Hooked (Never After, #1)(23)

“Wow, this is gorgeous up here,” she breathes. “Is that a hot tub?”

I pull out her chair as she sits before walking to my side of the table. “Yes. We can get in it if you like.”

Sitting across from her, I uncork the champagne and pour us both a glass, ignoring the way my chest pulls at the sight of her surrounded by the pinks and purples of the sunset. I wasn’t lying when I told her she was beautiful. She is.

Achingly so.

“I hope salmon is alright?” I ask.

Glancing at the food, she nods, picking up her fork. “It’s perfect.”

She’s quiet while she eats, and I take her in, my cock growing with every small bite she slips into her mouth, her eyes closing as she moans at the taste. We both clear our plates, small talk and the breeze off the water the only things to keep us company.

Smee comes by silently to clear our plates, making Wendy jump in her chair. “Oh my god, I didn’t know anyone else was here.”

I smirk. “That’s Smee. My first mate, if you will.”

He smiles, his brown hair bouncing under his ridiculous red beanie as he inclines his head. “Pleasure, miss.”

“First mate.” She giggles. “Like a pirate? Does that make you the captain?”

Amusement trickles through my chest and I sit forward. “Why yes, actually. I commandeer every vessel I’m in. I’d be more than happy to show you.”

Her mouth drops, her cheeks splotching with pink.

The sun has long since set, the moon casting a haunting glow off the water, and I wait until Smee clears our plates and walks inside before I speak. “You look wonderful in the moonlight, darling.”

Taking a sip of her drink, she laughs. “You’re really something else, you know that?”

I lift the champagne flute to my lips, letting a bit of the bubbly liquid fizz on my tongue before I swallow. “Compared to what?”

She tilts her head. “Well… I’m not sure. To all other men, I guess.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“No, not at all.” She grins.

It’s a gorgeous smile, but it doesn’t light up her face, and irritation smarts at my insides knowing that she’s suddenly putting on an act. I may be using her as a prop—a temporary toy—but I don’t enjoy when things I consider mine aren’t taken care of in my presence. And that’s what she is until I decide otherwise; mine.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Put on a show. Not here. Not with me.”

She shakes her head, placing her fork down on the plate. “Then can I be honest?”

“I hope you’d never be anything less.”

“I don’t really know how to act around you. I can’t tell if you’re really trying to get to know me, or… if you’re trying to impress me, or what.”

My brows lift. “And what if I am trying to impress you?”

Her lip twitches. “Then it isn’t working.”

“Oh?” My brows lift and I set down the champagne flute, leaning in. “Well then, what would impress you?”

She smirks. “If I have to tell you, then it’s not very impressive, is it?”

A laugh bubbles in my chest, but I bite it back, my hand coming up to rub at the scruff on my chin.

“I want to know about you,” she says.

My stomach turns at her words. I open my arms and glance around. “Sorry to disappoint, but this is me, darling.”

She shakes her head, placing her napkin on the table before standing and coming around in front of me. And then she plops down right in my lap. My hands shoot immediately to rest on her thighs, surprise flickering through me at her boldness. This I did not expect.

“No,” she whispers, her face inches from mine. My abdomen tightens, noticing for the first time how amber flecks scatter within the dark brown of her eyes. “This is what you have,” she continues. “I want to know what’s in here.” Her hand presses against my chest.

My heart thumps against its cage, hoping she can’t feel it through my skin—not wanting to admit, even to myself, that what she’s doing is affecting me.

But it is.

Moving my hand to cup her cheek, my thumb presses into her bottom lip. Her breaths are heavy, her chest brushing against mine with every exhale. Our eyes are locked, and there’s this unsettling feeling brewing in my gut. It’s new and unwelcome, and I don’t know how to control it, so I do the only thing I can think of to drown it out.

I lean in and I kiss her.





14





Wendy





His lips are surprisingly soft when they meet mine, not that I’m complaining.

I give in, sinking farther into his hold, his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me tighter as his hand cups my cheek.

My heart soars with his sweet caress, but soon enough, as if the fire licking my veins is reflected in his actions, he deepens the kiss, his tongue prying my mouth open. I moan at his taste, my stomach somersaulting at the way he completely consumes me. Heat shoots through my middle and throbs between my thighs, and I fling my leg over his to a straddle, my center coming to rest directly on top of his lap.

He groans when I settle my weight, his hips pushing into me. I suck in a gasp at the movement, my lips breaking away at the feel of him hard and thick beneath me. His hand drags my face back to his.