And...the essentia had faded from her skin completely, he realized.

Suspicions danced through him.

This wasn’t Elin. This couldn’t be Elin.

He pinched her chin and held her face steady for his concentrated scrutiny. Smoked-glass eyes without any hint of warmth. They were wells of cold, hard determination, and the pupils were not dilated. Her delicate cheeks lacked the warm flush of arousal. Another sign of cold, hard determination.

The truth settled, and rage sparked.

This was Kendra.

Somehow, she’d removed her slave bands. Somehow, she’d found him. And now, she was trying to trick him into bedding her, so that she could enslave him all over again. That was how she’d gotten him last time. Eight times she’d come to him as a different woman, and eight times he’d spilled inside her, binding his soul tighter and tighter to hers.

Every fiber of his being longed to lash out, to hurt her in some way. But this time, he didn’t react according to emotion. He was a different man, and he wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

He breathed deeply, in and out, releasing the rage and concentrating on the regret he’d experienced every time he’d thought of his past.

What kind of life had Kendra led? What had brought her to this moment?

If he hurt her today, she would only want to hurt him another day, and then he would want to hurt her, and so on and so forth, and it would become an endless cycle of pain and remorse.

It was time to break the cycle.

Not knowing what else to do, he stood and stalked to the closet.

“What are you doing?” she demanded, unable to hide her irritation.

“What do you think?” He turned and held up four links of chains. “You wanted to be chained, did you not?”

At last, arousal came. He smelled it on her, and that saddened him. “Yes.”

“Lie back,” he commanded.

Instantly she obeyed, placing her arms over her head and spreading her legs. Goose bumps broke out over her skin as he clamped the metal on her wrists and ankles. A master at bondage, he had no problem anchoring the shackles to a bed not made for that type of activity.

Standing at the side of the bed, peering down at her, he sighed. He would talk, and she would listen. Hopefully he would get through to her.

“You overplayed your hand this time...Kendra.”

He expected her to erupt in defense, or spill more lies. Instead, she returned his grin. “Did I?”

A gasp from the doorway had him turning.

Bjorn stood there—with Elin at his side. “Uh, I came to tell you I obtained a vial of Water,” he said, holding the small, clear container up. “But we can discuss it later. I’ll just take Elin—”

“No.” Elin’s skin paled. Betrayal colored her eyes. “I told you to come to me with anything, that I’d do anything to ensure your needs were met, and you said okay. You even said your tastes had changed,” she rasped, the words rushed, as if she wanted to hold them inside but couldn’t. “You said you were done with this.”

“Well, he lied,” Kendra responded, and she no longer looked like Elin. Or even like herself. Her hair was blond, her face that of a stranger.

Elin backed away.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” Thane said, desperate to make her understand.

She gave a bitter laugh. “Do me a favor and save your explanation for the next girl you’re looking to fool.” She pivoted on her heel and ran.

“Elin!”

Thane stepped forward, intending to chase after her. A single thought stopped him: he would have to restrain her to force her to listen to him, and restraining her would remind her of the chains, and he would do anything to make her forget what she’d just seen.

Kendra laughed. “Poor Thane. He finally falls for a woman, but she wants nothing to do with him.”

He gritted his teeth. He’d tried to do a good deed, and this was how he ended up?

Kulta, he projected. I need you to listen to me.

Too bad. I need you to shut up.

Elin, I promise you. What happened wasn’t sexual. Kendra was pretending to be you, but I realized her game and chained her up.

This time, she offered no response.

He tried again. Again, there was no response.

She’d blocked him. Probably hadn’t heard a word of his explanation.

“Go after her,” he commanded Bjorn. “Guard her. I’ll take over as soon as I’m done here.”

As the warrior rushed off, Thane turned his full, seething attention to Kendra.

Despite the implied threat—and his murderous expression—she gave another gleeful grin.

Calm. Just because you began poorly doesn’t mean you have to end that way.

“You should have stayed away,” he told her, his voice low. “I was done with my vengeance.”

“Well,” she snapped, “I wasn’t done with mine.”

“It will cost you. Because I will not allow you to leave until you understand the consequences of harming what’s mine.”

“I could say the same of you,” a voice growled from behind him.

Thane spun.

Ricker the War Ender stepped from a thick cloud of black smoke—and slammed a sword through Thane’s chest, the blade coming out the other side.

* * *

WAIT.

Freaking wait! Elin thought.

Truth began to seep past the veil of hurt. Thane wasn’t a cheater. He wasn’t dishonest. And he loved her. He loved her, and Elin loved him. She trusted him. Trusted him despite what her eyes had seen.

He always did everything within his power to protect her. He would never purposely chain a woman in his bed—especially a bed he’d planned to share with Elin—while she was nearby, able to stumble upon the scene at any moment...without a good reason.

There was an explanation for what had happened, just like he’d tried to tell her.

Relief was a beautiful deluge, and she stopped running. She’d made it all the way to the front porch, she realized. The sun had gone down, and the moon had taken its place, high and full and silvery. She closed her eyes and breathed, her heartbeat gradually calming.

I’m sorry for doubting you, she projected to Thane. Or tried to project. There was some kind of wall in her mind, trapping the words inside. Thane? Can you hear me?

Silence greeted her.

Had he...blocked her?

“No,” a deep, raspy voice proclaimed from...everywhere...nowhere. “I blocked you.”