Page 26 of Of Magic and Rum
I chew the inside of my cheek, but when curiosity gets the better of me, I hop from the barrel and head for the helm. The navigation maps are sprawled on a table near the wheel, with a stone in every corner to keep the wind from blowing it away. I tap my finger on the location we currently sail and slowly drag it toward the Mediterranean.
“Look at you being antisocial over here by yourself,” Jack says, swinging a bottle at his side between two fingers.
“Nope. I’m content waiting for everyone else to come tome.” I hold my hand out to him, displaying that he’s done just that, and take a sip.
Jack looks at his chest and smirks. “Well, shit. It works. Here I am—” He bends forward and flashes a sinfully charming grin. “—falling for it.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. This hair is like a smoke signal.”
Jack’s gaze wavers over my hair. “I’ve noticed.” He deliberately climbs the stairs, one at a time.
My free hand grips the table’s edge, and Jack instantly notices this action. His eyes snap straight to my whitening knuckles.
“What’s your story, Bonny?” Jack tilts his head to one side and moves in closer, his voice dropping to a rumbly whisper I can feel in my toes.
This is such treacherous territory—both my disguise and my supernatural existence.
“My story? Typical. Boring. It’d put you to sleep.” I guzzle some more of my drink, making my best effort not to linger on Jack’s exposed chest and thatscar.
Jack stands next to me now, leaning against the table. His finger brushes my trousers near my hip, and sea angels flutter in my stomach. “I may not be the smartest man in the world, but Iknowyou’re far from boring. And I suspect there’s a bigger story to you than you’d ever share.” Jack’s hand grows bolder and skirts my thigh.
I draw in a breath through my nose and level a glare at him. “Do you want to lose that hand?”
He flashes me a wicked grin. “Threatening me, Miss Bonny? You won’t do it because you know you’ve yet to experience what these hands can do to you. Afterward, though? Once you’ve had your fill? I wouldn’t be as confident.”
There’s no stopping the laugh that pushes from my lungs, and I cover my mouth with the bottle. However, the chuckles abruptly stop when Jack’s fingers rest on my arm and he slowlylowers it. His nose brushes mine, and his expression turns pensive.
“I think, Anne—” Jack moves his hand to the back of my neck. “—I might be falling in love with you.”
He is so full of absoluteshit.
I play along briefly, letting my gaze fall to his lips like I’m about to kiss him before lifting the bottle between us. “Are you quite done?”
Jack rubs his forehead and presses two fingers against his breastbone. “You wound me. Here I am confessing my feelings, and you—” When he catches me staring at him deadpan, he cuts himself off. “—that normally works on a woman.”
“Pity for them.” I edge a half smile and down more of my drink.
He shrugs, still edging close enough we share the same air. “I’ve yet to receive a complaint.”
“Complaints are usually bad for business whenpayingfor the company.” I thin my lips, biting back a smile.
Jack’s eyes light up, and he pushes off the table to stand straight, laughing. “Level with me, Anne. Give me something. Anything about you.”
By the Seas, he’s gorgeous.
“And if I don’t?” I prop on one elbow, using my other hand to take occasional sips from my bottle.
He’s taking up my space again, arms pressed to the table on each side of my hips, and he’s grinning like a wolf on the prowl. “I’ll only try harder to pry it out of you.”
There’s no hiding the gulp making my throat bounce.
“I noticed you scanning the map. Do you know how to read one?” Jack turns me to face the table, his hips brushing my ass. One of his callused hands slips over the top of mine, and he guides my finger to several spots on the map, dragging it from one place to the other.
I’ve never imagined hand-holding to feel so intimate. “What makes you think I don’t?”
Because I do, but he doesn’t know this.
“Each captain keeps a different style of mapping. It depends on how they label travel routes versus known trade routes.” Jack continues to trace my finger along a red line.
