Epilogue #2
“Can it, you nitwits!” Sage boomed as she shoved through the crowd. “You’re going to wake my niece.”
Those gathered obliged, thank all the elders, and returned to attending their drinks and quieter conversation.
Sage winked at Tink as she neared. “Ready to meet her?”
Reya reclined on the bed, cuddling a small form wrapped in a blanket that sucked at one breast. Barley sat next to her, the picture of a proud, new father with his beaming features.
Smee turned back from the open window as they entered and wiped at his face.
If it weren’t for the peaceful, happy aura surrounding the couple, Tink might have been worried.
Who knew Smee was such a softie?
Tink held in a giggle as the first mate quickly turned away again. Actually, the tears made a certain sense. For being a beast of a man, he was as gentle as a rabbit.
“Congratulations on your new arrival.” James dipped a bow to the couple. Tink followed suit.
“Arrived just this morning,” Barley said, a touch of wonder still lingering in his tone.
Tink’s wings drooped. So close, yet they’d been just a few hours late.
“I’m sorry we couldn’t get you back in time to be here,” James said, echoing her thoughts.
Reya snorted. “He wouldn’t have wanted to be here for that part anyway.”
“Hey, I’d have—”
“Really?” she cut him off, one brow arched in emphasis.
Barley turned sheepish and looked at his boots. “Okay… Maybe….”
Reya rolled her eyes before looking back to Tink. Her countenance turned serious. “Thank you.”
“Me?” Tink gaped.
The new mother nodded. “For what you sacrificed. For bringing them home to us.” Her gaze panned to her brother, to Sage lingering near the door, and then to her husband.
Did she know they’d nearly all drowned? That death had held the people she loved in his embrace?
It had cradled them close as she did her baby, only for them to be snatched away at the last moment.
Tink rubbed the back of her neck. “Really it was the merfolk who—”
“Nonsense. I’m just as thankful for you. Now, would you like to see her?” She flicked her gaze to the baby and back up, her smile widening. “She’s a hungry girl.”
Tink and James drew closer at Reya’s invitation.
A soft sigh melted through Tink as she got a better look at the girl.
Barley’s for sure, with her smattering of dark hair and the same shape to her little nose.
She’d forgotten how small newborns were.
A tingling started under Tink’s skin that had her wings fluttering and a few motes of benign dust floating through the room.
“Have you decided on a name?” Tink asked.
Reya looked to Barley. He cleared his throat and straightened in the chair. “Well… About that...”
When he didn’t immediately continue, Reya took up the question. “We have a tradition in my family that all our names start with the same letter. ‘R’ in our case. I thought we might do the same, but using ‘B’ in honor of Barley’s name.”
Tink’s brows drew together. “But Smee…” She glanced toward the first mate who’d approached the opposite side of the bed.
“Oh, that’s not his real name,” Reya said.
Smee crossed his arms. “Don’t you dare.”
Boots thumped across the floor behind Tink. Sage drew up to the foot of the bed. “Still touchy about that, are you? Re—”
Smee lunged across the bed, sending Sage jumping back with a booming laugh. Smee’s grasping hands fell short, and he flopped onto the mattress like a seal onto the rocks.
The baby unlatched and gave a pitiful cry.
“You dolt!” Reya snapped.
“Okay.” Barley jumped to his feet. “Out, you two.” He waved his hands at Smee and Sage, shooing them from the room.
Smee started to protest, but Sage grabbed his arm and practically pulled him out the door. Barley shook his head as he watched them leave. “If little Bell turns out anything like her aunts and uncle, we’re going to have a mess on our hands.”
Tink blinked. “Bell?”
They couldn’t mean…
“If you don’t mind, that is,” Reya said. “It’s a beautiful name, and we’re forever grateful to you.”
James wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Aye, a beautiful name.” He smiled down at Tink. “What do you think, love?”
Out of nowhere, a tear welled and ran down her face. “Little Bell.” She looked at James and then at Reya. “It’d be my honor.”
Hook
The sun had begun its descent into the sea by the time Hook drew a flustered Tink out of the house and down to the peaceful stretch of beach near the dock.
“I can finally breathe again.” She stretched her arms over her head and sent her wings fluttering. They caught the fading light, shimmering with a rainbow of hues.
Stunning. He’d never tire of that sight, of her.
Tink shucked her boots and wiggled her toes in the sand. Hook followed suit. It’d been too long since he simply relaxed and enjoyed the soft lap of the sea on the beach or the feel of the warm grains underfoot.
“Little Bell.” Tink shook her head. “I still can’t believe it.”
He stood beside her where she looked out over the sea toward the color-tinted sky. “And you’re sure you’re okay with it?”
“Absolutely.” She beamed. The sun caught in the golden strands of her hair, sending them shimmering. Hook fought against the urge to run his hand through them, to feel their silk against his palm as he tugged her close for a kiss.
“I may not have liked the name for myself,” she continued, breaking him from his trance, “but it’s such an honor. I still can’t believe they wanted to name her after me.”
“Really?” He arched a brow. How could she still doubt herself? “You’re beautiful. Charming. Smart. Brave. Selfless. Why wouldn’t they want to name her after you?”
“Ridiculous, pirate.” She gave him a playful shove. “If someone is listening, they might think you’re still trying to lure me into your bed.”
Hook stepped into her line of sight and finally gave in to the urge to brush a lock of hair back from her face. “I will always be trying to lure you into my bed.”
A deep blush crept across her cheeks as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Or should it be our bed now?” His lips twitched into a playful smirk.
“Our?” She raised up on the tips of her toes and caressed his cheek in return, those soft fingers sliding through the few days of scruff clinging to his face. “Yes. Our bed.” Her gaze turned sultry. “I think I like that.”
Tink closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his.
He’d never tire of the feel of her against him, the sweet taste of her mouth, or the way a soft sigh always slipped past her lips at the start of a lingering kiss.
Her arms wound around his neck as she leaned into him.
He tugged her close until her soft body pressed against the firm desire making itself known between his legs.
No amount of time with her would ever be enough, but at least now they had more of it, so much more than he’d ever let himself hope for.
Her sharp little teeth gave a tug at his bottom lip as she broke their kiss and slid back on her heels. She didn’t make to pull away, though, if anything, she leaned further against him, her deft fingers toying with his shirt. It was enough to drive him mad. Hell, she did that just by existing.
“So…” She trailed a palm down his chest. “What is Smee’s name anyway? His real one.”
“Ah, trying to get me in trouble now, are you, love?” He slid his hand down to cup her backside.
Tink ground against his cock, and he nearly groaned. Then, she gave a carefree shrug, so at odds with her teasing action. “Everyone else knows.”
Leave it to her to act like they were just having a casual conversation and she wasn’t trying to drive him wild right there on the beach.
If it were fully dark, and there weren’t a number of people milling about outside the nearby homes, he’d have half a mind to lay her on the sand and let her grind against him… without their clothes.
“Well…” He drawled, trying to regain some shred of composure. “Most here do. Though he’s always been a bit sore about his birth name. Might be furious with me if he found out I told you.”
Tink’s lips pulled higher at the corners. “So, you’ll tell me later? In our bed?”
Now how could he say no to that? In one sure move, he scooped her up into his arms. Tink squealed, throwing her arms around him and clinging to his neck as her wings beat at the air. “Why wait til later?” he asked, voice thick with desire.
The heated look she gave him in return nearly brought him to his knees. “Why indeed.”
As the sun set over the cove, Captain Hook carried his pixie home to their bed.