A Penchant For Poison (Neverland Chronicles Saga #2)

1. Regret

T his couldn’t be happening—not again.

The way Katherine molded her body against Edward’s—how she pressed her lips to his—was enough to bring every agonizing memory of betrayal to the surface. I should pick up my dagger and end them both.

And yet, I froze in place as time slowed to a standstill, ensuring I bore witness to my downfall. All at once, the captain’s quarters became suffocating. The air was stale and dank. The planked walls of the ship were closing in, trapping me in a nightmare where seconds unfurled into an eternity. Each pulse of my heart was a macabre drumbeat toward my demise. A divine punishment where I lingered in my torment, noting everything in vivid detail.

The slight tremble in her lip.

The sleeve of her shift falling from her shoulder.

The flush of rose on her porcelain skin.

Once upon a time, betrayal ripped out my heart. An event that molded and shaped every hardship I endured. Like a glutton for punishment, I allowed it to happen again. I served her the remnants of my tattered heart on a silver platter, and she devoured me whole.

Regret stuck thick in my throat. I should have killed Edward Teach long ago. It had been some time since I cut ties of loyalty to the man. But the infamous Blackbeard had beenmy captain, a mentor—dare I say, at times, even a friend. I’d foolishly let my sentiments get the better of me.

But Katherine? Her betrayal blindsided me. Was I truly such a fool? The demon inside me roared, a keening cry for vengeance against this woman. The only person who made me feel something other than all-consuming revenge.

I had always believed it was my fate to deliver vengeance to Peter Pan. But had my hubris blindsided me? Maybe it was my fate to drown in betrayal over and over again.

I should have known the Divine would never let me win. I’d been on the threshold of fulfilling my life’s purpose with the object of my heart’s desire by my side. But it wasn’t to be so—not for a man like me.

Teach pulled away from her, a bewildered expression on his face before he collapsed. The sound of his large body crashing to the floorboards broke my spiraling thoughts. Dragging me back to reality like a violent current. Kat stumbled backward, falling to her backside in a huff.

“It worked,” she whispered, gingerly fingering her lips. “It really worked.”

“Katherine?”

“We are truly free. The poison—it worked!” she said as her gaze met mine.

“Poison? What poison?”

“It worked,” she repeated, her emerald eyes foggy as they drifted back to Teach’s limp body sprawled out on the fine rug of the captain’s quarters. Images of the kiss they’d shared only moments before cycled through my mind, driving me mad. I couldn’t make sense of it all.

My vision flared red as I reached her in two quick strides. I dug my fingers into her arm as I wrenched her from the floor.

“What in the bloody name of the Divine is going on?” I growled.

“I poisoned him. I did it for you.”

“How?” The question came out through gritted teeth, barely keeping my temper in check. My love for her was the only thing keeping me from running her through.

“My locket,” she said, gently fingering the chain around her neck. “It contains poison. When I kissed the locket, it transferred to my lips. It was through my kiss that he found his demise.” She straightened her shoulders, holding her chin high with her admission.

“Curious, don’t you think, that you are seemingly unfazed?”

“It was arsenic. I’ve been dosing myself for years, trying to build an immunity. It affects me, but not enough to kill me.” It was then that I realized her words were slightly slurred. I stared at her. Searching her face for the truth. Her pupils were blown out, and she swayed in an effort to remain upright. My hand on her arm was the only thing keeping her on her feet.

“You have to believe me. Please. It was the only way. I couldn’t risk you falling to his blade.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. The sound of her sobs filled the silence of the cabin. Her tears melted the anger in my chest. The evidence confirming the truth of her story lay at our feet. She had been his victim, even more so than I had. And the Divine had granted her the vengeance she deserved.

“I believe you.” She let out a wail, and her body sunk into mine as I folded her into my arms. “Shh… I believe you. I wish you would have told me about the poison, but I believe you. I told you before that I’d be worthy of all your demons, and I’m a man of my word.”

I held her for what felt like an eternity. Rocking her on the floor as all the pain she’d endured under Teach poured out of her, dampening my shoulder. I tried to snuff out the jealousy that welled in my gut. Katherine had finally gotten her revenge, while mine lingered like a rotting corpse, deteriorating into something gruesome and unrecognizable. I had to do something soon. I had a date with Peter Pan and my patience was wearing thin.

“Come with me,” I said once her sobs had finally subsided. I grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet.

“What are you?—”

“I can’t stand to look at him anymore. Let’s rid him from our lives once and for all.”

She wiped her tear-streaked face with the back of her hand, squared her shoulders, and nodded.

“Can you manage on your own?” I asked, wondering just how much the poison had affected her.

“You still haven’t figured out that you don’t need to worry about me. Clearly, I can take care of myself,” she said, and I didn’t miss the accusation in her tone.

“I deserved that,” I admitted, shame crawling up from the pit of my stomach. I’d failed to protect her time and time again. She started to walk away from me, a chasm beginning to grow between the two of us, but I’d be damned if Teach would take her from me even in death. I grabbed her arm, pulling her back to face me. “From here on out, I will never let another man lay his hands on you. Not while I’m still breathing. Do you understand me?” My gaze held hers, willing the conviction in my words to leech out of me.

She swallowed hard, her wet lashes blinking as my command settled over her. “Yes, sir.” Her tone was submissive but laced with need. She wanted me to take control. Maybe all those years with Teach had warped her mind, but fuck if it didn’t have my cock stirring in my pants.

I pulled her hard against me, allowing the notion of her supposed betrayal to heat the blood in my veins. I wanted to claim her, starting with her mouth. I came to my senses a moment before I met her poison-laced lips. My black widow was a dangerous creature, but that only heightened my need for her. I took her neck instead, sucking the delicate skin into my mouth, dragging my teeth over the sensitive spot until she let out a soft moan. My hands roamed down her back, cupping her ample backside and dragging her closer. I ground my now fully hard cock against her and let out a growl of my own. I pulled away from her neck, pleased with the red that bloomed beneath her skin. She was mine, and I wanted to mark her so the entire world would know.

“James, my love, should we?—”

“Don’t you dare tell me to stop. I’ve watched Teach put his hands all over you. It’s only fitting that he watch me claim you. Even if he is watching from the pits of hell.”

Her eyes lit up at my words. She wanted this as much as I did. She was just too ashamed to admit it.

I ripped the soft shift from her body. The sound of the simple cotton tearing filled the quiet space around us. I hummed in appreciation as her breasts heaved, her breath coming in ragged pants. Her delicate pink nipples pebbled in the cool air of the cabin. I leaned down and pulled one into my mouth, desperate to taste more of her. She pressed into me, no longer trying to stop it from happening. I awakened her body, and I wasn’t the only one who needed to be sated. I pushed the rest of her ruined shift past her hips, letting it pool on the floor at her feet.

I stepped away from her then. Appraising every inch of the woman to whom I begrudgingly gave a piece of my soul. She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on.

Her thick, golden hair hung in waves over her large breasts, and I pictured just how pretty it would look wrapped around my hand when I sunk my cock into her. She shifted her weight, staring at the floor as she fidgeted with her hands. My intense gaze made her uncomfortable, and the demon in me purred. I enjoyed seeing her flustered over me.

“What are you waiting for?” she finally asked.

“For you to tell me what you want me to do to you.”

“What?”

“You’ve spent years being used. Taken advantage of. But not with me. You deserve to be worshipped. So, tell me what you want. Tell me what you need. Tell me your darkest desires, and I will come crawling at your feet.”

She sucked in a breath, a myriad of emotions dancing in her eyes. After a moment’s hesitation, she raised her chin. “I want you to take off your clothes. I want to look at you… just as bared as I am.”

“Your wish, my sweet girl.” A smile crept across my face as I reached for my belt, letting it fall to the floor, pistols and all. I kicked it away from Teach’s lifeless body. Old habits die hard. Even in death, the man still seemed strangely dangerous. I made a show of slowly unbuttoning my shirt and unlacing my breeches until I was standing naked for her inspection. She took a hesitant step toward me and traced a trembling hand across my chest and down the lines of my tattoos. Her eyes roamed freely over my body. She struggled with this newfound dominance, and it pulled a smile from the corner of my mouth to watch her.

“And now what?” I prompted. Her gaze flicked to Teach, his still warm body lying just feet away. “Don’t look at him. Look at me. What do you want, Katherine?”

“I—I want you to worship me. With your tongue.” She said the last part with conviction, and that was all I needed.

She yelped as I grabbed her, pulling her into my arms in a heartbeat and gently laying her on the plush rug. Her body was tense, but she let me spread her thighs wide. Her pretty, pink cunt was dripping for me. The chaos and death that surrounded us was an odd aphrodisiac. I ran my tongue through her wetness. She tasted like sweet victory. We’d overcome all the odds, and now I wanted to revel in the spoils. She moaned, my tongue working over her sex, worshipping her just as she asked. Focusing on the tight bud of pleasure until she was writhing beneath me. The sight of her coming undone was exquisite. I noted all her mews of pleasure, vowing to wipe every thought of Teach from her mind.

“You,” I growled, “Will only ever purr for me, Kitten. No one else. This is mine. Do you understand me?”

She nodded her head, another moan escaping her lips, and I pulled away. “I didn’t hear you.”

“Yes, yes. Please,” she panted and bucked her hips in protest to the delayed orgasm.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir. I’m yours. Only yours.”

“I knew you were a good girl,” I growled before slipping two fingers inside her, hooking them just right. Her body tensed, her walls clenching around me. My name tore from her lips as she climaxed, and a devious smile spread across my face.

“Do you hear that, Blackbeard?” I sneered at the ridiculous nom de guerre he’d earned himself. The infamous beard, now dotted with the white foam that had spilled from his mouth when Kat had poisoned him. “Did you hear her cum for me?” I growled as I grabbed a hold of her hips and flipped her over. I was done being gentle. I couldn’t wait any longer. “She’s mine now, you bastard!”

I slammed into her from behind, pulling a throaty moan from her as I sheathed my full length inside her warmth. I didn’t hesitate, letting my need set a fevered rhythm. My emotions overflowed as I let go of the rage I’d felt when I thought she had betrayed me. My fingers dug into her hips, pulling her into a punishing rhythm, but she met me stroke for stroke. My balls drew in as my climax crested. Her pretty cunt tightening around my cock was my undoing. The sound of our combined moans echoed in the cabin.

I rolled her over, my cock still buried inside her as we lay on the floor, catching our breath. Teach’s motionless body in our direct line of sight. The act had been cathartic. We’d hidden our love for too long, and I was done hiding.

It took every bit of my strength to carry Teach’s dead weight onto the deck of the ship. I cringed at the sound of his lifeless body slamming against the floorboards. I’m not sure how it was possible to love and despise the man at the same time. I took one last look at him. All the color had drained from his face, his skin looking unnaturally waxy. White foam continued to leak from his mouth, coating his infamous beard. The man would haunt my nightmares for an eternity. With a swift motion, I pulled my dagger from my belt. I wanted to feel my blade split his skin and pour his aubergine blood over my hand, just to prove to myself that he was truly dead.

“James, what are you doing?”

“I have to, Kat. I must know for certain.”

“He’s dead. It’s over. You don’t have to do this. You’re better than that.”

She grabbed my hand, stilling the blade. Her fingers trembled as she wrapped them around mine. All I could see were the horrors that Blackbeard had committed against the both of us, flashing continuously in my mind. I looked into her emerald eyes; they were pleading with me to be done with this man and wash him from our lives forever.

“You’re right.”

She nodded, and the two of us pushed his limp body over the edge of the ship. I stared at the floorboards rather than watching his body plummet to the watery grave below. The sound of the splash was music to my ears. I was finally free. Teach’s death meant the end of a nightmare. It was time to begin a new era. One where I was the master of my destiny. I would never again bow to another’s will.

“We should get out of here, Kat. Something about this place feels evil. We need to find the ruby and get to Neverland.”

“I found it.”

I turned to her, but she continued to stare into the water at what was left of her nightmares.

“You found it? You found the ruby?” My excitement flared at the prospect, but I needed confirmation that she had indeed found the Heart of the Divine before I let it get the better of me. I wasn’t sure I could handle the disappointment, not after everything I’d endured.

“That’s what I was coming to tell you before…”

She reached into her pocket and produced a ruby that fit neatly in her palm. The contrast of the blood-red gemstone against her porcelain skin was stark. And I remembered the vision she had of me all those years ago.

Blood red.

That is what my future held, and there it was, resting in her palm—my destiny. The angles were perfectly cut. An ethereal glow emanated from the center as if a specter had taken up residence inside the gemstone.

Gingerly, I plucked it from her hand. The moment it touched my skin, I expected a surge of power to course through me. But there was nothing. The power of the cosmos lay in this simple stone, and it was at my fingertips, begging to be wielded to my whim. But how?

“Do you know how to use it?” I asked, both anxious and hesitant for her answer.

“Are you ready to go back to Neverland, James?”