Falling For The First Mate

Chapter 22

“Land ho!”

Kade’s eyes slid open at the sound of his crewmate’s voice. They were fast approaching the last rocky outcrop of land before they would cross the second border and risk the dangers of the open sea. The Maelstrom was due to make port there, gathering supplies and allowing the crew to ready themselves for the treacherous part of the journey.

His tired eyes opened even further, glimpsing a sleeping Evanora beside him. She was beautiful, lost in the peaceful surrender of oblivion. All it took was that single glance; at once he remembered everything.

He remembered the way she had kissed him in the rain, and after in the cabin, and he couldn’t force back the smile that threatened his lips. She was everything he needed and more- she made him ache for what he had been missing before she had come aboard.

Her arm still rested across his chest, so he reached up his hand to twist his fingers into hers. In response, she turned over slightly, exposing the bare skin of her back, streaked with the murky ink of Silva’s pen.

Pulling back the covers just a little, Kade once again attempted to memorise the twisting lines and directions that formed the map. Gently, he traced the route they had chosen to take, delighting in the feel of her skin beneath his fingers. When he reached the end, marked with the tell-tale sign of the X, he realised with a shudder just what he would have to sacrifice when they reached Atlantis.

The energy crystal demanded payment for its use. Payment in the life force of whoever dared to break a shard. Everyone knew that the one to break the curse would be one who had never sworn loyalty to any ship or Captain. However, what nobody knew was that Kade himself had never been attached enough to any vessel or any crew to swear allegiance.

This single fact made it abundantly clear that he could break the curse himself. The inevitable truth was that one of the people in the bed right now would never return from the realms of the lost city. When things came to a climax, it would be Evanora's life…or his own.

Evanora stirred in her sleep, stretching out her limbs for a moment before her eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright.

Kade snapped out of his miserable reverie, sitting up slowly to rub Evanora’s shoulders from behind and calm her down.

“What’s the rush, Treasure?” he whispered, bending to press his lips to her neck.

It was clear that Evanora was uncomfortable. She had just recalled the events of the previous night and her absolute contentedness had been matched only by the thought of what her brother would say should he ever find out. And it wouldn’t just be Terrian either- society frowned upon any form of untraditional relationships, and becoming connected to a pirate would seal her fate for sure. After all, to be kidnapped by pirates was one thing, to fall for one was entirely another.

Kade continued to move his lips at her neck, trailing hot kisses down over her shoulders and upper back, urging her to relax a little.

“No rush,” she assured him, closing her eyes at the sensation despite her sudden urges to leave. “I was just a little…surprised.”

“Surprised?” Kade asked, voice muffled as he buried his face in her hair, pulling her towards him. “Why?”

Evanora blushed before answering.

“Well, it’s not every morning I wake up next to a pirate,” she whispered, blatantly embarrassed. Kade chuckled, lowering her back down onto the bed and leaning over to kiss her deeply.

“Any regrets?” he murmured, eyes dark and perplexing as a foreign emotion crossed his face.

“No, of course not!”