Chapter 17
Seventeen
DAMON
Iknew what he was talking about, but I still leaned over and slapped his thigh for the insult. “It was more than five minutes, you little shit.”
He laughed, rubbing at the sting. “You know what I meant! Christ, that hurt.”
“It’s your ass that’s gonna hurt if you keep insulting me, boy. I was being kind. I could spend hours fucking you until you can’t see straight and still not let you come before I wanted you to.”
“Monster,” he growled, but there was no real weight to it. My plan worked, and he was finally out of his head.
It wasn’t really what I had in mind. I’d wanted to punish him when I brought him in here. But I was riled up, and once my eyes landed on my bed, I decided to give him exactly what he asked for. It worked out best in the end, for the both of us.
I didn’t want to ruin his good mood, I liked how carefree he looked now, but I didn’t want him to get back into his head later and not work through what happened.
“You did the right thing. You know that, right?”
He went quiet for a minute, and when I looked over at him, he looked pensive. Finally, he sighed. “I know that. Even if I knew what was coming, I would’ve made the same choice. I had to protect her. I just never thought I’d take a life. I feel…”
“Like the blood won’t come off?” I offered.
He frowned, rolling his head to look at me. “Yeah. How’d you know that?”
“Felt the same way my first time. Granted, I was twelve, so I wasn’t as old as you.
But I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
I was a cabin boy, just like you. We were attacked one night while most of the crew was asleep.
The captain sent me to ring the bell and wake the crew, but the noise drew the attention of the enemy.
They didn’t give a shit that I was a child.
I either fought for my life or I let them kill me.
I refused to let them. Saved the captain’s hide that night, too. Got promoted to swabbie for it.”
It took a conversation with the captain, a lot like this one, to wrap my head around what I’d done.
Minus the fucking part. He wasn’t that twisted to touch a little kid.
He told me it was either me or them, and there wasn’t anything wrong with protecting myself.
I learned to move past it, and eventually, it stopped making such a big impact.
It’s either them or me, and I’m not about to let anyone get the upper hand on me.
“How much longer until they’re back with their father?” he asked after a few moments of silence.
“Ten days. Pulling together that kind of money takes time. If I come too soon, he won’t have enough, and I’ll be forced to hurt one of them to make my point.”
He didn’t need to ask which one. We’d all enjoy hurting Henry. Little pissant would benefit from a few good beatings.
“How many more of your men do I need to be worried about?”
“I could say none, but I doubt you’d believe me right now.”
He snorted but didn’t argue. I didn’t take offence. His trust was broken after what happened. He’d need time to trust the crew again.
“I want to be with them. Whenever they’re on the deck, I want to be there, too.”
I shook my head. “I’m not letting you hover. You’ve still got work to do. But I can promise either me or Lockhart will be around if they’re out and about. You’ll be able to see ‘em plenty while you’re working, and they’ll have a guard. You gotta get past what happened, Will, or they never will.”
He turned to look at me again, his brows drawn together, making a wrinkle pop up between his eyes. He must’ve frowned a lot before now if he got that wrinkle at twenty-three. The boy needed to smile more. Enjoy his life. What was the point of living if you couldn’t enjoy it?
I let him think on what I said for a little while, but eventually, I got tired of lying next to a gorgeous man and not enjoying him.
“Take off your clothes and roll over.”
He looked confused only for a second, but my heated stare seemed to kick him into gear.
He sucked in a sharp breath, and he only hesitated for a few seconds before he did as I asked.
He shivered under my touch, and his hands fisted the pillow as he geared himself up for another round.
I was going to truly enjoy breaking him in.
Will fell asleep after the second round.
After skipping sleep for a few nights, it didn’t surprise me.
Proving I wasn’t entirely heartless, I left him alone and got dressed, heading for the helm to meet with Lockhart.
He lifted his chin in greeting as I climbed the stairs, his gaze on the horizon when I moved to stand by his side.
“Captain.”
“Quartermaster. Any problems?”
He scoffed. “Only one. Davenport Junior didn’t want to go back to his room. Not until I threatened to put him back to work. Clammed up real quick when I gave him that option.”
I rolled my eyes. If he wasn’t careful, Henry would be sent back to his father broken. The crew was going to get sick of him eventually.
“Will?”
“Asleep,” I answered quietly. “Shock got to him, is all.”
Lockhart hummed. “Happens to everyone. He’s good now?”
That I couldn’t answer. It was up to Will now to move past it. I talked to him about it, reminded him he did the right thing, but I couldn’t force him to move on. I hoped he’d learn to accept it, but only time would tell.
“We’ll see.”
“Sounded like the two of you were having it out in there.” There was a teasing in his tone, but also a question. When I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, he smirked, shaking his head. “Figured as much.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
“Boy couldn’t stop lookin’ at you. Always tried to be subtle, but he’s not great at hiding it. Besides, you’re never that nice. No matter the injury, you’ve never invited any of us to sleep next to you.”
I chuckled, pulling out my compass to check our heading.
We made a plan to head to a lesser known island for a break for the crew.
It’d take a few days to get there, but there was too much tension after Stiles and Davis disobeyed orders.
They needed to let off some steam. Will probably wouldn’t be willing to leave the ship, but I couldn’t hold my men back just for him.
We’d anchor and row ashore, and he could stay here with Darrow and watch over his charges.
He’d get more of a break staying here than heading on shore.
“I’ll take over here. You go check on the crew. I want to know if there are any more grumblings about me going soft.”
He stepped aside when I took the helm and went to do as I asked.
There were a few in the crew I’d trust with my life.
Lockhart, Darrow, Jameson to a point. At least I could trust the man not to poison my food.
But I couldn’t say I trusted the entire crew that much.
I trusted them to do what was best for the crew, and I expected a certain level of loyalty out of them, but they weren’t in service here.
These were free men. If they decided they didn't like the way I was running things, they could vote me out or kill me, depending on how kind they were feeling that day. Lockhart always kept an ear out for any whisperings of mutiny, and I tried to meet their expectations and keep them happy, but there would always be at least one who didn’t agree.
They were allowed that, as long as they followed orders.
This wasn’t the life I was born into. I started off a lot like Will.
My father had a respectable job. Not a fancy one, we weren’t rich, but no one looked down on him for being a fisherman.
He hauled in the fish, and my mother sold it in the shop.
They made enough to send me to school, which was more education than most of the men in my crew were afforded.
But sickness took my mother, and my father died of heartache a year later, and I couldn’t run the shop on my own.
I was a ten-year-old orphan. The only thing I had going for me was knowing how to sail.
I spent most of my childhood on the boat with my dad.
A pirate saw me sailing on my own, trying to catch enough fish for my supper, and offered me a job.
And since I had nowhere else to go, I leapt at the chance.
I might not have been born in this life, but I loved it.
I was brought into adulthood as a free man.
I would never take that freedom from someone else.
If my crew wanted me out, I’d fight for it, but I wouldn’t force it.
And if Will chose to go with the Davenport children, I couldn’t force him to stay. No matter my opinion on it.