Leaning back on my hands, I tilted my head, waiting to see what she’d choose.

Her eyes locked on the leather coil beside me. Questions ghosted over her face, followed by stubborn pride not to ask. She was smart beneath her stupidity of trespassing and offering herself up to me, so she probably already knew what the cuff entailed.

Another means of captivity that she wasn’t prepared to address right now.

Once again, she stood in a dilemma. She swayed toward the bathroom, hugging her chosen clothes. If she left, I’d order her to return. I wanted to watch. Therefore, she had no choice but to let me.

She seemed to know that—once again reading me correctly.

That unnerved me but could also prove useful. If I groomed her well enough, all it would take was a simple stare, and she’d be on her knees ready to serve.

My balls tightened.

She’d surprised me that she hadn’t run when I’d left earlier. Then again, the hollowness in her eyes when I’d tipped up her chin hadn’t been faked. No one could fake that depth of unhappiness. In that, we had things in common, and I was both proud and slightly sick that I’d been the one to put such sadness there.

She surprised me again as she finally made her choice. Inhaling sharply, she whipped her head back around and dropped her towel.

Instantly, my cock swelled and ached.

I’d seen hundreds of stunning women. Slim ones, expensive ones, cruel ones. But never had any of them come close to the provocative perfection of this girl. If I had the freedom to touch myself, I would have.

I would’ve unzipped and fisted and worked myself to another release all while she bent over, silently stepped into the underwear, and slid them up her thighs.

I swallowed a groan.

She didn’t dress seductively. She did it quickly with jerky hands as if my eyes on her made her twitch, but no matter the perfunctory motions, she couldn’t stop the electricity sparking between us.

Maybe she didn’t feel it, but I sure as hell did.

I doubted I needed batteries and solar power to work the lights for Fables. Her power alone could light up this entire valley—shining spotlights into all the dark corners, the blackened corridors, and the many shadowy rooms where a thousand secrets refused to die.

The satiny pants clung to her legs as she pulled them to her waist. The outline of her spine, flanked with powerful muscles, flexed as she slipped a white T-shirt over her head, followed by the gray sweater.

The clothes were a little tight, adding to the sex appeal of her strength.

With her nakedness now covered, her shoulders slipped back with more confidence. She slowly turned to face me with balled hands and a cool look in her eyes. “Thank you for the clothes.” She licked her lips. “Are there any spare amenities I can borrow? A toothbrush? Hairbrush? Maybe some face moisturizer?”

I stayed where I was on the bed. I couldn’t get a read on this girl. She refused to be afraid of me. She remained polite despite her entrapment. She obeyed me when I commanded pleasure, and apart from her moment of emptiness inside the bathroom, she’d shown no signs of breaking.

She would’ve made a good member of our team...before the end came.

The Fable household would’ve benefited from her more than most. She would’ve been worth any price if she continued to protect her soul and trade her body for things that benefited her survival.

“Did you hear me?” she asked quietly. “Any spare toothbrushes at least?”

“Vanity. Bottom drawer.” I waved toward the bathroom. “There’s a kit.”

“A kit?”

“Spare items that a guest might require during their stay here.”

Her eyes flared. “So, you do have guests? What is this place? Some type of Air BnB?”

I scowled. “I have no idea what that is.”

“It’s a third-party program that allows homeowners to rent their properties to vacationers. Kind of like a hotel, but you stay in their personal homes.”

That sounded godawful. “You sleep in someone else’s bed?”

She shrugged. “Well, yes. Isn’t that the same principle of a hotel? Multiple people sharing the same bed? The sheets are changed, but the mattress is the same.”

My skin crawled, and I shot off the bed I was sitting on.

Fables wasn’t that sort of place. We weren’t a venue for hire. Randoms couldn’t just pay to stay here. To be invited meant you were elite. To have a permanent bedroom here meant you were untouchable.

“Get the kit and finish whatever you need to do. I’ve wasted enough time on you.” Crossing my arms, I lowered my voice to a snarl, “Hurry.”

She backed up, keeping her eyes on me as she crossed the bedroom to the bathroom. With a wary look, she darted inside. The sound of a drawer opening, followed by the zipper of a leather bag echoed back.

Tracking her on silent feet, I leaned against the doorframe as she unwrapped a toothbrush, squirted a new tube of paste onto the bristles, and almost sank in relief as she tasted minty freshness.

I never looked away as she cleaned, spat, rinsed, then applied the expensive moisturizer to her face before quickly running a brush through her shower-damp hair. My cock never deflated, and by the time she was done, I danced on the decision to make her serve me again.

She was nice and clean. Skin dewy fresh and lips just begging to be messed up with my cock.

Placing everything neatly back in the bag, she zipped it up and went to put it in the drawer.

“Keep it,” I said, pushing off the door and wincing at the pain between my legs. “Take it with you.”

“Take it where?” Her eyes met mine as she spun to face me.

“Where do you think?” I stepped toward her. “Your accommodations, of course.”

She balked. “Wait...you’re taking me back down into the cellar?”

I laughed with ice. “You didn’t think I’d upgrade you to this room, did you?” Waving my arm at the opulence and the many escape routes, I shook my head. “And give you the keys to run? This isn’t secure. We both know that.”

Even with a leash, she could possibly get free if I wasn’t here to supervise.

I wasn’t prepared to take that chance.

She huffed. “I won’t run. Didn’t I already prove that to you?”

“You merely proved your limits. You let bodily functions get in the way of your ability to stay strong.”

And you don’t?

The fact that I couldn’t touch my own cock. That I could handle anything—literally any-fucking-thing—yet I still couldn’t get past my aversion of self-sex. If I was braver, I had the answers inside my messed-up skull. Somewhere inside me, I knew why that was. But if I had my way, I would never remember.

Fury blazed through her gold-hazel eyes. “You’re saying you find me weak?”

“I’m saying you need to get over such things if you’re to survive here.”

“And that turns you on? Watching me use the bathroom in front of you?” Her lips turned into a sneer as she glanced at my stiff erection. “Any other fetishes I should be aware of?”

“Not a fetish. Just a part of life.”

A fragment of memories shot into my head. The soothing tones of a girl I’d once loved. The sobs of a boy I’d hugged in the dark. The stench of a communal bucket being used by all of us. We hadn’t had the luxury of being given a bathroom. We hadn’t been given privacy. Fuck, our bodies hadn’t been ours since the day we’d stepped through the cave and entered this place.

Christ.

Ice water shot down my spine as I shoved such things away and slammed the door in my mind.

What the fuck?

That shouldn’t have happened.

I’d spent a decade forgetting. I would forget for the rest of my life. Until she’d arrived, I could go months in blissful oblivion, alone and not fully recalling why, content in my loneliness because I knew there were things far, far worse out there.

First the sleepwalking and now remembering while I was still awake?