Pirate Chains ~ Strong tides

9~New life

∞ Nyx's POV ∞

I awoke to the sensation of movement beneath me and groaned as I opened my eyes. The sunlight was streaming through the circular window of the cabin, indicating that it was past dawn. I turned to find that pirate Agenor and I had fallen asleep in an embrace. His arm was under my head and the other draped over my shoulder. My heart raced as I wondered if he had been hugging me in my sleep.

I closed my eyes and pretended to still be asleep, hoping that he wouldn't notice. I felt him carefully remove his arm from under me and could sense his gaze upon me. I focused on keeping my breathing steady and my eyes closed, feeling a flush of embarrassment creeping into my cheeks.

To my surprise, he chuckled softly, and I couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind.

I did my best to tune out his presence and remained motionless. After a few moments, I felt him rise from the bed and heard the rustling of objects on the nearby table. The door then opened and closed, signaling his departure.

With a deep sigh of relief, I allowed my tense body to relax. My head throbbed with a pounding headache and my right shoulder ached, undoubtedly a result of the arm-twisting incident from the previous day. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling, but as soon as I tried to adjust my position, my lower back and head protested in pain. I was a complete mess, and it struck me that I had begun to complain more frequently about my ailments.

I let out another sigh. It was early morning, yet I already felt exhausted and dirty. I longed for a warm bath to wash away the grime.

As if the situation couldn't get any worse, I became aware of a new discomfort. I had an erection. It was unbelievable. That vile pirate had been kissing and licking me the previous night, and now I was waking up to this. Stranded in the middle of the sea, captive in a pirate's cabin, tied to a bed with an erection. I cursed him, over and over again, for causing me such embarrassment and disgust.

An overwhelming sense of anger and frustration bubbled within me. The first thing that came to mind was how weak and vulnerable I felt. It seemed that recovery from starvation wouldn't happen overnight, no matter how many strange tonics I drank. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept this much. I was used to waking up in the middle of the night to send off one of our fishing ships before dawn. I wondered if the work was still running smoothly, and if my mother had managed to get my uncle to help her. He was a shrewd businessman, but he had his own business to run, so I wasn't sure how much assistance he could offer.

I was supposed to be gone for just a few days, but Terry insisted that I needed a vacation. As usual, my mother had agreed with him and pressured me to go sailing with him in hopes that we could improve our relationship. She also knew how much I missed sailing.

I couldn't help but curse under my breath. How long would I be kept in this state? I had no idea what the future held for me. And this collar, I held it tightly in my hands. Was this some twisted joke? He could have just locked me up in a prison cell, but instead, he went and did this.

My fingers traced the skull engraved on the collar. Was he trying to say that I was nothing more than an animal to these pirates? Or, the thought made me shiver, was he planning to sell me as a slave? The possibilities of what could be going through that nefarious pirate's mind were endless.

I was aware that slavery existed in the black market, but I had never been exposed to it. I had heard stories of people being kidnapped or taken as payment for debt, only to be sold to slave merchants. They were then transported to remote and uninhabited lands, where they were forced to work in mines or dig for gold. Rumors stated that they were treated worse than animals and that none of them ever returned. The thought of ending up in such a fate filled me with dread and hopelessness.