I smell eucalyptus.

I’m home. 

Strong hands lift me into a man’s chest. He smooths my hair, rocking me. “Lily.” 

A hand touches my jaw. “Lily. You’re okay.”

My spine hits something warm and soft. The arms lower me onto a bed. Humidity chokes my throat. 

My memory returns. Then the pain. “August?”

A stubbled, high cheek-boned face looms overhead. Handsome, dark eyes meet mine. The roughness hasn’t left him, but it’s tempered with concern. He caresses my head, brushing away bangs. 

His arm helps me sit. “You’re safe. Everything’s fine.”

So delicate. He’ll be an amazing dad someday. The unbidden thought makes me blush. “August. How did I get—”

I gaze at my surroundings, finding myself in a small windowless room. I’ve never been here. The furniture looks old but handcrafted. It’s nothing like the modern décor in August’s compound. 

A cold compress rolls off my forehead. “Where am I?”

“In the servants’ quarters. I didn’t want my father discovering this.”

Agony stabs my side. I look down, horrified by the blood soaking my jeans. “Oh my God.”

“Shhh. Relax.”

Those acid-yellow eyes swim in my vision. “But I’ve been bitten!”

“Consider it a right of passage. The snake wasn’t venomous.”

He sounds certain. “How do you know?”

“I’ve lived here my whole life. I recognize most species.” An edge creeps into his voice. “But if it had been poisonous…well.”

He draws a line across his neck.

“Not funny.” 

“I know. That’s why I’m resorting to crude jokes to make my point clearer. The jungle is dangerous.” 

I’m not looking forward to another lecture.

“I need to clean the bite.” 

I brace myself. “Okay.”

He unzips my pants, tugging on the waist to expose a length of hip. He snags my panties, pulling them to loop my cheek. The ache throbs as he trails my skin, igniting every nerve. 

“Keep still. This will hurt.”

He wraps a muscular arm around my legs. It’s intimate. Hot. Honestly, I’m not thinking about the pain. That changes when he presses a wet gauze to me.

I jerk from the sting, but August holds me. “What you did was brave.”

My teeth clench as he wipes. “Walking into the forest?”

“No. That was stupid.” August snorts. “I’m talking about what you said to my father.”

Not my smartest move. “You mean how he was wrong about everything?”

“No one ever challenges him.”

“That’s because I don’t know any better.” I hiss at the burn of alcohol. “And I have nothing to lose.”

“Yes, you do.” He lays a strip and blots me, digging his thumb in. “Pride. Dignity. Self-respect.”

I yank my thigh away. “Damn.”

“Stop wriggling.”

“I’m trying.” I can’t believe this happened. “How’d you find me?”

“I gave you a decent head start and followed.” He tears the tape with his mouth. “You screamed, and I came running.”

“If the bite was harmless, why did I pass out?”

Amusement twinkles in his gaze. “You were scared.”

The adhesive tugs at my skin as he slides it on, smoothing its edges. “Fuck.”

A rapid pulse beats in my neck. “You’re not allowed to swear right now.”

“Sorry,” he says. “The wound’s still bleeding.”

“You were mistaken.” My throat thickens as my worst fear is confirmed. “It was poisonous.”

“No, we just have to sit here for a while.” He disappears for a moment, opening a fridge. He returns, pushing a glass in my hands. “It’s water.”

I drink deep, savoring the coolness. “Better.”

“Good.” August pours a whiskey for himself, downing the liquor in one gulp. 

“Shouldn’t you be sober? You’re supposed to be my nursemaid.”

“It takes a lot more than this to get me drunk.”

“Wow, tending to me is that bad?” I tease him, winking. “A former soldier should be used to blood.”

“You think that’s why I’m on edge?” His eyes make a blazing path down my stomach and exposed thighs. “You’re naked.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Fine.” He presses into the bandage with an apologetic smile. “I forgot what we were arguing about.”

I strain my memory for what spurred this whole fight, searching the place for a hint. A faded black and gold flag on the wall conjures an image of the officer. “Alex.”

It’s like a raincloud suddenly passes over him. “What about him?”

“Who is he to you?” Because there’s got to be history between them. “This is the second time you’ve singled him out.”

August’s lips flatten into a white line. “He’s my half-brother.”

The air leaves the room. “You never mentioned you had a brother.”

“I hate talking about my family. It’s hard for me.”

A ripple of anger runs through me. “You know what’s difficult? Admitting to a complete stranger how poor and destitute you are.”

He tosses back another drink. “I don’t expect you to understand.”

How could I? “I don’t have a sibling. That’s why I was in the dark about every-fucking-thing.”

“We didn’t grow up together,” August says. “We aren’t close.”

“Really? Because you sure as hell have a rivalry.” I swing myself off the bed, tired of sitting down. “Why don’t you like him?”

“Because he’s so far up my father’s ass, he can’t see the daylight. He reports to my dad about everything I do. Brown-nosing fucker.”

I digest that morsel of information. “He’s spying on you?”

“He is.” He rips his pant leg, showing me the self-inflicted scar. “This is what I had to do. Alejandro is under my dad’s thumb.”

I think of the kind man who convinced me to join the party, whose gentleness exceeds August’s. “That’s sad. Doesn’t he want out?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. We don’t talk much. I don’t trust him. Especially around you.” His gaze penetrates me. “He’d love to take you from me.”

“That will not happen.” August swept me away—he’s the one who spent countless evenings whispering in my ear. “I—want you. Only you.”

I’ve never seen him like this. 

August pushes me onto the mattress, eyes suffused with greed. He wedges a knee between my thighs, careful to avoid my hip. He slips down my waist, yanking my panties down. “One of these days, you’ll learn to stay put.”

At the moment there’s nowhere else I’d want to be. Ecstasy runs through my body as August nuzzles my neck, stripping me. His hand rolls over my throbbing mound, the ache sharp with desire. 

A finger strokes my clit.

All resistance melts. I dig into his collar. “August.”

A fierce pressure enters me. Two fingers. I clench over him, gasping as August kisses my throat. His lips stamp my cheek, inching forward to claim my mouth. 

I need him. I need all of him.

His cock strains against his slacks. I trace the outline as he fucks me, relentlessly driving as deep as he can. He stops when my breathing reaches a fever pitch, a sure sign I’m close. 

“Please.”

He smiles. “Why should I let you come?”

Cruel bastard. “Because I’m asking nicely.”

“You disobeyed me.”

“I didn’t promise to listen.”

He seizes my jaw as he thrusts in and out. “Do it now.”

“Never.”

He tuts at me, massaging my clit in a slow circle. His pulse taps my chest, but he pulls away. I drag him to my waist, but he shakes his head, smiling. August flips me on my side and spoons me, leaving me little doubt to wonder how aroused he is.

He kisses the shell of my ear, whispering, “Don’t forget who you belong to, Lily.”