Page 15 of A Captain So Callous and Cruel

The only light in his room is that of a candle housed in a lantern that sits on his bedside table. The shadows from the flame dance across his bare skin as he leans against his map desk.

My breath hitches as I take in the sight of him, his trousers hung low on his waist, feet bare, as is his shirtless chest.

He’s beautiful. Utterly breathless.

It’s truly such a shame I have to kill him.

I can’t help myself as my gaze trails his body, admiring the hard plains of his abdomen, and the way it flexes as he breathes.

On his wrist, I notice a bracelet that catches my eye—something I hadn’t noticed until now but am finding a strange curiosity to see it closer. It intrigues me, and there's a sensation buzzing through me simply from looking at it.

“Good evening,” his low timbre voice slides across the room, and I lift my gaze to his. He’s staring at me openly with a smirk on his face.

Swallowing thickly, I stow my nerves aside and lift my chin. “Captain.”

“I hope you’ve found your quarters to be accommodating. Have you eaten?”

My blood turns to ice at his question, and Kai’s words ring through my mind, reminding me of the captain's orders to not feed the whores today.

“No,” I lie, bringing one hand to my stomach. “I’m starving.”

He purses his lips and stalks toward me. With every step I hold my breath, not releasing it until he’s crowding my space.

“So am I.”

He’s not referring to food. My heart falls, and I realize why he’s called me here.

He’s called for a whore to fuck.

Taking another impossible step forward, his hand cups my cheek. I’m surprised at the tenderness in his touch, but not blinded by it. Stepping into character, I gaze up at him, thinking of ways to bide my time.

“I’m so hungry, Captain. May I please eat first?”

Gaze darkening, his soft touch turns rough as he lowers his hand to my breast and kneads it roughly. His head dips, and he licks the column of my neck. “I could think of ways to take your mind off of food, Red.”

Without warning, his hand pushes beneath my dress and he rips my undergarments from my body and traces his thumb against my slit.

Through his teeth, he sucks in a breath of air.

“Already dripping from between your legs for me. Tell me, did your mother get you into the business as a girl, or did you remain untouched because of the whore she was?” His thumb strokes my slit as he speaks, slowly torturing the place between my legs in a way I’m embarrassed to admit is making me weak in the knees.

I hate that my body is responding to his touch, but it also brings me sick satisfaction that along with my own arousal, the captain is feeling the Kai’s cum as it drips from me.

“There’s something special about you,” he continues speaking, “different from the rest. I don’t buy that you came from Madame’s Manor. You’ve got secrets, Red, and I intend to uncover them.”

Knowing that I need to act before this gets even further out of hand, I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing a tear to fall from the corner. “Please,” I beg. “I’m feeling queasy from the pain of hunger. Allow me to eat? Then I can satisfy your needs.” Bile rises in my throat as I say that, but if he feeds me, I can draw out this time together and think of a way out.

He expels a shuddering breath and takes a step backward, allowing his hand to drop in the process. “Very well,” he snaps, turning to the table. “I anticipated something like this happening, so I had the servants bring in food. Sit.”

I follow his instructions, rounding the table and lowering myself in the chair I sat in when we dined together the first night. He nods as he smiles, a sardonic show of his teeth as I lift the cloche from the plate at the same time he brings the hand that was just between my legs to his nose and takes a deep inhale.

He’s smelling me, and it makes me want to physically recoil. Stunned, my hand freezes mid air, the cloche still in my grasp.

“Eat. Energize,” Captain Erickson commands, pressing his elbows on the table as he rests that same hand against his face. “We’re nowhere near done for the night.”

CHAPTER 7

Hali

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