To look at me.

I couldn’t let him.

I honestly didn’t know if I’d have the courage to go through with this if those unfathomable eyes of his captured mine.

Do it!

Do it now!

Dashing forward, I erased the small distance between us and collided with his back before he could fully twist to see me.

Adrenaline whipped down my limbs, turning me shaky as I snatched his left wrist and shoved it into my rope lasso.

His other one!

Get his other one!

“What the—” He spun on his heels, raising his arm as he did, tipping me off balance.

I swung with him, determined not to let him go.

Our eyes locked.

Fire to fire.

Our hearts kicked.

Soul to soul.

Betrayal blackened his face as he noticed the rope that once bound me now prepared to bind him.

His mouth opened to speak again. His gaze burning into me, making me char with guilt, making me feel things he had no right to make me feel.

Don’t you dare stop, Gem!

Crashing into him again, I reached for his other arm.

I tripped as he stumbled backward, moving toward the drop off, backing away from me as if he forgot he could overpower me in a second. Undiluted fear shone in his stare before being drowned out by fierce cruelty.

“Think you can switch roles with me?” he snarled, his arm still too high for me to grab. “You’ll pay for this.” His chest pressed against mine. His thigh wedged between my legs as I jumped like a five-year-old trying to get candy from his fingers.

This was ridiculous.

My plan was crumbling before it’d even begun.

His other hand, with the rope dangling uselessly around his wrist, latched around my bicep, digging his nails into my skin. “Christ, I’m going to have fun reminding you of your place.” His cock hardened, tenting his slacks. Long hair danced around his wild face.

And that cursed electricity hissed into being, pebbling my nipples, making my body crave his.

No!

Gritting my teeth, I tried one last time.

Striking his hand off me, I gave it everything I had.

“I’m not going back down there!” Leaping upward, I managed to grab his forearm, clinging with all my strength, desperate to drag his arm down so I could wrap them tight together.

The only problem was.

He was too strong.

Too tall.

Too much.

It was demoralizing.

So, I let go.

He grinned, thinking he’d won. “You are going back down there. Or are you forgetting you’re mine now?”

Try again.

My thighs bunched, ready to jump and tackle for a third time. “I’m mine. Not yours.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” He smirked. “We’ll have plenty of time to discuss who owns who when we get home.”

“My home is in the opposite direction.” My eyes flew around the forest, assessing anchor points, galloping with new alternatives for my plan.

I needed to incapacitate him. It was the only way I could flee.

“Wrong.” His jaw worked, black possession etching his face. “Your home is with me now. I’m your home.”

My heart fluttered.

For a man as sheltered and as twisted as him, he knew how to use words as blades. Simple sentences had the power to stop me in my tracks, make me question everything, and somehow cajole me into agreeing with him.

What if he was my home?

What if we were destined to meet and—

Stop.

This was the crux of why I could never trust myself with him.

He wasn’t just dangerous to my body. He was dangerous to my entire existence.

My hands balled.

I crouched.

Last chance.

He chuckled coldly, watching me coil to pounce. “You don’t give up easily, do you?”

“When it’s my life on the line, never.”

His eyes tightened. “You forfeited your life when you—”

“Trespassed on your valley. Yes, I know.” I swallowed back fear and committed. “Consider this me fixing that mistake.”

I leaped.

His eyes shot wide in surprise.

I’m sorry.

My entire body weight crashed into him, knocking him off balance, sending him reeling, lurching...falling.

Falling!

“No!”

Who shouted that? Me or him?

His foot vanished off the edge of the cliff. His other ankle rolled, and his weight pulled him back.

It happened sickeningly slow.

Falling, tumbling...

“Fuck.” He said the word calmly, detachedly, almost as if he was already resigned to his death. Already lived it, seen it, become friendly with it. His eyes met mine as he continued to fall. Almost serene. Almost grateful.

“No...oh, God.” Instinct kicked in and I grabbed at the rope around his wrist. “I’ve got you.” I locked my fingers around the end just as he plunged off the edge.

I caught it.

I held it.

His weight snatched it out of my hands.

His stare caught mine one last time, full of lust, despair, and blistering connection.

And then...

...he was gone.