Something flared in Silas’s eyes. “I’m the one who gave you the key to escape.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“They kept you in a gilded cage, they kept you trapped like a beautiful, wild animal,” Silas said. “And I broke you out of there.”
“But—”
“I would never clip your wings.” His murmur was angry and harsh. “I would never confine you to a box.”
I shook my head, trembling from the closeness of him.
“You are a precious thing to me, in so many ways.” A hint of apology tinged Silas’s words softer, pleading, desperate. “You are beautiful just the way you are, and I will never try to change you or control you.”
My body was shaking. I wished I could touch him, hold onto him for support. I could feel how much he meant those words. I could feel it ringing through my body, and I wanted to reciprocate the strength of his emotions in the only way I could.
“But, dammit, you are making it hard to keep you alive.” Silas tipped my chin upward. “I will let you go.Again and again, I will set you free and wish for you to return, but I will never hold you against your will.”
Silas dipped his head, almost reverent, like he wanted to brush a kiss to my lips. I wanted him to; I wanted his touch more than anything. Those centimeters between us were excruciating.
“On that note.” Silas pulled back slightly, rose even taller. “I hear you’ve been telling people that I kidnapped you.”
“I haven’t been telling anyone that,” I said. Then I revised. “Not lately. I might have mentioned it to Millie.”
“Well, rumors are snaking through The Isle that I kidnapped you.”
“You’re not a kidnapper,” I said.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Silas’s eyes twinkled devilishly. “I only said that I didn’t kidnapyou.”
My breath hitched in my throat. This man before me was such a mess of danger and excitement and passion. There was an allure to him that was easy to see. If only I could figure out what it meant for me, and why being around him seemed to scramble my decision-making abilities.
“Are you saying you’ve kidnapped other women?”
“I wouldn’t limit it to women.” Silas brushed my chin with his thumb. “You’re the first beautiful woman I’ve been tempted to take against her will.”
“I feel so lucky.”
Hebarked a short laugh.
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “I’m telling you that I believe you’re a good man, and you’re trying to convince me otherwise.”
A shadow crossed Silas’s face. “I think it’s important to remind you that I’m not who you think I am. For both our sakes.”
“I’ll make my own conclusions, please and thank-you,” I said. “I know you’re a Hunter. I know you want to keep me alive to break this curse. I know you care so much about this island and the people on it in a way that means you’d do anything for them.”
My breath hitched as I paused.
“I know you would’ve kidnapped me if I didn’t come with you willingly,” I said in a rush, “but you already knew that I would. You don’t ask questions you don’t know the answer to.”
Silas took deep breaths, his chest heaving as if this moment affected him as much as it was affecting me.
“How did you know I would come with you?” I asked, turning the question on him.
“Because I’m devilishly handsome, and you couldn’t resist my boyish charm?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Because,” Silas said, waiting until I met his gaze. “Though we’d only just met, a part of me feels likeI’ve known you forever. There is a part of me that is connected to you in ways that I can’t explain.”
