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“What are the conditions?” she bit out.
To her surprise, Isaiah lowered his gun and stepped even closer, knife dangling between them. Then he dropped that, too, proving his confidence that she would get nowhere without him. But the smirk disappeared as he said his words warningly.
“I don't care if you drop dead from hunger. You will make do with the blood from the livestock I will provide to you, and you will take care not to kill that livestock—which, I suspect, you have already been doing so as not to get caught by our crew. Too bad for you, I figure things out easily. Our livestock is very precious to us, who do not see land for months on end. In short, I will tolerate vampires in my ship but not acts of massacre.”
“Maddox is half-human. He eats human food,” she replied promptly.
“And you?”
“Livestock blood is fine. I won’t kill them. And I can tolerate human food, too, if only for show.”
“Good.”
“So, are we good?”
“You and Maddox will continue working for me,” he kept on, ignoring her question. “It’s only fair that you provide labor while I provide passage and food.”
“Done.”
“You will stay in a different cabin from now on—the one beside mine. It’s insurance, and ladies should be treated as such.”
“Done. Anything else—”
“You will continue posing as a man. Females are trouble and a distraction. I don't want my crew distracted.”
She jolted at that one, uncomprehending as she gaped at him.
“How do you expect me to stay elsewhere and them not suspect?” The rest of his demand came into focus and had her bristling. “And females are not trouble. I’m not trouble.”
“You being in this ship is already trouble,” he pointed out. “But we can keep it at a minimum. They won’t question me. Moon sleeps separately from them, too, until he’s of age.” She tried to figure that out, but he wasn’t done. The sober look was gone, replaced by an unholy gleam. “And you underestimate men stuck at sea with no company but themselves. One look at you, and it will drive them crazy.”
He was too close, too in her face. He was crowding her in, a tactic that had her shivering in her spot and trying to keep her glare at his lowered voice. The huskiness of it gave an intimacy that sank in her senses, as if they were the only two people in the world and anything could happen. This was his charm. This was his weapon.
“Including you?” she shot back, unable to help it—wanting him as thrown for a loop as she was.
But Isaiah was harder to shake, smirking once more. Her gaze strayed to his lips, full and brimming with amusement.
“A pretty face is easy to resist when I can have it anytime…elsewhere.”
He meant female companions. The idea of him getting it on once they docked somewhere had her cheeks burning, but she swallowed it as pride rose. There was an insult there somewhere, she knew, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out what it was.
And really, there was no time to argue when the man was practically offering a lifeline.
“Fine,” she snapped out. “I will keep pretending to be a man.”
“Boy. You could pass for one since you are puny. That button nose helps, too.”
“Why, you—”
“Are there any more lies that I should be aware of?”
The question was worded casually, but she didn’t miss the edge.
I work for the king. I’m looking for the assassin, and it could very well come from your ship. I might break our deal if that’s the case.
“No,” she lied.
“See? That was easy. I didn’t even have to kill you.”
