Read The Seascape Tattoo for Free Online

voice—that was Teesha, the tavern wench from the Broken Skull, one of his favorite haunts. A saucy and well-turned wench, cute rather than beautiful but flexible and warm-hearted.
    â€œWhat have you heard?” Aros asked.
    Teesha had brought a bundle of rolls and a joint of beef. And … a map of the desert, bless her. He thanked her with a kiss and tore meat from the joint with his teeth, surprised to realize just how famished he was.
    â€œThere’s talk,” she said in a high, reedy voice, “that someone you cheated got their revenge.”
    Well, that was an easy call. “Man or woman?” he muttered. Angry husbands, cheated gamblers, jealous wenches, tax frauds brought to justice, men he had bested in arm wrestling, people he had robbed before taking the queen’s shilling. Oh, the possibilities were endless.
    â€œOne of each, perhaps.” She giggled. Her small, plump hand rested on his knee but began to climb higher. “Now, I’ve been a good girl for you, how about you paying me back a little?”
    Aros shook his head. Teesha had always been a frisky lass, a quality he’d appreciated fully and frequently during his time in Quillia’s capital. But it seemed unseemly at the moment, and he felt obliged to turn her down.
    On the other hand, if he turned her down, wouldn’t it be ungracious of him? And if he ever needed her help again, wouldn’t it be less likely that she would … um … respond?
    As her hand reached its target, he suddenly found himself having difficulty tasting his food. She was snuggling up close, and suddenly her mouth was on his, tongue questing as if she wanted to share his breakfast.
    Oh well, what the hell—
    There was always time for a knee trembler. Waste not, want not. The way things were going, it might well be his last opportunity for quite some time—
    He lurched upright as she locked her legs around his waist, performing a perfectly adequate imitation of an octopus. Aros felt her hands fumbling for his belt, felt it go loose, and finally couldn’t remember any of the carefully devised reasons this was a bad idea, the two of them clutching at each other, him hoisting her skirts up and …
    Untied your sword belt—
    The senses that were filled with the urgent, pungent awareness of Teesha suddenly watched him from another position, as if outside himself, seeing a pale slip of a girl entwined with a brown-skinned giant, naked from the waist down, his Aztec sword and belt down around his ankles. And the shadows around them were not empty.
    His eyes snapped open, and suddenly there were two men in the alley, one with a sword, one with a knife. Her brothers Alf and Negron, co-owners of the Broken Skull, apparently out to earn a little extra collecting bounties.
    Teesha buried her teeth in his shoulder. Her legs tightened around his waist, her fingers grasping handfuls of his black, straight hair. Mouth was buried against his neck, but she managed to scream, “Get him!”
    Gods! He was dancing about in the alley, her two brothers clearly unimpressed with the sight of their sister half-naked and in flagrante delicto. They did seem unwilling to turn their sister into a pincushion, and he was able to use that to his advantage, using her as a shield as he stumbled back into the crates.
    And fell, rolling, the hellcat still biting and scratching him, sharp little teeth worrying at his throat. Damn it, his reluctance to hurt a woman was costing him dearly. If a man had ridden him in such a manner, he might have simply grabbed a leg in each hand and made a wish. But he just couldn’t … and that scrap of scruple would cost him his life if he wasn’t careful.
    He pushed with his legs, rolling over toward the sword. He managed to get his hand on it, but without the leverage necessary to slide Flaygod out of its scabbard. A sword nick on his right leg made him roar with pain. He finally