Jess is sitting on the sand, smiling out at the sea, a look of complete calm on her face.
Stop looking, Dimitri.
Don’t let her affect you.
Fuck, it’s too late. She already is.
Hendrix hasn’t come for me.
I overheard Dimitri, even though he thought I couldn’t hear him. When there’s no other noise around, it’s not hard to hear what’s going on around you. I heard bits and pieces of what Dimi said, and from what I can gather, Hendrix hasn’t jumped into his trap like he wanted. That surprises me—Hendrix is a hothead sometimes and I honestly thought he would have run off the rails and dived in.
He didn’t.
That could be because of Indi. She would be holding him back, keeping him on level ground so he doesn’t act without thinking. She’s good like that. It could also be because Hendrix is smarter than I first thought. I actually feel bad that for a second there, I doubted him. He’s a pirate; he’s been running these waters for years. He knows them better than anyone else.
He wouldn’t just let Dimitri destroy everything he’s built so easily. The feeling of intense relief I feel in my chest is comforting. I’ve struggled with the thought that I might never make it home, but now that I know there’s still a chance and that Hendrix is probably coming up with a sturdy plan, I’m far more confident.
I sigh and drop back into the water. The waves that crash along the shoreline are calming, almost like a drug. I sigh once more, only this time it’s longer and drawn out. I tilt my head back into the water and let the cool ease my aching neck. I’m still stiff and sore from sleeping on the ground with Dimitri.
“We’re having a fire.”
I lift my head and see Dimitri standing on the sand, only his ankles in the water. I can’t help but smile at the image. He’s gorgeous—no, scrap that, he’s a breath of fresh air. A god. A mold that was broken and never created again.
“Hello?” he says.
I blink. Shit, I was staring.
“I . . . sorry. A fire, you said?”
He gives me a lazy half-smile that has me clenching my thighs together.
“Yeah, you know, the burny orange thing that people use to cook on.”
“Ha ha,” I smile, standing and walking out of the waves. “I know what a fire is.”
“Really?” he says, following me as I walk up the beach. I can hear the sarcasm in his voice.
“Really, really.”
“How are the cramps going?”
I smile but I keep my voice steady so he doesn’t know I’m smiling.
“Dimi?”
“What?”
“It’s never okay to ask a woman about her period.”
He’s quiet for a moment, I can only hear his footsteps as he follows closely behind me.
“You women are completely confusing.”
“Yes, yes we are.”
“You want help when you’re hurtin’, but you don’t want us to ‘ask’ about it.”
“Okay, let me put it like this—you know when a woman has a period, you know when she’s cramping, but you never, I repeat never ask her directly about it.”
“Jesus,” he mutters.
“Precisely.”
We reach the camp and I can see everyone sitting around a large, beautiful fire. I smile, my body shivering with need as we draw closer. A fire brings a certain level of peace. It’s warm and you can just sit staring at it for hours, not thinking, not feeling, just enjoying. I realize I’m smiling stupidly when Livvie clears her throat. I turn my gaze in her direction to see her glaring at me.
“Dimi,” she sings. “Come sit by me. I’m cold.”
“There’s a fire,” he points out, but he still walks toward her.
My chest clenches—with jealousy or just frustration, I don’t know. I take a seat on a long, thick log beside Luke. He’s sitting with a young crew member. I’ve not noticed him before, but that’s probably because I’ve been wrapped very tightly in Dimitri’s grasp. I stare at the man and when he notices, he smiles at me. I can’t help but smile back—he has a kind face.
He’s got big brown eyes and dark brown hair. His skin is olive and his body is tall and muscular. He’s a very good-looking man. I really don’t know how I missed him. In fact, the more I look around this group, the more I realize I’ve not taken any notice of any of them. I feel like an ass now, they must think I’m a complete bitch.
“Hi,” Brown Eyes smiles.
“Hey,” I smile back. “I’m Jess.”
“I know,” he grins.
“And you are?” I prompt.
“Zed.”
“That’s a cool name.”
He reaches down, lifting a bottle of rum. He pushes it toward me. “It is. Want a drink?”
“Is that all you boys drink? Rum?” I tease. “Sure you’re not pirates?”
Zed laughs. “I’m pretty sure we’re pretend pirates, does that count?”
I take the bottle and take a long sip. It burns as it goes down, but it’s a great relief.
“It counts to me. Know any good jokes?”
He laughs, shaking his head. “I haven’t taken Pirate Jokes 101, sorry.”
“Me either, it’s on my TDL.”
He raises his brows. “TDL?”
“To do list.”
He shakes his head and I beam.
“So how come I haven’t spoken to you or seen you around?”