“Free.” Unwrapping the leather, his fingers feathered over my wrist with affection, protection, and most of all, a request to hear him out. To give him a chance.

The cabin vanished and all that remained was us.

The mystery.

The falsities.

David and Greg.

All gone.

Penn had a magical way of capturing my every sense and keeping me locked in whatever world he created.

Licking his bottom lip, he gently let one wrist go to manhandle the other.

I held my breath as his touch skimmed down my arm then a sharp tug and knife on metal freed me from the second cuff.

Not saying a word, Penn tossed the leather away, looped his fingers around my wrist and guided me from the kitchen, past David who didn’t stop glaring, and toward the fireplace where the chain around my ankle locked to the hook.

His forehead furrowed, contemplating if he should break the chain or not bother and just undo the imprisonment around my ankle.

He chose the more streamlined option.

Ducking to one knee, he looked up as his touch landed on my calf.

I flinched as his breath fluttered the gold negligée and heat erupted between my legs. Black desire coated him as he glanced at my breasts then inserted the knife tip into the tiny padlock and jerked.

The final tether fell away, leaving me unbound by chains but unable to move from his hold. He massaged my ankle, rubbing me gently. “Elle, please. Let me take you home.”

“I—”

David barged into our little moment. “You already know you’re not taking her anywhere.”

Penn ignored him, his chocolate gaze locked with mine. “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“Like hell you aren’t. We’re calling the police and getting this settled.” David reached for his phone.

Yes, the police.

I had to report Greg. I had to ensure he didn’t try something like this again.

But Penn turned cold, standing from his one knee pose. “Don’t.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” David stalked away, already punching in the emergency number.

I wanted to ask him where Dad was, if he was okay, but Penn’s stiffness and the way he inched subtly toward the door made me focus.

He’s nervous.

As well he should be. He was a criminal who’d done time before.

He was right to be worried but not because of what he’d done to Greg. He’d gone a bit far, but he’d done it in my defense.

They can’t arrest him for that. He was the hero in this scenario not the villain.

He rolled his shoulders as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I’m not waiting around for paper pushing idiots. He’s the one who needs to be arrested.” He pointed his chin at Greg still passed out on the floor. “And he’s not going anywhere.”

David scowled. “You knocked him out. The police will want to talk to you, too.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk to them.” Penn marched back toward me and took my hand. “Elle, please. Come with me.”

My conviction wobbled. He looked so young, so pleading, so lost. But he was also the man from the alley.

“I—no, I don’t think—”

Penn heard my uncertainty, my lack of absolution.

His fingers looped with mine, pulling me forward with a sudden burst of power. “Before you say goodbye, just hear me out. That’s all I’m asking.”

The instinct to fight his unwanted coercion made me dig my heels into the floor. “No. Not today. Come to my office in a few days and we’ll—”

“No. It has to be now.” He stormed forward, dragging me behind him with no effort.

David leapt into action, abandoning the phone call where he’d been murmuring details to the police. He grabbed my other hand, using me as the rope in a tug of war. “You’re not taking her, Everett.”

“Goddammit!” Penn threw my arm away, severing all ties. For a second, it looked as if he’d run and never look back.

But then he spun around, seething with restraint, itching to leave. “Fine.” Ever so slowly, he let his tension uncurl, holding his hand out to me like a lover asking me to go on a hot air balloon ride at sunset. “Elle, it would mean a lot to me if you came with me.”

He lowered his head, watching me with hooded eyes. “One conversation. In private. And then you can leave. You have my word.”

David relinquished me, so I stood on my own, no longer trapped by any of the three men currently surrounding me—even though one was still in la-la land.

“Ma’am?” David played with his gun holster, touching the handle of his weapon. He kept his gaze on Penn. “Let me take you home. Your father and Steve are on their way here. I dropped them off at a local establishment before finding you. I refused to let them come to the crime scene, in case—” He coughed. “Anyway, the important thing is to call him and say you’ll meet him back at home. I’ll arrange transportation for him to meet us there.”

Dad.

I needed to check his heart was okay from this stressful night. I needed to do a great many things. I should nod and follow David to the Range Rover and never look back. I should file a police report, tell Steve as gently as I could that Greg was fired and if he ever got within a few hundred feet of me he’d be arrested, and spend the evening soothing my dad’s nerves.

And Sage—I need to feed Sage.

But something about Penn bewitched me once again. He stood there with his hand shaking slightly, his invitation unanswered.