Chapter
Fifteen
“Easy now, lass!” Hook clutches me to him. “You’re all right.”
I breathe deeply, as if I’ve been long underwater and just breached the surface. The ache is gone, the dullness of my senses pealed back until I can experience everything again, perhaps even better than before. The only pain left is on my back, but I don’t care. It’s nothing to finally feeling alive again.
“Am I okay?” I look up at Hook.
“You’re wonderful.” He kisses my forehead. I feel it, the warmth of him and the love he bears.
I turn and look around, but my gaze falls on Tinker Bell. Her light is gone, her skin a dull gray.
Reaching for her hand, I take it in mine. “Thank you.”
She’s already cold, her essence gone and a shell left behind.
The Spinner takes her in her arms and stands. “She will be given the rites of our people. I’ll take her to the mountains.”
I stand too, my body moving under my command with ease. I took it all for granted, and now that I have it back, I marvel at every little thing.
“Will they forgive her?” I stare into the Spinner’s opal eyes. “She didn’t have to help me, but she did. More than I knew. She wanted to stop Peter, but she couldn’t.”
“She fell under his spell, though she also helped give him the power to weave it in the first place.” The Spinner doesn’t give me anything more than that. But I suppose she doesn’t want to make a promise she can’t keep. Tinker Bell’s legacy isn’t something I can simplify, not after she caused so much pain.
“I understand.” I place Tinker Bell’s hand on her stomach and let go. “Thank you,” I whisper again. “For everything.”
“You know where you must go.” The Spinner rises from the ground, floating on her ethereal wind. “The island will balance the scales one way or another. If it doesn’t, we will all perish.”
“I know the way.” Hook stands beside me, his arm going around my waist. “I will take her to the heart of the island.”
The Spinner’s gaze flicks to him. “Are you satisfied?” she asks with surprising venom.
Hook grips me tighter. “I know what I’ve done, Spinner. All the evil, the mistakes, the bargain I made. But I’d do it all over again for Moira.”
She floats backwards, clearly displeased with his answer. “You gained your soul, but you never lost your savagery.”
“From your lips to god’s ear.” He smirks.
I elbow him. “Not the time,” I whisper.
“Take him and go. The island grows wilder now. I fear we have only a few more full moons left before the shadows take over for good and beasts rule with bloody maws. There will be none left on the island but nightmares.” The Spinner’s face softens a bit as she floats closer to me. “You are always welcome here among your people, Moira. Your line is a blessing.” Then she sours again. “James Hook, however, is hereby banished from this village. To set foot here again will bring pain of death.” She turns and moves into the woods, her glow fading slowly.
“We’re leaving. Now.” I tug on his arm. “Let’s go.”
He looks to argue, but I give him a glare. “Don’t.”
“You’re beautiful when you want to harm me, lass.” He yanks me into his arms and kisses me hard on the mouth, his hands going to my ass and squeezing.
We don’t have time for this, but that doesn’t stop me from wrapping my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. It’s like I’m feeling him for the first time, the heat of him and all the hard muscles along his body. Not to mention the hardness in his pants.Holy shit.
When he finally pulls back to breathe, he takes my arm and walks me toward the sea. “You owe me, lass. You owe me quite a bit.”
“Excuse me?”
“When you wouldn’t let me kill Anne. Recall that?”
“Oh.” I recall him saying he was going to eat me alive and ‘leave nothing for seconds’. My face goes hot at the memory of his filthy words.
