Willa turned the shower on full blast and stood before the sink, sucking in slow, calming breaths. The sound of the water running and the heat of the steam soothed her enough that she finally stopped seeing red, but it was a close thing.

With a sigh, she swiped a hand over the now-fogged mirror. Dazed, brown eyes gazed back at her and she found herself wishing she could give that poor girl a hug. She needed it, bad.

Even the giant glass of brandy hadn’t helped. To be fair though, it had been a hell of a day. In fact, she was pretty proud of herself. She hadn’t completely fallen apart yet, and that was a win.

She heard a door open nearby and imagined it was Drake leaving her some clothes as he’d promised. He was a puzzle, to be sure. She couldn’t help but wonder if, under normal circumstances, she could have liked him.

There was no question he was hot. Like, crazy, balls to the wall, sex on a stick, hot. So hot, she couldn’t exactly figure what he seemed to like about her so much. But he definitely liked her. Or wanted her, at least. At times, his gaze was so intense, it was like he wanted to consume her. And, if she was being honest with herself, part of her wanted him to.

But the bigger part of her wanted the hell out.

It wasn’t just fear of the unknown. It was the principle of the thing. She wasn’t some side of beef to be traded, and she didn’t want to tie herself to a man who’d been in on the trading process.

So what now?

She thought back to the moment she’d stepped out of her parents’ car and wished to god she’d grabbed her purse. At least then she’d have her cell phone. Although, this high up and as far as they were from civilization, who knew if she would have even gotten service.

She thought about reaching out mentally to her parents, but couldn’t bring herself to even ask for their help. They’d broken her heart and killed the last bit of affection she’d had for them.

No, the next time she spoke to them, it would be to force them to nullify whatever bogus paperwork they’d drawn up. So much for family. Drake was right. She really didn’t have anywhere to go.

But she sure as shit couldn’t stay here.

Just thinking about that big bed, that big man, his big…throne. She let out a groan and glanced over her shoulder at the window behind her. There was one other option, but if Drake could be believed, it was going to hurt.

She sidled toward the window, breath suspended. Could be that Drake didn’t know any more about her kind than she did his. Maybe he’d underestimated her physical prowess, and assumed she--

Her mouth went bone dry as she peered through the pane. It was speckled with fat drops of rain, but she could see well enough to tell that Drake wasn’t exaggerating even a little.

It was a serious drop to the ground.

One that would definitely cause some damage if she had to scramble onto the sill and dive out head first in wolf form.

But, if she didn’t shift…if she stayed in human form, she could climb out and hang on by her hands, letting her legs dangle. It would be a shorter drop to the ground, and at least she’d land on her feet. If luck was with her, the ground would be dirt rather than stone, and provide a soft-ish landing.

Shifters were hearty and super-fast healers even in human form. So long as she didn’t do as he’d warned and break her back or her fool neck, she would be able to shake off hairline fractures or cuts lickety-split.

She scurried to the door and turned the knob silently before snatching up the t-shirt and shorts Drake had left for her. Not the ideal outfit for scaling down the side of the mountain, but at least if she came upon any people once she reached civilization, she wouldn’t be in a robe like an escaped asylum patient or naked like some feral child of the woods.

She yanked the boxers on and tossed the robe aside before tugging the t-shirt over her head. For a second, her senses swam as Drake’s scent enveloped her.

God, did he smell good. And his shirt was so soft…

She’d barely completed the thought when his words came back to her in a rush.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t make that promise.”

He wouldn’t even give her an inch.

She stiffened and crossed the room to stand before the window. He’d left her little choice in the matter.

This might be her only chance at escape, and she was going to take it.

* * *

Drake tossed another log into the fire and glanced at his watch impatiently.

She’d only been in there for thirty minutes. He had grown up with two sisters and knew for a fact, no woman could shower and prep for bed more quickly than that. And after the day she’d had, he was loath to bother her when she so clearly needed a few minutes to herself. But, damn did he want her to come out now.

Before that last little blow up, they’d been getting somewhere. They’d even shared a peaceful meal together. If he could just get her settled enough to explain some things to her, he was sure she would see this his way.

He stalked over to the wide window that split the infinity pool, and peered into the darkness. A bolt of lightning fractured the sky and lit up the night in a silver glow.

It was coming down like cats and dogs out there. Maybe once Willa saw how bad the weather was, she would be glad to have a roof over her head for the night.

He let the image of her fill his mind and closed his eyes. Her parents hadn’t done her justice. They’d said she was “presentable”, which, at the time, he’d taken to be parental license meaning that she wasn’t attractive. What he’d found, though, was that she far surpassed the bar he’d set.

She was straight up gorgeous.

Then, they’d said she was “smart enough”. But there again, they’d missed the mark. Her eyes were sharp with intelligence, and she had already shown a quick wit.

Lastly, they’d played on his dragon sensibilities, and told him she was brave. That much was true. Although she’d been startled, and afraid over and over again, she’d stood toe to toe with him when pushed.

Aye, she was brave, all right. Almost to the point of recklessness, even--

His stomach lurched and his eyes snapped open.

“Son of a bitch,” he growled under his breath.

His long strides ate up the floor as he cut a path to the bathroom door. The fact that steam flowed from the crack beneath it, and the shower still ran meant nothing to him.

His little wolf might have only been his for a couple of hours now, but he knew it as sure as he knew his own name.

She had jumped.

He smashed the door down with one fist, letting out a roar of fear and rage. If she was hurt…if he found her crumpled beneath that window, not moving? He would never forgive himself.

And he would make sure her parents wished they were dead when he was through with them.

He barreled into the room, not even sparing a glance at the shower. Without pause, he bounded toward the open window and dove out, head first.

He didn’t make any attempt to slow his dead plummet to the ground until, at the last second, right before impact, he exploded into his dragon form to hover.

Frantically, he scanned the ground for any sign of Willa, but she was nowhere to be found.

He sucked in a breath through his nose, and blew out hard, illuminating the darkness with molten orange fire. The mud on the ground wall around him was smeared, and a pair of tiny footprints led toward the cliff behind him.

He tried to think past the terror gripping him, but it was no easy task. Just because the leap hadn’t killed her didn’t mean that a fall from any of the wet and slippery rocks wouldn’t.

And that was if she was lucky.

If Etienne had scented her?

Drake refused to think on it for another second. Wheeling around in mid-air, he flapped his mighty wings and let out a fierce snarl.