AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Half the crew would have gone already to celebrate. The other half would be on the ship, sleeping. Marko refuses to leave that ship for anything.”
“Why?”
“Past troubles. A history of hurt. The ship’s his home.”
“And you?”
“I will find a bar or two. Unwind, see if I can make a few connections, and return to the ship. Tomorrow, I will make deals.” A thought occurred. “After you are done here….”
“We will find a way to get out,” she assured. “Sneak into one of the ships and eventually find our way back to Ostrov Krov.”
“Be picky. Don’t just choose any ship. Scope it out and make sure it doesn’t belong to a bastard.”
“I will. We will.”
That was it, then, wasn’t it? He tried to scan his mind for something else to say, but it was blank. A wistful sensation came over him and made his step forward difficult. She took a step toward him, too.
“So.”
“So,” she repeated, tilting her head to meet his eyes.
“Good luck with whatever you are here for. And be careful.”
“Thank you. And I’m always careful. Please don’t tell the crew I betrayed them or something.”
“Of course not. I will tell them you and Maddox decided to stay behind and contemplate a non-pirate life.” Her lips quirked. His focus strayed there. “I might even tell them you guys are lovers.”
Despite knowing it wasn’t true, jealousy still squeezed his heart. He took her in from head to toe, wanting to memorize her features and feeling a heaviness coat him as the seconds passed.
“Gee, wouldn’t that draw too much attention?”
“Pirates aren’t judgmental over stuff like that. If they become suspicious, just pound the wall or something. Make up noises.”
“Noises?” she mused, humor in her smile.
“Lots of noises. A moan here, a groan there. Make the bed squeak. Yell out a name repeatedly. Or a random word. Faster. Harder. There. Oh, baby, oh, baby.”
The humor shifted, her features turning hushed. Belatedly, it occurred that they had gravitated toward each other, their faces hovering.
“Sounds…sloppy.”
“Anything to stick the story.”
“Maybe we should just kiss with an audience. It sounds more believable.”
A growl bubbled in his throat, but he gulped it down. “Anything to stick to the story.”
She was quiet for a while before she held out her hand. “I forgot to thank you. You are more honorable than what we were led to believe.”
“Keep believing. I don’t want you to get disappointed when you meet others of our kind.”
“Don’t worry. I always have my guard up.” She stepped back. So did he. “Isaiah?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m grateful. Really grateful. And at the risk of fluffing your ego, you are amazing. The best.”
He wanted to tease, to get her bristling over her words and turning fiery once more, but that was just torture. He took her hand instead and shook it politely. “So are you.”
