or attack.”
“Transition is easier if you come to us.”
“Was John in on it all along?”
“No. He tried to sell you fair and square.” The man looked down at his nails. Nails far cleaner than they had been that first night. “And fair and square, I cut out his tongue. I don’t mind the occasional over-exaggeration, but repetitive lying is against ship’s rules.”
For some reason, that sparked an unwanted yet comforting sense of justice. “Because he bragged to the men about what a great ride I’d been?”
“That’s not all he said…”
“How many tickets buys his freedom?”
“One-hundred thousand.” The captain held up his hands at her gape. “Now, before you start screaming, hear me out. The men never save enough. They spend it all coming upstairs. No one leaves the ship, not when the life I offer here is better than anything they’d find out there.”
He knew just how to chill her, how to work her nerves. “Brooke left this morning.”
Nodding, he concurred. “And Brooke will be back. The lights will be on for her when she comes home. A clean room and a hearty meal. A shoulder to cry on.”
Brooke wouldn’t be back. Not when all she worked for was the ability to get off this horrible ship. “You really do underestimate us, don’t you?”
His voice grew soft when he said, “You never ask me personal questions. What are you afraid to learn, Eugenia?”
Rising to the challenge, a red eyebrow cocked, an unfriendly tone to her query. “Personally, I’d like to know—how long do you think it’s going to take me to find a way off this boat?”
“Redheaded siren.” He grinned, leaning back to sip his wine. “We both know you’re never getting off my boat. You have it good here, and eventually, you’ll accept that.”
“I really do hate you.” With every last fiber of her being.
“You hate being wrong. You’re terrible at accepting change. You led a spoiled, tunnel-vision life, where you worked hard and achieved remarkable things. Where you could only imagine one version of yourself, and anything different was inconceivable.”
This was how she knew he was insane. “Yeah, a whore is a great job when I could have been a surgeon. You got me. The complete loss of equality has been just dandy. Oh, the violence? Peachy! Sexual assault… it’s exactly what every girl dreams of.”
“You’re cute when you're angry.” The way he said it, his eyes aglow… was dangerous.
“I’m always angry.”
“And you’re always beautiful.”
Chapter Nine
She had not kissed him, had absolutely not invited the attention, but when the captain pulled her to his chest that night—the big spoon to her little spoon—he’d taken advantage of the bared skin and a manipulation of the rules.
This man didn’t cuddle. All the women who endured his cock were very clear on that point.
Which Eugenia had no issue of reminding him.
If they didn’t have to do it, she shouldn’t have to either.
Leaving him laughing despite her struggles and complaints.
Soft kisses on her neck, the gentle suction of her earlobe. Murmurs of all the things he wanted to do to her body... and not one of them involved doggie style.
Unleashed, he was utterly filthy, left her shivering as she tried to ignore rasping words. As she tried not to remember how good some of those things he’d spoken of had felt long ago when the world was normal.
There was no talk of price. Only a swirling tongue in the shell of her ear.
Only a powerful embrace she stood no chance of escaping.
Only the heat of a heavy member against the mound of her ass. The murmurs of a man gently undulating against her, his voice thicker than honey.
“Foreplay is against the rules!” Every bit of his game was unacceptable.
Nipping her earlobe, he asked, “Would you consider this foreplay?”
Yes! Who wouldn’t? Her nipples were hard, her body reactive. She was only human, for crying out loud. “I’m not having sex with you.”
“Precisely. So it’s not foreplay. It’s just play. And there are no rules about that.” Dark chuckles, dragging his tongue up the column of her throat in a languid wipe. “And even if there were, I’d break them... and you’d never tell.”
Oh, fuck that! She’d scream it to the dinner party. “Is this the same line you give all the women forced to whore on your ship? Same tripe you fed Kim when it was her turn to tolerate this last week? I bet she blew you to keep it short and slept on the couch.”
That earned a bite on the shoulder