Free Traveler by Ashley Bourgeois Page B

smile, she slid a small hand into his.  “Very well.”
    He grinned a little, taking her hand more firmly in his, and leading her belowdecks.  He wanted to see just how far she would let him go...before she stopped him.  Belowdecks was a different world, dark and silent like the grave, but he knew where he would have to take her....and he would need to move quickly.  
    Trusting in the gentleman she assumed her fiance to be, Brileia willingly followed him down below deck, her curiosity growing with each step.  She was glancing around quietly, wondering just where he was leading her.  None of this was familiar at all.
    “Here is good enough,” he murmured, and began to lead her into a corner.
    “Good enough for what? Where are we going?” She asked innocently, peering up at him in curiosity.
    “Right here, pet,” he murmured, and leaned down to kiss her.
    Her eyes widened in startled surprise before she drew back, small hands pushing hard against his chest.  “Don’t...”
    He looked down at her, continuing to push.  “Come, Bird...why else would you have come down here?”
    She pushed harder at his chest, a frightened look crossing her pretty face.  “I didn’t think it was for this.  Stop it!”
    Cedric chuckled.  “You will be my wife.  There is no point in resisting.”  He tried to press her again.
    “I am not your wife yet! You can’t...”  She cried out softly in distress, struggling a bit more before bringing a knee upwards hard.
    Cedric let out a huge gust of air, dropping down to his knees hard, doubled over.  “You’ll pay for that,” he gasped.
    The trembling girl immediately darted out of his reach, her wide frightened eyes resting solely upon him.  “You are not the gentleman you pretend to be...” She managed to say as she backed away from him before spinning on her heel and hurrying away before he could recover.
    Cedric remained on the floor, doubled over, unable to recover from the pain. Gods help him, it hurt!
    Brileia didn’t stop running  until she had reached the relative safety of her cabin.  Closing and locking the door tight, she leaned back against it...staring blindly at the bed.
    ***
    A soft sigh echoed through the darkened cabin as the only occupant stared up at the wooden ceiling, unable to sleep even with the massive ship rocking in the waves. The petite girl nibbled on her bottom lip as she idly drummed her fingers against her abdomen before resolutely turning over and pulling the blankets up to her shoulder. Hopefully in the morning they would be that much closer to their destination and this endlessly boring voyage would be over. The ship was in the midst of its journey from her home in the civilized world to the unknown and unexplored island chains, and while Brileia had no objections to the trip itself, she was bored out of her mind by the constraints put upon her by her overbearing parents. And that did not even begin to speak about her frustrations with the overly zealous attentions of the man her parents wished for her to wed. With an exasperated sigh, she pulled the blankets over her head. At least Snake could not bother her in here, even if he had attempted to pull her into a shadowed corner earlier.  Full eyelashes fluttered slightly before she finally began to slip into a sleep, her slight body slowly relaxing.
    ***
    Rahim stood at the helm of his ship The Maiden's Voyage, his hands resting on the wind-worn wood, the smell of salt deep in his nostrils. Gods, he loved the sea, the breeze as it brushed across the deck. The waters in the islands were rich, and plundering was successful nearly every attempt. It had been a rich summer, and the black silk shirt Rahim wore over his tan sea breeches were a testament to that. The neck of his shirt revealed hints of the tribal tattoo that traveled across his back and shoulders.  His dark eyes moved back and forth over the sea, mischievous and alert. Gods, he loved it.
    Rahim’s first mate, Luc, also known