4. Less Fun Than Expected

4. Less Fun Than Expected

"When I pictured being tied up at your mercy, I'll be honest – I thought it would be a lot more fun than this." Hakan had come to with a throbbing head, hands and feet tightly bound, and a furious giant of a man standing over him with a blood-curdlingly murderous expression.

Hakan kept a smile on his face. He was still on deck rather than pitched into the sea which was an unalloyed positive from where he was standing, or rather, from where he was curled up on his side. He levered himself to a sitting position and looked up at his crewmate. He wasn't sure Captain could be cajoled out of his furious mood, but since the man looked murderous but hadn't done worse than tying him up, cajolery was Hakan's best hope to end the day a free man.

Captain's jaw worked and Hakan had to fight the urge to touch the smooth skin. Granted, he didn't have to fight very hard, given that his hands were currently bound, and he possessed a healthy desire not to secure a second punch in the face.

"You might be wise to hold your tongue," Captain ground out.

Hakan's grin widened. "I've been accused of many things during my life, but never of being a wise man," he returned. He added a wink, because why not?

"I should gag you."

"Ooh, flirty. Ask nicely and maybe I'll let you."

He was rewarded by Captain's jaw clenching again. Despite the ropes at wrist and ankles, Hakan's heart surged on the hope that he hadn't completely lost control of the situation. "I owe you an apology," he said, adopting a sincere tone. "I shouldn't have pried through your things, that was wrong of me, and a violation of the code of shipmates. I offer my whole-hearted apology and an assurance that it won't happen again."

"You're a thief," Captain snarled.

"Ah, no, not a thief. I had no intention to deprive you of your goods." He lifted his bound hands, using them to gesture at the waves surrounding them. "Who would I have sold them to?" He tried another wink. "I don't see any mermaids close enough to trade with."

Captain didn't reply, simply stood and glowered. It was a good look for the man, Hakan had to admit. He tried a new tack. "I was simply curious. You're an intriguing man. I wanted to know more about you."

Captain scoffed. "If you wanted to know something, you could have asked."

"But where's the fun in that?"

"Are you having fun now?" Captain snapped back at him, nodding at his restraints.

Really, the man shouldn't encourage him if he didn't want to be flirted at. "I'd have more fun if we both removed our clothes. That would have been a better first step. Try to remember next time you want to seduce me."

Captain's jaw worked and Hakan wanted to massage the tight, ticking muscle. "I'm not trying to seduce you."

"No, but I'm trying to seduce you. Am I succeeding yet?"

"No," Captain ground out in a tone that told Hakan the man was more affected than he'd admit.

"A pity." He lifted a shoulder carelessly. "But there's still time. Maybe I'll chip away at your defences until your restraint crumbles."

"That's not going to happen."

"No? You do seem to possess iron control." He winked again. "I like it."

He waited for that to land, although Captain's expression gave little sign.

"I, on the other hand, can be entirely pliant," he added, stretching to put as much of his chest on display as was possible with his wrists bound. He scanned up and down Captain's body to ensure his innuendo was obvious, letting his gaze rest for a long moment on the other man's crotch. "When the moment calls for it."

He returned his gaze to Captain's handsome face just in time for the man to scowl and spin on his heel, stalking back to the tiller without a word. Well, Captain was definitely riled up, although not in the way Hakan had intended.

If he were a wise man, Hakan would probably let matters lie now. Captain was clearly not going to kill him or throw him overboard, and silence for the remainder of the trip wouldn't be a hardship.

Except that he could make out a dark shape on the horizon that was almost certainly Crescent Island looming from the sea, and he really didn't want to arrive bound hand and foot. Crescent Island was like home, but the closer they got, the more he remembered that it was also home to numerous undesirables who would be far happier than Captain to have Hakan at their mercy. And that definitely wouldn't be fun.

"If I promise to behave, will you remove these pesky ropes?"

No answer. Hakan twisted his hands experimentally, but Captain was a sailor; he knew his knots. He sighed and shifted onto his knees, edging towards the other end of the boat with a lop-sided, shuffling motion. When he'd pictured being on his knees in front of Captain, that had also seemed like it would be more fun than this reality.

~

Thief made no sense. Ramorran tried to ignore the man shuffling towards him and focus on piloting the boat. Crescent Island was within sight; that's what he needed to keep his attention on. Never mind annoying pirates and their bemusing ways.

He'd punched Thief and tied him up while he was riding a tide of fury. That had ebbed by the time the man had recovered. Once Hakan had awoken, he'd thought he'd need to harden his heart against plaintive pleas, or possibly threats. He hadn't expected determined flirtation.

Which wouldn't be so bad if Ramorran hadn't found himself reacting to it. Fun. Pirates were never fun, he reminded himself. They were treacherous liars, and slavers, and everything he needed to stay away from.

Except that Crescent Island was looming larger with every breath, and if he arrived at the island with Thief still tied up, the man was unlikely to help him.

Ramorran wished with all he had that he didn't need help. Especially from pirates.

The shuffling grew louder. Hakan – Thief – drew closer, a smile still adorning his handsome face. An ache throbbed gently behind Ramorran's ribs. He wanted to believe the promise in that smile, but he wasn't such a fool. Pirates smiled in your face while they tied a loop around your throat, tugging it tight to ensure you ended up the one dancing to their tune. He was never going to let that happen again.

He kept his gaze steady on the horizon although it was impossible not to notice from the corner of his eye as his prisoner shuffled towards him.

"I'm very sorry."

Ramorran was focusing so firmly on where they were heading that he jumped when Thief set his bound hands on Ramorran's right leg. He froze. Thief's hands dangled perilously close to his cock. If he stood up, there was every likelihood those thick fingers would brush...

He clenched his teeth. He had no plans to stand. If he needed to, he'd stay seated forever. Until Hakan grew bored of flirting to no avail.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

He made the mistake of glancing in the other man's direction, finding Thief watching Ramorran's face beseechingly.

"Please will you remove these ropes?" He sounded almost earnest, if Ramorran were fool enough to be taken in. "I swear I'll be as good as gold."

Ramorran held himself so rigidly his fingers shook. He curled them tightly around the tiller until he was afraid the wood might splinter, but he didn't dare relax, not while Hakan's wrists were bands of heat draped across his thigh, the man's eyes intent on him, his face inches from Ramorran's own. His lungs were tight and his mouth suddenly dry. He licked his lips and a spark of awareness lit Hakan's watching eyes as he traced the movement. Thief's grin widened at the sign of weakness. His bound hands ventured deliberately over the crest of Ramorran's thigh and began the journey down the inside slope.

He bolted to his feet.

Hakan fell back, eyes wide, although Ramorran wasn't sure if his surprise was real or feigned.

"Do you promise to sit peaceably and cause no trouble?" he snapped.

Hakan shuffled to a seated position. "Cross my heart." He attempted to do so. "May God smite me if I lie."

"You lie with every breath," Ramorran huffed, which was mean-spirited of him, but fervently felt.

"Only sometimes," Hakan replied, back to his teasing self. "And I swear I'm not lying this time. I'll do exactly as you tell me."

He huffed again, doubting that. Hakan's grin widened as he sensed victory.

"Very well." Ramorran squatted and tugged at the knots securing the thief's wrists. A voice in his head screamed that he was being taken for a fool, but it seemed they were far along that road already.

When the rope came free, Hakan rubbed his wrists with a sigh. Ramorran stepped back to the tiller; Thief could deal with his ankles himself. He trimmed the sail, checked their heading, then returned his attention to his erstwhile prisoner. "Tell me what you know about Crescent Island."

~

"What do you want to know?" Hakan set his back against the planks, legs (now free) stretched in front of him. That was better. He wasn't even disappointed his attempts at flirting had come to nothing. There wasn't enough time to do anything worthwhile and his pride was barely even bruised by Captain's rebuff. He'd be more upset if he'd believed the other man's heart was truly in it, but he'd managed to rile him, which was enough for now.

Captain's jaw worked, which was a gesture Hakan was starting to view with familiar affection. He considered apologising for making the man uncomfortable, but he was fairly confident he hadn't made him uncomfortable – he'd just made him uncomfortably aware of his own reaction to Hakan, which was a different matter entirely.

Now, Captain appeared reluctant to confide anything to Hakan, which only made him more eager to know what was going on behind that handsome, grumpy face.

"I need to find information about someone who should be well known on Crescent Island."

That was intriguing. "A pirate?"

"Yes." The word sounded as though it were being dragged forcibly from Captain's lips.

"There's plenty of them on Crescent Island. Do you have a name? Or a description?" He wondered how Captain had come across a pirate, since he was clearly not one of their brotherhood.

"Modo Sixblades."

Hakan blinked, shifting rapidly from surprise into curiosity. How in the world did a man like Captain come to know even the name of one of the Sundering Sea's most notorious pirates? King of the Sea, Sixblades liked to style himself. Even hardened men paused before stepping into Sixblades' presence, but Captain seemed oblivious of his reputation. "What do you want to know about Sixblades?"

"I need an address where I'll find him." He spoke as though that were a normal thing to ask for, as though he might be proposing to take tea with the man, or drop off a parcel. But Hakan was sure Captain wasn't carrying contraband so it couldn't be a matter of business. The intricately-carved chest slipped back into his thoughts – but while that was beautiful and valuable, it was hardly unique enough to interest Sixblades.

Hakan watched Captain closely. "What do you plan to do if you get an address?"

"None of your business."

"Look, a piece of advice I'll give you for free ... someone like you, and someone like him ... you'll be lucky if he doesn't eat you alive."

Captain gave him a scathing look. "I know what he's like." His signature jaw-grind showed again. "He stole something from me, and I intend to get it back."

Hakan whistled, long and low. He shook his head. "Whatever he took, it's gone. Buy another. Learn to live without."

He thought Captain might pop a muscle, his jaw ground so hard at that suggestion. "I can't," he gritted out. "It's mine, and I will get it back." He spoke as though there were no doubt in the matter, which told Hakan more clearly than anything that he didn't understand how dangerous Sixblades could be.

Curiosity swept through him. "What did he take?"

Another grind. "That's between me and him."

"Your virginity?" Hakan suggested, only half-joking.

That netted him a baleful glare. "No. What he took was important. Can you tell me who on Crescent Island will furnish me with his address, or are you just wasting your breath and my time?"

Hakan chewed at his moustache. All he could read in Captain's eyes was determination. He was hungry to know what had happened, but he'd gather crumbs and assemble the story by stealth. "Yes, I can help you." He made his decision. "Stick with me when we get to Crescent Island and I'll take you to someone who can give you the information you need. If you've coin to pay for it?" Because Captain struck him as being sufficiently naive he might think information was given out for the asking.

"I can pay." Captain's jaw clenched a final time. He glanced at Hakan as though seeing him for the first time. "Thank you."

Hakan cleared his throat. "Happy to help." He turned away, staring across the sea towards their destination, wondering when it had become difficult to lie to a man's face.