Temper curled through my post-sex glow, making me a little pissed off. No matter how good tonight had been between us, she still didn’t want to stay.
But I’m not ready to go.
So where the fuck does that leave us?
I sniffed. “Look, let’s talk about this some other time.”
“Some other time being a year from now? A decade from now?” She wrapped her hair up in her towel, wringing out the water. The look on her face was tight and threatening. “We can’t hide here forever, Kas.”
My headache flared.
Whispers returned to my ears.
“You’re nothing, Kas. Nothing but a toy to be broken.”
I backed up.
The light inside me drowned beneath dark. The bourbon made me nauseous, and my gaze flickered with the beginnings of a black out.
I needed some space.
Rubbing my mouth with my hand, I muttered, “I’m tired. I can’t have this conversation right now.”
She nodded, her shoulders slumping. “Okay, I understand.”
Needing to fix what I’d ruined, I pushed past my body’s aches and pains, softening my voice with apology. “Before we go to sleep, let’s go find Jareth before we have no choice but to leave because he’s eaten all our food.”
She laughed sadly. “Sure.”
I marched from the bathroom before she could say anything else.
* * * * *
“I’m sorry,” I murmured as Gem appeared from the bedroom. “I didn’t mean to shut down and get pissy.” She’d dressed in black jeans and a heavy knit beige jumper, pilfering the guest wardrobe. “You look nice.”
She shrugged and smoothed the front of her sweater. “I didn’t have any clothes up here, and I didn’t feel like going downstairs in just a towel. Not with Jareth roaming about.”
I held out my hand, my heart skipping a beat when she took it. “If it makes you feel any better, he is honorable. He wouldn’t do anything, even if you were stark naked.”
She sniffed and squeezed my hand. “I know. I get that he’s loyal, and you guys trust each other with your lives, but...”
“But?”
“I can’t get a read on him.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Unlike you being able to read me from the moment we met?”
She laughed under her breath. “Exactly.”
“You took advantage of my lack of interaction and saw things I wasn’t even ready to see.”
“Perhaps.” She fell into step with me as I pulled her down the corridor toward the staircase. I’d never thought I’d willingly come up here and spend time in these bedrooms, but thanks to Gem, the curse of this place had lifted just a little further, giving me more than just rooms but layers upon layers of freedom.
“I’m sorry too, by the way. I got a little ahead of myself. You seem...better. And I grew impatient for everything.” She smiled softly. “Instead of being impatient, I’ll just be grateful for the progress you’ve made. If it’s okay with you...perhaps, I could figure out a way to let my mother and brother know I’m okay, and then I won’t have such a need to rush back.”
I stumbled on a step, halting us. “Of course, that’s okay. I’m not keeping you from them.”
Her eyebrow arched as if calling me out on my bullshit.
“Not anymore at least,” I growled.
“Good to know. Then I’ll try to give them peace of mind without leaving.”
“How? How could you do that?”
“I’m not sure. My PLB perhaps? That black piece of technology you broke on my first night? It’s a locator beacon. If I could figure out how to fix it then—”
“More people would arrive.”
“Yes, but they wouldn’t take me away if I told them I wanted to stay. They could relay a message.”
I snorted with scorn. “You honestly think they’d just turn around and leave you here, in a house of horrors with a guy who looks like me.” I ran my finger along her neck. “With bruises signaling to the world what I’ve done to you?”
She shivered as I dropped my touch. “You might have a point.”
Fresh anger spilled through me. “You’re free to leave at any moment, Gem. If you miss your family, then you should go. I want you to go. I was going to make you go—”
“But I want to stay.” She shook her head, tugging me the rest of the way down the stairs. “We’ll figure something out, Kas. I’m sure of it.”
I pursed my lips, mind racing, head throbbing. After everything she’d given me, I couldn’t stomach the thought that she still felt trapped. That she was still effectively my prisoner, even if we had fallen for each other.
But how the hell was I supposed to give her what she wanted? I wasn’t ready to face the outside world. If I was honest, I didn’t know if I’d ever be ready. The thought of men surrounding me? Women touching me?
Fuck me, it was enough for me to pass out cold in the foyer.