Yasin opened the door to his quarters and glanced around the elegant space. With adrenaline pulsing through him, his cock throbbing with need, and the wine eroding his usual hold on his emotions, he knew he was in danger of surrendering to his baser instincts. The instincts of a man from a ruthless, uncaring family.

And he hated himself for it.

But right now, he wanted nothing more than to find Lily and take her. To punish her for the pain she’d caused him.

There was no sign of Lily in the living area, so he continued to the bedroom. The large bed dominating the room was empty, but his gaze shifted to an alcove in the wall with another, smaller bed.

His breath caught at the sight of Lily, still blindfolded and gagged, her delectable body totally naked. Her arms were stretched above her head and chained to the headboard while her legs were pulled wide open.

He could see every intimate part of her. He couldn’t drag his gaze away from her. His cock ached with the need to be inside her. To feel her softness surrounding him.

And with her chained like that, he could just prowl over her and bury himself in her sweet, warm body.

And he wanted to. The need was an intense agony burning through his entire being.

He drew in a deep breath, his whole body shaking.

But as he looked at her, he realized… he couldn’t.

His jaw clenched.

She was frightened and alone. She’d been kidnapped and terrorized by his brother.

It was wrong. And she didn’t deserve it. No matter how much pain she’d caused him.

His hands clenched at his sides. And he knew deep in his heart, he would never forgive himself if he hurt Lily like that. His heart ached.

Because he still loved her.

She seemed to be sleeping, her chest rising and falling in slow, steady breaths. He sucked in another deep, calming breath of his own and grabbed a thin coverlet from the back of one of the plush armchairs. He walked to her and gently draped it over her body, covering her nakedness.

He sat down on the bed and, trying not to wake her, carefully unfastened the small buckles holding the leather strap around her ankles. Once he had both ankles freed, he shifted to her wrist.

Although she still lay perfectly still, he could sense that she was awake. Probably too afraid to move.

He finished with her wrist, then freed the other one. As soon as he pulled up the blindfold, her eyelids popped open and she jerked sideways, scurrying to the other side of the bed. She sat with her back against the wall, panting, clinging tightly to the coverlet with both hands as she stared at him with wide eyes.

“Come here. Let me remove the gag.” It was a ball-gag, fastened around her head with a leather strap.

She shook her head, trembling as she pressed tighter to the wall.

“You can undo it yourself, but that lovely coverlet might just fall away if you don’t keep holding it. And the small buckles on the strap can be tricky to undo if you can’t see them.”

She stared at him for a long moment, but finally she moved a little closer. He leaned forward and unfastened the buckles, trying to ignore the feel of her silky hair against his fingers.

As he pulled the gag away, her gaze flickered around the room, as if seeking an escape route.

“Do you remember me, Lily? From college?” he asked as he pulled the gag away.

Her eyes turned to him in surprise. “Yes. Of course,” she said hoarsely.

God, her voice. He’d heard it in his dreams so many times. Usually thick with desire as they’d shared the delights of physical passion.

“Who am I?” he pressed.

“Yasin,” she whispered.

The fact she remembered his name affected him more than he would have thought.

“Good. Then you know I won’t hurt you.”

But her eyes told him otherwise. She was afraid of him.

She glanced around the room, as if seeking an escape route.

“We want to get something straight right now,” he said firmly. “You don’t want to leave this room unless you’re by my side. It’s not safe.”

Her gaze locked with his.

“And it’s safe here with you?” she asked.

She made a good point. He wanted her so badly, his self-control could fail at any moment.

But staring into her wide, frightened blue eyes, he knew he would not force himself on her.

“Yes. You’re safe with me.”

“But that other man... your brother... he said that you wanted revenge.”

“My brother says a lot of things that make sense in his world. But if you really remembered who I am, you’d also know that I would never take revenge on a woman just because she broke my heart.”

Despite his earlier urges, he had to believe that was true about himself.

Her eyes clouded. “Yasin, I never meant to hurt you.”

Fuck, he hadn’t meant to reveal how much her rejection had affected him.

“You didn’t,” he said in a cold tone. “It was just a figure of speech.”

She stared at him with wide eyes, looking so completely vulnerable.

Shit, he wasn’t making this easier on her. He should be reassuring her, not pushing her away, so that she would know he was her ally.

But he realized a part of him wanted to make her suffer.

And he hated himself for it.

“Do you want some water? Or food?” he asked.

She nodded. “I’m very hungry.”

He walked to the phone and dialed the number for his private servant, then ordered a meal. And some wine. She could probably do with some to help her relax.

He picked up the carafe of ice water on the round table near the window and filled a glass, then carried it to her. She took it and drank deeply, finishing half, then stared at the glass as she drew in air. After a moment, she took another few sips, then handed it back to him, her hand trembling.

He set the glass down on the table and pulled a chair beside the bed, then sat down.

“Lily, I know you’re frightened. You’ve been through a traumatic ordeal. I’ll do what I can to get you out of here as quickly as possible, but while we’re here, you need to behave a certain way. You need to do exactly as I tell you. When I tell you. Do you understand?”

She shook her head. “Not really. Why can’t you just take me home?”

He pursed his lips. “My brother is a very powerful man. One does not simply defy him. He invited me here for a week, and if I were to just leave now, it would insult him.”

“Are you afraid of your brother?”

“Not afraid. I care about my family and I came here to help mend family relationships and I’m not about to throw that all away because of your impatience.”

Her fingers tightened around the coverlet and she drew it closer. The fact that she was naked under that thing... the memory of her exposed body still washing through his brain... was keeping him dangerously off balance.

He regretted the caustic tone in his voice. His emotions towards her were fluttering between lust, concern, and anger so quickly he was barely aware which one was affecting him at any given instant.

“You need to understand,” he said firmly. “If I were to insult him, there could be repercussions.” He raised an eyebrow. “Including him taking back his birthday gift.”

He gave that a moment to sink in.

“I don’t know what you’ve seen of what goes on here,” he continued, “but if you aren’t in my care...” He sat back in the chair and paused for effect. “I have two brothers and three cousins here. I know all of them are intensely attracted to your exotic red hair and pale skin. If Omar takes you back, he will share you with them.”

He saw terror flare in her eyes and she began to tremble more, pulling the coverlet to her neck. Maybe he’d gone too far, but she needed to understand the precariousness of her position.

That understanding was vital to helping him prevent her suffering more horrendous trauma than she already had.

“Do you understand now?”

She dropped her gaze and nodded.

A knock sounded on the door.

“That will be the food,” he said.

He stood up and placed the chair back at the table, then strode to the door. When he pulled it open, Hafsa stood at the door with a tray holding a covered plate and the bottle of wine.

“Good evening, Hafsa. Please come in.” Yasin stepped back.

She nodded, her eyes lowered and walked into his quarters, then placed the food and wine on the table.

“Would you like me to pour the wine, sir?” she asked.

“No, thank you. That will be all.”

A knock sounded at the door again. Hafsa hurried to answer it, then bowed her head and stepped back as Omar strode into the room. She then slipped out the door and closed it behind her.

“Omar. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Omar stood in the center of the large room, hands on his hips. “Only minutes after leaving your birthday celebration, I hear that you ordered a meal. I would think you’d be concerned with something other than food, considering the birthday gift I presented you with. Either that or you are not interested in the woman. Is that the case?” His dark eyebrow swept upward.

“Of course I’m interested. I could not keep my hands off her.”

Omar frowned. “You’re saying you’ve already had your release? So quickly?”

Yasin laughed. “Omar, you expect much of me. You give me a beautiful woman I have longed for since college... fill me with wine... tease me with beautiful dancers...then you expect me to last longer than a few minutes in bed with her?”

Doubt filled Omar’s eyes. He turned to the bedroom and strode toward it. Shit, if he saw her sitting on the alcove bed, shivering in that coverlet, he wouldn’t believe Yasin had bedded her.

“Omar, these are my quarters. You should respect my privacy.”

Omar turned. “These might be your quarters, but they’re in my house. On my island.” He glared at Yasin. “And you do not tell me what I should or should not do.”

Omar pulled open the door and entered the bedroom, Yasin on his heels.