He shrugs. “I’m a pirate.”
I glare at him as I reach for my chemise and throw it over my head, letting the soft fabric slip over my body.
“How long have you been here?”
“Your instincts aren’t the sharpest.” A smug grin spreads over his stupid, handsome face as he cuts another piece of apple.
Heat flares up my spine as I lift my chin and meet his gaze head-on.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I‘ve been here for…well,” He furrows his brows and glances away briefly, putting on a show of thinking. “The whole time.”
I reach for my gown next and put it on, before pulling the strings of the bodice tight. Too tight, my annoyance getting the better of me.
Bloody pirates.
“And why,” I ask as I cross my arms over my chest, fingers digging into the fabric, “would you spy on me like that?”
“Grim told me you were here. I wanted to check on you,” he says, and there’s no hint of untruth in his voice. The honesty of it catches me off guard. This newfound openness must be something he is trying lately, to combat his usual grumpiness.
I narrow my eyes on him. “You mean to make sure that I don’t disappear into the sea?”
For a moment, neither of us speaks. The salt air brushes against my cheek, carrying the scent of brine and wet stone, and lifts strands of his ink-dark hair so they fall forward over his brows, throwing a shadow across his face.
“No,” he finally says, still watching me. Not blinking. Not looking away. “To make sure you’re okay. After yesterday.”
Deep within my stomach, a knot starts to form, and I press down on it with both hands in the hopes of quelling it. I watch him as he gets up and throws the remaining apple into the waves.
Thrusts his dagger into its mount.
Slides down the rock with ease.
Strides over to me.
I go dizzy and almost lose my footing when he reaches for my bodice.
His fingers slip beneath the crossed strings, careful but sure, and gently tug until the pressure eases. My chest feels lighter with every pull, the tightness loosening where I hadn’t realized it was stealing my breath. He finishes loosening them, fingers lingering just long enough to make my pulse stutter.
Our eyes meet and I swallow hard. They remind me of the fog still clinging to the shore. Dark. Calm. We stare at one another, words balancing there on the edge of our open mouths, reluctant to be spoken. The muscles in his face are loose, his expression unreadable. His breath meets mine in the air between us. We linger.
Suddenly all too aware of how close we stand, I break my gaze from his, clearing my throat. I take a step back, brushing my hands over my gown.
“I am okay, Captain,” I mutter, stepping behind him to put distance between us before I do something foolish.
He clears his throat too, mirroring me. “Then why are you trying to suffocate yourself with your gown?”
“I am okay,” I snap, already turning away from him and heading toward the rocks. “Don’t you worry. You will not lose your precious Glim-summoning little fish.”
To my surprise, a deep laugh breaks out of him. It’s rough and unrestrained, nothing like the sharp edge he usually carries in his voice. When I glance over my shoulder, it strips the severity from his face entirely, softens him in a way that I haven’t seen before. My mouth pulls into a smile before I can stop it.
I turn back and begin to climb, placing my foot carefully against the uneven stone. I reach for the next rock above mewhen something dark bobs into view on a passing wave. I narrow my eyes, leaning forward.
Black.
A hat.
A tricorn hat.
