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The man’s blood drained from his face. Amusement bubbled, but Isaiah took pity.
“I was kidding, by the way. Just stay away from her if it bothers you too much.”
“Captain—”
“And no violence, okay? She’s a guest. She’smyguest.”
Wheeler grumbled but nodded reluctantly. Moon bit back a grin, catching Isaiah’s gleaming eyes and tugging Wheeler to join him in the kitchen area. Ruby went back to her temporary cabin with Maddox in tow, but Nicola lingered behind. He approached her, leaning against their favorite spot and looking out to the water.
“Are you not going to burn?” he asked when she inhaled the ocean breeze with gusto. She shook her head, smiling.
“I can take the heat so long as it’s not direct sunlight.”
“I see.” She seemed to bask in it, too, a sight that captivated him. “Have you been resting well?”
“Yes. You?”
“Dreamless nights,” he said, but that was a lie. He had a dream or two not worth mentioning, mostly because it was filled with a lot of writhing and rolling in bed, with her moans echoing in the background. He cleared his throat. “Blood?”
Her smile faded and her cheeks bloomed pink. He fought the itch to touch it.
“I’m having it.”
Not from me.
“Enough, I hope.”
“Yes.”
She didn’t elaborate, so he didn’t ask. He bit his tongue to keep from telling her that his blood was free, reminding himself that they were better off not doing that again. But the body was different from the mind, craving what it shouldn’t. As if she sensed it, her features flared into something dark, and her mouth parted.
His grip tightened on the railing. They looked away at the same time, then refocused on the sea.
“We will get there soon.”
“Soon?” she echoed. Then, “Oh. The Sky.”
“The Sky,” he confirmed. “You will be free of our deal soon.”
“Right.”
And it came faster than expected, with Marko making the announcement when the sun set.
“Here! Ye all better come out and prepare yerself!” To Isaiah, Marko asked, “Do we proceed with the ascent, Captain?”
“Yes. Get everything ready.” He caught sight of Ruby and strode toward her. “This is a stop. We can either part ways here, or you can leave us when we dock in Centro next. But that’s not until two weeks later. It’s the only place we pirates can’t openly antagonize each other, and my guys need rest.”
“I will think about it. Is there anything I can do to help?”
He winked. “We got this.”
He glanced at Maddox, then at Nicola when she made her way beside the man, and they stayed watching. Eventually, Marko called them to help. There was a lot of buzz as footsteps sounded louder than usual and their voices carried in the air. Then everyone settled into silence, bodies braced.
“Don’t we need to tie ourselves up?” Nicola asked, inching beside him. A pleased sensation sparked in his body.
“No. We just need to sit back and wait.”
He didn’t explain, enjoying the anticipation of her expression. He caught her widening eyes before the world around them turned pitch black, signaling that Marko had already melded their ship coordinates to another specific set of coordinates. No one spoke a word. When the pitch black turned to smoky gray, visible sighs of relief raced across the ship.
