I let my towel drop to the floor and Peter sucks in a shaky breath. He does the same and I can’t help but giggle as he takes a step into me and wraps me in his arms.

“You,” he insists, smacking my ass for emphasis and I giggle. “Under the covers. Now.”

I hurry and do as he says. When I’m cocooned in the middle of his bed the look that stares back at me warms me instantly, even though he hasn’t touched my body yet, even though he won’t, not in the way I need him to. Not tonight.

He climbs on top of the bed but doesn’t get under the covers.

“Won’t you get cold?” I ask with worry as he wraps his arm across me and pulls me flush against his chest.

“Wendy, if I get under the covers with you, there is no way I can keep my promise. And I never break my promises, Wendy. Not to you, I won’t.”

I smile and snuggle into him tighter. “When I finally can feel you’re all right, I’ll get dressed,” he says, “but I’m not releasing you until then.”

My smile grows wider, and just before I drift off to sleep, I swear I hear him whisper, “I am not letting go ever.”

Chapter 10

Hook

“The difference between Peter and the other boys at such a time was that they knew it was make-believe, while to him, make-believe and true were exactly the same thing.”

Peter & Wendy

- J. M. Barrie

PRESENT DAY

My blood boils, her words from before winding their way through my skull and down to my black heart.

“I believed in the wrong boy at the wrong time.”

Fucking bullshit!

“And it cost me more than he will ever know, because he’ll never be man enough to understand what he once lost.”

Leaning in, my breath comes in harsh waves as it releases against her lips. My eyes scan hers. My hands shake in rage.

“Wrong?” My question comes out an accusation as I remember her words from a few moments ago. “Wrong, Darling?”

I expect her to back down, much like I did as I studied her from my bedroom window last night. However, I’m quickly learning this new Wendy has a fight in her I’ve underestimated. For that, I suddenly feel like breaking her.

“You’ll never understand what believing in you cost me, Darling.”

“Isn’t that what we’re standing here trying to figure out? Trying to find?” She mocks me, making evil rise from my gut and spread across my face, into a mischievous grin. She takes a step forward. Her front now flush with my own. When I hear footsteps behind her, I glance over her shoulder to the lost boys and give them a warning with a shake of my head to not come any closer.