Page 62 of Crossbones
“Are we talking about politics or do you want to discuss your plan for Malik?” I interrupt his musings before he takes his princely self down any rabbit holes. He chuckles and flashes me that rogue smile I’d missed seeing.
“You’re right, Captain, apologies.”
“We need to take the fight somewhere we have the advantage—somewhere neutral that won’t impact John but where we’ll still be able to utilize our resources fully.”
“The sea,” Caspian says immediately.
“Aye.” My eyes gleam with anticipation. “I think Malik needs to learn why I’m called theStormbreaker.”
CASPIAN
My back is still a mess—my body is far from recovered from Malik’s wonderful hospitality but I think the anger and adrenaline are really what’s keeping me going. That, or, it could be the broody pirate Captain who has taken it upon himself to lead the charge in taking Malik down.
And let me tell you, it’s doing things to me.
The rage in his eyes wraps me in delicious tension and my mind continues to drift back to our moment inGreystone. A moment I haven’t had a chance to address properly with him, but watching him fall apart in my mouth is something I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
My mind feels raw from having to relive my nightmares in full color and the vulnerability I’ve felt in the last twenty-four hours is still lingering. I try to shove it away; I try to come back to myself but I know what I just went through has changed me irrevocably. Especially because, when I was in the darkest corners of my mind, the only thing pulling me back was James Blackwell.
I enjoy teasing him. I really enjoyed being his first exploration into men, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to admit just how much this pirate is starting to mean to me—on a deeper level than someone I just like to irritate. What Iamsure about is that he didn’t leave. He didn’t take the coordinates and run like I expected. Instead, he stormed the fort to get me back. Stormed the fuckingfort. It’s so out of character for who I thought he was, I don’t know what to make of it.
We made it back to the ship without issue, and while the Duke claimed he didn’t want to disrupt the tentative balance of Ironhold’s political climate;I noticed we weren’t alone in the streets on the way to the docks. His men lingered in the shadows, always a few steps away if needed. When Blackwell had said he had connections here, I was expecting some dark pirate cohort; what I wasn’t expecting was that contact to be the Duke of fucking Brookveil.
Now, we’re all back on theTempestand I’m in Blackwell’s cabin, waiting for the others to arrive to start planning our strategy. I’m perched on the edge of the navigation table, scanning the maps of the Terrigan Ocean that Blackwell pulled to the top of the pile. I look up and study him, the sudden warmth in my chest that always accompanies his presence is something I’m going to have to address soon. I know it’s not a good time to bring upGreystone. The crew is going to interrupt us at any moment, but I can’t seem to get it out of my head and maybe that’s why I do it—because I know we’ll get interrupted before the conversation can mean anything.
“Can we talk about what happened atGreystone?”
“What about it?” When I don’t answer, his attention flickers up briefly before he shifts a map and looks back down. “You’re the one who ran,” he added.
“You’re the one who freaked out.”
Blackwell looks up at me. “Because I’m not gay.”
I smirk. “First of all, I never said you were. Second, you freaked out because you think getting a blowjob from a man and liking it automatically makes you gay?”
Something glimmers in his eyes. “That’s not how it works?”
I realize it’s humor and I chuckle, my smile widening.
“Did you just make a joke, Captain?”
His lips twitch and I swear I almost get a full smile but he looks back down at the table.
“You don’t have to put your sexual preferences in a box by the way,” I add. “You’re allowed to experiment without it defining you.”
He nods once. “Why’d you run?”
I shrug. “Because you didn’t want it to mean anything.”
Blackwell becomes unnaturally still at my words. Tension crawls over my skin at his reaction. I watch his jaw clench and his frown deepen as he glares down at the charts.
“Right. It was just a blowjob,” he agrees flatly.
“Riiight.” I peer at him curiously, not expecting this reaction from him at all. I expected him to want to brush it all under the rug and had been prepared to move on. Even with the small voice in the back of my mind whispering something different. But now I realize I might have been wrong—
“Did you want it to mean something?”
“Did you?” he asks, a little too quickly.
