Page 40 of Found at Sea

“You’re not the same wide-eyed boy who first came aboard my ship,” Captain Flynn said after approaching me and standing at my side. “Not that you ever held your tongue in my presence before, but you do so even less now. Still not afraid of me?”

I shrugged and kept playing, intentionally not saying anything. From the corner of my eye, I saw his stance stiffen, and I inwardly grinned. My silence was bothering him.

“Stringing you from the main mast is still an option, boy,” he said with a growl in his voice.

Finally, I lost control of my composure and smiled. When I met his irritated stare, my smile only widened. He angered so easily, but somehow, I knew he’d never harm me.

“I thought I needed to hold my tongue in your presence,” I said with exaggerated bewilderment. “I am only doing as mycaptaindemands.”

Captain Flynn’s lips twitched and a tic started in his jaw. “Watch yourself, boy. I enjoy your company, but don’t test me.”

The threat was clear in his words, but the expression in his eyes remained amused.

“Why were you so engrossed in my story yesterday?” I asked, turning to face him.

His hand instantly went to his chest and he rubbed the spot over his heart. “I was not engrossed. Only mildly interested.” A calm washed over him, and he looked back out to sea. “If one wished to find this shell of Triton, where would they begin?”

“It’s only a story,” I answered, placing my lute down. “A fable meant to entertain and nothing more.”

Captain Flynn regarded me with a narrowed brow. “For someone whose eyes are so open to the world, you are quite the skeptic.” He moved closer to me before taking hold of my chin. “Look to the sea, boy. There you’ll find that all the stories you tell are realer than you think. Mermaids, monsters lurking in the depths, curses, and lost treasure—are all as real as you or I.”

As I fixated on his mismatched eyes, my mind felt fuzzy. I tried to comprehend his words and form some type of reasonable response, but all I could think about was the warmth of his body against mine and the feel of his hand on my chin. My breathing quickened.

Before I could stop myself, I stood on the tip of my toes and pressed my mouth to his. The urge had been too great to resist.

He made a grunting sound deep in his throat and gripped my shoulders with both hands. Our mouths remained joined, but he didn’t return my kiss. We just stood there, unmoving.

I thought he was going to push me away.

Instead he gripped me tighter and gave me the kind of kiss that made me forget my own name. He tasted sweet, like honey, and I pressed myself closer to him. Our tongues danced, and I sighed, twisting my fingers in the material of his shirt.

“What are you doing to me?” His raspy voice was laced with need, and he moved his hand to my waist, holding me tighter. “In all my twenty nine years no one has ever captivated me as much as you.”

I didn’t know the answer as to why he desired me. He’d never been so captivated before, butI’dnever felt so wanted. The people in Helmfirth had rarely paid me any mind, unless they were men who wanted more ale in their mugs. My whole life, I’d felt insignificant.

Strange how a man who instilled fear in so many would be the one to make me feel extraordinary.

“Join me in my cabin,” Captain Flynn said, moving a finger across my lips. “I can’t promise to control myself, though. I’ve hungered for you for too long.”

“Perhaps I don’t want you to control yourself,” I responded, leaning my face back up to kiss him. I ached all over and knew the only way to stop said ache was to give myself to him. “Show me what it’s like.”

There were many reasons as to why it wasn’t a good idea, however, I ignored them all. I allowed my heart to guide me and not my mind. Since the moment I first saw Captain Flynn, there’d been an unmistakable connection between us; one we’d both fought long and hard to ignore.

I was tired of fighting.

I was tired of thinking.

I just wanted tofeel.