Page 28 of A Flash of Golden Fire

I blinked silently in bewildered awe. Had I created Captain Martin from my own perverse dreams?

His gaze was running over me as if I looked completely different now.

“What?” I asked, starting to feel a bit cold.

He passed me a linen cloth.

“Your hair is quitered, as you say. And there’s not a part of you that’s not covered in brown freckles, except for…” he gestured at my scar. “Well, that and your pretty cock. You look like a randy little rooster.”

I gazed down at myself. He was right. I’d been called rooster before, but never with so much affection. And nobody had ever called my cock pretty.

“Dry off, if you please. Then, if you’re so inclined, you can give me a demonstration of your one and only skill.”

I should have known.

I swiped the water from my skin whilst Captain Martin disrobed. I tried not to stare at his beautifully masculine form but lost that battle.

He cocked his head at me. “When did you last have a haircut?”

“Quite a while ago. And not a very good one, as you can see.”

“Would you allow me? I have shears and…well, not to be cruel but it’s rather a disaster.”

Well, this was a surprise.

“I suppose so. But not too short. I like it long-ish around my ears.”

Quite a strange idea to let a naked man throw a towel over my shoulders, sit me in a chair, and take a pair of sharp scissors to my damp locks. I was nervous that he would make a mess of the task, not that he really could make my hair any worse.

When he’d finished, he put the shears down, ruffled my hair with a hand and passed me a looking glass.

The man who stared back at me was unfamiliar, but I liked the look of him. He’d left the length of my hair mostly alone, but he’d trimmed sections in a layered fashion to lessen its shapeless bulk. Feathery bits of copper framed my face and fell around my ears.

“Well?”

“Thank you. I like what you’ve done.”

I tilted my head and angled it so that I could see a bit of the hair at the side and back. He’d trimmed the edges that sat against my neck and they reminded me of the fronds of ferns. It looked…much improved.

“Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome. I can see your face better now. Your eyes look even more blue.”

He gathered the towel off my shoulders, keeping all the bits of hair inside, and used a clean cloth to wipe my neck where the towel hadn’t kept the bits of hair off.

“How did you learn to do that?” I asked.

“Oh, I have a great many talents,” he said with a sly wink.

He lit some oil lamps since the sun was going down on another day, and the cabin filled with soft light. And now I could see him better.

The captain truly was a fine example of a man. Just enough muscle to win in a fight, with a lithe, feline grace of movement, and a majestic aspect that made me want to kneel.

He sat on the edge of the mattress, took himself in hand, and beckoned me.

“Come now. Impress me.”

He held my gaze as I dropped the towel to the floor.