“No generosity for these poor kids, eh?” Not that they needed pixie dust at their age, unless they planned to sell it. He rubbed his chin.Smart kids, tracking down a pixie for her dust.He might be able to use such savvy young ones from time to time. And by the looks of them, they could use the work. Their clothes were barely stitched together, and sunken cheeks spoke of too many missed meals. Fragmented memories of his childhood tried to creep back into the shadows of his mind, but he blocked them out. No time for that.
Tink tried to blow the hair out of her face, but it fell right back, trailing down to the edge of the blanket just below her barecollarbone. He’d had only a brief glimpse of her before she fled the bar, but Hook could have sworn she’d been more clothed. “They invaded my home, attacked me, and tied me up,” she said. “You really expect me to welcome them?”
Not her kids then. Nor even friends.
“How about I sweeten the deal for you then?” Hook replied. “Give me the necklace, get rid of this curse, and I’ll leave you in peace. I’ll even take this lot with me.”
Her whole body slumped. “I can’t.” The reply was so quiet, he nearly missed it.
Red stepped forward, hands on his hips. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Hook ignored him and knelt in front of Tink again. She looked at the floor, not meeting his gaze. Even with them both on their knees, her head just reached his neck. She’d fit perfectly against him, sharp little teeth grazing his neck while her tongue…
He coughed, shaking away the unwanted thought. “What did you say?”
“We’re not—”
“Yeah, yeah.” Hook waved at the kids. “Heard you the first time.”
Tink took a deep breath and finally tilted her head up to look at him. Her normally alluring gaze had turned somber. He almost felt bad for the tricky woman. The vulnerability vanished as she notched her chin higher. “I can’t give it to you. I don’t have it anymore.”
Bloody hell.Hook swayed, nearly blown over by her words. She didn’t have it?Hell storms. She surely hadn’t spent the sum the Heart of Fire would fetch on this ramshackle treehouse. Which meant she still had the money.
He grazed the underside of her chin with his hook, just enough for her to flinch against the cool metal but leave her unharmed. “Who’d you sell it to? Where’s the gold?”
“I didn’t sell it. I gave it back to the mermaids.”
Hook shook his head. “The—”
“Mermaids!” the littlest boy yelled, drawing their attention. “I want to see—”
“Hush,” Red said.
Bloody kids. And bloody mermaids. They were a curse-mongering lot—among other things. “You didn’t place the curse on me, did you, love?”
Tink’s frown wrinkled into a snarl. “Pixies don’t curse people.”
No, he didn’t think so. But it was hard to be sure where pixies were concerned. Most kept to themselves in their hidden cities. A lot of what people knew of them came more from rumor and legend than personal experience. “No, but you gave the mermaids my name, huh?”
“They wanted vengeance and asked who’d stolen their necklace. Why wouldn’t I give them an answer?”
Nothing good ever came from angering the merfolk. Their queen, Titania, had a short temper. No wonder it was the sea—the queen’s domain—that ailed his crew. She’d likely tacked on the extra curse of desiring the pixie who stole from him just for fun. He could almost see her cackling from her favorite rock. His hook scrapped a gouge in the table.But bloody hell, if she was going to curse someone for the theft, it shouldn’t have been me.
“Because I didn’t steal it from them,” he said.
Tink straightened, her eyes blinking rapidly before her head tilted to the side. “Whoops.”
“Whoops?” he echoed. The boys jumped as the tip of his hook smashed into the wood.
The blanket shifted as she attempted to shrug. “You still stole it.”
Hook stiffened. “It’s not the same.” He wasn’t fool enough to steal from the merfolk. Stealing from Blackbeard, though…that was a joy he couldn’t pass up. Hook’s missing hand itched. Thatcrocodile deserved the mermaid’s wrath. He’d string him up the mast one day, but first he needed to deal with the spitfire in front of him. Tink blew at the hair falling across her face again. The motion stirred something low in his gut. Those pink lips… His mouth watered thinking of her taste.
Blast. He needed this curse removed—fast. A pretty distraction and rough seas were a pirate’s greatest weakness. Ones he couldn’t afford.
The kids whispered to one another. One bounced on his feet. Another complication, but maybe they could be useful after all. Hook stood and approached the gaggle of them. Red pushed the little one behind him.
“What’s your name, Red?”
