by Anna Katmore
The nearness should have startled me or maybe make me feel uncomfortable, but the truth is, I enjoy the way he stakes his claims on me. I know it’s a pirate we’re talking about, and if one can believe Disney, the meanest that has ever sailed the seas too. But when I look at his taunting, hopeful face, I feel perfectly safe with him. “Stay with you and leave my former life behind?” I ask, not bothering to keep a playful hint of skepticism out of my voice. “My family, my home, my everything?”
Both his hands wander to the small of my back where he laces his fingers. “Neverland has some qualities of its own.”
“I’m not a pirate. You can’t expect me to spend the rest of my life on a ship.”
“I’ll build you a house in the forest.”
“I’d be pretty lost without my memories here.”
“I don’t care. I’m going to make new ones with you.”
I give him a sidelong look. “Are you trying to seduce me, Captain Hook?”
“Possibly.” He cracks a smile. “Does it work?”
Succumbing a little more to the part of me that still knows James Hook in a way that I don’t, I rest my forearms on his shoulders and loosely clasp my fingers behind his neck. “No. Way.”
He bites then licks his bottom lip. “What if I let you wear my hat and cape again and you can be captain of the ship for a while?”
The hopeful glimmer in his eyes coaxes a resentful sigh from me. I free myself from his hold and walk to the window, turning my back to him. “This isn’t my home. You know I have to go back, Jamie.” In spite of the undeniable attraction I feel for this man and the vague memories I have recovered, staying in Neverland isn’t an option at all.
I gasp when his hands slide over mine from behind and he intertwines our fingers. He brings our hands in front of my stomach and hugs me against his chest. I only let him because, just like before, being in his arms gives me a feeling of safety and comfort. Frankly, it does feel familiar. If only there was a chance for me to pull the rest of my memories out. I want to know what we had…he and I. I want to know it so bad that I close my eyes and dip my head backward to rest on his shoulder.
“I always loved it when you called me Jamie,” he whispers into my ear and nuzzles my temple.
Laughing, I counter, “Apart from the one time when you threatened to cut my throat for it.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you that.” The warm breath of his chuckle feathers against my skin.
I turn my head to look at his face. His long, fair lashes brush the skin underneath his eyes at each of his blinks. No matter what he does, how he looks or what he says, there’s always a layer of dominance that overrides the warmth in his gaze. His moves are slow and deliberate, his words always sound considered. James Hook knows exactly what he wants.
And right now he wants…me.
Leaving one hand placed on my stomach, he lifts the other to my face and skims his fingertips feather-lightly across my cheek. Guided by his touch when he strokes his thumb over my bottom lip, I tilt my head a little more to him.
He leans in so close that I can feel the softest brush of his lips against mine when he whispers, “What do you think? Can you bear to spend one day with me before we ship you back to your world?”
Ten heartbeats pass.
In that time, I’m transfixed by his gaze while in my mind I play out all the possible scenarios my parents might go through when they wake up in the morning and find me missing. Hysterics. Police. Crying. Searching. Hoping. Calling friends. Soothing my sisters. Not once in my life did I run away from home. I’m quite aware of the sorrow I put them in with each passing hour I stay here.
But on the other hand, this is Neverland. The land of the boy who wouldn’t grow up. The land of fairies, treasures, pixie dust, and heck yeah, it’s also the land of pirates and Captain Hook. Would anyone go back without taking the chance at seeing a mermaid, just once in their life?
Would I?
As I turn around in Jamie’s arms, I suck in a deep breath and take his face between my hands. “One day,” I say with determination and stand on my tiptoes. “And you have to show me a mermaid.”
His attempt to suppress a joyful grin is ineffective. “I promise,” he purrs then leans in to kiss me.
I let the part of me that feels most comfortable with Jamie take over and mold my lips to his. Have you ever been kissed by a pirate? I know I’ve been more often than I remember, but it still amazes me how an alleged scoundrel like Hook can turn into the gentlest lover. He leans back against the edge of the table like before and pulls me so close there wouldn’t fit a sheet of paper between us. One of his hands roams up my back, my shoulder, my neck, and disappears in my hair. The tenderness of his touch makes my skin tingle. Every square inch of it.
His tongue sweeps through my mouth, once, twice. The hunger in his kiss grows. With his hand at the back of my neck, he holds me tight in place as if scared to lose me any second. But I don’t intend to back away. My hands sink to his shoulders and lower down over his firm chest and hard stomach. Burying my fingers in the soft linen of his shirt, I release a fervid sigh that doesn’t quite make it out of my mouth. The half-moan must have fueled his passion even more—I can feel it in the kiss that just turned a notch harder.
Jamie grabs my hips and, without me doing anything, we swap position. He lifts me and sets me down on the desk in front of him. I take that moment to catch my breath. When he leans closer again, I lean back and lock gazes with him. How could I have ever doubted his intentions toward me? It’s all there, so obvious in his eyes.
Startled by my pulling back for a moment, Jamie cocks his head, but he seems to find pleasure in this game that really wasn’t one and takes on the unspoken challenge. He leans so far in that I have to recline even more, bracing myself on my hands and soon on my elbows.
The left side of his mouth twitches to an adorable crooked smile as he takes my hands and forces me to lie down on my back, my feet still dangling. With our fingers intertwined, he spreads my arms sideways on the desk and slowly moves them up over my head, like he’s drawing a snow-angel. Propping himself on his elbows then, he braces his weight as he lowers on top of me. His body is so close above mine that I can feel him each time I take in a breath.
We’re eye to eye, my favorite position with the captain as I found out, because I can so easily lose myself in the deep sea-blue of his irises. The smirk is still pasted on his lips, and his soft, golden blond hair tickles my brow as it falls forward.
“Trapped,” he drawls. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Scream my way out?” I tease back and crack a smile. Then I add, “Later.” Right now I have no intention of getting away from him. Quite the opposite in fact. I sling my bare legs around his waist to anchor myself to him. His contented purr is my reward for that. It makes me shudder and at the same time wonder how someone so young and gentle can command a ship of honorless men.
There’s no time for finding an answer. Jamie comes down the last couple of inches and kisses my bottom lip, wiping my mind blank in a heartbeat. I like how he starts to play with it, suck and nibble, before he traces the bow of my upper lip with his tongue. I do the same to him and would have never thought that something so simple could be so sensuous. He gives me another moment to savor him fully, then he trails downy kisses along my jaw and down the side of my neck. I heat up like a torch when he softly grates his teeth across my collar bone. With his nose he nudges my chin up to give him access to the base of my throat where he places another tender kiss.
I know I said I wanted to see the mermaids at some point, but right now I’d be happy to spend the entire day with Jamie in his study. I don’t even care if we stay on the desk the entire day. But a rap on the door explodes my beautiful dream.
As every muscle in my body tenses with alarm, my legs tighten around Jamie’s waist, pushing out a startled breath from him. But more than that happens. It’s like the shock popped a cork from the storage of my memories. I
t’s all back in an instant, leaving me with a thudding heart.
Jamie doesn’t look half as appalled as me when he straightens just in time as the door opens. I don’t see who’s coming in, because I’m facing Jamie and the window front, but I recognize Smee’s voice at his first sheepish cough.
“Sorry to—um…” The pirate cuts himself off.
At that moment, Jamie looks down at my face and I know what a horrible red flush he sees there. The man has no decency, I swear. He gives me an amused smile then skims his fingers over the outside of my naked thigh. What the hell, does he have to fondle me in front of his first mate? I suck in a sharp breath, until I realize he might only want to make me aware of my legs still anchored around him.
Oh God!
I unhook my heels and lower my legs, covering my face with my hands. That coaxes a chuckle from Jamie. He grabs his hat from next to me and drops it on my face.
In the meantime, Jack Smee clears his throat once more. “The pixie is outside and wants to talk to you, Cap’n. She keeps fluttering above the ship and refuses to come down.”
“The pixie? I wonder what she wants,” Jamie replies. “Tell her to meet me at Mermaid Lagoon in an hour. I promised Angel a tour anyway.”
The door clicks closed. A moment later, the hat is being lifted from my face and Jamie peeks underneath. “You good there?”
“Argh, James Hook, you have to teach the crew not to walk into your quarters uninvited!” I rant as I prop myself up on my elbows. “It’s starting to get on my nerves to be interrupted every time we kiss!”
His jaw drops and his eyes grow wider and wider. “Angel?” he tests carefully.
“Now don’t look so shocked. You knew my memory would come back eventually.” I crack a smile because, hands down, the expression on his face is adorable.
He quirks his brows. “You. Remember?”
“Yes.”
“You mean, you remember everything?”
“That’s what I said, Jamie. Now let me get off this desk and—” I don’t get to finish because he grabs my hands and pulls me up so fast that I fall against his chest. His arms encase me, cutting off the steady stream of air in and out of my lungs. We cling to each other and his face buries in my hair. No kissing this time, which I regret a little, but it’s good to be crushed for a moment.
“I missed you so much,” he croaks.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same, because until very recently, I didn’t even know of his existence. But the swell of joy flooding me right now is hard to contain. “It’s good to be back.”
Drowning in his beguiling scent of sea water and tangerine, I close my eyes and, for the first time since he found me again, relive all the happy moments we had together not long ago.
Chapter 11
I HAVE HER back. Not only physically but in mind as well. Happiness fills my heart. She’s here in Neverland with me. Finally. I squeeze Angel so hard that she begs me to give her some air to breathe. Reluctantly, I ease the embrace.
“Now that I remember it all, I can hardly believe how I survived those three months without you. But”—Angel steps away from me with her hands to her hips, giving me one of those spirited, scolding looks that I missed the most about her—“really, James Hook, you kidnapped me—again?”
I laugh and brush her ruffled hair behind her ears. “It was the only way. And you should be happy I did it.”
Her mouth curls into a smile of surrender. “I am. More than happy, actually.”
“Good. Does that mean our deal of earlier is off and you’re going to stay longer?”
“No. The deal is still on.” She grimaces and then purses her lips, the gesture tempting me to kiss her. “But I’m thinking, maybe we should go see the fairies in the forest. They knew what to do last time when I got stranded in Neverland. Perhaps they have a solution to this problem too.”
I’m glad she mentions the fairies, because that’s exactly what I had planned on doing with her later today. She didn’t really think I’d agree to just one bloody day. “Find a way to help us see each other more often?”
Angel nods, her face displaying the hope that moved in to my chest the moment I saw her again.
“All right. Let’s do that. Do you still want to see a mermaid first?” I tease her.
“It would be great to meet Melody, though chances are slim, I guess. But you told Smee you were going to meet Tami at Mermaid Lagoon in an hour. If you don’t mind, I’ll come with you. I’d love to see her again.”
With narrowed eyes, I cock my head. “Of course, I’m going to take you.” Whatever made her think I wouldn’t? No one can tell how long I really get to have Angel around me this time. I’m not going to waste one goddamned minute.
“Great!” She claps her hands like an excited little girl and bounced on the balls of her feet. “Let’s go!”
She really has no idea how sweet she can be even without her trying. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and tuck her to my side as I maneuver her around the desk and into my bedroom. “We’re in the middle of the ocean, lass. No one goes nowhere right now.”
Her face falls, but only for a moment. Then she loops both her arms around my waist, presses her chin to my chest and grins up at me as we go. “Then you can let me steer the ship again.”
“That you can do. But I have something for you first.” I release her and cross to my wardrobe where I kept Angel’s blue dress all this time.
When she sees it an infectious smile tugs on her lips. It’s replaced, however fast, with a pout of mock defiance. “What? You don’t like what I’m wearing now?”
Hooking one finger into the waistband of her shorts, I pull it away from her stomach a little. “You always wear the strangest things,” I taunt her but keep the truth—that I didn’t like how the crew ogled her naked legs before—to myself. “But if you don’t like the dress, I can have Smee give it to some girl in town later.”
“Don’t you dare, Captain!” She snags the dress from my arm and hugs it to her chest, laughing. “You’re not going to give this away.”
I arch one brow. “Too many memories clinging to that dress?”
“Way too many.” Her chiding gaze turns soft as she lifts the dress to behold it with great affection. “I can’t believe that you really kept it.”
Remembering the first hard days without her brings back an oppressive tightness to my throat. “What else should I have done? It was the only thing I had left from you.”
Angel must have heard the crack in my voice, because she tosses the dress on my bed and comes closer, enveloping me in a monster hug of her own. I love her tender body pressed so hard against mine, but her pity makes me feel uncomfortable. Grabbing her by her shoulders, I move her a few inches away from me and stare into those warm, hazel eyes. “I’m good.” Now. All the waiting, the suffering and the struggles with the rainbows were totally worth it, only because I can hold her again. “Put on the dress and come outside when you’re done. I’ll wait at the sterncastle for you.”
“Save me a spot by the wheel,” she mocks me and turns around to change her clothes. A deep sigh works its hard way out of my chest. I’d rather stay and watch Angel, not missing a single second, but it’s just like back in those old days with her. She makes me want to be a nice guy around her, so I give her some privacy and leave my quarters.
Jack already set the course to Mermaid Lagoon and, with the wind stroking the sails, the Jolly Roger picks up speed. “So the chat went well?” he asks with humor in his voice as I take over the helm.
I really don’t mind being caught in an intimate position, but I know how embarrassed Angel was, so I cut Smee off with a hard glare. “As long as the girl is on board, I suggest we conduct our conversations to outside my quarters.”
“Fine with me.” He laughs and placates me with his hands up. “But I supposed we’re back to Jamie-status now, so what’s the plan?”
I arch both my eyebrows. “Jamie-status?”
“Something Skyler cam
e up with a while ago.” Cocking his head, Smee makes a thoughtful face, but I know it’s all show. “Actually on the day that you threatened to cut his throat if he ever touched Angel again.”
I remember that moment. Angel tried to bribe my crew into mutiny but it backfired on her and Yarrin’ Brant Skyler got too close to her for my liking. Clenching my teeth at the thought, I grip the handles of the helm a little harder.
A soft hand slides over one of mine. “Hey, what’s bothering you, big guy?” Angel’s sweet voice blows most of the anger out of my mind in an instant. Seeing her in that blue dress again does the rest. To my great astonishment, she brought my hat and puts it on my head. Even out of match with the funny pants and shoes Bre gave me for Angel’s world, it certainly makes me feel a little more like captain of this ship again.
I cast her a wicked smile and push her between me and the wheel, so she can take over. Blow me down, her beautiful scent bedazzles me as it sneaks up my nostrils. On a deep breath, I savor as much of that smell as possible. Then I lean down to kiss the sensitive spot beneath her ear. “You look enchanting, Miss London.”
Angel shudders, I can feel it. And it’s getting to my head. Doing my best not to eat her up out in the open with a crew of sixteen men to watch, I let her steer the ship back to shore where we berth at Mermaid Lagoon. Angel and I are the only ones going on land. She clings to my hand with girlish strength as we walk over the gangplank together, with me leading the way.
“What do you think it is that Tami wants from you?” she asks me as we stand a little away from the Jolly Roger, tossing stones into the sea and waiting for the little bug to show up.
I shrug. “Maybe there’s more trouble with Peter and she wants our help.”
“More trouble?”
“As in…she’s worried about him aging so fast.” I find a flat stone close to the tip of my shoe. Picking it up, I aim it across the water and let it jump multiple times on the surface. “But I really have no idea. I only hope she’ll come soon, because I want to talk to the fairies before it gets too late.”
