Chapter Fourteen

We spent a week locked in Vaxarion's bedroom. A fucking week. Literally. All we did was fuck, eat, sleep, and bathe. I'd never been with a man who could fuck so much. Or come so much. His recovery time was ridiculous. What was most amazing was my recovery time. Despite the hell I'd been through, I handled the Sea King's appetite with ease. Even met it with a hunger of my own. I couldn't get enough of him. But I knew it wouldn't last. How could it? He had a kingdom to run.

And I had a ship to return to. A ship full of people who thought I was dead.

One morning, I woke in Vaxarion's arms to find him staring at me strangely. It was a soft look, his lips turned up, and if I were another man, I'd swear I saw love in his eyes. But he couldn't love me. Not me. Not Zixin the pirate. The ex-slave. The broken man. A king would never love me. But I'd take that tenderness. I'd grab it and keep it in my heart—a treasure to never be sold.

"It's time, isn't it?" I whispered.

"Time?" Vax lifted his dark brows. "For breakfast? Yes. And then maybe we can leave this room. I think I'm finally sated enough to share you."

"Share me?"

"With my court." He kissed my forehead, sat up, and stretched. "Yes. I am satisfied."

Satisfied? Share me? What the fuck?

Shaking with fury and fear, I climbed out of bed and then turned to face him, not bothering to clothe myself. "If you're satisfied, Your Majesty, I'll return to the surface. I'm not going to be one of your palace slaves, serving you and your courtiers when the whim strikes you."

Vaxarion blinked. "Zix, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

He got up and came around the bed, reaching for me.

I stepped back.

Vax dropped his hands with a frown. "I don't want you to serve my court. How could you think that after . . ." He waved at the bed.

"So, you don't expect me to fuck your courtiers?"

His eyes flashed, and a growl rolled from him. "You will not allow anyone but me to touch you. Understood?"

I let out a shaky breath and nodded.

"You're my . . ." Vax hesitated.

"Your consort?" I asked. "Vax, I'm honored that you gave me the title, and I want to accept it, but you know I can't stay."

The Sea King's voice went cold. "What do you mean?"

"This won't work." I held up a hand before he could say anything. "I'm so grateful to you for saving me. It was romantic and so fucking sexy. I will remember it forever. And what we've shared since then has been amazing. I don't ever want to leave."

His shoulders relaxed a little. "Then why can't you stay?"

"I'm a pirate. I need to feel the sea below me, not just around me. I need the thrill of adventure. And I have friends up there who are like family to me. My captain saved my life too. He found me—" I cut myself off, shocked that I'd been about to tell him about the Gashi. I never talked about that time of my life. "He saved me. I owe him. I can't leave him up there thinking I'm dead."

"He found you where?" Vaxarion demanded.

"It doesn't matter. It was a long time ago."

"Tell me, M—my Zixin," he stuttered strangely over the word my. Maybe he realized that I wasn't his. Not as he wanted me to be. Not as I wanted to be, either.

"No," I said. "No, that's a part of my past I don't talk about. Just know that I'm not an acceptable consort for a king. As much as I'd like to stay here, basking in what we've found together and forgetting that the rest of the world exists, I can't. I can't do that knowing the day will come when you realize I'm unfit and lose interest in me. Better for me to leave now while this is still beautiful."

"I will not lose interest in you, Zix," Vax said firmly. "You are my—"

"No," I cut him off. "Don't lie to me. Let's just appreciate what we've had and not tarnish the memories. I want to go before that happens. Someday, you can look back and remember me with a smile instead of bitterness."

"I will never feel bitter toward you." He grimaced. "Except for this moment. Frankly, I want to shake you."

"Vax, you have twenty-six other lovers. What about them? I know you're a king, but I don't want to be one of the throng who beds you."

"I will release them."

I went still. "What?"

"I'll release my slaves."

"You will?" My hearts exploded with joy. But I reined them in. "You said you couldn't promise to never take another lover."

"That was before. I can now. Don't go, Zix."

Oh, how I ached. My whole chest seemed to pulse with the need to stay with him. But I knew all about men promising you something to get you to be with them, then turning around and changing their minds. I couldn't let him sway me. Still . . .

I went to Vax and took his hand. "Maybe you wouldn't get tired of me. Maybe we could have something special."

"Yes," he said urgently. "That's what I'm trying to explain to you."

"But even if that were true, I still have other people to think about. Myself included." I sighed. "Vax, I can't stay here, living below the sea with you forever."

"We don't have to. I can take you above whenever you wish."

"Will you join me on the Lu-Ken too?" I grinned sadly at him.

"Can you not give that up for me?" Vax cupped my cheek. "I am offering you a life that most would kill for. And you would never have to kill again. You would never have to risk yourself or steal to survive. I will give you everything. All you have to do is embrace this life and let go of your old one."

I stared at him, my chest aching with the rapid beating of my hearts. I wanted him. I wanted this badly. A new life? No piracy? Only pleasure with the Sea King? Maybe I could have it. Just forget about the men who were like brothers to me. Forget the captain who had raised me like a son. Forget the life I had forged for myself. I hadn't chosen it anyway. Did I really need adventure? Wasn't Vaxarion enough adventure for me?

"This is crazy," I whispered. "We barely know each other."

"What does that matter? What we have is beyond time and such knowing. Don't let go." His hand slid down my throat, then my arm, to take my hand.

"Vax, I . . . can't. I want to, but I can't."

The Sea King's expression shifted suddenly, going from tenderness to barbaric fury. I gasped as bones moved in his face, his dragon emerging. His hand tightened on mine and he yanked me into his arms.

"Vax?" I pressed my hands onto his chest, trying but failing to push him away.

"You can't?" he growled. "You want to, but you can't ? Well, let me make this easy on you, Zixin. I claim your life as mine."

"What?" I whispered in horror.

"You know the laws of the seas. I saved your life. Now, it belongs to me. You belong to me." Vax leaned down to growl in my face, "And I am never letting you go."

Shivers raced through me, and I couldn't figure out if they were born of excitement or fear. Both, I think. Because as much as Vaxarion's declaration scared me, I also rejoiced in it. I didn't want to leave him, and he had just taken the decision away from me. But then I realized what this meant. I wouldn't be his consort now.

I would be his slave. Forever.

"No," I begged. "No, please, Vax. Don't do this to me. Don't take my freedom."

"It's done." He pushed me back toward the bed. "Now, get on your hands and knees. It's time to serve your master."

I was right about him. Had been all along. This confirmed all of my fears. I could have had status in his court. I could have had his respect. Now, I was his toy. And the laws of my world demanded I accept it. I was a pirate. I broke the rules every day. But some laws were ingrained in me as a man of the sea. They were in my very blood. A life for a life was one of them. Tengven had never used that law on me. He offered me a new life out of kindness, without any ties, and I had taken it. Vax had made me a similar offer, but unlike Teng, he had no intention of letting me refuse.

Hearts sinking in my chest, I climbed onto the bed and got on my hands and knees. Vaxarion's harsh breath was the only sound in the room. I waited, but he just stood there. A tear trickled down my cheek, so I lowered my face and pressed it into the mattress. Never let them see you cry.

The sound of footsteps finally drew my head up and around. Vax had left.