Chapter 2 #2
Hooded eyes raked her form as Hook took a seat in his wide chair and reclined against the red velvet, legs spread, hands on the armrests like a great king. “Lovely.”
Merrin’s teeth, it is. Was this how the great queens felt with their hoards of jewels? She wouldn’t know. Pixies weren’t supposed to like such things. Perhaps that part of her broke when her bracelet did, sealing her banishment. Or perhaps she was doomed to be an outcast from the start.
“Is it better like this?” She gestured to the necklace. “Or…” Tink released her cloak, letting it fall to the floor. Next, she undid the ties at the top of her shirt, pulling it open until the necklace rested against her skin, just above the bindings concealing her breasts and wings. “Like this?”
Hook nestled further in his chair, rubbing at the stubble on his chin but never taking his searing gaze off her. “That. Yes, I like that.”
Heat coiled deep in her gut as she climbed onto his lap, straddling him in the chair. “I thought you might.”
The captain momentarily went rigid before relaxing and wrapping his arms around her backside, pulling her close.
Damn, the feel of his hand on her made everything blurry.
It would be so easy to forget what he was and why she was there.
To give into those coal-darkened eyes, honeyed words, and deft touches.
He’d be a skillful lover—of that she had no doubt.
She could enjoy him, accept whatever he had to offer.
Steal his jewels in the morning and be off before he even woke.
No. Too risky. More of his crew might come back to the ship. They could leave port before she woke, and then she’d be in over her head just like she’d been with Captain Blackbeard. She stiffened at the thought—the reminder of what she’d sacrificed.
“Love?”
Shit. There she went again, falling back into memories and forgetting why she was there.
Coarse whiskers scraped her palms as she took his face in her hands. She gave a coy grin. “Captain?”
He let out a soft groan, clenching her tighter as she rubbed against him.
The hard bulge pressing against her core sent a thrill up her spine.
He was ready, right where she wanted him.
Hook placed his forehead against hers, leaning in until they shared the same breath.
Tink’s hands slid down his neck, his chest, savoring the hard muscle underneath.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he whispered.
Her heart leaped, breath catching in her throat. “Finally.”
Demanding lips crashed into hers, consuming, conquering.
Stubble scraped against her skin. He cupped her backside, grinding her against him.
Tink’s hands wove through his short, dark hair, holding him to her as his tongue flicked against her own.
Hints of rum teased her as she arched into the embrace, giving as much as she took.
His earring scraped her palm as she slid her hands down to his shirt, pulling, tugging, wanting it gone.
Tink let out a squeal as the captain stood in one fluid motion, lifting her into the air with him.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms circled his neck.
Hook drew back, just enough to give her a scalding, hungry gaze as he carried her to the bed.
Her toes curled in her boots, her body going liquid at the heat in that look.
He wanted her. All of her, even though she was a pixie.
How long since someone wanted her like that? A renowned captain, no less.
A long time. Too long.
Rather than lay her on the bed with her wings trapped, he sat on the edge before laying down and pulling her onto his chest.
Nagging guilt swelled up like a wave, threatening to swallow her. He gazed up at her as if she were a treasure, a precious gem plucked from obscurity.
And she was going to rob him.
Tink swallowed, letting her gaze travel from his face and down his torso while she warred with herself. Even so, she tugged at his shirt. “Now how are we going to get this off?” The thickness of her own voice surprised her. She wasn’t supposed to want him, not really.
He yanked his shirt up and over his head faster than any one-handed man should be able. Damn, but he was a sight—all coiled, tanned muscle.
Tink slid her fingertips into the pocket on her breeches, just far enough to touch the contents of the little pouch she had hidden there. It was now or never. A step farther and she risked going too far, falling under the spell of this wicked pirate.
She ran her finger along her lips, pretending to enjoy the view.
Okay, not totally pretending. Or not at all.
The sight of him spread out below her would fill her erotic dreams—pirate or not.
Tink rubbed against the bulge in his pants as she leaned over his chest. That was for her. Another conquest of the night.
Pressing her lips to his was easy as breathing.
Maybe easier. It really was too bad she only had him this once.
He wouldn’t want her again once he woke and found out what she’d done—the theft, or the means of it.
There was a reason humans weren’t kind to pixies.
Either they wanted their dust for themselves, or they accused pixies of using their magical dust to bewitch them.
Just a small amount, consumed by a human, hit them harder than any drug.
They’d be off to dreamland, “flying on the pixie dust” as some called it, for hours, only to awaken without a hangover and half-lost in the echo of fanciful dreams. Many craved it to escape their lives, if only for a little while.
Tink drew back, admiring the strong jaw under her palm. This close, she finally noticed the shade of Hook’s eyes, dark grey like stormy seas.
“Love?” He brushed hair back from her face. “Are ye…glowing?”
Already her dust, her tainted kiss, addled his senses. “Glowing?” She slid her pixie dust-coated finger across his lips for good measure.
He didn’t fail to disappoint. That wicked tongue flicked out to lick at the tip of her finger. “Aye… Ya…”
That twinge of guilt swelled up again, followed closely by a hint of loss. He went limp under her, his breath soft and even as he slipped into a deep slumber.
Glowing? For him? What nonsense.
Tink slipped off the bed. The necklace lay heavy against her chest as she admired the sleeping pirate. One last look for her memories.
“Farewell, Captain.”