Page 3 of Found at Sea
2
Kellan
Standing on the deck of theCrimson Night, I looked out over the crystal blue water. Nothing brought me greater joy than the sea. It was the only home I’d ever known. My heart had long since hardened to the world, but the sea was the closest I felt to love.
The sea demon—that’s what they called me. And with good reason, I supposed.
I pillaged towns, destroyed ships after looting them, took captives, and killed when I needed to. There wasn’t anything good about me. Men feared me; even men in my own crew. I was cold, ruthless, and merciless—or so the legends said.
“Wanna drop anchor here, Cap’n?” Kristoff asked.
He was the quartermaster—second in command—and one of the only men to have the spine to talk to me without having first been asked a direct question. Perhaps because he’d known me for years and knew not all tales about me were based in absolute truth. Knowing the ones thatweretrue, however, stopped him from completely letting his guard down around me.
Once I agreed, he gave the order to the boatswain, who then told the rest of the deck crew.
Wanting to be more inconspicuous with our arrival, we’d sailed to the less traveled shore of the town. A night or two of whoring and drinking was just what we needed. We’d been on the sea for months, with only the brief time in port before taking off again, and my crew needed a short reprieve from duties.
As did I.
Once the sun had almost set, I gave the okay for us to leave the ship. The men lowered the launch into the water to head to shore.
I preferred the privacy because it kept my ship hidden from passersby. Most people didn’t take kindly to pirates; not that they should. However, our purpose for sailing to that mainland didn’t include pillaging, unless of course, opportunity arose for such a thing.
I smirked at the thought.
My crew might’ve feared me, but they respected me as their captain. I was a skilled navigator and strategist, and I’d made their pockets heavy throughout our years together. Most of their coin was spent on wenches and rum, as I knew it would be at that stop, but they were free to do with their spoils as they pleased.
Once on land, we stashed the launch on shore and secured it before walking up the hill and toward the town.
Byron, the master gunner aboard theCrimson, stood tallest of the crew, reaching a towering height of six feet and seven inches. The irony of him was he was the hairiest of us all—apart from his head, which was so bald that it often times glistened under the sun’s rays. His beard was long and braided, and he moved with purpose toward the town of Helmfirth.
It seemed all the men were eager to arrive. It’d been too many moons since they’d known the pleasure of a woman’s touch. They were like men dying of thirst, and the only way to quench it was to bury their pricks in between a woman’s legs.
I, too, sought the pleasures of the flesh, but my tastes were unlike those of my men.
By the time we stepped foot into Helmfirth, darkness had descended upon us, but only just. The night was still young and people ambled through the streets.
The town was nicer than I’d expected, with its various Inns, merchant stands, bakery, and taverns. Men walked the stone path between the businesses; some clearly taken with drink and others seeking out other venues.
A group of men up ahead stumbled into a tavern, and the sound of laughter rang out into the night with the opening of the door before fading as it shut once again. Smoke rose from the top of the building and with it came the smell of spiced meat.
My stomach grumbled, and the thought of eating something other than dried fish was too great to resist.
“Ye reckon there’s a whorehouse ‘round here?” Kristoff asked before giving a toothy grin. “This coin is weighing me down.”
Just then, a woman to the right of us giggled, drawing the attention of not only Kris, but several others as well.
She was a busty blonde with a small waist and wide hips. Once the attention was on her, she smoothed a hand down her breasts and to her thigh before grabbing the material of her pink dress and moving it aside, revealing just a peek of her lacey undergarments. Like a seductive vixen, she crooked her finger before sticking the digit into her mouth and sucking the tip, mimicking—what I was certain—every man watching her wished she’d do to them.
The crew looked to me, and I nodded, giving them permission to do as they desired. They took off toward the brothel, and the blonde giggled again before disappearing inside.
Kris was the only one who stayed. His black hair was pulled back with a leather strap, but some slipped free of the hold and fell across his brow. He was only a few years older than me, and even though his face was covered in scars, he was handsome in a rugged way.
“You joinin’ us, Cap’n?” he asked, cocking his head. “I heard these parts have men in the pleasure houses for your types.”
My crew knew of my preferences, as I had no reason to hide them. The one man who’d ever challenged me about such a thing had ended up with my dagger plunged into his neck and was thrown overboard for the sharks to feast upon.
The offer was tempting, and I mulled it over. It’d been too long since I’d fucked—since I’d sheathed myself inside a warm body and nipped at a man’s hard, yet soft, skin.
