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Well, that stung.Where did a filthy pirate get off accusing me of being untrustworthy? I gripped the fork tightly and considered driving the dull tines into his thigh the next chance I got. It might not do the same damage as a knife, but it would get the point across.
“My name is Never.”
He took a seat at the opposite end of the table, safely out of reach of my murderous fork. After he flipped a napkin into his lap, he finally looked up at me. “Yes, I recall.”
“Then why do you keep calling me Miss Darling?”
His eyebrows winged up and he cocked his head, studying me. The silence stretched until the air between us was heavy with tension.
“All right, can we be straight with each other?” I put my fork down and folded my hands in my lap. He followed my lead, only his movements were smooth, languid, and I found my mouth watering for a whole different reason.
Get it together, Nev. You’re pissed at him, remember?
“I don’t know what I did to upset you back at the beach, but I’m not here to cause you any trouble.” I shook my head. “Because I don’t even know wherehereis.”
8
HOOK
Her gaze darted around the room, landing on the stretch of curtains along the back wall. They were drawn tight. All the light in the room came from a few colorful oil lamps and flickering candles.
If I was being honest with myself, she did seem lost. Lost but determined.
“What brought you here?” I asked, keeping my tone casual. The girl was inordinately suspicious, but her reactions to some things were still unpredictable.
She pressed her lips together and stared back at me.
Right.
“Okay, let’s start with something a little easier. Where are you from?”
“Charleston.”
That was it. That was all she deemed fit to offer, the name of a place that meant nothing to me. “Is that a village or perhaps another island?”
It wasn’t one of the islands in my waters, I knew them all by every name they’d ever been given. Not to mention the Darling factor. If she really was who she said she was, then I had at least an idea, but I wanted to hear it from her lips.
“It’s in South Carolina.” She quirked her head at me, then closed her eyes and let out a little huff. “I’ve been trying to convince myself none of this shit is real. If I was dreaming, then the bushel of crazy in this place would make total sense. But I’m not dreaming, am I?” She looked up at me with an expression I couldn’t quite place.
“I’m afraid not.”
Never pulled in another breath, a little shakier than the last. She shook her head like she couldn’t believe what she was about to ask. “Where am I? What is this place?”
And there it was, confirmation. I threaded a hand through my hair. “Still on Earth, if that’s what you mean.”
Her eyes narrowed and she leaned her elbows on the table. “That’s not an answer.”
“Technically, we’re on a different plane than the one you came from.” That was the easiest way to explain it, even if it wasn’t entirely accurate. The realm we were in was more like a pocket carved out between dimensions, but she didn’t need to know that. She just needed to know she wasn’t in her world anymore, not really.
“Fuck.” The word came out on a harsh whisper. She slumped in her chair and scanned the room again.
“What are you looking for?”
“A way out.”
“Ah.” I picked up my fork and speared a small piece of meat before motioning to her plate. “Eat something.”
Her eyes drifted back to the curtains, and she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. The effect it had on me was immediate and unnerving. Heat raced through my abdomen like a flaming blade, and the bulge of my growing erection pressed uncomfortably against the seam of my pants.
