The grin on my face grows wider. No wonder those damn manacles never stay put.
Her eyes flit across my face as she races to find the words to cover her truth. “A woman is allowed to have secrets. Especially from egotistical men like you.”
I allow the low chuckle to bubble up from my stomach. “I call it confidence.”
“Someone is trying to break into your room.” Her voice is laced with frustration.
My brow raises, as I flick my gaze to her lips. “Trying to get me out of the way?”
“No, I—”
My grip on her arms tightens. “What was your plan? Get me to open the door before you deliver a cowardly blow to the back of my head?”
“You’re insufferable.”
“And you’re aViper.”
The light in her eyes glimmers then fades. I watch as the words that were meant for insult settle inside her like a truth. She doesn’t fight back like I thought she would, instead sheseems crestfallen. Like she knows exactly who she is and despises it.
I thought all pirates were the same—proud of their title.
However it seems that Odelia is not.
She could have killed me when she had the chance. My eyes dart to my desk, where a large silver candlestick sits. There’s no reason she couldn’t have grabbed it and swiftly ended my life. I would have been none the wiser.
Odelia’s body shifts, threatening to send blood rushing to a certain area. I need to put distance between us before proof of what her proximity does to me becomes obvious.
With effortless movement, I stand, pushing her off my lap. She takes a few steps backwards, the antlers on her head growing smaller with each passing second. I shove my hands into my trouser pockets, making sure the necklace is still there. My gaze doesn’t waver as I stare down at her. “What else are you hiding from me . . . Odi?”
She folds her arms across her chest. “I don’t have to tell you everything.”
“Oh, but I’m supposed to trust that you’re telling the truth about attempted break-ins? You’re on thin ice as it is.”
“Says the guy whose crew is trying to kill him,” she says, brow raised on one side.
I run my gaze over her, gathering my thoughts. “Just sit down and don’t move.”
She huffs, popping her hip to one side, but she doesn’t move.
The wooden floor creaks under my shifting weight as I saunter towards the door and drag the chair I’d been sleeping in out of the way. It scrapes out an ugly groan—wood gougingover old boards. The thing’s heavy as sin, made from rough wood and iron bands, dented and scraped to hell. I can still see the old hairline crack from the last brawl it survived. Solid enough to hold back any drunk with a pick and a death wish.
Once it’s out of the way I pull a small bone dagger from my waist belt.Ifshe’s telling the truth then I’d be daft not to prepare myself for what I might find on the other side. The hinges on the door squeak open. Elio had tried to oil it recently but I reminded him that I liked it squeaky—the noise alone would scare off any potential assassins.
Cool, salty air greets me. I pause, the door slightly ajar, yet there’s no movement, no sound of any threat. My gaze skims across the moonlit deck. In the distance, a few of the night crew are at their posts, but apart from their low chatter the night is silent.
No doubt she was just trying to get inside my head.
I turn, closing the door softly behind me. Odi hasn’t moved. So shecanfollow directions. Surprising. “See? The coast is clear.”
She rolls her eyes so far back I’m surprised they don’t get stuck. “I wasn’t lying. Someone was picking the lock.”
My brow raises in question. I’m finding it very hard to believe anything she has to say. “Perhaps someone just wanted to see you in all your infamy—better yet, maybe Otto’s quail had come to peck you alive.” I chuckle, dragging the chair back into place.
She snorts, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Maybe it wasyouthey were after.”
I look at her, let the silence stretch—heavy as the chair pinning us in.
“Then they’re welcome to try.” I hold her gaze until she looks away first. Always a small victory. Small, but sweet.
