Page 14 of Tik-Tok

This was perfect though, because if she’d tried to kiss him standing, it would have been awkward with him being over a head taller than her.

With lazy motions, Tik-Tok leaned back, his elbows pressing into the fur blankets. A sandalwood scent enveloped her. “What is it you want?” His words rolled off his tongue like knives wrapped in silk.

She remembered the motions of the drunken kiss the other night, the way she’d instinctually movedher lips, her tongue. North’s gaze drifted from his scarlet eyes to his lips, and it wouldn’t be the worst mouth she could have kissed. Plump and shapely. A pretty mouth on a dangerously pretty face.

“This,” she finally said, placing a hand to his warm cheek before pressing her mouth to his. There wasn’t any hesitation or startle from him as his lips moved against hers. He parted her lips with his tongue, then swiped it along her teeth, the roof of her mouth, softly flicking it against her own tongue like he had done this a million times. He probably had. His lips caressed and took and gave. This was nothing like the kiss the other night, not a drunken dance but something she couldn’t describe. And his hands weren’t even touching her…

Tik-Tok drew his lips from hers and pressed them to her throat, then inhaled. “You most certainly do have magic in there.”

Then he stood, peering down at her with a smirk. “I seduce, my star—I am notseduced.But, this once, I’m willing to make an exception. Shall we continue? I can keep you up all night, writhing in pleasure, or you can stop playing games that you know nothing about.”

Bastard… Her fists tightened as she tried to wipe the kiss from her lips. “I hate you.”

“I seem to have that effect on fae. But North, it doesn’t stop me from getting what I want. Try making progress with your magic.” And with that, he headed up the ladder.

The door gently shut, not like when Rizmaela had slammed it. Even though the click of a lock never came, she was still a prisoner.

North would find another opportunity to make this work.

Chapter Seven

Tik-Tok

Days of sailing without a destination had Tik-Tok pacing his quarters. The crew didn’t mind—it was par for the course. Unless there was a particularly wealthy ship setting sail that they could plunder, they mostly meandered the sea, stopping at nearby ports as they came about.

But now he had North.

North who was going to open the portal for him. North who had tried to seduce him. Her kiss had caught him by surprise, but not more so than the fact that he hadlikedit. Soft lips that tasted like berries drew him in and, despite how innocent she seemed, made him want more. He still wanted another taste—to slip his tongue between her lips and devour her flavor.

But the little star hadn’t once left her room since she’d boardedThe Temptressnearly a week ago, and she’d barely eaten the meals Kaliko had brought down to her. Tik-Tok had left the door unlocked for her because, although she was a captive, there was nowhere to run. But he was growing tired of waiting. She had a job to do, and it was necessary for her to find her magic.

Of course, it didn’t matter how willing she was to open the portal if Tik-Tok couldn’tfindit. He knew it needed to be opened in the northeastern part of the Nonestic Ocean thanks to his compass, but that was still a massive area to work with. They had already sailed across it countless times in an attempt to see or feelsomethingthat would give him the exact location, but to no avail.

“You’re going to wear a hole in that rug,” Respen said as he magically appeared in the cabin with a tray of salted meat and ale. The elf’s blue hair slipped over his shoulder when he bent to set the meal down on the desk.

“Thanks for knocking,” Tik-Tok grumbled.I let my frustration show for one minute, and someone justhadto walk in.

Respen glanced over his shoulder at the door leading to the deck. “Sorry, Captain. The door wasn’t open and I didn’t want to spill anything with the sea as rough as it is today.”

He grunted and continued to pace. Would sailing the entire northeastern sea again, this time with North present, change anything? Perhaps being in proximity to the portal’s location could rouse her magic. Because itwasthere. The scent of it lingered in his mind, calling to something inside him. It was almost like she wasn’t eventryingto awaken it, holed up in her room as she was.

Respen hesitated at his desk. “Something bothering you, Captain?”

“No,” he snapped, continuing to pace. How could he admit that he had no idea what to do with North now that he had her? Not when she willfully refused to acknowledge she had magic. They’d been waiting for her for more than twenty years. “Why are you bringing me food? Where’s Kaliko?”

“He’s preparing tea for your female and then had some inventory to check so I offered to help.”

Tik-Tok spun on his heel, eyes narrowed. “Tea? This isn’t a damn teahouse, Respen. Why is Cook lighting the fire when the sea is rough?” All it would take was a single ember to fall and the whole ship would go up in flames.

Respen blinked. “I … don’t know, Captain. Kaliko told Cook to make sure North was comfortable. Since it’s extra chilly today, I suppose he wanted—”

“We have a closet full of fucking blankets below deck.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “And I have a fool on board who would rather burn down my ship!”

Tik-Tok stormed past Respen and thundered down into the bowels of the ship where Cook was bustling about. The brownie was young—but old enough to know better—with a jagged scar running across her neck after a failed murder attempt before she’d joined him.

“Are you trying to kill us?” He slammed his palms down on the heavy table, the legs nailed down.

She whirled around with a yelp. “Captain! I don’t understand?”

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