Текст книги "The sea ogres eager bride"

Автор книги: Ruby Dixon

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 14 (всего у книги 15 страниц)

And I’m very, very thankful for the sacred pot.

Ranan strokes my back with one hand, even as he pulls back to thrust again. “My wife.”

“Yours.” I feel dreamy with bliss, and when he surges into me again, I want to stay in this moment forever. I feel good. Sexy. Wanted. “All yours.”

I work his lower cock again and he groans, pushing against my hand. My grip is awkward due to the angle, and it doesn’t feel like enough. “Can I put my legs together?” I ask him. “Will that bother you?”

He makes a tortured sound and one hand tightens on my hip. “The flotilla could fall apart and it would not bother me in this moment.”

Smiling at the thought, I bring my legs together slowly, and as I do, I rub the slick length of his cock between my thighs and grip it. It changes how everything feels—now he can’t plunge as deep inside me, but when he thrusts forward, his second cock shuttles between my tightly-pulled-together legs. “Is this better?”

“All of it…is good,” he answers, voice thick. “So good…” He sinks deep again, squeezing my arse as he does.

“But is this how your people do it?” I ask, my toes curling when he bottoms out inside me.

It steals my breath away and I forget all about making this as good as I can for him, because my own pleasure gets in the way. Keeping my thighs rigidly together increases the friction on my pussy, and when he thrusts his second cock forward, it drags against my cunt. The head pushes between my thighs and I press it up so it can rub against my clit when he moves again. My whimpers turn into choked cries as he works me relentlessly, and when an orgasm quivers up my legs and spirals through my body, I welcome it. I cry out his name, clenching around his cock, and Ranan’s gritted curse tells me he feels my body reacting. I wring every bit of rapture I can from his thrusts, until I’m so sensitive between my thighs that I have to move him away or it’ll drive me mad.

“Amazing,” I wheeze, when I catch my breath.

“You…I felt that,” Ranan says, his hands roaming over my back. “That was incredible.”

By the gods, it absolutely was. My toes want to curl again when he twitches inside me, and I feel every bit of it. I move my fingers between my legs, seeking out his second cock. The head of him is slick with seed, but not enough for him to have come. He’s still hard inside me, too. “You didn’t come.”

“Not yet. I’m enjoying myself.” His thumb grazes the cleft of my ass.

“Is that how your people do it?” I ask him again, drowsily curious.

Ranan pauses. “Women of the seakind have…two entrances to receive a mate.”

Two wombs. Two channels. Whatever you call it, I’ve only got the one…but I’ve also got a nice, erotic imagination. “So do I, if you think about it. And we’ve got plenty of oil.”

He goes still over me. “Is…is that something you would want, Vali?”

“We could try it. I don’t mind trying. We can see if it’s something we both enjoy. If you want to, that is.”

He makes a pained sound, as if the very thought is almost too much for him to take in. “I would try it, aye. Bury myself in both of your wet heats? I would love to.” He skims a hand along my buttock again. “It wouldn’t harm you?”

I chuckle. “Not if we grease everything properly.”

“You truly are the most amazing of wives,” he tells me. “To think I found someone so eager and willing to take me, all of me…”

He sounds amazed, like he’s not handsome and gorgeous and rich and thoughtful. He doesn’t realize that I feel like the lucky one. That I should be sending a dozen fish to Vor every day in gratitude for bringing Ranan into my life. We’re still figuring each other out, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I want to spend the next fifty years of my life figuring him out. “I’m the lucky one.”

“To have a tongue-tied boor of a mate?” He scoffs at the thought.

“You can’t help it,” I murmur, arching against his touch as a bit of oil is dribbled into the crease of my backside. A moment later, his fingers are there, teasing at my back entrance. “And we’re getting better at figuring each other out…ooooh.”

He presses something into my arse. It might be a finger. Might be a thumb. It just feels big and invasive and intriguing all at once. Ranan plays with the pucker of my arse for a time, easing first one finger and then adding a second and stretching things. All the while, he tells me how beautiful I am, how enthusiastic and clever, and how I’m the perfect bride for him. All the while I wriggle and moan under his fingers.

“You think you’re ready to take me?” he asks after I’m squirming once more.

I nod.

He pulls his cock from my body, leaving me hollow and aching. Behind me, there’s the sound of wet oil being slicked over his cocks again, and then his cock is at the entrance to my body…and at the entrance to my backside. He presses in slowly, pushing against my body’s natural resistance even as I try to relax and bite back my whimpers. It doesn’t feel bad, just…strange. Different. My body relaxes, letting him sink in, and then his other cock is filling my cunt.

Ranan presses forward, and I feel very…full. Perhaps overly full, but as he pushes into me, I notice that every sensation is heightened. Even breathing in feels like an explosion of nerves. I can feel Ranan’s every twitch, the pulse of his body. And when he moves forward and then draws back to gently thrust into me, I let out a sobbing breath.

“Good?” he asks, voice tight.

I have to think about it for a moment. Do I like these new sensations? The strangeness of it is melting away, and I’m left with trembling, breathless enjoyment. Of my body stretched taut. Of being pierced doubly by the man I just married. It’s the most wicked and fascinating sensation.

Aye, I’m enjoying it. I manage a nod.

And when Ranan slides a hand along my front to gently rub at my clit while he pumps into me with short, shallow thrusts, I come undone. I float on a sea of sensation, climaxing again as he thrusts into me twice over.

I’m dimly aware of his movements growing erratic, his hips jerking and his control shattering, and when he comes, his entire body quakes over mine. Ranan falls over me, caging my body in his arms even as he continues to work my clit. I have to grab his hand and twine his fingers with mine to get him to stop.

“I…came…” he announces, breathless. He sounds as dazed as I feel. “That was…amazing, Vali. You are incredible.” He squeezes my fingers. “You…did you enjoy that?”

Did I enjoy that? “I think at one point I came so hard I nearly blacked out, so aye, I enjoyed it.”

He chuckles and squeezes me tighter. Then he sighs and gently eases off of me from where I’m collapsed in the blankets. When his body leaves mine, I feel a little raw, a little achy, and used. A good used, I decide. I roll onto my back, trying to find the strength to get up and clean off after sex. To my surprise, Ranan brings a towel and water to me. “I’ll take care of you, my bride. Let me tend to you.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I relax back, spreading my thighs obediently so he can clean away the mess of our lovemaking. “We should do that again,” I say. “Maybe not every time, because I won’t be able to walk straight, but we’ll definitely need to do it more.”

Ranan’s sail flicks and he’s quiet. Feeling shy again. He brushes his fingers over my ear, and that small touch tells me everything.

I curl up on the blankets and turn towards him, hands under my cheek. He puts away the water and towels, then approaches the pallet of blankets and joins me on it. I smile when he lies down and faces me. “How’s your leg?”

“Better every day.”

That’s the same answer he gives every time I ask. “I mean right now. Does it hurt?”

“No.” His gaze roams over me. “Do you have regrets?”

“Why would I have regrets?”

His expression turns solemn. “Because now you’re stuck with me.”

I reach out and flick his nose. “Don’t be silly. I’m here because I want to be. Or is this you fishing for compliments? If you are, I am happy to reassure you that the sex was incredible and I want to do all of that over and over again.”

Ranan’s hard mouth curves into a wry smile. He brushes a lock of tangled hair back from my brow. “I am not fishing for compliments. I just…want this to work. It feels too good to be true.”

“You won’t be saying that when I get cranky over eating fish every day,” I joke.

“Yes, I will.”

Gods, he’s making me want to kiss him all over again. Then again, there’s nothing stopping me from doing so. I lean in and press a kiss to his mouth, touching his chin as I do. “Don’t worry so much. I’m happy to be your wife.” I brush my fingers over his jaw and trace the lines of it. “So what happens now? Is this our new home?”

He pauses. “Do you want to stay with the flotilla?”

“I don’t know. Do you?”

“I want what will make you happy.”

By Belara, we’re still dancing around each other’s feelings, aren’t we? I move a little closer to him, until our noses touch and our breaths mingle as we lie down and gaze at each other. “I want us to be honest with each other.”

Ranan thinks for a moment and then says, “My mother would like for us to stay with the flotilla, but I’m not sure I’m ready to abandon Akara. She’s too young to join the flotilla.”

“I don’t want to abandon Akara either,” I tell him. “And I don’t mind going around on her back, but it’s nice to have a permanent home. We can’t stay at the grotto?”

He shakes his head slightly. “Not with a sea dragon in the area. It’ll chase off most of the larger fish—or devour them—and it’ll be dangerous for swimming. But there are plenty of other grottos along the coast. We can pick a new one and make it a home.”

“What about the stuff you have in your old one?” It seems so strange to me to just abandon it. I think of all the statues he has there, the trunks full of goods, the jewelry, the coin, the delicate dishware…

He moves closer, his nose rubbing against mine, as if he just wants to be that much closer to me. “We can retrieve what we need as long as we are quick and stay in the shallower waters. There’s nothing I require from there. If you want anything specific, we can always get it later.”

I consider that, running my fingers along his smooth jaw and stroking his skin. “I suppose we can always get that stuff later. There’s nothing I wanted. It’s just that it seems like a lot of treasure to abandon.”

“No one will find it. The grotto is impossible to access except underwater. It’s safe there.”

True. “And will you continue to rob ships? To pirate?”

He grins at me. “I like doing it. Most of the ships along this coast are merchants or slavers, and I don’t feel bad about robbing them.”

I wouldn’t feel bad about robbing them, either. “Can I help out?”

“It can be dangerous.”

“Not if we’re smart about it.” I tap the tip of his proud nose. “I’ll get some of those sea herbs you mentioned so I don’t conceive until we’re ready and we’ll work together. We can come up with some sort of storyline—that I’m your slave and being forced to help you out. I can do the talking for you so you can just stand there and look scowly and fearsome.”

He’s surprised at my enthusiasm. “You want to do the talking?”

“Yes, because if you ask for another bride, I’m going to pull her hair out.”

Ranan chuckles and then touches my ear. “I have the only bride I want.”

We gaze into each other’s eyes for a long moment, and it feels natural when he leans in and kisses me. Our lips meld, and time slips away, and there’s nothing but my husband and his hungry, tender mouth on mine. He pulls away and rubs his nose against mine once more.

“I still need my fish for Lord Vor,” I whisper.

Ranan groans, and then his hands are on me, tickling.

OceanofPDF.com

Epilogue

RANAN

Weeks Later

“Are you ready to do this?” I ask Vali as we float in the waters outside our new grotto. The waters here are a bit cloudier than the crystalline waters near the sea dragon’s nest, but the cave here has easier access for my human bride. It’s a large opening hidden behind a tumble of rocks off of a coast of steep, forbidding cliffs. No ship comes near enough to this particular cave because the rocks are too jagged, but those rocks also provide a natural barrier to keep us safe. The interior of our cave is smaller than the last, but cozier, and Vali has been working hard to make it a home.

She floats in the water next to me, a sling-spear in her hand and her new swimming gear on her sun-browned body. Instead of her foolish dresses, we’ve made breast-bands of fish-hide leather and a small loincloth so she has freedom of movement. I’ve crafted her a pair of reinforced feet fins like the ones Balo uses when he swims, but this time there is no retrieval line on her spear. If she tosses it too far, I will get it for her. I’m not about to let my pretty bride get dragged away by another fish.

“I’m ready,” Vali tells me. Her eyes glitter with excitement. “Do you think the shieldfish are still here? Or do you think the school has swam away?”

“They’ll be nearby,” I reassure her. There’s a cool current running through the waters, and the shieldfish like to drift in and out of it, plucking at smaller fish as they do. “You know what to aim for, yes?”

“The face.” She makes a stabbing motion with her spear. “And if it swims away, let it.”

“Exactly. There are many, many fish in the sea, my sweet wife. If you do not catch the perfect one for Lord Vor today, you will tomorrow.”

Vali nods and swims the short distance over to my side. She slides her wet arms around my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. “Let’s do this.”

“I’m going to swim at your side the entire time,” I reassure my too-eager wife. I am the one that is always thinking twice about things, the one that hesitates. Vali loves to fling herself into a task without stopping to think of the consequences. I love that about her, even as it terrifies me. “Remember the signal to make if you have concerns and I will surface immediately⁠—”

She kisses me to stop my lecture. “I know, Ranan. Let’s go.”

“Let us go, then.”

Even so, I watch until my wife dives, swimming deeper, before I follow after her. I’m doing my best to try not to hover over her or to be anxious about her fishing. She’s come so far in the last few weeks. Vali now swims for much longer lengths and can hold her breath for twice as long as before…but she is still my fragile, lovely wife and I fret over her. She does not have the lungs or the strength of one of the seakind. She has to come up for air frequently. But she is very determined that Lord Vor should wait no longer for his fish, so we are seeking one today.

We swim along in the surface waters, and I watch Vali’s movements carefully as we head out away from the cliffs and into the depths. She points out a distant shark, and I’m pleased that she moves like I’ve shown her—with careful, precise strokes and not the flailing of prey that will bring it closer. It swims away, uninterested, and we continue on. Soon enough, I see a shieldfish swim past, and point it out to her. She nods, surfacing to take a big breath, and then dives deeper, towards the beds of coral, so she can truly begin her hunting.

It takes everything I have not to wrestle the spear from her hand and take care of things for her. In the weeks since our marriage, everything has been going smoothly between us, and every day I wake up more besotted with my bride. I cannot imagine life without Vali at my side. I want her with me every hour of every day, and I’m obsessed with making love to her. That, and hearing her talk. Her laugh. Her smile.

I’m obsessed with all of it, truly.

I follow along behind her, giving her enough room so that I don’t chase off her prey, but not so far away that I can’t immediately be at her side if there’s trouble. I’ve deliberately picked shieldfish because they are a fish that is slower to react. They do not dart like a thunderfish does, their heavy, flat bodies making it trickier for them to maneuver. One veers off from the school, gliding over an outcrop of coral, and she signals to me that she’s going after it. I watch her kick with slow, powerful strokes, propelling forward with the help of her fins, and she lifts her spear. She swims overhead then dives down and lets her spear fly.

It sails through the waters, spearing the target. The fish flutters and immediately drifts, the forked end of the spear having pierced through the fish’s head and come out the other side.

Vali looks to me, waving her arms under the water with excitement. If she could scream with joy under the waves, she would. I indicate she should surface, and I swim down to collect her prey. This was perfect. Lord Vor is smiling upon us this day for certain.

When I surface with the heavy catch, Vali squeals with delight. “Did you see? Wasn’t that a good shot?”

“It was flawless,” I agree, holding the end of the spear out to her. The hefty fish is on the other end, trailing blood in the waters. I’m not going to let her swim back with such a weighty load, but she can hold it for now and relish her victory. “You did very well.”

She takes the spear without complaint, bobbing under the water at the weight of it, and I realize the size of the thing might be bigger than my mate is. She surfaces again with a chuckle and a rueful look at me. “Think the gods would mind if you carried this to shore for me?”

I grin at her. “Why would they give you a strong husband if not for such things?”

“Why indeed.” Vali gives me a playful splash. “So we take this to shore, light a fire and burn it for Lord Vor. After that…” She gives me a meaningful look and licks her lips.

“We celebrate?”

“Absolutely.” Vali smiles, her expression full of giddy promise.

I like the way my wife thinks.

OceanofPDF.com

EPILOGUE TWO

VALI

Five Years Later

I watch the oncoming ship approach with interest, a stolen spyglass held up to my eye. Akara is in her spot, blocking the narrow strait with her large body, and the approaching ship is just now about to figure that out. We’re at the other end of the channel on a raft, and when the two ships slowly make their way into the channel, we move in behind them, neatly blocking them in the pass.

“A more agile ship could avoid all this,” Ranan comments, musing. “You would think the Aventinians would learn.”

“I’m glad they haven’t,” I tell my husband. “Their ships are the easiest to rob.”

“And the easiest to tip,” he agrees, smiling at my enthusiasm. “Are you ready to board, my sweet wife?”

I put on the fake slave collar we’ve made for such adventures and adjust my torn, tattered clothing. I love the pretending most of all. “Ready.”

He puts a hand on my shoulders, mouth twitching. “Quit looking so happy. You’re supposed to be a slave.”

I adjust my features, trying to put an appropriately grim expression on my face. Truth is, I love this. I love the thrill of robbing bad people. I love that we’re taking their spoils from them and giving them to the people we love or using that money for ourselves. I love that after we’re done, my husband’s blood runs hot and we make love like wild demons.

So yes, I absolutely love a life of piracy.

We watch as the ships come along the bend, skirting the jagged rocks and moving close to the cliffs. The straits are narrow here, and they’ve yet to notice that we’re behind them. I want to laugh at how low the long, heavy ship is in the waters. There’s one smaller boat and a much larger one with rowers. It’s the one with all the cargo. I count heads. They have far too many people on board, and not all of them are rowing. “Slave ship,” I point out to my husband.

“Aye, I see it.”

“Can we rescue them? The slaves?”

“Always.”

Another reason why I love the man. I hide my feral grin as the occupants on the ship notice us behind them and begin pointing. Time for the acting to begin. I pick up the large copper bell at my feet and ring it with the striker. As I do, I put on my “slave” expression. I make my face worried and fretful as I step forward. I ring the bell again and again as the two boats slowly approach Akara. Someone turns around in the boats and points at our raft behind them, and a cry goes up.

“Stay where you are,” I call out. “Listen to my master and no one gets hurt!”

We’d had the idea for me to pretend to be his slave the moment I volunteered to assist him. I can’t do the things he can in the water, and I don’t have the strength he does. But if people view me as an unwilling servant, they’re more likely to keep their focus on Ranan instead of taking out their anger on me.

And if that doesn’t work, I have a few strategically placed knives under my costume. I’m not afraid to jump overboard, and that stops most people from following me.

The ships pull up closer to Akara, and the captain of one stands up at the prow of the small boat, the men lifting their oars from the waters. “There’s a turtle blocking the way! We can’t pass!”

“The turtle belongs to my master,” I reply. “Do as he says and no one will come to harm!”

The captain’s face turns ugly. “You’re interfering with Aventinian ships. Tell your master to move through.”

“He will not,” I call out, stepping forward. “Not until you give us your valuables and your slaves. Then he’ll command the turtle to move.”

“Robbing sea-ogres,” the man snarls, stabbing a finger at Ranan. “You can’t do this!”

Rude.

Ranan gestures at the water, indicating that they have an alternative route. They can always swim all the way back to Aventine.

“Please,” I say, adding desperation to my voice. “My master will not be swayed. Just put your valuables in the basket he brings you and send your slaves over and he’ll let you pass.”

“Or we’ll fight you⁠—”

“Then you’ll still have to turn around,” I point out. They always get desperate before they give in. “He can speak to the turtle, I cannot. She will only move if he tells her to move. If you harm him, she might lash out and sink your ships.”

“Why would we do as you say?” the captain yells back. “We can just turn our ships around and move right past you.”

The men shoot panicked looks at that. They know as well as I do that the heavy ships, laden with goods, don’t move easily through the waters. They’ll have to go through us, or through Akara. Ranan takes the basket from my hands, and I act dramatically frightened. He dives into the water and while I shiver and act like a fearful idiot, he surfaces and immediately pulls on the prow of the boat to haul himself in. The men shout and immediately move to the other side to counterbalance, and the captain almost falls in himself.

I jump into the water, too, moving over to the smaller boat. I have a bag tucked into my belt, a knife in my teeth. When I climb on board, they all scurry to the far side of the craft like I’ve got the plague. I pull out the bag and gesture to it. “Valuables in here.”

“This is ridiculous,” cries the captain of the other ship.

“Don’t upset my master,” I yell out. “He’s likely to do something drastic.”

The captain isn’t buying it. He marches up to Ranan, moving down the narrow aisle between the rowers. He puts a finger in my husband’s scowling face. “You⁠—”

Before he can finish the statement, Ranan picks him up and tosses him overboard as if he weighs nothing.

Someone screams. Another person sobs aloud.

“He can’t swim,” one of the men says, getting to his feet. “Help him and we’ll give you what we have.”

Ranan crosses his arms, ignoring the request.

The man in the water splashes and flounders, his head never breaking the surface.

This is all part of the play-acting, too. “Please, my master,” I say, glancing at the bubbles on the surface of the water, the only sign that the armor-wearing man was here. “Spare his life? I’m sure they’ll all do as you say now.”

He glares at me. “Slave…”

I clasp my hands under my chin. “Please, my lord. Please! I’ll collect the funds and slaves and be quick about it!”

With a heavy sigh, Ranan scowls in my direction—and I have to admit, it arouses me. He’s just so good at being cranky and domineering. I’m getting better at hiding the fact that I’m turned on, but if this goes on for too long, I’ll lose my composure. The trick with our raids is to startle everyone, quickly get in and steal what we want, and then send them on their way.

And then afterwards, Ranan and I go through our booty and then frantically make love, our blood rushing from the excitement of it all.

Ranan continues to glare at me, and everyone looks anxious. There’s a bit of thrashing in the water from the man that went overboard, but he doesn’t surface.

“Please!” I cry again. I know Ranan won’t let him drown, but it doesn’t hurt to seem nervous.

My husband looks at the people on the ship. The man in front of him immediately takes off a heavy golden necklace and dumps it in the basket. “Just save Bridic.”

With that, Ranan sighs and dives overboard, sending the boat rocking and people scrambling to hold on once more.

It’s my turn to play things up. “You all need to do what he says,” I yell out dramatically. “He tore apart a man on the last ship for disobeying him! Please don’t make him angry!”

“In the basket,” the man tells them, pulling off his rings. “Everything you’ve got.”

Oh good. This is going to be easy, after all.

They make quick work of stripping off their valuables, and once I’m confident there’s no uprising, I turn to the occupants of my boat and hold the bag out. The man closest to me scowls, but he pulls off a jeweled brooch and asks no questions. I turn around, and to my surprise, there’s a large guardsman standing in my way.

“You don’t have to do this. We can help you.”

His mouth doesn’t move, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s not him talking after all. There’s someone behind him, using him as a human shield. Coward.

“Show yourself,” I say, holding the bag out. “My master wants all the jewels. Please make this easy on yourself and no one will get hurt.”

The woman steps out from behind the guard, and to my surprise, it’s a face I recognize. I stare into the hard, sneering face of Lady Dywan. She’s not a slave like I’d wondered, but covered in jewels and wears a fine dress. And she’s riding in a slave boat wearing those things, which tells me that she’s found a way to regain her fortune. Why is it that bad people always somehow find a way to survive?

She looks at me with equal surprise. “You.”

“Me,” I agree, and hold the bag out.

“The monster kept you? All this time?”

“Aye, he did. I’ve seen terrible, horrible things that would make your hair curl. Please, Lady Dywan, do as he says.”

She doesn’t strip off her jewels. Instead, she takes a step forward and holds her hands out to me. They’re covered in gaudy rings, her bracelets clinking as she extends her fingers. “You don’t have to do this,” she tells me. “We can save you. I can save you.”

I’m touched…at first. It’s kind of her to offer to rescue me. I remember five years ago, when she was the only one that protested that I’d be given to the sea-ogre. But I know now that Lady Dywan’s rescue isn’t a rescue after all. I’d just be patted on the back even as shackles were put around my wrists. Lady Dywan is the type that gets ahead by stepping on others. The fact that she’s a slaver now tells me everything.

Not that I’d ever take her up on her offer. I clasp her delicate, bony fingers in mine…and slip the biggest ring off of her hand, a huge ruby surrounded by knots of gold. “I’m good.”

Some time later, the seven slaves are huddled on Akara’s back in the fish-hide tent as the turtle lazily makes her way out to sea. The slaver ships are floating somewhere in the channel where we’d left them after taking all their oars and tossing them into the water. If they’re smart, they retrieved them and went on their way. If not…well. Lord Vor tends to those who tend to themselves.

I lounge near the water’s edge with Ranan’s arms around me. We pick idly through the riches we stole from the slavers, but I’m more concerned with the poor souls we rescued. My husband’s chin rests on my head and we watch as they ravenously tear through our stored supplies that we’d given them, eating everything down to the old, dry bits of fish jerky.

“I don’t think they were fed on those ships,” I tell my husband as his fingers stroke along my arm. “You’re going to have to fish tomorrow to feed all these hungry bellies.”

“I can do that.” He presses a kiss to my temple. “Did you have fun today? You were very convincing.”

“A lot of fun. It occurs to me that we don’t need this gold nearly as much as our new friends do.” I point at the rescued slaves. “The fun is in the stealing anyhow.” After seeing all the riches that pour in from our piracy, I’m less excited about pretty, sparkly things. It’s more fun to give them away to others and to watch them light up with delight. I’ve got a few particularly jade-encrusted pieces I’ve kept aside for Balo. It’s become a tradition for him to give me jewels with rubies and for me to give him jade or emerald. It started when he joked that the red gems matched my hair, so I gave him green for the same reason. Never mind that we both have the same hair color.

The flotilla probably thinks all humans are as silly as the two of us when we get together.

“You want to give all our ill-gotten goods to the slaves?” He just chuckles. “If we keep doing that, my lovely wife, we’re going to be the poorest pirates in all the seas.”

I snuggle in his arms, loving that I’m cocooned in his embrace. There’s nothing quite like a four-armed snuggle to make you feel truly safe. “You’re just annoyed I suggested it before you did.”

“Not annoyed.” He nips at my ear and then notices the big ruby I’m still wearing on my finger. He picks up my hand and admires the ring. “You keeping this one?”

I muse as I admire Lady Dywan’s ring on my finger. “I might. It’s a good reminder.”

“Of what?”

I turn to gaze up at my husband. Five years together, and I never grow tired of looking at him. The proud sail atop his head is a little taller, his cheeks a little leaner, but otherwise he’s as hard and unyielding-looking as the day I met him. Ranan still misspeaks from time to time, but I’m confident in my place at his side, and we’re able to laugh off the worst of it. “It reminds me that pretty words are nice, but sometimes you’re better off picking the sea monster.”