Page 34 of Found at Sea

“Are you one of those men?”

He studied me with a narrowed brow. “Aye.”

“I don’t believe you,” I countered, still staring into his eyes. Strange how the longer I stared, the more kind they became, as if the walls he’d put up were crumbling under my scrutiny.

“Then you are a fool,” he said, unmoving.

“I do believe I’ve heard that somewhere before,” I said, smiling as I remembered the first night we’d met.

“And yet you have not learned.” The captain squared his jaw. “Your blindness will get you killed.”

“If refusing to go through life with a cold, closed off heart makes me a fool then so be it,” I spoke. “I know some men are cruel, but I also know men can be generous and kind. I am not blinded to the darkness of the world; I just choose to see the good as well.”

I was not expecting what followed my statement.

Quicker than what my mind could process, he grabbed my face and crushed his lips to mine.

I froze at the shock of it, but when he tangled his fingers in my hair and continued to kiss me, my body responded to him. The softness of his mouth was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. He smelled of the sea and a hint of rum, and it was quickly becoming my favorite scent.

I’d never been kissed, and yet, I seemed to know what to do, as if it was second nature to me.

Slowly, I wrapped my arms around him, slipping my hands beneath his coat and feeling the muscles of his back. His kiss hardened as did other parts of him, and my head spun from the intensity of it.

With one hand still tangled in my hair, he used the other to trail down my spine and grip my backside. He pulled my hips against his, and the pressure on my front was intoxicating.

I moaned against his mouth, and as his tongue joined the mix, stroking mine, I nearly burst apart. When his lips glided down my neck, I tilted my head back and moaned again.

I needed him everywhere, all over me and deep inside, touching places no one else had ever touched.

Captain Flynn pulled away with a growl.

Breathing heavily and feeling confused, I looked at him. “What’s the matter?”

He looked angry, and for once I feared the force of his gaze.

“You are a temptation I must not succumb to,” he said, scowling. “For water and fire do not mix well, boy.”

The story of the sea nymph who fell in love with the sun entered my mind. And once again, I identified with her. She’d wanted a thing she couldn’t have, and as I stared into the handsome face of my captain, I knew the same was for me.

He left me then, and I watched as he returned to the helm.

After returning to my quarters, I removed my shirt and lay in the hammock. I didn’t light the oil lamp, for I needed to shut off my thoughts and sleep. The feel of the captain’s lips were seared into memory, and even below deck and away from him, I still felt them. Still smelled his intoxicating scent. My chest ached, and I flipped to my side.

Closing my eyes, I tried to clear my mind by focusing on the gentle rocking of the ship against the outside waves.

When I finally slept, I dreamed.

I dreamed of being under the water, resting in a vibrant, coral reef and staring up at the shimmering light above the surface. A golden light that both entranced me and caused a twinge in my heart. A longing.

As I stared, a large shadow passed overhead, one in the shape of a ship’s hull. When the dark shape left, the light was gone as well.

I swam upward, and when I broke the surface, everything was dark. There was no light, no ship, and as emptiness burrowed itself in my heart, I felt there was no hope.

I awoke to wake-up calls from the crew, and when I moved, I noticed the wetness on my cheeks. After wiping my face dry, I took a few breaths before leaving my room and starting the day.