I shivered.

I showed a weakness.

With a soft groan, he slid higher, grabbing my ass before planting both hands on either side of my hips. His fingers bruised me. His tongue licked where his teeth had indented his bottom lip, and whatever messed-up power between us destroyed everything.

He paused for a second.

A single second when his black eyes turned liquid with passion and pain. A second when he had the power to make my entire womb clench for him.

And then, he yanked me forward.

He jerked me so hard, I fell against him.

My bound hands landed on the top of his head for balance. I struggled in his imprisonment. I fought him, but he just held me firm. He nuzzled into my belly, all while I pulled his hair. He nipped my skin as I reared back.

He grunted as his mouth found my core, and I screamed for the third time.

He wasn’t gentle. He wasn’t shy.

His tongue licked me, then fucked me. Spearing so deep, he hit my clit with his teeth, and his nose buried into my flesh.

I couldn’t stand.

He held me up as I broke.

His arms shook as he held me right where he wanted, plundering my pussy, his head bobbing between my legs, his fingernails digging cruelly into my hips.

He ate me as if he’d been there before. As if he knew our height would match, my pussy would welcome, and that I would come for him even harder than before.

His tongue drove me toward an edge that appeared without warning.

It was sharp and jagged, dangerous and full of warning.

If I fell off it—if I let him push me over the edge—what would happen at the bottom? Would I ever be able to walk again? Would I ever trust myself or believe in my inner compass of right and wrong?

“Christ, you taste good.” His tongue dived deeper, possessing every dark part of me. His teeth nipped, and his noises of need and desire shoved me higher, higher. “You taste like earth and me and every other dirty, delicious thing.”

The fact that we were filthy.

That he’d come inside me and now licked me clean.

It was disgusting. It was mind-blowing. It obliterated every boundary that ought to be maintained.

“Come.” His tongue swiped over my clit. “You owe me another.”

The first spindle of an orgasm sparked.

His tongue swept back to my entrance and fucked me faster, his hips thrusting up from the mud.

Another spool, another ripple, the final crest of something excruciating.

No

No.

The crash of a horrendous wave, the rapid unfurling of bliss.

NO!

“Stop!” I fell backward.

I threw myself at gravity’s mercy and tumbled out of his control.

He grunted as my body tore from his hands and his tongue slipped from my core. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the fall, quaking with the desperate need to come.

Mud splattered me, my teeth clacked together, and I winced as I landed ungracefully on my ass with my hands bound in front of me.

I opened my eyes.

He sat there, lips glistening, chest pumping, eyes glassy with lust.

In his unguarded surprise, he looked hurt. Hurt that I’d left him at the most critical point. Lost that I’d chosen to stop instead of allowing him to claim more of my pleasure. He looked eager and young, and hell, it would be so easy to crawl over to him.

To kiss him in apology.

To shove him onto his back.

To sit on his cock spearing so hard and hungry between his legs.

To say yes to whatever was between us.

But if I did that, it was all over.

I would be admitting that I was the biggest idiot alive.

That I believed I had feelings for this monster, this kidnapper, this would-be murderer.

No.

No way.

I’m not that girl.

Scrambling to my feet, I turned my back on him and sought solace in the only place I could. Ripping open the door of my Jeep, I crawled inside and slammed it in his face.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

I RAIDED HER BELONGINGS.

How could I not?

I hadn’t seen anything new in over a decade. I wasn’t materialistic, but even I got bored with the same fucking mansion all the time. An hour passed while I sat on the tailgate of her vehicle and systemically went through all her belongings.

Fleece blankets that were so much softer than the woolen throws in the games room. Spare set of clothes similar to the ones she’d been wearing when she’d trespassed, and miniature solar panels with cables which I assumed were for charging all the technology tucked safely in a small backpack.

Occasionally, she’d twist in the front passenger seat and peer at me suspiciously. Her eyes would follow where my hands went, and her nostrils would flare when I touched things personal to her. Her stare made my skin prickle. Her judgment made my heart skip a beat, but I didn’t stop.

I didn’t stop invading her space because I was pissed.

Fucking pissed, actually.

If I didn’t keep my mind occupied, I might show her just how pissed. Just how annoyed and angry I was. How deeply frustrated.

My cock was still hard, still wanting her, still ignoring me not to care. It twitched all over again as I relived what it’d felt like to feel her pussy clenching around my tongue. She’d been on the pinnacle of coming.

I knew that.

I’d felt the pressure building inside her.

Yet she’d rather fall on her ass than let me give her pleasure. Frankly, that left a bad taste in my mouth. A shameful kind of whisper that said maybe she didn’t enjoy fucking me, after all. Maybe, when she’d come around my cock, it had been a lie—just like I’d accused her of.

It reminded me of all the guests who’d used me. Who’d grunted as I fucked them and moaned as I did what they commanded. They’d all pretended to care. But when it was over, they’d snapped their fingers to summon my master and have me dragged from their sides without a backward glance.

The similarities between her and the mistresses of my past were starting to slice me apart. In so many ways, she was utterly different. She reminded me of my Fable family. She had the spark of Elise and the bravery of Sarez, but in other ways, she was still my enemy.

It didn’t matter what my stupid heart whispered.

Didn’t matter how much I wanted her.

Didn’t matter that I couldn’t get her out of my goddamn head.

Nothing would change the fact that we were stuck with each other, and it wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. We already hated each other. That hate would only fester deeper the longer we survived in each other’s company.

The rain continued to fall but at a gentler flow than before. The soft pitter-patter on the vehicle’s roof ought to have been soothing, but it only made my temper flare hotter.

I wanted to go home.

I felt...itchy out here.

Too far from the safety of my mansion; too much distance between me and the protection Fables now offered.

Once upon a time, Fables had been my prison. I’d dreamed of running far, far away. I didn’t remember why I wanted to run, and wasn’t brave enough to go digging, but now? Well, now it was my domain. I’d earned it. I’d exterminated the vermin, chased out the ghosts, and I knew that place better than anywhere.

There was also another reason.

A reason I couldn’t recall right now, but it had something to do with protecting those I’d saved. Something...