Page 173 of Gods of the Sea

“Are you trying to take advantage of me?” she asked, her eyebrows raised indignantly.

“No, I’m trying to keep my sanity,” I replied. “If I have to deal with your anxiety the whole night—”

The ship lurched sideways again with the wind. I grabbed on to Esmeralda before she could fall flat on her face and dump rum all over my sheets. She tried to pull out of my hands automatically, but I held fast to her. She was acting defiant, but her hands shook like a small, hairless dog.

“Drink it,” I commanded. “It will help you sleep through the storm.”

She hesitated, a wavering look passing through those large eyes before she looked down at the glass.

“This is a ruse to get me drunk and have your way with me isn’t it?”

“I would have done it already if I was interested,” I said flatly. “Drink. It.”

I shoved her glass up to her face and made her drink. She didn’t fight me as hard as I thought she would. Instead, she took the drink like a small child. It was adorable, actually.

She grunted in disgust when she finished, wiping her mouth and squeezing her eyes tight. I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction.

“It’s not enough to get you drunk,” I added. “It’s just enough to get you to sleep.”

The ship got caught in the wind once more, and she fell straight into my arms, the glass clinking its way across the floor.

“Are you sure you’re not trying to take advantage ofme?” I asked her, holding her close.

She shoved me away. “Not in a million years, you disgusting, ridiculous pirate! There is nothing on earth or sea that would make me come on to such a heathen!”

***

Lightning struck. It took two seconds for the thunder to roll.

And that’s when my bed creaked.

I groggily opened my eyes, trying to figure out why small hands were gripping my shirt.

Was I having that dream about that girl from Barbados again?

“Adrian!” a frantic voice whispered. “Are you awake?”

“No,” I replied. “I’m fast asleep.”

“You fool, wake up!”

I opened my eyes all the way, squinting at the face far too close to me. I wasn’t sure whether to push her away or pull her in closer.

“What’s your problem, princess?”

The thunder boomed again. She gripped her fingers into my neck, giving me a mix of feelings I wasn’t about to share with her.

“Please don’t leave me,” she said. “I’m so scared.”

I wrapped an arm lazily around her waist and pulled her in close. She molded against me, laying her head on my chest as she held on to my neck.

“I’ve got you, princess,” I said. “Just relax.”

She shuddered as she held me tight, her nails going deeper into my neck. It was starting to turn me on, honestly, until I realized it was right next to my scar…where I had taken a knife after trying to seduce a rich woman only months before.

As much as I wanted to seduce this woman, it would end badly.

“You really belong on the floor,” I muttered, mostly to myself.

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