23. Sage #2
I’d never heard this tale before, but I was entranced by the way the lights floated above, showing the rippling of the waves, and the beauty of the treasure said to be there with gold glitter that fell over the audience. It was all truly magical.
When the lights came back up Anne and I stayed in our seats, chattering about our favorite parts.
“How did that man consume flame that easily?” she asked.
“I have no idea, a strong stomach I guess.”
She laughed when I said that and I laughed along. It felt good to laugh with a friend.
Wait.
Was Anne my friend? Should I ask her? Everyone I knew and considered a friend was because we ran in the same circles, or they wanted something from me, like Paige did.
“What’s so funny?” a deep voice asked from behind me.
I turned, and Shadowhart was there, leaning over us. He had a smile on his face, but it was not a real one. One hiding anger that I feel radiating off of him in waves. When I turned to Anne, she’d gone pale.
“What are you doing here?” It was obvious he came looking for us, but I was too shocked to ask anything else.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” he replied. “You were supposed to be on the ship. And you,” he pointed to Anne, “left your post. You know scallywags take the night shift at port. Yet here you are.”
“I-I—I mean I’m so sorry. You see, what I mean is, we—”
“I forced her out with me,” I said, stopping her babbling.
“Forced?” she asked.
I nodded. “I’m just a princess after all, and didn’t want to get lost all by myself, so I told her if she didn’t come with me I’d probably get lost and die, and it would be all her fault.” It wasn’t the full truth, but it was pretty close.
He looked between us. “Is this true?”
Anne looked like she’d rather lose her pinky finger than lie to her captain.
“K-kinda. She told me she was going, and I told her the rule about sticking together, and said she would go with or without me. I thought that rule would be the more important one in this scenario. So while she asked me to come in a bit of a… forceful manner, I came of my own accord.”
I blinked at her. She could have taken the easy way out I’d given her, but instead she chose to be fully honest and throw herself under with me. It was sweet, in a way. Though I would have been fine taking the blame.
He sighed loudly. “That is the rule,” he confirmed. “And one I take very seriously. Come on, let’s go back.”
I stood and walked behind him, leaving the theater with the last few people stuck around.
“See any of the show?” I asked, unable to stop myself from poking him. “It was pretty good.”
“No.”
Back on the ship Shadowhart told Anne to take over for Bee, who did so without question, leaving me alone with him, which seemed worse than stewing on whatever my punishment might be.
He brought me below deck and into his personal quarters. I jolted as the door slammed behind him.
“Why can’t you listen to anything you’re told?” he asked, instantly scolding me like a petulant child.
“Because I don’t belong to you,” I shot back.
“You do, though.”
My brows shot to my hairline. “How do you figure?”
He placed his hand on the door frame. “This ship, and everyone in it, is under my care. And that now includes you.”
I wanted to be more angry than I was at that statement, but instead I felt some weird warmth from it. One I dutifully ignored.
“I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“When you constantly make decisions that put you in danger, I have to disagree.”
“I wasn’t in any danger, it was a show.”
“One that could have gone very differently. You could have been snatched.”
“Anne was there.”
“Anne isn’t a fighter.”
“And there was no need to fight.”
“You’re unbearable at times, you know that?”
“I’m very aware,” I huffed.
I was so angry by the argument I hadn’t realized how close we were standing together, now turned so my back was to the door. Only his breath on my face clued me in. We were both breathing heavily, a mix of irritation and excitement simmering in my veins.
One second, we were apart, and the next his hands were framing my face, pressing me to the wall and his lips touching mine.
This wasn’t a soft kiss, as I’ve had with men who tried to be gentle.
Or a fumbling one of someone who wasn’t sure.
It was filled with passion, with days of arguing and skirting around each other.
I couldn’t tell if it was because we liked each other, or because we couldn’t hit each other and needed some other physical way to relieve the anger.
Our lips pressed together hard, his body molding to mine.
I could feel his warmth through our clothes, almost craving it.
My mouth opened to breathe for even a moment and his tongue was there, filling me further.
I bit down on his lip, making him moan. From pain or pleasure I wasn’t sure, maybe both.
It was intoxicating. Every alarm bell in my head that told me this wasn’t a good idea was drowned out by every touch. My hands snaked up and into his hair, scratching his scalp.
His hands kneaded my chest, fingers managing to flick over my nipples even over the bodice of my dress. I couldn’t stop my body from rolling against his, craving friction in a way I’d never had before.
My hands pressed where his shirt ended, making my way up his skin. His abs rippled beneath my fingers, flexing under my touch. He had some scales that reached up here. They were cooler than his skin, smoother too. Though it was different, I didn’t mind it; they felt kind of nice.
I gasped as something touched under my skirt, first wrapping around my ankle. He kissed my neck, letting me glance down.
It was his tail, snaking under my dress, moving further and further up until he was touching my inner thigh. Gripping his hips, I pulled him in closer and opened my legs, hoping the invitation would speak for itself.
Thankfully, it did. He continued higher and higher until the very tip brushed over my panties.
A whine ripped from my lips, forcing me to tilt my head backward.
Shadowhart’s kissing had continued down, over my collarbone to where my breasts sat.
His hands worked to expertly untie my corset, not letting my dress fall fully, but loosening just enough to free my breasts.