“And the guards?”
“They’re my private force here in Ravensbeck. They’re called—”
“Oh, let me guess,” I say dryly. “The Ravens.”
Locke’s mouth twists. “The King’s Ravens, actually.”
“Delightfully original and such a surprise, considering the theme you have going here,” I murmur, stroking my fingers along his throat, down into the nest of crisp ruffles at his breastbone. “I’m surprised you didn’t go with a moth motif.”
“As you said, most people think moths are soft and weak. I needed something bolder, sharper. Besides, my first ship was called theRaven’s Frenzy. The motif chose me, I suppose.” He shifts, curling an arm around my bare shoulders. “What do you think of the place?” He glances away from me as he poses the question, but not before I glimpse the bright anxiety in his eyes. He wants to impress me.
60
The Pirate King wants to impress me.
Warmth suffuses my heart, my very bones. I nudge my hand deeper under Locke’s shirt, until my nail grazes his nipple. He goes completely still as I circle the bud with my fingertip.
“Ravensbeck is a delightful surprise,” I tell him. “I expected a messy jumble of poorly constructed buildings pasted together with saltwater taffy and kelp.”
He laughs, sudden and relieved, with a breathless edge of desire in the sound. “I’m glad it pleases you. Though I must confess, things are far wilder and messier at night.”
“I suspected as much. Orgies in the streets, drainpipes flowing with rum, that sort of thing?”
“No orgies in the streets that I know of,” he says, unsmiling. “But we could arrange one, perhaps. Wouldn’t want to disappoint you.”
I giggle in spite of myself, and then I gasp as he jerks the chain around my neck, hauling my face to his. The kiss he plants on my mouth is a ferocious claim, reinforced by bold sweeps of his tongue. He imprints his ownership on my lips several more times before he lets me go. I fall back, dizzy and flushed, my sex throbbing with need.
Locke surveys me, an arrogant smirk curving his mouth. “I like you this way. Chained and blushing and craving me. Speechless. No lies or denials.”
I cast a look toward the carriage driver. He doesn’t seem to be paying attention to us, but I know from my life in Ivris that carriage drivers hearallthe gossip.
“Of course I crave you, milord,” I say in my most sugary tones, while I pinch Locke’s thigh as a vindictive warning. “I am here to serve you in all things.”
Locke’s face tightens with the pain of my twisting fingers, but he keeps grinning brilliantly. Mischievous intent sparks in his eyes, and he slides a palm across my waist, up my ribs to my breast. He dips two fingers into the neckline of my dress, finds my nipple, and pinches it sharply.
It hurts, but a buzz of pleasure courses along my spine too, pooling in my lower belly. My eyes flick up to his before I can hide my reaction.
With a smug grin, he releases me and turns to wave at some women who are hanging out of windows, their assets on full display as they call greetings to him. The building they’re in has no sign except a painted scarlet slipper dangling from an ornate bracket.
“You have friends there?” I ask.
“I’ve been there a few times, yes. I have needs, you know.”
“So why not sleep with women you don’t have to pay? I’m sure there are plenty around here who would gladly go to your bed for free.”
“Yes, and those women would expect more than I can offer. They would want a relationship, a future I can’t give them. That’s why I choose to offer my patronage to the amorous establishments of Ravensbeck. Every working woman I sleep with becomes more popular with clients and can charge higher rates as a result.”
“So you’re doing them a favor.” My tone is dry as sand. “How kind of you. And also—amorous establishments? When did a miner’s son learn to speak like you do?”
“Lower your voice, darling,” Locke grits out through his smile, still waving at the townspeople. “My mother was noble-born, the daughter of some lord who conspired against one of the seven kings and was exiled to Caligo. She taught me everything she could when we weren’t both working. And after we left Caligo, I studied on my own. On every voyage I made sure to bring along some dejected scholar or impoverished professor to tutor me. You can achieve anything with enough money.”
“You believe that money can get you whatever you want?” I say softly.
Locke glances my way, holding my gaze for a moment. I blink my lashes at him, slowly.
“Almost anything,” he replies.
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