Chapter 9
Nine
DAMON
Iwanted to wring that little shit’s neck. He was in my bed, climbing up next to Will like he belonged there. If Will hadn’t flinched so hard from the pain, I would’ve strung the pissant to the mast and left him there to swelter, money be damned.
Will watched me warily as I headed for my desk and sat down.
I left him alone the day before, figuring he wouldn’t rest if I was around.
But I found an increasing need to see him as the day wore on, and I lost my will to resist after a time.
I wasn’t sure what it was about the boy that kept my attention, but I wasn’t going to hide scared from it.
I was the goddamn Sea Wolf. No one was going to keep me from getting what I wanted.
“I didn't invite him in here,” Will said defensively.
“I know.” A blind man could see what Will really thought of his employer.
The frustration and disdain were written all over his face whenever Henry spoke or came anywhere near him.
And the look of horror when Henry tried to make a claim almost made me laugh out loud.
Still, I couldn’t help but ask, “You two lovers?”
Will spluttered indignantly, and I saw him force himself up out of the corner of my eye. “No! He’s– I– Who the hell would want to be with him? Besides, we’re both men!”
Turning to look at him, I raised an eyebrow slowly. “So?”
His face flushed, and his eyes cast about, like he was searching for a response he couldn’t find.
If he expected to have that line of thinking confirmed, he was talking to the wrong man.
I preferred men to women. Everyone in my crew knew it, and no one gave a shit.
I wasn’t the only one. Only religious zealots truly cared where a man put his prick.
Even the rich lords Will was used to were known to take on a male lover clandestinely.
It was why brothels catered to more than just male-female pairings.
I turned back to the map on my desk. The men had been at sea too long.
They needed a day at port, at the very least. And after the storm, we needed to do some small repairs.
Nothing too concerning, but I preferred not to wait to do it.
It was risky to go ashore with the cargo we had on board, but Lockhart agreed to stay back to watch them.
If we took a long boat ashore, we wouldn’t need to worry about people sneaking aboard and finding them.
My gaze shifted momentarily to Will again.
I wanted to test him a little and bring him on shore with us.
I wasn’t worried about him running, not with his charges still on the ship.
But he was falling in with my crew easily enough.
I wanted to see how he’d act outside of his protective instincts.
Was he playing the long game to keep us happy, or was he truly more a pirate than he knew?
“You’re supposed to be resting,” I commented blandly after a few moments.
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, fidgeting instead of lying down like he should have been.
My stomach had hit the deck when he and Carson dropped so suddenly.
It was a damn miracle he managed to snag a rope and hold on tight enough to stop their descent.
Carson had a small limp from the rope around his ankle, but it was Will who took most of the damage from the fall.
I felt… protective of him. He put his life at risk for my crew, and that earned him some grace in my eyes. And some decent rest.
“I’ve been resting,” he complained. “I’ve never spent this long in bed in my life.”
“It’s been a day.”
He made an irritated sound but didn’t reply. When I glanced at him again, he was glaring at the wall, still unmoving from his spot on the edge of the bed.
“Manservants don’t get days off?”
The look he gave me was sheer exasperation and annoyance, and I had to bite back a laugh. Gods, he was expressive when he wanted to be.
“I was Henry’s manservant. What, exactly, gave you the impression that he gave a shit about my wants and needs long enough to provide me a day off?”
I grunted in response, irritation making my shoulders stiff.
I still wanted to kill that little shit.
If he wasn’t worth so much to me, I would have already.
I didn’t miss the fact that Will said ‘was’, though.
He saw that position as a past event. Which made me think he was shifting his stance on where his allegiances lay.
He’d stick around for the girls, there was no doubt about that.
The chivalry was still there. But once they were home safe, he might not be so willing to go along with them.
“You’re not his manservant now. You earned a rest after you saved Carson’s life. Lie down. Kendrick will be by soon to reapply to poultice.”
His huff was annoyed, but he didn’t argue. He laid back down, staring up at the ceiling for a while, before he spoke again.
“I’ve listened to Henry complain for years about being bored. I never understood it. There was always something to do. Does it make me like him to say I’m bored now?”
That made me chuckle, and I finally tore my gaze off the map long enough to look at him. He looked irritated with himself, a deep frown on his face. I couldn’t blame him. I’d be bored out of my wits, sitting in bed all day too.
“Fine. Once Kendrick reapplies the poultice, I’ll teach you how to sail. A sailor worth his weight should know how to navigate his ship, and you don’t need both arms to listen.”
He didn’t argue with that, he actually looked excited for the lesson, and after Kendrick approved of the plan, Will was all smiles. He was surprisingly easy to please, that one.
When he came out of my quarters behind Kendrick, he was greeted with cheers from the crew.
He’d proven himself to them by risking his life to save Carson’s.
When he followed me past them to the helm, he got a few claps on the back and hair ruffles.
Small signs of affection from a crew of dirty pirates.
Will waved them off with a laugh, lifting an eyebrow when someone offered him a cup of rum.
“What’s this?”
“What do you think it is, boy? It’s rum! Drink up. You’ve earned it,” Salty demanded.
Will looked dubiously at the cup before swallowing a mouthful. He started coughing from the burn, and the crew laughed at him for it but at least he didn’t spit it out. After he could breathe right, he looked down at the cup again and pursed his lips thoughtfully. “It’s not bad.”
Salty chucked, patting Will’s good shoulder. “Aye. We’ll make a pirate of ye, yet, boy. Just you wait.”
Tortuga was a favourite amongst the unsavoury.
We didn’t have to worry about the royal navy coming close to here.
If there was one thing to rally a bunch of pirates to work together, it was eradicating a navy ship from the area.
The crown eventually decided it was better to leave well enough alone, making Tortuga a true free port.
It was crowded enough that no one would bat an eye about us dropping anchor farther out and rowing in, and everyone would be too drunk or busy with the whores to cause us trouble.
Still, I gave my crew a warning before we left the ship, just in case.
“Make no mention of our captives, unless you want to have to fight your way out of here,” I growled. “If I hear anyone squealing, I’ll make ‘em the new figurehead. Ya hear?”
A chorus of ayes followed. I didn’t think I had to worry much.
They weren’t stupid enough to risk their payout.
They started climbing down the ladder into the long boats one by one.
When it was down to me, Lockhart, and Will, I tipped my head towards the ladder.
Kendrick had allowed him to remove the sling that morning. He could handle the trip down.
“On the boat, boy.”
Will looked confused, glancing between the two of us. “What? But I thought–”
“I’ll be watchin’ over the cargo tonight,” Lockhart insisted. “Got Mad Eye and Trumble below as well. They won’t be causin’ no trouble.”
No, because they were more interested in each other than the girls. I picked them on purpose.
Will still looked uncertain, that chivalry cropping up again, but I wasn’t interested in standing around all night arguing with him. I made an irritated sound, heading for the ladder. “You can stay here and babysit, or you can finally have a night off. Make a damn choice and be quick about it.”
I made it about halfway down the ladder before Will decided to join us, scrambling down the rungs after me. He sat beside me in the long boat, his expression of barely banked excitement making a few of the crew chuckle.
“First time at Tortuga, boy?” Salty asked.
Will scoffed. “The first time I left England, I was captured by a crew of pirates. When was I supposed to find time to visit the sights?”
His snark made them all laugh, and Salty threw a boney arm around Will’s shoulders in a friendly gesture.
“Feast your eyes, boy. Ain’t no place better than Tortuga.
Good food, better whores; it’s a true pirate port.
After what you did for one of ours, I think you’ve earned getting your prick wet for the night. ”
A muscle twitched in my jaw, and I turned away from the crew, scanning the area. I didn't want to think about Will bedding a whore. An ugly feeling filled my gut at the thought, making me want to shoot someone. But Salty was right. He earned it.
Maybe I’d need to find my own fun for the night. It would take my mind off the snarky little shit who I spent too damn long watching.
After tying off the longboat and disembarking, I stopped Will with a hand on his arm after the rest had walked off. He looked confused when I handed him some coin, but I waved him off with a grunt.
“Go. Have fun. You’ve earned it.”