Page 43 of If I Go Down with This Ship

He nods to them, a small smile curling the corner of his mouth as he takes me in.“For your sake, please change.”

And I’m pulled back to the kiss, to that comment he made about my smell, and I’m both embarrassed and still incredibly turned on.I know he’s tracking me, watching my every movement as I stand, so I hold the clothes in front of my pants and shuffle forward.

Grimacing, I disappear behind the screen and shed the old clothes.They do smell horrendous—Ismell horrendous.I look to the empty bathing tub behind me and wish I had the time to rinse myself clean of the last few days on the ship.

Peering over the top of the screen to make sure he isn’t watching, I pull the bundle of clothes he gave me up to my nose and sniff.They smell like him, that soft tobacco and sugar scent that makes me want to grab him by the collar of his shirt and drag his lips back to mine.

“Hurry, Laszlo.”

Jumping in surprise, I nearly drop the clothes before catching them.I run them through my fingers once more before I kick the old clothes off to the side.

There are bruises and cuts along my skin.Still, they are nothing compared to the open wounds on my hands.Hissing at the ache in my muscles, I tug on the pants and shirt, reaffixing my belt afterward.Though the pants are a bit short on me, they’re a better length than the previous ones I wore, and the shirt is a surprisingly good fit.When I reemerge from behind the screen, he gives a curt nod, expression inscrutable.I straighten before crossing to the door.

He stops me, a hand on my wrist as I reach for the handle.My face heats, and I feel thethumpof my heart against my ribs as we stare silently at each other.I want to kiss him.Hell, even though I hardly know him, I want to tell him everything, about who I am, how I actually came aboard his ship, but I bite my tongue.

“Later,” he says gruffly, “you and I have much to discuss.”

“Okay.”

He’s still staring, his fingers lingering on me, and I don’t know what to do.

I blink and turn away, throwing open the door and rushing out.Jack waits for us on the other side, brow raised as he takes us in while Captain Night locks his room.If he can see it in my face, Jack says nothing.

Captain Night nods to Jack before starting for the stairs.Jack shoots me a pointed look as we follow him.

I glance back at the double doors as we descend, and I wish we’d never left the confines of his room.

14Really Floats My Boat

“Whatwere you doing in the cap’ain’s room, Laszlo?”Jack asks as we take the stairs to the lower level.

“I don’t see why it’s any of your business, Jack.”

Heat travels from my neck up to my face at the narrowed-eyed look Jack throws my way.It feels like I’m suffocating.Surely he knows.Jack isn’t a fool, of that much I’m certain, and what other reason would I have been alone in the room with Captain Night with his shirt off if notthat?

Not that we did anything other than kissing, but it’s difficult to tell if wewouldhave.I’ve certainly gone so far as to imagine the possibilities, but considering I’m in new clothesandthey belong to Captain Night?The truth of the matter won’t stay hidden for long, I fear.And I don’t know what I’ll do once it’s out.

“Your lips are red,” Jack whispers, a hint of teasing in his words as if he knows precisely what Captain Night and I weredoing.“Looks as though a devilfish wrapped its arms ’round your neck and wouldn’t let go.”

I clamp a hand over my neck, blushing as I duck my head and hurry ahead of Jack.

Captain Night jogs down the stairs ahead of us, seemingly unaware of this exchange, and I can’t stop my attention from going to him and tracing his frame, the way his sleeves billow out with each movement, his firm ass accentuated by pants that fit him extraordinarily well.When I glance back to Jack, his eyes are narrowed to slits.He’s still waiting for an answer, and I don’t have one to give.

“Probably best if you don’t know,” I mumble.

“Probably,” Jack says, shaking his head but smiling.

Captain Night slips through the crowd with ease, and Jack and I struggle to keep up.The tavern is even more packed than before, and we’re forcing our way through the crowd toward him.

Jack stops me with a hand on my arm, and I look after Captain Night with a frown.“What are you doing?”I say, craning my neck.

“What areyoudoing, Laszlo?”

“What do you mean?”

He runs a hand over the top of his head, fingers dancing over his tattoos.“There are… things you don’t know ’bout our cap’ain.I understand that ’e ’as trusted you tonight, and I understand that it might make you feel special—”

“This is really not necessary, Jack.”