Page 41 of Split or Swallow

“Don’t give me that shit again. I’m perfectly willing. I just made that crystal clear.”

“You are perfectly willing to have sex. But not to do any of the other things I mentioned.”

“You want me to be patient? To follow instructions? You think that’ll make the prince want me? Trust me, he only wants one thing. And you’re not teaching me how to do it.”

It seemed like the angrier Tem got, the calmer Caspen became. He was perfectly still, looking down at her with his arms bracketed on either side of her body, holding her in place beneath him. His cock was still hard.

“The prince will expect you to yield both your body and your mind. If you cannot give him both, there is no point in training you at all.”

“Maybe I don’t want to yield my mind. Why should I?”

Caspen didn’t answer. Tem propped herself up so their faces were an inch apart.

“Why shouldn’t he yield?” she insisted.

“Because he is the prince.”

“So he can do whatever he wants?”

“The royals make their own rules.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No. It is not.”

Tem blinked. Had Caspen just agreed with her? It seemed like his reply had slipped out before he could stop it—like he hadn’t meant to say it.

They stared at each other for a long moment. His next words were barely a whisper:

“You are not meant to be tamed, Tem.”

What was he saying? That he didn’t think she had a chance with the prince? Tem bristled at the thought. If her own teacher didn’t believe in her, then he was right: there was no point in training her at all. Or was he saying that he didn’t want her to have a chance with the prince? That he wouldn’t change her, even if he could?

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She meant to say it harshly, but it came out as a whisper.

Now Caspen was the one to pull away. He sat up suddenly, and Tem felt a rush of cool air as his body heat left her.

“We are done for the night.”

Tem’s mouth fell open in shock.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Get dressed.”

“But—”

“Get dressed, Tem.”

Tem flinched. He had never raised his voice at her before. His face was a cold mask of detachment, his aggressive tone in horrible contrast to the way he’d been treating her all evening. There was nothing gentle about it. Tem was reminded, suddenly, that underneath the man, he was a monster.

Tem got dressed.

Caspen disappeared while she was pulling on her clothes, and when he reappeared, he had a tray of food. But instead of sitting and eating with her, he set the tray down on the mat and left without another word. The cave was glaringly empty without him, and Tem fought to hold back tears. How had the night ended so p⁠o⁠o⁠r⁠l⁠y when it had started so well? It was then that she realized he had taken the claw with him. She didn’t bother eating. She just ran home.

The next time she came to the cave, it was clear they were back to square one.