Page 67 of Devour the Dark

I only know how to bark orders, how to organize things into precise lines, how to test the wind and choose a direction.

Wendy and I lock eyes. Any words exchanged between us would immediately be decoded by the Crocodile.

And yet, I think there is understanding. I see my doubt and apprehension mirrored on her face. It strikes me for the first time that she and I may be experiencing some of the same things: the constant shock of being here with Roc, the fear of being denied by him, and the all-consuming need for him.

We are the kindling hungry for his flame. There is only one way to burn, and that’s beneath his attention.

I see the moment Wendy makes her decision. Her jaw sets, her nostrils flare.

I may be a pirate captain, but Wendy was always the one who knew how to take charge.

The fact that she went from prisoner to queen should surprise no one, though I think most days it still surprises her.

Another likeness between her and I: we are always doubting our agency, our own power.

She goes to him at the fireplace mantle.

In the flickering light, her dress glitters and shines like twilight.

“I’m glad we’re here,” she tells him. “Because all three of us…we are all stained by trauma and regrets. We understand one another in a way no one else can.”

Roc huffs out a laugh. “You tell a beast that you understand it?”

“Even a monster has a heart.”

His arm propped up on the mantle, he looks over at her. “Yes, but does the monster know how to use it?”

“If he doesn’t, he can learn.”

I can practically hear his smile. “I’m curious how these lessons would go.”

Without missing a beat, Wendy slips in beneath his arm, runs her fingers back through his hair, dragging his mouth down to hers.

I can tell by the tension in Roc’s back that he’s caught off guard. It takes him a few seconds to catch up, to fall into the rhythm of being kissed.

His arm drops from the mantle and wraps around Wendy, pulling her into him.

It’s silent in the room save for the crackling of the fire, so it’s impossible for me to miss the wet press of their lips, the slide of their tongues, and watching it, hearing it, has my stomach tightening, my cock hardening.

Roc turns them, then walks Wendy back, dropping them both into a nearby chair. He spreads his legs out, sinking into the seat, positioning Wendy in his lap so that she’s straddling him. His hands disappear into her hair, wrapping it around his fist, taking charge even though it was Wendy who initiated it.

My mouth goes dry.

I don’t know what to do with myself.

Leave them?

Just sit and watch?

This must have been how Wendy felt when she stumbled in on us in the Everland palace. Out of place. An outsider. And yet wanting to join, not knowing how.

Thankfully, Roc knows how to lead a threesome. Because while his tongue is deep in Wendy’s mouth, he still manages to snap his fingers at me, coaxing me over.

I jump at the command without even thinking.

I’m chair-side in a second, gazing down at them, both of them perfect in their own way.

Roc pulls Wendy back. Her lips are swollen and red and wet.

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