Page 57

“You came onto my mountain with a stalker following you,” I say evenly, closing some of the distance between us. “You think I’m supposed to ignore that?”

“I think you’re treating me like property.”

That lands harder than I expect.

I stop moving.

Nora sees it instantly but keeps going anyway because she’s angry enough to push.

Good.

I like when she pushes.

“You decide where I go. You bark orders at me constantly. You watch me like I belong to you.” Her chest rises sharply with every breath now. “Do you have any idea how insane that sounds?”

“Yeah.”

Her expression flickers briefly at the lack of denial.

“You admit it?”

“I’m aware of it.”

“That’s worse.”

Probably.

Nora crosses her arms tightly. “I’m not one of your rescue missions, Rhett.”

“No,” I say quietly. “You’re worse.”

Silence drops hard between us.

Her pulse jumps visibly in her throat.

Mine does too.

Because that one slipped out.

Because we both heard it.

“You don’t get to just…” She exhales sharply, regrouping. “You don’t get to act like my life belongs to you because we’ve been trapped in a cabin together for a week.”

I step closer again.

Slow.

Controlled.

“But it matters to me.”

“That’s not the same thing.”

“No,” I agree. “It’s not.”

The honesty of it throws her off balance for half a second.

Long enough for me to close the rest of the distance between us.