‘We have to go to the mansion. If we go to mine they’ll just come over to find out what is going on.’

‘So we tell them,’ she said. ‘Isn’t that what you said that you were going to do?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I haven’t had a chance to talk to Mauri in private. I have to talk to him first.’

‘You’ll get that chance if you take me to yours.’

‘Mauri won’t be the one who comes over and even if he did, he wouldn’t be alone… there’s a line of respect, babygirl—‘

‘Don’t say babygirl to me in that patronising tone,’ she said, removing herself from his person and taking his hands off her. ‘I thought you were a man, Dax. I guess I’ve been sucking too hard on those balls you carry around in your pants, I seem to have more ‘nads than you do.’

‘If you start running your mouth you’re gonna make me do something that we’ll both regret.’

His fingers worked the steering wheel, squeezing and twisting around it. ‘I’m not afraid of you, Dax. Do your worst with your superior fighting talent.’

Surging forward, he fired the car into a rest area and slammed on the brakes to bring the vehicle to an abrupt halt.

‘Have I ever hit you?’ he asked with a snarling rage.

‘Well the spanking—‘

‘That’s a different thing and you know it. Have I ever hit you in anger?’

‘No,’ she confessed, confused by the fury he displayed now. ‘But you just said—‘

‘Let’s get one thing straight, babygirl. Just because I don’t do things your way doesn’t mean I’m a coward. I do things my way and you better get damn used to that, fast, because from now on that’s how you’ll be doing things as well.’

‘So I’m supposed to sit tight in this guy’s big house because you tell me to? And if his men choose to take turns of me—‘

‘I’ve already told you that won’t happen.’

Seizing her wrist, he wrestled her back to his side. ‘Let go of me!’ she protested, trying with her other hand to get him off her, to no avail.

‘I’ve claimed you, Minx. You’re mine.’

‘Claiming me in private means nothing,’ she hissed. ‘Are you afraid of them?’

‘Mauri’s given me everything and now I’m stealing his son’s girl.’

‘You’re ashamed of your feelings for me?’

‘Yeah,’ he said, without hesitation and his scowl deepened. ‘I vowed never to screw Mauri over and that’s what I’m doing. So yeah, I’m gonna send you in there and you’re gonna play along just like you have been. I’m not going to embarrass Mauri, we’re gonna handle this right and give him the respect he deserves. That way, when I tell him what’s going on, he might be open to the idea of not forcing you to marry Trystan. Mauri shouldn’t be inconvenienced just because I can’t get the scent of your skin off of mine, or that vision of your god damn smile out of my head.’

‘Because he’s not the one who has done anything wrong, we are,’ she said not meaning a word of it, which she figured Dax knew except he showed no hint of acknowledging her sarcasm.

‘Yeah. We are. This was never supposed to happen. And it’s not Mauri’s fault that touching you makes me wanna slam the door and keep us alone and naked all day. It’s not his fault that whenever you look at me with that goddamn unimpressed scowl I wanna go out and find myself a no-bell, no-forfeit fight. I’m a guy who is always in control, that’s what Mauri knows, I’ve worked hard for him, I have. I’m the problem-solver, not the problem-creator and you, Minx, are one major head-fucking problem! One I could do without!’

‘Do you love me, Dax?’

His grip loosened with the jolt that question gave him, it was obvious now that his adrenaline was coursing. ‘You looking for a fucking ring?’

‘No, but this is a rough call for you. From what you’ve said this situation could rip your family apart. You’ll have to dishonour the man you consider to be your father in order to be with me. If you’re not sure that you love me, then is this worth it?’

She was aware that her question could backfire but what she hoped was that it would give him some clarity, which might push him into action.

‘So if I don’t plan to keep you forever then what? You’d rather marry Trystan?’

‘I would rather not be the cause of conflict in your family for you to decide to dump me in six months. Then none of you are happy with me and I’ve lost all hope of protection.’

‘You won’t get the chance to fuck around with other dudes,’ he said. ‘It’s my job to make sure of that—‘

‘What does that have to do with—‘

‘The only thing you could do to make me mad enough to maybe hate you is fuck around. I won’t let that happen.’

‘Do you love me? Don’t tear your family apart and ruin your life unless you’re sure. You’ll only end up resenting me.’

His face hardened, but his eyes left hers and for every passing second she prayed that he was coming to the conclusion that his feelings for her were deep and true.

‘If you love me then we have to get out of here now,’ she said, linking their fingers. ‘We don’t have to go back to that place, we can’t reason with the illogical.’ It was illogical to assume that she would marry Trystan without putting up a fight, but the Stark family had believed that she would. ‘Let’s not walk into another of their prisons, I might not get out of this one, Dax. Baby, let’s just go… please?’

‘No,’ he murmured and his eyes crept back to her. Now stony and cold, they littered ice across her. ‘Mauri’s going to listen; this is all going to work out.’

Slamming the car back into gear, he sped away from the rest area sending a scattering of loose chips firing up behind them. Their speed was greater this time and her anxiety kicked up.

‘Where are we going?’

‘The mansion,’ he said, his focus fixed out the windshield.

‘But… if we go in there—‘

‘We’re going in there,’ he said. ‘You’re right. If you force me to betray him now and leave with you… I will end up resenting you for forcing my hand. Mauri gave me a job, to get you to the mansion, and I’ve never let him down yet.’

‘You’re not letting him down,’ she said, swamped with the dread of panic. ‘We didn’t intend for this to happen and—‘

‘And I’m going to explain that to him, Mauri will get it, he will.’

‘Why do you need them so much?’ she asked, seeing his determination grow. ‘Why can’t you just walk away with me?’

‘Because they’re my family. Mauri didn’t have to feed me and train me and watch out for me, but he did. He’s a good guy. You’ve never even met him, you don’t know him, not like I do.’

‘I’m scared, Dax. I don’t want to go in there and never see you again.’

‘You will see me again. You’re gonna keep playing along, just like you have been. You’re a good actress.’

‘Implying what? Are you accusing me of lying about my feelings for you?’ she asked.

‘Maybe. Best way to save yourself, right?’

‘You don’t believe that. Are you scared of loving me? Is that why you cling to them? You can’t really believe that I don’t feel for you, I do, Dax. It’s no easier for me to admit that than it is for you to admit it to me.’ The closer they got to the house the faster her words became. ‘Please, Dax, I do, I love you. I don’t want to go in there, I want to get out of here with you. Please, Dax, please don’t take me in there.’

Then they turned the corner and drove into the entrance of the mansion through the already open gates and she fell into silence.

Pressed to the back of her seat, she dug her nails into the leather by her thighs, frozen with the futile terror of what was to come. Part of her couldn’t fault Dax for not trusting her completely and being torn in his loyalties. If he had dropped Mauri in a heartbeat she’d have questions about how deep Dax’s respect for Mauri went, and about how long Dax’s loyalty to her might last. But right now, given the circumstances, she couldn’t forgive him this. He would leave her here to her fate and she had no idea what that would be.