Page 19

Exhaling, I dug my nails deep into my palms, restraining myself from smacking him across the head or stabbing him with the sword I acquired.

Fuck, that man drove me nuts.

Hearing a chuckle from across the fire, I saw Cooper shake his head. He moved his mat closer to AB with a knowing smile, his eyes dancing between me and the pirate.

“Shut up,” I snapped, only making him laugh more.

I stayed where I was, slipping down farther against the rock and wrapping my arms tighter around me.

Maybe I could kill him after all.

Night or day didn’t matter here; the same suffocating blackness stretched endlessly before us, the journey everlasting, just like the darkness. Up, down, squeezing through small fissures, to stepping in places that echoed our steps like a vast music hall. Numbly moving forward, I let my mind wander back to the open sea, the feeling of salt drying on my face, the rolling of the ocean under my feet, the familiar creaks of wood, my flag flapping in the wind.

My crew. Gage, Zuri, Typhoon, Hurricane, and Moses. They were still alive when I left. Did Batara kill them by now? While I was sleeping in a comfy crew room, were they being tortured? Dragged out into the square to be slowly and cruelly executed?

I still bore the shame and guilt for my mistake, the arrogance that led to Ruby, Dobbs, and Polly’s deaths. Little did I know that night would set my life on a collision course, bringing me to the depths of a dragon cave with my longtime nemesis.

“Babe, grab my hand.” Cooper’s voice jarred me out of my looping thoughts. He reached back for AB, pulling her up a steep, smooth rock face leading into another tunnel. Annabeth scrambled up the boulder, her shoes slipping and sliding, Cooper easily yanking her up with him.

“Need a boost, Kitten?” Croygen’s voice trailed down the back of my neck, forcing a shiver through me. The heat of his body pulsed against mine, and the need to step back into him, feel his lips graze my neck, his hands on my body, only had my muscles locking up.

“I can do it myself.” I dug my elbow into his chest, trying to put space between us.

“By all means,Kitty-Kat.” He stepped back, his hands up.

“Don’t call me that.” I hissed, the name firing up my ire once again, needling me.

He lifted his brow, motioning for me to go first. Cooper waited at the top to grab my hand.

Stepping back, I took a running start, leaping up with all my cat reflexes. My fingers clawed at the rock, trying to dig in. Cooper’s hand was just out of reach, and I felt myself slip on the sleek surface, my body dropping. A gasp hitched up my throat as I felt myself fall, and I braced for impact.

Arms circled me, catching me before I hit the ground. Croygen yanked me hard against him, holding me tight. For a moment, I felt like I was suspended in air, my brain still ready for the blow while my body was tucked warmly into his. I felt every ripped ab, every muscle in his thighs, his cock pressing into my ass.

It was momentary, something I could almost pretend away, the sensation of him penetrating every barricade I had. Inside and outside. My body shuddered as something brushed through me, feeling like he was deep inside me, invoking so much pleasure, while at the same time touching every inch of my skin. So deep, so intrusive, yet so familiar and wanted.

Then it was gone. Threads of a dream. Something I imagined, not experienced.

Croygen let go and stepped back, his breath unsteady behind me, but every exhale I felt was like fingers trailing the curve of my neck. In and out. My hair tickled my skin, the sensation licking down my spine.

“Try again,” Cooper yelled down, shattering the bubble and jolting us even further apart. Cooper wiggled himself lower, stretching out his hand to catch me. “Croygen, lift her up. I almost reached her last time.”

Croygen muttered something I couldn’t make out, turning to me. “Take a running start again, and I’ll give you a boost,” he told me. No feeling, no more flirty tone from earlier.

I nodded, receding before taking off at a sprint, my legs scrambling up the wall. Croygen’s hands pushed at my ass, tossing me up where Cooper grabbed me, swinging me to the top of the boulder.

Croygen only took one try, Cooper helping him, his frame colliding with mine. His hands gripped my hips to keep us both upright, his body pressing into me. He hastily dropped his hands, stepping back. I ducked my head and twisted away, feeling shy and angry, like something had taken place that bared my soul, showing all my cards, leaving me exposed.

“Let’s keep going.” Croygen brushed by me, his tone tight, his demeanor aggressive as we continued into the next cave.

I kept toward the back, fighting between the urge to stay as far from him as I could and this need to be close. Like he was a drug I just got my first high from.

Cooper came to a stop, his nose lifting. Only a few seconds later, I picked up the same scent. My eyes caught a distant, hazy glow from a campfire flickering deeper in the cave. I knew Cooper saw it too, his senses even sharper than mine.

“What?” Croygen’s head snapped between us.

“Someone’s just ahead.” Cooper flicked his chin.

I took a deeper pull of air, confusion creasing my brow. The fragrance of coffee, bean soup, and some kind of dumpling couldn’t completely override the smell of humans.