Page 48 of Of Magic and Rum
I stare at my hands, the scales starting to fade, and nod.
“You knew this thing was after you from the beginning. Not only did you fail to mention it when I caught you on my ship, but also when I blatantly asked if there was anything else I should know that’d put the crew in danger. Am I right so far?” Jack moves closer, gaze ignited when those brown eyes catch the hanging sconce firelight.
I nod again and blink at him.
“And I’m going to guess you didnotsay anything either time out of fear that I’d say to hell with the jewel or maroon you to keep the crew safe because the creature is afteryou.”
There’s no point in saying anything. He’s right about all of it. The man is far too intelligent for his own damn good.
“And you still kept mum about it for your own gain because you needed me, this crew, and the ship to get to Greece.” Jack dips his chin, forcing me to look at him. “Am I wrong aboutanyof it, Anne?”
Lifting my chin, I widen my stance. “No.”
Jack’s pupils dilate, his breaths quickening, and his mouth crashes against mine. He bunches my hair in a hand, his head tilting from side to side, and his tongue plunging in my mouth, lapping at mine. I whimper against his lips, my fingers greedily roaming the muscular arms beneath his wet shirt.
Without pulling away from the kiss, Jack wraps one arm around my lower back and guides me backward until the coolness of wood presses to the backs of my thighs. He lifts me with that one arm, resting me on the edge of his desk. His other hand has been undoing the clasps of his trousers, lowering them far enough the top of his bronzed ass pokes out. Gripping his wet shirt, I chew on my lip and grunt in protest as it keeps sticking to his skin. Jack takes hold of my wrists, and with me grasping the tunic, he pries them away from each other—hard,and the shirt tears in half.
He cups my ass and pulls me as close to the desk’s edge, balancing me on it, his eyes growing feral when my nails scrape his bare chest. But this first time together isn’t about ogling the other but coming undone. It’s aboutclaiming. As if he can read my thoughts, his hand pushes my blouse up my hips and bunches it at my stomach.
His cock is in his hand now, thick, hard, andready. Jack presses the tip to my entrance, barely giving me time to prepare myself before plunging into me, filling me to the hilt. My head throws back, and I cry out, not caring if the crew can hear me. Seas, I don’t give a damn if thestarscan hear me. He’s thrusting with such passion that it’s smacking the desk’s side against the cabin wall with repeatedthuds.
Jack keeps a palm pressed to my ass, pulling me harder onto him each time our hips meet. I tangle my fingers in his hair, my nails digging into his neck, almost enough to draw blood. Not only does the pain not faze him, it drives him further over the edge. Jack presses his forehead to mine, our skin a mix of sweat and saltwater. I circle my legs around his waist, locking them together at the ankle. He pushes a hand to my chest, coaxing me to my back, and once my skin meets the wood, he’s over top me, his arms caging my head.
His hips grind against me, pumping faster and faster. And the sight of him above me, those dark strands framing his face, and the carnal yet tranquil expression playing in his gaze, is enough to carry me to a blissful, exhilarating release. I cry out andscreamthrough the climax, my back arching from the desk, and I cling to his arms to not fall off the fucking planet.
Jack’s teeth nip my neck, a guttural snarl following as he gives two final harsh thrusts and pulls out of me to shudder through his own release, expelling it on the floor. One of my legs rests on his shoulder, and he trails kisses down my calf, playfully biting the skin on the inside of my knee.
“Jack,” I whisper, sitting up on my elbows. “I’m sorry.”
Jack sighs, tracing absent circles over my thighs and stomach. “I wanted to be angry with you. But then I’d be a damn hypocrite.”
I move to sit up, but Jack strong-arms me to stay put with a palm pressed to my belly. He dips his fingers in the water basin he uses to wash his face, cupping some of it in his palm and trickling it down my chest. His gaze brightens as the scales and ridges appear, mesmerized by them. “You say the word, and I’ll abandon ship. I don’t want to see you or anyone on the crew hurt.”
“Annie,” Jack starts, settling between my thighs and resting one arm on the desk beside me. “Things are different now. Youarea part of the crew. And if there’s an incredibly terrifying sea creature after you, we do what we need to protect our own. And that isn’t abandoning you when things get tough.”
Between the satiation and his words, I could burst into tears.
“Thank you,” I say, hushed and strained.
“For the ravishing?” Jack grins.
I laugh and swat him.
Jack catches my hand. “Just promise me one thing, Anne. From here on out, we’re partners—you and me. No more secrets that endanger us. No more lies.”
Partners.
“I promise, Jack. You and me.” I comb his hair with my fingers, a heaviness swelling my chest.
You and me.
“Good.” Jack stands, patting my thigh, and rips what remains of his shirt from his chest. “We should get some rest, yeah?” He drops the shirt, using it as a makeshift rag to scrub the floor with his foot. “But I seem to remember you saying something aboutneverbeing caught dead in my hammock?”
Sitting up, I hug one knee to my chest and let the other foot fall from the desk. “That’s before I laid eyes onthat.”
Jack’s cock pokes from his trousers, still so damn inviting and thick. He looks down, the muscles in his stomach flexing, and he drags a hand through his hair with an arrogant smile. “Oh, yeah? I should’ve paraded it in front of you when you were pretending to be a cabin boy, then. Would have outed you sooner.” He yanks the trousers down fully with zero shame and folds them over the desk chair.
It’s all I can do not to grab both of his ass cheeks and squeeze until my fingers go numb. Instead, I bite my knuckle, my face blazing with heat.
