The task of moving water-prone cargo into the hold and securing tarps and ropes to the cannons progressed quickly.Thanks to the sailors’ familiarity with sudden changes at sea, there was little waste of movement or effort.After meticulously packing the last of the gunpowder and cramming it into the cramped hold, raindrops began to fall heavily from the swollen rainclouds.

“Rain! It’s raining!”

“Those who want to wash, get up to the deck!”

The sailors were already stripping off their shirts.Though it hadn’t been long since leaving port, fresh water was so scarce that they seemed eager to seize the moment.Rosetta, standing casually near the deck, only noticed their shy glances after a moment, realizing they were embarrassed.

In the days of the Red Dawn, she’d grown used to seeing men wander around shirtless all the time, so it felt trivial, but these men were different.They hadn’t known her long, and they likely saw her as a refined lady, so their reaction made sense.Rosetta passed a few words of caution to the sailors nearby.

“The storm’s getting rougher, so be careful not to slip. We’ll steer around the tempest, but just in case, find that Melvin fellow and keep him by the helm.”

“What about you, my lady? Shall we collect some rainwater for you?”

At one sailor’s words, another nudged him in the ribs, as if to say, “What, make a lady wash in rainwater?”Rosetta smiled.With rainwater now soaking her sticky body in the humid air, she, too, longed to scrub with soap.

“That sounds good. When that wooden barrel fills up, bring me one.”

“Aye!”

The sailor, surprised yet intrigued by her ready agreement, seemed taken aback.Rosetta left them behind and hurried below deck.Soaked to her undergarments from just a moment on deck, she wanted to strip everything off.The thin, wet clothes clung to her chest, stomach, and thighs, stinging her delicate skin with every step.

Her drenched footsteps left bold marks on the wooden floor as she walked down the corridor.As soon as Rosetta opened the cabin door, she kicked off her sodden shoes.It seemed a maid had come earlier to light a candle, as the cabin wasn’t dark.

She hurriedly stripped off her cumbersome clothes, down to her undergarments, and wrung out her hair.Water pooled on the floor with a trickling sound, then vanished into the wood’s crevices without a trace.As she lifted her hair to keep it from sticking to her back, she turned around.

There, watching her with reddened eyes, was Cardier.She didn’t know how long he’d been there.His intense gaze slowly traced from her rounded forehead to her bare shoulders, her softly curved chest, her concave stomach, and lower still.His stare was so persistent it left a mark.A strange heat rose wherever his eyes lingered.In that moment, she felt the illusion of being the most captivating creature in the world.

When Rosetta let her hands fall, her wet hair clung to her body like seaweed.Cardier’s throat twitched with a primal intensity.He muttered something under his breath—whether a curse or admiration, she couldn’t tell.Rosetta extended her palm, beckoning him like a tame beast.

“Come closer.”

Damn it. This curse was clearer.Cardier forcibly tore his gaze from her bare chest.But his low, husky voice betrayed an undeniable desire.

“I can’t.”

“What can’t you do?”

Rosetta stepped closer, asking.With each step, wet footprints formed perfect circles on the wooden floor.Cardier, glancing down instinctively, spotted them and swallowed a groan.Did this woman even realize how maddeningly adorable even her footprints were?With a grim expression, Cardier clenched his teeth.

“Rosetta, do you know how much I’m holding back?”

“You don’t need to hold back.”

Her answer was instant, heedless of her own state.Her small, roughened hand grabbed his forearm.That slight touch alone was enough to drive him wild with excitement.Cardier’s brows furrowed.His eyes reddened, his breath quickened.Rosetta, sensing his restraint pushed to its limit, wore a victorious smile.Cardier struggled to pry her wrist away.

“You haven’t seen yourself in a mirror.”

“What’s wrong with my body?”

“You look like you’d break with one touch. I… I’m afraid I’d hurt you.”

It was her frail body that held his thin thread of reason.Seeing her protruding collarbone, her sharp shoulder blades, her tiny wrists—worn from hardship—filled him with disgust at his own desire.What kind of man lusts after such fragility, unless he were a beast in heat?But Rosetta, the woman he loved, tore down his barriers without hesitation.

“You said you’d kill me if I came back even slightly hurt. Let me check with my own eyes.”

“…”

“Take it off, Cardier.”

He clenched his teeth.She was impossibly lovable, and he had no choice but to obey.He shed his shirt.His chiseled muscles gleamed smoothly under the candlelight.Rosetta, as if entranced, drew even closer.

Her hand rested on his taut muscles, then flinched back slightly, startled by their firmness.The beauty of his form took her breath away.Her palm pressed against his muscles again.Her hand slid down his defined abs to his lower stomach.

“Ugh…”

Cardier buried his forehead in the crook of her neck, as if unable to bear it with a clear mind, letting out a strained groan.His heated breath was intoxicating.She slid her hand lower, just brushing against his fiercely desired core, and his body stiffened instantly.

In the next moment, he lifted her effortlessly from the floor.Startled, she hurriedly wrapped her arms around his neck.Her vision flipped, the ceiling came into view, and the soft cushion of the bed pressed against her back.

Cardier’s face, almost feral, filled her vision.

“You brought this on yourself.”

He growled, as if the last thread of his reason had snapped, his eyes burning beneath.Damn it.He couldn’t even think of cursing alongside her name, directing the bitter words at himself.His refined face looked on the verge of breaking.

“I won’t satisfy my greed.”

“…What?”

“I won’t yield on this, not even in death.”

Before she could grasp his meaning, he gently pinned her wrists and lowered his head, their lips meeting.Her rain-chilled lips sought warmth and quickly deepened into a passionate entanglement.His scent was wild, and his lips tasted as sweet as honey.Rosetta felt her body surrender easily.Her rain-dampened skin clung to his fingers.

The pleasure built slowly, softly, and steadily.Cardier treated her body with utmost care.From the furrow of her brows, the slight tremble of her lips or cheeks, he discerned exactly what she liked and didn’t.

Wherever his hands moved, her skin prickled as if tiny bubbles were bursting.A faint wet sound echoed in the room.She felt, for the first time, that her body, her lips, could produce such fragile sounds.So fevered, so tender, so raw it felt like her very shell was crumbling.

She clung to his firm forearms.Just his hands, only his hands…Rosetta let out a broken moan.Her body moved on its own, seeking more stimulation.As his hands moved, the carefully built pleasure reached its peak and began to burst.Once it started, the ecstasy swept over her like a tidal wave.Damn it, Cardier. Damn it, this feeling, this sensation…Rosetta whimpered, then screamed in overwhelming rapture.

It felt like something was pouring out of her—her soul, or perhaps her desperate longing for him.She writhed, unable to think of breaking free from his arms.Panting, she rubbed her sweat-soaked forehead against his shoulder.Her pale, sweat-drenched body shimmered faintly in the light.A look of ecstasy crossed Cardier’s face.His other hand traced her arched spine, curled with pleasure.

It was pure climax.

For the next three days, her memories… she wished they were hazier.After that first climax, Rosetta relentlessly teased Cardier.Tell a parched soul to stand before a feast and resist?Impossible.In the end, it was Cardier who gave in.

Once he surrendered, he clung to her like a beast.When they opened their eyes, their lips entwined, their arms and legs tangled, their suppressed moans intertwined.Cardier unraveled her body with care, holding her with utmost gentleness.In his arms, she felt swept away by soft waves.Rosetta loved the sound of him melting into her.