The Relic: Deadly Liaisons at Sea

Chapter X: A Mistake Made Is a Lesson Learned

He tossed the book over to Damien, who caught it flawlessly in his hands, and then turned lazily to Charlotte. It was like he turned predator and had its mark in its grasp. All it needed now was the satisfaction of the chase. Aden could tell she realized what type of situation she was put into because he could see in her eyes that she wanted to jump off deck or run away.

Cesium, seeing something about to go down, ran away from his work and went straight into the companionway where he could find someone to settle the situation.

"Point one, you were stupid enough to leave a group of capable men and travel in a port city that was unknown to you." He took a step closer to her like any predator would and watched as she slowly dropped her arms to her side and began to take her own step back.

Stuttering, she retorted back, "I am used to walking around by myself already. I wanted breathing space . . ." she inquired quizzically, hoping it would suffice as an answer. The dark glare she received meant that it was not. She once again took a step back. The unfortunate thing for her was that the rail would be coming quite too quickly to her back in another three to four steps.

"Point two, you attract way too much attention because of your foreign looks and extremely delicate features," he continued his course to her and smirked when she hit the rail like he suspected she would. He could hear Damien trying to stifle a chuckle but ignored it. He was lucky Xavier wasn't around to tease him about the "delicate features" part.

Charlotte flushed a red though and stuttered, "I was . . . raised in an estate all my life. I'm sorry I'm pale!"

Aden merely ignored it and put one hand on one side of the rail, preventing her escape on that side. He looked down on her as if to point out how much smaller she was than a normal-sized man. "Point three, while you ran away from the danger that merchant Giselle had put you in, you put yourself into danger by incapacitating a man you did not know you could take. You do realize that you were incredibly lucky he underestimated you."

Charlotte furrowed her brows, about to complain that she wasn't lucky in that situation at all, but Aden grabbed her forearm just like that other gentleman had in the alleyway.

She gave Aden a frightened look and couldn't help from squeaking. He ignored her mouselike sound and replied in a bored tone, "I'll give you ten seconds to perform any type of move on me. You'll learn fast that you were lucky."

The girl caught the challenge and narrowed her eyes. All she had to do was get away from him. That should have been easier now that she knew her limitations. She went to knee him like the other guy, but before her knee lifted off the ground, Aden had yanked the girl's frame away from his body and forced her abdomen right into the rail. Her knee, not comprehending the swift swivel, continued up and banged into the metal rather painfully, causing her to hiss. Then she found herself being pushed down so that half of her body was leaning over the rail, and Aden had her arm pinned behind her back just like she had been a year or so ago. "We tend to come back to this position a lot, don't we, damsel?"

"How in the world did you know what I did? Ow!"

Damien stifled another chuckle, and Aden gave him a side glance to be quiet. The blond merely saluted with a bemused expression. "So she now knows her infamous knee and chop are useless against men who know how to fight. What are the other two points you had, Aden?"

Charlotte felt the release as Aden let her go and allowed her to straighten up to then turn around but didn't allow her to leave yet because he blocked her remaining exit with an arm on the rail. Now she was standing with her back to the rail, nursing a sore and bruising knee and rubbing her forearm, awaiting what other terrible reasons why she was a damsel in distress.