For Ransom

Chapter 10: The Complexities of Love

Alessandro

The pirate hunter saw her in his dreams every night, in all of her marvelous glory. He touched her when he closed his eyes, that soft, creamy skin slick with sweat and their breaths shallow with that heavenly fatigue. It was a nightmare when he awoke, a feverish feeling he could never fight off, no matter how much cold water he poured on himself, no matter how many glasses of ale he downed.

"Alessandro."

He could still hear his name on her plump lips, swollen from kisses, as his eyes shot open. Alessandro took a shuddering breath as he stared at his ceiling, trying and failing miserably to erase the image of her satisfied smile, of those glazed over orbs of amber as they rolled back in pleasure.

The morning bell rang, a jarring sound that shattered his ears, but it was the only thing that would push him to his feet and force him to start another day.

"Good morning, Alessandro. You ready for the big day tomorrow?" Tom clapped him on the shoulder as he did every morning, a part of his daily routine.

"You bet," Alessandro said as he guzzled down some rum.

"Woah there fella'. Don't ya think it's a bit early to be drinkin all that?"

Alessandro ignored the question, instead of finishing the glass and wiping the excess onto his sleeve.

"Alrighty, well don't get too drunk. We still got some prep to do." Tom was right. They were a days sail away from the oil rig and Alessandro knew how difficult it was to obtain fuel, especially when the rigs were pulling up less and less every year. He had spent the better half of the last few weeks making sure the cannons fired properly and training his small crew of archers to aim precisely and consistently, but ever since the incident with Soraya, Alessandro had barely been able to focus on anything. She was a magnet and he was a slave to her magnetic field, his eyes watching her every move as she snaked her way now, her limp slight but still present, through the dining hall. Those amber eyes glazed over him, though he noticed the lingering pause she gave him for a fraction of a second before his captain ascended to the deck to oversee operations.

Perhaps it was the alcohol fogging his mind, or it was the desire burning a hole in his being, but the pirate hunter rose from his spot and chased after Soraya, not even bothering to put his dishes away.

Jan would have a lot to say about this later. Oh well.

Her back was turned toward him as he emerged onto the deck, the sun radiating overhead and the winds blowing steadily, her hair whipping in fiery lances behind her. He approached from behind, his steps slightly sloppy and his mind feeling like it was disconnected from his body.

"Soraya." He called, his voice exiting with a more timid tone than he had anticipated. What was he, a child asking for his mom? She held up a finger, clearly deep in a conversation with the triplets over how much money they could afford to lose during the stop tomorrow. So the pirate hunter waited. He waited for this goddamn woman who drove him mad.

"What did you want to talk about?" Soraya replied, at last, keeping her tone casual and her expression unreadable past that practiced smile. They hadn't spoken since three nights ago, since he had bedded her in the middle of the day and she had left hours later, barely able to walk. Then, it was like nothing ever happened. Like it had meant nothing to her. Perhaps it didn't. Alessandro didn't want to ponder such painful possibilities.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight. You know, before tomorrow?" He asked. It took everything in him not to pull her in, to claim that gorgeous mouth of hers. She narrowed her eyes at him, a smirk emerging from that practiced smile.