Little does he know, the only thing I find comfort in is the sound of his beating heart.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Thesheetsnexttome are still warm when I wake up, but Sable is gone. I push myself upright, looking around the cabin, but he’s not at his desk either. Panic rises within me, mixing with the sadness his absence brings. Doesn’t he know you don’t leave a woman alone after bedding her?
Ignorant, uncivilized, Pi—
The door bursts open as Sable strides in, a bucket in one hand, a cloth in the other. He curses something under his breath before his eyes lock on me.
“Ah. You’re up,” he says as he walks towards the bed, puts the bucket down, and pulls the sheets from my naked body, as if it's the most normal thing in the world.
My gasping makes him stop dead.
“You want to be modest now?” he asks, raising one brow. “Darling, I was between your thighs last night. I want to clean you up.”
Heat rushes into my cheeks. “You don’t have to—“
“It’s the least I can do,” he interrupts. “Please. Let me.”
Pressing my lips together, I give him a short nod. Sable removes the blanket from my body completely, then dips his hand into the bucket and begins to clean me. With his eyebrows drawn tight, he focuses on his task, as if it’s the most important thing for him to do.
When he finishes, he smiles and pulls the blanket over my exposed body again.
“Thank you,” I murmur, and give his hand a gentle squeeze.
He winks, but the smile on his face doesn’t reach his eyes. “It‘s naught.”
“I should probably get up. Have you told the crew that I will sing their shadows back?”
“Aye,” he nods and gets up, then crosses the room to dig through his chest of treasures. I watch in surprise as he pulls another dress from it, one I haven’t seen in there before.
“Please,” he walks back towards me, then lays it on the bed in front of me. “Wear it today. I want to see you in it, just once.”
The dress isn’t emerald or blue. It’s in the lightest shade of pink that I have ever seen, so light that it matches my iridescent scales.
“Where did you get this from?”
“My chest.”
I roll my eyes. “You know what I mean. Where did you get it from?”
He straightens and runs his fingers through his hair. “I got it from the markets back home.”
I raise one brow and let my fingers gently run over the sheer sleeves, the bodice, the lace details there. It is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen, even beating the emerald-colored gown.
A smile tugs at my lips. “You got it? Meaning, you bought it?”
“No. I stole it.” He clarifies and nods his head towards the dress. “Put it on.”
A smile tugs at my lips at his confession. Hestoleit for me.
“You stole it with the intention of gifting it to me?”
I press my lips into a thin line before taking the dress and pressing it against my chest, a treasure of my own to keep.
“I love it,” I breathe. “Thank you.”
Sable returns a curt nod, as if he were shy about it, making me smile even wider. He stares at me in anticipation now, with his jaw locked tight.
