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This was not a moment for weakness. I mentally clamped down on my body, doing my best to trap everything inside, refusing to let another tremor surface and become a fear the demon could latch onto.
“Familiar.” Her breath against my skin was an assault, and affront to my senses.
Suddenly, my choice to offer myself in place of my brother felt entirely justified and incredibly, epically, stupid.
“I haven’t had a shower in a day or so,” I managed to say, though I didn’t quite get the snarky edge I was going for. “Are you into BO?”
Petra sniffed again and pulled back, looking a touch confused. “I smell power. Far more than the boy could ever dream of possessing. I don’t know how I missed this at our first meeting.” She cast a glance over my shoulder, nodding at someone behind me.
With my skin crawling painfully and every instinct inside me demanding I either tear the monster’s head off or grab my brother and run for our lives, I could barely manage a civil response. “Then we have a deal?”
Hope, and fear, and a horrifyingly selfish sadness filled the space between us as I waited for the demon to seal my fate.
And still, Hook didn’t argue. He didn’t intervene. Not a single word slipped past his lips.
I had no right to be surprised. Our connection, that tenuous link, was a purely physical thing. That’s all it could be after just three days, and it was ridiculous for even a small part of me to wish I was wrong about that.
Petra grabbed me by the jaw and narrowed her eyes. “I require a taste first. Then I’ll make my decision.”
Shit. Ew. Fuck. I’d really been hoping the slutty demon didn’t go for chicks.So much for that idea.She leaned in and pressed a surprisingly gentle kiss to my lips, teasing with her tongue along the rigid seam of my mouth.
It was nauseating.
A familiar growl startled a gasp out of me, and Petra didn’t waste the opportunity. Her tongue slid inside as her long fingers looped around the back of my neck in a lover’s hold, a surprisingly strong hold.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t kissed my fair share of women. Humans had the potential to be beautiful creatures, regardless of sex, and I’d been curious in my late teens and early twenties. But that was always consensual.
This was not. And if I’d had any inner doubts about that, the tug I felt deep inside me was all the reminder I needed. It felt like a string was tangled around my insides and Petra was pulling on the end of it, testing the strength of the line.
The strange sensation made me wobble on my feet and Petra yanked her head back, staring at me with daggers in her eyes. Those fake, glacial irises morphed to black and back again so fast I barely caught it.
“What?” I asked, trying to hide the nausea coursing through me. “Am I not doing it for you?”
“Nice try, girl.” She shoved me off and I reeled backward, absolutely certain I was about to land on my ass on the deck. Instead, I hit a muscled wall. Strong hands wrapped around my upper arms holding me steady until I found my footing. Warm leather and sunshine filled the air around me and I inhaled greedily, letting it wash away the demon’s stench.
Petra’s gaze locked on the man behind me. “You think you’re awfully clever, don’t you, Captain?”
I was missing something. I twisted to try to get a look at him, but his grip on my arms tightened. “What is happening?” I demanded.
Silence crept across the deck, with only the sounds of the night breeze knocking the ropes and pulleys for the sails against the mast giving me any indication that I hadn’t suddenly gone deaf.
Petra’s expression shifted from angry to viciously amused, and her gaze darted between me and the big man behind me. “She doesn’t know.”
If he hadn’t been holding me so carefully, I wouldn’t have felt the way he flinched at the observation. Or was it an accusation?
“What don’t I know?” I tried to pull free of his grip, and this time he let me. Neither demon nor man made a move toward me as I equalized the distance between the three of us.
“Oh, she truly has no idea.” Petra’s voice dripped with condescension.
“Would anyone care to explain what the fuck is happening here?” I asked, trying desperately to stem the flow of adrenaline that had me feeling like I was vibrating in my skin. When no one ventured an answer, I pinned my gaze on Hook. “What is she talking about?”
He tore his eyes off the other woman long enough to give me a look so weighed down with guilt that I had to fight the urge to go to him and soothe whatever the hell was wrong. His lips pressed into a thin line, and he gave his head a little shake. That was it. That was all the answer he offered me before turning his attention back to Petra.
“Oh, this is just too precious,” Petra cooed. “And after all these years.” She opened her arms wide, encompassing everything around us. “After millennia. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Her laugh grated against my nerves in the worst way, and I reached behind me, pulling my knife from the waistband of my jeans. I was inclined to stab her in the throat just to stop the sound.
“You truly are embracing your pirate lifestyle these days. I have to say, I’m oddly proud.” This time Petra’s smile bordered on admiration. “There may be hope for you yet.”
