“Why don’t you tell me? You are the one who walks back in here as if you haven’t been missing for three days.”
“Three days—no, it’s only been a few hours!”
His gaze darkens further. “It’s been three fucking days,” he snarls.
“That’s not possible. I swear, I walked to the trees and a stream and then came back.”
“There is no stream you could have walked to and made it back within one day.” His tone is flat, and I see the accusations in his eyes. He thinks I’m lying.
“Rafferty, I swear.” I plead with him. There’s no way. It’s just not possible!”
“Were you with Taranus?” he questions. “Did you let him fuck you? He promise you can be queen?”
The black in his eyes expands, and while I know it’s not really Rafferty speaking these things, it’s hard to ignore the way his words rip me open. “I’llnevergo to him.”
“Seems to me you might want to start feeling better.”
“I’d rather die,” I choke out.
Rafferty stands, letting the water drip from his body. And even as I don’t want to, my traitorous gaze drops to his chest, to the V leading down to his massive length. My lips part, heat burning in me.
And when I let my gaze travel back up to him, I’m struck by how fucking magnificent he is.
“Would you?” he questions.
“Rafferty, come back to me,” I whisper. “Please. I know this isn’t you.”
He leans down. “This is me. Or do you no longer like what you see?”
“Rafferty.”
He steps out of the tub, and I do my best to scramble out of the way before he can get to me. Nothing like two hundred plus pounds of angry naked muscled man coming toward you. Unfortunately, I move much slower. Rafferty grips me from the ground and carries me toward the bed.
“Put me down!”
He throws me to the bed and reaches for my wrists. When I see the rope he retrieved without me noticing—my adrenaline surges. I kick at him, pushing against him.
“Let me go! Please!” Tears stream down my cheeks. I cannot be bound. He cannot tie me up. Keep me here. The lack of control—“Rafferty!” I ball up my fist and slam it into his cheek.
Rafferty stills, and I freeze.
He closes his eyes and breathes deeply, still holding onto me.
“I swear. I didn’t go to Taranus.” And then I remember, I have a witness. “I spent no more than a few minutes talking to—Ailis!”
Rafferty releases me and steps back. The gold in his eyes expands, the black contracting. But he doesn’t breathe. “What the fuck did you just say?”
“Ailis,” I repeat. “I talked to her by the stream. She said you guys knew each other. You can ask her. We only talked for, like, five minutes, and then I came back. I swear!” Tears stream down my cheeks as I plead my case. If he tries to tie me up—I honestly might just drive the dagger into myself.
I willnotbe kept as a prisoner. Never again.
“You spoke to Ailis?” Each word is spoken carefully as though they carry an extreme amount of weight.
“Yes.”
“Describe her to me.”
“Dark hair, golden eyes, very pretty. She said she isn’t after the crown, that she stays out of things.”