16. Chapter 16

You would think a crew of crusty pirates would look at you askance when you tell them you want to have a huge party for a birthday they”ve already celebrated.

Not this one. I’m not sure if it’s because I was once a captive and they’re chalking it up to whatever upbringing I might have had before they stole me from the pirate ship I’d been on before theirs. Regardless, I’m not going to worry about the why, and focus more on the planning.I also changed things up a bit, making it into some kind of reverse birthday where we”d be giving gifts to everyone on the island instead.

Pete and I sit down to figure out which of the inventory items in our hull can be used to jazz up the planned celebrations.

Paper seems to be a bit of a precious commodity, so I don’t really want to make them cut it, tear it or use it in a way that will cause a shortage on the island. At least not until I can show them how to make their own.

In the end, the men are all ordered to go through whatever loot they had collected to find at least one present to give to someone else, without the expectation to get anything back. There might be some grumbling about that from a select few, but the overall vibe is acceptance and excitement.

Some of the older guys even ask if we can stop by one of the ports on the way home to trade some loot for gifts for the kids.

So maybe that’s so cute that I grab the man that suggests it and give him a huge hug and kiss on his rugged cheek. He blushes and quickly busies himself swabbing the deck before I can do anything else to embarrass him.

Pete chuckles as he watches the interaction. Before I can say anything to him, he grabs me by the waist and throws me over his shoulder.

“Come on, temptress. It’s time for your captain lessons,” he says to me, keeping his voice low so the crew can’t hear him. I put up the token resistance for the sake of our audience but all I’m really feeling is horny at being manhandled by my redhead and excited about learning more about what’s required of me.

Each day on the ship—because I’ve gone to sleep and woken up in the arms of at least one of my men for almost a week now—holds more adventures and things to learn. And with each lesson and adventure I’m more and more convinced this isn’t a dream or a figment of my imagination, because the things my pirates teach me aren’t things I know.

I’ve done my fair share of research. I’ve looked up texts online, grabbed big ass tombs of data from the library, and Googled about a bazillion pirate puns. But none of my research touched on the fact that many a pirate turns to the arms of his fellow crew members for a bit of sexual relief. The days on the ocean are long and the wives and girls waiting on shore don’t shy away from knowing their men help each other out. Nor do I remember ever reading about how to read the wind, the stars, or the kinds of clouds in the sky. It amazes me what Drake can tell from just a few fluffs of white floating over us.

But if this isn’t a dream, or me getting lost in my book, then I have no clue what it possibly can be. All I know is, hopefully it’s permanent, because with each passing day I fall deeper and deeper in love with the three men that entertain me, teach me, and play with me.

Pete deposits me on the deck by the ship’s wheel with a flair for the dramatic as he bows before Drake.

“Your treasure, kind sir.”

Drake scoffs before lifting an unimpressed eyebrow at me.

“Must you manhandle the crew like that? You’re distracting them from their duties.”

I shrug before hip-checking him away from the controls. Instead of allowing me to take them, he steps up behind me and covers my hands with his.

“He said something kind, and came up with a wonderful idea. I had to reward him.”

“And now he’ll be fantasizing about you tonight when he chases his flag up the pole.” Drake sounds unimpressed, but not particularly opposed to the notion. “Do you think, perhaps, for the sake of my jealousy, you can refrain from pawing at the men?”

My face splits into a grin at his reluctant admission. I reward him by laying my head against his shoulder so I can look up at his strong, handsome face.

“I can do that for you. Now, are you going to let me do this by myself today or will you be hovering like this the whole time?”

Drake doesn’t answer, instead he kisses the hollow between my shoulder and neck before squeezing my hip and taking a step back.

“Where are we headed, captain?” he asks me, his voice calm.

“We need to make a pit stop. Want to trade in some of the gin we’ve been making for some toys for the kids at home.”

I can feel the confusion, even if he’s standing behind my back and I run through the words I’d said trying to figure out what his confusion stems from.

Ah! Pit stop.

“What I meant is, we need to make a stop on the way home. Trade in some of our provisions for toys. For the kids.”

His arms tighten around mine, and I’m reminded of the back story I’d created for him. An orphan, growing up on the streets with no one but himself to rely on. Until he was taken in by an old captain who took him on to clean the decks.

“Do you know which direction we need to head in?” he asks after a while.

“No, Killer. Why don’t you show me?”

No one on the crew of The Siren’s Vengeance even blinks as Drake turns me around and kisses me until my ears ring. Nor do they think anything of the fact that he talks me through the navigation and figuring out which way to go to make port in the small group of islands local pirates liked to stop and trade.

But what they do note?

They’ve never seen Vixen as happy as when she is with one of her three men. So what if her words are a little confusing at times, or if one of the three call her Loralei instead of Vixen?

As long as their luck continues, they will happily carry on with things as they currently are. Each man on that ship would follow their captain into the depths of the ocean, because none of them have a moment’s doubt that she would do the same for them.