My hand met the knob, and I slipped on the mask of innocence, baring the teeth of vengeance beneath it. Inhaling once, my grasp tightened as I pulled the large wooden slab open, the scent of perfume and arousal greeting me.
My mouth watered, not with the essence of corruption that surrounded me, but with the need to kill.
The need tosurvive.
Leaning over the table, my tongue trailed over my lips. I passed off another fake laugh to the male across from me, his tamed blonde hair gleaming beneath the orange and yellow hue pulsating through the open floor. The tawny suit he wore was made of luxurious fabric, soft to the touch, and tailored to perfection. It was an obvious attempt to display his title and status to the women prowling for the most appealing buyer, likely someone living within the walls of Serevalen, the Capital.
But little did he know I was the furthest thing from interested. Having blocked out his repetitive mentions of how his wife failed to please him in the bedroom, I fixed my attention elsewhere.
Tucked into one of the back booths, the advisor sat with a woman wrapped around each arm, both curvy and fully invested in him and all he had to say. With his shirt peeled open to reveal a sculpted chest, one wove her fingers through the thick layer of hair coating it, petting him as if he were worthy of her attention. The other drug her nails through his perfectly combed dark locks, scratching the back of his head like she would a hound.
That’s all men were—filthy, prick-driven animals.
His near-black eyes bounced between them, admiring their opposing lineages and the organic opposition they created.
The woman to his left had flawless ebony skin and a shaved head, leaving only a thin layer of tight white curls. Her large breasts pressed against him and bounced with each laugh as she leaned in closer to him. On his right sat the other, her upturned almond eyes trailing up every inch of his muscular frame. Leaning forward, she brought herself to her knees, pressing a slew of kisses along his bare neck.
Their laughter erupted at the exact moment a hand rested on top of mine, tearing me from my observation. Near-bronze irises swept over me, two golden locks falling to frame the tanned and chiseled face of my elected stepstool. The man I’d snatched up clearly wished for my entertainment, but it wasn’t his fixation I needed to obtain.
“Mind elsewhere?” He asked calmly, tracing over his canines with his tongue.
“My sincerest apologies. I had a rough night with another client, which is not an excuse for me to mindlessly dissociate when such a handsome man is sitting in front of me. You’ve paid for my time, and I want to ensure I satiate your desires.” I looked up at him beneath hooded lids. “Is there something specific you’ve been fantasizing about?” Reaching over, I rested my palm an inch away from his cock. “Just speak your mind, and I can make all your desires come true.”
Gag me.
He pushed himself back from the high-top table, the legs of the chair he occupied squealing against the wood floorboards below. He reached for me, his eyes glistening with unspoken impulse. It was an expression I’d become well-acquainted with: a man willing to take what wasn’t his, no matter what it entailed.
I sank into myself, crawling into the hole I’d carved in my subconscious whenever it came to pleasing another man. There were far too many times I’d been taken advantage of, intimacy becoming something that terrified me. The thought made my skin crawl, my heart sink, and my vision blur, but I had a role to play if I wanted to getanywhere near the advisor. And if it meant sacrificing another piece of myself, I would do so if I could avoid Malrik’s wrath.
My fingertips brushed his, a grin spreading across his lips. “Let’s get a room, shall?—”
The scent of dark rum, sea salt, and a hint of sandalwood greeted me as a hand settled on his shoulder, pulsating with an aura that made my hair stand on end. Bloodied knuckles fell into my line of sight first, hinting at Jaskor’s—the God of Luck and War—distaste for whatever unlucky bastard crossed the man’s path before his arrival. Following muscled forearms to biceps, my gaze devoured an expansive chest woven with striations of labor. The linen shirt did very little to hide what was beneath, every lull and peak of strength visible through the lightweight fabric.
Examining my surroundings, I landed on an olive-skinned neck dusted in dark stubble. A light, jagged line protruded beneath it, a scar that suggested a story of unwavering complexity. It was a blemish that mirrored the ones littering my flesh, igniting a hopefulness that someone would finally understand the intricacies that wereme.His perfectly manicured beard covered his cheeks and chin, only adding to his ruggedness. It was a vigor that only belonged to one kind of man, and it immediately snuffed out any belief in the possible commonality we may have had.
He was a pirate.
Allowing me to map every inch of him, the corner of his mouth curled, and smile lines that would’ve drawn in any other woman appeared. Maroon irises ignited as they met mine, a shadowed shade that would look brown to any onlooker not paying close enough attention. Snuggly wrapped around his head sat a crimson bandana, and part of me wondered if its color was natural or if the blood of his enemies had served as its dye. It seemed only to have one purpose: holding back his long, curled raven locks.
He towered over my customer, both in breadth and height, standing easily over six feet. Craning his head down, he peered around the man who’d wished to have his way with me in a more private setting. With abreath, his smirk transitioned to something unnerving—a threat and a promise all wrapped in one.
“Hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he crooned, his voice deep, rocky, and hypnotic. “But you won’t be takingheranywhere.”
“Oh, but Iwill be.” Shrugging off the stranger's hand, he turned. The top of his head landed just above the raven-haired male’s Adam’s apple, and he had to crane his neck to address him. “I paid the brothel owner over the asking price for her, eight hundred bits, so I will ensure that my money is earned withhertime, prick.”
“How humiliating would it be to run out of here with your tail tucked between your legs, sobbing to mommy and daddy about how wastefully you spent their coin?” The newly arrived man chuckled, one of his canines sinking into his bottom lip as his sneer grew. “In case you needed a reminder, you are balls deep in criminal territory, which means your actions could very well land you in the dungeons of the Capital if your questionable habits were to be disclosed by some… Oh, I don’t know, curious stranger.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“If you wish to deem it as such, then sure. Though I don’t fancy the concept of a verbal threat when I could easily gut you alive with my bare hands. Let me make myselfcrystal clearsince your stupidity seems to limit your understanding.” He stepped forward, looking down at the man as he jutted a thumb toward the bar. “My co-captain is sitting over there enjoying an expensive glass of whiskey, and if you keep running your pathetic mouth, wewillcause a scene. I’d prefer not to piss him off for my own sanity when we disembark in the next hour, so let me repeat myself onlyonce—you. will. not. be. taking.her.anywhere.”
“Listen, it’s not anyone’s place to deem who or where?—”
Before I could finish my sentence, the blonde retaliated. “If you don’t get thefuckout of my sight, I will buy your godsforsaken ship and sell it off to some piss-poor scumbag in Thornebay who would willingly strip it piece by piece to repurpose and sell. If you wish to keep yourhomeandfilthycrew, I’d suggest you back the hell off. You have no clue who you’re dealing with.” Using the pointed tip of his middle knuckle,he knocked against the pirate’s sternum, intending to bruise bone. “You are nothing more than a salt-crusted degenerate. Every inch of you reeks of lowborn desperation, giving way to the fact that you’d never be able to afford, let alone deserve, someone likeher.”
The pirate’s crimson gaze flashed with amusement before diminishing into an unfiltered rage. Dark brows lunged forward to darken his enchanting stare, something unseen and horrific curling around his essence. I watched as his tongue jutted out between his teeth, his mouth parting to form an undeniably murderous grin. The words he offered came out between a manic chuckle and an annoyed exhale, weaving together to create a hauntingly hushed whisper.
“You want to compare cock sizes? Fine.” His hand shot forward, closing around the customer’s shirt with unimaginable speed. “But what you will not do is sniff my ass like you have a lick of an idea of who you’re speaking to. You spent eight hundred bits on her for a minuscule amount of her time, hoping to stiffen your limp prick that you fumble to please your wife with? Well, Ipurchasedher from the owner of Seirdra’s Veil for twenty-five thousand.”
