Page 102 of Once Upon a Fable

She was mine to fuck, kill, or betray.

She’s still my enemy.

Her shock gave me enough time to grab her wrists, bind them together, and wrap the rope tight around her.

Her mouth fell open as she jerked back, doing her best to fight me off. “Seriously?You seriously just tied me up after what we just did?”

“Perhaps it’sbecauseof what we just did.”

I’m hurting.

Give me time to figure this shit out.

“Argh! You don’t give up, do you?”

I kept my voice flat and cold. “Not while you’re still breathing, no.”

She sucked in a worried breath. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I rolled out my shoulders. “It means, if you keep pushing me, I’ll keep pushing back.”

“If you let me go, then there’s nothing to push against. We had sex. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Fuck, yes.

It’s screwed me up and blown me apart and I’m barely fucking functioning.

Gritting my teeth, I checked the tightness of her knots, forcing myself to hiss, “No. It meant nothing.”

Tearing her wrists away from my grasp, she snarled, “You’re unhinged.”

Tell me something I don’t know.

“I don’t particularly care what you think of me.”

“Well, you should. If you got out of your head for just two seconds and let yourselffeel, then you wouldn’t be able to do this.”

I laughed blackly. “Emotions are the reason I am the way I am.”

“Emotions you’ve suppressed and not dealt with.”

Our eyes met, fight to fight, anger to anger. “I don’t need psychiatric help from a girl who climbs rocks for a living.”

“Well, you need help from someone.”

“And that someone definitely isn’t you.”

She huffed. “You’ll regret this. If you kill me after what we just did, what we justfelt, then you’re not just full of demons, youareone.”

“Who said anything about trying to kill you?” I cocked my head, my breath harsh.

She narrowed her gaze, searching for a trap. Raising her bound wrists,she sneered, “Why tie me up then?”

“To stop you trying to escape.” I pointed at the Jeep and rolled my eyes, wincing against my headache. “Thatiswhat you were trying to do, was it not?”

She dug her toes into the mud, rage planting her in place. “I need to go home. I have people who will be worried about me.”

“Not my problem.” Grabbing her wrists again, I tied another knot, just to be safe. I ensured the restraints were tight enough not to wriggle out of but not too tight to cut off circulation.