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"How'd you end up in my cabin?"
"I stumbled across it. It was getting dark, and I figured it was safer in here than it was out there."
"Why were you out there alone?"
She hasn't mentioned her family, her home, or anyone waiting for her. Is anyone looking for her? Is she alone in the world?
She places her fork on her plate, glancing away from me. The vibrant Thalia I've gotten to know today fades, drawing into herself. I don't like it. Not at all.
"I ran away," she says.
Jesus.
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter."
Oh, I think it matters a whole hell of a lot.
"Tell me, Thalia," I demand.
She squares her jaw, silently refusing.
"Now," I growl.
She glares at me, those sapphire eyes flashing fire at me. "Do you think you're the only one with a father who has plans for your life that you don't agree with, Troy?"
"What do you mean?"
"You aren't the only one being sold into marriage," she snaps. "Mine informed me that I was to marry on my 21st birthday. It didn't matter to him that I didn't want the marriage. He said either I followed through or I'd suffer the consequences. He intended to take my freedom. So I made my choice and left."
She says it matter-of-factly as if it doesn't hurt her at all, but her eyes tell a different story. Her father broke her fucking her when he said that to her.
Jesus. What a fucking prick.
Perhaps I'm no better. Because even in the face of her pain, possessive jealousy churns through me. Someone else thinks they have a claim on her. Her father thinks he has the right to give her to someone else.
She isn't his to give away. No one has a claim on her except for me. Hell will freeze over before I allow her to marry anyone else.
She belongs to me and only to me.
Is this why she's so willing to give herself to me? To keep herself out the hands of her father and the motherfucker who thinks he can take her from me?
If I were an honorable man, I'd tell her that she doesn't have to fuck me to ensure my protection—that it's hers no matter what. But I'm not that man. I want her in my bed, and I'm willing to play dirty to get her there. My protection is hers; no one will take her. But if they come for her, it'll be long after I've possessed every fucking hole on her delectable body.
"Are you finished eating, Thalia?"
"Yes," she whispers.
I push my chair back from the table, rising to my feet. My boots are heavy on the floorboards as I circle around the table toward her.
She stares up at me, her eyes wide, confusion swirling through them. "What are you doing?"
She asked, so I tell her. I let her see the jealousy raging through me—the obsessive need to possess and claim. She's seen everything else. I won't hide this from her either.
"No one has a claim on you except for me," I growl, leaning down to scoop her up into my arms. "I'm taking what's mine so everyone knows who you belong to, sweet Thalia. Including you."
"Oh," she whispers, shivering.
