Page 110 of A Storm in Every Heart
“I was asleep,” he says with an exaggerated yawn. “Can I help you with something?”
The guard seems to falter, perhaps surprised by Jett’s casual tone. He peers around Jett’s bare shoulder and into the room beyond. I hold my breath, all my muscles tensing as Kastian’s arms tighten around me.
“We were told there was a disturbance up here,” the guard says slowly.
“Disturbance?” Jett asks innocently. “I didn’t hear anything.”
The guard frowns. “We were told there were four of you and two might be hostages.”
Jett laughs. “I think there must have been a misunderstanding. No one here is being held against their will.”
Before Jett can do anything to stop him, the guard shoves him out of the way and pushes into the room. I gasp, and Kastian clamps a large invisible hand over my mouth, squeezing me even tighter around the middle with his other arm.
The guard stomps into the small room and stops, his eyes widening in surprise when they land upon Captain Connell, whose wrists are bound securely to the end of the wooden bedframe with Jett’s leather belt. Connell raises his eyebrows in mock innocence, lifting his fingers in as much of a genial wave as his constraints allow, and offers the guard a lopsided grin. “Morning, mate.”
The guard’s expression darkens, and his hand instinctively moves towards the hilt of his sword. “What the fuck is going on in here?”
Behind the guard, Jett shifts uneasily on his feet. His eyes dart from side to side, like he’s trying hard to think of a plausible explanation and coming up with nothing.
“Er…” Jett begins tentatively, clearly stalling for time.
My heartbeat pounds with nervous anxiety, and I can feel Kastian’s heart doing the same against my back even as his fingers press against my mouth.
“Ah, don’t look so shocked,” Connell says, winking at the guard. “Just indulging in a little… recreational restraint. You know how it is—some folks pay good money for this kind of treatment.”
Leaping on Connell’s excuse, Jett grins and strides across the room to stand beside the pirate. He gives Connell a light, open-palmed slap on the cheek. “Did I say you could talk?”
Connell’s eyes sparkle with mischief. “Forgive me, Master,” he utters with mock solemnity, his voice dripping with an irony that I’m not sure the guard will be able to detect.
The guard’s brow furrows deeper, and I swear I see a flush rise up the back of his neck. “Er…right. Fine then. As long as no one is getting hurt.”
“That’s half the point, mate,” Connell says. “It’s no fun without a little?—”
He breaks off as Jett slaps a hand over his mouth and gives the guard an innocent smile. “Sorry. I can gag him if you want. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“Er, no, that won’t be necessary,” the guard clears his throat, looking definitely embarrassed now.
The guard takes a step toward the door, but Kastian and I still don’t move, and he doesn’t take his hand off my mouth.
“Hang on,” the guard says, stopping at the door. “I thought there were four of you in here.”
“There were,” Jett says flatly. “I don’t know where they got to. They’re newly bonded, and you know how that goes. Must have snuck out while we were sleeping.” He chuckles as if he and the guard are sharing a private joke at mine and Kastian’s expense.
The guard’s shoulders relax. “Fine. Sorry to disturb you. If I were you I’d be on your way, though. Find another inn for whatever this is.”
“Excellent suggestion,” Jett says cheerfully, following the guard to the door. “We’ll do that. Thanks a lot.”
He shuts the door behind the guard and immediately his easy smile slides off his face. He presses his ear to the door for a moment, listening. “He’s going back downstairs.”
Kastian sighs and finally lets go of my mouth. “Fuck me,” he breathes in relief.
I scramble up, still uncomfortable with how I can’t see my own body as I move. I slump onto the bed. “Well, that was insane.”
“You can say that again, darling,” Connell says. “As if I’d ever submit to this sort of treatment. I’d rather tie the knots than be the prisoner if you catch my drift.”
I ignore him and turn to Jett before remembering that he can’t see me trying to catch his eye. “Jett, do you think those guards will linger?”
“Not sure,” Jett says, walking back over to where he threw his shirt and bending to pick it up. “But I think we should leave separately just in case. If that plant wears off and they see four of us leaving, it will cause all sorts of new questions, and the last thing we need is any of them looking at you or Kas too closely.”
