Page 21 of A Descent Into Darkness

I clenched my jaw shut to keep my smart mouth fromsaying something I couldn’t take back and asked a respectable question. “When will we arrive?”

“Whenever Manann deems it to be so. Could be an hour. Could be five days. Let’s hope Mor worked her magic and got us in his good graces.”

My heart racedas the key turned in Kat’s door. The moment Teach gave the order I’d been eager to get a moment alone with her. I had the elegant dress draped over my arm. I’d expected fine linens over thick skirts with petticoats and corsets, possibly even silks. But the dress I found hidden in Teach’s wardrobe was unlike anything I’d ever seen. The silver and gold fabric shimmered in the dim light below deck, and I couldn’t wait to see Kat in it. Even if it was a gift from Teach, she’d be wearing it for me.

Her expectant green eyes met mine when I pushed open the door and a smile lit her face when she saw it was me and not Teach.

“James,” she breathed as she pushed up from the small desk in the corner. I closed the door quickly behind me, just before her tiny frame collided with mine. The feel of her in my arms, her body pressed against me, the sweet smell of her hair was rapture. It made every other thought leave me until there was only her. All my earlier feelings of betrayal and jealousy burned away with her touch.

“You’re here. You came back for me,” her words came out in a soft sob.

“Hey… shh. Don’t cry.” I pushed her back, tilting her chin up until her wet eyes met mine. “I’ll always come for what’s mine.” She reached up on her toes and brushed her lips on mine, kissing me chastely.

“I was so worried. I thought I’d lost you. I thought that?—”

“I’m here now, Kat. That’s all that matters. And I have so much to tell you.”

“What happened? Did he introduce you to Ruby?”

“Interesting fact; Ruby isn’t a person, it’s an actual ruby, and apparently Teach says—Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ve found out something about the captain. I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but hear me out. Kat—he’s fae.” I expected a look of confusion. I expected her to laugh at the absurdity of my confession, anything but the knowing look that flashed in her eyes before breaking my stare and biting solidly on her lower lip. “Wait,” I raked my hands through my hair as the realization hit me. “You knew?”

“I… well, I didn’t know exactly what he was. I mean, not until recently. I suspected he wasn’t human,” she confessed.

“You knew, and you never thought to tell me?”

“What was I supposed to say? I never thought you’d believe me.”

“Goddamn it, woman! You’ve got an entire closet full of skeletons. Is it true that you can see a person’s deepest secrets? Is that how you knew?” I challenged.

She sighed deeply, “Sometimes I do, but I cannot control what the visions show me.”

I felt the muscles in my jaw tick as her admission sunk in. “One moment you claim to love me, and the next you’re keeping things from me that could determine our fate.” Years of pent up longing, frustration, and jealousy boiled over.

“I’ve done no such thing!” she shouted, her hands digging into my chest as she shoved me away. “I’ve been meaning to tell you, and I would have. I was just waiting for the right time. And how dare you accuse me of keeping secrets when you’re holding onto a graveyard worth of skeletons,Jas,” she threw the old name in my face. A name given by my enemy. A name of a boy who I’d buried long ago.

“Never call me by that name again. That boy is lost to me.”

“Isn’t that what they say, though? Once a lost boy, always a lost boy?” Her words rattled the demon in my chest. Had she intentionally plucked those words from my mind knowing they would rip my heart out? How many secrets had she stolen from me over the years? My vision faltered as my hand whipped out, closing around her throat before I pinned her against the wall.

“Lies!” I growled, too loud for my own good. But I was lost. I couldn’t rein in the demon that was starved for revenge. The absence of Pan made Katherine a vulnerable target for all of my rage. Her chest heaved against mine, her nails sinking into my arm as I glared at her. A look of shock flashed across her eyes before narrowing to slits.

“The difference between you and me, James, is that I have enough room in my heart to love youandall of your secrets. Apparently, I can’t say the same for you.” Her words onlystoked the inferno raging within me and in the next instant, my lips were hard on hers. Our tongues clashing as my hand flexed around her neck while the other hitched her leg up. I wanted to claim her in that kiss. As though pure will alone would change the circumstances we found ourselves in.

“Mine! You. Are. Mine!” I growled, her mouth swallowing my words as she kissed me. My fingers dug into her soft backside, pulling her closer, but never close enough. She met me with a fervor of her own. Matching fire with fire. Her teeth sunk into my lip while her hands fisted in my hair. The silver tang of blood flooded my mouth. It was the taste of forbidden love that had been held back for far too long. Our needy hands roamed over each other. She cupped my hardness, and I groaned into her mouth. She was mine, and I’d denied myself for too long.

If it hadn’t been for the pounding on the door I’m not sure if either of us would have been able to stop.

“James!” Henry’s voice shouted as his fists rattled her door. “James! Captain’s callin’ for ya. Says it’s time.”

His words pulled me back to reality, and I managed to pull myself away. Kat ducked out from under my arms, cowering away from me.

“Kat, I’m sorry. Please. I didn’t mean what I said. I just?—”

“James, get your ass on deck. I don’t think you want Captain to come looking for ya himself,” Henry shouted as he continued to pound on the door. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Teach was the devil incarnate, but he was our only salvation at the moment.

“Yeah, I’m coming. Give me a minute,” I called back.

“At your own peril, my friend,” he responded before his footsteps faded away.

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