And he’d just held me.
Held me as if I’d crushed his heart, smashed his world, and set fire to all the ruins.
We were silent.
Still.
Suffering.
His cock had been wet from my orgasm, his tip still oozing with his. The night had thickened until the entire world seemed to hold its breath. Waiting for...something. Waiting for our games to end and fate to set us free.
I’d waited for him to kiss me.
To tumble off the ledge he’d shoved me off and shatter at the bottom beside me.
I waited and wanted and wished harder than I had for anything.
But then, the moment was over, and he’d swallowed hard, pulling away as if it physically hurt him to sit in the dark, wordless and full of warning.
“Offering yourself to me again so soon, Gemma Ashford?” he murmured, stepping into me, grazing my nipples with his heated chest.
We shuddered in equal measure.
Fire sprung between us, tiny flames licking across our skin and slithering through our ribs to our messed-up hearts.
My eyes struggled to focus as I drowned in his dark stare. Even in the sunlight, I couldn’t tell what color his gaze was. Not black, not brown, not dark blue or green. They were colorless in their shadows.
His hand came up and cupped my breast, rolling my nipple with talented fingers. “Get dressed before I string you to a tree and feast.”
I did my best to hide how he affected me. “I can’t dress.” Raising my bound wrists, I smiled coldly. “Not unless you untie me.”
He cocked his head, dropping his hand from my breast and taking a step back. “There won’t be a day in your future that you won’t be tethered to me. I suggest you get used to it.”
“Then I suggest you get used to waiting on me hand and foot, seeing as I won’t be able to do a single thing for myself.”
Plucking the dangling rope, he pulled the leash so I tripped into him. “If anyone is going to be the slave in this scenario, it’s you.” His eyes glittered with something unreadable. “And don’t worry. Tying your wrists is just a temporary measure. I have something far more suitable back home.”
Anger swelled within me. Anger at myself and him. I’d let sex cloud my mind. I’d allowed softness given in sleep and slivers of kindness in the dark to conveniently forget our dynamics had not changed.
He still intended on keeping me a prisoner.
I still intended to escape.
And no matter how skilled I thought I was at seduction, I hadn’t been successful at changing his mind.
With sudden swiftness, he pushed me to the side, grabbed the bag of spare clothes, and yanked out a pair of merlot-colored leggings. Bending, he grabbed my left foot and shoved them up my leg, then repeated with my right. He pulled them up matter-of-factly as if he’d dressed another once upon a time.
Not saying a word, he fumbled at the knot holding my hands together and unwound the rope just long enough to shove my arms into a T-shirt with my local climbing gym’s logo on the breasts, then drape me in a gray windbreaker.
I’d be too hot, but at least I was covered.
With biting fingers, he pulled my wrists back together, wrapped the rope, knotted my imprisonment, and pushed me away.
He didn’t even bother watching me to see if I’d stay put, too focused on leaving camp immediately. With hurried hands, he tipped out my backpack containing my backup laptop, extra video recorder, and spare hard drive.
“Hey!” I darted forward. “Be gentle with that.”
“You won’t be needing it.” Elbowing me away, he scooped up the rest of the chocolate, candy, packet pastas, and water bottles and stuffed them into the bag. With a glower, he hoisted the stash onto his bare shoulders, fisted the rope keeping me prisoner, then dragged me away from my Jeep.
Away from my freedom.
Away from any hope of seeing my family and house again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
WHAT THE FUCK HAD I been thinking?
Touching her while she was asleep?
Allowing myself to kiss her? Permitting that gooey, fluttery feeling to infect my chest?
The minute she’d fallen asleep, all my hate and hurting had vanished.
I’d frozen in disbelief that she’d willingly fallen unconscious in my presence.
Me?
The guy who’d trapped her, used her, and promised a lifetime of ownership.
Not even my Fable family had been so trusting with each other.
Her vulnerability carved giant holes inside my heart. I’d felt...protective toward her. My entire purpose on earth was no longer about me, but her. My job was to shelter her during the night, safeguard her from monsters, and ensure she remained safe, warm, and comforted.
Christ, could I be any more of an idiot!
Stalking ahead, I tugged the rope binding her to me.
For the past five hours, we hadn’t said a word to one another. We’d trekked through the still damp forest, following the trail that we’d run the night before.