Page 20 of Hook

“Quiet, princess,” he murmurs, his voice as sinful as the rest of him. “You’re exactly who I wanted to bump into again. Have you been dreaming of our time together?”

Fear and excitement swirl in my stomach as this man makes me feel things I don’t understand. Piero is gorgeous, but there’s something about this man that makes my body set on fire with one look. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since the party, but I shake my head. “Certainly not,” I say.

He smirks. “I’m not sure I believe you.”

“Why is it you wanted to bump into me?”

“Because I invited you here.”

I swallow hard, as I wasn’t expecting him to confess that easily. “You sent that message to my voicemail?” I confirm.

He nods and grabs my hips, making me gasp the moment his hands are on me. And then he yanks me into the bathroom, slamming the door shut and turning the lock on the door. Fear fills me as he turns around, a wicked look in his eyes. “You’re going to come with me. We can do it the easy way or the hard way. It’s entirely up to you.”

“And what exactly is your exit strategy?” I ask.

His smirk is villainous as he advances toward me. “I hope that’s not what you’re pinning your hopes on, that I can’t get you out of here.” He tilts his head. “Why do you think I waited to approach you when you went to the bathroom?”

I glance around and realize there are two large frosted windows leading out to the back alley of the restaurant and all the blood drains from my body.

I need to stall and hope Tino comes looking for me. “So, what’s the easy option?”

“You climb out of that window over there and go with me without question or putting up a fight.”

I bite my inner cheek, knowing that whatever this man wants with me, it can’t be good. “And the hard way?”

His brow raises. “A part of me hopes you choose it, so I get to carry your sweet ass out of the window.” He licks his bottom lip. “I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on you again, princess.”

“Don’t call me that.” I hate that this man is assuming I’m a weak-willed woman who will roll over for him. “And I think I’ll take option three.”

He tilts his head in intrigue. “And what exactly is option three?”

Grabbing a knife out of my pocket, I point it at him. “Fight you to the fucking death.”

His eyes flash with appreciation. “You’ve got fire, I like it.”

My dad taught me how to fight from a young age, even though it isn’t very feminine. He said it was more important that I remained safe if anything like this might happen.

“Give it your best shot,” I say, getting into a defensive stance.

“I’m not going to fight you.”

“Why? Because I’m a woman?”

He smirks. “No, because I need you in one piece.”

“For what, exactly?”

The man, whose name I still don’t know, sighs heavily. “You women and questions.” He starts forward and I jab at him with the knife, slicing the skin on his right arm as he tries to grab me.

He hisses as blood pools at the wound, eyes narrowing to slits. “That wasn’t very nice, was it?”

“Did you think I was bluffing?” I shake my head. “I will stab you through the heart without hesitation.”

His smile widens. “Oh, I don’t doubt it, Gwendolyne.” And then he moves forward again, but this time he reads my move before I make it and manages to disarm me, knocking the knife a few feet away by the door.

Shit.

“How about we go at this without weapons?” His eyebrow arches.

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