Squeezing my eyes, I almost succumbed to pain-induced vertigo as I swayed in his grip.
“Trust me,” he murmured, reaching beneath my arms to scoop my weight, helping me stand.
I moaned as a few of the shallower cuts reopened, oozing painfully.
“Can you stand on your own?”
I wanted to berate him. Ridicule his kindness with what he’d done. But something in his eyes implored me to relax—to not fight him on this particular subject.
I blinked, completely lost as to his motives or plans.
Slowly, I nodded.
Leaving me to wobble in place, he pulled free a large bandage from a first-aid kit on the floor.
Between my teeth, I muttered, “You always intended to patch me up...afterwards?”
His eyebrow rose, locking me in his stare. “You still don’t understand.”
I struggled to suck in a decent breath with the intensity in his gaze. “I understand plenty.”
He shook his head. “No, you don’t. You think we’re going to torture and maim you for the next few years. Yes, your future is set in stone, and yes, it will hang over your head until it’s finished. But you have to keep living, keep experiencing. You’re part of our family now. You’ll be treated as such.”
My brain whirled.
“In answer to your question, I always intended to tend to your wounds, just like I will do with every debt. You’re mine.” His lips twitched. “In sickness and in health.”
Temper flared through my blood. “Don’t twist the vows of matrimony. This isn’t a marriage. This is the worst kind of kidnapping.”
His eyes hooded, hiding his thoughts. “A marriageisa kidnapping. After all, it’s a contract between two people.” He came closer, unravelling the end of the bandage and holding it against my side. My arms wrapped around my naked chest hating that even now, even after everything he’d done, my skin still rippled with want.
His face tightened and he grabbed my wrists, placing them forcibly by my sides. “Arms down.” His attention turned to holding thebandage against my ribcage. Once in place, he moved in a circle around me, wrapping my torso caringly in gauze. The soft fabric granted needed relief.
I bit the inside of my cheek. How was it that the gentlest of his touches killed me the most? I’d never been this light-headed without the curse of vertigo. Never been this confused by one person.
Jethro kept his eyes down as he waltzed around, slowly binding me with more of the bandage.
On his second rotation, he murmured, “In a way, wearemarried.”
I rolled my eyes, cursing my taut nipples. “In no universe would this be called a marriage.”
He sighed. “How do you explain the similarities then? The fact we were raised to be a part of each other’s lives, groomed by families, governed by dictators, and forced into a binding agreement against our wishes.”
The air solidified, turning from unseen substance to heavy bricks of truth. My head snapped up, eyes latching onto Jethro's golden ones. “Whatdid you just say?”
The man he kept hidden blazed bright.
Against both our wishes.
That was the second time he’d said it.
Go on. Admit it. Say that all along you’ve been acting. That this is as repulsive to you as it is to me.
We stood silent, neither of us willing to look away in case it was interpreted as defeat. Slowly, the concern in his eyes shifted to glittering frost—the chill I knew so well giving him somewhere to hide. “You misunderstood me, Ms. Weaver. I meant to sayyournotour—slip of the tongue.” He continued wrapping the bandage around my middle, covering my breasts with the length of softness, protecting the seeping cuts on my back.
I wanted to yell at him. To find the crack I’d just witnessed and force it to turn from hairline into crevice. But I stood silently, breathing hard as he finished wrapping me like a priceless present, securing the bandage with a small clip.
He stepped back, admiring his handiwork. “You did perfectly, Ms. Weaver. You repaid the First Debt with strength, and you’ve earned a reward.” He moved closer, wrapping his arms around me. His embrace scalded, heating the lash marks to a boil.
