The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1) by Brooke Kennedy Page A

I saw it.
    “Give it to me,” I said, a little nicer with the bat of my eyelashes. He was flirting with me, so I would return it.
    “I will give it to you on one condition.”
    “What’s that?”
    “Come eat with me.”
    I frowned. “You can keep the book.”
    He cocked an eyebrow and shook his head. “Oh, Raewyn, you sure are something.”
    With that, he tossed the book to me and left.
    The second the door closed, I let my breath out and buried my face in my hands. He was a stubborn man. There was no way I was going to get him to leave me alone in this room.
    After I had some time alone, I peered outside to see if I could rummage through the ship and familiarize myself with it. I slipped out the cabin door and down the stairs, following a pirate down into the bottom of the ship. Aiden was nowhere to be seen and, thankfully, the rest of the pirates were too busy to take notice of me. I followed the man down into the bottom of the ship and went left because he went right.
    I walked into a small room with a low ceiling and cramped quarters. There were boxes scattered about, with one rather large chest at the back of the room. I glanced behind me, excitement running through me at what I could have found. Pirates were known for their treasures, and so was I of course. There could be some amazing things in there, something I could sneak back to Tristen perhaps or add to my own treasure chest.
    The desire to open the lid took over, and I rushed over to it. As I pushed the top open, the lid fell back against the wall, making a loud thud.
    I was hooked.
    Pieces upon pieces of gold filled it. It was so beautiful , and I couldn’t look away. Gold was something merfolk were attracted to, but it had an unusual pull to me. Any sort of treasure caught my attention. I loved it all. My hand reached out as if on its own accord, and I stepped forward again. I dipped my fingers into the cold pieces and lifted them up, and then let them fall back into the chest. They hit the pile with a clanking sound, music to my ears.
    Where did he find such a stash of golden coins? I had never seen so many in one place in my entire life! Even in the castle on the island, or in the one below the sea, there was not a stack of golden coins such as this.
    “Fair play, milady. Such a diabolical plan you have, getting yourself caught in my net only to steal me gold.”
    Aiden’s voice was enough to tear myself away from the trance the gold held on me. My stomach flipped nervously as I whirled around. Would he be angry or playful? He was hard to read sometimes. He leaned in the doorway with his arms crossed in front of him, amused grin on his face.
    “I—I…what?” His words didn’t make any sense to me.
    Aiden pushed off the doorframe and came to stand in front of me. His warm hand cupped my chin. “I never thought I’d see the day me bird would pillage me treasure.”
    “I’m not…pillaging,” I insisted, trying his words out for myself. “And I’m certainly not a bird.” I didn’t know why he would call me that.
    Aiden growled deep in his chest and rested his forehead against mine, causing my breath to hitch. He was so close. Too close. And definitely not angry. His eyes dropped to my lips, noting my change in breathing, and smiled slyly.
    “Aye, keep talking like that and I won’t be able to keep my hands off you, poppet. ”
    I brought my hands up to rest on his chest and tried to ignore the muscles jumping underneath my palms. My hands were meant to push him off me, but I couldn’t seem to move. I could smell the rum on his mouth and feel his breath on my lips as we stood there. It was definitely a good thing he wasn’t irate with me for snooping through his ship, but I had no earthly clue what he was talking about.
    “English please?” I whispered. My words were more breathy than I intended them to be. My knees seemed to become weak for some unknown reason as he looked at me.
    “No, it will be splendid to watch you figure it