hardly even taste it as the liquid burns all the way down to my stomach. When
my bowl is drained, I grab the other one in Riden’s hand and start on it.
“I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized how long it’d been since you’d eaten. You should’ve said something.”
I don’t look his way while I eat. I’ve enough food in me now to patiently use
the spoon and blow on the soup. My teeth eagerly bite into the vegetables and potatoes in the mix.
When I’ve finished the second bowl, I drop it to the ground and retreat to the
bed. I still feel weaker than usual. It might be midday, but something tells me I could drift off now and sleep all the way until morning. Too many nights with
too little sleep.
My eyes are closed, but I can hear Riden moving around the room. “What are
you doing?”
“Trying to clean up your mess.”
“Could you do it more quietly? I’m trying to sleep. I’ve had a rough couple of
days, you know.”
He snorts, but the rustling sound of cleaning still continues.
“Good idea, you cleaning the room and all,” I say. “I’ll need something to do
tomorrow.”
There’s a loud slam as he throws down whatever he’d been holding. My eyes
fly open as Riden hauls me up by my arms.
“What are you doing?” I demand. “You cannot keep touching me as though
I’m a small child you can pick up and move whenever you want to.”
“If you insist on continually acting like a child, then there is no reason why I
shouldn’t treat you as one.”
“What on Maneria are you talking about?”
“My room!” He huffs. “Look at it. It’s filthy. Half of my things are ruined, thanks to your damned drawings. I ought to toss you overboard!”
“You locked me up in here! What did you think would happen? You should
toss yourself over for being a complete idiot. And if you wanted me punished, then you should have let the captain continue on with me instead of asking him
to stop!”
“Are you complaining because I helped you?”
“I had things under control.”
“Just yesterday you were making a fuss because I didn’t stick up for you. You
can’t have it both ways! So pick one!”
“What do you care what I want? Why don’t you have the balls to do what you
want?”
Riden sighs and looks heavenward. “Stop doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“You’re a woman. Act like it. You shouldn’t be saying such foul—”
“I’ll say whatever I please. I’m not a lady, I’m a pirate!”
“Well, you shouldn’t be!”
“And why’s that? I’m plenty good at it.”
“Because pirates aren’t supposed to look like you look and talk like you talk
and do what you do. You’re confusing, and it’s messing with my head.”
“How is that my fault? I’m sure your head was plenty messed up before I came along.”
I can feel Riden’s breath in my face. He’s so close and so angry, I almost want to laugh.
“No, it wasn’t,” he insists.
Then he’s kissing me.
What the—I misread where that was going. I wanted to irritate him. To get under his skin. To mess with him because he’s working for the enemy. I hadn’t
exactly expected him to get all mushy as a result.
But then again, I can’t exactly describe this as mushy.
It’s pure irritation expressed as a physical need. Interesting.
I’ve kissed many men, pirates and land dwellers alike. Normally it happens right before I’m about to steal something from them. Or because I’m bored.
Right now I’m not sure I have an excuse. In fact, I’m sure there are several
reasons why I shouldn’t be kissing him. I just can’t think of them at the moment.
Perhaps it’s because Riden’s lips taste even better than I’d imagined. Or because his hands make my skin tingle where they hold the sides of my face.
Maybe it’s the thrill of doing something my father wouldn’t approve of. I mean,
he’s not exactly the overprotective type. He couldn’t care less about my dalliances. But he would most definitely be upset if he knew I was kissing the enemy, especially when I’ve nothing to gain from it. No, wait, that’s not true. It could definitely benefit me to have the first mate wrapped around my finger.