Page 164 of Sword & Sacrifice

A slow smile spread over his lips as he flipped the card around to face her: the Queen of Hearts. “So, what do you say, Em? Do you want to listen in on the captain’s meeting?”

She was already striding across the deck before he finished speaking.

He hopped up and tucked the cards up his sleeve. “I’ll take that as a yes. Now, let’s establish some ground rules. First—” He grabbed her wrist. “You don’t leave my side.” To prove he wasn’t taking any chances with this condition, he tied a length of rope around her wrist, then attached the other end to his own.

“I am not a dog to be leashed!” she protested.

“Maybe I am,” he said with what was either a wink or a firm blink. It was difficult to tell with the eyepatch. “Second, don’t speak to anyone. Not even a ‘hello’ or an ‘excuse me.’”

“At least that means I won’t have to talk to you.”

He snorted. “All right, you promise to start now? This’ll be a lot easier if you don’t argue with me constantly.”

She scowled in reply.

“Brilliant. Finally—whatever you hear, you can’t interrupt the meeting.”

“But what if—”

Rafe held up a finger to shush her. “You agreed not to speak.”

She narrowed her eyes but in the end nodded, accepting his rules.

“Stay close,” he said, guiding her down the ramp toward the dock.

After only a few minutes, she understood why Rafe had tied them together. The crowds were thick and rowdy. If they’d relied on holding each other’s hands, they would have already been separated. The rope firmly bound them while keeping Rafe’s hands free.

Ladies hung in doorframes, their low-cut bodices offering a tantalizing view of plump breasts. They mostly focused on the men, but a few called out to Emmaline, a slurry of sweet compliments and suggestive euphemisms.

Emmaline cast her eyes down and focused on the feel of the tight, rough rope around her wrist and the uneven street beneath her feet.

Rafe paused outside of a tavern named The Eternal Dream and untied the rope binding them. Then he wrapped his arm around Emmaline’s shoulders and leaned in, whispering in her ear, “We’re going around back. Remember your poor attempt at seduction on the ship?”

She glared at him.

“No, no, that’s all wrong. Soften your features.” He touched her chin with the knuckle of his index finger and lifted it slightly as he pretended to gaze into her eyes.

Emmaline took a deep breath and let her face relax. She lowered her lashes, then raised them slowly as she looked into his eye.

“That’s it. Pretend you want me. You’re so desperate that you simply can’t wait until we find a room so you can ravish me.”

Embarrassment and anger burned Emmaline’s cheeks. Of all the men in the world, he was certainly the last she wanted to be intimate with. Let alone anything as violent as ‘ravishing.’

“Close enough.” Laughter painted his whisper, adding to their intimate act. “Now, grab the front of my shirt and drag me into the back alley.”

She grabbed a fistful of fabric and yanked him forward. He stumbled over his own feet and a sloppy smile spread over his lips as he happily followed her into the alley.

Once they rounded the corner, he slammed her against the wall, pressing his body against hers.

Alarm flashed through her at the sudden violence. “What are—”

“Shh, you promised to be quiet,” he whispered. One hand squeezed her arm reassuringly while the other felt around on the wall behind them. “We’ll be done in a moment. I just need to find—”

A click sounded, and a hole opened in the wall beside them.

“Got it.” He changed his grip to her hand and pulled her into the opening, then grabbed a handle on the hidden door and pulled it shut again. They stepped into a narrow hallway, lit every few feet with dim lanterns. The lively sounds of the tavern leaked from the right wall. They were probably only separated by a few inches of wood, and yet the corridor felt like a different world.

“What is this place?” Emmaline whispered.