Thorne straightened, and his sword lowered to the length of his leg. “We’re not finished, you and I.”
He didn’t shout. He didn’t curse. He simply watched her climb the railing,calculating.
Selene, sea spray stinging her face, the wind wrapping her in an embrace, smiled. “Until next time.”
She gave him a mock salute, then she and Petrina stepped off the ship.
Chapter
Twenty
“You’ve been drunk for two fucking days.”
Augustus hadn’t heard the door open or the footsteps crossing the room. Did he even recognize that voice? Where was he, and why was he on a cold, hard floor?
Gods, he reallywasdrunk.
The slit through his heavy eyelids revealed a plankboard ceiling overhead, a stretch of gloomy shadows waging a losing battle with an early sun…
And Blaze. Bent over him with hands on his hips and his brows knitted together.
That was judgment staring down at him from that lofty height.
Augustus hated these holier-than-thou pricks. “You’re ugly when I’m drunk.”
Blaze kicked him in the shoulder. “I forgot what a cruel asshole you can be when you’re like this. Get up.”
Augustus rolled to the side with a groan...and that was where his energy levels died. He was lying somewhere between his mother’s desk and the sitting area. Roughly the spot where he sliced Selene’s dress from her beautiful body and fucked her until her eyes rolled back.
“I’m good here,” he said, then shut out the room and Blaze and begged the sharp part of his mind to stay fuzzy. Thinking made everything worse.
If he could just get a few more hours, one more day… Just a little more time away from imagining the absolute worst things that could be happening to Selene. He knew what men like Thorne were capable of. He knew what hehimselfwas capable of, and that didn’t help, either.
Blaze’s voice startled Augustus out of his doze. “Selene would absolutely fucking hate that you’re doing this to yourself.”
A snapping fury cracked through him, and he burst upright to find the asshole crouched beside him. “You don’t have the first fucking clue what she’d say or think or do. Stop pretending you even care.”
Blaze arched a single brow. Took a slow, easy breath. Then he reached behind him and came back with a metal bucket.
Augustus was still too sluggish to understand or react before half that bucket’s contents of seawater shot up his nose and into his mouth.
He exploded to his feet, gasping, coughing, and sluicing water off his face. “You bastard.”
Standing, Blaze shook his head. “I thought I’d need help waking you up. Lucky me… You go and give me an even better reason to use it. And don’t think for a second that you’ll land a hit on me.” He gave a pointed look to the fist balling against Augustus’s thigh. “You’re in no shape to do any lasting damage. Besides, I find myself annoyed enough to hit back.”
“Fuck you, Blaze.”
“No, fuck you. Get yourself together and captain your fucking ship,friend.”
That there was actual contempt and anger burning in those brown eyes. What didhehave to be so angry about? “What isyourproblem?”
“My problem is that just about everyone is here foryou, and you’re hiding away in here like a fucking child who lost his favorite toy. Lili’s snapping at everyone, and Omar—” He stopped and shrugged, and whatever thought came to him depleted his anger by half. “Omar’s a fairly decent captain, actually.” Blaze smiled. “Never mind. Forget I was here. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Augustus followed on Blaze’s heels toward the exit. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
With a sigh, Blaze turned around. “Nothing. I’m just…” He paused, then shuffled from one foot to the other. “You should talk to Lili. That’s really all I came to say.”
“Did somethinghappen?”
