“No. I’m afraid you’ll get lost in this huge goddamn house.”
“So you’re confident that I won’t leave the first chance I get?”
I pulled my hand through my hair, taking a deep breath. Just thinking about her leaving made my blood boil. It was impossible for me to even ponder the thought of her no longer waiting for me in the bedroom without standing on the brink of losing myself to anger.
“Answer me, Castello.”
I lost it.
With a jerk of her hand, I swirled her around and pushed her against the wall, bringing my face inches from hers.
“I see we still have to work on your capacity to keep your mouth shut when the situation demands it.”
“Is this a situation that demands my silence?”
“Any situation that angers me is a situation that demands your silence.”
She lifted her chin. “A confident man shouldn’t get angered so easily.”
I grabbed her upper arms, pulling her closer. “And a woman in your position should learn to know her place.”
“What position am I in, Castello? Where exactly is my place?”
“Where I fucking say it is!”
My voice boomed down the hall, my anger echoing in every word. The way Tatum stared at me with bewilderment I knew I had scared her. But I didn’t care. Maybe it was a good thing, Tatum being scared of me. Maybe if she feared me, she wouldn’t dare walk away from me.
I let go of her arms, and her shoulders slumped forward while she took a few steady breaths.
Jesus. Shewasscared of me.
With a deep breath, I held out my hand to her. “Come on.” But she didn’t take my hand. She straightened and looked me in the eye with a cold, hardened expression on her beautiful face.
“Am I still your prisoner, Castello?”
Goddammit. I wasn’t ready for her to ask that question. I knew the words swirled around inside her mind ever since we got here, burning the tip of her tongue. But somehow I’d managed to avoid this conversation…until now.
The truth was, I didn’t know the answer to her question. Deep down, I wasn’t sure whether she was still my prisoner or not. All I knew was that there was no way in hell I’d ever let her go. In other words, my answer depended on whether she would leave or not if given the choice.
I gave a step back, never taking my eyes off her. “Only you hold the answer to that question, little mouse.”
“What does that even mean?”
I reached out and placed my palm against her cheek. “I’m never letting you go, Tatum. So it’s up to you whether you’re my prisoner or not.”
I didn’t wait for her to respond. I grabbed her elbow and started down the hall, a heavy silence hanging over us like a threatening storm. It was suffocating, almost impossible to breathe amidst all the confusion and conflicting emotions that raged all around us. She expected me to give her an honest answer; she wanted me to tell her the truth about what was really happening between us. But I couldn’t. Honesty wasn’t something I could give her right now sinceIwasn’t even sure what the fuck was happening between us.
She didn’t say anything. Like an obedient pet, a silent prisoner, she let me lead her to the bedroom we had shared up until now. The bastard in me loved it, the way she so easily slipped into that role. But the man in me hated it. Hated seeing her lowering herself to nothing but a…slave.
I opened the door and gestured for her to walk in. She didn’t look at me as she made her way into the bedroom, which was probably a good thing since I wasn’t sure how I would handle the disappointment that was probably plastered all over her face.
“I’ll be back soon.”
She didn’t reply, so I closed the door and stared at the mahogany wood for a few seconds before I decided to do something I had never done before.
I turned the key…and locked the door.
Chapter 3