Chapter 15

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A fter dinner, Latham, Laurence and Dagfinn searched the top deck, Caspian, Gustav, and Jerrik searched the second deck, and Hammond, Roscoe and Manny searched the bottom deck. They all returned with nothing to report.

“I guess there’s nothing we can do tonight,” Viktor sighed, addressing the crew. His arms were wrapped tightly around my waist from behind while he leaned back against the railing. “I’m on night duty, so I’ll stay here on watch. If there is a stowaway on the ship, we’ll find him. Or her.”

The crew murmured their good nights before heading down to the second deck to head to bed.

“You should head to bed as well, my siren,” Viktor murmured, dropping his head to brush his lips against the crown of my head. “There’s no need for the both of us to be awake all night.”

I lifted my chin in defiance, refusing to abide by his words. “If you’re staying awake all night, so am I.”

“But then we’ll both be tired tomorrow.” His lips tugged down in a slight frown as he tightened his arms around me, pulling me closer. “And there’s no need for that.”

“If we’re both tired tomorrow, we’ll nap together,” I bargained, my lips twitching higher at the corners.

“You make a very valid point, my siren,” my husband chuckled and bowed his head lower to press his lips to mine in a gentle kiss.

“We should probably get to the wheel,” I whispered against his mouth. I couldn’t resist trailing my hands up over his chest and shoulders, looping my arms around his neck as I played with his hair, tugging his face closer to mine.

“We should,” he groaned and pressed another kiss to my lips before reluctantly pulling away.

I couldn’t help but pout when he did, but Viktor quickly turned it into a smile when my husband gave me another quick kiss.

“Do you want to have a go at the wheel tonight?” Viktor asked when we moved over to the front of the ship.

“As long as you supervise. I don’t want to steer us into any big rocks or anything that will kill us.”

“Don’t worry. You’re always safe with me, my siren,” Viktor chuckled and wound his arms around my waist from behind, though he stuck his foot out to keep it on the button, giving us the little extra power we needed to glide through the water. There wasn’t much wind tonight, so he would probably need to keep his foot on the button for most of the night. “You’re a natural at the wheel.” He dropped his head to press his lips to the side of my neck, the kiss a little sweeter than his compliment.

Well, at least there was something I was good at. Steering and cleaning the ship. They were both things I was good at, but not something that would keep me busy all day, so I was still looking for a permanent role while on The Serpent.

If I didn’t find anything soon, I was very tempted to return to Gustav and give gutting fish another go to make myself useful. I would just have to find a way to stop myself gagging every time.

“I see the appeal, you know?” I whispered into the darkness of the night, leaning my head back against his chest.

“Oh?” He hummed, his face buried in the crook of my neck.

“I see why you’re so in love with the water,” I clarified with a small smile, not that he could see it. “I may still dislike swimming, but it’s so beautiful out here. So peaceful. I see why you love being out on the water. I’m starting to feel the same way.”

I felt his grin against my neck. “I told you I’d make a sea woman out of you just yet.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves now,” I laughed when he playfully dug his fingers into my hips. “I said that I see the appeal. Not that I’m going to go for a swim every spare moment I get.”

“Bringing you with me is the best decision I’ve ever made, my siren,” he exhaled. “I don’t know what I would have done with you, and it’s only been two weeks.”

“I don’t know what I would have done without you either, pirate,” I admitted. “It would have been so hard with you away for so long.”

“And Kis,” Viktor chuckled. “That cat of yours still might not be my best friend, but I would have missed her as well.”

“I’m not going to lie and say she would have missed you,” I giggled. “But it seems like she’s doing pretty well here. She loves all the attention she’s getting from the crew.”

“Perhaps it’s too much attention,” he snorted. “I barely see her nowadays. It’s like the only time we see her is when she scratches at the door at night to come and sleep on my chest. And she still scratches me.”

“It’s her way of showing she loves you,” I lied smoothly, unable to keep my lips from creeping into a grin.

“You’re not fooling me, my siren,” he laughed, the sound infectious.

Our laughter came to a swift, abrupt end when a loud crash sounded from behind us.

“Did you hear that?” I asked in a small whisper, my heart hammering in my chest.

“I did,” Viktor murmured, his arms protectively tightening around my waist as he turned to stare over his shoulder.

“What was that sound?” I asked, unable to ignore my curiosity, even if it did kill the cat. Turning my head to glance over my shoulder, my lips tugged into a frown as I didn’t spot anyone else on the top deck.

It was just us two. There wasn’t anyone or anything behind us, but how was that possible? Something must have made that sound.

Viktor cursed under his breath and turned to leave. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. I shouldn’t be gone too long. I know you can take care of yourself, my siren, but if you see anything, scream, and I’ll get here as fast as I can. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you. I would sooner die than let anything happen to you.”

He pressed a rough kiss to my mouth and ran over to the other end of the ship and down the steps that led to the second deck.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, Astrid,” I whispered to myself as I turned my attention back to the front, focusing on sailing the ship. “Viktor will be back before you know it.”

It wasn’t necessarily being left alone on the top deck in the middle of the night that had me spooked. It was the sounds that continued to come from the lower deck.

When I heard a scuffle from behind me, my breath hitched, and I swivelled around on the balls of my feet. My heart felt like it was beating a thousand beats a minute as my eyes wildly searched the dark.

“Viktor?” I called out to him in a shaky voice, but it wasn’t the dark pools of my husband’s eyes that I was staring into.

“Laurence?”