Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50389 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
I catch sight of Juliette below me. She’s frantically flailing her arms and legs, but it’s not making a difference. She’s sinking as if someone tied an anchor to her. I curse, letting loose a string of bubbles, and add a bit of my own magic to the mix, using it to increase my speed.
Seconds later, I have my arms around her waist. Even as worried as I am about her drowning, I can’t help but notice how soft she is. Gods, but I missed her.
I can’t think like that, though.
No matter what we shared as kids…as teens…I know all too well how foolish it is to hope for something that can never be. Juliette is the crown princess. And I am quite possibly her father’s biggest frustration because of how many of his shipments I’ve lifted before they reached his port.
It’s harder than it should be to get us to the surface. Juliette’s bag is too damn heavy, but when I try to pull it off her, she fights me. We don’t have time for this nonsense. I can hold my breath for a significant amount of time. She can’t.
I send a surge of magic downward, propelling us toward the surface. We break through to precious air. A wave of heat that makes my skin prickle slaps me in the face. Juliette cries out, but I’m already moving, towing her away from the flaming ruins of the Maid and toward The Kelpie. My crew did what I demanded. Even as we swim, fireballs shoot overhead, ensuring there’s nothing left of The Drowning Maid.
The rope ladder descends, and I see Cai’s exhausted face over the top of the railing. There will be no convenient trip to the deck from zir with Cai as tired as zir must be. I grab the bottom of the rope ladder and hook my arm through it. “Can you climb?”
“Of course.” Juliette is shaking like a leaf, and her lower lip is trembling, though I can’t begin to guess if it’s fear or the temperature. It’s not as cold as it gets in the winter, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s significantly cooler than the balmy afternoon air.
I glare. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not.” She tries for a smile. “After you.”
If I climb this ladder, she’s liable to fall back into the water and sink to the bottom before I realize what’s happening. “Not a chance.” I flick out an impatient hand. “Give me your bag.” Her pampered princess life shows in every line of her soft body, which I am certainly not eyeing as she curses and starts climbing.
Definitely not.
Her pale purple dress clings to her wide hips and thick thighs and… Gods, her ass makes my mouth water. As she climbs, I catch myself watching the crease at the bottom curve of her rear, where her thighs meet—
Pull yourself together.
I shake my head and ascend after her. I almost have myself under control by the time I reach the deck. At least until Juliette turns to me and I realize the front of her dress is now just as sheer at the back. I can clearly see her breasts—her nipples—through the fabric, and her soft stomach, and her…
Cai clears zir throat. “Captain—”
“A moment.” I scoop up my coat and drape it over Juliette’s shoulders. “This will serve well enough until we get you back to Ashye.”
She clutches the jacket around her, but there’s a stubborn tilt to her chin that I don’t like. “I’m not going back.”
Surely she did not say what I think she just said. “Excuse me?”
“I’m not going back,” she repeats deliberately.
I glance at my crew, which is watching this exchange with undisguised interest. Even Cai, who’s obviously fighting not to slump against the mast. The king of Skoiya is no friend of ours. We took a risk in coming this close to the port where he and the royal navy reside, especially after they almost sank us the last time we tried. We can’t linger.
“I don’t know what game of pretend you’re playing at, but we aren’t kids anymore.” I keep my voice low, pitched to carry only as far as Juliette. We may both be significantly changed since we saw each other last, but some things don’t shift with the years, and I suspect her pride is one of those things. If I push too hard, she’ll dig in her heels out of sheer perversity. “Your presence on this ship has real-life consequences to me and my crew. You could get us killed.”
“As if you’re not the most feared pirate crew in this part of the world.” Her full lips curve, though her dark eyes are bittersweet. “You did what you set out to do.”
We are not having this conversation right now. Maybe not ever. I turn to Cai. “Set our course for the next port south. We’ll book her passage home from there.” I won’t ever sail into Ashye again. Not even for Juliette.