Page 33 of Seizing Rain (Seas of Seduction 1)

I dress in Captain’s clothes again, unwilling to put mine back on after wearing them once. I’ve never been good at sitting in my own filth for longer than I absolutely have to.

Wearing his too big socks, my sneakers, his shorts and top, I head up to the bridge using the stairway inside so I don’t have to get wet in the rain.

I shove open the heavy door and press my back to the wall to avoid a young lad who is running past with an arm full of files.

“Sorry, miss,” he calls over his shoulder.

I assess the level of distress as the men rally around, locking things down, pulling out life jackets, giving orders to others.

Captain is sitting in his usual seat, a cigar between his teeth though it is unlit. He looks so cool, in the sense that were this an image, everybody would want to be him or know him.

Clunk holds out his hand when I try to cut through to speak to him. It stops me and I gaze up at him curiously and with a healthy dose of hatred in my eyes. This is the man who ripped me from my life and no amount of self-defence classes are ever going to make me like him.

“He’s in the zone,” he tells me with surprising softness. “It’s best not to bother him.”

“Oh.” I blink and then nod because I don’t want to mess with his pre-sea-war mojo. If that’s a thing. “Of course.”

“Come here, Rain,” Captain calls and Clunk raises a surprised brow.

“I don’t want to bother—”

His arm shoots out, his eyes still on the hull of the ship and the steadily worsening seas.

I approach him, slipping my hand into his. When I’m beside him with the arm of the chair separating us, he turns and nuzzles my stomach before pulling me onto his lap, making me squeal. My legs hook over the arm of the seat and my rear lands directly over his groin.

“It’s going to hit soon,” he holds me loosely, one hand draped over my legs, the other tickling my hip.

“Are you worried?”

Smiling softly, he shakes his head. “I’m not worried. I can navigate us through this.”

“Then why do you look so tense?”

He pushes my hair out of my face and tilts his head back. “Because it’s going to be rough.”

I run my fingertip along his scar. Why am I touching him so freely? my conscience is screaming at me.

“How did you get this?”

Taking my hand, he kisses my palm and pushes his hips up into my rear.

Just like that my good mood is gone. I’m about to pull free when his playful smile vanishes and he quickly replies, “It was a punishment.”

“For what?”

“For being the captain’s favourite.”

That’s awful. “One of the crew?”

“No, a captain of another ship.”

This is insane. Do they have battles on the water like in the movies? How many pirate ships are there?

“How old were you?”

His fingers drag up my thigh, dipping under the fabric of the baggy shorts at my knee. My core squeezes with arousing tingles. “Fourteen.”

“What a monster, you were just a kid.”

“It is what it is.” His fingers get higher and for a moment I consider letting him touch me but I can’t. I have a life to get back to. If I start permitting him touches beyond what has transpired already… I’ll be lost to the sea forever.

As if sensing my internal battle, he tilts his head back just a fraction and searches my face. “Kiss me, Rain.”

My chest flutters with need despite all he has done, not just to me but also last night. Do I want this? Do I want him?

No. What am I thinking? I’m just scared and lonely and I’m clinging to somebody who doesn’t deserve me because he’s the only one to show me any genuine kindness outside of Geoffrey. Still… I don’t want to touch him, or kiss him.

But I do. I want to kiss him so bad. I want him to make me his entire world with just one kiss. I want to be all he thinks about for just a few moments. “I…”

“Captain!” Clunk barks. “Waterspout, two miles east.”

Captain’s lips thin to a white line. “Get her to my room. Suit everyone up. It’s going to be a long night if that thing hits.”

I stand immediately, feeling cold and needy. “Be careful, Captain.”

“Worried?”

I shake my head again, smiling at him in a way I hope reassures him, and follow Clunk out of the bridge. A siren sounds on the ship and everybody starts to run around. I watch them bolt things down and carry things under deck for safety.

I get jostled and bumped as everybody serves their purpose, but Clunk holds my arm, guiding me behind him as the siren blares overhead.

“Stay in your room,” he advises, following me in and rummaging through a couple of overhead cupboards. He drops a bunch of life jackets on the table and points to the feet of the chairs. “Go around and make sure everything is locked down. This beast is gonna rock a lot. You don’t want anything flying around that could hurt you.”

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