I got to my feet, slicking my damp hands down my thighs, and tiptoed over to the bedroom door, listening, hearing soft breathing. Damn, he was in the bedroom. With my heart thundering, I moved quickly across his sitting area, stopping every few steps to look for my sword, which wasn’t around. Leave it to him to take it to his bedroom, a place I didn’t dare enter, not even to retrieve my precious weapon.
My breathing raged as I continued forward, and anticipation coursed through me. I didn’t know what I’d find on deck, but I wasn’t done seeking answers, not until I’d seen how Merrick behaved with this threat.
I unlocked the door to the hall and stepped out, tugging it closed behind me. Then I raced up the stairs and onto the upper deck in time to see a man get flung into the sea.
Merrick froze when he saw me, his arm dropping to his side.
He’d . . . killed someone.
Did I see dismay in his eyes or was that anger? I suspected the latter.
His hands clenching, he stormed toward me.
15
REYLA
Iyelped and spun around, scurrying down the stairs.
I didn't make it to the bottom.
Merrick caught me and swept me up into his arms. He flung me over his shoulder on my belly, and his hand landed hard on my ass.
“You just killed someone,” I cried out.
“After they tried to kill us.”
Oh. Acting in self-defense was a different thing than willfully draining someone. I twinged because I’d assumed the worst. I hadn’t given Merrick a chance to come to me and explain. “I didn't mean to—”
“Silence,” he growled.
Where was the sweet, thoughtful man I'd had breakfast with this morning? The one who spoke poetically about the sea? In his place, I found a man who fumed, one who seemed eager to make me pay for my disobedience.
The world lurched as Merrick’s shoulder dug into my belly. Not because he was rough, or my seasickness had returned. His gentle yet forceful way of carrying me made my head whirl. I wasn’t accustomed to being handled like a squirming pet.
The ship’s lanterns flickered as he descended the stairs. The wood creaked beneath his boots, each step sending shivers of dread and some silly feeling I couldn’t name roiling inside me.
By the look on his face, what I’d done hadn’t pleased him one bit.
I clawed at his back, shoving away from the rock-hard muscles bunching there, but it was useless. His grip tightened, making escape impossible.
The air carried his scent, something rich, deep, and tinged with the pine of ancient forests. It filled my lungs and seeped under my skin, throwing my senses into turmoil. My heart pounded against my ribs, each beat heavy with a surging tide of confusion and something else entirely, something I shouldn't be feeling.
Fear? No, not that.
Anticipation? Of what?
Excitement. No,neverthat.
Merrick’s hand rested possessively on the curve of my ass, the heat of his touch scalding through the leather, burning away the last of my rebellion. Fury sparked within me to take its place, but was it for him or directed at myself, who’d made this happen?
I squirmed, pushing at his back while gritting my teeth. No one carried me around like this. “Put me down.”
“Be quiet.” His voice rumbled through me with the weight of a storm about to break free from the churning clouds on the horizon. It sent a tremor of something wild through my veins. A primal awareness told me this man was no longer the gentle king but someone completely unexpected.
He turned down the hall leading to our quarters. Instead of opening my door and placing me inside, he made a direct line to the room across from mine—his suite.
I stiffened, digging my nails into the back of his tunic. “What are you—”
