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She compared him to the mage? He gritted his teeth. Sure, Liam might have deceived her, plotted to strand her in an isolated cabin, and—hell yeah—he’d say anything to keep her here. Okay… So what if he was a rat bastard.

If he bluffed, Vivian would see right through his bullshit. Gods save him. If he was going to get through to her, he’d have to tell her the truth. “I played poker that night while you sat in my lap. You wore a sparkly dress with two big hearts stitched over your tits. You laid your hand over my heart, and I felt it kick against your palm. Then you tucked your face to my neck and whispered,Mon coeur, the Queen of Hearts cannot—”

“Be denied,” she finished. Her emotionless mask cracked, giving him a glimpse of the pain he’d caused her that night. “Duo corda, amor unus,” her voice broke. “You felt it. And yet you chose to reject me.” Again, she stiffened, spun on her heel, grabbed the door handle, and flung it open.

Think, Liam, think. Make her stay.He racked his brain, calling out, “I didn’t fuck her.”

Yep, that did it.

She slammed the door and stormed back, leaning close, sneering in his face. “Thisis your big confession? How you would woo me? Convince me to remain at your side? You. Bastard.” She drew back her hand as though to smack him, then stopped, squeezed her eyes closed, and curled her fingers into her shaking fist.

Though he welcomed it, hope flooded him that she couldn’t bring herself to strike him, even now. “Took her back to her place. Couldn’t do it. All I could think about was you. I left her there. Alone.”

“Good for you.” Vivian wrenched her hand down at her side. “You didn’t screw that strumpet after your soul reached out for mine. Doesn’t change the fact you rejected me. Practically chewed your arm off that night trying to escape.”

She took a step as though to leave.

“I came back for you,” he said in a rush.

She froze.

“Month later, after I’d finished the job. I came back, looked through the window, and saw you cozied up to the mage. You were sitting on his lap, laughing.” Anger rose at the memory. “Didn’t look so devastated to me.”

“That’s right.” She thrust out her chin, eyes blazing. “And thank you for reminding me of how stupid and naïve I was back then for using the mage to assuage my wounded pride. Oh, how I paid for that reckless choice. I’m not that powerless little girl anymore, Liam. What’s past is past.”

“And yet our pasts still have the power to hurt us,” he countered. “You asked me once about my scars.”

She folded her arms. “You’re stalling. Trying to keep me here until Jericho returns. Well, it won’t work.”

And yet, she was still there. “I was a slave.”

She pressed her lips together, saying nothing, though the curious gleam in her eyes said he’d snared her attention.

“That’s right, a slave. My father was a Norseman. When I was still too young to join him, he and some of the other males went on a raid, leaving me to watch over my mother and two younger sisters. His longboat was caught in a storm, and he never returned. Not long after, our village was attacked. I tried. Tried to protect them but was no match for skilled warriors. They slaughtered my mother and sister in front of me. Even back then, I was far from small. Thinking I’d be of use, they put me in chains. I wore those chains until I grew so big, they embedded in my flesh.”

She paled, her furious expression softening. “Your scars. How did you get free?”

He snorted a pain-filled laugh. “My captors made a number of enemies over the years. Those enemies rallied. One day, while they were under attack, I broke free. Rather than run, I picked up a sword, joined ranks with their adversaries, and cut them down.”

She drew closer and set her hand on his chest, tracing the path of her ropes. Brow furrowed, tone incredulous, she murmured, “You spent all those years in chains, and yet you allowed me to bind you?”

He hitched a shoulder, the corner of his lip curling. “You were rather persuasive.”

Seeming to snap out of a daze, she shook her head, drawing her hand back. “Why tell me this now?”

“So you’ll understand. Both my mother and sister died because I failed to protect them. For centuries I lived free, with no rules, no obligations. I refused to tie myself to anyone, worried I’d let them down as well. Then, there was Alex. Her mother was killed by a rogue vampire because I screwed up a job, so I tried to make it right. Again, I failed. And now…” His throat tightened.

“Now?” she urged.

“Now, there’s you. I can’t fuck this up again.”

“That’s why you were leaving me behind.”

He nodded. “That first day at your house, you said you wanted my devotion. Well, you have it.”

“Now, who is the naïve one,” she scoffed. “You don’t prove your devotion to someone with lies and deceit.”

Satan’s balls, she was really going to make him say it. “When you released me from my debt, I didn’t leave you.”