“Maybe not to my life, but she is a danger.”

“How long have you been here with me?”

“A couple of months,” she said, puzzled by the question. It had to be rhetorical because surely neither one of them could have forgotten that night or when it had occurred, so close to the holidays.

“In that time have I harmed you?”

The first night he’d spanked her and briefly touched her, but if she was honest with herself, it was mild compared to what he could have done. And she couldn’t bring herself to classify it as harm. “No.”

“Have I forced myself on you?”

“No.”

“Have I tied you up or locked you in the dungeon?”

“No, but you threatened to,” she said, remembering his intensity as he’d gotten her on board with the fake engagement. She glanced down at the glittering rock on her hand and another tear slid down her cheek. Gina was supposed to call again tomorrow. She had new ideas for color schemes and themes, no doubt trying to get Faith excited about her wedding. Gina was going to see through this sham long before June arrived.

“But did I actually do it?”

“No.”

“Then do you trust me?”

If she didn’t know where his line of questioning was leading, she could say yes without reservation, because he had kept her safe and taken good care of her, and being a doctor, she knew if she got sick or hurt he could heal her. But a yes was all the invitation he needed to shoo Mei Lin out of the dungeon and replace her with Faith.

“Please let me go,” she whispered.

“Never.” He practically spat the word at her, his eyes blazing.

“But why? I frustrate you. Sooner or later, we both know you’ll take what you want from me.”

Leo backed away from her, giving her room to breathe. “You’re the only one I’ve ever really owned. I need the other things I do down there, but they can’t replace the one thing I can’t get in any moral way. I know it’s wrong to keep you, but I can’t help myself. You’re like a priceless piece of art kept in a glass case. I can’t do anything with it but look at it, but I know it’s mine. And sometimes that’s enough.”

Faith wondered if that was why Leo had put her in this room. With all the large windows, it was like a glass case. And she was the fragile figurine he kept inside.

“But it’s not enough. You don’t just want to look at me.”

His gaze swept over her in such a predatory way, it was as if he’d stripped her bare. “Come here.”

She took a few tentative steps toward him until she was within easy reach. He took her into his arms and pulled her against him. His fingers threaded through her hair and his lips met hers, hungry, exploring, his tongue pressing past the barrier of her lips. She couldn’t help the involuntary whimper he drew from her.