“Kye.”
“You're going to jump off this ship and swim.”
“No!” I shoved him away.
Kye hissed, forcing himself back as he gripped the sides of my shoulders. He bared his teeth, the whites of his eyes flashing in the dim light.
“This ship has two dinghies. I’ll free the starboard one. Once you’re in the water, swim to the left, around the back of thecelerite.”
I shook my head in panicked disbelief. My fingers roamed the length of his tattooed arm, tugging, twisting, pulling. They moved all on their own, and I couldn’t make them stop. A tremor entered my legs, threatening to purge my balance.
“There’s thirty men up there,” I choked out.
His eyes churned molten gold. "Where's that anger I know you hoard away? I need you to be angry."
A voice screamed inside my head. It raged and seethed, throwing words against the walls of my mind where they shattered like glass. Anger? He wantedanger? Anger was all I had—all I’d ever had. Why was it failing me now?
Kye studied me, letting me yank and pull him. A heavy wave washed over the side of the ship, and he braced his knees on either side of mine, leaning into the wall.
His hold on me softened, eyes brimming with some unknown emotion as he curled his fingers around the sides of my jaw. "Angry, Leihani."
A ragged wail tore from my lips.
He leaned into me, his weight trapping me against the wall as he slowly captured my mouth. His body pressed me flat, his chest fixing my hands against his torso. Soft lips opened under mine—tasting, studying, memorizing. My fingers itched to run through the strands of his hair, but he held me locked in place.
I could only press my palms into his bare chest as he squared his hips with mine, driving in, the warmth of him engulfing me like an unhurried, all-consuming tide. His thumb drifted, shifting along my jaw. Fresh tears sprung from my lashes, but I tilted my head and lifted my chin, deepening the kiss, pulling him in.
Another wave lashed the ship, and he slanted against me, heavy and solid. When the ship righted itself, his weight didn’t leave. My skull pressed into the wall as his head shifted left to right, searching for the different angles of my mouth.
Heat bloomed from my skin as his lips moved achingly slow. Calm. Controlled. Calculated. As though he didn’t feel the heart that beat wildly within his chest. Or he didn’t care.
He kissed me like a thief in the night. Like he’d crept in on silent feet, emerging from shadow, and stole my breath before I ever realized it was gone.
He didn’t give me the kiss.
Hetookit.
Slow and hard and intentional. Like it was a hidden treasure. A prized jewel I’d kept locked in an armored chest. Pinning my arms against the wall, he broke the lock and stole it for his own pleasure. Every nip of his teeth, flick of his tongue, veer of his lips—he did it all for himself.
His mouth was there and then it wasn’t, the kiss over too soon as he drew back an inch, lips still hovering over mine, his breath shaking through his teeth.
His eyes burned as he gazed at me, and I realized what he’d done.
He’d just kissed me for the last time.
My body went numb with dread, my legs suddenly wobbly as my panic eclipsed all thought. A heavy wave washed over the side of the galley, and the first stroke of beckoning sleep grazed my consciousness.
I faltered, head nodding forward, hitting his chest. Kye’s hands returned to my shoulders, stabilizing me as my body weight leaned to one side, drifting over unbalanced feet.
My eyes sprang open. I gazed open-mouthed at the floor.
I’d forgotten to call the water back up.
74
As soon as I realized my mistake, weight gathered in my head, heavy stone inside my skull.
I scrambled out of Kye’s grasp, doubling over in the nearest corner to force the fluid from my belly. He followed, face pale as he gathered my hair, crouching low beside me.
