21. The Stupid Ribbon

Chapter 21

The Stupid Ribbon

The Siren

" S ecure the main mast! Brace for impact!" Kipp yelled, and the crew scrambled into action.

Rain pelted my face, stinging my skin as I stood at the bow of the ship with a white-knuckled grip on the railing as the bow dipped and lifted with every violent wave that crashed into the hull of the ship. The tumultuous sea churned and roared; the force almost deadly in the deafening howl of the wind. The constant barge of storms threatening this ship worried me more than I'd like to admit. Could Poseidon know about my current predicament? Could he know that if this ship broke on these waves, that my life would be forfeited right along with it?

"Always so dramatic," I muttered under my breath as I rolled my eyes. Another wave rocked the ship and my bare foot slipped on the wet deck, my knee cracking into the wooden boards with a damp thump that sent shocks of pain up my leg. I gritted my teeth against the agony as I lifted myself back up.

"Need a hand there, Talia?" Kipp asked, handing the helm of the ship over to Patton as he approached me with that smirk of his. He approached with a slight limp in the leg I'd just injured with my fall.

I glared at him, hating the way my heart skipped a beat whenever he said my name. "Stay away from me, pirate," I snapped, my traitorous mind flashing tantalizing images of myself wrapped around his thick body. The lustful desires clawed at my insides like a constant torment. My newfound powers a double-edged sword—power at the cost of this incessant need. I wish my mother would have been able to warn me of this.

"Fine," he said, throwing his hand up in surrender. "I was just trying to be helpful."

"Your kind of help is exactly what I don't need right now," I retorted, turning back toward the roiling sea ahead. His footsteps sounded at my back as he left me alone. Already, the throb in my knee had ebbed.

The storm worsened, the wind howling like a banshee as it tore at our sails, threatening to capsize the ship completely. I watched the crew as they worked, as they steered the ship onward even as skies ahead continued to darken. The men scurried about the ship, exhausted, their strength spent. Kipp's hands wrapped around one of the ropes that had just tore through his crew, shoving men aside who just barely managed to stay aboard. I rushed toward him without even thinking, my hands gripping the rope with him, our bodies brushing together as we struggled to secure the rigging.

Every touch sent a jolt of electricity through me, heightening my need for him. The thought plagued me as the rope cut my skin while the wind tried to tear it from our grasp. I held on, giving Kipp time to secure it. He stood, his dark inky gaze flashing with desire that he fought while he growled, "Keep your hands to yourself, siren." His hands clenched at his sides as he took a step backward, betraying the effort it took for him to restrain himself.

"Believe me, pirate," I spat back, my heart pounding inside my chest. "The feeling is mutual."

The storm his ship fought against was a perfect reflection of the tempest inside us both—a maelstrom of lust, anger, and frustration. It made me wonder… but I dismissed the idea as soon as it had come. That couldn't be it…

I stalked past him, heading to the cabin. I pushed him away when he tried to help me, he didn't want to accept my help when I offered; I didn't want to accept his either. What were we even trying to do here? We both needed each other to accomplish our goals, but neither of us wanted to accept the other.

The door slammed behind me, my anger palpable in the cabin as I tore the stupid ribbon holding my hair from my face free. I didn't know who I was angrier at. The pirate who shunned me when I'd helped him, or myself, for feeling this way in the first place.

"Listen," Kipp said at my back, his fingers wrapping around the door as he stood in its frame. "Slamming doors is childish."

I turned, the ribbon falling from my fingers to the floor as I stared at the frustrating smirk of his, dimpling his cheek as he closed the door with a soft click. My anger burned within me, my heart fluttering in the cage of my ribs as it took every ounce of my strength to remain where I stood. My body thrummed, it trembled with a need I refused to give it, but his dark eyes glittered, his head tilting with his amusement, and his words hit home.

"You think me childish?" I replied, my voice lilting with the power of a siren, the call, the seduction. My clothing clung to my body, my curves, as I sauntered across the cabin and came to a stop in front of him.

It was me who smirked as his breath halted. Bringing my face toward him, the skin of my cheek brushed his as I brought my lips toward his ear. My voice barely a whisper, I said, "That's not how you look at me."

I ran my hands down the sides of his face, down his neck, down the front of his shirt that hung open. I let my fingertips trace lines of definition as I pulled my lips from his ear, meeting his dark gaze with the power of lust within my own.

His eyes narrowed, but there was a flicker of amusement hidden beneath the layers of mistrust. He pushed past me, dropping into the chair as he worked to remove his boots. "Don't push your luck, siren."

The sexual tension between us was intense, thickening the air until it became almost suffocating. I crossed the room, lowering myself to my knees in front of him as I folded my hands together over his damp knee. "Luck?" I arched a brow, my voice dripping with honeyed sarcasm. "Darling, luck has nothing to do with it. It's all skill and vicious charm." I bared my teeth, running my tongue across their sharpened tips as I let a bit of my siren form to show itself.

"Remember, vicious creature. If you kill me, you kill yourself." There was no real threat in his words though. His dark, inky eyes glittered with challenge. The only question was the kind of challenge he begged for.

I didn't move as he lifted the wet shirt from his torso, letting my gaze eat up the muscular chest hardened from the tough work of his sailor life, tanned darkly from the brutal rays of the sun, and deliciously inviting. I smirked, an unwavering determination igniting me from within as I replied, "Perhaps, but even pawns bound to another life can create chaos."

He didn't push me away as he dropped his shirt to the floor. He simply gave his head a shake. "You are stubborn as a mule."

"Mule? What is that?" I asked, feeling my brow scrunch as I stared into his dark brown gaze.

He chuckled with a shake of his head. "It's uh… it's a type of animal. A donkey mixed with a horse. They're known to be stubborn as hell with a mean kick when angry."

Dragging my fingers along the damp fabric lining his thigh, I blinked up at him through my long, dark lashes. "I prefer to think of myself as determined." I lifted myself up, my body pressing into his as I brought my lips within a breath of his own. "And right now, my determination lies in finding that sea witch and breaking this curse."

His breath hitched as our lips nearly brushed against each other. His entire body tensed as I climbed atop his waist, hooking my arms around his neck as I looked down into the depths of his dark eyes. My dark hair hung around our faces, creating our own intimate privacy curtain as I brushed the tip of my nose to his.

"Besides," I said, feeling him stir beneath me. "I think you would enjoy my chaos."

Just as he lifted his hand to cup my cheek, I pulled away. I swung my back to him, crossed the room, and climbed into the bed with my back still to him. His disbelieving laughter fell into the air, filling the room as his weight pressed into the mattress behind me. He lay down next to me, keeping several inches of space between us as he mumbled through a smile, "This journey is going to be my undoing."

I didn't turn, I just smiled. The overwhelming lust that had been eating me alive had dimmed, if only just slightly, and I realized that all I had to do was play the game of lust to quiet the need. I only hoped I'd be strong enough to remain in control. Otherwise, I could lose myself in the heart of this pirate.