Page 238 of Once Upon a Fable

With a groan, I sat up, grabbed the length of chain by her ankle and clipped it to the padlock around my waist. Relief came swift, thanks to the evidence of our joint imprisonment, and sleep came for me too.

Quick and heavy and too hard to ignore.

I closed my eyes as she sighed beside me, nuzzling her cheek into the grass.

* * * * *

Time skipped or I must’ve dozed longer than I thought because when I opened my eyes again, the sun had skated farther across the sky and the clouds that’d danced above us had now vanished, leaving behind a perfect blueness. An endless saturation of soothing horizon.

I stayed lying down, blessedly free of the headaches and the wooziness of my concussion. Slowly, I turned to my side, resting my face on my arm as I watched her sleep.

Her lips were slightly parted, her eyelashes feathering on her cheeks, and dried hair splayed out and blending with the golden grass. She looked so innocent, but at the same time, all I could remember was the way she’d scratched me, attacked me, and fought me back as we’d come together in the storm. I’d imprisoned her to use for sex. Yet somehow, on that hilltop with thunder booming, it hadn’t been sex that’d undone me. It’d been her. The way her legs wrapped around me as I sank inside her. The welcome on her tongue as she kissed me back.

No one—not a single person in my sorry excuse of a life had granted me such acceptance. An embrace that went above just physical gratification and helped erase all the shit that’d been done to me.

I would always be grateful for that, even if she did infuriate me for making my life a thousand times harder.

Her vow that I would never touch her again, never feel that welcome again, suddenly burned through me. My temper sparked as my gaze slid from her lax face to her firm breasts. I got why she never wanted to fuck me again, but it didn’t mean I would permit it. She couldn’t give connection to a desperate man and then revoke it when he’d done something wrong.

It only made him more desperate. More manic. More dangerous.

You can’t deny me, Gemma. I won’t allow you to.

My rage smothered my guilt for hurting her. I’d housed her, fed her, clothed her. The least she could do was open for me.

So...take her then.

My headache returned as my cock swelled and my mind filled with thrusts and slapping skin. My balls tightened and I could already feel the euphoria of climaxing.

But if I took her, she’d hate me. She’d do more than just ignore me for a week, she’d happily stab me in the back to run. And as much as I wasn’t afraid of death, I was afraid of being alone again. What if I wasalone in death too? What if I returned to the purgatory I’d endured for the past eleven years—a ghost with nothing and no one?

I shivered.

Cloying fear drowned out my lust, leaving me knotted and frustrated and struggling to get hold of myself—to follow boundaries instead of being a monster.

She continued to sleep beside me, unaware of how close she came to being taken against her permission. I drank her in, unable to tear my eyes off her nudity.

Her nipples were flat and small, her skin turning slightly pink from the sun. The muscles she’d honed from a lifetime of climbing were stark with definition from the weight she’d lost. The darker blond hair between her legs glittered in the light, and for all my willpower of keeping my hands to myself, I couldn’t.

It just wasn’t possible.

I swallowed a groan.

Christ, I want her.

I could use her right here, right now. I could take her and wake her up as my cock sank inside her. I’d make it feel good for her. But...then our fight would begin anew. Our animosity would grow. Our hate would blot out the fledging friendship we could have.

A few weeks ago, I would’ve gladly taken that trade.

I would’ve been happy just having access to her body whenever I damn well wanted.

But now...?

Fuck now, I wanted more than just her body.

I wanted what lurked behind her eyes when she thought I wasn’t looking. I wanted the truth behind her lies of loathing me. I wanted toknowher. To actually listen and allow memories to form. Memories I actually wanted to remember.

I need to apologize.