Page 48 of Courting the Fae Captain
A low growl rumbled from his chest, then he sucked in a sharp breath. “Fuck, Aeris. The things you do to me.”
“Oh, I will do plenty of things,” I promised. “After. Now increase the speed, wench, I want my dessert before it gets too late.”
His answering laugh rivalled even the stars in its brightness and joy. I stared at him, a little bewildered by the rarity of such unrestrained amusement, and I thought the smile on his face was the most beautiful sight I’d ever looked upon.
“Yes, Captain,” he said once his laugh quietened. But as I continued staring, he cocked his head, that grin still firmly on his lips. “What?”
“Nothing.” I shrugged, my cheeks heating a little. “Just … just you.”
“What about me?” he asked as he sat and planted his palms on the sides of the boat.
“It’s just nice to see you so … free.”
He looked at me for a long moment, the muscles in his arms rippling as he clasped the edge of the boat tightly. “It’s easy to forget it all when I’m with you,” he admitted. “Easy to imagine.”
I rubbed my arms, fending off the chill of the salty spray combined with the cool night air. “Imagine what?”
His eyes were bright as he answered, “A better world.”
My heart beat a little faster in my chest. “I know the feeling. But I don’t have to imagine, Raithe. Not when I’m with you.”
His stare intensified, and he leaned over, his face turning serious, almost imploring. “Aeris, there’s something I need to tell you.”
A tall, dark shadow appeared ahead of us, getting closer and closer with alarming speed. “The shipyard,” I exclaimed, realising it was one of the masts jutting above the water. Beyondthem, broken hulls and scraps of rotting wood littered the beach in the distance between us and the island. “We’re here.”
He withdrew quickly and rose, putting a boot on the bench as he inspected the water. The boat slowed as we approached, his shadows decreasing to a gentle trickle. “So we are. I trust you’re a good swimmer, given our destination?”
I grinned. “I grew up by the beach and did anything I could to avoid my father as a child. I’m a decent swimmer.”
“Good. I brought us some dry clothes and these.” He reached into his pack and handed me some plain black pants and a long-sleeve black top in a stretchy, silky material. He also supplied a small chain with an orb pendant that glowed in the moonless night, followed by a mask. “They’re lightweight and quieter than those pants, sexy as they are on you. The mask has a breather built in and will allow night-vision so you can see underwater. The pendant will provide extra light. These were all created by magic, so don’t be afraid they’ll fail.”
I took them and undressed immediately, even going so far as to take my undergarments off as I turned. “You know, if you wanted to see me naked again, you could have asked.” I could feel his eyes on me as I bent over. This teasing and tempting business was rather fun. I’d never enjoyed a male’s eyes on me, undressing me, objectifying me, before. But I was quickly realising I never wanted to lose this effect on Raithe. I yelped as his hands were suddenly on me.
“You know,” he purred in my ear, “if you wanted me to bend you over the prow and fuck you on this boat until you couldn’t think straight, you could have asked.” His hands curled over my naked breasts, pinching the already peaked nipples. Then his hands moved tenderly down my waist until he slapped my ass. I sucked in a breath, already wet with the idea of getting pounded out at sea. “You’d make a perfect figurehead,” he added. “Naked and beautiful, wet for me and covered in my salty cum.”
“Raithe,” I breathed, barely able to stand as he pulled me against the impressive cock restrained only by his pants.
“‘Tis a shame,” he said with a sigh. “The captain runs a tight ship, so I guess that plundering will have to wait.”
I protested his absence immediately as he shifted away. Bastard was enjoying teasing me immensely, not that I could blame him. I did start it, after all. Fine. Mission first, then he damn well better make those stars up in the sky seem like dull blips after he’d had his way with me.I grumbled as I dressed, then turned to see his amused grin. I rolled my eyes at him.
“Don’t forget to equalise every few metres down by blowing gently out your nose. The mask will help. See you down there, little lark.”
“Wait,” I called. He stalled at the edge of the boat, looking back at me. “What were you going to tell me before?”
He smiled softly. “Later,” he said, then dove into the water.
A winter breeze chilled me to my bones, and I was suddenly very unhappy about the thin material I’d exchanged my warm leathers for. Jumping in the water was about as appealing as stepping in a pile of dogshit, but I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I complained about it. I frowned at the strapless mask Raithe had given me, unsure if it would fit or even work despite what he’d said. But as I pressed it to my face, the mask adjusted to my bone structure, compressing until there were no gaps between it and my skin. I kept the chain pendant tightly clasped in my fist as I dove off the boat … and immediately regretted the decision. Water as cold as ice raked over my skin, nipping at my bones with sharp teeth.
As Raithe had promised, the mask adjusted to the pitch-black of the sea, switching to a neon blue that both illuminated the dark and allowed me a kind of night-vision. The pendant glowed brighter, too, somehow sensing the change of atmosphere.
I saw Raithe ahead, his powerful legs slicing through the water with ease. I followed quickly as thoughts of sharks taking a chunk out of me or sea monsters waiting to pull me to the depths flashed through my mind.What was I thinking, going on some rescue mission in the dead of night out at sea?I swore I could see shapes flashing at the edges of my vision, and I couldn’t tell if it was my imagination or several somethings stirring in the depths.
My onset of paranoia caused panic to begin pulling at my limbs and chest, but I forced myself to pause and take the time to decompress the deeper I went. A lot could go wrong underwater. The deeper I went, the more the pressure of the water would affect me. At these depths, it wasn’t exactly fatal, but if I didn’t take the time to decompress, I could end up feeling dizzy and sick, unaware of any approaching creature coming to take a bite of me. If not a sea creature, the bones of the ships down here were just as likely to snag me with sharp teeth and claws. Their broken bodies scattered the sea floor, which was thankfully not as deep as I’d thought this close to the island. The sandy floor panned out below, dotted with sharp rocks that stood up like knives. It was no wonder so many ships had fallen or that the island remained unclaimed by the Fae … at least on the surface.
Raithe had scouted the area earlier that day and found what he suspected was the most likely location for an underwater entrance. But it lay somewhere in the rocky wall dotted with coral, dead ahead. The naturally formed wall curved around the island, and I couldn’t see a way through. I quickly joined Raithe as we scoured the face, looking for a yawning mouth to slip inside.Raithe would know the island better than I, but from what I’d seen, this was the only side of the island accessible by boat, which meant we had to be looking in the right location. I scanned the wall several times and—there. A narrow entrancepartially covered by a small forest of seaweed loomed from within a hole in the deck of a sunken ship.
I gestured at Raithe, then pointed out the way. He gave me a thumbs-up, then proceeded into the drowned ship without hesitation. I felt less eager to enter the belly of that beast, but it was better than being a sitting duck in the open water. I clasped my hands in front of me and snaked my way inside, kicking my feet smoothly as I descended.
