Page 30 of Found at Sea
“You’re mistaken, boy,” I said after downing the contents of the glass. “Perhaps there used to be good in me, long ago. But it’s since been cut out with a jagged blade. The only thing left inside me now is wickedness. You’d do well to remember that.”
“Like when you saved Alek?” Fletcher asked with a defiant set of his face. “He told me he was living on the streets and starving before you came along and offered him a place on theCrimson. So he’d always have a home and never go hungry again. That doesn’t sound like the deeds of a wicked man.”
Only some of that was true. Ihadsaved Alek, but only because I knew what he was. And while, yes, a very miniscule part of me had felt pity for the lad, an even greater part had known how valuable Alek was. What he could one day become and the benefits of having his loyalty when that day arrived.
“That’s enough for tonight.” I stood from the table and approached him.
He stood and met me with a bold expression. His green eyes were filled with fire and I craved the burn. There was a light dusting of freckles across his cheeks, creating an interesting contrast to him: he was both innocent and mischievous, both fire and water.
“Are you demanding I return to my own quarters now?” he asked, and as he did, his breath tickled my lips.
The wordnowas on the tip of my tongue. I did not wish for him to leave me. Even when we were in the midst of arguing, I still enjoyed his presence.
It was as if I went through my days feeling cold and closed off from everything, and then life was breathed back into me around him.
The sweet scent of him filled my senses, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking at his mouth. A mouth I yearned to capture in a kiss. For the briefest of moments, I saw the desire in his eyes as well as he stared at my lips.
The revelation that I wanted to kiss him was the pivotal moment for me to send him away.
“Aye, that you will,” I said, fighting against every part of my being that wanted him to stay. “You need your rest. We set sail on the morrow and you’ll be manning the decks.”
I assumed he would leave without another word. It was what I’d come to expect from people: I gave a command and they obeyed. I dismissed them, and they left.
But this fiery, beautiful man was full of surprises.
“One question before I go,Captain,” Fletcher said, putting a mocking emphasis on my title as he always did when he used it. He tilted his face up to mine and was so close that just one small movement forward would join our mouths. “Why is it you tell me to leave, when your body tells me something different?”
I gaped at him before snapping my mouth shut. Was he attempting to seduce me?
“You can read my body, eh?” Desire trickled down my spine. My tone was light and on the verge of sarcastic, but he couldn’t have been closer to the truth. Every inch of my body wanted him. I craved to bury myself deep inside him, to claim every part of his innocence and know I was the only one who’d been there. “Tell me, boy, what is it my body is saying?”
“That you’re curious as to what I taste like,” Fletcher answered, touching his nose to mine and inching closer to my mouth.
Gods, I wanted him like I’d never wanted anything or anyone. I wanted to know if he tasted as sweet as he smelled, if his skin was as soft as it looked. I nearly succumbed to the desire, to give in to my impulses and take him right then and there.
Alas, I did not.
“That was an order,” I said, taking a step back. “Return to your quarters and be ready at first light.”
His face fell at my words. That time, hedidleave without another word. He grabbed his belongings from the table and left my cabin without so much as looking at me.
Once he was gone, I stared at the empty room. It was the type of emptiness I was familiar with, and yet, it was different.
The room felt cold. As if he’d taken the warmth with him when he left and now I was encased in ice.
After drinking another glass of rum, I stripped and crawled into bed. In the past several days, I’d maybe managed six hours of sleep in total, so I was both mentally and physically drained. I prayed for sleep, but when I found it, I wished I hadn’t.
They were in my dreams: the merfolk I’d ruthlessly butchered.
I stood at the bow of my ship, watching my men drag a woman out of the water. No, she was not a woman, but a mermaid who’d earn me a nice stack of coin. The men who wanted her heart said they’d pay a small fortune for it. I hadn’t asked any questions, even though I knew who and what they were.
Dark mages.
The mermaid’s wild, pale hair blew in the harsh wind, and she clawed at the men holding her. Her teeth were sharp and she lunged forward before burying them into one of my men’s neck.
He howled in agony, but his cry was cut short as the creature yanked her head to the side and tore out his gullet.
They really were beasts. Just despicable creatures.
