Drake froze as the words shattered his already battered heart.

More lies. And the worst of them yet.

His dragon roared in protest as he pulled out and rolled away from her, yanking her robe closed as he went. She’d gone too far and suddenly, there was no fucking the pain away.

It was too deep.

“Don’t ever speak to me of love,” he growled, turning his head so he didn’t have to see her lying there, eyes wide and wanting. His damp cock pulsed against his belly, still ready and willing, primed to finish it. But he was more than just the beast that lived inside him. He was a man, and, in his weakness, he’d clearly almost made another grave error.

It was too soon to be this close to her. He needed to build up his defenses again before dealing with her.

“Drake…”

He held up a hand and bent to snatch his robe from the floor, managing to regain the hard-won icy façade he’d walked in with.

“I’m afraid I’ve lost my taste for it tonight, Willa,” he muttered as he strode toward the door. “You’ll do well to stay quiet and only use the intercom for emergencies. I can’t stand the sight of you right now.”

He stepped out and closed the door behind him before scrubbing a hand over his face in self-loathing.

Christ, that was close.

Not two hours had passed since her knight in shining armor had answered her plea to come and rescue her. Drake’s haze of bloodlust from the fight had barely subsided yet, and already, she’d almost had him. Flashing her breasts. Whimpering for him to take her.

Playing him like a fiddle all over again.

He didn’t know what the game was this time, though. Was she doing it in hopes of garnering favor for her clan so that he wouldn’t kill them when they returned for her again? Or was she just trying to get him to trust her again so she could stab him in the back and escape on her own?

“I love you. Only you.”

He raked a hand through his hair and bit back a growl as he jogged down the stairs. He truly was a sucker of the highest order. If he wanted to gain the upper hand, he was going to have to turn the tables. Shift the tide in his favor.

She’d faked caring for him, he knew that now. But as much as he questioned it, he was more sure than ever that her body’s reaction to him was real. It was a cold comfort, but one that gave him some small measure of satisfaction. If it was all he had, he would use that to his advantage.

Tonight had been an accident. He hadn’t intended to bring them both to the edge, but now, the merits of it were all too clear. If she tried to use her sexuality against him, he would do it again. Get her so close she could taste it.

And then he would walk away.

He didn’t have the stomach to hurt her. Not really. But this? This he could do.

It would be hard—so god damned hard—but if he was right in his suspicions, at least he wouldn’t be the only one suffering.

It was cruel. It was sadistic. And as much as his conscience pricked at the thought, a deeper, darker part of him relished it. If she wasn’t above using sex as a weapon, why should he hold himself to a higher standard?

Then, they’d see who would break first. She would live to regret underestimating her opponent so thoroughly.

Or you could just cut your losses and let her go, his conscience chimed in.

He let that marinate for a moment before dismissing it. There were a dozen reasons that wouldn’t do, not the least of which was that she was bait now. The lure that had brought an enemy to his door in the first place and would bring him again. If he let her go, he’d never have a second shot at regaining his honor or the chance to punish Greyson West for his insolence.

The quickest way to ruination in the shifter world was to show weakness. Letting her go and leaving West unscathed would be a short trip to catastrophe. If the culture among shifters in Montana was anything like it had been over the pond, the second West or any of the other area shifters thought he was an easy mark, he’d have a target on his back. And then wolves would be the least of his worries.

Etienne’s face ran through his mind and the decision was made. He needed to make an example of West and he needed to do it fast. If someone thought they could come onto his land and take what was his? They had another think coming.

And if you let her leave, you’ll never see her again.

He didn’t even give that thought a chance to gel before he shoved it brutally aside.

He was a dragon. King of the earth. Ruler of the sky. He was at the mercy of no one, least of all his faithless “wife”. He needed her only to exact revenge.

He made his way into the kitchen and methodically went through the motions of brewing a pot of coffee. It would be dawn in just a couple of hours, and there would be no sleep for him tonight in any case. Might as well use this time to start planning the next few days.

By the time he worked out a strategy and how to handle the impending attack, the sun was up, a fiery ball in the sky that streamed through the stained glass kitchen window. He’d been so focused, trying to imagine every possible scenario, he hadn’t thought about Willa even once. But as he stood and stretched, he thought of her now. Lying upstairs in that tiny room.

If wolves were anything like dragons, she would hate being tethered that way. Before the guilt could nip at him again, a second thought followed.

Not as much as you would’ve hated to scrape her off the ground at the bottom of this mountain.

She was reckless. Over and over, she proved it. Diving out windows and off cliffs without knowing for sure if there was someone or something to break her fall. Yes, his primary reason for chaining her was a selfish one, but there was no question that she’d scared the shit out of him. He couldn’t plan for the coming battle effectively if he was worried about her breaking her fool neck.

He dumped the cold dregs of his coffee in the sink and crossed the kitchen to the living room when the intercom started to buzz. Once and then again a few seconds later.

His stomach clenched as he prepared to face her again. Hopefully, she would realize that he wasn’t going to be so easily swayed this time, and would stop trying to convince him it was all a mistake. A silent Willa that didn’t try to entice him sexually would be far easier to deal with and damn it, he deserved a fucking break after the night he’d had.

He climbed back up the stairs, mentally preparing himself for the possibility that she might be mostly naked, having found a way to uncover herself again to tease him. What he found, though, was a quiet, meek-looking Willa, robe intact, waiting patiently for his arrival.

That had his guard up instantly and he wondered what the catch was.

“You needed something?” he asked.

“Yes. I’d like to get up now and dress, please.”

He nodded slowly and crossed the room, tugging the large, iron key from his pocket.

“All right. I have to go into town shortly for some supplies, anyway. You’ll have to come with me. I doubt your friend will come back here so soon, but I’m not willing to risk leaving you here, even chained.”

He bent low to unlock her ankles first, guilt pricking him as he saw that her fine, creamy skin bore the impression of one of the shackles.

He hardened his heart and unlocked her other leg before rounding the bed to release her wrist. “That said, you will not leave my side for a second. If you disobey me, or try to pull some bullshit like last time, it will not go well for you or the person you enlist for help. Do you understand what I’m telling you, Willa?”

It was a bluff.

Greyson West and his wolves were his enemies. They’d declared war on him, and he would fight them to the death, but he didn’t have it in him to hurt a defenseless human. Especially one who was only trying to help a woman in trouble.

But Willa didn’t need to know that.

He kept his expression fierce and held her gaze until she wet her lips and nodded.

“Okay, I swear. I won’t try to get away.”

Maybe he was being a sucker again, but he believed her. She wouldn’t risk the well-being of another person for her own gain.

Unless, of course, that person was him.

The rage that he’d thought he finally had a handle on burned hot again as the last of her chains fell to the floor. She sat up and rubbed at her wrists before offering him a shaky smile.

“Thank you.”

Her brown eyes shone with unspoken emotion and he cut in before she tried to say more.

“Get dressed and meet me at the bottom of the stairs in five minutes. I have a lot to do today, so don’t keep me waiting.”

He exited the room and took a deep, steadying breath. Even clothed, she was a threat to his hard-won self-control. Her scent swamped his senses, the fine curve of her breast under her robe made the blood pool to his groin. Getting off this hunk of rock and focusing on the fight would be a much-needed distraction.

The trip down the mountain wound up being no less stressful, though. He should have taken matters into his own hands to take the edge off before they left. Her scent was no less alluring in the confines of his truck and the fitted sweater they’d gotten on their first trip to the general store, which should’ve been about as appealing as a burlap sack, clung to her curves like a second skin.

“Pretty nice day out,” she observed warily, cracking her window open to let in the morning breeze.

He grunted in response, refusing to get dragged into small talk. She wasn’t his friend. She was his captive. Letting himself be tricked into thinking otherwise was what got him here in the first place.

By the time they got into town, misery rolled off her and he was strung tight as a bow, practically vibrating with tension.

“Final warning,” he muttered as he popped the truck into park in front of the general store. “Keep your mouth shut and this will go easy enough for you. Cause a fuss, and you can expect trouble.”

She nodded wordlessly and stepped out of the truck.

He let her lead the way into the store, and nodded a greeting when he saw a grinning Raina behind the counter.

“Hey, you two. How’s married life treating you?” she asked, taking a long and obvious glance at Willa’s still-bare ring finger.

“Good,” Willa said, her tone bordering on cheerful.

Her whole posture changed on a dime. Slumpy shoulders went square, back went ramrod straight, and she smiled at the other woman. “Things are going just fabulous.” Drake jerked in surprise as she looped her arm through his and leaned in closer to the blond behind the counter. “We haven’t been down in a while because we’ve barely left the bedroom, if you know what I mean,” she whispered, giving Raina a conspiratorial wink.

Drake gave Willa’s arm a warning squeeze and leveled her with a glare but she only stared back at him with an innocent blink.

He’d told her to behave, but at no point did he tell her she had to fawn over him. He didn’t give a shit about keeping up the wedded bliss pretense. So long as she didn’t try to drag any innocent bystanders into her escape plans, he was good. This? This was way over the line and totally unnecessary.

Especially when he was this pissed off at her.

And even more especially when his dick was getting hard just from the thought of what the two of them could’ve been doing if they’d really “barely left the bedroom” all week.

He sucked a breath in through his nose and blew it out in a rush. He’d make sure to reiterate his wishes once they were alone again. Unless of course this wasn’t about his wishes at all. Maybe she was still trying to pretend that she was jealous of Raina.

Which would mean she still hadn’t abandoned her attempts to manipulate him.

His stomach churned at the thought. With the literal wolves almost at his door, he had bigger things to worry about than playing games with his traitorous little wife, but damned if he could help himself. She needed to learn her lesson about playing with the big boys. Maybe a little humiliation would make her think twice about running her mouth.

“Lots of sex, that’s the truth,” he murmured, disengaging his arm from Willa’s to lean over the counter and closer to the pretty clerk. “And even still, it seems like she can’t keep up with me. I have all this leftover energy.”

“Yeah?” Raina’s blue eyes lit with interest and she rested her elbows on the countertop, giving him a clear shot of her cleavage before resting a hand on his forearm. “Well, I’m not busy this weekend, and I’ve got loads of energy to spare…”

Before he could respond, Willa had leapt in front of him with a snarl.

“Oh, the fuck you do.”