Page 70 of Ruthless Scoundrel
“If you’re going to keep standing here all day, you have to wear a lifeline. That’s not a request.” His face is pinched tightly in frustration as he works the knot.
I follow the trail of the rope over to the mast. “What if someone trips on it?”
“No one is going to trip on it unless you pull it taut right under them,” he says, meeting my gaze as he manipulates the rope. “Which I wouldn’t put past you…”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to be a wretch to someone I don’t even know.”
He grunts in a way that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
“Youstole meand put me in chains on a slave boat,” I whisper. “I knew enough about you to be a wretch. It wasdeserved.”
He looks up from his hands and I swear he’s purposefully taking his time with the knot. “I’m not saying it wasn’t.”
“Then what was that…noise,” I say, not wanting to use a word that might make him smirk.
“Just a noise.” He smirks anyway, making my blood boil. “I think you’re reading into things.”
“And I think we’ve talked enough for the whole trip,” I snap.
His eyebrow ticks and he sighs as he finishes the knot. “There, now you won’t be able to escape.”
I scoff. “You know I can’t swim, and with these”—I hold up my chained wrists—“I’m as good as dead in twenty seconds.”
His face becomes unreadably placid. “I’ve seen death as your preferred method of escape before. Why couldn’t it be again?”
Because now I have more things to live for. Now I have the possibility of an alliance with selkies. Overthrowing the queen and taking back the kingdom seems closer to reality with that future in mind, and I won’t jeopardize it.
I give him a tight-lipped smile. “I guess you’ll just have to watch me then, won’t you? I’ve got enough slack in this rope to wrap it around my neck before I throw myself over. The drop might not be far enough to snap my spine, but maybe I’ll choke faster than you can get to me.”
He scowls down at the rope, then glares up at me. His eyes shine with opal light and he leans into me. My breath catches in my chest as I watch him react and show me just how much he’s been hiding all morning.
His hands tighten on my waist and his body crowds mine against the taffrail. He gets so close I have to turn my face away. My heart is hammering behind my breast, and I snap my mouth shut to keep from panting. When his lips brush the tip of my ear, I have to swallow back a whimper.
“I will tie you up in the hold for the rest of the journey if you make another threat like that. Test me, Reina, and I will show you the lengths I’ll go to keep you safe, even from yourself.”
The possessive, absolutely animalistic rumble of his voice makes me shiver, andthisis the reaction I want.Thisis him needing me.
I turn my head so we’re cheek to cheek. “Is this that specific depravity for chained-up princesses on their knees and begging?”
Something flexes against my hip, and I realize that both of Jasper’s hands are still on my waist.
“You forgotbratty,” he growls. “And you certainly are fitting the bill right now.”
The way he says the word makes me want to act up, tobratmore. “Well, if you tie me up in the hold, you’ll have to watch me there, too. There’ll be sailors down there frequently. Who knows what lengthsI’llgo to escape you?”
His erection bulks against my hip harder and he laughs deep in his throat. One of his hands snakes up my back, sending shivers through my spine and down my legs. He grips the nape of my neck and presses his lips against my temple as he whispers, “You like testing me, don’t you?”
My eyes fall shut at the tenor of his voice.
This is exactly where I want him.
“Yes,” I whisper.
He curses softly. “You enjoy the manacles on your wrists, being curled into my side, tied to me?”
Do I like it? I hadn’t thought about how easy life has been since he abducted me. Hard, but simpler. And as for being curled against him, his hand tucked around my waist and his soft breath on my neck. It was…
I don’t let myself think on it.
