Of Boats and Blue Beards — Willa Okati

Kit, cheated of his inheritance by a greedy uncle and bereft of his lover by the cold, cruel sea, has decided to change his life -- for keeps. Impulse carries him on board a ship to seek either fortune or the due end of fatalism. Accidentally caught in the same net is Paul, a close friend of Kit's past lover, who sees it as his duty to keep an eye out for Kit now. Open waters and the surprise of being cared for sparks the beginnings of a love affair between the two, and Kit's broken heart begins to mend. But the captain of the ship they sail on has taken a fancy to Kit's pretty face, and means to have him at any cost -- and the cost of being Bluebeard's lover is far too high to pay. Unless Kit -- and Paul -- escape him first.

Originally published in Galleons and Gangplanks