Chapter 30
Thirty
WILLIAM
The storm passed with little damage to the ship.
Damon and I slipped out of my room before dawn, heading to the docks to check on the Devil’s Revenge ourselves.
Once he was satisfied his ship was still seaworthy, he dragged me back to his room, determined to follow through on his promise to make me feel him for the next week.
Not that we’d go that long without a repeat, but I wasn’t going to say no to more.
I fell asleep after the last round, my ass sore and my body sated.
Damon left me in his bed, and when I woke up, my bag was sitting by his wardrobe, a not so subtle demand to move my stuff in.
I got dressed, though I didn’t bother with a jacket.
I did put on my hat, mostly to screw with Damon.
I knew it was obnoxious, but I bought it for him, to see if I could convince him to wear it for me. His outfit was missing a hat.
When I stepped out onto the deck, the dozen or so people loading provisions onto the ship all froze to stare at me. I flashed the few I recognized a wicked grin, and they dropped what they were doing, racing over to greet me.
“Will! You’re back!”
“Damn good to see you, boy!”
I got a few hugs and back slaps. A lot of comments on the hat that made me laugh. There were plenty of questions about what happened after I left and if I was staying, but Damon didn’t give us time to chat. His voice barked out over the chatter in a dangerous growl.
“This isn’t some afternoon tea! Get your asses back to work!”
“Geez, you’d think he’d be in a better mood with the way you’re walking,” Darrow teased.
True. I was walking like I’d been fucked raw, but I wasn’t shy about it anymore. I came out of Damon’s quarters. They knew what I was up to in there.
“Not sure the hottest sex on the planet could settle that man. They don’t call him the Sea Wolf for nothing. He’ll rip us all to pieces given the chance.”
I got a few commiserating nods. I wasn’t afraid of Damon, and for most of the crew, neither were they. But we knew how important it was to keep his reputation alive. The more people who were afraid of him, the less likely someone would be brave enough to challenge us.
“Will!”
A few familiar faces stood on the dock, bags at their feet.
I mentioned them joining the crew to Damon.
At the time, I thought it unlikely because Damon had a full crew.
Now that I knew he was short a few, I figured a few more hands wouldn’t hurt.
I waved them onto the ship, shaking their hands in greeting.
“I see you survived the storm,” I teased.
Wells, a shorter man with eyes like a hawk, smirked at me. “With a belly full of ale and a whore in my lap. How about you? You still got a place here?” He jerked his chin to the crew who were loading the ship.
“He does. You don’t. What the fuck are you doing on my ship?
” Damon’s dark growl sent a shiver up everyone’s spine, though mine was for a different reason.
I took great pleasure whenever he growled at me.
I felt his presence at my back and just barely resisted the urge to reach for him.
Once we were out at sea, I wouldn’t bother hiding. For now, I would be good.
The three men who insisted on joining the crew now looked to me apprehensively.
Damon didn't take new men on his crew often. Rumours said if he didn’t like you, he’d toss you over the side without blinking.
I wasn’t about to spare them from his scrutiny.
They needed to respect him, maybe fear him a little.
But still, I promised I’d put in a good word.
“Captain. This is Wells, Gunner, and Dunley. They’re interested in joining the crew.
” I swallowed down a laugh at the look of pure hatred on his face.
I couldn’t tell if that was to reinforce his reputation or more lingering jealousy from last night.
It was hot, just how pissed he got when I acknowledged them.
He grilled me at one point, demanding to know if I’d spent time with anyone else while we were apart.
I had to suck him off to get him to calm down.
“New crew go through the quartermaster,” Damon snapped, tipping his head towards me.
Surprised, I looked up at him while something that sounded suspiciously like “thank fuck” was murmured behind me when Darrow passed by.
Damon didn’t give me time to question things before he strode away, leaving me to deal with the new guys.
“Uh… Okay. I guess, go put your things away and start loading up the ship. I’ll figure out jobs for you after I talk to the captain.”
The three of them smirked at me, obviously enjoying my floundering, but when Gunner looked over my shoulder and found Damon watching them, he paled and nudged his friends, hurrying off to join the crew in loading the ship.
Shaking my head, I jogged up the stairs to the helm, raising an eyebrow at Damon. “Quartermaster?”
He grunted, watching the crew loading the ship with narrowed eyes. “Darrow didn’t want the position. He was too timid for the job. You can handle it.”
Well, I wasn’t going to turn down a promotion like that. Still, I couldn’t help but ask, “How much of this has to do with me being in your bed every night?”
Damon scoffed, flashing me an irritated look.
“That doesn’t factor in. I wouldn’t give a shit if you bent over in front of the whole crew.
I’d never give you a job I didn’t think you were suited for.
It’s your patience I’m after. If I deal with them myself, I’m gonna end up gutting people.
You keep the crew in line so I don’t have to. ”
Pride welled in my chest. It wasn’t my willingness to get on my knees for him that got me the job, but my skill.
I never had a reason to feel pride for my work before.
Being a manservant wasn’t a difficult job, and while I did it to the best of my ability, I wasn’t proud of it.
Damon saw my patience as a gift and rewarded me with a job I could be proud of. It meant a lot.
“Thank you, Captain. I’ll make sure to do the job well.”
He grunted, turning back to the deck, which was pretty much a dismissal. I’d need to talk to Darrow about everything that went into the job, but we could do that after we were underway. For now, I’d do my part in loading the ship.
“Will.” Damon’s voice stopped me before I could walk away. When I glanced back at him, he tossed me his compass. “I heard the rumours about you navigating Dead Man’s Pass. I want to see it for myself. You’re at the helm.”
A grin spread across my lips, and I nodded once. “Aye, Captain.”
DAMON
Will took to being a pirate like he was born into it.
He continued training with a sword and hand to hand, and on our first chase of a Spanish merchant ship, he was fighting right alongside me.
With the amount of money we got from the bank notes, we could technically all retire rich, but it wasn’t time for that.
Not for me, and not for him. We split the loot between our crew and Lockhart’s, since they were there for the whole thing, and still we made out well enough to stay rich.
A few retired with their shares, and Will took on a few more after we commandeered a slaver ship.
He wanted to give those men their freedom like I gave him his. I wasn’t about to tell him no.
On deck, our relationship remained the same.
The crew knew we were together and that I didn’t share him but otherwise were kept out of the heart of it.
Only when we were alone could I take the mask off and enjoy my time with Will.
He teased me sometimes for going soft, but it was only ever with him.
And he only did it because I fucked him harder whenever he joked that way just to prove him wrong.
A soulful voice met my ears, quiet enough that most of the crew would miss it.
But when his work was done, Will had taken to relaxing on an outcut on the decorative wall behind the wheel, just to be close to me.
He sang quietly to himself while working on his woodcarving, his eyes on the sea and a smile on his face.
It was where he was truly free, and I took the wheel more often just to give him the time to relax there.
Mad Eye jogged up the steps, his hair tousled in a way that told me him and Trumble were messing around when they shouldn’t have been. Those two were worse than me and Will when it came to sneaking in a tryst.
“Captain.”
I stepped back, giving up the helm for him to take over. Will’s singing cut out, and he followed me when I headed into my quarters. He dropped into the seat opposite me at my desk, his hands still working on the trinket he’d been messing with for a few days now.
“What is that?”
“A gift,” he murmured, shooting me a smirk when I growled at his half assed answer. “It’s not done yet. You can wait.”
“You’re making my hand itch, sweetheart.”
He didn’t even blink at the threat, huffing out a laugh without looking up at me. “It’s not really a threat when you know I enjoy it. What’s our heading?”
“A small island north of Tortuga. We’ve got a meeting with Lockhart. He and his crew are going after Davenport’s island. Figured you’d want to join in and make sure your charges are safe.”
Surprised, he looked up at me. “We’re going after Port Antonio?”
I hummed, leaning back in my chair, my fingers laced over my stomach.
“Your nimble fingers aside, he insulted us by trying to cheat us. We’ve given him time to recuperate some of the money you got away with, but he needs to be put in his place.
I’ll make sure at the meeting that everyone agrees that the girls will be left alone.
Can’t say the same about the boy. He pissed a lot of people off. ”
Will made a face, irritated. “Including me. Did I tell you he tried to kiss me after I woke up? He wanted me to start something with him after years of treating me like shit.”
I figured he’d try something, since I saw how jealous he was while on my ship, but it still pissed me off. Will was mine, even when he was gone for a month in Davenport's care. I wanted to rip out the little pissant’s tongue for even thinking about touching my Will.
“So you’re not opposed to the plan?”
He shook his head, leaning to look at the map. “I didn't get much of a look around, but I can give a little insight. I can at least point the way to Davenport’s office. But how do we come in and avoid the royal navy?”
We talked strategy for a few hours before I dragged him off to bed.
It’d been months since he agreed to be mine, and I still hadn’t had enough.
I doubted I ever would. While he stripped off his clothes, he set down the little figurine he’d been carving on my desk.
It was rough still, he always took his time with his carvings, but I saw the general shape of it.
Two wolves, shoulder to shoulder, baring their teeth menacingly.
Me and him. I didn’t even have to ask. I wasn’t the only sea wolf anymore.
We moved as a pair, and always would. Until the ship went down and we made peace with Davy Jones.