“I don’t want you to touch me again,” she said, and when his pleasant expression turned to a frown, she hastily added, “I’m too sore.”

He gave her a knowing nod and said, “I’ll be gentle.”

Tears surfaced again, only this time they were tears of frustration. She couldn’t get him to listen to her.

He tugged the spaghetti straps of her dress down her arms, drawing his fingers along her skin as he pulled. When he’d freed her breasts, his eyes became heavy-lidded and smoky.

She felt vulnerable with her arms trapped by her sides and she lifted them, allowing the dress to fall to her feet. She was naked in front of him, wearing only his bruises. He touched each one, then replaced his fingers with his lips, kissing them.

She flinched and tried to move away when his lips trailed down to the angry welts created by him when he tore her panties from her.

“You bruise easily,” he remarked huskily. “You’ll have to be more careful to answer my questions when I ask you something, Yasmin. I don’t enjoy hurting you, but I’ll do what I must to protect you.”

A bitter laugh escaped. “You’ve hurt me a lot for a man who doesn’t like hurting me.”

He gave her an indulgent smile and stood, pulling her arm until she was standing in front of the tub. Like a child, he scooped her up and deposited her in the water. She gasped as the heated water touched her skin, but quickly realized the water was the temperature she liked it. Had he done it on purpose? How could he possibly know what temperature she preferred?

The same way he got hold of your medical records, her brain whispered to her. He’s been stalking you for months, learning everything he can about you.

He reached for a washcloth and dipped it in the water, then cupping her chin, he scrubbed the tear marks from her cheeks. His touch was gentle, lover-like. It made her feel off-balance after the brutality of what had happened in the living room.

“I knew you would fight when you first got here and I reconciled myself to having to use tough measures to keep you in line,” he told her, and it took a moment to realize that he was answering her accusation. “The pain you experience now will be short-lived in comparison to a lifetime of bliss. Once we get past this turbulent time in our lives, we’ll settle down into a future of love and happiness. Trust me.”

“But you lost your temper,” she pointed out. “That doesn’t seem like the action of a man who’s in complete control. You threatened to spend the night… strangling me. Why should I trust you?”

“You provoked me,” he said with a shrug. “So yes, I lost my temper, but I was in control of myself the entire time.”