Nobody Likes Fairytale Pirates (21 page)

He nodded, her hand still on his
face.

It was about that time that Ransom
noticed how…
uncomfortable
the situation was becoming.  Well, that
wasn’t true.  She was entirely comfortable, which was the problem.

Uriah moved slightly, turning to
press her into the other side of the small alcove they were huddled in.

She swallowed nervously, trying to
keep her breathing steady and somehow failing.  Her entire body was now
intimately aware of how close she was to him, her breasts tightening against
his chest.

Her skin and body warmed, eager for
him.

She hated being this close to him
because it made keeping an emotional distance next to impossible.  At the
moment, however, she was really more concerned about the physical distance,
because there wasn’t much of it and she found herself lessening it with every
second.

Somehow in the split-second it had
taken to dodge out of sight and then move to the side of the alcove, Uriah had
ended up standing between her legs, pressing her against the wall.  She wasn’t
certain if she had unconsciously moved so that he’d be in that position, if it
had been an accident, or if he’d deliberately done it himself, but she found
the sensation distracting.  His knees were touching her inner thigh, holding
her legs open.  Granted, she was still standing, but it felt… intimate.  One of
her arm was bent behind her at a strange angle and the other was pressed
against his chest, trapped.  She unconsciously shifted her hips, welcoming him,
while her whole body tingled with excitement.

She had no idea what this place
even looked like or where they were exactly, so her internal map of the area
currently consisted of nothing but her partner’s body pressed against hers,
floating in the void.

Every breath she took caused her
tight breasts to rub against him, making her body ache in response.  Her
breathing was becoming so loud to her own ears it was a wonder the guards
didn’t hear it.

She swallowed, her mouth feeling so
dry.

She started to pull away, but his
hand came down on her shoulder, keeping her in place.  “He’s still there.”  He
whispered in her ear, his breath on her neck.

She tried not to gasp at how good
that felt, almost pathetically desperate for him now.

She
really
wished he
wouldn’t whisper in her ear in that voice, because she found it such a turn-on. 
She always found his voice sexy as hell, but that particular tone almost drove
her over the edge every time he used it.  It was low and loving, but powerful. 
And it seemed to vibrate inside her, alighting her every nerve ending.

His hand didn’t move from her
shoulder, his body still pressing her against the wall.  She couldn’t move and
was utterly helpless before him, but she still felt… safe.  Protected. 
Desired. 

It felt good.  Waaaay too good.

Her arm was still twisted at an odd
angle against his chest, unable to move very far.  She could do little more
than press her palm against his warm chest and feel the quickening beat of his
heart.  His chest had several large tattoos on it and although she couldn’t see
them, the exotic ink the artist had used ended up giving the design a slightly
raised surface, inviting her to trace her fingertips along it, discovering the
mysterious image they created.

He smelled really good.  It was
comforting and masculine and deeply erotic.  That was basically the only
conscious thought she could form at the moment. 

He moved forward ever so slightly, and
the hard evidence of his arousal brushed against the fabric covering her inner
thigh, where it was most anxiously awaited.  She let out a small gasping sound,
not expecting either of their bodies to react that way.

Uriah liked the reaction and
pressed against her again, gaining her surrender.

She arched her back slightly,
wanting her hips closer to him, moving the growing heat and dampness of her
body against him.

She bit her lower lip, trying to hold
onto her sanity and pretend that this wasn’t turning her on as much as it was. 
The danger of the situation, the strangely exciting feeling of being spread
before him, and the fact that she’d never really been this close to the man she
lov…
liked…
before.
    

It was a professional working
relationship, and all of this was just another day in the life of a pirate. 
Nothing out of the ordinary at all.

Her legs parted wider of their own
accord, her body preparing itself for his.

“Can I touch your hair?”  He
whispered in her ear, his voice deep and heavy and at just the right octave to
make her hotter and wetter than she could ever remember being.  His breath
tickled her neck, causing her entire body to demand him closer and give him
anything he wanted.

“What?”  She breathed, amazed she
still had the power to speak.  “Can you
what?
”

“Touch your hair.”  He repeated in
the same low sexy tone.  “Please?”

“W-w-why?”  She stammered, feeling
lost and like her brain hadn’t caught up with her body.  Her leg moved another
inch forward of its own accord, spreading her body wider.  In a minute, she was
going to wrap her legs around him fully.  She wouldn’t be able to stop herself
and she didn’t think she even wanted to try to anymore.  She needed to feel
him.  “What for?”

“It’s pretty.”  He said, his lips
so close to her earlobe that it caused her physical pain that he wasn’t kissing
it.  “You’re so pretty, Ransom.”  His hand on her waist pulled her closer
still.  “God, you’re pretty.”

“Oh…”  She swallowed, thinking that
over.  She bit her lip as she considered that.  Yes.  His explanation made complete
sense in her fogged mind.  “Okay.”  She nodded desperately, just wanting his
hands on her.  Anywhere.  Everywhere.  Immediately.  “Go ahead.  Please.”

His hand moved up to her face, as
she leaned to kiss him…

A noise came from the walkway near
them.

“’Rai!”  She whispered urgently,
pushing him away and swinging out with her walking cane in one smooth motion. 
The strike smacked the patrolling guard she’d heard in the face, just as he
walked around the corner.  It also caused her to slide down the wall though,
since she’d pushed Uriah away and he wasn’t holding her up any longer.

Uriah uttered a muffled curse when
she hit the ground, and quickly helped her to her feet.  “You okay?”

“Yeah…”  She dusted herself off,
trying to will her body to return to normal.  It didn’t work.  And the fact
that Uriah’s hands were still on her wasn’t helping.  Her breasts tightened
further, her nipples becoming a distraction which made every movement
inappropriately pleasurable.

“Sorry, didn’t see that guy.”  He
croaked, making certain the man was out cold.

“This is a real stupid idea, you
know that?”  She spat out, feeling annoyed by the whole project.  It was really
making it hard to stay away from her partner.  All mysterious and secret and
forbidden.  Rescue missions couldn’t
help
but be sexy.  Especially when
Uriah was involved.  Everyone knew that a prison break was just a
sking
for
erotic moments with your partner. 

It was the first rule of piracy!

“Yes, so you’ve mentioned.”  He
paused.  “So… about your hair…”

“Forget it.”  She shook her head. 
“You’re being weird and we don’t have the time.”

He was silent for a moment. 
“Fine.”  He didn’t sound happy.  “Our best course of action?”

“Well, I think you need to go find
Ryle before another patrol shows up or they execute him.”

“No, I meant about…”

“
Forget my hair
.”  She cut
him off.  “We’re not talking about it anymore.”

“If that’s what you want.”  He
sounded defeated again and not entirely happy.  “But I have to say, I really
think this evening could have been
much
more interesting.”

“Well, saving our hostage will have
to do.”  She started to drag the unconscious guard into the small alcove they’d
just vacated.  “Maybe there will be some more law enforcement people you can
beat up, I know how much you always love that.”

“As my dearly departed mother used
to say: ’Active Evil is better than passive Good.’”  He informed her, as if
that made some kind of sense.

“Maggie had a terrifying worldview.” 
She started back towards the gate.  “But one which explains a lot about you.” 

“The world is a terrifying place
sometimes, Dove.  My mum just prepared me for it, that’s all.  I
live
for
opportunities like this.”

“Well, just make sure you don’t die
for it too.”  She paused at the door.  “Just… just be careful, okay?”

“When am I ever not careful?”

She frowned.  “Is that a joke?”

“I’m always careful!”  He protested,
still whispering.

She arched an eyebrow.  “The lava.”

“Oh, fuck lava.”  He snorted in
dismissal.  “You’re always bringing that up.”

“It’s something that’s difficult to
forget.”

“And besides, what’s the worst that
could happen this time?  I’m just trying to help out my victim.  I mean, this
isn’t like a real
jail break
‘jail break’ or anything.”

“I doubt they’ll see it that way.” 
She warned.  “I think the punishment for that here is to be sealed inside a
barrel that’s stuck through with three hundred nails so that they poke through
to the interior from all sides, and then its rolled down a hill with you inside.
 Into the sea.  Where they let the current carry you away.  If you’re lucky,
the nails kill you on the way down the hill.  If you’re not lucky, your end is
much slower and in utter agony from the nails impaling you, the slowly rising
water, and the fact they basically folded you in half to stuff you into the
barrel in the first place.”

“Really?”  He sounded amazed.  “They
really do that here?”

“Yep.”  She nodded.  “They call it
‘The Woeboat’.”

He was silent for a beat, then chortled
in utter mirth.  “
That’s fantastic!
”  He laughed again, clapping his
hands together in delight.  “Your people are just so horrible!  Who
thinks
of something like that!?!”  He sighed in complete admiration.  “I love them. 
I’m sorry, but I do.”

She heaved a longsuffering sigh,
recognizing the fact that she really should have expected that kind of reaction
from her partner.  “Just promise me that you’re not going to get killed trying
to rescue fucking
Ryle,
for gods’ sake.”

“If I’m killed, it will be for
someone more important than the Swab.”  He told her after a moment.  “I’ll be
back.”

“Promise me.”  She breathed.  “I
want you to
promise me
that you’re coming back.  If it comes down to it…
leave him.  I’m serious, Uriah.  If you have to choose between him and you, you
save yourself.”

“I swear to you… I will come back
to you.”  He promised.  “Even if I have to escape fiery damnation or Divine
delights to do it, I will come back.”

She continued through the gate and
back into the alley, then paused.  “You’d
better
.”  She threatened, then
stalked back to their waiting escape vehicle while he continued infiltrating
the building.

She sat on the buckboard of their
borrowed wagon, making a conscious effort to calm down and not to worry.

Her body was still just keyed up
from the excitement of the mission.  Nothing else.  Her reaction to him had
been entirely natural and not at all an indication that her emotional wall was
slipping.

Nothing had happened anyway, so it
didn’t even matter.  It made no sense to still be reliving it again and again
in her mind, because that was silly.  She was too old and too mature for
something so dumb.

She began to wonder what it would
feel like if he ran his hands through her hair, while she wrapped her legs
around him.  She liked that idea.  Holding him right where she wanted him, keeping
him from getting distracted and running off…

Damn.

That was perfectly understandable
too.  Having sexy thoughts about your captain was a natural part of piracy. 
Granted, she’d never actually served under… 

She frowned at the inappropriate
choice of words. 

She’d never actually been a pirate
on anyone else’s ship, to the best of her knowledge, but she was positive that
erotic thoughts about your captain were a big part of the job.

It was undoubtedly the first rule
of piracy.

She swallowed, trying not to think
about it anymore.  Her body refused to cooperate with her though.

And he was taking too long again. 
She was fairly good at keeping track of time in her head, and at least ten
minutes had passed since he’d gone off to rescue the Swab.

She flipped down the hood of her
poncho, straining her ears to hear any indication as to where he might have
gotten to.

She didn’t hear any alarms or
screams, so odds were that he hadn’t been discover…

Alarms suddenly sounded from the
guard towers at the corners of the building, the Gardeners inside ringing huge
bells which were so loud they hurt her ears.

Shit.

She flipped the hood of her poncho
up again, trying to look inconspicuous.  She should have known better than to
let Uriah go off on his own.  Knowing him, he’d probably decided to blow the
place up or something, just to have a little bit more fun.

“Go!”  Someone screamed, footsteps
running down the alley and across the street, towards her.  “Go!  Go!  Just
go!”

She really wished that people would
identify themselves when talking.  Especially if she had just met them and they
were screaming.  It was so difficult to tell the difference between all these
new people and she had simply given up trying.

She was guessing it was Ryle, but
since she’d only talked to the little idiot a couple dozen times, she wasn’t
sure.