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“Give him to me,” I demanded, putting as much calm authority in my voice as I could manage. It didn’t sound too bad, given the way my hands were shaking at my side.
“Ah. There you are.” She scanned me up and down, then let her gaze drift around the deck, pursing her lips ever so slightly when it landed on Hook. Then she turned back to me. “I was led to believe you were here against your will, but that does not appear to be the case.” Her honeyed voice was dripping with venom.
“I wouldn’t read too much into what you’re seeing at the moment,” I said, forcing myself to maintain a calm posture despite the adrenaline coursing through me, ratcheting up my heart rate and making my palms itch. “I was kidnapped and hauled on this ship. I’m pretty sure they’ve let me wander around because they don’t see me as much of a threat.” I waved a hand toward the men without taking my eyes off her. “I mean, look at them. There’s not much a girl like me can do against all that muscle, right?”
Petra’s smile curled up on one side like a villain from an old cartoon. “Oh, I doubt that’s why you’re not chained, but by all means, keep talking. I do enjoy the sound of your voice.”
Okay, what the hell was she up to?
“Give me my brother.” There was no trace of politeness in that demand. I was done playing, and I wanted to make that abundantly clear.
Petra tipped her head to one side, letting her claws retract and cupping his slack cheek in her hand. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. He has something I need.”
“That he has already refused to give you, right?”
She narrowed her eyes. “How would you know that?”
“I’m clever like that. Or maybe I’m psychic.” I took a step forward, putting myself between her and Hook. He growled something from behind me, but I blocked him out and focused my fury squarely on the demon. “My brother shot you down.” I glanced around the deck with a shrug. “I can’t say I blame him. I mean, come on, who really wants to spend an eternity shackled to a slut of a demon and trapped in this tropical hellhole?”
I gave her two full seconds to respond, but she only continued to stare at me with those big, emerald green eyes, so obviously a glamour now that I’d seen the demon hidden behind the mask. I shook my head in disgust. “That’s what I thought. You’re only here because you think you can use me to get to him. Bad news, sister, ain’t gonna happen. He’s a sweet kid, but he won’t pick me over him.” I tapped my chest. “I know this because it’s how I raised him. Survival comes first.”
I felt, more than saw, the pirates and lost boys edging in closer around me, pressing into my personal space with their big sweaty bodies, bleeding testosterone and vibrating with tension. Every soul on that deck was on edge, waiting for a signal. Waiting for what would happen next.
“But don’t you worry, demon chick, I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse. Let my brother go, free and clear. Agree to never even set your beady black eyes on him again, and you can have me instead.”
“Never.” Hook’s voice was thick with warning.
I cut him off with a swipe of my hand through the air. “This is a limited time offer, hot stuff. Take it or leave it.”
48
NEVER
Petra’s lips quirked up in a wicked smirk and she motioned me forward with the crook of her finger. My legs were wooden as I took those last few steps to close the gap between us, and the sound of every footfall echoed across the deck. If I looked, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see every single man behind me holding his breath.
Leo must have sensed something because he backed away slowly with my brother in his arms. I didn’t trust the man, not in the least, but if Hook was working with him, he had to have some value as a decent person, right?
Sure, why not? It wasn’t like I’d only known the apparently immortal pirate for a grand total of three days. It was perfectly sane to jump to conclusions about not just him, but also the kind of people he chose to align himself with. Totally reasonable.
Petra’s eyes on me felt like an unwanted caress. It was all I could do not to reel back and slap the bitch. Or cut her. If a guy at a club had looked at me like that, I probably would have thrown my drink in his face. In her case, it made me want to slice her open and watch her innards spill out all over that lovely wooden deck.
She looked me up and down like she’d done a few times since our first meeting, like she was taking my measure. Was that the way butchers looked at cattle during an auction?
I dared a glance to my left and was met with Hook’s fierce glare. That’s when a whole new fear sank in. Could I really spend the rest of my life a stone’s throw from the man and never see him again?
It wasn’t like he’d really tried to stop me. Sure, he’d said my name in that dangerously sexy tone of his, but that was it. Just my name. He hadn’t intervened, hadn’t contested my offer.
And why would he?
We were nothing more than a fling, a distraction from the reality of his eternal duties. Thanks for the sexual romp, Never. Good times. Enjoy being the demon’s lap dog for the rest of your existence.
“You have a very interesting energy around you, girl.” Petra’s voice dripped with sensuality as she edged closer.
In her current form, with the glamour, she smelled of coconut oil and something floral. I wrinkled my nose. She’d gotten close with the smell, but something about it was off, like the glamour wasn’t quite strong enough to completely cover the rank demon stench. It reminded me of those ladies who spent too much time in tanning salons. The way they smelled always had a manufactured edge to it.
I had the presence of mind not to comment on it, but only because I was holding my breath. Things got especially challenging when she leaned in close and sniffed along the too sensitive skin of my neck. When Hook had done that, it had sent a thrill through me. With her, I was torn between shrinking away and turning to rip her throat out.
Then I thought of her teeth. Not the island beauty’s teeth, but the demon behind the mask. A shudder rippled through me.
