Rubbing his bristly chin with his free hand, Hawk stared into the distance through the stern windows. Nathaniel prompted, “Will you continue to haunt the shipping lanes, relieving merchant ships of their cargo? Evading the navy? The noose?”
Hawk exhaled, loosening his tight grip on Nathaniel’s finger but still holding on, although the blood had surely stopped. “Perhaps it will be the end of the Sea Hawk once I have my bounty. I could find a quiet island. Build a home strong enough to withstand the summer storms. Fish and farm. Stay close to a safe harbor.”
His words seemed the bare truth, and Nathaniel held his breath, afraid to move an inch and shatter the spell.
Blinking after a few moments of silence, Hawk sat up ramrod straight, looking to Nathaniel as if he’d forgotten he was there. Then Hawk stood, his hand going to his lower back as he stretched it. “That’s nonsense, of course. Pirates find their fate on the gallows, or in the deep.” He handed over the dagger. “Come. On your feet.”
Heart leaping, Nathaniel hopped up. Hawk came behind him and said, “First thing to learn is the proper grip.” He covered Nathaniel’s hand with his own, molding his fingers just so around the dagger’s handle before releasing him. “Now, what would you do, if your attacker approached from behind?”
Elbow pinned to his side, Nathaniel tried to bend his arm around, but of course it was useless. With one hand on Nathaniel’s hip to still him, Hawk covered his hand on the dagger again. “So here you must change your grip.”
Nathaniel watched as Hawk rearranged his fingers, turning the dagger toward Nathaniel’s wrist. He leaned back into the wall of Hawk’s chest, warmth spreading in his own. Hawk said, “There. Now, as we go, remember what you know from your wrestling lessons.”
“That I’m a sodomite who yearns to be fucked by men?”
The huff of Hawk’s laughter wafted through Nathaniel’s hair, sending a shiver down his spine. Hawk swatted his hip, and Nathaniel found himself grinning.
“Oh, you mean the machinations of the sport. All right then.” He ducked and spun, using the element of surprise to try to send Hawk off balance.
Hawk stumbled, a feral light in his eyes as he righted himself. “Let’s begin.”
Hawk took him through grips and slicing techniques, and they circled each other, Nathaniel parrying and thrusting, dodging and weaving. Sweat glistened on their skin as time passed, bells chiming on deck, the ship rocking in rougher winds.
Their eyes were only for each other, and Nathaniel listened avidly as Hawk corrected his form. His shoulder throbbed, but he ignored it.
At least an hour had passed when Nathaniel darted in with the blade, using the momentum of Hawk’s jerk away from it to hook his ankle and send him crashing to the floor.
On top, his left leg over Hawk’s thighs, Nathaniel had the dagger in his right hand to Hawk’s throat. Although he knew Hawk had the strength to lift him off and turn the tables in a heartbeat, he couldn’t resist a victorious, “A-ha!”
Hawk let him have the win. He stayed put, chest rising and falling, both of them breathing heavily, hair damp. Without thought, Nathaniel cupped his left hand over Hawk’s crotch and squeezed, the blade still at his throat.
Hawk laughed. “Have you always been so fucking bold?”
“Lord, no. Not until I met you.” He squeezed again, feeling Hawk’s prick swell, his own still half-hard from the lesson. A low groan escaped Hawk, and Nathaniel worked him through the rough material of his trousers. “May I suck you now?”
“Is that the prize you desire for your victory?”
He squeezed and rolled his hand over the growing bulge. He licked his lips, and Hawk’s hooded gaze followed the movement, cock jumping against Nathaniel’s palm, tenting his trousers.
Nathaniel said, “Yes. I want to taste your prick. Get it good and wet, swallow it until it’s as deep as it will go, until I can hardly breathe.” He rocked his erection against Hawk’s hip. “Want to make you spend and drink it all down.”
His hand trembled, the dagger’s tip against Hawk’s skin, yet Hawk didn’t flinch. Nathaniel could slit his throat, dig the blade into that vulnerable flesh, but Hawk only watched him, arching his hips into Nathaniel’s touch.
The trust stole Nathaniel’s breath, an answering impulse flowing through him. That this was the fierce, fearsome pirate who had swept aboard the Proud William and abducted him was difficult to believe. What a performance Hawk had given.
Now that the shield was lowered, the layers of his disguise peeling away, Nathaniel was determined to burrow deeper.
“Or maybe I won’t let you come yet,” Nathaniel added, squeezing Hawk’s shaft. “Maybe once your cock is good and wet, I’ll ride it. Take every inch inside me so deeply I fear I might break.”