Author's Notes: Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I've posted and I am so sorry for that! I am back in school and it's been a little hectic for me, but I will try to update as much as I possibly can, so hang in there! Anyways...enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the OUAT characters, however the story is entirely my own : )

Chapter 7

Blinding light greets her when Wendy opens her eyes and she squints against the sun. She coughs up sea water onto her side, feeling the grains of sand beneath her fingers as she empties her body of water. A shadow moves to block the brightness and she looks up to see Peter crouching down in front of her with fury written across his features. His eyes blaze and his fists are clenched at his side. She sees the sunlight reflect off his hair, casting golden rays everywhere.

He looks like an angel sent from heaven and Wendy thinks that she might be dead. "Am I dead?" Her voice comes out broken and her throat feels like it is on fire.

Peter glares at her. "You should be," he says. She scowls at him.

She slowly gets up, but her legs are unsteady and she stumbles forward, right into Peter. His hands instinctively wrap around her arms as she clings to him. "You know, you are becoming more trouble than you are worth," he says, but Wendy is having a hard time concentrating on his words when her face is pressed up against his bare, wet chest. She gasps, her lips grazing his skin and she can feel him tense around her before he pushes her away roughly, creating distance between the two of them.

Wendy has a hard forming a cohesive thought as she stares at Peter. She saw him half-naked last night, but that was shadows and quick glimpses in the silvery moonlight. Now that she can see all of him in the bright sunlight, her heart pounds erratically.

His chest is tanned to a golden tone and is shimmering wet. Wendy briefly wonders if she might be hallucinating from her prior trauma. Peter notices her stare and his fury gives way to his knowing smirk. She blushes from having been caught and averts her eyes, but she can still feel his eyes boring into her and she feels suddenly very self conscience. She looks down and to her horror, sees that she is only wearing a long shirt that stops on her thighs. She looks up to Peter and his bare chest and then back down to the shirt. I am wearing Peter's shirt.

A blush crawls up her face, painting her skin a bright crimson. Her blood is pounding and her heart is racing. She suddenly feels lightheaded and unsteady on her feet. The ground is swaying towards her. She knows this feeling. She is going to collapse any moment. She swallows and whispers, "Peter…" Her vision is becoming blurry, but she can still feel his beautifully furious face turn to confusion then alarm as she falls forward and everything becomes black except for the distinctive feeling of being carried in strong arms.

Things were getting interesting. He was right in the middle of showing Felix how he was the leader and his decisions should not be questioned when he heard it. It was faint, but it was there. Peter!

Wendy was calling out to him. Him of all people. She sounded desperate. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment to discover where she was. Mermaid Lagoon. Peter groaned internally. How did she possibly wander over to that side of the island? He was sure that his barriers were still in place, so how did she pass through them? He was starting to think that this girl required more effort than what she was worth.

Peter deliberated over that thought. Perhaps he could still make use of her, if only she would stop disobeying him and just do what she was told! He could feel her life flickering, the light that signified the living growing fainter as she most definitely was drowning at the hands of the mermaids. But as he sensed her light becoming dimmer as time passed, something peculiar happened.

He felt a dull pain in his chest, directly where his heart used to be. It nudged him, willing him to go to the lagoon. It was strange, this feeling. He now had no urge to teach Felix a lesson in respect, the only thing he could seem to think at this moment was getting to her. To save her.

He looked down at Felix who was panting, with blood dripping from his nose and then to the direction of Mermaid Lagoon. It was as though she were a siren and he was the sailor, her voice reaching for him, urging him to come to her, and he was helpless under her call. He swore something unintelligible and then looked to the boy still breathing heavily. "I would love to continue, but unfortunately I have to go rescue a damsel in distress. We'll resume this conversation later."

Felix was about to interject and demand what happened, but before he could even voice the words, Peter was gone. He was darting through the trees so fast that if someone were to see him, they would only see a dark blur.

Internally, Peter was cursing himself for not having his full power. If he did, he would be able to get to the lagoon far faster than simply running. He also grew tired more easily. Soon he was panting and sweat was dripping down neck and making his shirt stick to his body in an uncomfortable way. It has been some time since he has overexerted himself like this.

He was growing more frantic as her life continued to get fainter and fainter. Why did he have to debate about saving her? If he had left the moment he heard her plea, he could have gotten there sooner. Now he was paying the price for that mistake, just as the mermaids would pay for theirs.

How dare they try to steal what was obviously his? She was his pawn and he refused to see her taken away from him. He will show them why they do not disobey their king and he was going to enjoy every second of it.

A cruel smile appeared on his face as he drew nearer. Hold on, darling. I'm coming.

He was exasperated. Could the girl stay conscious for more than a minute? When Wendy whispered his name and began to fall, to his frustration, he darted out and caught her before her head hit the ground. Why was it that he cared? He should be laughing at her pathetic state and how weak this girl was, but instead, he was showing… concern. The notion itself was appalling to Peter. He should not be worried for her! He should not be carrying her to his bedroom! And he most definitely should not be enjoying the sight of her in his shirt, the cloth stopping just mid-thigh, exposing those long, creamy legs to his ravenous gaze.

He scoffs. There is no possible way that he, Peter Pan, cares for this pitiful girl. He is just wound up from not being with a woman in quite some time. That is all this is. A primal need and nothing more. That is the explanation that he tells himself as he lays the small girl down on his large bed with a gentless near reverence. The urge to brush back a stray strand of golden hair from her cheek overpowers him and he reaches down without hesitation. Only when the tip of his finger grazes her skin and a small sigh escapes her mouth, does he immediately pull back.

What is he doing? This is not part of his plan. He needs to get this girl out of his head before she completely overpowers him with her soft curves and delicate features. He needs to get her out of his system. A tantalizingly wicked idea comes to his mind. It consumes him completely and sends his blood pumping in delicious anticipation.

He will have her. He will take away the innocent glow that surrounds her and fill her with seduction and wanting. He will send her over the edge and show her pleasures she has never dreamed of. And only when he is satisfied and she is completely shattered will he dispose of her. She will be ruined from anyone else and he will finally rid her from his mind.

A sinister smile appears on his face as he peers down at the innocent girl still sighing softly in her sleep. I will have you.

Wendy's eyelids flutter open. She is tucked underneath the various pelts that are strewn across the absurdly large bed and the fur tickles her nose. She inhales deeply and smells evergreen forest and crisp mountain air, a scent that she has come to associate with Neverland. She closes her eyes only to savor the smell. She pillows her head deeper into the bed and welcomes the peacefulness of this moment, not entirely caring that she is currently sleeping in Peter's bed of all places. Wendy starts when she hears the sound of a throat clearing. She jumps up in the bed and her eyes land on Peter staring at her from across the room.

All the warmth Wendy felt a few moments ago drain from her instantly. The look on Peter's face is not a particularly happy one. His eyes are as black as coal, a color that only appears when he is furious-usually with her. His mouth, usually in his signature smirk, is in a grim line. His face looks like it could be carved from stone. Wendy grimaces. She must be in trouble.

She went wandering off through Neverland, almost drowned by the hands of mermaids, and Peter had to save her from death. Her cheeks flare up, painting her skin a bright red, ashamed of her actions. What was she thinking? She knew that the island was dangerous. Why did she insist on proving she could navigate her way through the Neverwoods without help. She was warned repeatedly not to.

Wendy bows her head and waits for Peter to scold her. When he remains silent, she hesitantly peeks up through her bangs and studies his face carefully. His expression gives nothing away, just a cold and calculated gaze. In a deadly voice he whispers, "So. What exactly did you think you were doing?"

She flinches at his menacing tone. When Peter speaks like this, nothing good comes out of it. Wendy stumbles over her words. "You and Felix were fighting and I-I wanted to go swimming…I thought I could find my way around the island, but… I got lost."

Dead silence.

Wendy refuses to meet his eyes. She instead fiddles with the fur pelts, anxious for Peter to speak again.

The silence drags on for minutes.

"If you really want to go swimming that badly, I can take you tomorrow."

Her head whips up to look at Peter who is staring out the window rather intensely, refusing to meet her piercing gaze.

She is shocked at the kindness he has just shown her. She was sure that she would be met with furious stares and harsh words, but instead, he gave her something that she wanted. Maybe she could do it. Maybe she could get close enough to Peter so he can give her the way off Neverland for her and her brothers. This small act of kindness from him proves that he is not completely cruel.

Feeling more emboldened by the newfound progress in their relationship, Wendy attempts to make conversation. "I never would have imagined that mermaids were deadly creatures. They seemed so sweet and beautiful in the stories." She was expecting an arrogant reply, but she was surprised further when she heard laughing. Real, genuine laughter. And it was coming from Peter.

She stares incredulously at him as he bends over with laughter. His eyes are tearing up and he attempts to wipe them away to no avail. They keep coming. As seconds soon turn into minutes, Wendy grows increasingly more annoyed with his amusement at her statement. Peter continues to laugh hysterically until she sighs exasperated. "What is so funny?"

Peter composes himself and says with mirth still on his face, "Darling, what I find so amusing is that you are completely naive." His words anger her and her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She balls her fists underneath the furs and pelts and says hotly, "I am not naive."

"Trust me, darling. You are." The tears sting her eyes and she struggles to hold them back. She can feel Peter's eyes boring into her, as if he can see straight through to her very center. She manages to keep her head high. "No, I am not."

Peter shakes his head and pushes away from the wall that he was leaning on. He saunters over to her with an arrogant expression plastered on his face. He comes right next to the bed and leans down so that his breath mingles with hers. Wendy's heart stops beating altogether. Their lips are so close that if she were to move only slightly, they would be touching. And she wants to. She wants to so desperately close the last few millimeters between them until their bodies are pressed up against each other. Until there is nothing between them at all. The thought sends a pulsing ache down to her very core and she needs to rub her thighs together to ease the tension.

His emerald green eyes peer into her with an intensity that stops her breathing. His hand moves to grasp her chin, his voice cruel but his touch gentle. "You know nothing of the world. What it truly holds." His voice drops to a gravelly whisper that sends vibrations through her body and causes white hot fire straight to her aching core. "I have seen things so evil and vile that the mere mention of their names would send your blood curdling." Wendy shivers and Peter eases his grip, his thumb swiping slowly and seductively over her bottom lip which sends another shiver down her spine that has nothing to do with the temperature of the room.

His fingers make a path down her jaw and her neck, until they are stopped by the fabric of his shirt still resting loosely on her small frame. Wendy has never wished for anything as desperately as she wished in that instant that the shirt was not there. His palm plays with the collar, tempting and tantalizing, giving her only the slightest of tastes of what he could offer her. He continues, seemingly unaware of the effect he is having on her.

"...I have felt the most extraordinary of pleasures that would shatter your mind and leave you unhinged." Wendy's heart beats rapidly inside her chest and her breaths have become shallow. His words are so tempting and she wants it. Badly. She wants him to rip off the clothing that separates them until there is nothing between them. She wants him to trace every inch of her body with his fingers, followed by his lips. She wants to run her fingers through his golden hair as he ravishes her completely. She wants them to be as close as anyone could possibly be to another. Until it is impossible to tell where she starts and he finishes. And it is so close.

But she pulls back, giving her the much needed space to breathe and think. She has a plan. Get close to Peter-but not that close. Find the way to get off the island. Leave with her brothers and return to London and to their parents. She cannot let herself venture down that path of refuses to give herself to Peter Pan of all people. She will go back home, marry a respectful man, have children, grandchildren, grow old and live a content life. Whatever is happening between her and Peter needs to stop. She does not care for him. She does not need him. And she certainly does not want him. He is arrogant, self-righteous, and cruel.

Wendy repeats this in her head as she backs away from him, allowing herself to breathe and relax. "I will take your word for it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I will go look for Felix."

Peter chuckles and stands up with her. "I don't think you want to do that."

Wendy places her hands on her hips, having fully risen from the warm bed. "And why not?" Peter gestures towards the bottom half of her body and she yelps, quickly running back underneath the pelts to cover her bare legs from his ravenous gaze.

He chuckles to himself as he crosses the room and pulls out a pair of trousers. He tosses them to her and she slips them on underneath the covers. "Thank you," she grinds out, not wanting to be thankful to him for anything. The idea that Peter's clothes are touching her bare skin is almost too much to handle, but she shakes the thought away before it can escalate any further.

She slides out of the bed-now fully covered-and makes for the door, but before she can even step out into the setting sunlight, steel arms grab her waist rather forcefully and drag her back into the house. Wendy is thrown over Peter's shoulder before she can even gather her bearings and is tossed onto the bed once more. Wendy, flustered and confused, looks into his eyes and she catches a glimpse of something there. Something akin to… jealousy? Anger? But surely that cannot be right.

"What was that for," she demands.

Peter shrugs non committedly. "Were you about to go to Felix?" It was not a question. He knew the answer.

"Yes. Is that a problem?" Peter does not say a word. His eyes dart to the window, avoiding her questioning gaze. Wendy sighs, exasperated at his silence. "Why do you care if I'm with Felix or not?"

His head turns to her, his eyes cold and unfeeling. "I don't." But she does not believe that.

"I think that you do. This morning, you and Felix were arguing. What was it about?"

"That is none of your business."

"It was about me, wasn't it? The fact that I had slept in your house instead of Felix's?"

The atmosphere in the room was growing colder. A dark presence was seeping out of Peter and she was suddenly nervous. Perhaps she had pushed him too far? Wendy internally shook her head, instantly ridding the thought. This was Peter Pan she was talking about. He was uncaring and unfeeling. But still… something seemed to be nudging her at the back of her mind.

Wendy prepared to stand up. "Well, I suppose if you don't care, than you wouldn't mind me sleeping with Felix, would you?"

Peter's glare is menacing, the threat clear in his tone as he growls, "You are never to be alone with him again. Do you understand?"

"Why do you care?" She needs to know.

"Wendy." It is clear with that one word that she must stop. She has crossed the line and there is no returning now.

"Why do you care?"

"Wendy-"

"No," she says, cutting him off effectively, and for once, Peter is silent and she takes this as her chance. "You have treated me as though I am an object for you to play with since the moment I got here! You ridicule me every chance you get. Everything I do is a joke to you and I do not understand! What did I do to deserve this treatment?" The words flow freely now and she cannot hold them back. All the anger and frustration that she has been storing away for the past few days is breaking free and she cannot stop. "I have tried to fit in. I have tried to play nice. Even though I was kidnapped from my own home, along with my brothers, to some godforsaken island with shadows and deadly mermaids and psychotic boys and even you! The great Peter Pan! I used to tell stories about you to John and Michael. About how you're the hero who saves Lost Boys and bravely fights pirates and has all these incredible adventures!" Wendy's voice turns bitter as she stares at him with cold indifference."I guess I was wrong."

She feels hollow. Void of emotion. Empty. Her breathing slows and she waits for Peter to retaliate. But nothing comes. She hesitantly looks up at him, expecting to see hatred. Instead, she sees something akin to pain, but he blinks it away far too fast for her to really analyze what that could mean. His eyebrows turn down and his lips are puckered. He stares at the floor, confusion written across his features. She watches him stand there, clearly troubled from her words, and for the first time since she has been here, Wendy feels guilty at what she said.

"Peter, I'm-"

"You're not an object to me."

The air has escaped her lungs. "What?"

"You're not an object to me," he repeats. His cold, black eyes are slowly turning back into his emerald green. For a brief moment, she wonders how he can continuously change the color of his eyes, but there are more important things racing around in her mind. This is the first time that Peter has shown some sign that she is more than just a plaything to him and she is shocked by his words.

"Fine." Wendy does not know what else she can say.

Peter raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Fine, what?" He says, with no small amount of exasperation clear in his tone.

She crawls back underneath the pelts, resting her head gingerly on one of the soft pillows. With her eyes now closed, she responds, "I'll stay here tonight."

She does not hear anything for several moments. She almost believes that he left his own house when she hears, "...Good. You didn't have much of a choice in the matter, anyway."

If Wendy had not already closed her eyes, she would have rolled them with annoyance. He could be so ridiculous at times.

She keeps her eyes closed as she hears movement around the room. Her breath hitches involuntarily when she hears the rustling of clothes and she berates herself because it was so very loud in the quiet house. She knows he has slipped under the layers of pelts when she feels the most delicious heat radiating only a few inches away from her. Wendy gives into the temptation to open her eyes just a sliver and she almost wishes she hadn't.

Much like last night, Peter's muscular back is bare for her roaming gaze and she can stare at the flawless skin painted silver in the rising moonlight. Her hands itch to reach out and map the body available to her. She can feel her heart beating faster and her need growing for something. It was the same feeling that has grown more prominent any time he is close to her. She cannot rid herself of this increasing desire, no matter how many times she scolds herself, but she knows that she cannot give in. To give in would be to give up on all her family has taught her. All of her morals and values would be forgotten. Her parents would be so disappointed in her. She refuses to go down that path. When she comes back home, she wants to be able to hold her head high and proudly say that she did not yield to temptation.

Still, I suppose there is no harm in simply looking. She lifts her eyes once more to the smooth skin, admiring the musculature of Peter's back.

"Enjoying the view, darling?"

Wendy gasps, her face burning a bright crimson. She sputters, trying to provide a reasonable explanation for outward gawking, but nothing comes to mind. She sees his whole body quaking, as if he were trying to contain his laughter. She huffs and then turns onto her other side, oblivious of the hungry eyes that are now gazing at her.

She attempts to cool her flaming cheeks when she hears his mocking voice say, "Goodnight, darling."

Wendy pauses for a moment until she is sure that she can speak without any quivering. "Goodnight… Peter."

Author's Notes: Sooo... what do you guys think? I know not a whole lot of exciting stuff happened in this chapter. It was a bit of a fluff chapter, but in case you haven't figured it out yet, there will be some more mature content in the upcoming chapters! You have been warned! I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far! Please keep reading and reviewing! It really helps to motivate me! And thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with my story, the feedback has been really positive! Until next time!