She twisted around and placed her palms on the edge of the pool, shoving out of the water with a flutter of her wings. A soft glow surrounded her, illuminating her form. Her wings were shimmering. A good thing, if onlyCaptain Hookhadn’t caused it.
“What did I do?” He sounded dumbfounded, like a child slapped on the wrist after misbehaving. And oh, he had. Did he have no shame?
All the senseless desire coursing through her veins turned leaden. The glow of her wings dimmed as she scrambled into her clothes. Behind her, water splashed as Hook climbed from the pool.
“Did you drug me again? Is that it?” Bitterness laced his question.
Tink twisted to glare at him over one shoulder. “If I had, you’d already know.”
The momentary hardness in his expression broke. “Then what…” He gestured between them. “You kissed me. I thought you were enjoying yourself?”
She twisted and tugged at the shirt until her wings pushed free. “Then you, Captain, know nothing.” Stepping into her pool, kissing her like that…Ugh, filthy, thieving, dirty pirate. She should have known better. How had she expected more?
Without a backward glance, she stomped off into the jungle.
Chapter 12
Hook
The storm passed in the night, leaving calm waters and clear skies in its wake. Finally. Bloody mermaid curse whipping up unnatural storms had tossed them around like dice in a cup.
At least they’d been smart, leaving wealth and goods with their families or tucked away in troves. They’d been dipping into those reserves since these storms hindered their business—and thievery. But really, that was just a different kind of business. Anyone who crossed the Cerulean Sea knew the price. It was no different than paying the Gamoreans, or other kingdoms, for passage through their lands.
Hook nudged his first mate with his boot, trying to rouse the man where he sprawled half-naked in a hammock on deck.
“Adella?” he mumbled around a yawn.
“Try again,” Hook replied.
“Captain!” Smee snapped up, suddenly wide awake. The hammock twisted until it spilled the larger man onto the damp deck below. “Ugh, sorry, I—” Smee rubbed at his head.
“Yeah, yeah, but you’ll turn red as a lobster sleeping out here like that.” Hook gestured to his lack of shirt. His first mate was a hairy one, “a cuddly bear” he’d once heard a woman proclaim. Well, he had the size to fit that description, if not the claws. Really, he was more like a big dog: loyal, trustworthy, and not above sniffing around the skirts of every woman he passed.
He loved the man, though—his brother, even if they weren’t related. He’d had his back since they were boys. If not for Smee, he probably wouldn’t be alive. Certainly wouldn’t be the captain he’d become.
As long as Smee kept his eyes and hands off one particular woman, he could do as he liked with any of the others. Tink sat in the shade of the sail, pulling needle and thread through fabric. Barley must have put her to work. Fair—he should have some return for watching after her yesterday. His lips pulled thin as he eyed his crew preparing the ship for departure. Though considering the condition of the rest of them, he decided he might be thankful for skipping the festivities. They’d right themselves soon enough.
He, on the other hand… While his crew partied with the merfolk, he’d replayed his encounter with Tink over and over. The agony in her words had pulled him into the water. Bloody hell, he’d even given her his real name, one he hadn’t used in years. For a moment there, he’d deluded himself into believing her kiss had been true this time. That she wanted him. The way she’d wrapped her legs around him and rubbed herself against him… He groaned. She was a seductress, that much was certain. He didn’t need a curse for those memories to haunt him. Too bad her kiss had been another twisted game.
He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. She hadn’t drugged him this time, probably because she didn’t have any pixie dust left, or so she claimed. But she’d pulled away fast enough. Was she embarrassed about her wings glowing? Truly,he didn’t know pixies could do that, but then he really didn’t know much about them at all, except that humans rarely saw them and their dust could demand a sizeable amount of coin. He’dacquiredsome once. Nasty stuff. Knocked out half his crew for a day.
“Give in to your desire,” Queen Titania had said.Ha.Much good that did. Thoughts of the little pixie kept him up all night, even after he’d pleasured himself to visions of her after she’d stormed off. Gods above, he’d gouged a new groove in the wall with his hook when he returned to his cabin to find her sprawled across his bed, sound asleep.
His fault. He’d locked her in there to begin with, and now she’d claimed it as her own. Wouldn’t need to lock her up anymore, though. She’d be a fool to try and escape now. Pixie or not, she wouldn’t be claiming the scale of Leviathan without help. How she’d thought to get it before was beyond him. A pixie, alone in the Shrouded Isles, looking for a scale? He shook his head. A death wish, that was. A fool’s errand.
He rubbed at his chest, trying to ease the slight ache there. She wanted to go home. Couldn’t blame her for that, but the queen’s price was too steep for her to pay alone. Impossible—maybe. Which raised the question again: what had shedoneto get herself banned from home like that?
“Uh, Captain?” Smee nudged his arm.
“What is it, Smee?”
“I’ve been talking to you for over a minute, but you’re just staring off at the island, this grimace on your face.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know I drank a lot, but…”
Bloody hell.How long had he been staring Tink down? At least Smee didn’t notice that part, but who else…? He glanced around, watching his crew. Sage winked at him, but knowing her that could mean anything.
“To your post.” He swatted Smee on his back. “Let’s get some wind in these sails.”
“Ah! Wind in the sails!”
