“He did,” I insisted, my chest aching only a little to talk about King Vaxarion. “He came all over me.” I motioned at my chest. “I meanallover me—my arms, my legs, my back, my ass, even my face. And then he fuckingrubbed it in!”
“No fucking way. Why would he do that?” Feng demanded. “That's bizarre.”
“Maybe it's a Sea Dragon thing,” Rel suggested.
“Dunno.” I shrugged. “It was after our fifth time. He just kept spurting.” I motioned upward from my crotch with my hand. “I'd never seen a man come that much. Fuck, I've never seen that much cum. Stream after stream of the stuff. I don't think he left an inch of my skin uncoated.”
“Un-cum-ted!” Rel hooted.
“Sounds like a fruit,” Feng said. He grinned and added, “A juicy fruit.”
“Hold on,” Wei said as he strode over. “Did you say it was after your fifth time? How many times did you fuck?”
“Dunno. Lost count. We fucked until we couldn't move, then we talked a bit, then we fucked until we passed out.”
“Shit, Zix!” Wei exclaimed. “Well done.”
“It was an incredible night.”
“Incredible or not, I'm glad you took off when you did. We should just manage to intercept the Tiger's Claw. And they're rumored to have Rasokain swords, surma from Rosrae, and Zaruian brandy aboard. A take like that could set us up for a year.”
“Yeah, but there's the small matter of the Tiger's Claw being a Hulfrin ship,” I said, a shiver of unease going through me.
Hulfrin were as fierce as Neraky were rumored to be but you could multiply that by ten when it came to their possessions. And it was a safe bet that they'd consider their cargo their possessions. Unfortunately, that would be the only safe thing about attacking a Hulfrin ship.
“It'll be fine,” Wei said. “We'll defeat them before we set foot on their deck. As usual.”
“Don't tempt Jingtin,” Rel said. “Our god has a perverse sense of humor.”
A shiver ran down my spine. Rel was right. It was never a good idea to make such statements before a take. And Jingtin, though known to be a generous god, could never resist smacking down the prideful.
Chapter Six
We did not defeat the Tiger's Claw before we set foot upon it. Nothing usual about it. Fucking Hulfrin are barbaric fighters and surprisingly good sailors. They had amazing balance and were skilled with swords and claws. Just like us. But on average, they weighed a good eighty pounds more than a Neraky. And they used that weight to their advantage.
A Hulfrin snarled at me, baring his sharp teeth, and swung his curved sword at my belly.
Spinning out of the way, I met his sword with mine. The collision sent a vibration up my arm that nearly made me drop my weapon. The bastard followed his sword swing with a slash of his claws and caught my shoulder. I grunted and fell back further. I knew he was driving me across the deck, away from the rest of the crew and the Lu-Ken, but I had no choice. To either side of me were more Hulfrin sailors, their sleek golden fur striped with black and white, and their horns tipped with golden barbs that glinted in the sunlight. That wasn't a common adornment for Hulfrin. These guys had prepared for battle.
A roar echoed, the captain urging his men on. I glanced up to see the man on the quarterdeck, body hunched forward, mane whipping in the breeze, and chest bare. When he straightened, I got a good look at the magnitude of muscles that even fur couldn't hide. His pectorals were things of beauty,tipped with dark nipples that seemed as dangerous as the rest of him. Yup, even his fucking nipples looked deadly.
I spun again, avoiding my opponent while searching for a way past him. I could tell where this was going. Already, some of the crew of the Lu-Ken had snatched crates off the deck and tossed them over to our ship. We only did that when we were losing. Sort of take-what-you-can-and-run thing. Make the most out of the loss. But I couldn't grab anything. I was too busy fighting for my life.
Then I heard it. The sharp blast of the horn. It's signaled our retreat. Get back to the ship now or get left behind. We didn't like leaving men behind, but when it became a choice of that or the whole ship going down, we did it. I just never thought I'd be the one left.
I dashed for the side of the ship.
The Hulfrin bashed into me, chuckling wickedly. “Going somewhere, boy?”
The ropes attached to the grappling hooks were being cut. I had seconds. I leapt, going straight for the Hulfrin in a desperate bid for freedom. It almost worked too. His green eyes went wide, and he automatically ducked. But as I sailed over him, he reached up and snatched me out of the air. A moment later, I slammed onto the deck. As I gasped, the Lu-Ken's main mast came into view—a dark line against the blue sky. Sails snapped, and the mast moved away.
They left me.
Hulfrin snarled at the railing, watching the pirates escape. In horror, I watched Herru, one of my friends, get lifted above a Hulfrin's head and torn apart, his head slashed andsnapped from his body. His body was tossed at the retreating Lu-Ken. Then his head.
Oh, fuck.
I looked up at the grinning Hulfrin and tossed aside my sword. Surrender was my only chance.
