CHARLIE WAS SNORING again, and Nate and Tom were feeling frisky. There are only so many times I can pretend not to hear them having sex.

These lost boys are free with their loving. I mean that every bit amongst themselves as well as others. For a while, it had been a kick to be one of their playthings.

Tom kissed much like he fucked, fast and furious. Nate was sweet and gentle. And Charlie, he was passionate and hung like a horse.

But despite their sexual gifts, they didn’t care for me any more than they did anyone else.

When I walked in on them fucking each other the first time. Tom had grinned and asked me to join him and Nate. Charlie was standing near the two lovers stroking his long cock.

When I demurred, Tom shrugged and turned to Charlie who jumped in. It couldn’t have been clearer to me than in that moment that I could be anyone. They didn’t want Tinkerbell. They needed a warm hole to place their dicks, and they weren’t particular to where they found it.

I watched as Tom thrust his cock into Nate’s tight ass and Charlie got on his knees and took Nate’s cock into his mouth. It was arousing, and sad at the same time.

I didn’t wait until the grand finale and hadn’t slept with any of them since.

Perhaps this journey was to be an awakening for me as well? I had watched Ebony change as she embraced her femininity. When the truth of her parentage came in question, and she took it all in stride.

She had been incredibly kind to me. In my life, I had been treated many ways, but kind is not often one of them.

Tinker’s are the lowest on the fairy food chain. I don’t remember my family, nor do I remember friends.

But I do remember Puck.

Nate moaned long and loud, and I sat up from my hammock.

Tom raised an eyebrow in invitation when I saw them wrapped up together on the berth.

I smiled but shook my head and quietly made my way to the door.

“Are we bothering you?” Nate’s voice was worried, he was a gentle soul.

Again, I shook my head, “No, I have a bit of a headache. I think some fresh air will be just the thing. I will return shortly.”

Nate and Tom had already gone back to kissing when the door shut.

I noiselessly made my way down the corridor towards the stairs leading to the deck. The closer I got to fresh air the more I knew it had been the right decision. I needed to make some changes.

I didn’t like who I had become, and I wasn’t sure when that had happened.

I stared at the night sky, careful not to get too close to the ships edge. I had no wish to have an arrow through my heart. Even though Silver had assured us that we were far enough out to sea, I didn’t trust it.

If something could go wrong, it would go wrong with me wrapped up tightly along with it.

“Hello, Little Light,” his dark voice wrapped around me like a cloak.

I whipped my head around to see Puck leaning against the wall.

“You can’t take me,” I hated the fear in my voice, “Ebony will stop you!”

His brow wrinkled, “Not Peter?”

I rolled my eyes, “I have long since lost all hope for the men in my life.”

Puck’s violet eyes gleamed, “You have sworn off men?”

I hated how he tied me in knots, “No, I don’t trust men. I have never had one be loyal to me.”

He blinked, and I saw something strange. I wasn’t certain if it was sorrow or regret, but it wasn’t something I had ever seen from the infamous Puck before.

“Why are you here?” I demanded bravely.

“Do you ever think about those days?” his tone was whiskey soaked and threatened to drown me.

“No,” I said firmly. But it was a lie.

Did I remember how it was when we were together? Puck was part of the royal court, and I was lower than a servant, a mere slave. How could I not remember? There were times when he had held me so close. There were other times when I would feel the tenderness in his gentle caress of my hand.

“You don’t recall the nights my head rested between your silky thighs lapping up your cream? You don’t ever think about riding my cock, your breasts bouncing with every thrust?”

I gave him my iciest glare, “It must not have been that memorable.”

Puck’s eyes narrowed, and I expected him to say something cutting. That was his way.

There were too many times when his sharp wit had left me in tears. Puck had never lifted a hand to me. But he had made it clear that I was the slave and he the master.

“As you say,” he turned his head away, and I caught his devastatingly handsome profile.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I demanded hotly.

Puck’s violet eyes met mine, “It was a long time ago, Tinkerbell. Perhaps, I have romanticized the past. I will leave you to your quiet.”

He shoved off the wall, barely brushing past me, but my skin felt scorched. My reactions to this man were like a moth to a flame. I couldn’t allow him to burn me again, and so I said nothing.

But it didn’t stop me from watching his every step.

I made my way back down to the cabin I shared with the boys. They had gone between ships during the voyage, but for this night they chose to be together. I heard the action before opening the door.

One guttural cry I knew had to come from Charlie. He must have awoken and joined the fray.

Suddenly, I was exhausted. I laid my forehead against the wooden door. I had no wish to join them in person or spirit. I just wanted to get some sleep. When was the last time I had been able to rest? The sad thing was, I couldn’t remember.

“You can have my berth,” that voice again, he consistently dogged my steps.

“I am not sleeping with you,” my whisper was laced with daggers.

Puck stepped out of the darkness, “I didn’t say I would be in it.”

I scoffed, “You are telling me that you will allow me to take your bed? Me, a lowly slave taking the bed of a noble lord of fairy?”

His jaw tightened, and he stepped forward, “You are not a slave, Tinkerbell.”

“And we are not in fairy,” my words hung between us, “I won’t allow you to trick me again.”

The muscle on the side of his cheek ticked, but he remained calm.

“Tinkerbell, you are in need of rest. There are dark circles under your eyes. I am only offering you a place to sleep.”

“And you climb into my bed when I have drifted off?” I laughed harshly, “I know that game already.

“Did I do this to you?” Puck ran a hand through his hair. “Did I make you into this cynical woman that cannot see a hand of kindness when offered?”

Puck hadn’t been unkind, but kind—no. I was a slave, little more than a possession. One didn’t care about their possessions and certainly not their slaves.

“Life has made me into who I am,” I felt my lips tremble, and I tightened them. I wasn’t going to cry. I never cried.

“I give you my word as a member of the royal court that I will not allow anyone to disturb the room you are resting in. No one will enter, and you will have your sleep. Is that agreeable to you?”

I was tempted. My body felt bruised, and at that moment I felt every one of my thousand years.

“You swear?” I blurted out taking a step forward.

“I swear,” was his solemn vow.

Minutes later I found myself wrapped in blankets of the softest silk. These were straight from fairy, and it had been an achingly long time since I had felt their softness and been cradled by their warmth.

But it was nothing compared to the scent of Robin Goodfellow. He was the only man I have ever loved, and the person who had shattered my heart.

Little Light, if he only knew my light had gone out long ago.