Page 14 of Another Damned Storm
“Never,” Hook growled, the sound rumbling through me like a freight train.
He wrenched his hands free, anchoring them to my hips as I pried my eyes open to find him still staring up at me. His eyes carried so much raw emotion that I couldn’t hold on any longer. The dam broke, and I broke with it, shaking and writhing, wringing every last drop of ecstasy out of the moment.
He was right there with me, gripping my hips tight as he came hard inside me with a feral groan.
I collapsed on top of him a few seconds later, with my heart pounding and his magnificent cock still twitching inside me. His arms wrapped around me, holding me tight against him. His own heartbeat was like a steady drum of thunder in his chest, and I sank into the comfort of it.
But as I drifted off, caught up in the soft wave of bone-deep satisfaction, I didn’t miss the words he whispered against my skin.
“I love you, stubborn woman.”
6
NEVER
I woke in the darkness with Hook’s hard body pressed to my back and his warm breath sifting across my neck.
I’d never felt as content as I did when I was with him. Like I’d finally found a piece of myself that had been missing my entire life. Just thinking about it made me want to snuggle back into him, pull the covers up tight around us, and hide in the happiness we’d forged in the wake of everything.
But that kind of peace wasn’t what the fates had in store for me.
I peeled myself away from him, my skin still sticky with drying sweat and drenched in his scent. I sat on the edge of the bed arguing with myself for an eternity before I finally wiped the tears away and let my feet gently touch down on the floor.
It was easier to move once I was up. Easier to listen to the voice in my head that said I was doing the right thing. And I did listen, holding that truth in a death grip even as my heart railed against it.
This wasn’t what I wanted. Not the responsibility or the weight, and sure as hell not the heartbreak. All I’d ever wantedwas to keep my brother safe and to find some happiness in my life.
At least I’d succeeded on the last point.
If anyone ever asked me about my happy thought, I would tell them all about my broody pirate. Not that anyone would ask where I was going.
Fresh tears stung my eyes as I replayed his final words in my head.
I love you, stubborn woman.
How could such a sweet, loving sentiment cut so damned deep?
Letting the tears fall, I dressed as quietly as I could. Hook was finally sleeping, and I wanted to keep it that way. This wasn’t going to be easy on either of us, but he’d been draining himself trying to keep me safe. He needed the rest.
And I needed a clean escape.
When I was finally ready, after moving through the room with the urgency of a sloth, I tiptoed back to the side of the bed in my socks.
The copper bracelet he’d given me was an anchor around my wrist. A heavy reminder of how much he cared about me. I twisted it, around and around, as I watched him sleep. I wanted to lean down and press a kiss to his lips. To sneak one last taste of him. But I couldn’t.
Stick to the plan.
I held my breath as I slipped the protective bangle off and set it on the nightstand. The moment he woke and saw it, he would know what it meant.
Was I tempted to take it with me? Absolutely. Even now, after living together on his ship, there were days when I still missed the weight of his pendant around my neck.
But the bracelet would shield me, and I needed to be found.
So, I grabbed my boots off the floor, gave my sleeping pirate one last look, and flashed to the island.
The ache that had been building in my chest only grew with the distance.And here I’d been secretly hoping it would fade once I was off the ship.Stupid girl.If the chasm that was opening inside me was any indication, the pain of being separated from him would eventually swallow me whole.
Sinking to the sand, I dragged on my boots—complete with the dagger I’d filched from Hook’s nightstand months earlier—and tried to imagine what my existence would be like in the Alius. Once I was situated, I pulled myself back to my feet.
