Page 4 of A Captain So Callous and Cruel

“Selfishly, I had hoped it wouldn’t work,” I tell him breathlessly as his fingers skate over my wetness. “I don’t know how I’ll be able to act as though I don’t already belong to another.”

He shifts slightly, pulling his hand away from me as he takes himself out of his trousers. The smooth, hard tip of his shaft rubs against my entrance, smearing my arousal around him. With the opposite hand, he pushes the messy tendrils of my hair away from my face, then lowers his palm, collaring my neck as he thrusts his hips upward and sinks into me.

“You’ll do just fine,” he grunts as he pistons into me. “By whatever means necessary, you will lure him into infatuation with you, Hali. Then, when the time is right, we’ll use the shift and eliminate him for good.”

He reaches down beneath my dress and his fingers find the bundle of nerves between my folds that he knows I love him to stimulate. His fingers move in time with his thrusts.

“Kai,” I moan, feeling my body take me higher as I drift toward my release.

“I know. I missed you so much. Two days without you is too long.”

“Kiss me,” I beg, lifting my head so I can reach his lips.

“We need to be quick,” he reminds me before pressing his mouth to mine.

The moment our tongues tangle, my orgasm rips through me. Kai swallows down my cries as he chases his own release, finding it just moments after.

He stills inside of me, his shaft twitching its release as he fills me. His forehead comes to rest against mine as we catch our breath, both satiated and full of hope.

“I love you, Hali. This will also be over soon. The shift is in less than a week. We can do this. You can do this.”

“I can do this,” I repeat as he pulls out and drops my leg. “I love you.”

After readjusting my dress, he kisses the side of my temple. His hands linger on my face, his fingertips brushing along the side of my cheek. “My brave siren.”

I bloom beneath his touch, his words making my heart hiccup inside me.

The silence of the ship around us whispers the truths and the fate of our mission.

Kai cracks the door, peering left, then right, before pulling it open a bit more. “Go,” he whispers, not taking his eyes off the corridor. “I’ll find you soon, I promise.”

As I step past him, his hand grips my arm, encircling my wrist. Tugging me back to him, he presses one final, hard kiss against my lips. I melt into him in that quick moment, my fears muted by his presence.

Then I sneak back down the passageway toward the room I’ve been assigned.

CHAPTER 3

Captain Erickson

The dining table in my quarters is set up by the time we have loaded the ship and set off. Sitting down at it, I go over the books with the ship accountant, calculating costs.

“The whores will not fetch for much,” Bridger muses as he scribbles down more numbers. “They are already costing us enough in food.”

“I did not buy them to make a profit,” I return, edgily. “They are consumables, like the perishables we keep.”

Bridger nods. “Yes, to be used and discarded then.”

“Precisely.”

“Then they will not be here for the full journey.”

“No.” I would never have them set foot in Goldspince. What happens aboard a ship between men remains on the ship.

Gluttony is our greatest sin.

Drink.

Fight.

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