Chapter 25
Rosetta sat in one of the rowboats as men rowed with large oars. She turned her head back to see Alister had already reached the shore they were approaching and was helping his men to pull their boat out of the water.
She had to give him that – he wasn’t afraid to assist when he had to. She’d seen him heave the ropes of his sails to help if one of his men was on duty at the helm. He lifted stock if he was rearranging it to accommodate newly raided supplies.
He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty or wet.
He rarely stopped moving.
He was always watching his crew work to make sure it was done right, and would give advice to newcomers if they were unsure, rather than punishing them if they did it wrong.
With a sigh, she admitted, He’s a good captain.
Turning her head back around, she eyed the men in front of her. Other than Naeem, she didn’t know any of them. She’d done this on purpose. These were the ones who avoided her, or those she had the least interaction with.
In the five weeks since he’d discovered the truth she hadn’t particularly wanted to share, Alister’s presence on her ship had increased.
She didn’t know if it was a good thing or not.
He didn’t do much. He just leaned against the railing and watched her crew work like he did his own. He explained it was easy to see if someone had the idea of turning on the captain if you knew what to look for.
Apparently, there was some stray gaze to be wary of, but she’d never experienced a mutiny before, nor had a crew she didn’t trust fully.
He also worked closely with Mr Smith, so the prisoners were never left alone as a group without one of her original crew present. She knew he was intelligent when it came to taking down ships, but she hadn’t thought he could be strategic in other ways as well.
Rosetta was working on bonding with her new crew slowly. She was speaking with her men as much as she could, despite her hesitation.
So, when they had finally reached the northern map’s location, she organised to bring these ones with her in a show of faith. They wouldn’t know Alister had brought his most trusted men to watch over them in case something went astray.
They’d discussed the plan before they’d gotten into their boats. She knew being cautious was the smartest thing she could do, but she had begun to see a shift over time.
The tension she’d been able to feel on her ship had lessened as people got used to their roles and her command. Some were becoming friendly with her, and she was starting to feel more comfortable on her own ship.
Things are settling.
She didn’t think she needed Alister’s help, but she appreciated that he’d at least tried. However, sometimes the way he stood on her ship, his arms folded, with a deadly look as he watched the men, had been a little unnerving.
He always wore this strange expression, like he was ready to reach for his pistol and shoot a man for simply sneezing. He was an ominous presence.
At times, Rosetta found him scary, especially when he was angry. There was something about a towering, muscular man shadowing all light with each step closer, one who exuded strength and brutality, coming at her with a snarled-up face.
Sometimes, she laughed at him to hide her uncertainty, or that she was ready to reach for her own sword. Other times, she’d take his mouth with her own, which seemed to be the easiest way to melt that expression.
It really depended on where they were and what they were arguing about.
She often wondered how other men saw him, since her opinion was skewed by their relationship with each other. She’d seen men avoid him without question, refusing to be in his sight, like it could put a target on their backs.
There had been whispers circulating about the unease of sailing next to the captain of the Howling Death. Apparently, his name was more widespread than she’d originally thought.
Then there were the rumours about her.
She’d nearly laughed her boots off and given herself a stomach ache when one of her men told her some of the others didn’t trust a woman who allowed someone like Alister to touch her. They were afraid of her because she had somehow ‘tamed’ him.
I hope he doesn’t get wind of that. Rosetta hadn’t tamed him at all. She didn’t think any woman could tame Captain Alister Paine.
Still, she’d take it and wear it like a shroud of protection, since it secured her position. If they thought she was fearsome for merely opening her legs to him, then they must think she was ruthless in some way.
Despite all of this, she still refused to leave her ship unless she absolutely had to. He didn’t seem to mind so much now that he’d discovered the truth and understood why.
Unfortunately, she didn’t think her body could keep up with this brute’s constant taking. She wished she hadn’t told him so she could finally get a break for a night.
Then again, I may not be here now. She hadn’t gotten him back for almost walking away. Stupid bastard. Not that she had ever really complained about his constant attention, since she enjoyed it every time.
She twirled a clump of hair in thought. That man has got something over me.
Something that had her gripping him almost every night in earnest. Something that had her nails digging into him so he couldn’t escape before she was ready for him to return to his ship.
Something that had her waiting for him if he hadn’t come to her throughout the day.
Rosetta refused to let him know just how badly she craved him. She wouldn’t reveal she had an appetite that perhaps her body couldn’t keep up with, but she just never seemed to be satisfied, to the point where she wondered if she just wanted him to break her beyond repair.
He was arrogant, mean, overbearing. Sometimes, he gripped her body so hard it hurt. Sometimes, he grabbed her throat so possessively that she struggled to breathe, and yet her body thrummed more because of it rather than it dulling her lust.
He was always rough, and it allowed her to be as feral as she wanted. She bit him, scratched him, tugged on his hair as hard as he did hers, and not once had he told her to stop.
I should end this. She could put a stop to it before he became permanently imprinted on her body.
The last thing Rosetta needed was to one day end things and ache for him to the point where she couldn’t be satisfied by another.
I won’t let any man have that kind of power over me.
Still, she hadn’t liked when he tried to walk away. She didn’t like the way it felt, how her hands had reached for him without her consent. She had reached for him like some woman begging for a man not to leave her! How pathetic!
She thought perhaps it was because of the reason why he’d attempted to walk away.
Rosetta, for some stupid reason, hadn’t wanted him to think she didn’t desire him. She didn’t want her inability to tell him the truth to be the reason this ended too soon.
It should be because one of us is done with the other. She had a feeling it would be him first.
She pretended she didn’t care, but she couldn’t deny to herself the way things between them clutched at her. Which meant Rosetta needed to start drawing away, to prepare herself. Her heart was already closed off, she’d made certain of it, but she needed her body to get over him before it had to.
Then again, I can just use port boys to forget. She almost laughed out loud at the thought. Now didn’t that just sound like a stupendous idea?!
When the bow of the rowboat hit the sandbank, it broke her out of her thoughts. They all hopped out to lift and carry it up the shore, their feet sinking in the wet sand as water kicked up around them.
Once the boat was secured so it wouldn’t float away, she turned around to find that Alister had already started to walk ahead. He was leaving her behind! Arsehole, we’re supposed to be doing this together!
Rosetta chased after Alister with Naeem in tow.
The rest of her men stayed behind with the rowboats next to Alister’s men. They weren’t ranked highly enough to be a part of this.
The shore of the small cape they landed on was surrounded by unclimbable cliffs that towered above them in a semi-circle.
This was a small area covered in trees, grass, overgrown shrubs, and sand – always sand.
It connected to a larger mass of land, which was part of the sprawling country of Polytuik.
They had been hesitant about coming here, since it wasn’t a safe place for criminals like themselves and had a strong alliance with Banksia, Queen Mary Anne’s country.
The only reason they did was because they could tell it was cut off from the rest. The cliff edge meant the likelihood of encountering anyone was low. It was a coastal area, completely secluded.
She could see a small waterfall sprinkling water down, probably to a river or lake that would eventually wash out into the sea.
“Hey! You could have waited for us.”
Alister didn’t greet her, like he didn’t care or hadn’t heard her, too fixated on his task. He was searching for a particular tree, looking for a special marking.
When he found it, he started taking large, striding steps with a face that told them not to disturb his deep train of thought. He was most likely counting how many steps he was taking and making sure they were in the right direction. He was calculating everything.
Pierre and Derek were holding two shovels each. She thought that was strange, considering the Raider’s trove was apparently a cave, no digging required.
She was surprised Derek’s peg leg wasn’t sinking into the soft ground with every heavy stomp he took.
Blowing a curl of her hair out of her face in agitation – Rosetta hated running – she leaned closer to Pierre. “Why do you have shovels?”
He sidled up to her to talk back just as quietly, likely worried about disturbing Alister. “Usually when we don’t find it, we sometimes find something else. Nothing worse than having to row back to the ship for a shovel to dig.”