Page 36 of Veiled in Stars and Silver
His blue eyes became as dark as a winter storm. “Don't you dare judge these men for their desperation.” He pressed his face close,contorted in dark rage. “You have no idea what it's like to have your actions not be your own. To kill your friend in cold blood and to wake up later with full knowledge of what you have done. Of what atrocitieshemade you do.”
His fury seemed to envelop me, and my hackles rose. I wanted to run. I wanted to stay. My teeth sank into my lip, and he watched the movement, some tumultuous emotion swirling in his eyes. The harsh fabric of his overcoat brushed up against my stomach and chest. He stood so damn close, and the way he was looking at me made it difficult to breathe. A horrifying thought entered my head.
I wanted the captain of the Jolly Roger to kiss me. Again.
The storm in his eyes froze into icy hardness. “This is our one chance.” He stepped to the side, turning away from me, his form stiff. “There is no going back.”
Chapter 14
Hook
Hook waited outside Madame Pearl’s, staring at the light of the fairies flitting about, mixing with the first stars of night until they were indistinguishable from each other.
Neverland. His home for the past… he wasn’t even sure how long. The realm tended to eat time. But enough for his daughter and wife to be long dead. He ran a hand over his chest where their names were tattooed forever into his skin. Sometimes, despite his eternal youth, he felt old, wrung out, like a ship taking on water, tilting into the sea’s depths.
If this plan was unsuccessful, he didn’t know what he’d do. No, that wasn’t true. He did. He’d give in. Become the black-souled villain Pan had always forced him to play. He didn’t have it in him to fight any more if he failed. The darkness inside would claim him. Either that, or he’d find a way to end it all.
That cursed Wendy Darling was both holding him back and driving him forward. One moment, she was winding him into a rage and the next all he desired was her flippant soft mouth pressed against his.
Except, this time, he’d make sure she wanted it. That she’d enjoy it.
He felt bad about the kiss on the ship. Forcing himself on women wasn’t his normal way of doing things.
He both liked and loathed how she got under his skin. For years, he’d been content just enjoying the physical side of lovemaking. With Wendy, he still definitely desired that, but when he was with her, he found himself wishing for more. He wanted the fullness of a relationship that he hadn’t experienced since Arabella. Someone to stay alongside him in the dull, lonely hours. To share the pains and trials and joys of life with.
A dark laugh ground out of him. That was the last thing he deserved.
The doors to Madame Pearl’s opened and Wendy stepped out. “Here I am, wearing—I’ve no idea what I’m wearing. Beautiful yet intimidating. I think those were the descriptors?”
Cora and the ladies had insisted on changing Wendy’s clothes again for the evening’s festivities.
Her hair gathered loosely behind her, blowing in the wind. Her burgundy top pulled tight through the bodice and then opened into a wide skirt that swung around her in a stiff fabric that flowed with just the right swing of her hips. The front of her skirts split in two, revealing legs clad in form-fitting black pants. She was gorgeous. She was deadly.
Cora had outdone herself.
“Wendy, you look…” Words escaped him. He swallowed, trying to think of something to say. “Where are your knives?”
A sly smile crossed her face. “You’ll never find out.”
Hell, that only drove his imagination wild. She looked out over Swindler’s Cove, the city fires beginning to glow, her grin fading.
“Are you sure this is necessary?” she asked.
Hook tried to gather his composure. He cleared his throat. “Yes. You’ve proven you have the skill, but the people need to knowyou. They need to believe that you will fight for them.”
She bit her lip. “I’m not good with people.”
He held out his arm. “That’s why you have me, lass.”
Her eyes flicked to his and away, but he read the annoyance mixed with nerves.
“Relax. Be yourself,” he said. “The Wendy I remember had Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and half of Neverland eating out of her palm.”
“That Wendy was younger, much more optimistic, and terribly naïve,” she said, but she took his arm, and they began their trek down from Madame Pearl’s into the heart of Swindler’s Cove, where a courtyard lay with grassy patches, tables and roaring fires blazing in large-open pits.
Madame Pearl’s girls trailed behind them dressed in their most lovely and enticing gowns.
“May I offer you some advice?” he asked.
