Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 137226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137226 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
“No one is buying any horny tea,” I tell them, looking them all in the eye before they get carried away. “None of you are even going inside the Dark City.”
“What?” Toombs says as he comes over with the jug of rum grog. “We’re not letting you go on your own.”
“I’m not on my own. I’ve got Brynla. The less people we have, the better. Believe me, you don’t want to attract attention when you’re there. You can help us get to the entrance of the city in case we’re attacked in a raid from the Black Guard or nomads from elsewhere, but after that we’ll be on our own.”
I look to Brynla for her to back me up on this, but she’s sipping her drink and already looking pretty drunk.
“I don’t like this,” Toombs says. “And when I tell Kirney, he won’t like this either.”
He eyes Brynla with trepidation, and I know that he doesn’t trust her alone with me, not in the Dark City. But I have to trust her if I want to get any of this done. The whole reason we took this side trip to south Esland is to get Brynla’s aunt, a promise I wouldn’t dare break. There’s no use in worrying about it now.
Toombs pulls out chairs for Brynla and me and we sit down at the card table. I slow down with my drinking and wish Brynla would do the same, but maybe she needs to do this. She’s been through a lot and after everything she admitted, I know that much.
The boys seem to be in good spirits regardless. I’m starting to think that most of them were probably relieved to not have to go to the Dark City. Brynla may look fondly upon it, but it’s a place with a harsh reputation for a reason and one that would probably eat my crew alive.
The card game continues, with Brynla being roped in for some of it before she loses all the money she doesn’t have and has enough sense to bow out.
And the ship sails on.
The drinking continues.
The card games come to an end.
And eventually the crew disperses, leaving just Brynla and me sitting side by side at the empty table, our chairs pressed next to each other.
My hand on her thigh.
Her head on my shoulder.
Closer than we should be.
But I’m not moving an inch.
“Well, what do you think?” I ask her, my lips moving against the top of her head. “Time for bed?”
She giggles. She’s been giggling all night.
“Only if we’re sharing one,” she says in a breathy voice.
I gulp, my body stiffening at the totality of her words, the implications in her tone.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” I tell her, trying to keep things light. “Cabins are too small for those shenanigans.”
“The floor will do,” she says, tilting up her head to meet my eyes. “Even standing up.”
I bite my lip, hard. Fuck. I don’t think I’ll survive this.
“I think we’re both a little drunk,” I tell her.
She frowns, pouting slightly. “Don’t you want me?”
Is she seriously asking me this?
“What do you think?” I manage to say.
“I think you should kiss me,” she whispers, her inebriated gaze flicking over my features. “I think you should show me.”
I swallow the brick in my throat. “I think it would be ungentlemanly of me to take advantage of a rum-drunk woman.”
She smiles and it’s so fucking beautiful I can barely breathe. The carnality in her eyes, the playfulness of her lips. A side of her I’d only dreamed of late in the night, one I imagined over and over again.
“Who says I need a gentleman?” she says in a sultry tone. “Maybe I’m the kind of rum-drunk woman who appreciates an animal.”
My nostrils flare at that, hunger panging through me, my cock painfully hard and straining against the fly of my trousers. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Or what?” she asks, reaching up and lightly running her fingers over the half-healed cuts on my cheekbone. “What happens if I succeed? What will you do to me?”
I close my eyes, needing a break from the lust in her gaze. “A good spanking, for one,” I say, my voice coming out in a growl. “Maybe a good choking while I’m at it.”
She goes silent, her fingers pausing on my skin.
I open my eyes, expecting to see her look horrified at my answer.
Instead there’s something like curiosity. And want. Her mouth is open slightly as she breathes hard, showing the pink of her tongue beyond the soft swell of her lips, and I know if I don’t do something soon, I’m going to end up doing something I regret.
It’s not always easy to be a man of honor.
“Am I interrupting something?” Toombs says as he enters the cabin, the mug of ale spilling over onto his hand, his eyes bouncing between the two of us.