Page 22

“You’re right. It is over. And now I’m here with you, peeling potatoes on the grandest pirate ship there is.”

I clear my throat. “The Trinity is far superior to the Caelestia .”

Tommy snorts as he rolls his eyes. “I’m sorry, Miss Rowenya, but your ship is tiny compared to this one.”

I elbow him in the ribs and he laughs, the innocent sound in stark contrast to the gruesome past he just revealed to me. “She might be small, but she’s mighty. And aside from yours, no other captain has been able to see her coming when we set sail for them.”

“Ollen wood, right? That’s what the Trinity is made of?”

“That’s right.” I start peeling the other half of the potato in my hand, careful to keep the skin from flying outside the rim of the bucket nestled between my feet.

“I thought all those trees were burned to the ground after Ujun destroyed the Dark Moon coven.”

My father never spoke of how he found the ollen wood to build the Trinity , but it was normal for him to hide things from me.

I had no idea he had dealings with Red Beard until after his death and I had been cast out of my family home by my grandfather.

Red Beard was able to hunt me down and force me to collect my father’s unpaid debts.

I’m sure there are many secrets that went to the grave with my father. Most I will never uncover.

“I thought so too, but my father was a . . . resourceful man,” I say, settling for a word that still doesn’t quite do him justice. “If there was anyone in the Southern Realm to discover a hidden trove of ollen wood, it would have been him.”

“He sounds like quite the pirate.”

“He was.”

Tommy stops peeling and I feel his eyes on me. “What happened to him?”

I take in a deep breath and sigh it out. “The same thing that happens to most pirate captains. He was betrayed by the people closest to him.”

“I’m sorry.” Tommy’s voice is just above a whisper.

Images of my father’s body swinging in the gallows flood my mind like a tidal wave. The memory of his death used to haunt all of my dreams, but as time has moved forward, the grief has shifted into bitter anger and something far more foul that I cannot name.

“It was a long time ago. I’ve lived a lot of life since then.” I shuck another piece of potato skin off with a little too much force and it flies over the far edge of the bucket and onto the floor.

“And now you’re here with me, peeling potatoes.” Tommy sighs like the idea of our situation makes him feel lesser than.

I force a smile, remnants of unwanted thoughts lingering at the edges of my mind. “I thought we were having a great time together, Tommy. Are you not having a great time?”

He snorts, but a grin starts to tug at the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, I kind of am.” He leans closer to me and whispers, “Honestly, I like your company much more than most of the men’s on this ship.”

I toss my hair over my shoulder and bat my eyelashes at him playfully. “I would certainly hope so. I’m much prettier.”

Tommy blushes and focuses back on his knife and potato with a focused determination. I laugh and his cheeks turn a darker shade of crimson.

After another hour of peeling, the cook finally releases Tommy and we set for the main deck. The moment we make the final step up, I’m met with strong arms crossed over a large chest.

Looking Grayson square in the face, I roll my eyes at him. “What do you want?”

He smirks, revealing just a flash of his canines. “Not happy to see me, Little Pearl?”

“Would you stop calling me that?” My hands ache to shove him away, but I keep them firmly at my sides.

Tommy must have picked up on the tension because he scurries past me and darts across the deck.

Grayson runs his fingers through the strands of my hair, stopping when he gets to my mother’s pearl. I still at his closeness. “Now why would I do that when it annoys you so much?”

“You’re insufferable.” The breath in my lungs is shallow as I glower at him.

His scent wraps around me as he leans down, casting a shadow over me. His hand moves to the back of my head, pulling me closer until his lips graze the cuff of my ear. “I’ve been told that I can be quite palatable, Little Pearl . . . if you ever get the chance to taste me.”

An intoxicating measure of hatred and lust have heat simmering in my blood and my toes curling in my boots.

I close my eyes, just for a moment, and an image of me running my tongue down the center of his chest clouds my vision.

A sweet ache grows between my legs; the friction of my pants is a cursed tease as I clamp my thighs together.

The pad of his thumb starts to stroke the nape of my neck.

It feels so good .

Then that small voice in the back of my mind reminds me of the threat he made against my crew just last night and like a breath to a candle’s flame, the fiery desire I feel for him is extinguished.

I reach up and run my fingers over the back of his neck, feeling the tickle of his long hair brush the back of my hand. Goosebumps rise beneath my touch and he growls deeply, his hand buries further into my hair.

Blowing a gentle breath onto the side of his neck, I whisper into his ear, “The only taste I will have of you is one of victory when I finally get to sink my dagger into your belly and watch you bleed.”

I release my fingers from his neck and pull out of his hold on me.

Grayson’s wide eyes are a bright blue with those flecks of silvery white shifting wildly like white capped waves.

For a moment I think he might punish me for the threat, but he surprises me when he tilts his head back and laughs.

The sound is rich and deep, and the feeling it pulls from somewhere deep inside of me makes me rage—for it feels too good, too right . And I hate it.

“There’s that silver tongue I enjoy so much.” The scar on his cheek crinkles from the depth of his smile.

“You should refrain from thinking about my tongue at all.” I sneer at him.

“But it grants me so much pleasure already.” He closes the space between us, his body pressed against mine, and I try not to breathe in his heady scent.

“I can only imagine what you might do with it if we found ourselves in a more . . . private circumstance.” There is a promise in his words.

A promise that he fully intends on seeing exactly what my tongue is capable of doing to him should he be given the chance.

And he pulls me right back into that trance.

My thoughts stray to what it might feel like to give him what he wants.

To run my mouth over his. To finally unveil the muscles I know must be hiding beneath his tunic.

And further down still to the edge of the leather pants he donned last night.

What it might feel like to pull at the leather tie that reveals his length.

Before I can swat his hand away, he cups my jaw and strokes the bottom edge of my lip with his thumb. “What delicious thoughts you must be having, Little Pearl. I can see the pink of your cheeks darkening. I wonder if there are other parts of your body that also flush with desire.”

Closing my eyes, I let myself go there. Imagining the weight of his body against mine as he rolls his hips into me. The power Grayson Tyde possesses and how I would be at the mercy of it. How his full lips might roam my body.

Then, once again, I am reminded of what he truly is—a monster toying with his prey.

And I am no one’s prey.

Eyeing him, I step away. It’s not fair how striking he is.

The way his black hair shines with hues of blue in the sunlight.

How his towering height makes me feel like I can take refuge in his shadow.

Everything about him lures me in. Even the knowing of how he saved sweet Tommy from a life of cruel despair speaks to my wounded heart.

But there is no truth to his words. I know this .

I am not interesting to him. He does not feel for me.

I am a means to an end that he values . .

. for now. The moment he has reached Thaeto’s treasure, I will be cast aside.

Or worse yet, if I make the wrong move, he will not think twice about taking the lives of the people who matter most to me.

I knew that for certain the day I saw him butcher the men aboard that merchant’s ship.

He cares only for himself, his personal gain, and I’m only safe for as long as I’m contributing to that.

His hand falls from my face and before I let the feeling of absence settle over me, I turn around and walk away.