the fence post on either side of her legs. She watched the pulse beating in the hollow of his sweat-sheened throat and glanced at the sleekness of his body. Sliding her hands over his chest, she reveled in the feeling of his hot, wet skin.

"Years ago I was first mate on a ship called The b.l.o.o.d.y Morning. She sank off the coast of an island to the east. Only four of us survived, and we were forced to live there until we could find a way off. We were told ships scarcely docked there. There were six huts on the whole d.a.m.n island, girl. Six. Twenty people lived there, six of them children. They'd moved away from their homeland."

"Why?"

"To live in peace. At first we didn't understand their language, but later I learned to speak it. They were members of a house of warriors who served a great lord. Tired of bloodshed, they left and settled on the island. They appeared to have nothing, but in one of the huts, an old man had a h.o.a.rd of armor and weapons that would fetch a very high price off the island. Two of the members of our crew attempted to steal the old man's belongings, not that they could go anywhere once they took them. The old man's nephew caught them, and they pulled a knife on him. I'd never seen anyone fight like that boy. He used his body like weapon. He had the speed and strength of the wind."

"What happened to the thieves?"

"He killed them both."

"You didn't try to steal from them, I hope?"

Lock wrinkled his nose. "Do I look daft? I wanted to learn their fighting style. I figured I had nothing else to do on that island. I didn't know how long I'd be there, but if it was long enough, I'd master their technique. I was bigger than any of them, and knew once I could fight like them, I'd have the advantage. When the time came for me to leave, I could take the armor and weapons, and they could do nothing about it."

"So you used them?" Sparrow wondered if her disappointment shone in her eyes. At times she could forget he was a pirate, a thief, a killer.

"I used them. For three years I lived on that island. The only other man left from The b.l.o.o.d.y Morning had been injured when we sank, and he died of a fever soon after we washed ash.o.r.e. I lived with those people, worked with them. We survived mostly by fishing, but also did some farming."

"Which is why you didn't make a complete mess of my farm while I was tied up."

He winked at her. "You've done well, Sparrow. I can see why you're proud."

She smiled, pleased by his words, and said, "Finish your story."

"When I wasn't doing my share of the work, I practiced. Practiced every day until my arms and legs felt as heavy as steel. I wanted to know everything those masters knew-all at once, of course."

She chuckled. "Looks like you did pretty well."

"I learned everything they had to teach. Then a ship docked, and I was ready to go back to my life."

"As a pirate?"

"It was all I knew."

"But they showed you an honest life."

"I didn't see it that way at the time. I took what I'd learned as another way to make myself unbeatable. In a way, it did. Since then, I've never been beaten in a fight-until those bounty hunters got their hands on me."

"So you stole the weapons and armor when you left the island?"

He sighed, his eyes fixed on hers. "No. I didn't."

"Why?"

"I..." He shook his head. "I don't know. The time came, and I just didn't want to do it anymore."

"Because you felt loyalty to them for all they'd done for you."

"Maybe. I don't know."

"You've always had a heart, Lock." She slid her arms around his neck and touched her nose to his.

"I don't think I have a heart like you mean."

"If you didn't have a heart, we wouldn't be together right now. You feel for me. Admit it."

"If I could feel for anyone, it would be for you, but I don't think I'm capable."

"Of course you are."

"I've lived like an animal, Sparrow. Surviving day by day, There's almost nothing I haven't done for money."

"Much of that wasn't your fault."

"Maybe, but most of it was."

"I don't care about your past, Lock. I care about now and the future."

Lock caressed her face. "Whatever happened to that prince you were supposed to marry?"

"You were right." Sparrow lowered her eyes. "He didn't want a commoner."

"That fool's loss is my gain."

He kissed her, and Sparrow clung to him, knowing the pirate had completely stolen her heart. Her grip tightened around his neck as he lifted her off the fence and carried her to the lake.

Placing her on the gra.s.s, Lock kissed her before undressing and wading into the water. Sparrow discarded her clothes and followed him, watching as he ducked beneath the surface and rose, shaking out his thick ma.s.s of kinky hair. She swam to him and slipped her arms around his waist. He glanced at her and grinned, but continued washing, scrubbing his underarms and using both hands to cleanse his c.o.c.k and b.a.l.l.s beneath the water's surface.

"I have plans for us tonight, girl," he winked.

"What plans?" she asked as she also began a thorough scrubbing. For some reason, she sensed his plans had nothing to do with a night out in the village.

"I think you'll enjoy the evening, if you get my meaning."

"Really? I can hardly wait."

Lock strode towards her, placing a smacking kiss on her mouth before he left the water and gathered their clothing. She approached, and he handed her their garments before sweeping her into his arms and carrying her back to the house.

"Keeping toting me around this place and I'll get spoiled."

"You should be spoiled."

Sparrow rubbed her nose against his and smiled. "I'm not meant for spoiling. I had that kind of life as a princess."

"Depends on the kind of spoiling we're talking about, girl. I'm no royal, that's for d.a.m.n sure, but I know a few things about keeping women happy."

"I want to be more than just a woman to you!"

"You're not just a woman. You're my woman. Not because you're a slave or a wh.o.r.e, but because we're inside each other now."

Back at the house, Lock placed Sparrow on the bed and took the clothes still clutched in her hands. Tossing the pile aside, he stretched out near her, facing her feet.

"What are you doing?" she grinned.

"Something you'll like as much as I do." He dragged her closer and buried his face in her crotch, running his tongue over her c.l.i.t. "Take my c.o.c.k, Sparrow. Do what you did that day in the tub."

Sparrow's pulse quickened, both from the sensation of his mouth on her c.l.i.t and the idea of simultaneously doing the same to his c.o.c.k.

She edged closer and clasped the root of his staff as she licked it from top to bottom. Her tongue swirled around the head, and she took him partway into her mouth, sucking hard and quick. Lock groaned as he lapped her c.l.i.t and plunged his tongue into her p.u.s.s.y.

Sparrow uttered a helpless sound, continuing to lick, suck, and nip his c.o.c.k. It swelled beneath her ministrations. Knowing she pleasured him while he pleasured her excited her so much that within moments she erupted in o.r.g.a.s.m. Even as she shook, throbbed, and panted, she continued licking his c.o.c.k.

Lock's tongue and lips never ceased their movements. He explored the delicate folds of moist flesh, sucked on her hard little nub, and flattened his tongue against the flesh between her p.u.s.s.y and bottom hole. A second o.r.g.a.s.m built inside Sparrow. This time when she climaxed, she momentarily tore her mouth from his c.o.c.k as her breath came in pleasured sobs.

He continued devouring her. Sparrow's legs trembled and her c.l.i.t ached with desire. Surely no one could live through this kind of pleasure? Yet she felt as if she was cheating him a and herself. She grasped his b.a.l.l.s and laved his c.o.c.k head, trailing her tongue along the underside. She buried her lips at the base and lapped the kinky hair as well as his b.a.l.l.s. An anguished sound broke from Lock's throat, still he continued pleasuring her. His tongue swirled inside her while his finger circled her c.l.i.t.

Sparrow came again, whimpering with desire, though this time she refused to give up on him. She laved and mouthed his c.o.c.k until her o.r.g.a.s.m waned, then she drew him deep into her mouth, as if gulping his shaft.

"Ahh!" Lock groaned, his entire body tense.

Sparrow withdrew his c.o.c.k partway and tried the short quick sucking motions on his c.o.c.k head. His hips thrust towards her, and she grasped his rock-hard b.u.t.tocks as he came so long and hard she wondered if he'd ever stop.

Finally both sprawled, limp and fulfilled, on the bed. The last thing she felt before tumbling into sleep was Lock's hand grasping her foot and his lips pressing to the arch.

Since Lock had agreed to act as Sparrow's slave until Shea-Ann returned, he expected the coming weeks to stretch endlessly, but to his surprise, days pa.s.sed with unprecedented swiftness. Had it not been for the arm band, he might have even forgotten he was-in the eyes of the village-Sparrow's property. They spent their days working the farm and caring for the house and nights making love, swimming in the lake or riding the white stallion across the countryside.

With Lock's diligent training and patience, the stallion had learned to trust him and obeyed his every command. He and Sparrow spent days arguing over the horse's name, and finally decided on Sea Storm.

With the approaching fall, the nights grew cooler, and one evening after supper, Lock and Sparrow donned cloaks, mounted Sea Storm, and rode to the edge of the woods. Lock smiled as he nudged the stallion to a canter. Sparrow clung to his waist. He loved the feeling of her body so close to his, reminding him of what was to come later that evening.

By the trees, he slowed the horse, and they plodded along the forest's edge.

"It's a beautiful night," Sparrow said, tugging out a leaf that had blown into Lock's hair. "It'll snow in a few months."

"We'll most likely be gone by then."

Sparrow's eyes clouded. "I keep forgetting we won't be staying here."

"I hate to take you from a home you love, Sparrow, but I can't spend the rest of my life pretending to be a slave."

"I don't want you to. I said I'd follow you anywhere, Lock, and I meant it."

"It's getting cloudy. Feels like a storm." Lock glanced skyward. "Let's go home."

Sparrow grinned, her hands sliding over his thighs. "I like that idea."

"I know what your plan is, girl. You'll wear me out so I won't be able to travel," he teased.

"So lacking in stamina, are you?"

He glanced over his shoulder, flinging her a look of carnal challenge. "When it comes to some things, I can outdistance this horse."

She laughed and dropped her hand to his crotch. "And some parts of you almost outweigh him."

He glanced between his legs and said, "I wouldn't go that far, girl. Almost, though."

She playfully swatted him in the back of the head. Just as a frosty rain started to fall, they turned Sea Storm back toward the house.

By the time they arrived at home, all three were soaked. While Lock brought the stallion to the barn to settle him for the night, Sparrow returned to the house.

When Lock finally stepped inside and shook off his half-frozen cloak, Sparrow had a fire leaping in the hearth and was awaiting him beneath the bedcovers.

She sat up, the blankets falling from her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and smiled at him. "Come here and let me warm you up."

He shed his wet clothes and slid beneath the blankets.

She shivered as his body covered hers, and she teased, "To think I just got warm!"