Page 31 of Stalking Wendy Darling

I scoffed, knocking aside a clumsy strike and bringing my sword around in a flashy arc. “She’s delusional.”

Wendy bared her teeth as metal rang, her sword catching mine, saving herself a gash in her thigh. Pain flashed across her face, there and gone in a second. “I thought so, too. One look in her eyes and you can see she’s completely mad.”

“Hey!” I heard the woman herself protest on the edge of the crowd.

“But,” Wendy went on, her stance strengthening, shoulders back, her chin cocked proudly as her stare trailed from the scruff on my jaw, down my throat, over the triangle of bare chest where my shirt had come undone, and then down over my stomach. “That was before I saw that massive package you’re packing for me.” She laughed. “Say that three times fast.”

Her blow struck true, not with steel but with words fired from the sharp arrow of her tongue. I dove across the deck towards her so fast she had no hope of stopping me, catching the tip of my sword under her jaw, forcing her head back so she met my eyes. Hatred boiled in the depths of those stormy eyes, but they were smoky with desire that made my cock throb.

“Thispackageis because the thought of killing you turns me on.”

She shivered, her eyes a little hooded, and I was done for. My world narrowed to her every breath, every shift of her body, every flutter of lashes against her freckled cheeks. “Oh yeah, talk dirty to me,” she crooned, parting her eyes to flash me a stare thatoozedwickedness and sin.

“There’s something very wrong inside you,” I muttered.

“Youcould be inside me,” she said with a grin and then shook her head hard enough that she stumbled. “No, fuck, bad Wendy. I’m going tokillyou,” she hissed at me. “Only kill. Nothing else.”

“Then we’re on the same page. We don’t stop until one of us is dead.”

A wild thrill raced through her eyes.

Sterling’s voice cut through the low rumble of voices. “Do you want us to leave so you can fuck each other?”

Wendy snapped her head around to glare at him, teeth bared in a way that sent a thrill down my spine.

My fingers moved before I gave my arm permission to shift an inch, and I bit back a groan at the softness of her cheek against my knuckle.

“Say the word, mutineer,” I whispered. “Just say the word.”

I expected vitriol and threats. The headbutt was a surprise. Light burst behind my eyes and I staggered back with a groaned curse, lifting my hand to cup my nose. It had crumpled, dammit. Blood gushed everywhere.

“You broke my nose,” I snarled, my voice garbled, thick with my curse, my monster.

Wendy winked salaciously. “Wanna break my back in return?”

“I’ll break your spine and rip your spinal cord out of your lifeless body,” I spat, extremely aware of the fact our fight had paused, swords lowered as we circled, eyes on each other.

“Eh.” Wendy shrugged. “Close enough.”

“One of you stab the other,” a coarse voice yelled.

“This is boring,” another remarked.

“Shut it,” I yelled at the same time Wendy snapped, “Shut your ungrateful cake-holes.”

I laughed.

I didn’t mean to. It was highly disturbing. My knuckle still tingled, burning where I’d brushed her face. There was a lot I hadn’t meant to do. Keeping her alive, for example. Locking her in the brig had been a temptation, like I was saving her for later.

“That,” she purred, tilting her neckintothe sword at her throat, “is a very sexy laugh, Hook.”

Jesus. There should be a law against her saying my name, especially in that tone. I wanted to pull at the collar of my shirt, but that would only give away how uncomfortable she was making me, how hot.

I was one second away from issuing a graphic, bloody warning when Wendy tore herself away and gave her head a hard shake. “Ignore everything I just said,” she huffed, her expression hardening, brows slamming down over her eyes. “You’re myenemy,and I’m going to chop you into tiny pieces and bury each one on a different island. There’s nothing sexy happening here. Your laugh is mediocre. At best.”

I stepped back with a smirk, more amused than I remembered being in years. I’d spent days fantasising about taking my revenge and making her pay, but now I had the chance to kill her, I found I couldn’t go through with the damn thing. She was a nightmare, a witch, and she’d charmed me.

“I’m losing money here,” Vea yelled, dragging me back to reality. The whole crew were watching, and I was just standing here, staring intently at my enemy. Doing nothing about killing her. Awkward.

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