Wanderlust • Peter Pan

eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

several hours later...

Pounding pain struck my head repeatedly as I opened my eyes to see my surroundings.

I was still in the forest, except I felt groggy and I was almost certain that Felix had knocked me out and left me.

"Felix?" I called for him but it was no use, he was long gone.

Trying to stand only made me aware of the rope that bound me to the tree. "For heavens sakes."

It took me over twenty minutes to free myself of the rope by trying to cut it with the blunt edge of my ring.

I would've cut it with one of the arrows but Felix had taken my hunting weapons.

Walking seemed like the only option I had, unless I wanted to live in a tree again until Pan found me.

The more my feet pattered against the floor, the more I wanted to get back to my hut and sleep.

First I heard low snorting, followed by the rustling of the long grass I was trudging through.

Pink skin was just visible through the grass. I decided to make a run for it.

The hog squealed and fought underneath my weight, its large tusks barely scraping my skin. I took the silk from my waist with great struggle and strangled the hog until it was lifeless.

"Diana!" A voice in the distance called for me. My eyes lit up once I recognised the constant call of my name.

"Pan!" I jumped up, waving my silk in the air for him to see. He came racing towards me in one motion, grabbing my arms and shaking me.

"Why didn't you come back?" Pan looked me over. "Felix told me you ran away."

Tying the silk back around my waist and readjusting my book, I sighed. "Felix knocked me out, long enough to tie me against a tree, steal my weapons, and take off."

"I'll deal with him later," Pan tucked my hair behind my ear. He spotted the dead hog on the floor at my feet and grinned. "I see you can take care of yourself."

"I didn't want to come back empty handed, especially after what I did."

Pan turned cold after I reminded him of prior events. He backed away from me in disgust. "Well, we should get back."

"Pan, for heavens sakes, why can't you just forgive me?" I tugged on his arm, forcing him to look at me.

"Because you broke one of my rules, if you were any one of my lost boys you'd be in the cage right now." Pan raised his voice at me.

His dark green orbs narrowed on mine. "No."

"No?" He challenged.

"You're just afraid because I'm a girl, because I called you by your real name. You're scared I'm going to mean something to you, more than any lost boy could."

Pan laughed at me feebly. "Is that what you think?"

He cornered me into a large tree. Slowly moving forwards even though I was stuck in place.

"I do."

A hand gripped my waist, it steadied on the fabric of my dress, pulling me into his hips.

My breath faltered in my throat, the air around me becoming less vital.

Pan's green orbs studied my face carefully, his hand stroking my cheek. He gripped onto my hair, resting his thumb just before my ear and stroking my skin.

Before I could even register what was happening, his lips attacked my parted ones, they moulded together like they were one being, bounded by restless souls.

My hand tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck, this simple action made his lips part more and allow me to take control.

I pushed myself off the tree and cornered him into it, rising on my feet to reach his height and deepen the kiss.

"We should get back to the camp." I broke away from Pan. "You can finish 'proving' your point some other time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pan rushed after me, carrying the hog on his shoulders.

"That wasn't just a kiss and you know it." I fought Pan on the matter, "Whether you like it or not, you like me."

Pan laughed, "I'm attracted to you, very much so, but that means nothing in the way of feelings."

"So, what you're saying is that you aren't infatuated by me? Not one bit?" My gaze lingered on Pan's mouth for a little longer than it should've.

Pan narrowed his eyes at me. "Indeed."

I patted his face quickly before jogging ahead. "We'll see about that!"