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“You chained me to it!”
Ouch, that was a bit too much.I pressed my hand to my throat and grabbed the goblet, taking a small sip. Then I tried again, a little quieter. “Your men chained me to the fucking thing on your orders. If you didn’t want it smashed up, maybe you shouldn’t go around kidnapping innocent bystanders.”
His nostrils flared as he folded his muscled arms over his chest. “You hardly strike me as innocent, love.”
“I’m not yourlove, asshole.” The desperate urge to stab him was riding me hard.
I bent, pretending to reach for my knife.
He thought he knew exactly what I was doing, the arrogant asshole. One eyebrow winged up and another slip of a smile lifted his lips. Despite the fact that I already had multiple reasons to hate him,legitimatereasons, that look made my stomach flutter.
I rolled my shoulders back and gave him a little sneer. “Tell me where it is, and I promise not to slit your throat with it when I get it back.”
He laughed, actual big bellows of laughter. “I’m not a fool, love. Your dagger is safe, but you’re not getting it back until you can behave in a more civil manner.”
It was his confidence that was getting to me. He wore that cockiness like a second skin. What he didn’t know was that I’d found a dagger in the nightstand. His men took my blade when they chained me up, so I’d taken his. And I would let him go on thinking I was unarmed, for now.
At least until someone unchained me.
Hook studied me for a long moment, long enough that I had to fight the urge to break eye contact. Was it a challenge of some sort? A test? He finally looked away and I felt like I’d won something, some tiny but significant victory.
“Very well. I will remove the shackles.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, black key. “But the dagger stays with me until after we eat.”
I thrust my wrists out in front of me. “Deal.” Sucker.
He moved slowly, dancing the key across the back of his fingers as he stepped toward me. I wanted to look up, but my gaze was locked on that shiny black piece of metal. The way it flipped and floated over and between those strong fingers was mesmerizing.
I slammed my eyes shut.How could I be so stupid?
“Were you seriously just trying to hypnotize me?”
His dark chuckle rolled over me like a caress. I lifted my chin and opened my eyes, keeping them firmly locked on his. “Not cool.”
Another low chuckle filled the diminishing space between us. “It was purely for my own safety.”
“Ha!”Again, ouch.I swallowed delicately. “I’m the hostage here, remember?”
“Who has already proven to be a flight risk, and a violent one at that.” He pressed a knuckle to his lip.
His perfectly shaped, perfectly unwounded lip. The one I was sure had split when I’d smashed my forehead into his annoying face. I also couldn’t think of any great comeback since he wasn’t wrong. So, I just held my wrists up a little higher, silently insisting he unlock the stupid shackles.
He pointed to the loveseat. “Sit.”
A sharp retort curled on the tip of my tongue, but the fire rolling through me had me keeping my mouth shut and shuffling over, dropping onto the elegant fabric like a good little captive.
“Lean back.”
A little tingle chased up my spine. “Why?”
His gaze raked over me from head to toe and back up. “Must you question everything?” He shook his head, not allowing me time to respond. “Give me your hands.”
I leaned back and held them up with suspicion crawling across my skin. His grip was strong, but not painful, as his fingers wrapped around my forearm. The first shackle clinked and fell free. The relief was instantaneous, and I rolled my wrist gently in his grip.
His brow knitted. He ran his thumb in a light circle over the angry red skin there, but I tugged my arm back before he could put words to what he was thinking.
“I can do the other one,” I said, turning my palm up.
He paused, then nodded once before dropping the key in my hand and wrapping both of his hands around mine. “Don’t try anything, lo—Never.”
