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“Are you quite finished?” The words came out in a snarl, and she shrank away from me.
Oh no, she was not getting off that easy.
I shook her, hard. “Answer me.”
The hate dripping from her glare only fueled the new storm growing inside me. I tossed her like a rag doll to the floor. She hit hard but scrambled to her knees with so much defiance pulsing from her I could taste it in the air.
I hauled her back up, pulling her close enough that I could see the threads of black slicing through her deep blue irises. Another command danced on my tongue. My fingers twitched, and she whimpered. It was a tiny sound, but it sent a shot of ice through my overheated veins.
And there was real fear in her eyes. She was burying it under a mountain of anger and hatred, but it was there.
Shit.
I needed to back off. Now
Pushing her away, I shook my head. “It was not my intention to hurt you.”
What the hell was happening to me?
Fear and anger warred for dominance in her features, and that blistering hatred rolled off her in waves.
My calves hit the settee and I dropped onto the upholstered cushion, fisting my hands in my hair as I leaned back. I sucked in a sharp breath and closed my eyes. She had every right to attack me. Every reason to feel like she needed to defend herself.
I was a monster, after all.
The waiting was the worst part. Waiting for her to launch her next offensive. Waiting to feel the burn of a blade slicing through my chest or the burst of agony from a heavy object striking the side of my head. Would she try to wrap one of those cold chains around my neck and choke the life out of me?
I wouldn’t try to stop her. After the way I’d just handled her, I deserved it. All of it.
7
NEVER
The clink of the shackles at my wrists and ankles reverberated in the loaded silence of the room. It wasn’t completely quiet though, not like a padded room or recording studio. There was a clock somewhere, ticking away, and the hollow thump of boots outside.
That asshole had left me in here forhours. At least it’d felt like hours. I’d yelled, begged, screamed at the top of my lungs for help, but no one on his godforsaken ship had even bothered to check on me.
And every minute I was trapped in here was another minute my brother was at the mercy of a demon that I had no idea how to find. I still didn’t even know where the hell I was, let alone why that cursed pendant had brought me here.
If it was supposed to zap me to my brother, it’d missed its mark. By a long shot.
I swallowed painfully, trying to clear the gravel from my throat as I moved closer to the small couch. Hook stiffened but didn’t move, not even to protect himself.
Why? And why had he looked apologetic when I winced?
Hook—that was what I was calling him because I was pissed, and I could tell it got under his skin—he’d just said he hadn’t intended to hurt me. But he was a pirate, right? Why should I believe him?
“Kidnapping 101, genius.” The rasp in my voice was unavoidable, but when he flinched at the sound, that tiny reaction eased my nerves a little. “The very least you can do is offer your captive water.”
He sat forward, resting his hands on his knees and cast me a wary look. “You didn’t try to attack me just now. Why not?”
Before I could answer, a knock filled the room. The fiery, confusing pirate beside me didn’t take his eyes off me.
When I didn’t answer, he let out a small huff and stood, brushing a few splinters of wood from his clothing. “Come in, Cook.”
The door swung open on silent hinges, and a short, stocky man with a round belly entered the room carrying a massive tray loaded with silver-domed dishes. I didn’t recognize him from the beach. Which meant he hadn’t had a hand in tying me up. I made a mental note to let him live if I managed to get out of this ridiculous floating jail.
He stepped carefully around the remnants of the shattered chair, paying no further attention to the destruction while he set the tray on the table and began laying out dishes. When he was finished, he straightened, then turned and offered me a bow.
