Page 25 of A Reckless Indulgence

“I work on an escort vessel. We convoy another ship to guarantee its safe passage.”

Lyx remains standing, but she doesn’t leave. It’s the best he could hope for. Finally, she corrects him. “You worked on an escort vessel. Don’t forget you’re dying here, pirate.”

The corner of Cav’s lip lifts. “My mistake.”

They remain in silence for a few minutes before Lyx speaks again. “Will the rest of your ship come looking for you?”

There’s something chilling in her voice, a reminder that Cav is trapped here. That there is no one to save him. That his fate is in her hands alone.

He should say yes. He should insist that he’s invaluable, that Captain Prodeus and his crew will sail the entire ocean looking for him, but Cav rests on his uninjured shoulder. “Honestly?” He blows out a breath. “I’ve only been with them a few months. I doubt my captain knows I’m missing; I don’t even think he knows my name.”

It’s foolish to admit, but maybe he wants Lyx to know they’re alone. Maybe he wants her to have free reign of him. Maybe he wants her to take him apart in any way she desires. When he shifts the leaf blanket lower, Lyx’s eyes flick toward his chest.

His heart hammers. He’s pinned beneath the gaze of a predator, but he doesn’t want to run. He wants something else. He takes a deep breath in and lets his breasts rise and fall.

She follows the motion. There’s a glassy look in her eyes, a hunger that Cav wants to feed, but Lyx rises abruptly to her feet. “I won’t be back for a while. Maybe never.” Her voice is clipped as she tosses a heap of wet fabric toward him. “You can keep these.” Then she hurries toward the ledge.

“Wait!” Cav scrambles to sit up and grunts as his shoulder spasms. His heart keeps up its rapid pace. He barely notices the clothing she’s thrown at him. It’s not Cav’s survival he fears for if she never returns; it’s this feeling inside him, like a wick has been lit and he needs to see it explode. He searches for any reason to keep her here even a moment longer. “If you lay those clothes out in the sun, they can dry. Maybe some driftwood, too. Then I can show you my fire.”

Lyx stops in her tracks. The air around her bristles like she’s warring with some part of herself. Slowly, she looks at him over her shoulder. “Don’t instruct me.”

It shivers through him. His tongue sweeps over his lips. They’re wet for the first time in days, and Lyx notices it, too. Her gaze jumps from his mouth to his eyes and back, drawn in despite herself.

Heat flares through his body. As cautiously as he can, he pushes up to sit. Any sudden motion might frighten her away. “My most tolerant captor…” His voice is raspy with salt and something else, scratching low in his throat. “Will you set my clothes out in the sun? Please? Or should I wait for you like this?”

Something slick and dangerous twists in his gut. He lets the leaf fall away, exposing his naked body to her. He leans back against the rocks, hand wandering between his breasts and raking through the soft scales trailing the lower part of his stomach.

What is he thinking? Why is he playing this game? Why is he risking his life for a thrill? But it’s not just that. He wants more.

From the look in Lyx’s eyes, so does she.

Her eyes are hot and angry, doing everything they can to remain on his face. He might even believe she hates him if the light didn’t reflect off her supple thighs clenching together.

The needy sound in the back of his throat makes her grit her teeth and storm back to him.

He isn’t sure if she’ll fuck him or kill him. He isn’t sure he’d say no to either, and he knows he should be afraid, but his body hums when she presses her wet foot to his sternum.

It shoves him back against the wall. A rivulet of water trails up the inside of her thigh, following gravity’s course between her legs. She knows where his gaze goes. The sight of her cunt makes his mouth water. He wants to drag his tongue between her lips, he wants to delve his tongue inside her, he wants to make her come against his mouth —

She leans down closer to him. “I’m keeping you alive for my amusement. Be careful how you entertain me.”

With every beat of his heart, his chest glows and spreads heat where their bodies connect. She watches light spread between his scales before she moves back and disappears off the ledge.

The droplets on Cav’s chest sizzle long after she’s gone, and no amount of water can quench his thirst.

ELEVEN

Lyx

Lyx shakes a scorpion from her boot. “I only have until sunset.”

This is the first port the Indulgence has docked in since Lyx boarded three days ago. Out here, the terrain is rough and dense. It’s nothing like the streets and shops of the town proper, but of course, Tidus expected her to find him in the overgrowth. His sloop is moored in a tiny cove hidden from the rest of the island, the boat’s ragged blue flag growing more bleached in the sun.

Tidus reclines beneath a tree and tips back his dented tankard. “Don’t rush me.” As if he didn’t expect her prompt appearance. As if he wouldn’t be furious if she lost her spot on the ship. Lazily, he swirls the drink in his cup. “Were you followed?”

“What do you think?”

His eyes cut toward her. It’s risky mouthing off to him, but she’s walked for nearly half an hour to reach this spot, tripping through mud and bramble bushes. Sunlight sears across her bare arms and bakes in the dirt and scratches. Tidus can handle a little bit of fucking attitude.