Cash Remington and the Rum Run (Sexy Dreadfuls Book 2) (4 page)

The head retreats for only a moment as I run and jump onto the rope. My momentum swings me over the cargo hold, the doors long since broken. One head is buried inside, pillaging our stolen goods. I slam my boot into its fleshy neck and push myself back toward the sail. It screams, a horrible screeching noise, as I swing away.

I knock into the boom and grab hold with one arm. With the other, I lash the rope to it. The main sail—now full of holes and tears—puffs open with the wind. We’re moving toward calm waters once again. The ship wobbles and shakes as one of the heads rips the figurehead off the bow. It crunches the mermaid between its teeth, raining splinters into the ocean and onto the deck.

More screams erupt as the entire vessel begins to tilt. I glance back to Scab. He’s gone, and the wheel is swinging hard starboard, the rudder following the pull of the whirlpool.

If I don’t make it to the helm and get control, all will be lost.

Another head chomps through the timbers of the deck beneath me. The damn thing is going to rip the ship in half.

I draw my sword and jump. I land above one of its bulbous eyes, my boot sinking into a massive yellow pustule. The head bucks beneath me, but I stab into the side of it. The screeching roars of the beast deafen me until all I hear is ringing. It writhes and lifts away from the deck. With a hard yank, my blade slides free, and I drop, landing at the foot of the stairs to the quarter deck.

I rise and stumble up the steps. The helm swings wildly to starboard, and I yank it toward the port side. Teeth snap above my head, and I duck. Dusk has fallen as the heads continue to rip apart my ship. My men scream in terror until they’re silenced one by one. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years on the sea. I stay low and keep the helm pointed toward the open water. It’s our only chance to survive.

A head crashes into the deck beside me and gnaws at the timbers. Its eyes watch me, but it doesn’t attack, only digs into the bowels of my ship. A scream sounds from below.
The girl.
I lock the helm in place and dart away from the head and toward the stairs. Another head crashes down, then another and another until I’m surrounded by dozens of eyes and the unmistakable stench of death and decay. Trapped. Still, they ignore me and dig into the wooden deck.

The stairs are blocked, and another scream lofts from my cabin. I climb to my feet and run at the helm. I leap over it and roll into a ball. I hit the main deck with a crack, my ribs aching and the breath knocked from my lungs. Shaking my head, I crawl to my cabin and wrench the door open. The girl is hiding under the bed, screaming as the creatures crash and chew their way to her.

One of them finally breaks through, its enormous head taking up half the cabin. The girl’s screams are the only thing I can hear over the ringing in my ears. I struggle to stand upright. Her cries urge me to fight. I rip my sword from its scabbard and dash forward.

The head screams when I pierce its closest eye and dig my blade deep inside. It explodes with noxious black blood. I gag and rip my sword out, only to plunge it in again, destroying another eye. I’m about to take out another when the monster rips out of the hole and roars. Another head crashes through.

I give it the same treatment, destroying only one of its eyes before it retreats. When the space clears, I dart to the bed and pull the girl free, but another head breaks through the deck above, its teeth snapping and splintering the cabin walls. The girl shakes and clings to my back as the teeth move closer. I push her behind me and slash across the monster’s face, lacerating several eyes at the same time. The roar it unleashes knocks us back onto the bed. The head snaps wildly at the empty air.

I kick, nailing it in another eye. It screams, but doesn’t give in. One of its teeth snags the side of the bed.  It rips the corner of the bed away, the wood groaning and pulling. It crunches the frame to bits, then spits it out and comes for us again. I slash in an arc, back and forth, daring it to venture closer.

It hisses. Every hair on my body stands on end.

“He will have what belongs to him.”
The monster can talk
? Its voice is a guttural groan, but I can make out its words clearly.

It snaps at us again, but begins to recede through the deck above. I hold my sword straight out, waiting for the next head to appear. A series of deep roars shake the ship, and splinters rain down all over us from the shattered timbers.

I stare up, but see only dark sky and stars. The monsters are gone. I lay my head back against the cabin wall and let out a huge breath. “Well, fuck a sour cunt.”

“What was that?” The girl still trembles, her eyes wide.

“I don’t know. I’ve heard tales of such creatures, but only in the Mediterranean, not here.” My heart still pounds, and I’m covered in blood and the black eye fluid. “Never here.”

“Will it come back?”

I stand and yank her up with me. The ship is whining and falling apart around us. “We need to get to the open deck. Come on.”

Everything in the room is wrecked, but the door is untouched. I swing it open and survey the blood and destruction wreaked by the filthy monsters. The sails are all but destroyed, masts splintered, decks pocked with holes, and I see only two men left. Turning, I watch as the six-headed beast sinks beneath the water, its heads focused on the ship, the eyes staring. The whirlpool dissipates and fades.

I whip my handkerchief from my head and wipe my face clean. It does nothing to calm my thoughts. The water quiets, giving no hints as to the terrors we’d just encountered.

I shake my head and stare up at the endless dark. “What in the queen’s quim is going on?”

CHAPTER FIVE

T
HE SHIP SINKS TWO
days later, only two miles out from Port Royal. The girl—Nere is her name—my two remaining men, and I all load into the one remaining rowboat and row toward shore.

I keep the gem tucked in a pouch under my shirt. Nere sits in my lap and lays her head against my shoulder. Not from any love for me, but from exhaustion. None of us have eaten or slept since the day our ship was crippled.

The rowboat, too, is damaged and becomes unmanageable about twenty yards from land. I jump from the boat, the water to my neck, and pull Nere onto my back.

We drag ourselves onto the sand and into the town that sits right on the water. The bars and brothels are in full swing, a half-moon high overhead. The road is sandy and rutted. Nere stumbles into my side. I’m beat, but I can’t let her fall, so I hoist her up in my arms.

She hasn’t given me much information about her ship. Only that she sailed from Jamaica with her family until they were set upon by pirates. Problem is, I’ve blown plenty of holes in ships, boarded them, took who and what I wanted, and left. But I’ve never seen a ship torn apart the way hers was.

It would take a prolonged volley from a multitude of cannons to even come close to that level of destruction, and pirates wouldn’t waste that much powder and lead on a simple merchant vessel. Even more telling, the ship was still full of bounty. Her answers haven’t satisfied me, and I intend to discover the truth. Until that time, Port Royal will provide a respite.

We trudge through the streets, and my men break off and head to their taverns of choice. My ribs ache, and the rest of my body doesn’t feel much better, but rest is nigh. Up ahead, the meager streetlamps illuminate a sign for The Mermaid’s Conch, a favorite inn of mine. The shabby two-story building leans haphazardly toward the street, but it’s withstood more hurricanes and storms than most of the shanties in this pirate shithole. A buxom mermaid perches over the door, her tits spilling over and her long hair curling down to the tip of her wooden fin.

Drunks stumble through the street around us, and a prostitute moans with dramatic flair as she’s fucked up against a pub wall. Nere rests her head on my shoulder, her light breath tickling my neck. Music and laughter swells from the Conch as the owner, Crook, tosses a patron into the garbage at the edge of the street. He’s gotten more piercings since I saw him last. Light glints from several hoops of silver through his lower lip.

“And stay out, you lousy piss-swilling son of a maggot’s cunt!” Crook is taller than I am, and twice as broad. He’s a titan in this town, so large that many suspect he’s descended from giants. He turns toward me, his blind eyes seeking me out in the dark. “Cash, that you?”

“Sure is. How’d you know?”

“I always know the footsteps of a cocky bastard like yourself. Who you carrying?”

I walk up to him as the rowdy piano and accordion begin a particularly salty tune, and the entire bar sings along. “Girl I found in a shipwreck.”

He reaches out, his hand grazing her hair. I want to slap him away, but I stay my hand. Crook and I have long been friends, and no woman will change it.

“Come on in and get some food and drink. I heard your stomach rumbling from fifty paces.” He strokes her hair before drawing his hand away. “She’s a beauty.”

I follow him into the Conch, and yells of “Cash, where’s my money?” and “Cash, you lily livered scallywag!” rise up from the crowd.

“Leave him alone. You can collect your debts tomorrow.” Crook waves a meaty palm, and the pirates return to their wine and women as the music plays.

Several of the men eye Nere, and I clutch her closer to my chest.

“This lot is too rowdy for a beauty like that. Go on up to your usual room. I’ll send Shade with some food.” Crook walks behind the bar and shoots out a fist, knocking a drunk on his ass. “Reach for my liquor again, and I’ll feed your cock to the seagulls.”

The bar swells with laughter. I take the rickety stairs to the second level, passing Hannah the Whore.

She smiles at me, a white trail of spend still on her chin from her last customer. “Nice to see you again, Cash.”

“You too, Hannah.” I hurry past her, though she still manages to run her hand over my ass.

Nere moans against my neck. It raises goosebumps along my skin, and my cock grows rigid, despite how tired I am. I pass another prostitute on the landing and finally make it to my door. The room is simple—a small bed, a cabinet for clothes, and a window—but more than a pirate needs.

I lay Nere on the bed. Her dress is tattered, the intricate lace destroyed by the hardships of the past few days. I roll her to her side and start unfastening the back. My calloused fingers can’t grip the fine buttons. So, I grab the dress and yank. It tears apart easily, revealing her alabaster skin.

She moans again but doesn’t wake. I strip the dress down her body. Her tits are revealed, the light pink tips pearling in the open air. My cock pushes against my trousers. Do I have the strength for one good fuck before I fall asleep? Of course I do.

Her pantalets go next. Once she’s naked, I push her to her back. My hands itch to touch her, and I want to finally get a taste of the heaven between her legs. Instead, I stand at the foot of the bed and drink her in—the rose-tipped breasts, small waist, and the pink pussy covered with fine curls. My cock aches to be inside of her.

I reach down to unbutton my pants when there’s a quiet knock at the door.
Fuck
. I slip the sheet over Nere and yank my sword free. My debts and enemies abound in Port Royal.

“Who’s there?”

“Shade.” Her familiar, silky voice filters through the wood.

I open the door, and Shade steps inside with a plate of bread, mutton, and cheese. She carries a bottle of rum in her other hand. I take both the plate and the bottle. Biting off the cork, I drink, the sweet liquid burning my empty stomach and bringing me back to life.

Shade surveys Nere’s sleeping form. “Who’s the girl?”

“Shipwreck survivor.”      

“Since when do you take on survivors?”

“Since now.” I snag a piece of bread and tear into it. Stale, but edible. “How’s Captain Lament?”

Shade is the ancient captain’s woman. She tends his needs and warms his bed, though I’ve had a turn or two with her.

She drops her eyes. “He’s fine.”

“He hasn’t sold my ship, has he?” The bread settles in my stomach, and exhaustion finally pulls me down. My ass lands on the bed next to Nere. She needs to eat, but I’ll let her sleep for a while.

Shade picks at the short hem of her skirt. “No, the Gloomy Lotus hasn’t been claimed.”

“It will be. Soon.” I think of the gem tucked under my shirt.

She watches me through her lashes. “We’ll see.” Like a magnet, her gaze is drawn to Nere. Something sparks in her eyes.

“What?”

She glances to me. “Nothing.”

“Do you know her?”

She shrugs. “Never seen her before.”

I cock my head and stare at Shade as silent moments tick away. If she knows something, she’s not budging.

“Okay. Well, thanks for the food.”

“Welcome.” She glances back to Nere before turning to the door.

When Shade leaves, I lock the door behind her. My cock swells again as I watch Nere’s soft breasts rise and fall beneath the sheet. I pull the gem out of my shirt and stow it under the mattress, then I crawl in next to Nere. Resting one hand on her tit, I nuzzle into her hair.

I’m out in a matter of moments.

CHAPTER SIX

M
Y DREAMS TAKE ME
to faraway places. In one, I’m pointing a side-arm at a man in foreign garb while a nude brunette hangs on my arm. In another, I’m handling a redhead, but I’m in a building of glass, high above the ground.

I wake when the air in the room shifts. I crack my eyes open. Nere kneels beside the bed and slowly lifts the mattress. She’s after the stone. Little minx. The sun shines in her hair, the light strands almost silver.