Page 11 of A Captain So Callous and Cruel

“Yeah.”

“And mean.”

His green eyes meet mine now, and the edge is still present in his gaze. “I have to be. You’re a whore on this ship, Hali. To these sick drunks, you’re to be the Captain’s personal slave.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“You’ve been playing your role well, too, haven’t you?” he prods just then. “I saw the way the Captain looked at you. He was mesmerized.”

“You knew that already.”

“It still bothers me greatly.”

I can hear the barely contained anger in his voice. He doesn’t like that the Captain had eyes just for me. Maybe he was hoping I’d come onboard without capturing his attention, despite it being our plan. It’s personal.

I wrap my arms around him and press my lips against his, hoping to bring his focus back to me. To us. He instantly returns the kiss, his muscled body pressing further into me. His scent clouds around me, reminding me of the deep ocean water.

Kai is menacing when he wants to be, but I bring him to his knees. He yields to me, his rage contained, gentling at my touch. I love that about him. How fiercely devoted he is. From the moment we met all those years ago when he noticed me alone in that tavern, he was obsessed with me. I was running from my past, the anguish still present to this very day, and he was determined to get me to face it.

And now I am.

I feel his hardness press against me, and I let out a soft moan. My fingers dig into his shoulders.

“Kai,” I whisper, barely aware of anything beyond his touch.

He eases back from my lips, exploring my body with his hands. My eyes are shut tight, but I feel his gaze on me. As he tugs my dress up, I quake when his fingers brush along my core.

“Wet already, Hali?” he murmurs, licking at my bottom lip. “Or were you already dripping for him?”

My eyes flash open. Glaring at him, though, I feel my cheeks grow hot.

Was I affected by the Captain? Yes, maybe I was.

I hesitate for a beat of a second—the truth stunning me. The delay of my denial has Kai gripping me even tighter.

He kisses me again, but it’s bruising this time. He is barely holding onto his rage as he growls, “Answer me, Hals.”

But I don’t. I can’t. I don’t even understand what I’m feeling, myself.

Captain Erickson was supposed to be grotesque. Revolting.

That’s what I’m supposed to feel about him. Nothing but disgust.

Yet, there’s such an edge to him I’ve never encountered in a man before, not even Kai.

The Captain is ruthless, but not in an off-putting way. He’s the type of villain you want to dig beneath the layers of simply because their darkness intrigues you.

What makes him the way he is? Has he always been a horribly cruel man? And why hasn’t he directed that cruelty to me? He didn’t have to let me go to my room. He could have easily held me captive in his quarters. Does it even matter?

I feel self-loathing at these thoughts. I’m betraying not only Kai, but myself and our mission.

“I want you,” I fervently tell Kai, this time nothing hard in my voice. “Just you, Kai. Right here, right now, I’m not his prisoner or a whore on this doomed ship. I’m yours.”

“Then make me believe it,” he retorts, and I can hear his desperation. He is coming apart at the seams. We may be away from Captain Erickson, but he still dominates this space and our thoughts.

“Take me,” I urge. “Let me show you it’s only you I want.”

I barely finish speaking when Kai acts on those words. We’re a quick mess of harsh kisses. He pulls down his trousers, and I pull down the front of my dress, exposing my breasts to him. He groans low in his throat and thrusts into me, his mouth locked around my nipple. Shutting my eyes, my head hangs back as he fucks me fast and hard.

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