Chapter 28
Tink
The captain’s gaze was unreadable in the dim firelight.
Rain soaked him as much as her, but it only added to his fierce look.
He was the sea, and the sea was him. The two could never be separated.
She knew that, knew he was a captain before all else and could never be hers, but when she’d seen him fall…
“I…” She looked away from his intense, hard gaze. “I had to. When I saw you fall…I couldn’t…I just couldn’t not save you. I had to try.”
Let him be mad at her, but she couldn’t lose him, not like that. If they went their separate ways, it would suck—worse than anything—but he’d be alive, out there somewhere. Maybe someday they—
A calloused finger traced the line of her jaw, tipping her face toward the pirate at her side.
“Jame—” Tink’s eyes flew wide moments before his lips crashed against hers.
Heat raced under her skin, warmer and more luxurious than their little fire, even as he pulled her tight against his wet body.
His kiss devoured her. It demanded all her thoughts, her worries, her fears, until they vanished into the darkness of the cave.
Her arms wound around his neck. Her fingers slid through James’s wet hair, along the firm muscles of his neck, then down the stiff fabric of his coat.
His lips parted, an invitation and a request. Her daring tongue flicked against his, and he met it with gusto. Tink’s wings fluttered to life behind her, the strain and ache from pulling James onto the cliffside no longer important. For him, they trembled and glowed, sore or not.
Tink squeaked against his mouth as James lifted her off her feet. She wound her legs around his middle, pressing further against him until they were one statue in the rocky cave.
With a moan of mixed pleasure and pain, James broke their kiss and stumbled across the stony floor.
Cool, smooth rock kissed her skin through her thin underclothes as James set her upon a boulder.
The look in his eyes as he gazed down at her stole her breath and made all thoughts of the cave vanish.
“You saved me,” he said.
She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry at his raspy words. “You’d have done the same for me.”
“Yes.” He leaned in, an arm on either side of her. “But I’d rather die than lose you.”
His words crashed against her like a wave. She wobbled on the stone. He’d…he’d die…for me? But then, she’d almost done the same for him, and she would again. Somehow, this pirate had managed to steal something she never planned to lose: her heart.
James shed his jacket, tossing it over a boulder. His shirt followed, then a boot. But all the while he shed his clothes, his scalding gaze never left Tink. Instead, it roamed across her—slowly, intensely, every intention clear in his features.
“I need you.” A thick slur clung to his words. His hand scrubbed down his face. “Not the place I’d—”
Tink spread her legs.
James froze, his breeches half off.
Biting her lip, Tink trailed her fingers along her underthings—no longer wet just from the rain. “I’d have you anywhere.”
He blinked before sucking in a deep, shaking breath. Tink would swear fabric ripped as he shed the last of his clothes to stand naked before her.
She’d never tire of that sight. This proud, glorious man, confident inside and out despite the scars and injuries crisscrossing him, body and soul.
Tink stroked herself through her clothes and inched her legs wider as he sauntered near. James knelt between them until their faces were level with one another. Her tongue slipped out to moisten her lips, eager to resume their kiss.
James moved her hand to the rock at her side. A wicked grin spread across his face to join his hooded gaze.
A shiver raced across her skin as the metal of his hook slid under the hem of her underthings and pulled. Tink arched her back and raised her hips, letting the fabric fall free. Her head tipped back as cool air tickled her sensitive skin.
James guided the fabric down her legs, giving them a gentle, tingling caress as he went.
Between the drumming of rain outside and the whisper of his touch, Tink was in paradise.
The cold, the rock, her bruises—nothing could dim the moment.
It couldn’t possibly be better…until James’s hot mouth pressed between her legs.
Tink gasped and jerked upright. The captain knelt between her legs, lapping, devouring. Holy revered elders on high!
The shadow of a beard on his cheeks grazed her sensitive skin, a contrast to the soft, slick movement of his mouth. He nudged her legs wider, and she complied, inching them farther apart. He wasted no time deepening their connection and wresting a moan from her parted lips.
Each flick of his skilled tongue had every inch of her humming in delight. A soft glow filled the cave behind them—her wings. Motes of benign pixie dust floated in the air.
“James.” She kneaded his head, unable to hold still under his ministrations.
He glanced up, his eyes ravenous and intent—a true wicked pirate captain who never failed in a conquest and wasn’t about to start now.
A calloused finger slid deep in her channel. “Oh!” Tink moaned.
He curled it inward, seeking that magical place inside her. Each thrust and flick had her nearly bucking off the rock. She abandoned her hold on him, all focus given to staying upright amid the delicious torment he wreaked upon her.
A second finger joined the first, and Tink screamed. Her vision blurred. Stars danced before her eyes.
“Aye, love.” James’s whiskers teased her thighs as his fingers pumped, wringing out her pleasure, making it last until she was nearly crying in pleasure and didn’t know which way was up.
Tink whimpered when he pulled his hand away. She’d shut her eyes amid the storm of sensations, and when she opened them, he filled her vision.
James licked his lips before wiping away the wetness from his face. Hers.
Molten fire settled low within her as her thighs clenched, only to hug his hips. The tip of his cock nudged against her entrance. She’d barely pressed her lips against his when he thrust inside of her, one powerful, all-consuming stroke.
Her body embraced him like a missing piece. A shudder had her shivering against him as she savored the fullness—completeness—of him inside her.
James tugged her hips forward until he was buried so deep it almost hurt. And then he pulled back, beginning a seductive rhythm she’d begun to know and enjoy so well. He was insatiable—but then, so was she.
Metal scraped stone as he steadied himself with his hook. His hips shifted, and he pulled out. Tink reclined on the stone, her lower back against the cool surface—a contrast to James’s warmth. Her wings fluttered free past the stone’s edge. The perfect bed for them despite the hardness.
At this angle, he filled her in new ways that sent her head spinning all over again. Clever pirate. Her bare legs wrapped around him to steady herself and urge him on. Her heel ground into his rock-hard backside, and he groaned in pleasure.
Tink was helpless but to cling to him as he thrust in a fierce but careful pace. His every move demanded her submission, and she gave it. He captained their ship on this voyage, and he’d take no orders from his mate.
Screams echoed in the cave, ones Tink dimly recognized as her own. They rocked together on a sea of pleasure, utterly lost in one another.
In that moment he was everything, all-consuming, and she relished it. No amount of time with him would ever be enough. She’d never tire of his lips against hers, the feel of him inside her, or the way he stared at her as if she was the greatest treasure he’d ever stolen.
With one hard thrust, Tink hurtled over the edge of pleasure once more. Her nails dug into his shoulders. Her legs squeezed tight. She clenched his shaft, begging it to stay lodged deep within her despite his own desire to move.
James thrust into her tightness, his breath hot and quick against her neck. “Ah, love, I—”
He shuddered against her. With one last, deep thrust, he stilled.
Her breathing slowed, and the sound of the rain returned. It—and the whole cave, other than the rock they reclined on—had vanished so completely during their lovemaking.
The glow of her wings, bright as ever, illuminated the sheen of sweat on his skin. They clung together, joined as one in the last lapping waves of their release.
Eventually, James settled them both on a mostly smooth stretch of rock near the fire. He insisted Tink be closer to the flames.
“You think I’ll freeze in the night?” she teased, tracing a scar on his arm.
He shifted against her, twining his bare legs through hers. “I’m sure I can keep you warm, love. But this way, I can see you better.”
“Oh, like there’s anything you haven’t seen?” She grinned despite the rush of heat creeping across her chest.
“Who would tire of such a view?” He gave her a once-over for good measure.
She rolled her eyes and shoved his chest, earning a chuckle in return. “Are you going to sleep with that on?” Tink tilted her head toward his hook.
He lifted his arm into the light, letting it dance across the cloth and leather straps. It had to chafe, wet as it was.
“Not if you’ll help.” He eased a little space between them. “It’s hard when it gets wet like this.”
Of course. No matter how well-made, it surely wasn’t meant to be that wet. Why hadn’t she thought of that before? Her attention drifted back to the rock they’d occupied. Okay, well, there were reasons, but still… She felt bad for not offering him aid.
Slowly, carefully, she removed the contraption from his arm. The stump where his hand used to be was puckered at the end, jagged, even though the injury clearly happened years ago.
Her fingers trailed across it, and James made to pull away. Instead, she grabbed his arm and placed a kiss upon the end. It was part of him, and she loved it all.
Loved. Her breath hitched.
Could she? Did she really? A pirate, a man of the seas, a human, for Flora’s sake! But…
“That repulsive?”
His words jerked her back. “No!” She leaned closer and placed another kiss for emphasis. This time she held his gaze as she did, watching his shoulders relax before she snuggled back against his chest.
“I was just thinking…”
“About?”
She swallowed. Love. It was too big. Too much. “You. I…” Shit. She glanced away. “You never told me how you got your hook.”
“Ah.”
Way to go, Tink.
Regret settled hard in her chest, but it ebbed as he pulled her close with both his arms.
“That is a long story.”
“I think we have time.” She glanced toward the cave entrance where rain still poured and the occasional boom of thunder rumbled.
“Aye.” His forehead pressed against hers. “We do.”