Page 55 of Bloody Black
W hen I wake, the sun is rising through his windows, the sky a soft, pale pink.
I recognize this coastline; the jagged cliffs covered in snow, the beautiful, dark-blue sea.
Robb is tucked against me, his arm snug around my waist. His cock presses against my back, his wounded thigh nudging mine apart.
Touching me.
My panic, my insecurity, my worries... all those are mysteriously missing. Instead of wrenching away, I lie still, reveling in the sound of his breathing. Sweet. Steady. Safe.
The sea rocks us like babies, and the day breaks, and all I can do is stare. Adoring. Marveling. Completely unobserved, I can lie here and quietly relish him.
A soft knock jars me.
Stealthily, I creep out from underneath his arm and don his shirt as I cross the room. Meanwhile, Robb sleeps on, one arm over his head .
When I crack open the door, Xandretta stands in the darkness. “We’re here. Do you want to wait, or…?” Her large, fishy eyes gleam as she looks over my shoulder.
At the completely nude man in my bed, at the clothes strewn over the floor. Since the velvet curtains are open, there is more than enough light to see everything.
Xandretta gives a slow, long, disbelieving blink—like a predator deciding whether to tear something apart or turn away.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I tell her. “Not a single bloody word.”
Xandretta huffs out a breath through the black slits of her nose. It sounds like a tiny whistle. “It’s about damn time,” she mutters.
I blink, caught off guard. “You approve?”
“He’s good for you.” Xandretta shrugs one heavy shoulder, her expression unreadable. “Reminds you why you’re still alive.”
I nod, momentarily overcome with emotion.
“Just don’t forget your purpose. Why you’re breathing, why you made that bargain. And that the devil will have her due.” She jerks her chin toward the gun and the sword, still lying behind me on the floor.
William. We ’ re here.
I glance past her into the ship corridor. It’s empty. “Is everyone prepared? Have they gone over the plan?”
“Samson prepared the crew for our departure. Everyone is under the assumption that we are going in for supplies, but since William is searching for us, it must be done in secret. Teach has all the clothing we will need. Tremaine and Domino have been sharpening blades for hours. I have taken care of everything else. ”
She looks past me at the man in my bed. “Are you bringing him?”
Even though we’ll certainly be outnumbered, and Robb can fight as well as any of my crew, I don’t want him there.
If he’s right about William, we’re better off if he remains on the ship, blissfully unaware.
I don’t want him involved, not because I don’t trust him, but because I don’t want him used against me.
After all, William knows me. He’ll see my face and recognize that I have feelings for Robb. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt. I’m not stupid enough to think he would spare a random lieutenant. If he’s able, he will use Robb to lure me in. He’ll probably make me watch as he murders him.
It’s that image, and the sense of dread and foreboding it brings, that decides me. He would distract me. I can’t have another person die for my sake. Slowly, I shake my head.
Xandretta smiles, her teeth like black needles, and clicks her tongue. “It looks like his courting succeeded after all.”
I quietly pull on my pants, fetch my sword. Grab the red sash and knot it around my middle, tie my cap in place. With a slight smile, I bend down to brush a bit of the dark hair back from his forehead.
Finders keepers. The anchor and ship tattoos, the compass rose, the silver earring, the scruff along his jaw, the tanned ridges of his abdomen.
My man, asleep in my bed.
He might be my enemy, but he’s also strong and true. I’ve fallen for him, and I just hope we have a future ahead of us. The words bloom in my chest, and they feel so right, so sure. Just waiting for the right moment to be said.
I won’t let William take you.
He’s already taken so much, and only a fool would dangle something of value before a monster. Robb will be safer aboard Queen Anne’s Revenge than next to Blackbeard.
The dagger is still wrapped up in the sheets, where he might roll over on it. Gingerly, I pick it up, then tuck it into my waistband.
“With any luck, I’ll bring back good news. If not…” I kiss his forehead. “Take care of our ship.”
I holster my guns and return to the door where Xandretta waits. Giving my sweetheart one last, long look, I turn to my first mate. “Tie him up. Make it tight. We can’t have the lieutenant escaping.”