His expression turned sceptical.“Simon…”
“A strong feeling,” I added.“A…a witchy feeling?”
He gazed at me sedately, in almost a resigned way.
“All right.”
“All right…what?”
“I’ll trust her and her lovely companion.For now.”
“So…where shall we spend the night?Curled up beside these rocks?”
He laughed and stood, extending his hand.“Let’s go find a room and something to eat.”
“Will we have difficulty securing one?”
“I don’t think so.But the lodging might not be fancy.”
I shrugged.“Don’t matter.I’d bunk with the pigs as long as I was with you.”
He laughed again.“Since I can’t stand pigs unless I’m eating them, you likely won’t have to.”
***
Wefoundaroomto let at one of the more salubrious inns near the waterfront, enjoyed a hearty but plain meal in the kitchens, and spent a relatively uneventful night in a large space with windows that opened to let in the breeze, not that the fresh air helped disperse the heat of the tropical island.Instead of cuddling, we were content to lay spread out beside each other and sleep barely touching.Even Pearl was happy to lie on the floor at our feet, where it was no doubt somewhat cooler.At least we were together, and there would be much time yet to continue to explore our intimacy.
And besides, I couldn’t stop thinking about Smoke.
Similar to Dinesh, she had a compelling sense about her.Fleur was lovely, and also possessed a certain fascination for me.But Smoke… She had a presence, a compelling energy.I wanted to know more about her and what she thought she could teach me.
Which presented a problem.Presumably she would need access to me if she were to instruct me, and I would be returning to theArrowwith Dinesh in a day or two, once the men had purchased the required supplies for the course we were to embark upon.
Was there space for them on theArrow?Did they want to come aboard?Would Dinesh allow it?
He was much more wary of them than I, and that was understandable.Smoke had demonstrated a power, and a control of that power, that put my fumblings with magic to shame.Dinesh might not want someone with that sort of ability aboard his ship.
Yet she was aligned with me, wanted to protect me and teach me.I hadn’t had any woman want to do that since my mother had died.Smoke was a connection to her, and that was significant.
We enjoyed a lazy morning and a late lunch at the inn and when we were walking back to the Penny Whistle, I broached the subject.
“Dinesh, how is Smoke going to teach me about my magic if we’re going to lift anchor in a few days?”
He eyed me as we walked side by side and shook his head, as if this was a question he’d been waiting for me to ask.
“I suppose they’ll have to come aboard.”
“Aboard your ship?TheArrow?”
“Yes, that is my ship.As you know.That is our home.”
I didn’t say anything, surprised that he’d already come to this conclusion.
He continued.“And although I have reservations about trusting two complete strangers, one of whom is a witch with immense powers that I do not understand…well, she professes to want to help you, and I cannot stand in the way of that.”
I blinked back strong emotion.
“There will be trouble from the men.The crew won’t want women aboard,” he warned.
