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Despair creeps through me as I realize that I really am at the mercy of Hook’s whims. He called himself my master.
“What I want,” he whispers against my lips, “is for you to stop playing me for a fool.” He presses in further, his eyes swirling with emotion. “What I want is to bring souls back from the dead and let them feast on your father’s screams.” His nose runs along the length of my neck, and I suck in a breath, my heart pumping so fast it makes my head spin. “Can you give me any of those things, Wendy darling?”
“Just remember, that whenever things feel bleak, all situations are temporary. It’s not your circumstance that determines your worth, it’s how you rise from the ashes after everything burns.”
“Every good bitch needs a pretty collar.”
know of your birth, Wendy Michaels.” His lips press against my cheek. “And I’ll know of your death.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
“He already told you, didn’t he?” Wendy cocks her head. “He popped my cherry.” Gasps sound around the table, and I choke on the liquid of my drink, my hand shooting to my chest to stifle the cough.
“You have no idea who you’re sitting next to.” Her jaw stiffens. “I know exactly who he is. It’s you I’m beginning to question.”
He made the police commissioner apologize for insulting me and rubbed my neck while I stood against my father and his bitch of an assistant. And that doesn’t feel like Hook. That feels like James.
A deep chuckle rumbles in Hook’s chest, and it vibrates through my bones, setting my nerves on fire. He leans down, pressing his pillow-soft lips to the middle of my throat, his tongue swiping out to taste my skin. Heat spreads between my legs, followed closely by the revulsion at the fact that my body can be turned on by this sick situation.
“I want you to memorize this moment, darling. Remember how it feels to realize your father was willing to let you die in order to save himself.”
“It’s impossible not to care for you, Wendy. If it was, you’d already be dead.”
The kiss is anything but sweet. It’s twisted and toxic, a poison masked in sugar, making you love the taste of death. But for the life of me, I can’t stop.
“You think I’m crazy?” he rumbles into my ear. “You make me fucking crazy.”
“Tell me you like my hands on you, pet,” he demands. “Tell me you missed the way it feels.”
“Good girl,” he purrs.
“That’s my girl,” he whispers against my skin.
My issue now is Wendy makes me lose that precious control.
And I’m now left reeling with the thought that she’s actually come to mean something, something beyond a tool or even simply a good time. Somewhere along the way, I’ve started to care.
“You’re quite beautiful, you know?”
The nickname makes my stomach twist, the way it always does when she says it. I don’t like her knowing me as Hook, especially when she’s the only person in this world who makes me feel like James.
“That didn’t stop you from coming all over my fingers, naughty girl.” My hand trails along her collarbone, enjoying the flush that spreads across her skin. “Does it excite you when your life is in danger?”
“I do find it quite arousing to have you in my clothing.”
“But since you’ve decided we’re ‘bros,’ I think we’ll spend some quality time.” A grin cracks my face. “I can show you just how much I like to play with things that slice.”
Wendy grabs my hand and places it over her heart, teeth nipping at my bottom lip. “Give it to me,” she whispers. I shake my head, my body trembling. “I don’t have anything to give.” Her mouth grazes along my jaw, pressing soft kisses to my skin. “So give me all your nothing,” she replies.
“But I regret, with every fiber of my being, that for even one moment you suffered under my hands.” Her eyes widen, the beautiful shades of brown glossing over. “You are, without a doubt, the only good I’ve ever known.” I rest my forehead on hers, my shaky breaths ghosting across her lips, my thumb rubbing against her cheek. “So don’t lie to me, Wendy darling. Because my heart won’t survive it if you do.”
My heart swells with the need to make her see. To show her how I feel because I’ve never been good with words. Not the ones that matter anyway. I want her to choose me. Not because I demand it but because she can.
“Always so wet for me, pet.” I slip two fingers inside, watching as her tight walls suction around them. “You’re such a good girl. Do you know that?”
“Such a filthy girl, aren’t you?”
“Say it again,” I murmur against her lips. “Say what?” “My name.” I grind into her, heat spreading through every cell.
“You’re so perfect. Feel so fucking good.”
“I want you to tell me that you’re mine.”
It’s in this moment that I know, as wild as it seems, that I love her. And that terrifies me more than anything else ever has.
“You’re really too attractive for your own good,” I say.
“And just so we’re clear.” He presses his thumb into my chin. “If someone else touches you, I’ll cut off their hands so they can never touch anything again.”
“Make it back home by dinner? I have a surprise.”
I make my way to the woman who’s become the center of my universe.
“You want to watch the world burn?” “Let me guess, you’ll set it on fire?” I ask. He chuckles, the sound vibrating through me and settling into my bones. “No, darling. I’ll hand you the match and stand at your back, watching you become queen of the ashes.”
All his deep, dark, and slightly unhinged pieces. I choose every single one. I choose him.
James may not be a hero, but even villains can feel. And you can’t help who you love.
“You’re beautiful,” I gasp as he pulls out and thrusts back in. He smirks. “Am I?” “Yes.” My heart swells in my chest, and my hand reaches up to trail along his jaw. “You’re dark and moody and mysterious. But beautiful.”
“Darling, if I’m the dark, then you’re the stars.”
“Do you want my cum, pet?” he asks. I moan. “Yes, please.” “I do love it when you beg.”
“That’s my girl,” he coos. “Taking my cock down your throat like a perfect little slut.”
“James?” “Yes, darling?” “I think I love you.”
“The greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life was to love you, Wendy darling.”
“Only yours, James Barrie.” “And always yours, Wendy darling.” He kisses my jaw. “Every night.” “And straight on ’til morning.”
And to think, it all started with a little bit of faith. Misplaced trust. Missing pixie dust. And a villain who just needed to steal a little love.
