I can’t breathe.
I can’t think.
My lungs ache with the exertion, and my heart nears bursting. I only slow when I arrive back at the docks, sinking to a crouch behind a shipping crate, trying to pull any air at all into my lungs. Black boots suddenly stand in my field of vision and terror shoots through me.
He’s followed me, he knows.
I can’t get away; there will be no escape this time. My back rests against the hard wood of the crate and my path to escape is blocked by a man.
“Andromeda,” I hear my name, but can’t look up. “Andromeda, look at me.”
It’s Lennox.
He is breathing hard as if he has been running as well, and I look up at his face. His cheeks are ruddy from the cool air, and his eyes glitter as he asks, “Are you well?”
“Distract me,” I answer abruptly.
“Excuse me?” he answers furrowing his brow slightly, head cocked to the side.
“I can’t breathe. Distract me.” I look him in the eye with a challenge. I will him to understand what I want. What I need him to do.
His lips curl into a wicked grin. “As you command.”
Before I can regain any composure, he reaches down and roughly pulls me to my feet, scoops me up, and tosses me over his shoulder. His steps are hurried as he walks toward the gangplank and I bounce against him.
“Out of the way,” he commands gruffly to the men loading new goods on the ship, and carries me up to the deck. To all the dockworkers and onlookers, I look like a disobedient harlot about to receive my punishment, but the entire walk he whispers softly so only I can hear, “Breathe, Andromeda. Breathe.”
I am carried thus all the way to the Captain’s cabin before he gently sets me on my feet. My breath comes easier, and my thoughts are forming coherently, the cloud of fear and confusion from the docks fading into a memory. The jealousy I felt at seeing the Captain entering the brothel returns when I look at him and see that devilish smile. His hair is mussed, the color is still high in his cheeks, and I find myself wanting to either slap him or kiss him. Or both.
“So, Andromeda, was that distracting enough? Or do you require additional aid?” he huffs a laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. The attitude of the rakish pirate is back to hide his gentle whispers of moments before.
“I don’t know, Captain. I’m not sure of your abilities. You may have tired yourself out at the brothel in town.” I barely recognize the sarcasm in my voice; these feelings are not something I am used to.
Who am I to get jealous?
“Oh, do you doubt my virility, my pretty priestess?” He takes a step closer to me, and heat courses through my blood. “You know you only have to say the words, and I will prove to you what I am capable of.”
The familiar ache of longing throbs between my thighs, and I can sense the wetness building there. Lennox looks at me with a cruel smirk, yet I take a step in his direction, closing the space between us further.
“Distract me, Captain,” I challenge him again, recklessly staring into his eyes. I can see desire ignite there, and I know I was wrong to doubt whether he found me appealing before.
I want to drown out the fear that I’ve been running from. I want to dissolve the bitter taste of jealousy I felt seeing him enter the brothel in Athene. I want him.
“Are you sure, Andromeda?” he asks huskily, studying my face as he uncrosses his arms and leans closer. “This is what you want?”
“Yes.”
Before the word is fully out of my mouth, I’m in his arms. His mouth crashes against mine as our bodies urgently press together, the heat I felt during our first kiss flames hotter this time as we cling to one another. I pull at the clasp of my cloak and let it fall to the floor before pushing the Captain’s coat to the ground behind him. Lennox walks me backward, still pressing kisses against my lips until I lean against the table we shared our meals on. He lifts me so that I sit on the wooden surface, and I wrap my legs around him, pulling him closer.
My fingers tug at his soft hair and he moans against my mouth as he runs his hands over my breasts and sides. I want to be closer, to touch his bare skin, so I reach to pull his shirt from his trousers. He stops me for a moment, breath hitching as he pulls back abruptly from my kiss to meet my eyes, and the muscles in his jaw flex. Then, he sighs heavily and allows me to pull his shirt off, revealing tan flesh covering the lean hard lines of his body, the barest glimpse of paler skin showing where his trousers hang lower on his waist. His tattoos travel up his arms and across the expanse of his broad chest. I can’t help but run my hands over them before pulling his face back down to mine for another desperate kiss.
I move to hike my skirt around my hips to allow him to have his way, but he pulls me from the table and spins me in his arms. My palms press into the hard surface of the table as I lean forward, waiting for his hands to grab the edge of my skirt. Surprise fills me as his long fingers begin unbuttoning my dress, achingly slow. He grazes the bare skin of my back with his lips as it’s revealed with each button opening, and my arms tremble, barely able to hold myself upright, under his gentle touch. Each whisper soft caress feels like a spark against my heated flesh. Once the buttons are undone, he pushes the wool from my shoulders, and the dress falls to the ground, only an underskirt covering me.
Lennox’s hands drift down from my shoulders, over my naked back, and onto my hips as he slides the underskirt from my body, baring me before him. Still bent over the table in front of him, I turn, glancing over my shoulder to see his heated gaze on my body. I press back against his hardness and gasp at the delicious friction of him, his ragged breath matching mine. Instead of removing his own clothing, as I expect, he again begins to kiss my naked skin, traveling from my shoulder blades, down my spine, and over my backside, rough palms skimming my curves as he moves. I arch my back, biting my lip to stifle a moan, as he kneels and kisses up the backs of my thighs. The sensation of his touch almost overwhelms me, and I reach between my legs, eager for relief from his teasing. With a chuckle, he replaces my hand with his own, sliding against the wetness at my core as he stands behind me. Slowly, he inches one finger inside of me, and I rock back on him.
“More, please, more…” I moan as he slides a second digit into my warm flesh. “Captain,” I gasp. “Take me to bed, please.”
With another masculine chuckle, he slides his fingers out, turning me roughly toward him. I reach up on my toes to claim his mouth with mine again, and he grips under my thighs, lifting me so I can wrap my legs around his waist. His steps are sure as he carries me to the bed and lays me down gently. I inch back on the mattress, watching as he kicks off his boots and removes his trousers. When his cock is freed from his pants, I clench my thighs in anticipation, reaching for him.