Chapter 11 #4
Even Alister was joining in on their banter; this was a mystery he was excited to unfold.
“I bet ye one silver it’s in the east,” Derek said to Pierre, the bristles around his lips curling inwards as he grinned confidently.
“I’ll take that bet since it’s got to be north. That way has more oddly shaped islands.”
“It’ll be good if it’s in the western waters,” Alister commented. “We’re already this way.”
As they were betting, he felt Rosetta sit on his thigh and hand him a bottle. He took a hearty swig, tasting scotch on his tongue like he’d asked.
Although he was hoping it was near their current location, he couldn’t help saying, “But I think Derek’s right. I think I’ve seen a land like this near the Sthrill Islands.”
That was close to where Rosetta had stolen his ship all those months ago.
“Maybe I won’t take that bet. The Sthrill Islands are pretty far east,” Pierre commented, once more rubbing at his clean-shaven chin in thought. He even thumbed the small scar over his lips.
“Ha!” Derek exclaimed. “Ye can’t back out now. One silver if I’m right.”
Ignoring him, Pierre drew his brows in tight. “If you’re right, Captain, it’ll take us months to sail there if we’re going to look at the other places first.”
They weren’t maps to Dustin’s trove, but Alister wouldn’t give up the potential for free booty.
“Cap’n knows what he’s doing,” Derek bit, leaning across the table to smack Pierre upside the head. “We’re going there first.”
Alister gave a deep chuckle.
“Thanks for the faith, old salt.” Then he smacked Pierre on the other side of his head as well. “Listen to your elders, mate.”
Rosetta giggled in humour while placing her lips against the side of his neck to kiss it. His skin prickled at the featherlight touch.
She must be content now that she has her drink. Since she’d started teasing him, he started to bring her skirt up so he could be happily beneath it.
She let him without protest, and his grin grew.
“Hey! You’re only a few years older than me.” Pierre shot his head towards Alister to defend himself. His words were cut short. He shook his head in what seemed like bewilderment. “Ummm...”
Pierre looked between him and Rosetta, which made Alister turn his head to the side so he could see it wasn’t her sitting on him. He instantly removed his hand from under the strange woman’s skirt.
He’d thought it was odd she’d come sit on his blind side.
“Where’s Rosetta?” he asked the men in front of him, looking around the tavern and not finding her.
Shit. Where’d she go? How long had this woman been sitting on his lap?
They gave a shrug in response, looking around as well.
The woman sitting on his lap was a pretty redhead, her face sweet and fragile looking.
He removed his other arm from around her waist. He realised that she’d taken Rosetta’s seat and she may have stormed off on him for it! She might be angry, considering she’d just taken a hit to procure this map for him and he hadn’t pushed this woman away.
“Are you looking for that woman in the green dress?” She gave a cute pout, as if she was offended.
“What of her?” Alister asked with a deep, growling tone, anger bubbling beneath his skin.
What if Rosetta had seen his hand up the redhead’s skirt and decided to let someone else up hers, not knowing he’d thought it was her the entire time? A rush of dread creeped over the top of his skull and down his spine. I’ll kill him.
“She told me to give you this.” She lightly smacked the bottom of her bottle into the side of his.
Alister looked at his drink in his hand.
Was that before or after she came to sit with me?
“And that you had lots of coin.”
Alister turned his head to Pierre. “What the hell is that supposed to fucking mean?”
“I don’t know, man.” The emotion he wore was the same one that crawled down Alister’s spine. He’d told him to help keep an eye on her, explaining what had happened last night and that he wasn’t intending to share her... or himself. “But you might want to find her before it’s too late.”
Alister pushed the woman, making her gasp in surprise. She stumbled into Derek’s lap, and he put his arm around her.
“I’ll take care of ye. I like ’em red.”
He didn’t know how she responded, not when Alister began making his way through the tavern to see if Rosetta was still inside. He pushed the heads of people sitting down to make way for his large frame.
She’s gone. She’d already left, and he found himself running outside into the fresh air. Well, as fresh as this foul-smelling town could be.
He turned around in the street, having no idea which way to go.
Of course, she’s already gone! She wouldn’t be so stupid to stick around like last time.
She didn’t even tell her men she was leaving.
He didn’t tell his own as he started making his way down the street, having no idea where she could have gone. For some reason, he found his feet heading towards the hotel he’d taken her to the previous night.
“You, keeper,” Alister demanded as he walked up to the counter. “Have you seen the woman I brought here last night?”
He shook his head and righted his square glasses. “No, but you’re both welcome to come back here tonight when you do.”
Of course they were. Alister had paid a pretty penny for her bath, since it was a luxury most didn’t want to afford. He’d done it for her since he’d known it would help her recover.
I took care of her, and she still ran off!
He ran back onto the street and stood there with his fists clenched tightly, feeling his arms shake. He slowly turned his head from side to side as he looked each way down the paved road.
I should go back and take that redheaded woman. If Rosetta abandoned him because a woman he didn’t want sat on his lap, why should he care? She didn’t get rid of her when it was obvious she was on his blind side, and he’d been expecting her on him the entire time.
He should take that prostitute and still kill the man she was planning to be under. I’ll still keep her.
Alister had decided he wasn’t done with her, regardless of whether she took a man from port or not. He’d be angry for a long time, but he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from desiring her and he bloody knew it. He’d just take his anger out on her.
He wanted his feet to turn back towards the bar but found himself unable to go that way because, deep down, he didn’t want her beneath someone else. He wanted her selfishly to himself. He wanted to stop her.
His gaze scanned over the busy street, trying to figure out which direction to take. Two people caught his attention.
“Oi!” he yelled, stomping his way over to them. “You two are meant to be guarding the ship!”
He couldn’t believe they’d abandoned their post. She told me she trusted them!
“Oh, Alister,” one of them said as he turned around to greet him, dragging the other with him since his arm was around his shoulders. “We were.”
“What do you mean you were? Who said you could leave it?”
“Rosetta did,” the other said, giving him a wide grin. “Told us we could have a few hours off. We’re trying to find some of the crew. Do you know where they are?”
His brows drew together and he frowned deeply. “When did she say this?”
“How long have we been walking?” one asked the other.
“I don’t know, maybe less than ten minutes?” He gave a laugh. “Said she’ll take over for a while.”
Alister didn’t stay to speak with them any longer. He headed straight for the pier.
Why would she go to her ship? Had she taken someone there with her? If she did, he couldn’t help finding that foolish.
His pace was brisk, and he resorted to pushing people who got in his way.
His boot steps sounded loud and heavy on the timber of the pier compared to the softness of them on the dirt.
As soon as his feet found the gangplank to the Laughing Siren, he heard a soft voice, one that made him slow with a frown.
“And as he sails for his heavenly lagoon,
He finds himself washed in never-ending horizons.
Lost and yearning for sweet, glittering pearl eyes.”
It was a woman singing, and quite beautifully at that. It was almost like a whisper so very few could hear.
“He does not care if her kiss is filled with dread,
If she drags him down to the swallowing depths.
Not when she has lips of silk that taste like longing.”
When he reached the top of the gangplank, keeping his steps quiet, he found Rosetta lying against the shrouds in the air. She was by herself, staring off at the black sea and its small crashing waves.
“Oh, dear sailor, he’ll never return to shore.
After finding the young maiden surrounded by water,
He’ll leave with her promise of glittering silver.
Oh, foolish sailor, you’ll never return to shore.”
She began to hum to herself, likely a small break in the song.
I thought she couldn’t sing. That’s what he’d been led to believe. Yet, the voice fluttering over the light wind to him was lovely, tantalising, like a lullaby.
He opened his mouth to speak while taking a few steps closer, but her arm shot to the side. She held her pistol up in the air, unable to point it at him since he was behind her.
“If you’re trying to rob my ship, you’ve got another thing coming,” she threatened, wiggling her arm to make sure he could see her gun. “You’ve got five seconds to get off it before I–”
“What are you doing, Rosetta?” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Alister?” He heard the frown in her voice before she turned on the shrouds to show him there was one crinkling her features. Even with the darkness, the light from the town barely illuminating her, he could see it. “What are you doing here?”
“Why do you always ask me that when I ask first?”
She gave a shrug, turning back over to lie against the netted rope holding her up in the air. She wriggled her shoulders as though she was trying to make herself comfortable.
“You surprised me. I just didn’t expect to see you.” She tilted her head back to take a deep draw from her wine.
His arms folded tighter, his lips thinning. “Why did you leave the tavern? I told you I wanted you to spend the night with me.”
Her bottle fell away from her mouth, her shoulders seeming to slump.
“I’m tired, Alister.” She sighed, but he noted a hint of creeping sadness in her tone. It strengthened once more as she explained, “Decided to let the prostitutes have you for the night. I told that girl to tell you.”
She told that woman to come to my lap?
His arms loosened as his forehead crinkled deeply. “And you came here to be by yourself?”
“Yes,” she answered quietly.
He couldn’t believe this. She left me with another woman on purpose. She obviously had no intention of being with another herself. Alister rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how he felt. Does... does she actually not care?
He realised he wanted her to. Alister wanted her to feel as possessive of him as he did her, wanted her to desire him all to herself. I thought she did.
“I told you I understand,” she continued just as quietly. “I’m too tender to help you tonight. If I can’t take you, then I must be understanding that someone else has to.” She gave a mocking snort, like she had a thought that made her laugh humourlessly. “Even if I’m alone.”
Then she tilted her head back and downed more of her sweet wine.
Alister gave his own snort of quiet laughter. It didn’t take a genius to figure out she had done this and very much didn’t like it. That quelled the worst of his anger, instead making a swell of warmth spread through his gut.
Oh aye, she wants me to herself.
Alister came forward and put his foot on the railing so he could climb the shrouds.
“What are you doing?” Her voice held utter confusion.
He threw his back against the netted rope with a harrumph, making himself comfortable next to her.
“I told you, I–”
“I know,” he said to cut her off. He put his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer, so they were lying against the shrouds together. “It’s fine.”
It had to be fine – Alister didn’t want Rosetta feeling alone or possibly sad and upset because of him. He didn’t want to taint whatever was driving them to be desperately intertwined. He wanted it too much, ached for it too deeply.
Alister also knew women were fickle things. She said she was alright with it now, but he knew well enough that it’d fester inside her. She’d hate him out of resentment for her own decision.
If that means I have to go without for a night in port, so be it. She wasn’t trying to change him; he’d come to this decision on his own. It just meant he shouldn’t drink much more. Can’t get drunk. He’d make himself horny if he did.
It took her a while, but eventually, he felt the tension in her body go lax. Her head fell against the nook between his chest and arm.
Alister looked up at the stars twinkling past a clear sky, a subtle wind blowing against them. The air smelt heavily of briny saltwater, and the gentle waves crashing against the side of the hull beneath their feet were lulling.
The moment was peaceful.
“I thought you couldn’t sing.”