Chapter 9 #2
Rosetta knew she had enjoyed every minute of it when it was happening. One of the reasons her channel probably ached was because she’d come until she couldn’t anymore. She didn’t think she’d ever reached that stage before in her life.
His threat had been a powerful message. If Rosetta took another man, she’d see Alister at his worst... and his worst was not kind.
She’d already seen it. When they took over ships, she’d seen him beat others who wouldn’t surrender, strangle them, cut them slowly with a knife. He could be undeniably cruel when he wanted to be, and that never bothered her before because it usually had nothing to do with her.
Honestly, she’d usually laugh or ask if she could join in.
She would be upset about it if his message wasn’t as clear as it was. He’s not going to bed other women. That’s what it meant, and he was expecting her to take the brunt of it.
Her eyes crinkled with sadness and confusion.
As much as she’d hidden it from him, Rosetta hadn’t liked seeing Lacey on his lap. She’d hated the way it cut through her like some petty, jealous, pathetic woman.
She’d laughed out loud at herself – she’d been worried about any other reaction she could have had – then told herself she shouldn’t care.
He’d already made it obvious he’d been planning to sleep with others while in port the day they’d killed Theodore.
She told Alister the whole reason she’d been hit so hard she fell down the stairs was because she’d been upset Theodore had port girls and gotten one pregnant.
She’d seen by Alister’s reaction that he would do the same.
At the time, she’d resigned herself to the fact and had decided to allow herself the same freedom when the time came. But Rosetta had forgotten, and when she’d first stepped foot on land, she’d been intending to share her time with Alister.
So, when she’d seen Lacey with him, she’d tried to snuff out her jealousy by going to men she’d trusted in the past. It would have grown her coin pouch, and she was hoping two could make her forget why she was even upset in the first place.
She squeezed her eyes shut, her eyebrows crinkling tightly together, then she turned her head to stare at the empty room.
The spark of hope she felt having him all to herself was trapped in the despondent emotions strangling it. What was the point of having a spark of hope when it had nowhere to grow?
Other than desire, there would never be anything else between them. They had a mutually beneficial agreement and nothing more. It gave them pleasure, it got them gold, and it gave them both security on the sea.
Eventually they’d sail in different directions. What was the point in getting caught up in any other emotions?
Why is he even doing this? That cruel possessiveness he’d displayed should have worried her; instead, she couldn’t help finding it delicious. A body-thrumming, core-quivering, delicious display.
Rosetta let out another disgruntled groan. Shut the hell up, body. She couldn’t handle its shit right now, getting turned on for him when she was too sore and bewildered to do anything about it.
She figured Alister knew she wouldn’t listen to the threats he made if he still took other women.
Does he want me so much that he’s determined to keep me to himself like this? She had to purse her lips by force to stop them from trying to curl into a small smile.
It didn’t matter. Her smile faded anyway when she remembered the current state of her body. That’s when she finally felt fear.
Dear lord, I can’t even stand! And they were in port for another night. I’m going to die! Rosetta didn’t think she could handle another night of horny ‘port Alister.’
Just as she was pondering what she was going to do, she heard the door handle wiggle and turned her head sharply to it.
She brought the sheet back to her chest when he entered, his eyes narrowing when he saw she was still in the position he’d left her. She was thankful she covered herself when people came in behind him.
All this room held was a large bed and a chest of drawers. They carried in a medium-sized wooden bathtub and started filling it with buckets of steaming water.
“Place the food on the bed for her,” Alister told a woman holding a plate.
He stood there with his arms folded, watching them carefully, waiting as they went back and forth with more buckets until the tub was halfway full.
The maid placed the food at the foot of the bed next to Rosetta, a concerned crinkle to her forehead. She also placed a glass of pure – unsweetened by rum – water on the ground.
“Are you alright?” she whispered quietly, her gaze wandering over Rosetta’s position while she looked seemingly helpless and naked. She knew she must look worrisome considering her state; her once neatly pinned-back hair was loose and everywhere. “Do you need help?”
Not all women wanted to work the streets, and many sought employment in the dozens of bars and hotels this large island had.
She was sure this maid had seen the aftermath of many tragic regrets some street workers would feel from taking a man for coin and finding out he was brutal. Some even tried to keep unwilling women permanently after getting a taste.
Rosetta knew there was also the possibility they may have been unwilling the entire time, may not have been a street worker at all. A helpless woman dragged to a man’s bed when she never wanted to be there to begin with.
The way the maid looked at her was to beseech Rosetta for any indication that she might need rescuing, that there was a possibility she might be able to assist.
Maybe the owner of the bar would help protect those who needed saving by throwing the man to the guards while sheltering the poor woman until he was gone. It wouldn’t be the first time she heard of something like that happening in this often-repugnant town.
“Oh, piss off,” Rosetta said with a roll of her eyes, making the woman flinch. “He may be a brute, but he isn’t a monster.”
Couldn’t the maid tell the difference between an abused woman and one who had spent her entire night screaming with lust and simply couldn’t walk afterwards?
It probably didn’t help that Alister looked like an evil man with the scarred state of his body and the dark, mean expression he currently wore.
“M-my apologies.” She bowed and hurried from the room with her head down. She refused to make eye contact when she passed Alister.
When Rosetta brought her gaze to him once more, the grim, tight press of his lips had softened at her defence of him.
He must have noticed something had changed with her temper, because he finally came over to her and nudged the plate closer. “Eat – it’ll make you feel better.”
He walked to the door when the workers told him they were done filling the tub, and he closed it behind them when they left, locking it.
Her stomach grumbled at the food, but her mouth salivated for the glass in front of her. She grabbed it and chugged half the water down in one go, nearly moaning.
When was the last time I had water like this? It was as though her mind had forgotten its existence after being at sea for so long. She finally turned to her plate. Two pieces of toasted bread were buttered and glazed with honey.
As she took large bites, she watched Alister dip his hand into the tub to check the temperature of the water.
The silence between them was strained while she ate, even though he kept looking over at her. When he did it again and saw she’d stopped eating, his brows creased.
“Eat more. You barely eat at all.” She knew he meant in general, and not just now.
She gave him a shrug, turning her head to the side to pointedly dismiss him. “I can’t help when my body tells me I’m full.”
She turned again when she heard his heavy footfalls approaching. He grabbed the piece she hadn’t eaten and brought the whole thing to his mouth so he could hold it with his teeth.
A squeal of surprise squeaked out when he slipped both hands around her, picking her up to cradle her in his arms.
Before she could even ask what he was doing, he lowered her into the tub as if he knew she didn’t have the energy to walk to it herself.
The tub was longer than it was wide, and she had plenty of room to sprawl out.
She sat with her feet in front of her, but was soon forced to bend her knees when he removed his breeches and hopped into the other side.
It was perfectly big enough to fit them both, and because it was only filled halfway, it didn’t overflow.
He started eating the piece of toast while staring at her with an observational, bland gaze. Rosetta turned her eyes away.
I’ve never had a bath with another person before. Or a man, for that matter.
It felt rather private. She couldn’t help covering herself like some silly, shy virgin, as if they hadn’t spent the night intertwined.
“The hot water should help,” he said once he was finished chewing the last bite.
He removed the tie holding the top half of his hair away from his face, so it was all hanging loose, then he put his arms around the rim of the tub.
Surprisingly, it is helping. Her body felt less stiff the moment she’d been encased in the delectable heat.
She eyed the empty plate, her glass of water, and then the filled tub.
“Did you do all this to make me feel better?” She couldn’t hide the tone of disbelief in her voice even if she wanted to.
“Aye,” he said, letting his eye trail over the wall in thought. “It’s not your fault I’m the way I am.”
He isn’t usually this considerate.
She scoffed out a laugh. “I’m going to tell everyone you have a sweet side.”
Eyes narrowing quickly above a scowl, he turned his head and pointed two fingers at her. “You better not.”
His scowl faded into a face of light confusion when she started laughing more. Not loudly, but enough to show she found this humorous.