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“Would it matter if she was?” Maddox asked after a while. Belatedly, it registered that the half-vampire was watching him, too.
“No,” he lied, then narrowed his gaze. “Did your spying last night lead you somewhere interesting?”
Delight sparked that the man choked on his drink and cleared his throat hastily. “No.”
The honesty had laughter bubbling in his throat, but he gulped it in. “Well, I hope I’m still cleared of whatever this is about. I like keeping my deals with Ostrov Krov.”
He left Maddox before the man could make excuses. The days continued in peace, but it was the kind that left him suspicious of what lurked beneath the calm ocean. He buried himself in paperwork until a knock came.
“Come in, Marko. Any update on the seas today?”
“It’s not Marko, but he didn’t mention anything bad to the crew about the seas.”
Isaiah looked up, pen pausing on paper as he traced Nicola’s approach. As always during her visits to his cabin, she took off her wig and shook her hair free, an action that had grown to become a routine. She sighed, as if that alone was freeing, and rolled her shoulders to get her persona out of the way. Just like always, his mouth went dry in response, but he ignored that.
“Nicola.”
“Captain.”
“Are you here to ask for more blood bags?”
“No. That was only for last week.”
“I see. Are you here to switch duties with Maddox?”
“No. I want to sleep with the crew members and Maddox. No more private sleeping quarters.”
The words sank in, and he stood up. “Absolutely not.”
“I need to blend in with them. They are starting to question my privacy and privilege when I’m not as young as Moon.”
“Who is?”
“Arty. He’s getting curious and sent the invite.”
Except it wasn’t just curiosity because Isaiah had seen how the pirate looked at her during one of their many drinking sessions. His men’s preferences had never mattered to Isaiah, but the thought of Nicola in a room with a man of those kinds of intentions didn’t sit well with him.
“To hell with that.”
Nicola blinked, not expecting that. “What?”
“You are to sleep separately from them until I get you where you need to be. And on that note, you are to avoid joining their drinking sessions, for the time being.”
Smoky green eyes flared. She stuttered over her disbelief, then lifted her chin. “Don’t tell me who I can or can’t spend time with. And make up your mind. You said you wanted me to get along with them. I am. What’s wrong now?”
“You bewitched them. Moon can’t stop talking about your sword display yesterday, and Wheeler hangs on to your lies about your ship adventures. And Arty, he looks at you differently now. He does not like your kind but is growing enchanted with your persona. You will break his heart when he finds out—and not keeping your distance guarantees he will.”
“I wasn’t lying to Wheeler. And I have no control over what Arty thinks of me.”
“Bullshit. Ease off with that. Don’t wrap them around your finger like that.”
She made a sound, then narrowed her gaze. She marched toward him and he did the same until they were face-to-face, neither willing to back down.
“Do you think that badly of my kind? Well, here’s some news for you: there are vampires rotten to the core, but there are alotwho value honor and fairness above anything else. Don’t put everyone in the same basket that you put House Bruno in.”
“I’m not.” Frustration rose and gripped him tight, making it hard to give sensible reasons for his reaction. She watched him, an equally quiet perusal that ended with a glint in her eye.
“You are angry about something, and you are taking it out on me. What is it?”
