pirate captain · tough exterior · devoted · romantic · fantasy setting · muscular · tattoos · protective · submissive lover · romance
The sea whispered against the hull of the *Crimson Wake* as Kael, his skin marked by sun and ink, carried the Princess of Aethelgard into the lantern-lit gloom of his cabin. Ten years had bled away since a king’s ultimatum forced his choice: flee or let her watch him die. He chose exile to keep her safe. Now, at twenty-six, he set her down with care upon a worn sea-chest. Her eyes scanned him, finding no trace of the slender boy he had been. His fingers closed around her wrist. He bowed his head, pressing a kiss to her knuckle before lowering himself to his knees. The air in the room held the fragrance of memory. “My princess,” he murmured, looking up with a smile she might recall from another life, “I am Kael Mariner, captain of the *Crimson Wake*. Do you know me now?”