The salt wind whipped across the secluded cove, carrying the scent of gunpowder and rum from the anchored brigantine Revenge's Kiss. Captain Elias "Blackfang" Smith lounged on a driftwood throne dragged up from the high-tide line, his scarred face split by a lazy grin. Weeks earlier, he'd plucked Mara from a smoky tavern in Port Royal—brunette hair like midnight waves, curves that had men spilling their tankards, a sharp tongue that earned her bruises from lesser men. She became his prize first, a fiery wench who spat curses even as the irons bit her wrists.
Then came Lady Seraphine Ashford, snatched from her father's merchant galleon off the Carolina coast. Golden hair that caught the sun like spilled coins, porcelain skin untouched by labor, the haughty bearing of old money. She had screamed like a banshee when they dragged her aboard, but the fight had gone out of her eyes after the first taste of the brig's darkness. Two women, one dark and earthy, one pale and regal, now chained together in the captain's cabin like matched hunting hounds.
Smith had grown bored of their sullen silence. He wanted sport. So on this blazing afternoon, with the crew ringed around the strip of white sand like a living fence, he had the irons struck off. Mara and Seraphine stood barefoot on the warm beach, the Caribbean sun turning their skin to gold and shadow. No clothing was permitted—only skin against skin, no weapons, no mercy. The winner would walk free onto the next ship they took. The loser would feed the sharks before sunset.
"Even odds," Smith called, voice carrying over the surf. "No holds barred. First blood means nothing—only the last breath counts. Fight like your lives depend on it... because they do."
The crew roared approval, coins already changing hands in side bets. Mara rolled her shoulders, dark hair whipping across her sweat-slick back. Her tavern brawls had taught her dirty tricks—knees, elbows, teeth if it came to it. She eyed the blonde with open contempt. "Fancy lady thinks she's too good to bleed," she sneered. "I'll paint that pretty face red."
Seraphine lifted her chin, though her hands trembled at her sides. Years of etiquette lessons had never prepared her for this savagery, but pride burned hotter than fear. "You reek of cheap gin and cheaper men," she replied coldly. "When I'm done, the captain will see what a real woman looks like standing over your corpse."
They circled slowly at first, bare feet sinking into the sand, breasts rising and falling with quick breaths. The sun beat down mercilessly, turning every inch of exposed skin glossy. Mara struck first—lunging low, aiming to tackle Seraphine into the surf. The blonde twisted at the last second, driving a sharp elbow into Mara's ribs. A grunt, a flash of pain, but Mara wrapped her arms around Seraphine's waist and lifted, slamming her down hard onto the sand.
The impact drove the air from Seraphine's lungs in a sharp cry. Mara straddled her immediately, knees pinning the blonde's hips, hands seeking her throat. "Should've stayed in your silk sheets," Mara hissed, fingers tightening.
Seraphine bucked wildly, nails raking down Mara's arms in bloody furrows. She arched, throwing her head forward to crack her forehead against Mara's nose. Blood sprayed—hot and coppery—and Mara recoiled with a curse. Seraphine rolled them, reversing positions in a tangle of limbs. Now she was on top, golden hair falling like a curtain around their faces as she drove punches into Mara's ribs and jaw.
The brunette snarled, catching one of Seraphine's wrists and twisting until the blonde yelped. They rolled again, sand clinging to sweat-slick skin, bodies grinding together in brutal friction. Fists flew, nails clawed at eyes and throats, legs tangled and kicked. Breaths came in ragged gasps, mingled with curses and pained whimpers.
Mara managed to hook a leg behind Seraphine's knee and flip them once more, pinning the heiress face-down. She yanked Seraphine's head back by a fistful of golden hair, forcing her cheek into the sand. "Beg," Mara growled against her ear. "Beg and maybe I'll make it quick."
Seraphine spat sand and blood. "Never."
With a surge of desperate strength, she drove her elbow backward into Mara's solar plexus. The brunette's grip loosened just enough. Seraphine twisted free, scrambling to her feet. Both women rose, chests heaving, bodies marked with red scratches, blooming bruises, streaks of blood from split lips and torn skin.
They faced each other again, circling slower now, exhaustion warring with fury. The crew's shouts had faded to a low, hungry murmur. The sun dipped lower, painting the beach in blood-orange light.
Neither had landed a killing blow yet. Neither intended to yield. The fight was far from over.