Page 11 of Delirium

“Becauseyouwere the one who hadhimin a vice grip.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, daring me to say otherwise.

I shrugged. “I can’t make you believe anything you don’t want to. But maybe ask Camp before you make your final decision.”

With one last searing glance at me, she looked down at Camp. “What did you do to piss him off so much?”

“Nothing,” Camp muttered, rubbing his neck. “It was a stupid miscommunication.”

I kicked his ankle. He rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, did I offendmy lord? Jesus. All I did was ask if you were taken already,” Camp snapped.

Scarlett coughed, trying to act like she was simply clearing her throat. I gave Camp another scorching glare. “Try again.”

The younger man shook his head. “Fuck. Apparently I jumped on the wrong boat. I might have said it along the lines of if you weren’t taken, then I stood a chance.”

“Let me help, seeing as your memory is a bit faded,” James drawled. “You asked if Scarlett was already ‘hooking up’ with one of us, and when I said no, you said that gave you, seeing as she was single, a good shot tohit that.Do you really think that is an appropriate way to speak aboutanywoman, let alone one youjustmet, who saved your sorry ass?”

Scarlett held up a hand, using the other to point at me. “Let me get this straight. You were choking Camp because he made a slightly rude comment about me?”

“Well, yes. Was that not clear? I don’t know howhewas raised, but I was raised to treat women with respect and kindness.” I sniffed, stepping away from Camp as if his attitude were contagious.

She sighed, shoulders slumping. “Listen, I appreciate you wanted to stick up for my honor or whatever, but please, don’t go hurting anyone over a comment you took the wrong way. I know we don’t know each other very well yet, but I can handle myself for the most part.”

I stiffened. I hadn’t considered Scarlett might not be grateful for my actions. “I apologize. I obviously made the wrong call.”

“Hey.” She rested her hand lightly on my forearm, a strange feeling creeping over me with the smallest touch. “I still appreciate it. Besides, no harm done. I don’t think, anyway. Camp, are you okay?” She held her hand out to Camp, who accepted, climbing to his feet once more.

“I’m fine. Although, I’m thinking I might have been better off in police custody at this point.”

“Is everyone still on board? Alive?” Nash called.

“We’re fine,” Scarlett replied.

Fineseemed too simple of an answer for everything that had transpired this morning.Fineseemed like a word we used to sweep everything under the rug.Finewas the bandage on the bullet hole, or the duct tape slapped across the crumbling foundation of a house. Or, you know, this damn boat.

Finewas never fine.

“Let’s try and hold it together for the next half hour or so, yeah? I haven’t ever had to file an incident report, and I’d kind of like to keep it that way.” I could just make out the back of Nash’s curly head as he turned his attention back to the river.

My eyebrows raised of their own accord, and before I could school my expression, Scarlett caught sight of my face. I tried to cover my disbelief. “Somehow, I struggle to believe our fearless leader hasn’t had an injury once before.”

Scarlett chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I think he’s more capable than he appears at first glance.”

“What gives you that impression? Just because someone is athletic and always lands on their feet like a goddamn cat doesn’t make them capable.”

She rolled her eyes. “Agree to disagree.”

I wasn’t used to people openly disagreeing with me. Most of the time, when people realized who my father was, they backed the hell off pretty quickly. Disagreements were rare, arguments even more so. And yet, somehow on this ship, I seemed to have fought with everyone so far.

I wasn’t sure what to make of the peculiar dynamic.

“Regardless of what we think, Nash is right about one thing. We just need to survive the next little bit, and then we can get rid of our problem here, and be on our way.” I jerked my thumb toward Camp, who was doing his best to blend into the background.

Scarlett mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out, her fingers untying the braids in her hair. I watched out of the corner of my eyes, captivated by something as simple as her fingering her hair. She pulled it all up into a bun on top of her head, exposing more of her smooth skin for me to admire.

She might be as argumentative as Eris, but she was built like Aphrodite. The way she spoke made her seem taller than her actual stature, and the lines of her body were fluid, curving sensually even through the practical clothing she wore.

The long, cool fabric made me only more aware of the stiffness of my own clothes—worn for status, rather than comfort. I had packed more sensible clothes, but they were carefully folded away inside my luggage and safely stored in my cabin. As much as Scarlett insisted that she could handle herself, I wasn’t about to leave her alone with a criminal.

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