Chapter Text
Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck.
What have I done now? I sit up and look at the man lying in bed next to me. He’s actually rather handsome but not my type… so why is he here, in my bed? I rub my eyes, clambering out of the duvet, gasping as the cold air hits my bare body. Then it all comes flooding back. All the details of last night. Every last one of them. Even the small ones.
I glance at the man in my bed again, my eyes following the way his brown hair falls around his face as he sleeps, the sounds of his deep breathing and how serene he looks. I catch myself, walking back towards the bed, lifting the blanket. No, I can’t. I have a crew to command. I have people to keep alive. I race around my bedroom to find my clothing. Pulling them on. I strap my dagger to my thigh underneath my clothes. I pick up my sword, slotting it in my scabbard and glancing at the sleeping figure of the man one last time before storming out the room.
The first thing that hits me is the smell of the fresh sea air. Then it was the clothes of my quartermaster, Darren, as he made out with our ship doctor, Felix. I almost choked on Darren’s underwear before I ripped it out my mouth and dragged them apart. “Darren? What are you doing?”
He looks at me bashfully, “Well… Captain, I saw Dadd- Felix without a patient and I thought he may want some company. You know I can’t let hot men be alone in their personal space”.
I groan, releasing Darren’s shoulders to let him enjoy Felix’s ‘personal space’. I climb the ladder to the quarterdeck, walking to the ship’s wheel and wrapping my hands around the wooden pegs that line the edges.
The sea is beautiful. More beautiful than any living things, more entertaining than any play you can see. Better company than any friends you could have. More secrets than anything else in our world. I scan the horizon with my telescope, searching for any naval patrols. None. Perfect! I guide the ship into the harbour, leaving my crew to tie it to the piers. I climb down from the quarterdeck, walking into my quarters to wake the sleeping man. Only I find he isn’t in the bed, no, he is standing there, with his clothes on this time, pointing a sword at me. I grin “Had a good sleep?”
He looks at me “Who even are you?” His eyes rake over my body
I grin, “I’m Katherine Hilldale, Captain of this wonderful ship, the New Gull. Don’t ask what happened to the old one. It’s a long story.” I inspect the man’s face, “and you are?”
He sheaths his sword and clears his throat. “I am Lieutenant Luke Windorforth of the Royal Navy”
I look at him, the lust in his eyes ever so obvious we talk. I watch his face as his eyes study my lips, I smile. Men. So easily aroused, so easy to tease and have them wrapped around your finger.
I step closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck. I gaze into his eyes. As I was about to break away, he kissed me. Our lips met too strongly, as if he took himself by surprise. After a second, I leaned away, grasping a hand on his shoulder to hold him off. Despite his parted lips and his drawn breath he didn’t speak. His eyes were like coal and when they met mine, they sparked. He took my hand that gripped his shoulder, holding my gaze for a moment before bending his head to kiss me again.
It was gentle at first, but he abandoned that when he slipped his arm around me and felt my back arch. He removed my hat and his fingers slid into my hair, cradling my head. Whispering in my ear. Then, his kiss turned hungry. His other hand dropped to grasp my hip and I gripped his arm that now holds me so possessively. In other circumstances, I would have bathed in the victory of having a man like this, at my fingertips but now, now is a woman with no other cares, nothing to worry about, nothing to hide
In two stumbling steps we moved backwards until he could press me against the wall, his body hard and lean against mine. He moved back, gazed into my eyes and moved, kissing my jaw and moving down. His hand on my hip dropped a fraction and as if it was rehearsed, I curled my leg around his. His hand cupped the back of my knee and as his palm slid up the back of my thigh, I made a sound.
It was my own raw and unfiltered voice that stopped me, a sudden reminder that I was not free and careless. A reminder that Luke Windorforth’s fingertips were about to graze the leather strap of the dagger wrapped around my thigh. I gasped, and grabbed for Luke Windorforth’s wrist to stop him, leaning back against the wall. He felt the change in me instantly and stopped moving. His lips were still touching my collarbone. Then it snapped,I jumped and he stepped back. We stared at each other, saying nothing. I could just hear our breathing. I know how I must’ve looked, face flushed, lips swollen, eyes wild- I know because that was exactly how he looked.
I smoothed my hair and picked up my hat, putting a smile on my face “Shall I escort you off my boat so you can get back to you duties in the Royal Navy?”
He grimaces “That would be wonderful, thank you Miss Hilldale”
I check myself once over before beckoning for him to follow me as I make my way onto the deck.
Alas, of course Darren is there to critics my choice in men. He pretend to vomit. “Kat… really? Him? Of all the men… you chose him? He is literally the ty~”
I cut him off “Please Darren, be quiet. I can’t even hear myself losing the will to live”
I turn to Luke Windorforth. “And now feel free to get off my boat and don’t come back.”
Darren is laughing behind me, I turn to face him “What now Darren?”
He smirks “It’s just that he was the 5th man in your bed in the last 2 weeks, you are such a player!”
“I am not!”
“You so are, even you can’t deny it. But there would be no hate if you had good taste in men, get educated Kat”
I grimace, it’s not like he can say anything, he gets with a new member of my crew every other week. But once Darren has his sights set on something, he won’t drop it. I shake my head and ruffle his hair, walking down the plank to the pier.
I look at the harbour we arrived in. The town is small, I can’t see anyone around me but I hear laughter and tankards clinking coming from a pub just across the cobbles. I press my hand against the door and swing it open, the warm light from the torches hanging on the walls casts a cozy, warm glow, and that’s when I notice it. The voices are gone, I look around. There is no one in this pub, there never was anyone in this pub. I frown, confused, turning to leave. But I can’t, the door. It’s locked.