Page 45 of A Tribute of Fire

My heart quickened as I studied his face. I swallowed hard and all my questions flew out of my head. He was so beautiful, so masculine and strong, and I knew that he kissed as if he’d been created solely for that purpose. The air between us became thick, making it hard for me to breathe.

My lips tingled in anticipation, urging me to take what I desperately wanted.

“What did you come above deck for?” he asked, his voice deep, an invitation. A pang of lust pierced me, making my stomach tighten with need, and it took all of my willpower not to climb into his lap and kiss him with everything I felt for him.

“I came here ...”

But then my ability to speak left when he reached out and took my hand in his. He enveloped me with his warmth and strength. “After a battle it’s not uncommon for a soldier to fall onto the first willing woman he comes across, to remind himself that he’s still alive.”

That instantly cooled my ardor. I yanked my hand free, disgusted. Was that what this was to him? He saw me as nothing more than a body to be used, to remind him that he had lived?

Or was he implying that it had been my motivation? That I had come up here solely for that reason?

Either one was terrible.

My inclination was to leave and lock myself back up in my cell. But I still didn’t have my answers about earlier and my curiosity would not let me exit with my dignity still intact. “I came up here to ask you what happened.”

He grinned. “Well, when a man and a woman desire one another, they often begin by kissing and then—”

I immediately interrupted him, ignoring the way his words heated my insides. “I don’t ...” I found myself incapable of saying I didn’t desire him. I did.

Meanwhile he desired every woman that he’d ever met.

Clearing my throat I said, “I meant what happened with the attack.”

He shrugged one shoulder, as if the battle had been routine. “Pirates. They’re fairly common. It’s why we sail during the day and anchor close to the coast at night. It’s not usually worth the risk for pirates to come this close to the shore. Not to mention that we aren’t carrying any cargo worth stealing. I don’t know what they were after.”

Me. And Quynh. They were trying to steal us—not silks or spices or salt. I didn’t tell him that, though.

I couldn’t let myself trust him. To break down another barrier I’d erected to keep him out.

Someone approached, and in the moonlight I saw that it was the captain. My fingers twitched, ready to go for my weapon.

“Jason.” He nodded to his first mate.

“Captain.”

“Why have you released the prisoners?” Was he about to order Jason to escort me back to my cell?

“If they were going to flee, they would have done it when they had the chance,” Jason said.

Nereus nodded, taking in this information. “Make sure to wake the next man when your shift has ended.”

“I will.”

The trierarch lingered for a moment, as if he wished to say something more, but instead he just turned on his heel and headed below deck. I wondered if he had a hammock with the other men or if he had his own private quarters.

Then I wondered why Jason hadn’t shared all that he had seen and done during the fight near the cell. He hadn’t reported to the captain that he’d unilaterally decided to let Quynh and me keep the key. What else was he hiding?

“Are you going to tell him that I’m armed?” I asked.

“No.” Jason’s answer was quick, no hesitation.

“Why didn’t you try to take my weapon from me?” I had wondered it ever since he’d left after dispatching those pirates. Given how fast and strong he was, it would have been easy for him to do so.

“I recognize a Daemonian xiphos when I see one. Which means you killed one and took it from him, or it was given to you from a Daemonian as a gift, and either way it means you are not someone to trifle with.”

This pleased me, although it shouldn’t have.

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