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THE WORLD AROUND MEwas fuzzy and warm, and until Erin’s desperate whimpers roused me from my ecstatic stupor, that was enough. Floating through the haze of satisfaction, the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of it all no longer mattered, and neither did the man I’d become.

My past was a dirty, dark web of violence that the woman bound beneath me knew nothing about, and I’d have liked to have left those days to history. But history had a strange way of repeating itself sometimes, and the deeds I’d committed and would rather forget tended to rise to the surface.

At those moments of despair, ghosts I thought I’d banished breathed guilt and judgment into me when they demanded their five minutes in the sunshine. They came all too often, haunting me with their heads held high and their black, lifeless eyes that seemed to bore into my very soul, and there was nothing I could do to repel them.

There were days when those specters had surrounded me, making it difficult to breathe until I responded to their insistence, but I had no answers for their restless souls; no confessions that could quell their impending doom.

I was a killer.

I’d done what I’d done, and while I took no pride in the brutality, I’d pocketed the cash. That was the monster I’d been before I took tourists around the wilderness.

Shifting my weight from Erin, I rolled beside her on the bed to catch my breath, and for the first time, I realized something. Being around her had hushed those ghosts. Since I’d taken her over my knee, our energy seemed to have vanquished those unwanted spirits completely.

Turning my head, I watched her roll onto her side to face me, her eyes full of questions. I had queries too—about her transformation from resistor of my touch to someone who appeared to revel in it, but I had no will to speak them and burst the precarious bubble we’d created.

The feisty brunette had swung from angry to yielding in a matter of moments, and while I’d loved every moment of the passion, I had no idea how long the change would last. Whatever happened, I wasn’t ready to let her go, wasn’t ready to give up on the blissful distraction she’d brought with her. If that meant keeping her in ropes until I could trust her behavior, then so be it.

“Is that better now, little girl?”

For the first time since I’d darted out of bed to stop her from starting her lunatic trek out into the snow, I actually cared about the response. I didn’t claim to understand the woman, but I knew the best way to keep her around was to offer her at least a little of what she thought she wanted.

I was certainly happy to keep fucking her.

“Much.” She nibbled her lip. “Thank you... sir.”

My lips curled at her breathy reply. Whether she’d realized how much she enjoyed submitting before I’d directed her behind the cabin’s door, I didn’t know, but her body’s primal response to my lead seemed almost too good to be true.

“Good.” I wanted to reach for her, to offer something in the way of solace in the afterglow of our climaxes, but I didn’t.

The atmosphere around us had shifted, as though the energy had built to the ferocious fuck we both craved, and in the aftermath, an uncomfortable calm had returned.

Staring at her, I wished I could be honest about the power she held over me, but that type of sincerity would destroy the fragile connection we’d carved. She could never know who I really was, where I’d been, and what I’d done. I just needed to keep her around to keep my demons at bay.

“My shoulders are hurting, though, sir.” Her brows knitted. “Can you untie me now, please?”

A pang of guilt echoed in my usually empty chest, and pulling myself upright, I leaned closer to assess the ropes.

“How are your hands?” Tugging at the binds, I loosened them a fraction. “Can you still feel them?”

I’d been remiss in my duty of care to her. Forcing her to her knees and shoving my dick down her throat had been one thing, but not taking care of her physical needs was quite another. As it was, we’d barely eaten, and if we stayed at the cabin too much longer, we’d run out of wood for the fire.

“They went a little numb when you were fucking me.” Her lips tugged. “But it’s my shoulders that are bothering me.”

No doubt Erin wasn’t used to being anyone’s captive.

“I’ll release you.” It pained me to have to say it. Even though her request was entirely reasonable, I’d grown used to the titillating display she provided. “But I’m going to need you to be good, little girl.” I ensured my gaze pierced her. “That means no dashing out into the snow until we’re ready.”

Her cheeks flamed. “We’reready, sir? Does that mean you’re coming with me?”

I laughed as I unfurled the knots I’d secured. “I’m certainly not letting you venture off on your own!”

“You don’t think I’m capable, do you?” She sighed, glancing down at the bed as though there was any shame in the admission.

“I think if any of you had been capable, you wouldn’t have paid James to hire me.”

“Yeah.” Her jaw tightened. “You’re right.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Yanking away the final bind, I eased the rope away from her delicate wrists and threw it on the other end of the bed. It had done its job for the time being. “That’s my role now.”

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