“Are you trying to make it so I don’t leave this room?” he asked.

“Not at all,” she purred. “I’m simply making sure you have a clear picture of me for later when all you have is your hand for company.”

“I’ll never forget the way you look, taste, and feel,” he assured her.

Vicky gulped as his words stirred emotions she never knew she had. No one had ever said anything like that to her before, but more than that, she sensed he meant it. Unwillingly, her eyes flitted to his neck and the rush of blood she heard pulsing through the vein there.

Hunger speared her as did the longing to taste him and bind him to her. She could force the bond on him, but though she was physically stronger than him, he was better trained and might be capable of killing her. He would also despise her for doing such a thing to him.

No, not even to save herself would she risk turning him against her, or leave him with awful memories of her.

How would he react if she unwillingly made him the one thing he’d hated for most of his life? And what kind of relationship would it be if she forced the change on him and irrevocably tied his life to hers? Not a good one, that was for sure.

Feeling entranced by her, Nathan walked over to kiss her before cupping one of her breasts and running his thumb over her tantalizing piercing. “I love these by the way,” he told her before forcing himself away from her.

“I’m glad,” she murmured. “Too bad you didn’t see my other ones.”

“Other ones?” he inquired as he lifted his jeans from the floor and turned to face her.

“I removed all my piercings while in captivity. I was foolishly hoping I could use them as a weapon somehow, and I didn’t want them used against me. But I once had my belly button and clit pierced too.”

His gaze dropped to her belly before sliding lower. “You might be the death of me, Vicky Byrne.”

You will be the death of me, Nathan Holter, she thought, but kept it to herself as she lowered her arms and sat forward.

“Are you on hunting duty tonight?” she inquired, all playfulness gone.

“Yes. Asher and I are going out with Declan and Lucien.”

Vicky chuckled. “What, did they decide to temper Lucien’s assholiness by pairing him with Declan?”

Nathan smiled as he pulled on his jeans. “Most likely as it’s usually Saxon, who is friendly, with Killean, and Killean’s even more unfriendly than Lucien.”

“He’s that way to everyone, not just hunters.”

“Good to know. Some of the other hunters are going out with some of Ronan’s more advanced trainees.”

“Will you see Ronan?”

“Probably not, why?”

“Unless it becomes necessary to keep them safe, or to keep all of us safe, I’d prefer he didn’t know about Sister and Duncan. They’ve led a peaceful life, done a lot of good, and I’d like for them to keep their anonymity, from everyone.”

“I won’t tell anyone unless I think it’s necessary.”

“Not even Kadence?”

“Not even Kadence.”

Nathan pulled his sweater on and for the first time took a good look around her room. Lavish was an understatement as he realized the bedroom was only part of a suite; the doorway across from him opened into a spacious living room with a balcony. All of it was decorated in a tastefully understated style that screamed of wealth. Though it was impressive, it wasn’t a place where he would have chosen to stay.

“Nice place,” he commented.

“My family is used to a certain something from me, and I don’t like to disappoint,” she replied.

“And what are they used to?” he inquired.

She lay back on the bed and draped her arms over the pillows once more. “I’m the diva, the fashionista, the wild child, the selfish one. I’m the one who demands only the best, thinks only of herself, and spends lavishly.”

“Is that what they expect of you, or is it what you expect of yourself?”

She considered this before answering. “Them.” But she wasn’t sure that was true anymore, wasn’t sure it ever had been.

Nathan frowned as he glanced over the suite again. Then, understanding dawned. “Before the warehouse, you cared about these things, but not so much since.”

“I grew up a lot while in chains.”

“But you think your family will worry about you if you don’t give them the Vicky they’ve always known.”

“They’re already too worried about me. I’ve barely had any freedom from them since being freed.”

“So, if they see carefree, extravagant Vicky again, they’ll back off.”

“My older siblings and parents all have lives, mates, and families. My younger siblings shouldn’t have to know what I went through, and I don’t think they do. My actions landed me in captivity, and my family risked their lives to get me out. I won’t have them worrying about me any more than they already do,” she said.

“That doesn’t sound like a selfish woman to me.”

“You didn’t know me, or what I was like, before the warehouse.”

“I may not have known you before your imprisonment, but Sister, Duncan, and those children did, and they all care for you. I don’t think any of them would like the woman you’re portraying yourself to have been. I’m not saying that out of all your siblings you weren’t the crazy one or the more self-centered one, I’m saying I think you remember yourself in a worse light than what is true,” Nathan said.

Vicky considered the girl she was before, and she’d truly been a girl before those chains. That girl was obsessed with hair, makeup, the latest fashions, one day traveling to Paris, and, as she grew older, partying and distracting herself with some men. That girl had been a naïve idiot, but she’d never been purposely malicious.

“Perhaps I do remember myself worse than I was,” she admitted. “However, my family would shit themselves if they saw me in anything but the best hotel.”

He chuckled as he sat on the end of the bed to put on his boots. “And how do you afford such a place?”

“Investments. My family is big on that. When we turned eighteen, my dad gave Abby and me a small stipend to invest. He informed us he had no intention of supporting our asses for eternity. He may have said that, but everyone keeps returning home and building houses on my parents’ property. It’s like our own stronghold.”

“There’s safety in numbers.”

“True, and we’re all extremely close. But anyway, I’ve always been good with numbers. I hated school and only liked college for the parties before I quit, but I like math, and I’m an avid stock market watcher. You’ll be surprised to learn a very wealthy woman just made you come harder than you ever have before,” she told him with a wink.

He grinned at her. “And how do you know you did that?”

“Because you sure made me come harder than any other man ever has.”

The reminder that other men had experienced the exquisite release she could bring caused his hand to clench on the boot, and he snarled.