Free Geared for Pleasure by Rachel Grace

questions if you would answer one of mine. Where did your five-day errand take you when you left the Siren?”
    Bodhan smiled at her quick rejoinder. It was a wide, wicked smile that should have sent frissons of fear through her body. But it wasn’t fear that made her quiver.
    “I see you have been speaking to the ladies. They do love a good secret. I, however, know every answer, or lack of same, comes with a price. And at this moment, it seems neither of us is willing to pay.” He gestured to the cushioned bench beside them, reminding her of its presence. “If you will not answer my questions, and I will not answer yours, we are at an impasse. Come and sit. The view from here serves more than one purpose. I would show you why pleasure is no crime before you leave us.”
    She took an instinctive step back, as much as she could, and his smile disappeared. “At some point you will stop treating me as you would Nettles. As though I would hurt you. And then perhaps you will recall that you said you would obey me if I let you leave. My ship, my rules. Will you not honor your word?”
    Dare told herself she had to do it for her queen, and it was true. But as she slid around him and lowered herself onto the bench, watching him remove his vest with slow, methodical movements, she silently admitted that it was not the
only
reason.
    “
What
are you doing?”
    He arched one eyebrow in feigned surprise. “The room is warm, don’t you agree? I simply wish to make us both more comfortable.”
    Bodhan let his vest fall to the floor and she shifted in her seat.What he was doing had the opposite effect of comfort. She bit her lip. “I have no idea what you mean,” she lied, a heated blush spreading across her chest. “My clothing is
far
more constricting than yours and
I
am fine.”
    He knelt beside her, so tall his light, piercing eyes were nearly level with hers. Mischievous. “You are? That
is
odd, because if anything, I am warmer than I was a moment ago.” His hands reached for the top buttons of his shirt.
    “Wait.” She didn’t sound very commanding, but her words were enough to still his fingers.
    He chuckled. “Keep breathing, princess. My sense of humor, I’ve been told, is not as well-honed as I imagine it to be.” He reached for the cushion beside her and lifted the hidden lid beneath it. “There is something I want to show you.”
    She studied the open neck of his shirt longingly and noticed the muscles of his forearms bunching, revealed by his rolled-up sleeves. His hand disappeared for a moment, emerging moments later gripping an odd-looking device.
    “What is
that
for?” She knew she sounded breathless, but how could she be blamed? Bodhan was at her feet, his dark cheeks flush with sensual knowledge and his arousal washing over her skin like heated oil. It was too much to ask that she resist.
    His graveled voice sealed her fate. “Let me show you.”
    Please.
    Her only saving grace was that she had not uttered the plea aloud.

Chapter Four
     
    “Adjust the lenses.”
    Dare licked her lower lip, attempting to do as he asked despite her many questions.
    Another stolen item. It had to be. The ocularia devices were used exclusively by the Wode. She’d used one herself, to observe the comings and goings around Queen’s Hill. Though it had been more for Idony’s amusement than true surveillance.
    Yet this, too, like the gyroscope, was far more advanced than any she’d seen. Or used. Its clarity through this amount of moving water was fascinating. So it had been stolen and then modified? A part of her wanted to ask, wanted to demand a direct answer. Surely if she did, his defenses would raise and this intimate tension between them would cease.
    Was that why she remained silent?
    He’d placed the ornate brass device on her head and over her eyes, adjusting the leather straps to fit to her comfortably before she could study the layers of multi-hued lenses. His warm, strong hands over hers, he showed her how