Sebastian brushed his teeth and watched me in the mirror as I skirted behind toward my closet. It struck me as odd that I already considered it “my” closet. I reminded myself it was only “a” closet as I changed into pajamas.

When I walked out and grabbed my toothbrush from the sink, Sebastian shook his head. “No clothes.”

“I don’t care about your stupid rules.” I squeezed some toothpaste onto my brush and got to work as he glared at me in the mirror. Taking my time, I brushed slowly and methodically as his scowl deepened. When I was done, I turned and headed toward the bedroom.

He grabbed my arm and whipped me around, then pinned me against the wall. “I don’t know what my father told you about me, but I can assure you that challenging me on this isn’t in your best interest.”

“I’m wearing my pajamas to bed.”

“No.” He leaned closer. “You aren’t. I’ll rip them the fuck off if I have to.” His smirk appeared, and I struggled to keep my gaze locked with his.

I wrapped all my confidence into a ball and hurled it into my voice. “I have a deal for you.”

He gripped my t-shirt, fisting the material and pulling me toward him. “It better involve you being naked.”

I swallowed thickly and tried to summon up all the courage his father had given me earlier in the library. “The deal is this. You let me wear what I want to bed, and I’ll willingly let you hold me. Or I sleep naked and stay on my side of the bed, no touching. Your choice.”

His eyes flickered to my lips. “You forgot option three.”

I grabbed his hand and tried to pry his fingers loose. They didn’t move.

“Option three is that I could strip you and force you to sleep against me.” He pressed me into the wall, his body mastering mine. “I already know how you like to be kissed.” His voice dropped even lower. “And I know how much you enjoyed it, no matter how much you lie to yourself.”

I gave up on trying to free my shirt. “I’d fight you all night.” My breathy voice betrayed me, but I wasn’t giving up until I gained some ground.

“Us naked together, our bodies tangled and pressed against each other? Doesn’t sound so bad.”

I shuddered, but not from fear. This had to be textbook Stockholm Syndrome, because his words heated me inside and out.

“My deal is the only one that doesn’t end with my knee in your crotch.” I forced what I hoped was a stern look onto my face. “Hold me or don’t. It’s up to you.”

He licked his lips and relaxed his grip on my shirt. “Get in bed.”

“Pajamas or no?” Hell, did I just win?

“You can wear yours.” He tucked his thumbs in the waistline of his boxers and pushed them to the floor. His cock sprang free, thick and hard. “But I’ll be naked.”

I turned and scurried into the bedroom. He hit the light in the bathroom and trailed right behind me.

“Come here.” Though this was my deal, the command hadn’t left his tone.

I slid between the sheets and watched his dark silhouette ease down beside me. His hand wrapped around my waist and he pulled me into his side.

A deep sigh left his lungs as soon as our bodies connected. “Why does this feel so right?”

He overwhelmed me—his warmth, the honest wonder in his voice, and the way I reacted to him. I didn’t understand it, and I hated myself for even having remotely positive feelings toward him. It was messed up beyond words.

“I know you feel it, too.” He nuzzled into my hair.

“No.” It was a weak protest given the way my stomach clenched as my breasts pressed into his side, my nipples hardening without my consent.

He rolled to his side and wrapped his arms around me, enfolding me in a toxic embrace. I was caught in the jaws of a venus flytrap. Just like a hapless fly, I thought I’d had the upper hand. But now, with him pressed against me, I was falling prey to the lure.

“Touch me.” His gravelly voice raked down my body, setting my skin alight.

“That wasn’t part of the dea—”

“You said I could hold you.” He pressed his lips to my ear and whispered, “Just hold onto me, too.”

I left my arm lying on my side, refusing to return his embrace.

“Stubborn.” He smiled against my ear. “How about another deal?”

“I feel pretty good about our current contractual situation.”

“I know you feel good.” He flattened his palm on my back rubbing back and forth. “But maybe I have something to offer.”

“What’s that?” His hands on me were drugging, and I relaxed despite myself.

“If you agree to touch me—”

I shook my head against him. “I’m not giving you a handy.”

His low laugh tried to seduce me. “I’ve already tasted your lips, your tongue. You enjoyed it as much as I did.”

Heat flamed in my cheeks, and I had to force myself to stay put. “I didn’t have much choice in that.”

“You had a choice.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “And you made the decision the real you wanted.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do. A part of you knows that I’m the man for you. That we belong together. That’s the real you. You aren’t some fair maiden that your idiot boyfriend must save and speak for and treat like a princess. You’re light, but you crave the dark. You crave me.”

My heart answered him in hasty thumps, and I wished I’d just stripped and slept on the edge of the bed. His touch was too disarming, his words speaking to me on a level I never even touched. How could he see inside me? Or maybe he wasn’t seeing anything at all. Maybe he was simply projecting what he wanted onto me. But if that were true, why did I feel so conflicted?

“As for the handy, that’s not what I meant. Not that I’d say no, of course. Your part of this deal is that, if you agree, you pretend to like me for the night.”

I craned my head back to look into the dark pools of his eyes. “That’s a tall order.”

His lips twitched. “I’m sure it’s not as tough as you make it out to be.”

“You’re right. It’s worse.”

“Come on.” He kept rubbing my back. “Pretend you’re here because you want to be.”

He was asking for more than his words conveyed. Letting go—that’s what he wanted from me. To forget myself and let this happen to me.

“I don’t think that’s possible.”

“Why not?”

I stretched my left leg, the bracelet light and warm from my body heat, but still weighing me down. “Because it’s not real.”

“That’s where the pretend part comes in.”

“What are you offering in return?”

“A day in the city.”

My breath hitched. “Are you serious?”

“Do I seem the joking sort to you?”

“Not particularly.” Hope hummed a sweet tune inside me. If I could get to the city, maybe I’d have a chance to get away.

“The deal is that next Monday, you will accompany me to the city. You will stay at my penthouse while I attend to business. I will see you at lunch, and then again at dinner. Timothy will be with you the entire time. If you make a wrong move, I’ll instruct him to drug and bring you back here, where we’ll have to start all over again.”

“Why can’t it be tomorrow?”

He pulled me so that he could rest his chin on my crown. “Too soon. Besides, your part of the deal is that every night this week, you let me hold you and you touch me back. That’s how you get to the city.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Every night?”

“Yes.”

Playing it cool seemed like a wise option, but I wasn’t going to let this chance get away from me. “What do you mean by ‘touch’ you?”

“What do you want it to mean?” He kissed the top of my head.

“Hey.” I leaned away from him. “No kissing.”

A low growl rumbled through his chest as he pulled me back to him. “Stubborn. What I mean is that you have free rein over my body. Treat me like someone you’re comfortable with.” He tensed. “Like…like that moronic dipshit you were seeing.”

“You mean Link?” I knew it bothered him, so I used what small weapons I had to strike back.

His muscles turned to stone around me. “Yes, him. But more, I want much more. Be comfortable with me.” He pulled back and stared at me, his body relaxing with each second he looked into my eyes. “You’re safe here. Always safe with me. I’ll never hurt you.” He rested a warm palm on my cheek. “Pretend that you believe me. Pretend you want to be here. Pretend you want me to be yours.” Pretend you want to be mine. He didn’t say the words, but I could feel them in the air.

He was being earnest, but his plea struck me as sad. As if he were looking for affection, though he couldn’t quite put it into words. He didn’t know the language, but it didn’t stop him from wanting it. And, despite the circumstances, I couldn’t fault him for that.

Even a twisted tree would reach for the sun.

“You’re making that face. The one I can’t read.” He ran his fingertips down my cheek, then grazed my lips.

“I wear pajamas, you’re allowed to hold me, and I’ll try to be comfortable with you by”—deep breath—“touching you. And then I get to go to the city Monday?”

“Yes.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Say yes.”

I convinced myself that touching him was a small price to pay for a chance at escape, that giving in to his wishes would help my cause more than his. But just as with our previous deal, I couldn’t deny the basest part of me that warmed beneath his touch, and worse, that wanted to feel him. Saying yes was giving him another piece of my soul, and I could only hope that I’d get them all back whenever I regained my freedom.

“Yes.”

“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.” He smiled, true delight lighting his angular features. “Now put your hands on me.”