“Tickle her!” a young voice piped up.
“Tickle her,” someone else said, and then another, and another, like a wave the voices gathered momentum until soon they were all chanting it.
“Tickleher, tickleher, tickleher…”
A mischievous glint sparked through Peter’s brown eyes as he turned his gaze to zoom in on hers.
“I don’t think so.” She shook her head. If there was anything in the world she hated it was to be tickled, she’d rather be fed to Tic-Toc.
“Girl,” Peter said, “I find you guilty of treason—”
“What the fu…dge.” She caught herself before she muttered what she’d really wanted to say. Which, why she was censoring for a pack of hoodlums she had no idea. “You haven’t even tried me yet. Where’s the judge, where’s my jury? Why am I even here!” she screeched with frustration and stomped her foot, whole lot of good that did, but if someone didn’t stop this soon, she’d do something stupid.
Like snatch Tinkerbell out of the air and yank her busy, buzzy wings off.
Crossing his legs, Peter sat Indian style on the air. A grin curved his wide mouth as he pulled a dented gold star out of his pocket and tacked it onto the front of his shirt. “I’m the judge.”
“Of course you are,” Trisha muttered, crossing her arms. “This is the most absurd, ridiculous thing ever.”
“Why were you with Hook?”
“Boo, hiss, grrr…” The Lost Boys began a choir of chants, stomping their feet and shaking their fists at her at the sound of his name.
“Because she is his mate,” Tinkerbell said, stepping in front of Trisha, finally deciding to say something. However, what she said was obviously the wrong thing, because the cries grew louder.
“Ticklerher, tickleher…”
“I am not his mate,” she growled, “I was brought here by a fairy named Danika, who I don’t think I even like all that much.”
Tinkerbell’s lips twitched, as if she were fighting a smile.
The chanting grew quiet, as every pair of eyes settled on her face. Deciding this might be her best chance to get the truth out before the pack went wild again she nodded. “I was forced into your world, I don’t even want to stay here.”
“How much longer will you remain?”
“A day, I think, maybe. I’m not sure. Your time and mine are very different.”
Peter nodded. “Yes, it is true. I’ve traveled between worlds. And do you swear to leave when the time comes?”
If she were being honest, she liked Hook. She did. The man was smokin’, he was also a fantastic lover. Her stomach twisted remembering how he’d drawn that hook down her body, it made her insides tingle and her heart flutter. But she’d walked away from good bed partners before.
None had ever been as great as him, granted, but she didn’t belong here and great sex wasn’t going to make her change her mind.
She was a human, Earth was her home. Not Neverland, just thinking it was silly. This place belonged in books, living in a world where she had to worry constantly about being kidnapped by demon bugs and even more devilish children just didn’t rank up high on her list.
“I’ll leave.” She nodded firmly.
“Hmm…” he rubbed his chin.
And just when she thought that maybe, just maybe she’d gained ground and that the tide had turned he asked the one question she knew would get them salivating again.
“Swear your oath of fealty to the Lost Boys, agree that Captain Hook is evil, and you shall not be sentenced to death by tickling.”
Licking her lips, she closed her eyes and gave a tiny snort. She refused to be tickled, but she also refused to tell a lie.
“The only bad boy I’ve met here has been you. I do not swear that oath, and I do not think he is evil. I like him.”
Peter jerked as if he’d been slapped, then his hands curled and with a shout of, “Tickle her,” rushed her.
Everything that happened after that was a blur. The Lost Boys were running, their small determined faces more frightening than they should have been, and Tinkerbell was yanking onto the neckline of her spider silk dress and dragging her toward the cliff.
Tinker whispered words quickly into her ear. “You will not tell Hook we were here, you owe me, I saved you once before, I’m saving you again. When you fall yell for Danika, she will find you. Now go!”
Then with a mighty shove Trisha was falling over the edge of the cliff.
Screaming, she flailed her arms and legs and prayed with all her might that a demon bug could be trusted to save her, because there’d be no stopping this fall. A glassy wall of water was rushing up to meet her, wind blew past her face, and her heart was permanently lodged in her throat.
“Danika!” she screamed. “Help!”