Not an hour later saw Kavo being roughly thrown back where he belonged and with the bolt on the outside shoved firmly in its place. Now, at least, he knew what he was up against. The remaining crew on this airship was small enough that someone like Kavo stuck out like a sore thumb. Aside from Ryk and Hawk, there were four others who Kavo had seen: a young deckhand not much more than fifteen; a haggard, white-haired man about sixty; a dark-skinned man a little younger than Kavo was; and a long-legged brunette woman.
None of them seemed particularly threatening. The most likely and capable to do him damage had actually seemed to be the woman. Although Kavo had never allowed women on his airship, this one had seemed volatile and looked very skilled with the revolvers she carried around her belt; she’d nearly put a bullet through Kavo’s skull after he had snuck up on her.
Still, his biggest threat had to have been either Hawk or Ryk. While Hawk was larger and had already warranted extreme caution, Ryk’s advances had terrified Kavo. Being raped was certainly not high on Kavo’s list of things to do, and Ryk had not seemed to have any qualms with doing it until Hawk arrived.
Kavo ran his hand through his still-damp hair. He wondered absently just what was going on between Ryk and Hawk. Ryk had insinuated that they were sleeping together, but Hawk hadn’t looked like it. Maybe Hawk was good at hiding things. That was probably it. The Islanders always were a shifty bunch.
It seemed fitting that while Kavo was mentally bashing someone, that very person would appear. Sure enough, he paused as he heard the scraping of the metal latch on the other side of the door. The door pushed open, and…
“You’re not Hawk,” he pointed out.
“I’m not,” a feminine voice laughed. The woman— the one who had tried to shoot Kavo in the face— stood in front of him instead. It didn’t seem right that she would be sent. Weren’t they worried he could overpower her? Even with her long legs, Kavo was three inches taller at the least, and he certainly had more muscle on his frame. Then again, he could see the revolvers still resting in the holster slung low on her hips, and he already knew she was a good shot; perhaps they weren’t as careless as he’d thought.
“Well, that doesn’t seem right,” he said nonetheless.
She took calculated steps around the brig, always aware of the distance between Kavo and herself. Her gaze was trained on her boots as she wandered. “Hawk sent me down to check up on you. Something about Ryk not being allowed down here anymore…?” she trailed off, her seafoam eyes flicking back to Kavo. “I wonder why that is.”
Kavo swallowed. Should he say? Probably not. Hawk wouldn’t have kept it secret if it were something that he wanted this woman to know. Not to mention Kavo didn’t exactly want to declare that he was prone to being taken advantage of. It seemed rather weak, didn’t it? Captured or not, he wasn’t weak.
“Me too,” he said awkwardly. He’d never been a smooth-talker.
“Oh, really?” He long brown hair swung as she turned to survey him. “Funny, ‘cause I’d had a really good idea.” The small smirk on her lips told Kavo she had him pegged from the start. He wasn’t backing down now, though.
“Is that so?”
“Mhm.” She walked over to him, all swaying hips and feminine charm. “And if I had to say, I think you understand exactly what I mean.” He shook his head, but she didn’t cease. She traced her long fingers over Kavo’s exposed collarbone lightly. “How odd,” she said, “Hawk told me you would know.”
Kavo swallowed. Every move she made was planned and calculated, although she made quite the show of being a ditz. He wasn’t fooled, though; he could easily see that she was trying (and, it could be argued, somewhat succeeding) to use her feminine wiles to pry for information. Kavo wasn’t about to give up easily, though. “‘fraid not,” he managed to reply.
“Hm.” She tilted her head closer, close enough that he could smell the remnants of the morning rain on her hair. He was glad that at least these pirates seemed to have learned the virtues of hygiene, seeing as the only person it disgusted him to be near was Ryk, and that was for entirely different reasons; Ryk was simply a horrid person— more horrid than the others, and that was saying something of pirates— and Kavo was actually the slightest afraid that he would be taken advantage of at any given point in time.
This woman, on the other hand, didn’t bother him when it came to being in close quarters; it didn’t bother him one bit. Her pink lips brushed against his jaw, sending a trail of fire down to his fingertips. He breathed in sharply to prepare himself for any further onslaught, but she pulled away, grinning.
“I’d thought so,” she murmured. Kavo watched her tongue move behind her abnormally plump lips, wondering not so absently if it tasted like he imagined— new and clean, like how freshly cut flowers smelled. Would she let him find out? Probably not, he reasoned.
A moment later, he realized she had said something and was looking at him almost expectantly, a hint of naughty humour dancing in her crystal eyes.
“I… you thought what?”
Her smile widened. “I’d thought Ryk had tried the same thing on you, to get Hawk so
mad. You’re not very good at resisting, are you?”
Kavo’s brow furrowed in mild irritation. Of course he hadn’t resisted her; she was a beautiful woman, the kind that Kavo hadn’t seen in possibly years. He would have liked very much to have been able to resist Ryk. “I was a little tied up when Ryk came on to me,” he muttered.
“I could always attempt to recreate that situation,” she observed coyly. Kavo wondered if everything she did had sex appeal smothered on it. Not that he minded.
It was his turn to play along, though.
“Oh, could you?”
“No, she couldn’t,” a firm voice said. She spun her head around, wavy hair flying about, and smiled sweetly at the interruption while Kavo sputtered.
It seemed that Hawk had a knack for interrupting while someone was pressed against him.
“And why couldn’t I?” The ditzy, almost innocent tone from earlier re-emerged; Kavo almost laughed at that. Her ease in switching countenances was somewhat comical, especially when they differed so greatly.
“I assumed you would not enjoy dying of starvation.”
“Ooh.” She made a face and turned to Kavo. “He’s got me there.” With a pat on his shoulder, she backed up. “I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” With a wink, she swept out of the room, her half-skirt swaying behind her.
“Who was she?” Kavo asked. His eyes were still on the door, recalling the last glimpse he’d seen of the seductress.
“Did she not introduce herself?” Hawk arched an oddly elegant eyebrow. “The two of you looked quite intimate.” Shaking his head, he said, “Her name is Gwendolyn.”
“Gwendolyn… she’s lovely, isn’t she?”
Hawk’s other eyebrow hiked up to his hairline. “Lovely? I do not think we have met the same Gwendolyn.”
Kavo tilted his head very lightly. “What do you mean?”
“She is very… eccentric.”
“I suppose,” Kavo half-heartedly agreed. He had noticed that she wasn’t exactly normal, but he wouldn’t have used the word “eccentric.” Granted, Hawk’s diction was actually quite superior to his, which might have had something to do with the word choice, but either way, Kavo wouldn’t have said the same. Gwendolyn was beautiful and alluring, and she didn’t seem very inclined to reject him; Kavo had rarely seen women who fit both of those qualifications.
“In any case,” Hawk said suddenly, interrupting Kavo’s thoughts, “Ryk wants you on deck.”
“Why?”
“I did not ask questions. Come; do not make him wait.”
Buttoning his shirt as he followed Hawk’s long strides, Kavo said, “Is he a good leader?” From what he had managed to gather, Ryk didn’t seem to be an efficient leader. Plus, he scared the crap out of Kavo, but not in a way that was likely to make him work harder. Being the captain of his own ship, Kavo doubted that Ryk had much control over the ship’s crew; Gwendolyn was more likely to control everyone.
“Would we follow him if he were not?”
“You are pirates,” Kavo reminded.
Hawk didn’t respond; he simply kept walking. Kavo shrugged off his silence and followed closely. Hawk led him, of course, to the deck of the airship, where the three crewmembers whom Kavo had not already met were at work repairing the damages that Kavo’s men had caused. He felt an inflated sense of pride to know that they at least had not gone down without a fight, and that arrogance showed in a miniscule lift of his chin. He tried to pretend he was merely looking up to see Hawk’s face, and only he knew that that wasn’t the truth.
“Ah, our lovely prisoner…” That high Kavo had achieved from his very minor victories disappeared entirely at Ryk’s appearance. “Tell me, how did you sleep?”
With an exceedingly false smile, Kavo replied, “Fuck off and die.”
Hawk cast him a look that quite clearly suggested he shut his mouth before he really did get thrown overboard, but Kavo saw that the corners of his lips were quirked and his eyes twinkled in amusement. He would have been annoyed with Hawk for taking that sort of amusement in him if it weren’t for the rather comical expression on Ryk’s face that almost made Kavo want to laugh.
Eventually, Ryk tutted. “Yer not th’ companionable type then, are ye? Shame. Hate ta waste ye.”
“Waste me?”
“Well, it ain’t often we get someone like ye.” Ryk reached out to touch Kavo’s face, but Kavo slapped the hand away quickly. It didn’t seem to earn him many points. “And I’d hate ta haveta throw ye overboard.”
Kavo’s eyes narrowed. “Are you threatening me?”
Ignoring him, Ryk looked to Hawk. “Wha’ d’ye think? Should we keep ‘im?”
Hawk met the gaze unwaveringly. “It is of no consequence to me what is done with him.”
“So yer sayin’ dispose of ‘im? It does sound like a good idea. Unless…” Ryk sent Kavo a look that quite thoroughly disgusted him; Kavo found Ryk positively revolting. “What would ye be willin’ ta do?”
Kavo took a step forward towards Ryk. The man’s sickening smile widened, and he certainly seemed victorious until Kavo opened his mouth. “I will crush you like a bug, you disgusting piece of scum.” While Ryk was too busy being taken aback to say anything, Kavo stepped back and turned, grabbing onto Hawk’s bicep. “I thought I was supposed to be the cook on board?”
His mildly amused look fading quickly, Hawk snatched his arm back and turned as well. “You will not be for long if you continue with your attitude. Ryk really will have you killed,” he said. Nonetheless, he began to lead Kavo to the kitchens. “I cannot always be here to watch over you.”
Kavo snorted. “What, like you’re my fairy godmother now? You make a crap fairy.”
“Somehow, I do not think I should be the one to apologize. I have done nothing to you.”
“Right,” Kavo said, “Except all but tell Ryk to throw me off the ship. Very upstanding of you.”
“You are not exactly someone with whom I enjoy spending my time. I am sure you are well aware of that. I also know you do not appreciate my being here, either, so we find ourselves in the same circumstance. There is no need to pretend otherwise.”
Kavo frowned. He had to admit that Hawk was right. And if he had been Hawk, he would have done the very same thing; Kavo didn’t like him one bit, whether they tolerated each other or not. Even so, he didn’t want to agree with the man.
“So what you’re saying is that I’m not worth the effort.”
“I am saying you are not worth the oxygen you breathe.”
Kavo growled. “Look here, you savage—”
“If I am indeed the savage, how is it that I am the one who emerged victorious? Have you already forgotten why you are aboard this airship?”
Kavo lunged for his throat. Hawk apparently hadn’t fully anticipated the attack, because the jolt sent both of them tumbling to the floor. Kavo landed atop Hawk and immediately began throwing punches, but Hawk did not lie there and take them. Rather, he struggled, and he was easily able to overpower Kavo and swap positions, so that he was straddling Kavo. He pinned down the other’s flailing arms and sat on his thighs, glaring with his golden eyes all the while. Kavo met the glare and returned it full force, his teeth bared dangerously. Their chests heaved and their skin was flushed, and for a long time neither of them moved except to pant with anger and loathing. The air seemed to hang in a dense fog of furious energy about them as if they created the very weather with their turbulent emotions.
“Alright, boys, break it up,” a feminine voice called. It took a moment for Hawk to respond, and while he climbed off Kavo, neither of them tore their eyes away. They remained tense, always ready for another fight, always prepared to defend if need be. Finally, when Gwendolyn patted Hawk’s back, Hawk abruptly turned away, scoffed, and took his sudden leave.
Gwendolyn looked between his retreating back and the still very resentful face of the man half-sitting on the floor. Eventually, she sighed and declared, “I suppose I’ll take you to the kitchens instead. It doesn’t seem you and Hawk should be even near each other’s vicinity, let alone left in the same room by yourselves. Get up,” she told him. “I’m not going to wait around all day. I’m not patient like Hawk.”
Kavo tried to recall why he’d found her so attractive. He was having a difficult time with it, because at the time, he wanted to hit her, as well; she was being awfully irritating, and he was already up and raring to go for a fight. She was practically provoking him. He tried to tell himself hitting a girl was wrong as he stood and dusted himself off, shooting dirty looks toward the large figure he could see across the deck. Besides, it would do well to have someone on the crew who didn’t completely hate everything he stood for. Maybe Gwendolyn could be that person.
“Alright, where is it?”
She put one hand on a curvy hip and straightened out her hair with the other. “Follow me, darling.”
Then suddenly she was back to the tease that Kavo had seen down in the brig. Her hips swayed as she moved, and every ounce of irritation and shortness was disappeared from her disposition. Her countenance was back to flirty and sweet, charming and brilliant. Even as she walked silently, a small and radiant smile graced her pretty face. So, Kavo thought to himself, that was why he had been so attracted to her. He certainly felt like he was again. He loved the way she moved, the way her eyes glimmered and shone, the way her whole body seemed to exude confidence and glamour and sheer sex.
If she were like this all the time, he could quickly see himself falling for her. However, he wasn’t so sure about that if she was constantly having all sorts of mood swings like she had earlier. He didn’t enjoy complications, and women who PMSd out the wazoo were certainly that.
She led him to a heavy metal door, which she easily flung open and exited through. The two of them entered a cold, tinny white room. Kavo sighed and looked around. The kitchens left an awful lot to be desired, but he supposed that may have had something to do with the fact that they were on an airship from years past. It was probably old enough to have been built during the war, and they weren’t exactly worried about nutrition or fine cuisine so much as simply feeding the soldiers; there had been no reason for fancy kitchens. He also had to admit that pirates didn’t seem the type to fancy different sorts of good food.
If he knew how to cook and didn’t hate the pirates, Kavo would have been inclined to change that. However, as it were, Kavo only wanted to poison the dinner. Or at the very least lace it with very heavy drugs to render the whole crew unconscious.
“Well, here we are,” Gwendolyn said. Kavo continued looking about as if there would suddenly be something more to see. He was further disappointed when nothing happened.
“So… this is it,” he said. He wished he really had let Ryk throw him off the side. Why did they assume he knew anything about cooking? He probably couldn’t boil water without setting fire to something.
Gwendolyn raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Have fun, dear. Good luck with… all this,” she said, motioning to the array of pots, pans, and cooking utensils, “And good luck finding something to cook. I think the freezer’s in the back.” She brushed past him almost like a cat would its owner. “I’ll see you at dinner, provided you don’t kill yourself trying to make it.”
And with that, she was gone, leaving Kavo to his task. He blew out a puff of air and looked around. He hadn’t the faintest idea where to begin.
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