For all its ramshackle exterior, Kas had kept it impeccable inside. Had it always been so rough outside, or was that Kas who’d done his best to camouflage it?

Swallowing, not sure why I was willingly entering into conversation with him, I asked over my shoulder, “Are you the reason weeds are growing out of the gutters, or was that part of the original design?”

For a few seconds, he didn’t answer me, almost as if he’d chosen not to reply, but then a quiet, almost reflective sentence floated back to me. “I don’t like heights.”

I stopped and spun to face him. I kept my eyes off the dead bunny and focused on his ruggedly, annoyingly gorgeous face. “What? But you climbed up...” I waved at the cliff. “Up there after me.”

He snorted. “Didn’t exactly have a choice, did I?”

“Yes, you did.”

He brushed past me, deliberately rubbing our bodies together even though we were in a giant meadow with plenty of space to avoid each other. “I’m sure, by now, you know letting you go was an impossibility.”

I hid my shiver from his closeness. “Because you wanted to keep me for sex.”

“Originally.” He licked his lips, his gaze skating down my naked legs to my bare toes.

I missed my boots. My soles weren’t nearly as hardened as his. Getting poked by grass stems and having to watch out so I didn’t stand on an irritable bumble bee was annoying.

He licked his lips, not trying to be seductive but achieving it far too well. “But we both know it’s something more now.”

My belly flipped.

I stepped away from him.

He cleared his throat and continued toward the hidden house, swinging that poor rabbit as if it’d personally offended him. “And to answer you fully, the ivy was planted to do exactly what it’s done. It’s eaten up the brickwork and blurred its outlines, keeping Fables secret. However, the dirt on the roof and the weeds in the gutters are thanks to years of winds, storms, and birds that have deposited shit up there, and I haven’t gotten around to cleaning.”

I followed him once the chain pulled tight between us, dragging me forward. “Do you have a ladder?”

He threw a scowl over his shoulder. “Of course.”

“Then I’ll go up. I’ll clean the roof.”

He slammed to a stop, his mouth falling open. “Why?”

“Why?” I stopped too, planting my hands on my hips. “Are you asking why I’d bother cleaning off something that helps aid the camouflage or why I’m offering to help with a task you obviously aren’t keen on?”

“The second part. Both.” He cocked his head. “Why would you help me after...everything?”

I honestly don’t have a clue.

I cocked my head too, both of us watching each other like inquisitive birds, unable to figure each other out, regularly shocked and continually intrigued, but most of all deeply aware that there was something far, far deeper swirling between us than our current captee and captor roles.

“Leaks.” I blurted, giving him a simple answer instead of a tricky one.

“Leaks?”

“If you don’t keep the gutters clean, then water will flow into the wall cavity. It will cause a leak, which will cause dampness, which means you could get sick from mold spores or catch a chill.”

“Don’t you mean we could get sick or catch a chill?” His eyes pinned me to the spot.

I knew the answer he wanted. Even with the chain around my ankle, he needed affirmation that I wasn’t going anywhere. But for all my attempts at understanding him and all my missed opportunities to leave, I wasn’t prepared to be his forever. While I was forced to stay, I would do my best to keep things civil between us. But that was as far as this odd relationship could go.

Dropping eye contact, I murmured, “I’m not yours forever, Kas. I’ll never be.”

It was my turn to brush past him, not looking back as we left the meadow and stepped over the threshold into his home.

Our home.

No, his. Always his, never mine.

The rabbit suddenly went flying past my face, landing on the kitchen bench with a gross thud. “Seeing as you’re so keen on helping all of a sudden, gut that. Slice the meat off its bones and cook it.” Stalking to the length of chain lying on the floor that permitted full freedom within Fables, instead of the shorter one currently binding us, he snatched something from his pocket, unlocked the padlock from his waist, and with a flick of his wrist, somehow reattached my part of the tether to the longer part now attached to him.

He bowed, catching me watching him. Hissing beneath his breath, he wobbled a little as his balance faltered. He bared his teeth, his mood switching to harsh animosity. “You’re free to wander, my dear Gemma Ashford.” His strange, shadowy eyes narrowed. “Free but not free, if you get my meaning. Oh, and yes, you are mine. Forever too if I choose it.”

Moving toward the hallway leading to the servant’s stairs and the foyer beyond, he added, “I expect to eat in an hour. All that exercise has made me hungry.”

What the hell is his problem?

I probably shouldn’t have said what I had. But then again, had he truly been affected by my muttered ultimatum or had his concussion made him switch personalities again? I eyed him warily, looking for a sign that he might snap and attack me. “And if I don’t do what you command?”

Spinning, he wedged both hands against the doorframe, looking as if he’d been strapped to a cross or some mercenary gloating over his enemies. “Then I’ll give you a lesson in the culinary arts.” His smile was black. “After all, I have read every book in this library, and there are quite a few good recipes. Some even include organs, entrails, and blood.” He pointed at the rabbit. “Waste not, want not, and all that. I suggest, if you just want a nice juicy thigh, you get moving.”

“Care to explain why you’re back to being an asshole?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

“Yes actually, I do.” My nose went in the air. “You say I don’t respect your boundaries, yet it’s you who doesn’t respect mine. Look at what happened today. You hurt me...again, but I was able to put that behind us. I’ve been nice to you and it’s backfired every single time. I literally just offered to clean your gutters and—”

“And ensured I was highly aware that this, that we, are just temporary in your mind. Whereas for me—” He punched himself over the heart. “You are more permanent than anything.”

“You can’t expect to keep me like a favourite toy, Kassen!”

“And you can’t have this both ways, Gemma.”

“Both ways?” My own temper fired hotter to meet his. “You’re the one who switched the moment you walked inside.”

“No, you’re the one who just admitted you’re still looking for a way out.”

“I said no such thing.”

He laughed coldly. “You said it right to my face.” He lowered his chin, watching me beneath his brow. “I saw it in your eyes. I heard it in your voice. It wasn’t just the words you used but the way you said it. Seems you’re not the only one who can read a person. The more I get to know you, the more secrets you share with me.”

I trembled with fear and fury. “Do you honestly think I will turn my back on my mother, my brother, and not try to leave? You’re naïve if you think I’ll put you before them.”

His fingers dug into the doorframe. “You don’t have a choice.”

“Perhaps not, but by removing my choice, it ensures I’ll never drop my guard around you. Never be anything more than just your prisoner.”

“Did I say I wanted more?”

I sneered, drinking in his face and the agonizing hurt in his stare. He might be learning how to read me, but I’d already become a master at reading him. And his features were carved with frustration. With need. With a hunger that only came from being denied true company. He’d accepted that he no longer wanted to be alone. I’d conveniently fit the role in becoming his valley companion. The only problem was, he hadn’t asked. He’d told, and well, I was stubborn when it came to being told anything.