AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My cock grew hard, pressing against the seam of my pants in a matter of seconds. The feel of her body against mine only drove my desire higher and I gripped the wooden rung so tightly it cracked under the strain.
Distance. I desperately needed to put some space between our bodies so she couldn’t feel the effect she was having on me.
I leaned back, still close enough to keep her from falling if she lost her grip, but at least the evidence of my arousal wasn’t throbbing against her backside the rest of the way up. At the top, William was there waiting, quick to help Never as I steadied her from the back. When I wrapped my hands around her waist to help hoist her up, she sucked in a sharp breath, and I loosened my grip, sliding my hands down to her hips and lifting from there. Her lack of protest at the hip contact told me that sharp inhale had nothing to do with my touch being suggestive and everything to do with pain.
“Tell me what happened.” I’d intended to make it a gentle request as I hoisted myself over the railing, but it came out as a gruff command. It was the wrong tactic.
She said nothing, offering me a little shake of her head instead, which did precisely nothing to help my impatience.
“Would it help if I said please?”
Her huff was nearly silent. “As if you care.”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t care. If someone touched you…” I reached for her instinctively, acting on the need to keep her close and keep her safe, without taking the time to think it through. The way she pulled back was like a slap across the face, leaving my outstretched hand hovering uneasily in the space between us. After a second, I brought it slowly down to my side, fighting the urge to ball the offending appendage into a fist.
I closed my eyes and drew a breath. Why couldn’t I seem to do anything right with her?
“I saw my brother,” she finally said in a small and unsteady voice.
When I opened my eyes, she was staring out toward the island. There was no way to tell from the declaration whether seeing him had been good or bad.
“How was he?”
She hesitated, and her body lost some of its rigidness. “Happy, I guess.” Her brow furrowed when she looked down at her hands. “He couldn’t see me. Or hear me. Petra did something to block me. I don’t know. It was strange though. He looked like he was having fun, the time of his life.” When her gaze met mine, her blue eyes were filled with doubt.
“That’s how it works, love. The demon will try to earn his trust by offering him whatever his heart desires. For many boys his age, that amounts to fun, adventure, and acceptance.”
She nodded, then shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me she was, well, a she?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “It didn’t seem relevant. Whether it takes a male or female form, a demon is still a demon.”
“Yeah? Well, you could have at least warned me she was a total perv. She’s going to try to mold Matty into one of her lost boys, right? I mean, she said as much. But how? And why? He’s scrawny compared to Adonis, and he’s only seventeen.”
“Adonis?” I knew the name of every lost boy who had ever wandered the island and not one possessed the name of that particular god.
Never closed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and gave me a weak, dismissive wave. “He was one of the guys. I didn’t know his name, but he fit the description well enough, so I just named him Adonis in my head.”
He fit the description. Why did that rankle? Adonis was an incredibly attractive being, bordering on truly undeniable when he set his sights on someone. Did that mean she was attracted to the man she was referencing?
Petty, jealous thoughts poisoned my train of thought before I pulled myself together and shoved them down deep.
She is not mine.
I had no claim on the woman, and no matter how much some archaic part of me wanted to lay that claim, I had no right to place those shackles on anyone, let alone someone like her.
So, why did I keep throwing myself into the human’s orbit? If I had left her on the beach, she would have been dead by now. The same went for leaving her in the water.
Why did I keep gravitating to her?
“You’re injured,” I said, keeping my tone matter-of-fact.
She didn’t bother looking at me. “I’m fine.”
“At least let me help you to my quarters so you can rest.” That way I could lock her in there, keep her from wandering about the ship, and put some space between us until morning. When my brain brought it to my attention that she would also be safe in my room, I blocked it out. I didn’t need to concern myself with her safety right then.
Never pinned me with a glare so fierce I had to fight the urge to take a step back. “Are you deaf or just stupid? I said I’m fine.”
Was shetryingto make me angry? Because it was working. If she wanted to play that fiercely independent card with me, I’d call her bluff.
