Page 29 of A Reckless Indulgence

“But you remember it.” His hands close around her wrists. “Just in case.”

His calluses are stark against her smooth skin. It’s strangely appealing, like a pumice stone wearing away at her. He could use that rough touch on all of her other soft places, too: the small of her back, the inside of her cheeks, the juncture of her thighs…

He doesn’t loosen his grip. Not until she finds her voice. “Parley.”

Finally, he nods and loops the rope around her wrists.

She’s never seen a knot like this before. It’s firm but not tight, allowing enough room for a finger to slip between the rope and her arms. He takes his time with it, and she has no choice but to look at his face hovering before her. Scales fan out around his eyes and across his cheekbones, trailing down his jaw. They’re smaller than the rugged scales of his hands. They feel different, too.

She remembers.

He stands suddenly, turning her toward the mast to press her chest against it. He lifts her bound hands over her head where he notches them on a hook, leaving her swaying on her toes. She tugs on the restraints. They don’t budge.

Her heart trips over itself. When’s the last time she was this helpless, hoisted up at the whims of some pirate?

Cav’s warm body presses against her back. “Is that good?”

Her fingernails dig into her palms. It’s dizzying being this high, her hands tied, Cav’s sturdy frame behind her. “Is that all you have?” She fights the urge to rock back against him. “This isn’t chaos; it’s barely disarray.”

He hums knowingly before something covers her eyes. Fabric pulls tight against her temples and blocks out all of the light. She clenches her fists to keep from shivering, but then his breath teases her ear. “What do you think of this?”

“A blindfold?” Her voice sounds foreign to her ears. Breathy. Tight. Needy.

His fist keeps the bandana in place. “I think it’s better for the chaos if you don’t know what’s coming.”

Cav’s teeth nick her earlobe before he pulls away. She leans back, trying to place him in the dark, but she can barely bite back a gasp when his mouth presses to her other ear.

“If you can’t predict it.”

Hunger coils inside her like a snake. It’s not the aching hollow that she’s used to, the one she knows from Tidus. This hunger is sharp, carnal, animal, desperate to sink in its fangs.

Cav speaks again. “I dare you to trust me.”

She shudders, trying to hide the need in her voice. “Stop asking. Just do it.”

“As you wish.” Cav knots the fabric behind her head. “I won’t ask if it’s comfortable.”

“Better than looking at you.”

His laughter sounds different when she can’t see him, a dark chuckle that makes her toes curl. The heat of his body vanishes, and she grits her teeth to keep them from chattering. It can’t all be blamed on the cold.

Far below, the party buzzes. The boat sways. Boards creak beneath her, and she knows he’s moving, circling the mast to inspect her.

Everything is heightened like this. When his fingertips brush the skin of her shoulders, she twitches and bites down on the curse in her mouth. It’s bad enough that she can’t see or free herself, but her body reacts to the slightest touch…and Cav can see all of it.

She arches and tugs on the restraints. “Why are you going so slow?”

Nothing she says spurs him on. If anything, he moves slower, dipping one finger beneath the waistband of her skirt. “Do you ever get fixated on something?” His voice sounds dreamy, as if his mind is lost on where his hands are wandering. “You can’t think past it. You want to spend all your time on it. Get lost in it.”

His fingers drift lower, tracing the juncture of her thigh. She fights not to roll her hips, not to admit that her thoughts of ruining Cav have been her obsession for the last two years. “I don’t have that problem.”

Cav’s touch is so light between her legs that she nearly spasms. His lips are hot on her neck. “One track mind, I guess.”

Depths, she hates him. Hates how she can’t keep herself still, how the words and his breath make her tremble.

“And the one track I’ve been stuck on…” He withdraws his hand from beneath her clothes and slides his palms down her thighs. “Is the last time we were this close.”

The scales on his shoulders drag against the bare skin of her back as he gathers the front of her skirt and tucks it into her waistband. Goosebumps spread along her thighs when they clench together. “That was years ago.” Her voice isn’t as strong as she wants it to be. “Forget it. Move on.”