Chapter 11 #3
His question didn’t linger long – not even a few seconds later, he saw her coming towards them. His brows drew together as he sat back down.
Actually, she was running.
Alister watched on with intrigue until someone grabbed her by the wrist, holding onto it as they spun her. They backhanded her so hard across the face she stumbled to the side and into the table of their crews, right near the middle.
The man who hit her had two others following him.
Alister immediately got to his feet, his chair sliding back so swiftly it overbalanced.
“You fucking bitch! Give it back!”
The man stepped forward, as though he intended to grab her, but tensed when he saw the entire table stand. They rose behind her like an ocean wave of angry faces and brawn.
“Say hello to my friends.” She laughed, pushing off the table to get back to her feet. She placed the back of her wrist against her cheek as a small crowd of men surrounded her.
Alister was already stomping his way towards the man. He noticed Alister steadily approaching him, right before he grabbed the man’s wrist and twisted his arm behind him in a hold he couldn’t escape. It arched his back and forced him into submission.
“I’m going to break every bone in your body for that,” he nearly growled, twisting the man’s arm harder until he gave a yelp of pain. “How dare you fucking hit her.”
The other two had already gone wide-eyed in fear, taking a step back. They were outnumbered, and they knew it.
“But she stole from us!”
His teeth clenched and the bridge of his nose crinkled tightly. “I don’t give a shit what she did.”
“He’s right,” Rosetta said in his defence with a mischievous smile. “Have mercy on him; I did steal something.”
Alister leaned closer to his ear, looking at him through his good eye. “I don’t give mercy.”
He proceeded to bend the man’s arm until he felt it give way, the long bone of his forearm snapping. A loud crunch filled their ears right before he let out a high-pitched scream.
Alister pushed him into their crews while the two other men fled from the tavern before they could be targeted. Their men started beating him as he fell, taking over from Alister while he turned his rage to Rosetta.
“You leave my sight for two seconds.” He pointed his index and middle fingers at her as he stomped closer. “And you put yourself in danger.”
She got herself hit!
She should have backed away from him in fear with how he approached her, his face twisted into a snarl. She’d stirred up trouble when all he wanted to do was relax with his men! Instead of retreating, she lifted her hands and unfurled a piece of parchment in front of him.
When he tried to swipe it away, she literally pushed it into his face. “It’s another map to Dustin’s trove.”
That made him pause.
He eyed over the piece of parchment when she drew it back. She moved it to the side so she could see him, that smile still present on her features.
“I knew you didn’t have this one.” She turned so they could both face it, her back almost pressed against his chest. “I’ve never seen this island before, so I’m wondering if it’s not charted by Queen Mary Anne. That must mean something, right?”
The treasure hunter in him outweighed the fury he felt, and he reached forward to hold the side of it to examine it better.
I don’t remember seeing the name of this island either. Its shape was familiar, though. Dead Man’s Island? The shape was odd, almost triangular.
He scanned his eye over her in front of him, sweeping over the braid of her hair before he ran it over her cheerful expression. He even looked at the curve of her small nose, her pouty lips, her rounded chin.
She risked herself... to get this for me? He knew she did when she let him take it so he could look over it further.
She knows how much finding Dustin’s trove means to me. She’d gone out of her way to help him procure another map so he could be a step closer to his goal. Maybe it was selfish of him, but even he thought it was worth the risk.
“You said you weren’t ready to go south,” she explained. “Hopefully, this one is in the northern oceans.”
He pointed at her with the hand holding the map. “Don’t put yourself in danger next time. Let me know and we’ll help you.”
She gave a shrug, tilting her nose up at him. “Didn’t want to risk them leaving before I could grab you. I knew you would help if I got to you.”
His lips pressed into a thin line of irritation. He couldn’t fault her logic.
He went back to his seat, and she followed behind. He threw the map in front of Derek and Pierre, the rest of their men hauling the man who’d hit her outside. Whether he was alive or not, Alister didn’t know. He dearly hoped not.
“Looks like she got us another map,” he said while Rosetta sat over his thigh. He was pleased she’d returned to it willingly since he was rather fond of her perched there.
Pierre swiped it from the table before Derek could, making him grunt. He placed his hand on his chin in thought as he looked it over. He eventually gave it to the older man so he could examine it as well.
A small conversation started over it, the men posing similar questions about its unknown location like he and Rosetta had. The fact that it was unknown meant it very much could be the real deal rather than the fakes he kept finding.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I had to sacrifice your drink to get it,” she said, turning her face towards him.
He shook his head. “Nay, don’t mind losing a few coins for a map.” He frowned when he realised he could see a welt forming on her face. “How’s your cheek?”
He lifted his hand to softly brush the tips of his fingers against it, a bruise already blooming.
“Fine.” She shrugged. “It’s how stupid men assert their dominance over women they can’t control.” Her voice quieted, almost as though she was talking to herself rather than him. “I’m used to it.”
Alister didn’t like hearing that admission.
“Are we going to head to this when we leave Tortaya?” Pierre asked Alister when their conversation finally turned.
“Nay. We’re right in the middle of two locations that could hold booty. We’ll check them first before we head back out to open seas. I also have to figure out where this is.”
“Where do you think it is?” Pierre asked Derek, who had been sailing for much longer than both of them.
Alister slid his chair closer so they could speak in hushed whispers. He didn’t mind that Rosetta was with them; Alister just rarely let his crew know where they were heading. Only the three of them knew where they were sailing or what direction they were going.
Once he discovered Dustin’s trove, he didn’t want those on his ship to jump off at port and lead others to it.
It’s mine. He wanted to own it, possess it for himself and his men only.
“Maybe it’ll be on the painted map in my navigation room,” Rosetta offered. “It’s much more updated than anything you have on your ship. Some of the places don’t have names because they have only sailed past them.”
She’s absolutely right.
Every second he sat looking over this parchment she had procured for him, the more he felt it might actually be real. It made him very appreciative of this cunning, beautiful woman he had on his lap. He knew exactly how he wanted to reward her.
He started bunching up the skirt of her dress to lift it, excitement brightening his features. She was going to have a very happy Alister between her thighs tonight. He was so pleased with her that he might focus on her pleasure rather than his own.
Her thighs pressed together when she felt his palm caress between her knees, but that didn’t stop him from brushing his hand up between her thighs.
With how close they were to the table, no one would notice he’d snaked his hand under her skirt and was making an unmistakable path to his favourite place on her body.
“I think I’ve seen this island before,” Alister told them to make sure they weren’t aware of what he was doing. “Even if it’s not on the wall, I’ll eventually remember where.”
He felt her tense when he pushed between her closed thighs to cup her with his entire hand.
“H-hey,” she whispered, her hands coming forward to grab his forearm, as if she was trying to stop him.
She gasped when he slipped his middle finger inside her core to find she was wet and surprisingly snug around it.
“You owe me a drink,” she mumbled unhappily, yet he could feel her channel spasming around his finger, like it wanted to suck it in further. “I lost mine getting this for you.”
She wants a drink? More than what he was currently doing as he started to move his finger back and forth?
That didn’t sound like the Rosetta he knew.
Even last night, when he’d been touching her while they were playing dice, she hadn’t truly tried to stop him.
She leaned closer to whisper, “I’m not drunk enough to do this in public yet.”
A grumble fell from him, and he slipped his hand away, palming one of her thighs to knead it in appreciation. He liked the way her silky thighs felt in his hands. He often gripped them just to feel their feminine softness.
“Fine, lass. I’ll get one of the lads to get us a drink.”
She shook her head. “I want to get it. I don’t trust they won’t get it wrong again.” They did like to get one type of drink, since they were lazy and forgetful.
Alister gave a sigh, releasing her so she could stand. He knew she’d be more receptive to him if she was pleased. When she was on her feet, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to lean over him.
He pointed up at her. “Keep out of trouble this time.”
She gave him a warm smile, kissing him on the cheek sweetly and making it tingle in reaction. A frown formed on his face; she rarely did this to him.
“I promise.”
He watched her carefully as she walked away.
Before she made it to the bar to order, Pierre and Derek grabbed his attention once more. They were thrilled about the map and wanted to keep discussing it. They were trying to guess where it was, one thinking they knew better than the other.