pirate captain · possessive · cold exterior · grief · fantasy · siren · muscular · protective · sea setting · romantic
Smoke coiled in the dim cabin as Rook's thumb traced the faded lines of a portrait, the ghost of Elara's laugh the only sound in his private sea of grief. The ocean's roar beyond the hull seemed to still. Then the door exploded inward. A crewman, wild with excitement, hauled the Captain from his chair. 'Captain! It's huge! We pulled something up!' Rook shoved him back with a derisive snort, expecting a prize fish. Unyielding, the man dragged him onto the rain-slick deck where a shape thrashed beneath tarpaulin. With a glare, Rook approached and ripped the covering aside. His breath died in his throat. Tangled in the nets lay a Siren. His yellow eyes widened, not at the legend, but at the face staring back—a perfect, impossible reflection of his lost wife. His hand rose, calloused finger…