“Nay, Highness. ’Tis most foul.”
Kalder rolled his eyes as he remembered that sarcasm was often lost on his old friend.
“Hey, Kal? You all right?”
Kalder turned at the sound of Bart’s deep voice as the man approached suddenly from below the deck.
Tally dropped down under the railing, out of sight. “Friend or foe? Should I kill him for you, my lord?”
Kalder took a moment to consider that. While Bart could be a surly bastard, he had no desire to clean his guts from the ship tonight. “Friendly foe.”
Tally grimaced in confusion.
“Don’t kill him.” Best to always clarify these things when dealing with a Barnak. While mostly unpredictable, the one thing anyone could trust in was their loyalty. A friend’s friend was always a friend.
A friend’s enemy was quickly annihilated.
And if anyone killed Bart, then Kalder wanted that privilege. He’d earned it for tolerating him this long.
Sighing, he turned toward Bart. “Just visiting.”
Bart scowled. “What? The privy? Please tell me you’re not pissing off the side of the boat. Captain will have an apoplexy if he catchesthat.”
Kalder growled low in warning before he leaned down and offered Tally his hand. “It appears another friend of mine has washed up unexpectedly.” He didn’t bother to glance at his old mentorbefore he hauled him up easily so that Bart could catch sight of him. “Bartholomew Meers, meet Tally.”
It wasn’t until he saw the gaping hunger in Bart’s eyes that a bad feeling went through him.
Shite! Please tell me he didn’t…
But he already knew to dread this. His stomach cramped with fear, he turned to find Chthamalus not in his Barnak form or that of a man.
Nay,thatwould have been kind and merciful.
Rather, Tally wore the skin of a beautiful mermaid. One as naked as the night was long. Worse?
The instant Tally cleared the deck, Cameron drew up short behind Bart as she caught sight of the same nightmare that was currently scarringandscaring Kalder.
And that was the fact that he was holding a butt-naked woman in his arms and it wasn’t Cameron.
8
Momentarily confused, Cameron stood in utter shock at the sight of the unbelievably beautiful,completelynaked woman with Kalder. Long curly red hair coiled around a body that was about as perfect as any ever formed, and it left her feeling hideous in comparison. Truth be told, she wanted to slither down a hole and die rather than risk comparison and be found so lacking.
Aye, there was no way for her to compete with awoman such asthis. Or most any woman, for that matter. Even Aphrodite would have lost the apple to this woman!
Especially given the fact that Kalder had yet to move away from the wench.
I picked a perfect time to visit the privy.…
Sputtering, Kalder gestured at the woman Bart was currently leering over. “It’s not what you be thinking, woman!”
Obviously it wasexactlywhat she be thinking, otherwise he wouldn’t be acting all so peculiar right this minute at having been caught in the midst of his inappropriate behavior, whatever said behavior was, and she had a mite good idea of what all that would have entailed had nature not come a-calling on her just then, and had she not ventured out here at this unholy time of night.
The blighter had guilt written all over his handsome face and nervous twitterings and stammerings! Dang it to perdition that all men had to go and tell on themselves the way they did, what with their roving male eyes and protruding body parts! Faithless, every one of the bilge rats! She wanted to choke him for it!
Disgusted with both of the cock-toting crew, Cameron did what they should have done with the poor wee bit of a lass when they’d fished her out of the cold, frigid sea. She whipped her own coat off and quickly wrapped it around the shivering girl.
Rotten, lousy blighters!She should have known that at the end of the day, they were all alike! Selfish, lecherous little bastubles!
