Page 32 of Tell No Tales
Klaus tried to muster the sass he needed for a snappy comeback, but he couldn't do that to Vadim. He looked so broken and sad.
"I don't know," Klaus whispered. He dropped his hands to Vadim's knees and shoved them apart, making room to stand between his legs. He cupped Vadim's cheek, his thumb stroking over Vadim's scarred eyebrow. "You intrigue me."
Vadim gently placed his hands over Klaus's and pushed him away. "I smell meat roasting."
Klaus's stomach growled, silencing his retort that he'd eaten enough today, thank you very much. Lunch had been little more than a snack, but still more than Klaus usually ate at midday.
Vadim stood, his body flush against Klaus's as he grabbed him around the waist and shifted him out of the way. Klaus resented being shoved like he weighed nothing, but the desire to press closer to Vadim, to seal their lips and press their bodies together as tightly as possible, worried him more.
Vadim had the door of the crate open and was already in the hallway when Klaus finally caught his breath and glanced up.
"It smells even better out here," Vadim said. "Come. You need to regain your strength."
Klaus didn't argue. He still felt weak after Niall's healing, but he'd surprised himself by not sleeping the afternoon away. The salty sea air from the crow's nest must have done some good.
They had meat and mashed potatoes with a rich gravy. They even had a thin wine in their cups instead of water.
"Is it someone's birthday?" Klaus asked.
"Nay," Hannah said, slapping his shoulder as he took the empty seat next to them. "Niall said we needed to keep the two of you well fed after all the energy it took to heal you."
Klaus dug into his tray, withholding the noises he would usually make for such delicious food. He'd picked up horrible habits at the pleasure houses, and the sailors had teased him mercilessly on his first ship.
"Gods, Tim, you've outdone yourself this time," Hannah said, making a few noises of their own.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," Tim said. "We'll have stew with the leftovers, and then we'll take the last roast off the ice. Six more days of meat stew, and then we'll switch to jerky and fish."
"I don't mind fish," Hannah said. "The jerky is a little too salty, though, if you ask me."
"Nobody asked you," Tim snapped.
Hannah laughed. "Right you are." They shoveled the last scoop of potatoes and gravy from their plate and clapped Klaus on the back again. "I'd better get back to my perch. Good to see you two getting along."
Vadim's cheeks darkened at the comment, but he said nothing, merely waved his fork at Hannah and gouged it back into the pile of potatoes and gravy on his plate.
They were getting along, and that knowledge made Klaus's chest ache. He craved more, but he would take what he could get.
Chapter 8
Vadim
After dinner, Vadim stopped to grab his coat from his trunk. When he passed the entrance to their makeshift cabin and headed toward the stairs to the deck, he heard a rustle behind him.
"Where are you going?" Klaus asked from the doorway.
"It's almost sunset." Vadim had always been drawn to the sun when it hung on the horizon, either in the morning or the evening. He especially loved the way the first or last rays hovered over the water.
"I'll come with you."
Vadim's grunt sounded amused, but he'd been going for gruff. He needed to end this madness. He couldn't continue playing Klaus's game, but he'd reacted without thinking. His chest ached with longing for something he could never have.
He climbed the stairs to the deck. The four wind weavers were all at their stations, working together to whip the sails into a frenzy. Efren's back looked overly tense, but Vadim didn't go to him, for fear the captain would snap at him again.
He turned around, making his way up to the aft deck and leaning against the railing.
"I've always wanted to have sex on the deck of a ship like this." Klaus's voice was a low purr, barely more than a whisper. Vadim had spent every night his first two years at the academy in every brothel and pleasure house in Hearthstone, giving in to the demands of his needy prince, and still Klaus could make him blush like a schoolboy.
"It's overrated." His voice was rough, even in the damp sea air.
