6. Hali
CHAPTER 6
Hali
T he water calls to me.
Moisture floats in through the small open porthole, carried in by the light breeze. It rests on my skin, beckoning me and begging for my attention.
I daydream of its cool embrace, swimming deep into the ocean as my fin cascades me further and into its depths. Creatures of the sea join me as we glide through the schools of fish, dipping down to where the coral rests on the ocean floor.
To my dismay, the best I can do is dream of the place I call home and count down the days until I’m reunited with the waves, and the sea salt, and the familiarity. Laying on the bed in the quarters Erickson assigned me to, I wait, staring up at the planked ceiling and studying the woodgrain.
I had anticipated being called upon immediately after leaving my dinner with the captain, but that was almost two full days ago. Hours upon hours have passed since Kai left and locked me in this room, and it’s all I can do—sit and wonder how many hours have passed.
Earlier, shortly after sunup, I heard chains being unwound as we anchored somewhere. But the only view from my porthole shows me the shimmering ocean, and no clue as to where we might be.
Now, the sun sets from a long, restless day stuck in these chambers with nothing to do except think.
Think about how, sometime mere hours from now, I will seek my revenge. When today turns to tomorrow, the shift will transform me to my true form and I will use my magic to end Captain Erickson and finally extinguish the Erickson bloodline. I think about Kai, and what this will mean for us.
We’ve been talking about taking the ultimate commitment—our final union—once we completed our mission.
Our families expect it.
Our kind expects it.
I’m jolted from my thoughts by the sound of keys jingling outside of my door. Sitting up, I shuffle up the bed and lean against the rusty metal frame that extends from the base and up the wall.
The door flies open, its heavy wood slamming against the wall of the chambers, and from the shadows, Kai steps into my given space carrying a tray with a sparse plate of food and a glass of what appears to be water.
“Hi,” he grins, jutting his leg backward to use the sole of his boot to close the door behind him. He brings the tray to my bed and sets it down as I blow out a breath.
“You scared me half to death,” I scold, but it’s overpowered by the growl of my stomach when the scent of the food hits it.
“Sorry,” he chuckles. “Brought you dinner. Bread’s a little stale and the soup’s probably cold, but it was the best I could do. Captain said not to feed the whores, but I swiped it when the shifts rotated. I wanted to come yesterday, Hali, but I couldn’t… I’m so sorry.”
Reaching for the bread, I rip a piece off with my teeth and chew slowly, processing Kai’s words. “What do you mean, the captain said not to feed the whores?”
His shoulder shrugs. “I don’t know, Hals, that’s just what I was told by the guy in charge of me. I suspect they think a hungry whore will do anything.” He pushes the tray toward me, his face twisting with disdain. “All I know is I wasn’t going to let you starve, so here I am.”
Lifting the bowl, I sip the soup. He was right—it is cold, and instead of it warming my insides, it sends a chill through my bones. But food is food, and after so long of not eating, I’m famished and will happily consume every last drop.
Kai must assume my chill is from the air, because he stands and goes to close the porthole. With his back to me, he asks, “Did he come for you?”
“No,” I say before taking another gulp of the soup. “I expected him to, but he hasn’t.”
“Word on the ship has spread quickly of him taking a whore to his quarters two nights ago for dinner. The men are curious—I wonder if that is why he hasn’t come for you.”
“To avoid their attention?”
“More like a riot.”
Shrugging, I rip the bread apart with my teeth.
“I fear you’re in danger, Hals. The men who haven’t caught a glimpse of you are desperate to. I can’t protect you if I’m not with you.”
“I’ll be alright. I can take care of myself, Kai. You know this.”
He sits on my bed and takes the bowl from my grasp, placing it on the tray. His hands cup my face, his thumbs brushing rhythmically over my cheekbones. “I do, but I also know what men like the ones on this ship are capable of. And you don’t have your magic right now, Hali.”
“I’ll be fine,” I stress, but even as I say the words, a ripple of doubt trickles through me, starting in my chest and blooming outward. “My magic is cresting. I can feel it, Kai. The shift is close.”
“We only have some hours left. Are you ready?” Excitement dances in Kai’s eyes, and his hands float down to my shoulders, kneading them lightly.
“Beyond ready. I can’t wait for us to be off this ship and back in the ocean. That's all I’ve been thinking of today.”
I’m acutely aware of Kai’s fingers trailing down my body, moving torturously slow. My heart rate quickens, my tongue pokes out to wet my lips and his eyes lock on the movement.
“I just can’t get enough of you,” Kai groans, gripping my thigh punishingly as he takes my mouth with his.
Wasting no time, he pushes my undergarments down my thighs and plunges two fingers into my depths. I’m already soaked for his touch, and they glide in without any resistance. He groans again. “Fuck, Hals. After all these years, you’ve never not been ready for me. Such a good fucking girl for me. You love it when I stroke you from the inside, don’t you?”
He repositions his hand, so the edge of his hand rubs against the sensitive bundle of nerves as he drives his fingers into me.
“Yes,” I moan, tipping my head back. My legs spread wider. “Please, Kai. I need you inside me.”
“With pleasure,” he groans, using his free hand to push his trousers down so his length springs free. With his body, he urges me to lie back. In one thrust, he’s inside me, and we’re moving in unison.
“Goddess,” he groans, and I slam my palm over his mouth.
“Shhhh.”
His body is all hard against my soft curves and I rub my hands against the muscles in his shoulders, feeling every ridge beneath his tunic. The bed squeaks with every move, the noise filling the otherwise quiet space as we both fight to be quiet.
Boisterous laughter echoes through the hallway beyond my closed door and for a moment, Kai stiffens, his hips coming to a still. “The door isn’t locked, Hali,” he stammers, his voice in a whisper.
“ Finish ,” I beg, my orgasm so close. The familiar tingles are erupting through my body as it tightens in anticipation, my toes curling against the raggedy blanket beneath us.
Kai shifts so he rests on his forearms as he looms over me. My heels dig into his lower back and my thighs tighten around his middle. He resumes his thrusts and connects our mouths again in a messy, feverish kiss.
Whimpering, my body explodes, my core clenching around him. He groans as he chases his release, grunting as he finishes. As we catch our breath, he pushes the hair away from my face.
“I love you so much.” He presses another kiss to my lips and pulls out of me, and I wince at the loss of him.
“I love you, Kai. We have one more day, and then we’ll be off this ship and back to our life together.”
“I’m counting down the minutes,” he tells me as he stands and puts himself back together.
I sigh and sink my head deeper against the pillow. “Me too.”
“I’ll leave the food. Finish it, then hide it under your bed.” He reaches for the doorknob and pulls it open. Stepping through the threshold, he comes to an abrupt halt.
“Aye, whaddaya doin’ down ‘ere, Sailor?” An older man's voice slurs from beyond the doorway.
“Fuck,” Kai curses, and I see him step forward quickly, wrapping his hands around the man’s head. In one fluid motion, Kai snaps the man's neck and his body crumples to the ground.
I slap my hand over my mouth to hold in my reaction. Kai’s eyes quickly find mine from across the room.
“I had to,” is all he says.
Nodding repeatedly, I squeeze my eyes shut.
My kind may be considered monsters, but it’s still difficult for me to witness firsthand what we’re capable of at times. This man’s death came so unexpectedly, I’m caught off guard by it.
Kai slides his hands beneath the man’s body in preparation to lift him, before realizing the door is still open. He casts me one last quick glance before closing it, and then I’m left alone to listen to the muffled sounds of him dragging a body down the hallway.
It’s impossible to gauge how much time has passed since Kai left, but I finished my meal, stowed it beneath the bed, had time to pace, and watched the moon rise from the horizon to up high in the darkened sky.
I’m about to retire to my bed when footsteps draw near and catch my attention. I turn just in time to see the doorknob turn, and I realize then Kai may not have locked me in—an oversight since he had more pressing matters to attend to, such as the body he needed to dispose of.
A smile plays on my lips as I wait for him to come in. “Back so—” but my thought is cut off when a man, who is most certainly not Kai, comes in. “Who are you?”
He lets out a high-pitched whistle. “Well, well, now I see why the captain has taken a likin’ to ya. You’re quite a looker, dolly.”
Taking a few slow steps backward, I brace myself against the wall, ready to run—or fight—if I have to. “What do you want?” My voice is steady, but there’s a fear that slices through my stomach at the sight of this man.
He licks his lips, his greedy eyes dragging up and down my body. Finally, he rolls his eyes, as though he’s annoyed. “Captain sent me to fetch ya, and he’s timin’ me too. Let’s go, whore.”
“What? Now?” I stammer, but my feet are already guiding me across the room, knowing I don’t have much of a choice.
“Captain's orders,” he says, gripping my arm tightly as he drags me from my chambers. Goddess, if I have to hear those words one more time.
Once outside my room, I realize how cold the night air is. Gooseflesh lines my skin and I shiver as we climb the stairs to the next level.
After we make a few turns, the corridor becomes familiar and to my surprise I stop resisting against the man's grasp now that I see he truly is bringing me to Erickson.
It shouldn’t bring me comfort, but it does. There’s anticipation now that I know I’ll be seeing him. My own curiosity, perhaps.
His boney hand raps against the wood, and from the other side, I hear the Captain's muffled voice saying, “Enter.”
The man who brought me here tosses the door open and shoves me inside, pulling it closed behind me. Blood rushes to my ears, the room muffling so the only thing I can hear is my own heartbeat as my gaze collides with the giant man that has me on edge.
The only light in his room is that of a candle housed in a lantern that sits on his bedside table. The shadows from the flame dance across his bare skin as he leans against his map desk.
My breath hitches as I take in the sight of him, his trousers hung low on his waist, feet bare, as is his shirtless chest.
He’s beautiful. Utterly breathless.
It’s truly such a shame I have to kill him.
I can’t help myself as my gaze trails his body, admiring the hard plains of his abdomen, and the way it flexes as he breathes.
On his wrist, I notice a bracelet that catches my eye—something I hadn’t noticed until now but am finding a strange curiosity to see it closer. It intrigues me, and there's a sensation buzzing through me simply from looking at it.
“Good evening,” his low timbre voice slides across the room, and I lift my gaze to his. He’s staring at me openly with a smirk on his face.
Swallowing thickly, I stow my nerves aside and lift my chin. “Captain.”
“I hope you’ve found your quarters to be accommodating. Have you eaten?”
My blood turns to ice at his question, and Kai’s words ring through my mind, reminding me of the captain's orders to not feed the whores today.
“No,” I lie, bringing one hand to my stomach. “I’m starving.”
He purses his lips and stalks toward me. With every step I hold my breath, not releasing it until he’s crowding my space.
“So am I.”
He’s not referring to food. My heart falls, and I realize why he’s called me here.
He’s called for a whore to fuck.
Taking another impossible step forward, his hand cups my cheek. I’m surprised at the tenderness in his touch, but not blinded by it. Stepping into character, I gaze up at him, thinking of ways to bide my time.
“I’m so hungry, Captain. May I please eat first?”
Gaze darkening, his soft touch turns rough as he lowers his hand to my breast and kneads it roughly. His head dips, and he licks the column of my neck. “I could think of ways to take your mind off of food, Red.”
Without warning, his hand pushes beneath my dress and he rips my undergarments from my body and traces his thumb against my slit.
Through his teeth, he sucks in a breath of air.
“Already dripping from between your legs for me. Tell me, did your mother get you into the business as a girl, or did you remain untouched because of the whore she was?” His thumb strokes my slit as he speaks, slowly torturing the place between my legs in a way I’m embarrassed to admit is making me weak in the knees.
I hate that my body is responding to his touch, but it also brings me sick satisfaction that along with my own arousal, the captain is feeling the Kai’s cum as it drips from me.
“There’s something special about you,” he continues speaking, “different from the rest. I don’t buy that you came from Madame’s Manor. You’ve got secrets, Red, and I intend to uncover them.”
Knowing that I need to act before this gets even further out of hand, I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing a tear to fall from the corner. “Please,” I beg. “I’m feeling queasy from the pain of hunger. Allow me to eat? Then I can satisfy your needs.” Bile rises in my throat as I say that, but if he feeds me, I can draw out this time together and think of a way out.
He expels a shuddering breath and takes a step backward, allowing his hand to drop in the process. “Very well,” he snaps, turning to the table. “I anticipated something like this happening, so I had the servants bring in food. Sit.”
I follow his instructions, rounding the table and lowering myself in the chair I sat in when we dined together the first night. He nods as he smiles, a sardonic show of his teeth as I lift the cloche from the plate at the same time he brings the hand that was just between my legs to his nose and takes a deep inhale.
He’s smelling me, and it makes me want to physically recoil. Stunned, my hand freezes mid air, the cloche still in my grasp.
“Eat. Energize,” Captain Erickson commands, pressing his elbows on the table as he rests that same hand against his face. “We’re nowhere near done for the night.”