Watching them take Rob away in cuffs made my stomach twist with anxiety, even though he winked at me right before he ducked into the cop car.

“He’ll be fine,” Liam promised me. “He didn’t do anything but protect you. They’ll get his statement and let him go.”

I sat in the back of the ambulance, with my legs dangling over the gravel of my driveway. “I’m fine,” I promised the EMT. “I don’t need to go to the hospital. I just need Motrin and two weeks’ sleep, and I’ll be good as new.”

“I promised Rob I’d stay with you,” Liam said. “Stay or go. I’ll be here.”

I nodded, even though I felt nervous around Liam. He didn’t even like me; he’d made that abundantly clear. It was weird, because we had known each other as kids too, and I didn’t know where this certainty that I was some gold-digging hussy came from.

The police came to take my statement, and Liam wandered away to give us privacy. When I’d finished, I waved to Joe, who waited at the car, sitting in the passenger seat of the Suburban with the door open. Sunrise had cracked open fully, and the morning was clear and cool.

It was Liam who joined me first, though, instead of Joe who was creaking slowly towards us.

“Let’s get you home,” Liam said curtly.

“It’s not my home,” I said. Lord knew Liam wanted to make sure of that.

Liam offered me his arm. I shook my head, not willing to take it, as I slid off the bumper of the ambulance. My knees buckled, and Liam slid his arm around my waist impatiently. Pain radiated from my knee up through my hamstring, so bad that it was hard to walk. Funny how a sprain sounded so minor and yet felt so agonizing.

"My brother seems a little bit concerned about you," Liam said lightly. "I've never seen him like this over a girl before."

"Really?" I said. “Well, I’m pretty sure I’m the only woman who’s ever been carjacked with him on a first date and kidnapped by the third. So you can’t read too much into it.”

The truth of those words hit me hard, no matter how much I said it like a joke.

“I think he loves you, you idiot,” Liam said.

I had nothing to say to that. Even though I wanted to walk away from Liam, I had to lean some of my weight on him as we made our way down the driveway to where Joe had parked.

“But my brother’s a commitment-phobe,” Liam said. “You two… it’s hopeless.”

“Thanks, Liam,” I said drily. “Who said I even want a commitment?”

“Well,” he said. “The things you two are doing… if you don’t expect him to put a ring on it… I mean, I don’t want to call you a floozy…”

“What is with your family?” I demanded. Hussy. Floozy.

Rude.

“You know you can just enjoy sex,” I said. “Things can just be fun. Not every woman wants to get married and have babies with every guy she sleeps with.”

“I know,” Liam said impatiently. “But you’re not every woman. And my brother’s not every guy.”

“Kate’s not every woman either.” The bitterness was audible in my voice.

“Nope,” Liam said. “She’s an old friend that still has a thing for Rob. Even though he’s clearly lost his mind and just wants one girl in Newport.”

I was quiet. Joe opened the back door of the Suburban, and Liam helped me in. I stretched my leg across one of the seats.

“I know it might not be where you want to be,” Joe said, swinging up into the passenger seat. “But Castle Delaney is where you need to be.”

“I know,” I said.

I was trapped in Rob’s castle.

I was trapped with him.

I was trapped with the feelings I couldn’t handle. And Liam was too goddamn right about the whole thing.

Back at Castle Delaney, I felt like I could breathe again. I settled on the balcony off Rob’s room to watch the waves roll in, the low rumble of the surf draining out my frantic internal voice. I didn’t know how I’d ever sleep again; I couldn’t stop thinking about those men who had hunted me through the woods. About how there were men like that in the world, willing to cut my throat to hurt Rob. The thought was so overwhelming that I squeezed my eyes shut against the glare of the sun off the ocean water.

The French doors closed quietly behind me, and I jumped, turning, to see Rob. He was broad-shouldered in a blue sweater and dark jeans, his eyes tired and his strong jaw covered in some serious dark shadow. I felt my heart jump.

"They let you go," I said.

"No reason to keep me." Rob held his arms out to me. "Except that they think I'm a danger to any criminal population in Newport. I'm supposed to try and stay out of trouble."

I let myself sink into his arms, which clutched tightly around me. “Are you?”

“I wish I could,” he said. He pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Trouble came looking for me. For the Delaneys. And because of us… for you. I have to end it.”

“I want to help you,” I said.

“And I want to keep you safe.”

His hard arms around me made me feel like I was safe, no matter what the truth was. But Rob’s eyes sharpened, his jaw setting, as if he was remembering how he’d felt when I was running in the woods from his enemies. “I shouldn’t have dragged you into my world. I never thought this would happen, Naomi.”

“I know,” I said. “Believe me, if you’d said this way to great sex! And carjackings! And torture! And kidnappings! I would’ve been like ehh, Rob, I have really missed you, but I’m going to have to pass.”

Some of the tension in his jaw vanished, his lips curving up slightly. “Like Joe said. You’ve always been the smart one.”

“Not when it comes to you.” It was too damn true.

He tilted my chin up so he could kiss me. There was an electric tingle between us when he pressed his lips to mine, an arc that went straight to my core. Rob was my lightning strike, my one-in-a-million love, no matter how stupid it was for me to stand out in the storm.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, our lips a breath apart.

“Don’t be,” I said, and kissed him back, my hands knitting together behind his neck, holding him close to me. There were plenty of things for Rob to be sorry about, but those men who had come after me weren’t on the list.

I’d always known that Rob would be right behind them. That there was nothing that could stand between me and the warrior who would do anything to protect me.

Except his own stupid walls.

“You can’t just shut me out,” I said softly. “This is my battle too now, Rob.”

“Okay,” he promised, his big hand cupping my jaw. “You’re right. No more secrets.”

I raised a skeptical gaze to his fond blue eyes, and he promised me, “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you here with me, safe and sound.”

I had to shake my head. “I guess we’re stuck with each other until this is all over.”

He smiled faintly, a self-deprecating twitch of the corners of that handsome mouth. “I guess I’m pretty happy you’re stuck with me, since lord knows I can’t win you over on my own.”

“You do have your good points,” I said, and then he pushed me gently down into one of the patio chairs on the balcony. One of his eyebrows was quirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“We shouldn’t,” I said, but I was so tired, so eager to be wrapped tight in his arms and comforted, and when he knelt between my thighs, I let them fall open. He rested his big hands on my knees, fondly kissing the inside of one knee and then the other. His lips were so soft, and the contrast with his big, rough, warrior’s body always surprised me.

He dragged my jeans and panties down, and when those deep blue eyes flickered up to mine, I was surprised as ever by how those normally icy eyes turned warm and soft when they met mine. Those eyes didn’t lie. Those eyes gave him away.

“Just reminding you why you put up with me,” he said, and before I could make the saucy comeback on my mind, he leaned forward and licked my clit. I gasped at the sensation of that strong pink tongue, the ripple of lust it sent through my core. With his powerful forearms braced on my lap, his eyes still on mine, he slipped his tongue inside me. His tongue thrust inside me over and over, his mouth working on my clit. I felt the heat of my orgasm building, and I tried to push him away. The corners of his mouths quirked up slightly, but he didn’t stop. I felt my toes curl against the cool tile floor of the balcony.

“Stop,” I murmured, pushing on his arms. “I want you inside me.”

This time when I pushed his shoulders, he let himself tumble back, sitting on the tile floor of the balcony with a self-satisfied smirk. I slipped off my seat and straddled him, pinning him to the tile with my throbbing core pressed against the rough fabric of his jeans. My fingers slipped as I tried to work his damn impossible belt buckle. I could almost feel him grinning without having to look up at him, some of the sexual tension between us breaking in my exasperation. Then I had the clasp undone, and I yanked the butter-soft leather out of the clasp, pushing his jeans down his narrow hips. He popped his hips up, and I felt his hard length against me before I yanked his jeans away down his legs.

I leaned over him, my hands on either side of his broad shoulders, and kissed him hard. I could feel the tip of his cock brushing between my inner thighs, teasing me, and I grabbed him hard and slid him against my core. I made slow circles, feeling how wet I was for him, the deliberate, lazy circle of his cock against my clit making us both moan in desire.

He grabbed my hips and popped his hips one more time, sliding smoothly inside me. I heard myself moan. I was so close already from the way he’d pleasured me with his mouth. I rode him, traveling up and down his shaft, his hands on my hips guiding me. And at the same time, I could feel the moan on his lips while we were kissing, the way his jaw tensed as he came, and as he shattered inside me I felt myself tighten around him, my orgasm making me blush hot.

I slumped against his chest, feeling his hard arms around me, his cock still buried deep inside me. His abs and chest were hard, angular, against my body, but I still drew warmth and comfort from his body.

Right. I’d been mad at him. I’d had good reason to be. It was hard to remember any of that now.

“And you can’t – we can’t keep doing this thing, Rob.” I said, even as I was wrapped in his powerful arms, breathing in that clean, minty scent of his body.

“Okay,” he said. He kept on holding me tight. And I clung back to him, no matter what I said.

He turned his head to kiss my forehead, brushing a wayward curl back from my face. I knew I should get up and move, but I was so content there, held against his body.

The surf rolled in, the waves breaking on the rocks that lined the beach.

I never knew that this was what it would be like to live in a castle.

To be a princess.

To be adored.

To be trapped.

To love an impossible man with all my heart, no matter what it cost me, no matter what dragons waited for us.