Hunt on Dark Waters (Crimson Sails, #1)(46)

Just like that, his shakes still. “Say it again.”

I reach up and he lowers himself enough that I can hook the back of his neck and tow him the rest of the way. When I say his name again, I do it against his lips. “Bowen.”

He rumbles out a sound that’s part moan and part growl. Then he takes my mouth and begins to move between my thighs. For all his comments about going too fast, I’m the one who begins to spiral at the slow slide of his length inside me. He made me come too hard earlier; I don’t know if I ever came back down properly.

It’s all frenzy.

I move on instinct, doing anything to get closer, to hold him to me tighter. He’s obviously of the same mind, because he works his arms between me and the bed, pinning me to his body as he grinds into me. Each stroke is barely a stroke at all, as if he’s trying to reach some secret part of me deep inside and he can’t bear to retreat more than absolutely necessary to thrust again.

I’m moaning. Maybe I’m whimpering. Fuck, I might be speaking some arcane language known only to lovers.

It doesn’t matter, because he understands me. He gives me exactly what I need. Bowen uses his arm beneath my hips to lift just enough to hit—“Yes, there.”

And then I’m coming again and, holy mother of gods, I think I’m squirting again as he grinds into that spot over and over, milking every bit of pleasure from my body. Too good. Everything about this is too good. How am I supposed to walk away now?

You know how, little bird. One foot in front of the other.





CHAPTER 19




Bowen


I NEVER HAVE BEEN A MAN WHO QUESTIONS HIS PURPOSE. When I woke up on the deck of the Crimson Hag, I might as well have been a newborn for all the history I brought with me. Ezra became something of a father to me, and the C?n Annwn Council my gods. Never to be questioned, always to be followed with a devotion that was more than earned. Or so I thought.

Nowhere in that worldview is there room for lies.

I still don’t understand why the villagers here didn’t report the deaths. Once a beast takes a human life, theirs is forfeit. Except …

“What are you thinking about so fiercely over there?” Evelyn trails a single finger over my chest. She’s draped half on top of me, her body loose and sleepy.

“I didn’t realize you were awake.” True to our word, we had sex for hours before passing out sometime in the dead of night. Judging by the angle of light coming through the windows, it’s close to midmorning.

She snuggles closer until I put my arm around her. It’s very, very cute. “That’s not an answer.”

I want nothing more than to roll her onto her back and lose myself in the pleasure of her company for a few more hours. Even if I do, these thoughts will still be waiting on the other side.

I sigh. “When humanoid people end up in Threshold, they’re given the same choice we gave you. It doesn’t matter how they got here or what kind of person they are. They can join or die.”

Evelyn’s finger stills. “Yes?”

“Those we deem monsters don’t get a choice. Every time we’re called in, it’s after a death has occurred … or so I thought. What if we’ve been butchering them simply for the sin of wandering where they shouldn’t?”

She props her chin on my chest, her green eyes serious. “Would it matter?”

The question stings. “Of course it would matter.”

“But it doesn’t matter for the human-adjacent trespassers. Why would it matter for those you decide are monsters?”

She’s not doing anything but echoing my own thoughts, and I still have to fight the ingrained urge to argue. It was so easy to do when I thought my position was unassailable. When I thought I was right. “It matters.”

“Your laws have never been fair, Bowen.” She kisses my chest and gives me a sad smile. “I think I understand a little better where you’re coming from. Your ship was your family. They’re all you’ve ever known.”

Her sympathy grates. It feels too much like pity. “Ezra, the last captain, was essentially a father to me. But I’m too aware of the power imbalance between me and the crew. I don’t know if ‘family’ is the right term.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you had him. It’s awful to be lost and adrift in the world without someone to anchor you.” Her expression goes contemplative. “But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t perpetuating a corrupt system. In theory, laws are supposed to keep the peace and be fair, but I’ve never found either to be true. They tend to benefit the powerful and everyone else is left to drown.”

Again, I have to fight against the instinct to argue. “The C?n Annwn—the originals, the ancients—are gods. Or as close to gods as exists in reality.”

“And gods are immune from corruption? From being selfish and power hungry and trampling those weaker than themselves?” She smirks. “You must not have many myths here. In my realm, plenty of the prey the legendary C?n Annwn hunt are undeserving of that fate. Seems like it’s the same here.”

I feather my fingers through her hair, mostly because I can. Because she’s in bed with me and I’m allowed to touch her. Because this is only temporary and I want to soak up every detail I can in order to sustain myself for what comes next. “They’ll hunt you.”