by A. E. Murphy
“Fair enough,” he clips, walking away from me. “Well, I don’t need anything from you today.”
“Excuse me?” He can’t be serious?
When he waves his hand at me my jaw hits the floor.
He’s definitely serious.
“Geoffrey,” I try but he ignores me and goes to the sink at the far end of the room.
Chatterbox shrugs at me and nods for me to just go.
I decide leaving him to his pettiness is the best option, and head to the food court myself with Chatterbox hot on my heels. I talk to him about random shit and he smiles as he listens. We eat our pasta in peace with only well-wishes of the men around us who ask me if I’m okay after what happened.
I guess they’re not so bad after all.
Yep. I’m officially losing my mind.
As I’m finishing my lunch, strong hands grasp me from behind in front of the entire room.
In a display of possessiveness as a roar of cheers erupt around the room, Captain’s lips hit mine.
I gasp, surprised by his need to claim me like this, embarrassed that people are watching, but needy because his hands are on my body again.
“What are you doing?” I hiss, pulling back to touch my swollen lips.
He grins down at me and murmurs, “I have an hour.”
“Oh.”
“Let’s go.” He doesn’t need permission to drag me out of there, with the number of eyes that are on us I want out right now. As in ten minutes ago.
We don’t make it to his room.
It’s no surprise.
He’s kissing me against the wall, pressing his swollen cock against me. He’s insatiable, incredible and such a generous lover. I almost forget about his display for a moment that had my body shaking with embarrassment.
What if word gets back to Niall? Will he ever understand why I’m doing this? Why I need this?
We fall into his bed again, tangled limbs and raspy moans as he takes me and I straddle him as I take him.
As I’m resting on his chest and his fingers are tickling my spine he says with a voice so soft, “It’s Calder.”
“Huh?”
“My name.”
I rest on my arms on his chest so I can see his handsome face. “Calder?”
“Calder,” he confirms and I drag my body up his a couple of inches so I can kiss him again. He smiles against my lips.
“It’s nice to meet you Calder.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Rain.”
I squeal with a giggle when he rolls me over again and seats himself inside up to the hilt. We don’t fuck, we just stay joined until he has to get back to his duties.
It’s easy pretending everything is okay when you’re completely lost in a man who has the power, prowess, sexuality, intelligence and strength to consume you. Captain Calder of the Sea Whore consumes me. Consumes me.
He ensures I am in every single free moment of his days and he has no issues showing his affection. We spend very little time out of bed and my home goal gets further from my mind. Though there hasn’t yet been a chance for me to escape or call home, I’m not sure I’d try anymore if he gave me the chance.
Suddenly my past life seems to be the bigger chain than this life on the sea.
I’m taught to fish with a line and hook up a net. I’m taught how to tie a rope. I’m taught to find true north without a compass. We laugh together, drink together, dance together and eat together.
Geoffrey warmed up to me a couple of days ago though we’re not as close as we were but my time from him has made it so I’ve found other friends of my own. Larry being one of them who shares his secret stash of gin with nobody but me.
I’ve also learned a little about the speed of the ship which is measured in knots. Clunk tried to explain that you can tell the speed with a rope and a watch but I just couldn’t do that math.
Clunk has even warmed up to me a fraction now. I suppose he has to seeing as he’s stuck teaching me self-defence every day. Not that I’ll ever warm up to him.
It’s odd how even in the direst of times, your mind tricks you into thinking you need people to like you to be happy. I guess this is a situation that it can’t be helped. My days would be torturous if I had nobody to speak to.
We’ve been travelling non-stop for three days now and I can feel the weather starting to warm. So much so that I’ve been tying up Captain’s tops at the front, baring my midriff. Captain doesn’t approve but, in this heat, I’m not letting him say no to me. Besides, I can convince him with the promise of good things at night.
Good things I should be promising to another man.
I feel like another person out here, like I’ve body swapped with a sea wench and left my other self, back home.
If only that were the case.
Somebody cries, “LAND HO!”
I look up at the bridge but from this angle I can’t see him, then I run to the hull, straight to the very front, catching myself on the railings as I stare at the large island ahead.
I had stopped looking for land days ago, the sight of the flat line of the horizon only ever made me think of my own death, so I stopped upsetting myself and stayed away. So this has come at such an unexpected response.
It’s inhabited. I can see boats in the distance, small ones, sailboats of some sort, kayaks maybe. They’re too far for me to truly grasp the details with my eyes.
My hands grip the metal bars so tight as I stare ahead. Are we stopping? Am I going home? Did Niall finally release the information? Is Calder done with me now?
I turn away and then back. I’m terrified, my heart is hammering, my breathing shallower than the shores so far in the distance.
I wait and wait as the ship gets nearer and my hands ache brutally from my tight grip.
It feels like forever before we start to turn after reaching the edge of the shallows.
“ANCHORS AWAY!”
I bite my lip, excitement thrumming through my veins.
This could mean so many things. This could mean home.
Maybe I can steal a rowboat and get there. No… somebody would see me and I’d never beat them in that race.
“The captain is requesting your presence,” Clunk states and I turn to face him.
“Is he sending me away?”
He shakes his head and pulls a face. “Unfortunately, not.”
I flip him off and saunter past, tossing my braided hair behind my back as I go.
Captain is sitting in his chair, barking orders to the others. When he sees me, he wets his lips and I notice his eyes flicker a disapproving gaze to my midriff. Though he says nothing. I told him off when he brought it up the first time and he hasn’t said much about it since.
He finally speaks as I near him, “The ship needs supplies, fuel, food… clothing.”
I nod and slide onto his lap when he offers it to me. “And me?”
“I want you to sail with me to the island.”
I blink with shock because that was the very last thing I was expecting. In fact, it hadn’t even entered my mind. Still, I test his meaning. “You’re leaving me there?”
“No,” he assures me, gripping my hips. “I’m allowing you a break from the ship.”
My smile begins to grow until he adds, “There will of course, be rules. No speaking to anybody who isn’t the crew. In fact, don’t even go within a hundred yards of anybody if you’re not with me.”
And just like that, my freedom is gone. In a few short sentences he reminds me that he’s the captor and I’m the captive and my happiness this past week comes crashing down.
I bite back my anger and keep my face stoic as I test him further. “Where are we?”
He doesn’t reply, confirming the fact he doesn’t trust me or see me as anything more than his prisoner. Why does that disappoint me so much?
“What island is this?” I demand, standing from his lap. “What sea is this?”
“Rain,” he tries. “I thought you’d be happy.”
> What am I doing? I’m ruining my one chance at getting my life back.
I turn back to him, my look not one of lust or tenderness. “I’m just really overwhelmed… with everything.”
He nods but doesn’t look appeased. “I understand.” Then as I’m walking away he asks, “You understand why I can’t tell you these details?”
I dip my head once, look him straight in the eyes and reply darkly, “Because I’m your prisoner.” Then I run, straight back to the hull, where I let tears of confusion streak down my cheeks as I stare at the island that stretches for miles.
Freedom is just a day away. I need to stop lying to myself about everything else.
For the first time since we started having sex, I pretend to sleep. Captain sighs, pulls away the blanket gently, rests his head on my middle and holds me like he usually does.
It doesn’t soothe me, if anything it makes me feel worse knowing I’ve fallen for his lies like an absolute idiot.
Well, not anymore.
Two can play at that game.
The crew bustle with excitement as the chosen few climb into the waiting rowboats and the crew that are being left behind lower them to the ocean, yelling their requests as people in the boats write their lists.
I’m escorted to the very back of the ship and down deep, to the level just above the surface of the water.
I squeal when a mechanical flap lowers with a loud hum and the room lights up, revealing a pristine white sailboat, big enough for two. It reminds me of the movie Moana except it’s likely made from metal and rubber, not wood.
“Shall we?” Captain asks, grinning and clipping the life jacket to my chest.
He kisses me when it is firmly on, taps my nose with his and helps me onto the rickety boat as the dropped level in which it rests hums to life and starts pushing it towards the ocean like a giant conveyer belt.
“Are there sharks?” I ask softly when he climbs on after me and stands at the sail.
“Probably.” He grins, shrugging. “But don’t worry, the only thing eating you tonight is me.”
With a handsome wink he jumps a little to get the boat that extra couple of inches to the water and as soon as we hit it I scream happily and grip the rope handles to stop myself from tipping out.
He yanks on the sail flap and tightens it. The wind catches it immediately and sends us to the right until he fixes it.
“Lean when I do, okay?” he shouts over the roar of the wind.
I watch him slide around the pole, pulling the sail the other way and I laugh as we tilt over the sparkling, clear blue ocean, heading towards the rowboats that are moving at a sluggish pace in comparison to the speed we are going.
After a little while I get the hang of leaning after nearly rolling in a few times much to his delight. But then we make it to the small docks and manoeuvre our way into a spot just big enough for our boat to squeeze.
A man with skin like cinnamon, hair as black as coal and eyes like roasted almonds greets us, helping to tie up the boat to stop it from floating away.
He speaks English but his accent is one I’m not sure I recognise.
“It’s good to see you again, Captain,” he says for the third time. “We make new rum in bar. Go taste?”
“I will, later,” Captain replies, winding his arm around me and pulling me into his side. He kisses my temple and guides me towards a patch of golden sands and tall, gloriously green trees.
I pluck a large leaf as long as my arm from the ground and hit him in the face with it.
He rolls his eyes, smiles and fights me for it until I say, “Whenever I look at your eyes I’m going to think of these leaves. They’re the same colour.” I hold it beside his face and stop to compare.
His lips touch mine. “Come on, crazy, let’s get some clothes for you.”
“I can’t wait.” It’s the truth too.
He takes me to a cute little village that’s surprisingly more modern than I expected it to be. There are a few shops though none I recognise and unfortunately none that have the name of the place on them. It makes me wonder if this is a special hangout for people who don’t want to be found.
At the end are a few clothing stores, mostly catered to men but I find a section of underwear, socks, and leggings that will suit me. We fill a bag and I raise a brow when he chooses a dark purple bikini for me without my permission.
He shrugs, grips my arse with a large hand and whispers, “I have a surprise for you later.”
“I don’t like surprises.” Then I shake my head and correct, “No, actually, I don’t like waiting for surprises.”
“Tough.”
We walk over the golden street and I trip on a fallen branch that was hidden in the sand which only makes him laugh attractively. He then crouches in front of me, offering me his back and I take it. I can pretend for a little while longer that things are normal. It’s easier and he’s more likely to believe me.
My legs squeeze his sides and his fingers bite into my flesh in return.
We stop at a man slicing fruit and turning it into flavoured ice cream under the shade of a large straw hood, and Captain hands him a few coins.
“Choose your flavour,” Captain tells me, hoisting me higher up his back.
“Cherry,” I say happily and without hesitation.
I watch as he crushes and folds a mixture on a metal plate of sorts which slowly freezes the delicious-looking treat. He hands it to me, when done, on a dark cone and I lick it, careful not to get any on Captain’s bandana.
When I offer him some, he takes an awkward bite and scrunches up his nose when it ends up on his cheek. I lean forward and lick it off, laughing when he licks me back, drops me, turns and crushes his lips to mine. We almost collide with a pair of women who are minding their own business, talking beside a hut-like building that seems to sell books.
Why couldn’t I have met this man under other circumstances?
We head inside and I browse the many books as he requests five burner phones which the man proceeds to pull from a hidden space in the floor. I play it off like I’m not looking, but I am. How can I not?
That’s a crazy amount. How often does he have to change phones to speak to Niall?
Then I wonder how long it would take him to notice one of them missing and new plans concoct in my devious mind.
I watch him drop them into a satchel which is hanging by his hip.
I could get into that but he’s sharp, he’d notice.
I need to find a way to distract him.
My eyes fall to the ice cream in my hand and a devious thought comes to mind.
I play it cool, picking up a couple of books and dropping them onto the small wooden counter. I’ve not read them and to be honest I’m just trying to make it seem like I’m not thinking too much about other things.
“These too,” Captain states as I nibble on his ear, riling him up.
He hastily takes the straw bag with the books as they won’t fit in his satchel and walks me backwards out of the shop as I continue to bite at the underside of his jaw.
“I’m going to fuck you on the street if you don’t stop,” he murmurs, pulling me closer by my hip with his free hand as the other holds my clothes and books. “You know I have no control when it comes to you.”
I flash my eyes at him and show him the melting ice cream. “Find us somewhere I can lick this from your cock and you can fuck me anywhere you want to.”
He doesn’t hesitate, nor does he look around. Instead he grabs my hand and pulls me around the back of the hut into the shade. We pass a few trees before reaching a part of the island that is a little denser with shrubbery and trees closer together.
I drop to my knees on the sand, feeling aroused as the warmth seeps through my skin.
He groans when I rip open his belt and yank his trousers down to his ankles. His eyes watch me as I drip the ice cream onto his swollen cock that is looking me directly in the eye.
I grip it at the base and lick the cher
ry-flavoured creamy stickiness from his hot, smooth head. It twitches happily and I taste him greedily, going until all of the ice cream is gone, my hands are covered and he’s thrusting into my mouth, emitting growls and groans as I get him closer and closer to orgasm.
His hand grips my hair and he pushes to the back of my throat, roaring his release, giving me no chance to back up, forcing me to swallow his seed.
It’s the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever done with a man and the fact I dipped my hand into the bag, stole a phone and pushed it into my underwear as I sucked him only made it that much tabooer.
“Can you do that again?” he asks with a raspy voice, his back and head resting against the tree as his chest rises and falls with each choppy breath.
I stand, slowly, and show him the remainder of him on my tongue.
His eyes flash dangerously and his cock hardens again when I swallow it without issue.
“On your knees,” he orders but I can’t. He’ll find the phone.
“Not today, Captain. I feel like a bit of delayed gratification is in order,” I whisper, pecking his lips. “Besides, I want my surprise.”
“Such a fucking tease.”
“How can I tease you when I spend more time awake in your bed with you than I do awake apart from you.”
Chuckling, he nods thoughtfully. “Fair point. Let’s go to your surprise.”
We move to another part of the island, to the right of the village along a winding trail through trees. It opens up onto a golden beach with such clear waters I can see fish swimming through it in small schools. Tiny ones, like the kind you find in those places that eat dead skin. Gross.
The beach isn’t busy but it isn’t empty either. I’m relieved to see toilets and a small hut for changing. He escorts me to it and waits patiently outside as I panic, wondering what to do with the phone. I could turn it on right now and call Niall but that would be too risky.
Way too risky. So instead I stuff it inside a pair of my leggings in the bag of clothes, praying that he doesn’t find it or if he does, he assumes it has somehow dropped in there during our fun.