Maelstrom - Chapter 2

Ernest kissed Barbara while gathering a handful of her red hair in his hand, then flashed a sweet smile. Unlike his insane personality, he had the neat appearance of a noble gentleman, so anyone ignorant of who he was might’ve mistaken the scene for something rather romantic.

Until they learned who he was.

“Go on, say it. You missed me too, didn’t you?”

Standing in the middle of a pirate ship strewn with corpses, with the gaping traces of his exploded heart fully exposed, Ernest pressed Barbara for an answer.

His lake-clear eyes fixed on Barbara gleamed like glass beads.

“As if that would ever happen.”

The coy attitude she had shown while boarding the pirate ship was nowhere to be found. Barbara now looked so dry and emotionless that no trace of it remained. Ernest’s perfectly curved lips twisted crookedly at her reaction.

His mood had soured.

“Sure. Maybe your head thinks that. But your body’s different.”

After letting go of Barbara’s hair, Ernest slowly brushed down her shoulder instead. At the deliberate touch of his moving hand, he saw her bite down on her lip.

She seemed flustered by how honestly her body was reacting.

At that positive sign, Ernest let out a small laugh and pulled Barbara into his arms.

After finally ending that fucking game of chase that had made him so furious he felt like losing his mind, holding her soft body again after so long still heated him up.

“Now I finally feel alive again. Have you been well, Barbara?”

“….”

At the belated greeting, Barbara simply frowned and pushed him away without answering.

The pleasant mood he’d briefly been enjoying twisted viciously once again at her attempt to escape him.

“Why do you always try to run away? The more you do this, the less I want to let you go. What are you going to do if I cling to you like a leech and never let go?”

Pulling Barbara tightly against him once more, Ernest whispered into her ear like a warning.

Contrary to the meaning of his words, his low voice was soft as it gently seeped into her delicate ear, but Barbara still frowned and shoved him away.

Then, with a face that looked utterly unable to tolerate it any longer, she pinched her nose and shouted, “You stink like rot! I can’t stand it, so back off a little!”

The twisted mood instantly settled back into place at her outburst. Even the erection that had risen at the sight of Barbara calmed down slightly.

“….”

Taking a step back from Barbara, Ernest finally looked himself over.

Because he’d been stuffed inside a fish crate, his clothes were filthy, crusted with dried blood, and reeked with a foul fishy smell. Once he became aware of it, he suddenly felt guilty for hugging her in that state.

Somewhat calmer after noticing his dirty appearance, Ernest shamelessly made a request.

“Well then, I should wash up. Would you prepare some bathwater for me?”

“Ha….”

Letting out a deep sigh full of annoyance, Barbara turned around and spoke to Ernest.

“Follow me.”

Seeing her no longer seem willing to run now that she’d already been caught, Ernest quietly followed behind her.

Her employees were still wary of him, but Ernest actually found their pitiful behavior rather loyal and pleasing.

“It’s been a while for you all too. Your pale faces are quite pleasant to look at.”

As if praising them, Ernest lightly patted their shoulders before crossing the plank connecting the pirate ship and the Angelos with light steps.

***

Did Ernest even realize how extravagant and troublesome it was to prepare bathwater aboard a ship?

“….”

Entering the captain’s cabin, Barbara sat sprawled lazily before the table, blankly staring up at the ceiling. Listening to the quiet splashing of water, she let out a dry laugh.

Ernest probably understood better than anyone. He was a vicious man who had clawed his way up from the very bottom to the position of admiral.

Watching that vicious man stubbornly chase after her just to see her, she’d thought she would eventually get caught someday, but she never expected to run into him in a place like this.

His pursuit was so persistent that she genuinely couldn’t understand why he kept trying to reconnect a relationship that had ended long ago.

“Didn’t we end things cleanly?”

After the faint splashing sound stopped, an answer came to her murmured question.

“Does the word ‘clean’ even suit a relationship like ours?”

At the same time, a large, rough hand gently cupped Barbara’s cheek. Along with the fragrant scent of soap, cold droplets of water fell onto her face.

Before she knew it, Ernest was standing at her side looking down at her. Perhaps because he felt refreshed, the smile resting on his lips blended with his damp blond hair, making him look impossibly clean and bright.

Without showing even the slightest surprise at his sudden appearance, Barbara asked, “What exactly is our relationship supposed to be?”

His smooth upper body, still not wiped dry, dazzled the eyes. There wasn’t even a trace left of the gunshot wound Barbara had made.

“Further than lovers, closer than friends.”

“You really found an elegant way to say ‘fuck buddies.’”

Barbara mocked him while hiding her dry emotions.

In response, Ernest merely answered with a deep smile before kissing her.

As the familiar heat washed over her again after so long, she felt the curse wrapped around her heart falter. At that welcome movement, Barbara obediently parted her lips instead of pushing Ernest away like she usually did.

His familiar tongue slipped inside and thoroughly swept through her mouth. It felt like a search for traces of another person. Apparently finding nothing unusual, the busy flesh settled against Barbara.

Their soft flesh rubbed together thickly enough for the ridges of each other’s tongues to be felt, creating a strangely erotic harmony.

Wet sounds quietly rang in her ears.

Swallowing Ernest’s saliva, Barbara unconsciously thought,

‘Ah, so this was it.’

Ernest’s words had been correct. Her body had missed Ernest.

For whatever reason.

As if imitating sex itself, Ernest shoved his tongue deep into her mouth one final time before finally pulling away.

A long silver thread stretched between their slowly separating lips.

“How about we start over?”

“Is that why you followed me around?”

Letting go of Barbara’s face, Ernest stood before her and answered casually, “In the end, it’s pretty much the same thing.”

Then he bent down and sucked at Barbara’s neck greedily. It didn’t take long for red marks to bloom vividly across the delicate line of her throat.

She could clearly feel her flesh being drawn into his mouth. A sharp twinge of pain spread through her, and heat pooled lower in her body, roughening her breath.

Her body, which knew him too well, was reacting instinctively.

There was no way Ernest wouldn’t notice that reaction. Grabbing the hand resting quietly on the armrest, he guided it over his bare skin. His firm chest and tightly packed abs still appealed to Barbara.

But noticing his intention as he gradually guided her hand lower and lower, Barbara shook him off and pushed him away.

“We talk first.”

“You never just let things slide. What a shame.”

Maybe it would’ve been different at night, but right now it was daytime. Her calm heartbeat kept her reason tightly under control.

“Put some clothes on first.”

Barbara spoke to Ernest, who was sitting on the table without even trying to hide his stiff erection.

His sculpted body was certainly pleasing to look at, but that thing was the problem. That grotesquely huge cock that didn’t suit his beautiful body at all.

If it had at least been limp, she wouldn’t have said anything, but it was standing rigidly alive, dripping water everywhere, which kept drawing her attention. And since Ernest was sitting on top of the table, Barbara’s eyes naturally landed there from where she sat in the chair.

“What for?”

Seeing the grin spread across his face, he was obviously doing it on purpose. Vulgar bastard.

“Should I shoot you down there this time?”

“It’ll come off again anyway. You’re so cold.”

At Barbara’s irritated gesture toward his cock and her threatening words, Ernest grumbled while picking up the towel that had fallen to the floor.

With careful movements, he covered his lower body with the towel. Even so, it couldn’t hide the outline of him standing firmly upright, but at least the naked flesh itself was no longer exposed.

Apparently, this alone was Ernest’s version of consideration, so Barbara quickly gave up and got to the point.

“Tell me the real reason you’ve been following me around.”

“I’m the one who fucked you, so why won’t you smile at me, Barbara?”

“….”

“You smiled just fine at that pirate bastard. You weren’t like this at first…. We weren’t even on bad terms.”

Unlike Barbara, who wanted to get straight to the point, Ernest seemed to have no intention of doing so.

At him suddenly picking a fight over something trivial, Barbara bit down on her lip.

She’d repeatedly told herself not to get swept up by him, yet the moment an unwelcome topic surfaced, emotions surged up before she could stop them.

He was right.

There was no reason for her to treat him so harshly. Right now, she was being more wary of him than necessary.

The answer to the question of “why?” would never come. Barbara had no intention of even attempting to untangle the complicated emotions twisted inside her.

“Well…. Maybe things would change if you told me what you want.”

After calming her emotions, Barbara felt the need to treat him more generously. No matter how infatuated with her he seemed, he was still Ernest Farrell. In other words, he was never an easy opponent.

At the slight softening around Barbara’s lips, Ernest’s gaze changed.

The eyes that had been gleaming cruelly a moment ago fluttered pleasantly as if brushed by a warm breeze.

“I told you. I want us to start over.”

“That’s not all, is it?”

It had already been several months since she’d cut ties with him. In that situation, the way he’d obsessively followed her around these past few days couldn’t possibly be just because he missed her.

“As expected, luck alone couldn’t have built a trading company this large.”

Ernest’s gaze swept over the captain’s cabin, grand enough already and decorated in an antique style, before he looked directly at Barbara.

It was the arrogant face of the admiral, just like when she first met him.