She lifted her chin and crossed her arms over her chest. “Or what?”
Blake yanked her over his chest and held her with one hand on her ass and the other on the back of her head. “You don’t want to find out.”
“You won’t hurt me,” she said with conviction.
“Not in a physical way. But I can hold off mating with you.”
“What will that do?”
“It will be extremely uncomfortable for you. Your body needs me to fill it with my seed, and if you’re not getting enough, your body aches.”
“But your body will, too, right?”
“Yes, but I’m used to this pain. You are not.”
She stared at him and could tell she wasn’t going to be able to change his mind at the moment.
“Do you understand?” he asked.
She nodded.
He studied her face for a moment, then brought it down to his and took her lips. With that touch, her need spiked, and her body demanded he take her and fill her with the seed to make offspring.
Simone gasped. Where did that thought come from? She never thought she’d have children because she didn’t think she’d ever get married. Frankly, life was hard enough.
“Easy, mate.”
“What?” she asked.
“I can feel your turmoil. Would you like to discuss it with me?”
She opened her mouth but immediately shut it and shook her head. “I … not yet, okay?”
His eyes narrowed, but he nodded. “There will be no secrets between us.”
She nodded.
“I need to feed you and get you bathed. It will make you feel better.”
“How do you bathe in a cave?”
“Baby, I’ve lived here for six years. I’ve lived comfortably. I don’t have a TV or the Internet, but there are many things I do have that are beyond your imagination. Let me show you.”
Chapter Five
She hung on as Blake lifted her out of bed and took her down another tunnel to a cave that opened into the size of half a football field.
She found it strange when she first saw how the light seemed to bounce off the walls and brighten the area. Her mouth fell open when she caught sight of a small oval pool of water in the middle of the room. What shocked her was the steam that rose from it.
“What in the world is that?” she asked.
“About six months after I left town, I found this. No one else found it because it had a pile of rocks in front of the opening, and I had to move some big boulders to get in. I explored the caves. They go on for a while, and I’ve blocked the entrance to the side so no one can get in, but we can get out if needed.”
He set her on her feet, wrapped an arm around her waist, and held her back against his chest so she could see everything.
“When I found this part of the cave with the hot spring, I knew I’d live here. I’ve been working on the cave for the last five years.”
Her gaze darted around the room. “This is amazing.” She didn’t know where the light came from. She just knew it made the water a silvery blue that lightened the whole room.