Read Online Traveler by Ashley Bourgeois - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ashley Bourgeois
Ads: Link
She dropped her back on the bed, not noticing the silk bag whose corner peeked out from it, and shed her clothing, determined to take a very nice, warm bubble bath. She tied her red hair at the base of her neck and slid into the warm, soapy water. It felt so nice to relax and soak....it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep with her neck resting against a hand towel. A nap sounded so nice...
Chapter 6
The water in the tub felt so nice as it lapped against her, feeling as if she were floating on air. She opened her eyes slowly, her eyelashes fluttering on her face. The look turned to one of horror as she became aware of her surroundings. All around her was water. Waves, lapping against her, throwing against each other...water everywhere.
“Oh shit,” she muttered as she stopped floating, instead beginning to tread the water in the ocean. Where was she? How had she gotten here? Where was her tub...? Her eyes scanned the horizon. No land in sight, only water; salty water, at that, judging by the taste on her lips. And a large, looming thing headed straight for her. It was a ship, she could tell, as she saw the masts and sails coming closer. The masts were dark wood, and looked well weathered, with the sails flapping in the breeze as it moved towards her. It was a two-masted ship, one of impressive size.
“Ho swimmer!” she heard coming from the ship. “Grab this rope!”
Aislin took a moment to actually grasp that they were talking to her. “Here! I’m here!” she called. Wherever she was, she needed to get out of the water. She raised a hand above her head to wave them down, quickly realizing she was still naked as the day she was born below the surface. “Shit!” she yelped.
Too late, though, the rope threw down into the water, plopping next to her with a splash. With a few sure strokes, she was at the rope. “Tie it around your waist!” a voice called from the ship, deep and strong.
Dutifully, Aislin did so, and was rapidly pulled towards the ship before she could really grasp her situation. The water moved by her, salt spraying into her mouth, as she watched the large, dark-wooded ship loom above her. As she passed the hull, really seeing its size, realizing how small she actually was compared to it. It was a warship, then, of some sort. If she was going to get through this, she would need to adapt, and take in every aspect of wherever she was. The rail came up faster than she had expected and abruptly there were many hands on her, rough, callused, male hands. Aislin let out a yelp and curled in on herself, dropping into a fetal position on the deck.
“Here now,” a voice rumbled above her, the same deep baritone that had yelled at her over the side of the ship, “Back off lads. Let’s give our little mermaid here some breathing room. Petra, fetch me a blanket, please. And a dress from the hold. She needs to be decent when the cap’n comes abovedecks.”
Aislin was about to say something when she decided that it may be better just to keep her mouth shut at this particular point in time. This was a strange place, a place where people apparently dressed...like pirates, complete with eyepatches, tattered clothing, and swords that certainly looked real. She wasn’t willing to test out her theory to see if they were or not. The man who had spoke, a tall man with no shirt, well-muscled chest glistening in the sun, brown messy hair, and bright green eyes, squatted down next to her, leveling his gaze to hers.
“Now listen here, mermaid. We are out in the middle of the ocean. How, in the Gods’ names, did you come to be in this place? We have not seen a ship for days, and no land for longer. Make this easier on me. My lads already think you’re a mermaid risen from the depths. But, you have no fins with which to swim. And, your skin is already pruning.”
Chapter 6
The water in the tub felt so nice as it lapped against her, feeling as if she were floating on air. She opened her eyes slowly, her eyelashes fluttering on her face. The look turned to one of horror as she became aware of her surroundings. All around her was water. Waves, lapping against her, throwing against each other...water everywhere.
“Oh shit,” she muttered as she stopped floating, instead beginning to tread the water in the ocean. Where was she? How had she gotten here? Where was her tub...? Her eyes scanned the horizon. No land in sight, only water; salty water, at that, judging by the taste on her lips. And a large, looming thing headed straight for her. It was a ship, she could tell, as she saw the masts and sails coming closer. The masts were dark wood, and looked well weathered, with the sails flapping in the breeze as it moved towards her. It was a two-masted ship, one of impressive size.
“Ho swimmer!” she heard coming from the ship. “Grab this rope!”
Aislin took a moment to actually grasp that they were talking to her. “Here! I’m here!” she called. Wherever she was, she needed to get out of the water. She raised a hand above her head to wave them down, quickly realizing she was still naked as the day she was born below the surface. “Shit!” she yelped.
Too late, though, the rope threw down into the water, plopping next to her with a splash. With a few sure strokes, she was at the rope. “Tie it around your waist!” a voice called from the ship, deep and strong.
Dutifully, Aislin did so, and was rapidly pulled towards the ship before she could really grasp her situation. The water moved by her, salt spraying into her mouth, as she watched the large, dark-wooded ship loom above her. As she passed the hull, really seeing its size, realizing how small she actually was compared to it. It was a warship, then, of some sort. If she was going to get through this, she would need to adapt, and take in every aspect of wherever she was. The rail came up faster than she had expected and abruptly there were many hands on her, rough, callused, male hands. Aislin let out a yelp and curled in on herself, dropping into a fetal position on the deck.
“Here now,” a voice rumbled above her, the same deep baritone that had yelled at her over the side of the ship, “Back off lads. Let’s give our little mermaid here some breathing room. Petra, fetch me a blanket, please. And a dress from the hold. She needs to be decent when the cap’n comes abovedecks.”
Aislin was about to say something when she decided that it may be better just to keep her mouth shut at this particular point in time. This was a strange place, a place where people apparently dressed...like pirates, complete with eyepatches, tattered clothing, and swords that certainly looked real. She wasn’t willing to test out her theory to see if they were or not. The man who had spoke, a tall man with no shirt, well-muscled chest glistening in the sun, brown messy hair, and bright green eyes, squatted down next to her, leveling his gaze to hers.
“Now listen here, mermaid. We are out in the middle of the ocean. How, in the Gods’ names, did you come to be in this place? We have not seen a ship for days, and no land for longer. Make this easier on me. My lads already think you’re a mermaid risen from the depths. But, you have no fins with which to swim. And, your skin is already pruning.”
Similar Books
