I heard Damon move, and I looked back at him, giving him a shake of my head in warning. I let out a relieved breath when Damon stayed where he was.

Caleb’s legs were long. For every step he made, I had to take two.

In high heels.

“Caleb?”

He kept walking.

“Caleb, wait!”

“Don’t even—” he snapped.

He was so angry, he couldn’t finish his sentence.

As I stumbled after him, it all sunk in. He was mad? At me? What the hell for? Did he think I was doing something with Damon at the gazebo? The way he kept glaring over his shoulder told me he did. My temper soared viciously.

I tried to jerk my wrist from his hold, but he must have been expecting that. His grip tightened, and his steps quickened.

“Let go of me,” I warned.

Did he know what I’d just gone through with that mental case who was obsessed with him?

Did he know how much effort and patience it took for me to smile and talk to these people who looked at me like I was beneath them?

Did he know what kind of hell I’d gone through today to get to him?

“If you don’t let go of me right now, Caleb, I swear to God—”

“Shut up,” he growled.

For a moment, I wondered if I’d heard him correctly. Did he just tell me to shut up?

It shocked me that he could be like this. He was always playful, always gentle with me, even when he was angry. I wasn’t sure how to process the way he was acting now.

“What the hell did you just say to me? Who the hell do you think you—”

My words caught in my throat as he suddenly stopped and faced me, keeping hold of my wrist. His handsome face was a tight mask of fury as his eyes, hot and hurt, searched my face. Next thing I knew, he’d thrown me over his shoulder.

“Put me down. Now.”

He started walking faster. I could feel the strong muscles in his back and shoulders bunch as he carried me like I was weightless. I lifted my head and saw that he was heading for a small cottage on the property.

“Oh, is that what the princess wants?”

For the second time in the space of a few minutes, my mouth fell open.

Where does he get off talking to me like that?

Indignation boiled in my blood. It pulsed in my temple.

“You bastard! Put me down!”

I flailed furiously in his arms, hitting his back, his shoulders, his arms. Everything about him was rock hard, and my struggle didn’t seem to affect him. It only made me angrier.

“Now is not the time to argue with me, Red.”

I heard the loud bang of a door opening and hitting the wall with force. A few seconds later, I lost my breath as he dropped me unceremoniously on a bed.