A Special Look

“Dragons!” the lookout cried.

I didn”t jump up like the rest of the day crew aboard the Lu-Ken. I just swung my head toward the shore. We had been docked for a few hours now, and the Captain was out with the First Mate and a few others, looking for buyers for our latest take. And I do mean take. Everyone thought the Lu-Ken was a merchant vessel, that we were honest sailors. The truth was, we were pirates, just really good at hiding it.

Frowning at the docks, I sat up out of my lean. There weren”t any Dragons there. Only whores and fishermen. I looked back at Shu, up in the nest. He was pointing at the water, not the land. That got a reaction out of me.

Sprawled as I was on the broad railing near the bow of the ship, propped against a stack of crates, I didn”t have to move much to look into the water. But I couldn”t help leaning over the side. Because there, just a few feet away from me, were dragons—sea dragons.

It hadn”t been so long ago that the Sea Dragons had been hibernating, forced into slumber by the entrapment of their God. But then some land Dragon had freed the God and a shitstorm of divine proportions hit Serai. The Dragon Goddess was not pleased by the God”s freedom since she was the one who trapped him in the first place. They fought, the God won, and now the oceans were ruled by the Sea Dragons again.

Not that I minded. Things were getting a little wild under the water without the Sea Dragons to keep the peace. And that says a lot coming from a pirate. But we”re nice pirates. We don”t like a lot of bloodshed. Most of the time, we left the ships and crew we targeted afloat and alive. We only killed if we had to. Some of the things below the surface were not so agreeable. Plus, the Sea Kings didn”t give a shit about pirates. They let us do whatever we wished above the surface. As long as we didn”t fuck with sea folk under the waves.

Back to the sea dragons. And I mean lowercase sea dragons because they were in their beast forms.

Sunlight glittered on scales of green, blue, and violet. Long whiskers and fins trailed around the sea dragon bodies like ribbons spinning through the air. They were massive, each one about the length of our ship, but as they passed by, they shifted, bodies condensing into men. Beautiful, naked men.

Another part of me came to attention.

I watched avidly as the men climbed up a ladder attached to the dock—the same dock the Lu-Ken was roped to. Each of them had remarkable physiques, with long, dark hair. And that hair flowed free as soon as they exited the sea, their Water Magic pulling every drop off their skin and out of their hair. Waterproof satchels were slung across their chests, and when they reached the dock, they removed clothing from those satchels and got dressed. All but one of them. He waited by the ladder with a set of clothes held before him, all folded and nice. When the last Sea Dragon emerged, he bowed and offered the clothes to him.

“A king,” I whispered.

Even had the other Sea Dragon not bowed to this one, I would have known he was a king. He was regal even without clothes or a crown. His hair hung past his hips, teasing me with glimpses of an amazing, plump ass, dimpled at the sides. Once on the dock, he swung that wealth of hair aside, uncaring of his nudity. The really shocking bit was that even when he turned, giving me a mouthwatering view of his front, I focused first on his hair. The Sea Dragon King had hair that shimmered like a Neraky”s eyes. Iridescent. Jewel tones of emerald green, sapphire blue, and amethyst highlighted the rich black of his hair, made brighter by the sun.

The crew often teased me about my hair, saying it was the loudest thing about me. But my purple locks had nothing on this King”s brilliant mane. I sighed, actually sighed at its beauty. And that body. Dear Gods, he had a body made for sex. Tight abs, powerful chest, lean hips, and a cock that, even limp, made my balls clench. I licked my lips, imagining how he would taste.

And then I saw his face.

Did I think his hair was the most glorious thing about him? I was so wrong. The Sea Dragon King had a face that would haunt me forever. Strong and yet soft. His lips were full, the most kissable lips I”d ever seen, but his jaw was hard, unyielding. His cheekbones looked sharp enough to slice a man”s throat, and his brows were two blades above his . . .

“Holy fuck, his eyes are purple,” I whispered.

Yes, that”s how close the Sea Dragon King stood to me. I could see the color of his eyes. And they matched my hair. He was also close enough to hear me. As he slipped into his pants, he looked up, and our stares collided. Clashed. Fucking slammed into each other. It was like a cannonball hitting a hull. I splintered. Came apart in seconds. My chest ached, my throat went dry, and my hand clenched on the railing. A creak came as my long nails dug into the wood.

The Sea Dragon King froze halfway up, then stood slowly. He held my stare as he fastened his pants. Then he licked his full, kissable lips.

I did the only thing I could, I smiled at him.

And the Sea Dragon King smiled back.

Then he turned away.

As my heart slowed down, I couldn”t help but feel a measure of disappointment. I wasn”t sure what I”d expected from the interaction, but I must have been hoping for something because that disappointment was bone-deep. I continued to watch the Sea Dragons as I rubbed at the ache in my chest. I couldn”t rub at the other ache yet, not in public. The Dragons finished dressing, then went to a waiting carriage. A waiting, royal carriage. How had I missed that thing rolling up? So the King of Gavemor was expecting the Sea Dragons. Interesting.

Then the Sea King said something to one of his men. The man looked back. At me. No. No, he had to be looking at the Lu-Ken. Not me. Surely not me. The Sea Dragon King climbed into the carriage, but as he did, his knight loped back to the docks, right to the edge in front of me. I gaped at him as he pointed at me.

“Me?” I asked.

The Sea Dragon nodded.

The rest of the day crew gathered around me as I briskly walked—not ran, mind you—to the gangplank. My fellow pirates stood at the railing and watched as I left the ship, hands on the hilts of their daggers—Gods love them. They would have taken on a Sea Dragon for me, and I for them. That”s how we lived. Fuck, it”s how we survived. But I didn”t think their bravery would be necessary today.

Heart racing once more, I smoothed a hand along the top of my head, over the braid that ran down the center of my head and to my shoulders. The sides of my head were shaved and with the rest of it in that braid, there was nothing out of place, but I couldn”t stop the nervous movement. I kept glancing at the royal carriage.

“How can I help, Sir?” I asked the Sea Dragon when I got close enough.

“King Vaxarion of Morilren sends his regards,” the Sea Dragon said. “He will also send a carriage for you tonight at six if you are amenable to spending an evening with him.”

“I . . . he . . .” I cleared my throat. “Yes, I”m amenable.”

“Very good. It will be here.” He pointed at the road. “Your name?”

“I”m, uh, Zixin, Sir.”

“Zixin, you are one lucky Neraky,” the man said with a smirk. Then he turned and hurried to the royal carriage.

I watched him nod at someone just before he jumped on the back ledge, and then the carriage pulled away. I thought I saw movement inside, the flash of teeth from a smile, but I could have been wrong.

As soon as I turned around, the crew started cat-calling, blowing kisses, and thrusting their hips at me. I grinned and strutted back onto the Lu-Ken. I wasn”t a man of words, I spoke only when necessary, but I couldn”t remain silent to their teasing.

“Fuck off, all of you,” I said with my grin locked in place. “I”m having Sea Dragon for dinner.”

“Royal Sea Dragon!” Wei whooped. “Well done, Zix!”

“He hasn”t done anything well yet,” Joo said. “Don”t blow it, Zix.”

“Yeah, don”t blow it, but blow him,” Feng added, then motioned as if he were sucking a shaft. “Blow him good.”

I chuckled and went back to my spot on the railing. The crew continued to tease me, but my thoughts were already on the coming night. I was going to tease and please that Sea Dragon until his purple eyes rolled back in his head. And then I was going to do it all over again. All night. He”d be swimming home with a smile, and if it went really well, I might even tell the crew about it. In great detail.