Page 40 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)
I took them and undressed immediately, even going so far as to take my undergarments off as I turned.
“You know, if you wanted to see me naked again, you could have asked.” I could feel his eyes on me as I bent over.
This teasing and tempting business was rather fun.
I’d never enjoyed a male’s eyes on me, undressing me, objectifying me, before.
But I was quickly realising I never wanted to lose this effect on Raithe.
I yelped as his hands were suddenly on me.
“You know,” he purred in my ear, “if you wanted me to bend you over the prow and fuck you on this boat until you couldn’t think straight, you could have asked.
” His hands curled over my naked breasts, pinching the already peaked nipples.
Then his hands moved tenderly down my waist until he slapped my ass.
I sucked in a breath, already wet with the idea of getting pounded out at sea.
“You’d make a perfect figurehead,” he added.
“Naked and beautiful, wet for me and covered in my salty cum.”
“Raithe,” I breathed, barely able to stand as he pulled me against the impressive cock restrained only by his pants.
“‘Tis a shame,” he said with a sigh. “The captain runs a tight ship, so I guess that plundering will have to wait.”
I protested his absence immediately as he shifted away.
Bastard was enjoying teasing me immensely, not that I could blame him.
I did start it, after all. Fine. Mission first, then he damn well better make those stars up in the sky seem like dull blips after he’d had his way with me.
I grumbled as I dressed, then turned to see his amused grin. I rolled my eyes at him.
“Don’t forget to equalise every few metres down by blowing gently out your nose. The mask will help. See you down there, little lark.”
“Wait,” I called. He stalled at the edge of the boat, looking back at me. “What were you going to tell me before?”
He smiled softly. “Later,” he said, then dove into the water.
A winter breeze chilled me to my bones, and I was suddenly very unhappy about the thin material I’d exchanged my warm leathers for.
Jumping in the water was about as appealing as stepping in a pile of dogshit, but I wouldn’t hear the end of it if I complained about it.
I frowned at the strapless mask Raithe had given me, unsure if it would fit or even work despite what he’d said.
But as I pressed it to my face, the mask adjusted to my bone structure, compressing until there were no gaps between it and my skin.
I kept the chain pendant tightly clasped in my fist as I dove off the boat …
and immediately regretted the decision. Water as cold as ice raked over my skin, nipping at my bones with sharp teeth.
As Raithe had promised, the mask adjusted to the pitch-black of the sea, switching to a neon blue that both illuminated the dark and allowed me a kind of night-vision. The pendant glowed brighter, too, somehow sensing the change of atmosphere.
I saw Raithe ahead, his powerful legs slicing through the water with ease.
I followed quickly as thoughts of sharks taking a chunk out of me or sea monsters waiting to pull me to the depths flashed through my mind.
What was I thinking, going on some rescue mission in the dead of night out at sea?
I swore I could see shapes flashing at the edges of my vision, and I couldn’t tell if it was my imagination or several somethings stirring in the depths.
My onset of paranoia caused panic to begin pulling at my limbs and chest, but I forced myself to pause and take the time to decompress the deeper I went.
A lot could go wrong underwater. The deeper I went, the more the pressure of the water would affect me.
At these depths, it wasn’t exactly fatal, but if I didn’t take the time to decompress, I could end up feeling dizzy and sick, unaware of any approaching creature coming to take a bite of me.
If not a sea creature, the bones of the ships down here were just as likely to snag me with sharp teeth and claws.
Their broken bodies scattered the sea floor, which was thankfully not as deep as I’d thought this close to the island.
The sandy floor panned out below, dotted with sharp rocks that stood up like knives.
It was no wonder so many ships had fallen or that the island remained unclaimed by the Fae … at least on the surface.
Raithe had scouted the area earlier that day and found what he suspected was the most likely location for an underwater entrance.
But it lay somewhere in the rocky wall dotted with coral, dead ahead.
The naturally formed wall curved around the island, and I couldn’t see a way through.
I quickly joined Raithe as we scoured the face, looking for a yawning mouth to slip inside.
Raithe would know the island better than I, but from what I’d seen, this was the only side of the island accessible by boat, which meant we had to be looking in the right location.
I scanned the wall several times and—there.
A narrow entrance partially covered by a small forest of seaweed loomed from within a hole in the deck of a sunken ship.
I gestured at Raithe, then pointed out the way.
He gave me a thumbs-up, then proceeded into the drowned ship without hesitation.
I felt less eager to enter the belly of that beast, but it was better than being a sitting duck in the open water.
I clasped my hands in front of me and snaked my way inside, kicking my feet smoothly as I descended.
Inside, a skeleton sat by a bolted-down table, its bones clamped with shackles at the wrist. Whoever it was must have been incredibly hated or done something unforgivable to deserve such treatment. I wrinkled my nose beneath the mask. Drowning … what a horrid way to go .
My attention turned to Raithe, who hovered below near a sizable hole in the rock wall.
He gestured towards it, then sliced through the water until he disappeared from view.
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at the thought of what waited beyond …
this was it. I might lay eyes upon my mother for the first time in years .
And if she wasn’t there … I shook my head and forced myself to move.
I didn’t want to go down that path. Not now.
The tunnel leading deeper into the cave beneath the island was dark, and it didn’t escape me that we’d never have found it without Raithe’s equipment.
I frowned. At least one of us had their head on straight.
Perhaps I was more nervous than I’d cared to admit.
Still, I kept my eyes on Raithe and just kept swimming until the tunnel began to curve upwards and a light shone from beyond the surface.
Raithe waited for me a few metres from the top, gesturing once again, this time to tuck the pendant away.
Right . We didn’t want to announce our arrival before we even made it inside.
I slipped the pendant under my collar and nestled it between the girls, safe and snug for later.
With that, Raithe and I swam to the top, breaking the surface ever so slightly a few metres from the rocky shore.
Torches rippled from sconces embedded into the rock walls, and a few crates and nets littered the cave nearby, but it appeared otherwise unoccupied.
We moved, silent and quick as we climbed out of the water and ducked behind the crates, both of our shadows in full play to avoid being seen.
There was only one way through from here, so we crept forward cautiously, blending into the darkness where we could.
I prayed to Brindere, father of luck, that no one would cross our path or notice the dripping trail of water we left.
What I wouldn’t give to wield fire right now.
A little warmth, a lot of hiding any evidence of our being here.
But we were shadow masters, and, honestly, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Especially not as voices rang out from up ahead, and we were both able to wield our power to conceal ourselves within the darkness.
I held my breath as Raithe tugged me to him while two guards approached … then stopped right in front of us.
Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look.
The one on the left swigged from a canteen before smacking his lips. “So sick of being stuck on prison duty. Fucking Windaire has had it out for me ever since I witnessed him rutting that whore back at Domeratt.”
The other snorted as he popped an herbal chew smelling of clove and cinnamon into his mouth.
“You’re lucky to still be alive if that’s the case.
I hear he doesn’t take chances. I’m surprised he even bothered to stick his wife in this godsawful place instead of just killing her.
Might have been the more merciful option. ”
“Hmm.” Another swig of the canteen. “With the current Rite, I suppose we’ll be getting more females sent here soon. There’s already so many. Such a waste.”
“You know the Pentad would rather kill them than risk anyone learning what really goes on in them Rites. Where do you think all the coin comes from? All those nobles placing bets and buying wives. And that’s not even the worst part.
All those females that are raped and impregnated, only for their babes to be stolen away and given to infertile wives.
” My stomach twisted at that statement. Violently.
The male continued, “It’s not right, even if they are females.
They’re still Fae, noble Fae at that, not animals. Am I right?”