Page 98 of Bitten & Burned

“Good evening,ma chatonne,” he murmured.

“Good evening to you... But why, in the name of the Four, are you wearing clothes?” I let my fingers drift to the buttons of his shirt—undone just enough to tease, but revealing nowhere near the amount of skin I required at the moment.

He chuckled and kissed me again, this time on my forehead.

“I had planned to go ashore to run a few errands. We’redocked, so you’re completely safe here. I just… need to pick something up. I hope you and the Four can forgive me.”

“Pick something up?” I asked, my fingers trailing over the dusting of chest hair peeking through at the top of his shirt. “What’s something?”

“A surprise.”

“Oh, will I like the surprise?” I asked coyly, biting my bottom lip.

“I certainly hope so.”

“What is it?”

“Rowena,” he chastised gently. “If I tell you, there’s no surprise.”

“I know, but I’m impatient.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

I shifted, draping my left leg over his hips. “And what can I do to makeyouimpatient, too?”

Anton groaned, but kissed me on the forehead. “Gods, you are perfection. The only thing I want right now is you… But I should go fetch this gift first. I’ll be gone no more than an hour.”

“You’re going to leave me here? Naked and helpless and all alone?” I asked, faux-wounded.

“You are most certainly not helpless,” Anton said, kissing me and gingerly removing himself from under my leg. “And you’re not alone. Fig’s here.”

“And the crew you brought along.”

“Well, actually, it will just be Fig, I thought you might wish to forego clothing for the rest of the evening, and I wanted you comfortable enough to do so outside the stateroom…”

“Up on deck?”

“Under the moonlight?” he added. “Yes, Rowena, I want to devour you under the moonlight. Is that so terrible?”

“Not at all, but when you get back? I’m tearing that shirt off you. Hope you’re not attached to it.”

He slid out of the bed, standing and adjusting his collar.

“Darling, I’d let you rip every piece of clothing I own if it pleased you to do so.”

“If you plan on leaving me alone every evening, perhaps I will.” I rolled onto my stomach and scooted closer to him.

“Oh, don’t pout. Or do—it makes your lips especially kissable,” he said, bending to demonstrate that fact. “If you’d like, I could tell Quil to come stay with you while I’m gone, but I fear we wouldn’t be able to get rid of him if we did that.”

“Should I get dressed?”

“It’s not necessary, but you may want to—for fear of giving the poor man a fit.”

I sighed. “Fine. I’ll put something on. And here I was, just getting ready to embrace the nudist life.”

“I’m sure I can get you back there. We’ll be out on the sea for a few more days yet. Plenty of time to moonbathe in the nude and worship your perfect body…” he said, grinning as he stood. “Shall I fetch Quil? He’s bound to be slinking around near the docks.”

“Yes. Get him. I miss him,” I admitted, the words surprising even me as they left my mouth.