Chapters (36)
“I’ll admit, I’ve never loved anyone,” he confesses. “Not more than I loved myself. At first, I thought it was because you fascinated me so. Then you left, and Neverland hasn’t been the same. I can’t help but love you, Wendy. I’ve fought my whole life to not need anyone. To never grow attached. To show the world I am enough on my own.”
He laces his hands through my hair, pulling me closer and resting his lips close to mine.
“But I’m nothing if I don’t have you.” He kisses me softly. I melt in his embrace and wrap my arms around him quickly. Pulling away, he whispers. “My world doesn’t exist without you in it. So, please,” he pleads, his breath matching my own as emotion takes over and our chests rise and fall quickly. “Don’t… don’t leave me. Not when I need you to keep breathing.”
I don’t know what to do. My heart is torn. I hold onto him, close my eyes and wish things could be different. I wish for magic to take us away, somewhere Jake doesn’t exist, where things like mermaids, fairies and Indians can’t harm us.
When I finally open my eyes, Peter looks back at me torn. He’s on the brink of ruin. It scares me that I alone, hold the power for his destruction.
Before I can stop myself, I whisper, “I’ll never leave you, Peter. You’ll always be a part of me.”
And I mean it. No matter what happens. I will always carry him with me in my heart. Even if we’re forced to live our lives apart.
His smile widens. Leaning in, he takes my lips in his and immediately deepens the kiss. Slow. Seductive. His tongue grazes mine in a way it never has before.
He walks me backward until my legs hit the side of my bed. With desperation, he lifts my nightgown quickly over my head.
He was right. It wouldn’t have felt right for him to take me before. Now, I wrestle with the thought of if it’s right that I take him when my heart is his, but my life may never be.
If I only have this night though, if I can only know what it’s like one time… I push away all thoughts of reason and give in, matching his desperation with a greedy need of my own. Grabbing his shirt, he helps me lift it over his head before throwing it to the side. His belt is next, and I start to undo the clasp quickly, but stop when he stills my hands and forces me to look him in the eye.
“You and me, Wendy. That’s the beginning and the end of everything.”
Chapter 19
Peter
“‘You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts and they lift you up in the air.’”
Peter & Wendy
- J.M. Barrie