Page 14 of A Captain So Callous and Cruel

His body is all hard against my soft curves and I rub my hands against the muscles in his shoulders, feeling every ridge beneath his tunic. The bed squeaks with every move, the noise filling the otherwise quiet space as we both fight to be quiet.

Boisterous laughter echoes through the hallway beyond my closed door and for a moment, Kai stiffens, his hips coming to a still. “The door isn’t locked, Hali,” he stammers, his voice in a whisper.

“Finish,” I beg, my orgasm so close. The familiar tingles are erupting through my body as it tightens in anticipation, my toes curling against the raggedy blanket beneath us.

Kai shifts so he rests on his forearms as he looms over me. My heels dig into his lower back and my thighs tighten around his middle. He resumes his thrusts and connects our mouths again in a messy, feverish kiss.

Whimpering, my body explodes, my core clenching around him. He groans as he chases his release, grunting as he finishes. As we catch our breath, he pushes the hair away from my face.

“I love you so much.” He presses another kiss to my lips and pulls out of me, and I wince at the loss of him.

“I love you, Kai. We have one more day, and then we’ll be off this ship and back to our life together.”

“I’m counting down the minutes,” he tells me as he stands and puts himself back together.

I sigh and sink my head deeper against the pillow. “Me too.”

“I’ll leave the food. Finish it, then hide it under your bed.” He reaches for the doorknob and pulls it open. Stepping through the threshold, he comes to an abrupt halt.

“Aye, whaddaya doin’ down ‘ere, Sailor?” An older man's voice slurs from beyond the doorway.

“Fuck,” Kai curses, and I see him step forward quickly, wrapping his hands around the man’s head. In one fluid motion, Kai snaps the man's neck and his body crumples to the ground.

I slap my hand over my mouth to hold in my reaction. Kai’s eyes quickly find mine from across the room.

“I had to,” is all he says.

Nodding repeatedly, I squeeze my eyes shut.

My kind may be considered monsters, but it’s still difficult for me to witness firsthand what we’re capable of at times. This man’s death came so unexpectedly, I’m caught off guard by it.

Kai slides his hands beneath the man’s body in preparation to lift him, before realizing the door is still open. He casts me one last quick glance before closing it, and then I’m left alone to listen to the muffled sounds of him dragging a body down the hallway.

It’s impossible to gauge how much time has passed since Kai left, but I finished my meal, stowed it beneath the bed, had time to pace, and watched the moon rise from the horizon to up high in the darkened sky.

I’m about to retire to my bed when footsteps draw near and catch my attention. I turn just in time to see the doorknob turn, and I realize then Kai may not have locked me in—an oversight since he had more pressing matters to attend to, such as the body he needed to dispose of.

A smile plays on my lips as I wait for him to come in. “Back so—” but my thought is cut off when a man, who is most certainly not Kai, comes in. “Who are you?”

He lets out a high-pitched whistle. “Well, well, now I see why the captain has taken a likin’ to ya. You’re quite a looker, dolly.”

Taking a few slow steps backward, I brace myself against the wall, ready to run—or fight—if I have to. “What do you want?” My voice is steady, but there’s a fear that slices through my stomach at the sight of this man.

He licks his lips, his greedy eyes dragging up and down my body. Finally, he rolls his eyes, as though he’s annoyed. “Captain sent me to fetch ya, and he’s timin’ me too. Let’s go, whore.”

“What? Now?” I stammer, but my feet are already guiding me across the room, knowing I don’t have much of a choice.

“Captain's orders,” he says, gripping my arm tightly as he drags me from my chambers. Goddess, if I have to hear those words one more time.

Once outside my room, I realize how cold the night air is. Gooseflesh lines my skin and I shiver as we climb the stairs to the next level.

After we make a few turns, the corridor becomes familiar and to my surprise I stop resisting against the man's grasp now that I see he truly is bringing me to Erickson.

It shouldn’t bring me comfort, but it does. There’s anticipation now that I know I’ll be seeing him. My own curiosity, perhaps.

His boney hand raps against the wood, and from the other side, I hear the Captain's muffled voice saying, “Enter.”

The man who brought me here tosses the door open and shoves me inside, pulling it closed behind me. Blood rushes to my ears, the room muffling so the only thing I can hear is my own heartbeat as my gaze collides with the giant man that has me on edge.

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