The Pirate of Fathoms Deep by Megan Derr Page B

curling into fists.
    Rene just broke into a grin. "You really are smitten, I can't believe it. With a pirate. Of course you are. It's you. "
    "Shut up," Lesto snapped. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my sight the rest of the day." He gave Rene a rough shove then whipped around to Sarrica and jabbed him hard in the chest. "You had better be ready to return home in the morning."
    Sarrica grabbed hold of him. "Are you going to stop being mad long enough for us to say we're happy you're alive and safe? You do remember you were kidnapped and we've been worried about you, right?"
    Shoulders slumping as his anger faded, Lesto gave a jerky nod. "If you were so damned worried about me, you halfwit, you should have stayed where you were safe so we didn't have to worry about you coming to harm as well."
    "Shut up," Sarrica said and hugged him tightly. Lesto returned it, finally letting relief wash through him.
    Letting go of Sarrica, he turned to hug Rene. "I'm sorry I worried you."
    Rene chuckled as he drew back. "We were more worried about how much destruction you would cause. Of all the people to get kidnapped."
    "Stop talking," Lesto said gruffly and pushed him away. "Get out of my sight before I remember how much I still want to punch you." He jabbed Sarrica's chest. "I wasn't kidding about going home tomorrow. See that you're ready to leave at first light." He turned away before Sarrica could reply, taking hold of Shemal's hand again as he walked off.
    Shemal pulled his hand free a few steps later. "Are you all right?"
    "I'm fine, just surrounded by halfwits and tired of being wounded," Lesto said with a sigh, some of his tension bleeding away. "Are you all right? I know you must be exhausted after saving me and then heading almost immediately back out…" He looked up at Shemal, steps slowing until they stopped in the middle of the long hall they were in.
    Shemal smiled, a little sweet, a little impish. "I'm fine. They even let me sleep in the High Commander's bed last night. Wish I had a bed like that every night."
    "You will," Lesto said, a hint of growl in his voice. He pushed until Shemal was against the wall then leaned in and kissed him hard, hungry and impatient, needing to feel and taste for himself that all was well again. That Shemal still wanted him even after all the days they'd been apart, all the trouble that Lesto had already proven to be.
    That he would always be, because of his proximity to the High King. Sarrica was a flame, and those who stood too close learned to live with the heat, ran away, or were destroyed by it.
    Shemal made a soft noise against his mouth, and then his hands, warm and heavy and calloused, framed Lesto's face as the kiss slowly eased, turning soft and lingering. The finest tremor ran through his body as Lesto's fingers skated down his side.
    Drawing back, Lesto stared into those too-pretty eyes. "I'm sorry, this is all probably way more hassle than you wanted. As much as I hated it when I thought you'd run away, I never really blamed you for that decision. You're not the first to make it."
    "Nobles are a bunch of soft, whiny children," Shemal said, mouth ticking up in a small grin. "Mainlanders in general are useless. So it's not like any of this ruckus is a surprise ."
    Lesto jabbed him in the gut. Hard. "You're one to talk of ruckus. First you punched me, then you punched the High King? I can't tell if you're brave, mad, or trying to die."
    "Can we please not talk about me punching the High King?" Shemal replied, eyes pinching shut. "I didn't mean to, it just happened. I didn't like his implication that I was lying to you, using you. Like I would even know what to do with a duchy or whatever."
    "We're all overprotective of each other," Lesto said, reluctantly pulling away. "If Allen had appeared out of nowhere instead of being meticulously selected, I'd have asked the same questions—and probably been a lot meaner about it."
    Shemal laughed. "Yes, I can see why so