Page 16

Escape

“W ait,” Dinesh said, and I froze, because I was used to obeying him. “Don’t move.”

He let go of Domingo and surged onto his knees beside me. His mouth found mine, and he breathed into me, plunging his tongue inside as he slid his slick fingers down my back and into the crack of my arse. Before I could comprehend what was happening, he’d breached me with two fingers and sank them deep.

I let out a surprised whimper that became a low groan of intense pleasure.

I cursed, my hips moving of their own accord to get the needed friction from Domingo’s passage, as the captain pushed his long fingers in and out of me.

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck…Captain!” I yelled as I spent, jerking and clutching Domingo’s hips to keep him close as I thrust impossibly deep.

“Aaaah!” Domingo cried. “Oh, yes. Yes!”

Esmaralda whistled and muttered, “What a trollop,” in annoyed tones.

Dinesh gave me two final jabs and withdrew his fingers.

“Out. Now.”

His voice was strangled and urgent, and I knew what he wanted.

I pulled out of Domingo and collapsed onto the bed beside him, watching as Dinesh spread Domingo wide and pushed in, his way eased by the copious amounts of oil and spunk that lingered.

That sight would stay with me—Dinesh bollocks deep in the gorgeous olive-skinned whore, Domingo given up to genuine pleasure, moving together as one excited beast.

Strangely, I wasn’t jealous. Instead, I was filled with an appreciation for the beauty and rawness of the tableau—two men joining in shameless intimacy and passion, rising above this dreary plane of existence into an ecstatic realm, where physical pleasure and human connection were the only things that mattered.

Domingo’s luxurious dark hair stuck against his face, his head turned to the side on the sheets, eyes closed and mouth open, as Captain Martin caged him with his powerful arms and thrust quick and hard, his forehead resting between Domingo’s shoulders. As I watched, he brought one hand to Domingo’s swollen prick, and stroked fast, helping the younger man to reach his pinnacle in moments. Domingo gave an inhuman cry as his cock erupted with streams of white onto the sheets. Captain Martin spent soon after, groaning and gasping as the intensity took his breath away.

Domingo recovered quickly, opening his eyes and giving me a lazy, satisfied smile.

“I can see how you claimed the position of right-hand man on the Arrow , Officer White.”

“Aye,” I said, smiling and blushing. “’Tis one I’m made for.”

Captain Martin gave another little groan and pulled out of Domingo, wiping himself with a corner of the sheet.

“Stay as you are, Domingo. Rooster, come and see.”

He crooked a finger, beckoning me to where he sat on his heels behind Domingo’s splayed knees. Once I had a good viewing angle, he spread the globes of Domingo’s arse and used his thumbs to stretch the glistening hole. A glob of thick fluid pushed out and slid down Domingo’s taint as Dinesh sighed and gathered the substance with his finger.

“Fuck,” I murmured, as he used the digit to shove his spunk back in.

Domingo whimpered as the captain played with his hole, causing more fluid to ooze out. Such a filthy sight that I couldn’t stop watching. The desire rose within me again.

I grabbed the captain’s chin, turning his face to me. I kissed him hard, surging up against him.

His arms wrapped around me, and he held me close as he plundered my mouth. We lost ourselves to each other, and after a short time, our renewed excitement made itself known.

“Mmm, my sweet little witch. How about we show Domingo how we fuck each other ?”

“Yes, please. Please, please, please.”

“Put it in! Put it in!” Esmaralda sang.

Dinesh rolled his eyes. “I intend to, you bloody bird. Now shut the fuck up.”

He spoke so sternly that, even though we waited for a response from the bird, nothing came. Only the sounds of rustling as she—hopefully—settled herself down to sleep.

Domingo sat demurely against the carved headboard of his large bed, wrapped in the chartreuse robe, knees bent and lying to one side. He combed his tumble of hair lazily with his fingers.

“Oh yes.” He nodded. “I would like that very much.”

“I don’t suppose you have any soft rope or leather cords?” Captain Martin asked, his eyebrows raised as he clutched me to him.

“Oh, fuck,” I muttered.

“As a matter fact, you will find just the thing in the second drawer of that cabinet,” Domingo said, gesturing to a chest of drawers with elaborate wood scrollwork that stood against the wall on the other side of the room.

After several moments, the captain had me trussed up like a roasting hen, much to Domingo’s amusement.

The beguiling man crawled over to examine my predicament more closely and leaned down to kiss the corner of my mouth where the cloth gag, which the captain had fashioned from a silk scarf, stretched my lips.

“Oh, he has quite a skill with knots, our captain, doesn’t he?”

Dinesh laughed. “I should think so. Rope work is an important skill for any mariner.”

I whimpered as Domingo trailed his fingers down to tickle my balls and cock before returning to his former spot and making himself comfortable again.

“This is what we like, isn’t it, little witch?” Captain Martin said, his expression smug and his eyes filled with heat.

I nodded, filled with both a sense of safety in my rope confines, and an anticipation of imminent danger. Well, danger in the form of whatever indignity the captain had in mind for me this evening. With another man in the room, I still had no issue giving myself to Dinesh in this way. Domingo’s presence made everything more exciting now.

“Excuse me for being daft, Dinesh,” Domingo said, “but why do you call him your little witch? Has your little rooster put a hex on you?”

My eyes went wide. I entreated Dinesh with no words, only the trepidation in my eyes, not to reveal my secret.

“Well,” he murmured, leaning down to brush the hair out of my eyes. “My rooster has bewitched me for certain, and I shall never recover.”

My chest flooded with heat as my body ached with the need to spend my passion. I made a pitiful, submissive sound.

“You best get on with your tupping, then. I don’t think he’s going to last very long. We’ve had a stimulating evening.”

“Haven’t we, just?” Dinesh replied. “And, yes, I think you’re right. Are you ready, Simon? I’m going to ravish you in front of Domingo, so you’d best close your eyes and pretend we’re in our rooms on the Arrow .”

I made a desperate sound and did as he’d bid, closing my eyes and giving myself over, thinking of Domingo watching. What followed was a thorough and lazy fucking that made the most of my captured position and allowed the captain full access to any part of me.

I thought I might die, as the screwing went on and on, and Domingo’s prediction was proved wrong in the extreme. The captain tortured me for ages, not in an urgent state himself after having already achieved satisfaction earlier. I, however, went into a state of pure submission and floated on a haze of desperation, need, and waning and rising excitement.

Finally, finally , after he satisfied himself with a restrained and cursory grunt, he pulled out and descended on me with three fingers up my hole and his mouth around my cock until I convulsed and screamed, emptying down his throat.

I must have lost consciousness for a brief time. I heard the sound of Domingo’s laughter and slow clapping as I came to and blinked my eyes open to the captain’s concerned face.

“There he is. Welcome back, my darling,” Captain Martin said as he untied the gag and pulled the soaked cloth from my mouth.

“You fucking bastard,” I whispered, completely spent and utterly exhausted.

“Yes, that I am,” he agreed as he gazed upon me fondly and with much satisfaction.

“That was quite the sight, I’ll admit,” Domingo said. “I rarely get the chance to sit back and enjoy the torment of another. Thank you both very much.”

“Entirely our pleasure, to be sure,” Captain Martin said, untying the knots that had held me still for him. “We’ve been on the ship a long spell. Jolly to fuck on solid land for a change.”

I had to agree with that. We hadn’t had to worry about the rocking of the ship, or any of the crew needing us. Once I was loose, and the captain had rubbed the blood back into my limbs, I accepted his offer of a glass of water that Domingo had brought.

“Your rude bird has gone quiet, at last,” Dinesh said, eyeing the covered cage in the corner.

“Yes. She’s rude, I’ll admit, but I love her dearly.” He shrugged. “No accounting for taste, I suppose.”

“We should go up to our room and sleep,” the captain said to me. “You look like you’re barely awake as it is.”

I gave him an incredulous look. “I beg your pardon. You try being taken to the edge of heaven and pulled back multiple times, after having fucked the most lovely whore on earth, and then experiencing the closest thing to God and the angels in a moment of release, and tell me how you feel.”

“‘The most lovely whore on earth’?” Domingo said, gazing at where I lay near him. “Well, I thank you very much for that compliment, Rooster,” he said, brushing the hair off my forehead. “I have had a wonderful time, which isn’t always the case when you run a business out of your arse. I shall remember you fondly, as I remember Dinesh. You’ve been absolutely wonderful clients.”

And, in the end, that was all that we were to Domingo. Yet I went away from our encounter with an appreciation and a fondness for the beautiful man in the chartreuse robe who had entertained us and watched us enjoy each other.

Captain Martin took me upstairs and tucked me in with a kiss and a murmur of profound affection.

“Aren’t you coming to bed?” I said, barely able to speak. I was so tired.

“Soon, my love. I want to take a walk on the streets of Cayonne and check in on the crew. We need to be back on the Arrow in a few days, and they may need reminding not to completely demolish themselves with the drink.”

“All right. But don’t be long.”

*

I jolted up in bed and stared at the wall, where flashes of light splashed the cracking plaster and explosions rang in my ears. I barely had time to parse it when the door burst open and Captain Martin charged in.

“Get dressed. Now.”

“What’s the matter?” I asked, springing into panicked action, as the captain helped me find my clothes and get into them.

“The Spanish, damn their hides. They want the island back.”

“Is it theirs?” I asked, still barely awake and unsure of what was happening.

“Used to be. They ceded to the French, but they’re sore about losing the territory. Bad luck that we happen to be here during a raid.”

“Dinesh!”

We looked up to see Domingo, his hair wild and the knotted chartreuse robe the only thing covering his nakedness, except that now he wore a pair of leather boots and carried a square object in one hand.

“Put it in! Put it in!”

Captain Martin frowned at the covered cage from which the voice of Esmaralda, Domingo’s mouthy mynah, was issuing.

“Not the bird, Domingo.”

“I’m not leaving her.”

“For fuck’s sake.”

“I’ll take my chances in the streets without you, if you make me give her up.”

I stared at the captain, honestly wondering as to his response.

“Fuck it. Fine. Bring her, then.” He turned to me. “Hurry.”

“Domingo’s coming?” I asked.

“Aye. He’ll be killed if he stays here,” Dinesh muttered.

I didn’t want Domingo killed. I wasn’t sure I wanted him on the Arrow , either, but at this point we’d be lucky to get out of Cayonne. My gut roiled with fear.

“I’m sorry, chica ,” Domingo said. “I won’t be a burden, I promise,” he said.

He looked pale and frightened, and that, more than anything else, made me hurry even more as a panicked sweat broke on my neck. I pulled my jacket over my unbuttoned shirt and grabbed the captain’s outstretched hand.

“Let’s go.”

We raced down the stairs, colliding with other scantily clad whores who had decided their best bet was outside.

“Domingo!” A dark-skinned woman yelled. “Where are you going? Don’t leave us, you scoundrel!”

Domingo turned briefly and blew the woman a kiss. “I’m sorry, Beulah, but I’ve a new assignment! Thanks for the memories, darling!”

And we were gone.

Coming out of the Turnkey into the dim city streets, where people ran to and fro, and bursts of fire lit up the night was terrifying, and I clutched Dinesh’s hand like a frightened child as he pulled me along, Domingo keeping close to both of us, the covered cage clutched under his arm.

“This is not how my night was supposed to go,” he panted, tucking a length of hair behind his ear and rushing along next to us.

“Nor mine,” Dinesh muttered, guiding me past multiple desperate people who ran in all directions.

“Will we make the docks?” I voiced my main fear.

“They’re our best bet. We must.”

“But the crew…”

“They’re all making a run for the skiffs. I was with some of them when the attack began, but I ran back to get you and Domingo.”

“Thank the Gods!” A strike of fear shot up my spine imagining him not coming back for me and what that would have been like.

“I wasn’t leaving without you, Rooster. If that meant my death, then I was prepared for the end.”

“Don’t speak of such things, Dinesh. We’ll be all right,” Domingo said, and I’d never appreciated him more.

“Yes, we will,” Captain Martin agreed.

When we got to the docks, someone yelled the captain’s name.

“There’s Guthrie! Thank God,” he said and tugged me forward.

My hand slipped from his grip and I yelled out, but no sooner had I noticed, than I was immediately grabbed by Domingo and practically lifted off my feet.

“I’ve got you!” he said as he pulled me up.

Captain Martin had stopped when he’d lost hold, but seeing that Domingo had me, he gave a smile and a nod, and we all continued on at a fast pace.

I grasped Domingo’s hand, so thankful he was with us, as we spied the waiting skiff filled with half the crew.

“The others are already at the ship. Let’s make haste and leave this blasted place,” Guthrie muttered.

“Quite!” The captain agreed, helping Domingo to get me into the boat as another voice shouted above the din.

“Wait! Wait!”

I looked in the direction of the cry to see none other than Squid racing towards us. He was dodging between frantic people and almost fell off the dock in a moment of carelessness.

“Come on, man!” the captain yelled. “Watch yourself!”

“We have to cast off, sir,” Hillier said. “We daren’t wait for anyone else!”

“He’s almost here,” I cried. “Just one more moment!”

I gazed at Dinesh with desperation in my eyes. We couldn’t leave Squid. Not like this.

Captain Martin stood and leaned over the side of the skiff, reaching for Squid, who grabbed his hand like a lifeline and was tugged forward, falling into the boat as the captain yelled out, “Now! Go!”

The men on the oars managed to pull us away from the dock, far enough that we thought we’d make our getaway. We gazed onto the port city of Cayonne, where multiple structures burned and smoke obscured the stars.

Then came a drawn-out whistle of impending doom and hell was upon us.

Everyone shouted at once before a huge explosion shattered my eardrums and knocked me into the water. The world turned to fire and cold and darkness. I held my breath out of instinct, but I didn’t know which way was up. As I lost my bearings and began to panic, a flame lit inside me, a white-hot rage taking me over before I had any chance to stop the rising power.

Again.

I burned like a fireball and the water lit up around me. I looked at my hands under the water, even as my lungs screamed for air. They were nothing but two balls of blue flame as the water around me became a maelstrom and propelled me in one direction with incredible force. I caught a glimpse of Dinesh through the waves, leaning over the side of the skiff, ready to dive for me. But then I surfaced and gasped a lungful of air, and he saw me.

“Rooster! Simon!” he yelled, reaching an arm out, but I was already there, and I couldn’t grab onto him because my hands were on fire.

Instead, I grasped the edge of the skiff as the men looked on with palpable horror, and Domingo made the sign of the cross, his eyes wide.

My blue-fire fingers gripped the wood like strange claws, as I recited the ancient words:

“Bring me the fire and the flame,

O’er the ocean, in my name.

Give me the lightning and the storm,

From the heavens, let it be borne.

Smite those who threaten what’s mine.

They’ll not have anyone this time.

Let the sea and the flame rejoice.

Let the ocean and sky make the choice.”

I chanted them over and over as a storm of my making caused the wind to whip and the waves to toss. Rain pelted my face and sizzled against the heat of my hands. Flashes of lightning lit the sky as the storm surrounded us. I was bringing the wrath of hell upon us all. I didn’t know what was happening, but I held the image of Captain Martin in my mind and repeated the words over and over again until, after a long time, everything became calm again.

I recognized the chant as some ancient incantation, long forgotten. Perhaps my mother had taught it me, or an unseen force had placed it deep within my memory. I kept saying the words, even as I was pulled aboard the small boat and cradled in someone’s warm lap, a cold cloth placed over my hands that still burned with a hot fire.

“It’s all right, my love. Rooster, you’re safe now. We’re safe.” The captain’s voice sounded in my ear, his arms around me.

I sobbed and turned my face into his clothes, inhaling his familiar scent like that alone would save me.

Where? Where are we? In hell, or in heaven, or someplace else?

Time became fluid. The skiff rocked and hands pulled at me, and the world turned upside down. I went up, up, and up. Then found darkness and peace, at last.