Where Loyalties Lie

Chapter 46 - The Phoenix

Ten ships occupied the docks of Cinto Cena, a small fleet, and they all floated leisurely in the calm waters. Not all of them were properly manned – they simply didn’t have enough pirates to fill them all – but five were fighting fit: Fortune, The Phoenix, Mary’s Virtue, North Gale, and Rheel Toa.

Deun Burn, captain of Rheel Toa, had broken his rule of never bringing his ship into port, because the Riverlander had realised – as had they all – that the folk of the isles were in trouble, and a ship alone was asking for that trouble. It was a small fleet so far, but Drake insisted more ships were coming and more pirates with them.

Keelin didn’t need to stay aboard his ship; he now had a small house in New Sev’relain. But the house was bare and unoccupied, and had been since its construction. Keelin preferred the ship. Preferred to feel the sea beneath him in its gentle sway and tilt. He also didn’t trust Smithe to be left alone aboard The Phoenix. The treacherous quartermaster was ever looking to undermine Keelin’s authority with constant threats and insults.

There was one other reason Keelin stayed aboard his ship, and that was Aimi. Even floating at leisure, there were still more jobs aboard ship than they had enough men for, which was made even worse by half of the crew being ashore. Some of the men were visiting taverns or the brothels, and some had even found a woman and a house to call their own. The jobs were mostly maintenance, from tending to rope to leaning the ship and scraping the hull. Aimi, as the lowest-ranked crew member aboard, tended to find herself on the business end of many of those jobs. Keelin could have used his authority to spare her from them, but she’d have seethed at the special treatment, and they were getting on so well he was loathe to do anything that might jeopardise the growing fondness.

Without fail, come the end of Aimi’s shift she would knock at the door to Keelin’s cabin and they would spend hours talking, sharing a drink, or even just enjoying each other’s company. She’d listen, offer advice for his problems, and tell stories from her past. He’d do the same, though his stories never touched on his time before taking residence on The Black Death. After the incident with his father’s old steward aboard the carrack, Keelin knew some of the crew had suspicions. He wouldn’t risk his true past coming out even with Aimi. He knew he’d lose the crew’s respect if they found out about his noble birth.

There was a soft knock at the door and Keelin felt his stomach flutter. “Come in,” he said eagerly.

The door opened, and Feather stood at the threshold, looking in.

“Oh,” Keelin said, feeling his spirits drop. “What do you want, lad?”

Feather looked uncomfortable. “Sorry, Cap’n,” he said as he turned and walked away, exposing a giggling Aimi standing behind him.

“Damnit, woman, you’re a menace,” Keelin said with a grin. “Get in here.”

Aimi stepped inside, closing the door behind her, and sauntered over to Keelin’s chest. “I figured it’s about time you treated me to the good stuff instead of that swill you like to drink.” She smiled mischieviously.

“What makes you think I keep any good booze in there?” Keelin asked innocently.

Aimi sighed, popped the latch on the chest, and opened the lid. It took her only a moment of rummaging to pull out the bottle of Bolera two-year brandy he’d taken from the captain’s cabin on the carrack.

“How did you know?” he said, but Aimi only smiled by way of reply. She placed the bottle on Keelin’s desk and collapsed into the chair behind it. It was his own chair she lounged in, and had it been anyone else he’d have given them a beating and launched them over the side of his ship, but with Aimi he could only smile and allow her the impropriety.

Keelin sat down in the chair in front of his desk, put his feet up, and pulled the cork from the bottle before taking a healthy swig and sliding the brandy towards Aimi. She put her own feet up on the desk, mimicking Keelin’s position, and took an equally healthy swig. She winced.

“This is the good stuff?”

Keelin grinned. “It’s the strong stuff.”

“That makes it good?”

Keelin shrugged; he honestly couldn’t tell the difference himself. “What has Morley had you doing today?”

Aimi grimaced. “I don’t think your first mate likes me much.” Keelin suspected it was her familiarity with the captain that Morley didn’t like. “First I had to scrub down the poop deck, then he hung me over the side of the ship to wash the shit off. Have you ever had to clean shit off the side of a ship, Keelin?”

“More times than I care to remember, thanks, and I’m more than glad those days are over.”

“I know we all have to shit over the side, but that doesn’t make cleaning it any better.” Aimi took another swig of brandy as if to wash away the thought. “I had to jump into the bay to wash the smell off afterwards. Morley caught me and decided I needed another job. So for the past…” She paused. “Well, I don’t even know how long I was down there, but I’ve been below decks hunting the rat carcasses left by the mangy, flea-ridden hissing ball of death you call a ship’s pet.”

Keelin grinned at her. “All jobs that need doing, and there’s not a man aboard this ship who hasn’t done them a hundred times before. I bet Feather loves having you aboard. Those jobs always used to fall to him.”

“Well, he can have them back.” Aimi scowled, but it only made her more beautiful to Keelin. He’d never been interested in women who powdered themselves and doused themselves in strange scents. He liked women who smelled of the sea and weren’t afraid to be smudged with dirt, and Aimi was both of those things and more.

He looked at her now and felt an almost overwhelming urge to leap across the desk. Her mousy brown hair had largely escaped its tie and was in complete disarray, her freckled face was dusty and sun beaten – though that only made her dark eyes seem even darker – and her breasts, though she strapped them, were large enough to be apparent through her shirt. Keelin longed to know them and every other curve, contour, and dimple of her body.

“Thanks for the attention there, Captain,” Aimi said, and Keelin realised she’d caught him staring at her chest. “And yes, it is uncomfortable strapping them down. No, it’s not more comfortable to not strap them down. And yes, it’s hard work stopping your crew from catching an eyeful every morning while I do strap them down.” Aimi paused. “Which is why I think you’re the only member of the crew who hasn’t already seen my tits. If you’d like to give me my own cabin to stop the puss-brained maggots from ogling me every morning, I would not say no.”

Keelin wasn’t sure how to deal with Aimi’s outburst; he wasn’t even sure if she was joking or not, so he just took the brandy bottle and drank while she laughed.

“So, when do we sail?” Aimi said.

“Soon. No more than a few days, I reckon. We should get there on time, but…” Keelin sighed. “Weather permitting, of course.”

“You trust her?”

Keelin looked up to find Aimi staring intently at the brandy bottle, and he slid it her way; even once she had it she didn’t look at him.

“No.” Keelin stood and started pacing in front of the desk. “No, I don’t trust Elaina. I don’t trust Tanner. I’m not even sure I trust Drake.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. Because he’s a pirate,” Keelin growled. “Hells, I’m a pirate. We’re all bloody pirates, and as a rule, pirates aren’t exactly to be trusted.” He turned to resume his pacing and found Aimi in front of him. He hadn’t even noticed her move from behind the desk.

“What are you…” he started, but stopped as she slid her hands down his trousers and grabbed hold of his cock. “Oh.”

It didn’t take long for Keelin to forget what he was saying, about as long as it took his cock to get hard. Which, given Aimi’s stroking, rubbing, and staring up into his eyes, wasn’t long at all. Aimi dropped to her knees in front of him, pulling his trousers down as she did, and Keelin wondered how she’d undone his belt buckle without him noticing. Of course, that thought was soon purged from his head as well as she slid her lips down his cock and started sucking. Keelin gasped and gripped hold of the desk behind him, before relaxing into the pleasuring. He looked down to find Aimi staring up at him with dark, playful eyes as she moved back and forth.

Keelin didn’t last long, and as she swallowed his seed and washed it down with brandy, he attempted to remember how to form words.

“So why don’t you trust Drake?” Aimi asked again between sips.

Keelin said the first thing that came into his head. “Because everybody knows Drake Morrass is only out for himself.”

“Figured that might clear your head. Aren’t we all out for ourselves?” Aimi stepped close and placed the brandy bottle back on the desk.

Keelin looked down into her eyes. She was close, close enough to smell, and she smelled of the sea and brandy – but mostly of the sea, and Keelin felt himself going hard again.

“Do you believe the things we want,” Aimi continued, her body leaning against his, “are always bad for others?”

Keelin scooped her up, struggled out of the trousers that were still caught around his ankles, and carried Aimi over to his cot.