Page 28 of Pearls of Salt and Sacrifice

Three sailors converged on Isla, catching her by the arm and tunic as they dragged her away from Reva. Reva stumbled after them, but her legs weren’t working right, and she went down on one knee. Isla curled her legs to her chest as kicked out as the pirates hauled her toward the hold. A fourth sailor caught her ankles. Reva shouted angrily as they practically threw the first mate down the narrow stairs leading below deck.

Rising again, Reva staggered toward Rency on weak legs, not sure what she intended to do, but it wasn’t going to be nice.

He merely stepped to the side and swept a gallant hand—not toward the hold—but toward the quarterdeck. When she skidded to a halt and shook her head defiantly, he snapped his fingers and marched off without her. A burly sailor muttered an apology as he caught her by the elbows and shoved her across the deck in Rency’s wake. The heels of her soaked boots skidded uselessly across the planks.

When the sailor tried to push her into the captain’s cabin, Reva grabbed the doorframe. Rency laughed from inside. “Stop being such a pain, Reva.”

The sailor jostled her inside and shoved her into a chair at a small table strewn with maps, parchment, books, compass, spyglass, and various other instruments. Rency retreated across the cabin, head and shoulders half submerged in a massive trunk. He tossed various items onto the floor before he finally pulled out a thick wad of fabric. Striding toward Reva, he held it out to her.

She took it without thinking and raked him with a frown as her fingers sank into silky folds. The rose-hued item dropped onto her lap, overflowing with lace, ribbons, and far too much skirt.

“I’m not wearing this.” She shoved the dress off her lap and let it plop to the floor beside her chair.

“You can’t stay in your clothes,” Rency said as he repacked the trunk and slammed the lid closed. “You’ll catch your death in those wet things. Be a good girl, put on your dress, and climb into bed. No more fussing now.”

Reva’s gaze shot across the room to the spacious bunk along the far wall. Panic flooded her veins again. “Oh, no. Absolutely not! I am not—”

“I won’t be sleeping in the bed with you, Reva,” Rency said as he stooped beside her chair to receive the dress. His voice and inflection lacked all its customary mirth as he shoved the dress into her arms again. “That bed is yours until you leave my ship. As is the cabin. Don’t be a fool and make this harder. Just get dressed and go to bed. We’ll talk in the morning…when you’re in a better mood.”

He left her sitting in the chair, arms full of enough dress to decently clothe three women.

“I’m not sleeping in your bed, Rency!” she hollered after him.

“Then sleep on the floor, woman!”

The ship shook around her as the door slammed closed behind him.

But by the time she shed her soaked clothes, spread them over the back of Rency’s chair to dry, and wrestled into the ridiculous dress, Rency’s bed became too tempting to resist. She shoved the extra chair under the door handle and crawled, shivering, into the bunk.

She’d fight for different accommodations tomorrow.

And get rid of the dress too…this thing had way too much fabric.

The next morning, Reva woke to the smell of coffee. She’d been dreaming about swimming in the ocean with Jareth…more specifically…kissing Jareth.

Heat warmed her cheeks as she shoved aside Rency’s blankets and swung her legs over the side of the bunk, kicking her skirt out of the way to free her ankles. The chair no longer stood between her and the door. Somehow, they’d broken in while she was asleep, put the chair back at the table, and left a platter on top of Rency’s clutter.

The knowledge that someone had been in here while she slept made her feel vulnerable…and a little violated too. Frowning, Reva searched the room for the captain, but she was alone. Bookshelves as cluttered as the central table lined the wall adjacent to the bunk, across from the trunk and an intricately carved wardrobe.

She padded across the cabin and studied the contents of the tray: a mug of steaming coffee and a plate of fruit, biscuits, and dried herring. She tossed a dried date into her mouth and chewed as she dragged the chair back to the door and wedged it in place. Apparently, it wouldn’t keep Rency out, but it would give her advanced warning when he wanted to barge in on her.

The hem of Rency’s ridiculous dress whispered against the floor as she returned to the table. It was too big for her, hanging around her hips and dragging around her feet. She skidded to a halt, however, when she reached the table.

The clothes she’d draped across the back of Rency’s chair were gone.

Curse that man!

She clenched her fists and resisted the urge to throw something at the wall. Rency’s large, throne-like chair was the only one left at the table, so Reva dropped into it and arranged her dress the way Cassandra would have liked her to.

Maybe she could put her stepmother’s ridiculous rules and habits to good use.

Rency had made a mistake when he’d taken her by force, threatening the fragile friendship they’d built. He may think he’d stolen a princess who needed saving, but he was wrong.

He’d caught himself a feral queen.

Chapter Nine

Reva sipped her coffee and filled her growling stomach as she waited for the pirate captain to return. He’d show up eventually…like a bad penny or a toothache.

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