Page 23 of His Dark Purpose

“The way you behaved.” He retreated slowly to the sofa and perched on the leather seat.

The wayshe’dbehaved?

She paused, processing the irony of his words. He’d been the one uncovered as a liar, and he’d ended up cuffing her to his bed, yet he wanted to talk aboutherbehavior? How was that for avoiding any accountability?

“I told you about that.” She shuffled closer, conscious of the ropes stiffening behind her. She still couldn’t fathom the way he’d restrained her so that even once the cuffs had been removed, she was still bound to his bloody bed. There had been a time, not so long before, that the idea might have turned her on, but the reality was less inspiring. As it was, the chilling gesture left her feeling worthless, as if she were a possession he could chain up and put aside. “I received a lot of new information about you, and it wasn’t very positive.”

“Nor was the tantrum you threw as a result.” His gaze penetrated her, as if he hoped its intensity would blindside his words, but they didn’t.

Amy might be down, but she wasn’t out. She was up on her feet and all too aware of the manipulative game he was playing. Until he took responsibility for his own actions, she’d be damned if she’d allow him to pin the blame her way.

“Are you saying this is all my fault?” She managed to hold her voice steady, despite the anger swirling inside her.

“I’m saying it isn’t good enough.” Conveniently deflecting her question, he glowered at her.

“No.”

Her voice was quiet, but the emotion simmering inside her was far from silenced. She sensed it warring within her, the rational need to placate her jailor sparring with the desire to claw his eyes out.

She loved him, even though, standing there, she wished she didn’t, but that love didn’t exist in isolation. It was affected by the way he behaved, the things he said, and how he treated her, and the way Kyle was eroding it, there wouldn’t be much left to salvage.

“It isn’t good enough.” Parting her legs, her hands rose to her hips. “It’s not even close.”

She might be the one in the slutty outfit, the unkempt woman in the ropes, but she hadn’t fought her way out of hell after Graham to end up his fucking captive. The initial chapters of her life had been a demoralizing struggle, but life with Kyle had shown her there was hope for better. Whatever his cunning plan with the ropes was, that wasn’t how her story was ending.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He sniped, having clearly noticed the shift in her.

“I mean, I won’t accept this,sir.” She threw emphasis on the final word, giving him what he wanted but with an edge of sass.

“Youwon’t accept this?” He stifled laughter. “And what makes you think thatyouhave a choice?”

“Because that’s what you taught me, sir.” She was emboldened, even as he stood up and closed the distance between them. Shorter and weaker than him, she might be, but she wasn’t a green schoolgirl who didn’t understand how things worked. Tying women to beds without their explicit consent was not okay. “You’ve shown that I always have a choice.”

His knitting brows suggested that was not how he’d expected her to reply. It was good to know, in a world of his creation, that she still had the power to surprise him.

She still had power.

“What are you talking about?” he snapped. “We’re discussing your behavior, little girl.”

“My behavior has been normal.” How dare he try to rewrite the narrative? “Discovering the man I loved hadn’t told me about our past connections was inevitably going to upset me, and then, being hauled up the stairs without so much as a conversation?” She shook her head, barely believing what she’d been through. “It’s no wonder I lost my shit.”

“You’re standing there defending the way you acted?” Indignation radiated from him.

“I’m explaining.”

“The way you swore and shouted.” His gaze narrowed. “The way you spoke to me…”

“I didn’t intend to offend you.” She stood her ground, managing to steady her voice as she responded. “But that doesn’t mean I deserved any of this.” She kicked out with her right ankle, tugging at the rope attached to it. “You’re treating me like an animal, sir… binding me and making me pee in a bucket!”

She tried not to dwell on that final point.

“I’m giving you what you deserve.” His jaw clenched as he stepped closer, invading her personal space.

“What I deserve is respect.” She gulped at his proximity, an unhelpful and reflexive reaction to his sheer physicality. When they were separated in different parts of the room, she managed to forget just how bloody enormous he was, but having him there right in front of her left nothing to the imagination. Despite his age, Kyle was a huge, strapping man. It was why he’d been able to hoist her over his shoulder with such apparent ease. “And I deserved honesty, Mr. Kyle. You should have told me about Aspen Way.”

“Maybe.” He forced the word out between gritted teeth. “But it’s too late now.”

“It’s not too late to start being honest.” She reached a hand toward him, splaying her fingers between his chest hair. The shirt he’d worn earlier still hung on his muscular shoulders, but he must have unfastened the buttons while she slept. She took advantage of that, burying her digits into the soft hair as she spoke. “I thought we loved each other?”

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