Chapter 6
T he sun was a kaleidoscope of color overhead, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the warmth on my face. When was the last time I’d felt so relaxed…so free?
The water was only a bit cooler than a bath, and I let it cradle me, the gentle waves rolling over my naked body in a delicious caress. Some tiny part of my mind remembered…there was something I should be worried about right now, but I couldn’t for the life of me think of what it might be.
“Have you missed me?”
The low, familiar growl made my nipples tighten instantly even as I fluttered my arms so I could stand.
Hook stood in the turquoise water before me, his thickly muscled shoulders and chest on full display for the first time.
The breath left me in a rush as I tried to remember every plane and dip, every scar and tattoo.
But I didn’t get the chance to look for long.
He closed the distance between us and laid his right hand on the curve of my hip, gripping tight.
“I’ve missed you.”
You should be afraid, a way-too-soft voice in my head whispered. Remember what it is that you’re forgetting, Harmony.
But there was no time to remember anything, because his mouth was on mine in a deep, searing kiss. Our tongues danced for a moment, and I reveled in the taste of him, but it was over too soon as he pulled away to press his forehead against mine.
“As much as I try, I can’t get you out of my head.
It’s like you have me under a spell, little sea witch.
” His breath was warm against my skin as he pulled away and bent his head lower, tracing the tip of his tongue over my collarbone and lower, to capture my nipple between his lips, sucking hard before releasing it with a hiss.
“All these years, I’ve stayed strong…resisted taking everything you’ve offered, despite the torture you put me through.
But I don’t think I can bear it anymore.
It’s killing me as surely as a dagger to the heart. ”
His mouth moved to my other nipple, his teeth grazing it just enough to send a bolt of lightning through me. A guttural moan tore from my lips, like the sound had been trapped there for a lifetime.
“I want you inside me.” The raw desperation in my voice made him freeze for half a heartbeat.
His grip on my hip tightened, fingers digging into me like he was holding back something wild…
something dangerous. Then, with a low groan, he re-captured my nipple between his lips, sucking deep.
Pleasure shot through me, and I arched my back, plunging my fingers into his black-as-night hair.
His mouth lingered, his tongue batting against the sensitive peak before he lifted his gaze to meet mine.
“Next time, we make it last,” he vowed, his voice thick.
“Yes. Next time,” I breathed, barely managing the words. I would’ve agreed to anything if he promised not to stop this time.
The hand that had been on my hip drifted slowly over my pubic bone and lower, cupping me, squeezing just enough to make me gasp.
My body burned, every nerve alight as he grinded the heel of his palm against my clit, teasing, torturing.
The throbbing ache built to a fever pitch almost instantly, and I rolled my hips against his hand in a desperate chase for relief.
“Please, Hook. I need—” I broke off on a ragged cry as his clever fingers parted my overheated flesh and he tucked two of them smoothly inside me.
“I know exactly what you need, love.”
My head lolled back as I arched into his touch. In and out, a slow drag of flesh on flesh, the warm water lapping at my thighs.
“Gods, you’re so fucking beautiful,” he rasped.
I forced my eyes open to meet his and the naked need on his face…the near agony of it matched my own.
I let go of my death grip on his hair and dunked my hand below the surface of the water. A moment later, I closed it over his thick cock and squeezed. His growl sent another bolt of lust straight to my core and I pulsed my hips into his fingers.
“Please…”
It was sensory overload. His velvet-covered shaft, swollen, hard as stone, and throbbing in my hand. His fingers wedged inside me as they worked over my achy flesh, filling me, but not quite enough. The water swirling around us in a sensual dance, like nature itself wanted this as much as we did…
He wedged his knee between my thighs, forcing me to open wider for him. His breath was ragged, and I could hear his heartbeat over the waves.
“You’re mine, Harmony.”
I shuddered at the possessiveness in his tone, at the way it curled around something deep and primal inside me. I wanted to answer, but then he slid his fingers away and pressed his hips to mine. The thick head of his cock pressing against my entrance.
I wanted to tell him to go slow. That it was my first time, but I couldn’t form the words. Not when everything inside me was screaming for him to go fast. Hard. Deep. To give me everything, all at once and end this torture.
His hand slid to my throat, not squeezing, just holding. He tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“Mine,” he growled, the very tip of his cock pushing inside me. “You’re mine and always have been. Now and forever.” With that, his hips flexed and he filled me with one, smooth thrust.
I gasped, gripping his shoulders, desperate for something solid to cling to as waves of ecstasy crashed over me. There was a sharp stretch, a fleeting sting, but it was drowned out by the overwhelming fullness, the shocking pleasure of finally being claimed by him.
His fingers tightened around my neck just slightly, his lips parting on a groan. His forehead pressed to mine once again, breath hot against my parted lips, hips rolling in a slow, deliberate rhythm, forcing me to feel every inch of him.
I whimpered, my nails digging into his muscled back as I tried to form words, but my breath came too fast, too shallow to speak. I was drowning.
He set a punishing pace, a relentless rhythm that sent stars exploding behind my eyes. The force of it stole the breath from my lungs, made my head spin.
He slipped a hand between us, pressing his thumb against my clit, and the sensation was instant, electric. My body clenched around him in response, making him groan.
“So good,” he murmured, his voice raw with need. “So perfect.”
He flicked his thumb, sending another jolt of pleasure through me, and I cried out, unable to hold back the sound any longer. He grunted in response, capturing my lips in a searing kiss, teasing my mouth open as his tongue tangled with mine, demanding, devouring.
The world blurred, faded, until there was nothing but him—his body driving into mine, pushing me to the very edge of reason. The lapping of the water against my back, the sound of skin meeting skin, the echo of our breaths—all of it disappeared into the fire building inside me.
The release slammed into me like a tidal wave, violent and all-consuming.
My knees buckled, but he held me, whispering something against my lips as he rode it out, making it last, until the full-body quaking slowed to a tremor.
I barely registered the sharp nip of his teeth against my lower lip before he pulled back, his gaze molten with heat.
“Again, little one. Once more for me.”
I was still struggling to catch my breath when I let my head fall back only to see a bolt of lightning snake across the cloudless blue sky. A shrill cackle followed by an ominous crack of thunder had Hook yanking me flush against him and hulking over me.
“I’ll get you, my pretty…and your little bird too!”
I shot upright with a gasp, the last remnants of my dream-turned-nightmare clinging to me just as surely as the damp sheet wrapped around my waist. My pulse hammered against my ribs as my eyes adjusted to the dim light, and for a few scary seconds, I didn’t know where I was.
The wooden ceiling above, the briny air, the distant slap of the waves against the shore?—
Neverland. Pan and Tink’s house.
I turned my head to see Moll, curled into a ball on her bed, snoring softly.
How could she be so cozy and relaxed when I’d been six feet away, trying not to die of pleasure…and terror?
I let out a low groan and swiped a clammy hand down my face.
The dreams about the dark stranger with the onyx eyes had been sexual at times before, but we’d never…he’d never?—
“Fuck,” I whispered under my breath, my skin still tingling from the false memory of his touch.
Whether it was seeing his picture and hearing Pan’s story or just knowing he was real and feasibly within reach, something had taken them up a whole other notch. And then that haunting cackle and creepy voice. The same as I’d heard when I’d turned the page from Alabaster.
I so didn’t need this right now.
My whole body was still on fire, every nerve-ending alight, even as panic clawed at my chest. There was zero chance I was getting back to sleep, so I slipped out of bed and padded barefoot to the window.
The indigo sky was painted with the first streaks of pink and gold.
By the time I got ready, the sun would be cresting the horizon. Surely, safe enough to go for a walk.
I desperately needed some fresh air.
I dressed quickly, slipping into the same clothes I’d worn the day before and stuffing my feet into my red boots. Then, I tugged my bag over my shoulder and made my way through the house on silent feet.
The second I stepped outside, I sucked in a deep breath. The cool breeze was heaven, and the last of the lightheadedness faded away.
“Big deal,” I muttered under my breath, relieved to have control of my senses once again. “You had a sex dream about an evil pirate and got interrupted by a possibly even more evil witch.”
Given the events of the past couple of weeks, it was hardly that strange. But as my stomach clenched and the space between my hips pulsed and went heavy, I knew it was more than that.
Why had it felt so fucking real?
I crossed my arms and marched into the balmy breeze, letting my feet choose my path.
Think about anything else. The call of seagulls, the smell of tropical flowers, sweet on the breeze.
That firm, sexy mouth ? —
“Arg!” I slapped my hands over my ears, like that would help somehow.
I needed a task to keep my brain from replaying it again and again…
“Count the types of flowers.”
So I did, keeping a careful watch for anything Cissy had told me about that could be dangerous.
By the time the sun had fully crested the horizon a short while later, my pulse was finally getting back to something close to normal, and I could no longer fry an egg on my cheek.
But as I spun in a slow circle and took in my surroundings, resting my hand on the gnarled trunk of a tree, I realized I’d gone further than I meant to.
This side of the island felt different. Wilder.
I was about to retrace my steps when I caught sight of a cave, its mouth a black hole against the cliffside, half-hidden by thick vines. The second I laid eyes on it, every instinct told me to turn around.
Instead, I stepped forward, one foot in front of the other. The closer I got, the more resistance I felt. It was subtle at first—like walking against a current. Then stronger, like pushing against an invisible wall. Far more than just instinct, it was doing its level best to stop me.
Tink.
I could sense her magic there, as clear as a fist full of fairy dust.
Which means you should walk away…
I gritted my teeth and pressed forward again, but it pushed back, the force as stubborn as I was, and then I saw it.
A bone.
Long, pale, stripped clean of flesh. A few yards inside the cave, barely visible in the dim light. The size of it sent a chill down my spine—A bear, maybe? But how had it gotten there? What type of animal could have stripped it so completely?
“Careful!” A sharp voice pierced the air.
I looked up to see a blur of fluttering wings streaking toward me, and then Tink was there, her hand gripping my collar as she yanked me back with surprising strength. The force sent me stumbling backward, and I pinwheeled my arms to keep my footing.
She landed in front of me, her violet eyes sharp, and her expression tight. “You do not want to go in there.”
I swallowed, my throat dry. “W-why not?”
She crossed her arms, glancing toward the cave before looking back at me. “Because that’s where the carnivorous bats live.”
I blinked. “Bats?”
Tink nodded, her lips pressing into a thin line.
“They don’t usually bother us because they hunt in the dead of night, and sleep during the day.
” She stepped closer, her voice dropping lower.
“They’re not typically big game hunters.
They go for easy kills—birds, squirrels.
But they are very territorial, and if you enter their lair, they won’t care what size you are. ”
A shiver ran down my spine as I glanced back at the bone tucked away in the gloom.
“Probably what happened to that.” She jerked her head in that direction and I swallowed hard.
“A bear?”
“Who knows? Wouldn’t be the first time,” Tink said grimly, grabbing my wrist and tugging me back the way I’d come. “This side of the island is bad news. You shouldn’t be here alone.”
I let her lead me back, but I couldn’t shake the unease curling in my gut.
When we reached the main path, she let go and fluttered into the air, blocking my way.
“I won’t tell Pan about this.” Her voice was lighter now.
“But don’t go wandering over here again, alright?
The island’s got its rules for a reason.
People who break them can get hurt…” She trailed off, her expression unreadable.
I nodded, but I barely heard her. I was too busy wondering what other horrors were secreted away on this island…
Not your problem.
My mission wasn’t to uncover Neverland’s secrets. It was to get the fuck out of here as soon as possible so I could fulfill my destiny…
A destiny that I had decided fully and with my whole chest did not involve getting eaten alive by a flesh-stripping bat.
Amen.