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It was downhill from there.
The laughing stopped abruptly, and they both came at me at once. I probably should have gone along quietly, since Adonis had gone to the trouble of helping me, but that wasn’t my style. I caught one on the side of the head with a rock I’d managed to pick up on my way to standing and shoved the other prick into the hole with Adonis.
I took off running. Well, more like hobbling, and I made it all of ten steps before the kid I’d hit with the rock caught me by my jacket and yanked me back, tossing me to the ground. He was just cranking his leg back to kick me in the ribs when Adonis stepped in.
Which was how I ended up slung over the shoulder of a shirtless, confusingly helpful frat boy, being carried goddess only knew where. It would have been great if any one of them would have bothered to clue me in as to our destination, but they refused to even acknowledge my questions, let alone answer them.
“Are you three lost boys?” I asked, trying to keep my voice sweet and curious rather than bitchy and demanding. It was a challenge.
And what did I get for my efforts? Jack all.
“Okay, let’s try something else. Are you taking me to meet the great and powerful Pan?”
That at least got a reaction, even if it was only a warning growl from Adonis and a tightening of his grip on my thighs.
“Look, cocksuckers, I can’t see where you’re taking me, so maybe you can talk me through it?”
“Does she ever shut up?” one of the boys asked.
“Like you have room to complain,” the other one snapped back. I was pretty sure he was the one I hit with the rock, but since I couldn’t see them, it was hard to say.
I tried to crane around to look, but my ribs were still a little tender from my tumble down the palm tree. I straightened back out, bracing my hands against Adonis’s lower back so my head didn’t bounce off his fine round ass with every step.
The man really did look like a Greek god, the kind of gorgeous that would make most women swoon, regardless of their age.
That, at least, explained my reaction to him.
Yeah, he’d chased me through the woods, lured me into a trap, and now was carrying me like a neanderthal against my will, but how was that any different from how Hook had treated me?
The thought of the feisty pirate tossing me over his shoulder and carrying me to his bed like that sent a hot little thrill through me, and for once, I rolled with it. It was better than focusing on the pain radiating from my ankle, not to mention the throbbing headache that only seemed to be getting worse.
It didn’t take much to imagine it was Hook’s arm wrapped around my thighs. And it certainly didn’t hurt that I already knew he was the kind of guy who wouldn’t hesitate to smack my ass to make his point.
Delicious heat coiled inside me, and I dug my fingers a little harder into Adonis’s back, letting myself sink into the feeling.
“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop,” he said in a harsh whisper. “Now.”
My whole body went rigid for a beat, but I recovered quickly. “If I want to spend my time plotting your demise, I don’t see how it’s any of your business.”
“Does envisioning death and destruction always arouse you so much?” His voice carried a dark warning.
“What?” I sputtered. “You can’t—”
His hand squeezed the back of my thigh and he nearly growled, “I can smell it.”
He could what?
“Ew.” I shoved at his back and wiggled my hips, trying to move them as far away from his face as humanly possible. “Are you some hot fucking pervert?”
I was expecting laughter or some snide comment, but he just shook his head. “If I can scent your arousal, others will be able to pick up on it too. That won’t go well for you when we get where we’re going.”
A series of snarky comments flicked through my mind, but I kept them to myself. He was still trying to help me, or at least it seemed like he was, even if I couldn’t work out his motive.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
He said nothing.
“Back to the silent treatment, huh? I guess you won’t mind if I start singing then, right?” I tried to think of the most annoying song I’d ever heard, but the only thing I could think of was that eighties song by Starship, “We Built This City”. The thought of it dredged up long forgotten memories of riding in my mom’s shitty old Chrysler LeBaron convertible, listening to that song on repeat and belting it out at the top of our lungs.
