Page 33 of Stalking Wendy Darling

“Changed my mind,” Wendy muttered, her expression blackening. “Nobody listen to Sterling.”

I smirked. Watching her be pissed at someone else was entertaining. Her expressions changed as fast as the weather, thrill to victory to dark annoyance. “What’s your proposition, mutineer?”

She leaned closer. “Mostly, I just like the word captain. I don’t care about all the rest of it. You can keep the paperwork and the stress. Actually you can keepallthe work. I just want the fun stuff, like standing at the helm.”

As if I’d agree to share my title. “No.”

She huffed and moved a step away, crossing her arms over her chest, a little gingerly. “Can I be the ship’s enforcer then?”

“You just made that up,” I pointed out.

She shrugged. “So? Lots of places have an enforcer. Pubs. Banks. The bakery that one time Benita went mad and thought the whole town was conspiring to steal her baps.”

I sighed.

“Why not a ship?” she went on, batting her lashes at me and then giving my crew the same treatment. “I promise only to kill our enemies andnotour crew. Unless they say anything gross, obviously,” she added, glancing at the corpse leaking blood on the deck.

My mouth thinned. I ignored the rush of thrill in my blood, the eagerness to find out what this ship was like with us both on deck, neither of us locked away or cast into the ocean, no disguises or masks, both our monsters revealed. I wanted to know Wendy, truly know her. She intrigued me, cast a spell over me, and it was a madness I was powerless to resist.

I glanced around, reading faces, making sure everyone was here. Even Anton was part of the crowd, looking sore about it, but watching nonetheless.

“I’ll put it to a vote,” I said finally, trying not to smile when she squealed and clapped her hands. “But only if you vow to stop killing people unless they’re enemies of the Banshee.”

She thought about it for a moment. “Fine. Even if they deserve it, I won’t kill any crew. I’ll just cut their balls off.”

I winced, and saw many others doing the same. Rolando cupped his balls and backed up, drawing a snort from me.

“Everyone in favour of this psychopath becoming our enforcer say aye.”

A surprising number ofayessounded. I quickly did a headcount.

“And those against Wendy becoming our enforcer say nay.”

Ten or so spoke this time, and I watched the madwoman mark each one of them. My hand wrapped around her bicep without my permission, but I didn’t mind this time.

“No killing,” I warned her. “And you’re not allowed to deal a single wound to the opposing crew members; everyone’s allowed an opinion.”

Her nostrils flared, the look she gave me so sulky that a fantasy formed in such detail and colour, even sounds filling my ears. I would fuck that bratty look off her face, and keep going until she forgot her own name, until the only thing she could mewl wascaptain,over and over.

Shit.She saw the look in my eye and straightened, her eyes flashing with interest.

To deflect, I said, “Looks like you’re the newly minted enforcer of the Death’s Right Hand.”

Her grin was swift and victorious. It wouldn’t stay that way when she learned of her first job.

Chapter Nineteen

WENDY

“I’m not doing that,” I hissed, shoving Hook’s shoulder as we spoke in his captain’s quarters. “Also I really want the bed.”

“You don’t have a choice, and that’s my bed.”

I’d pretty much given up on the pretence of not wanting him, so I didn’t hold back the seductiveness in my slow smile. “We could share it.”

“You would jump me in my sleep,” he deadpanned.

“Yeah, but in a sexy way,” I said with a shimmy, making my boobs sway in my loose canvas shirt. A glimpse of skin was visible through the strings; I watched his eyes pour down my throat, drawn to the allure of my boobs, and I grinned.

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