She took her sweet time in answering. His molars would be a distant ground-down memory by the time they were done. Never in his life had a woman yanked his chain with such ease. Which would have been funny in another time and place, given the chain on her ankle. Or not. Humor required him to be more then semi-conscious and not suffering from a head wound.

When she wavered in and out of his vision he got a little concerned. He rested his head back on the pillow. Bloody hell, falling on his face wouldn’t strengthen his position.

Her gaze settled on some point behind him. “I was going to sleep underneath the bed.”

“What?”

The woman just looked at him, mouth a bitter line. Dark smudges sat beneath her eyes. He wasn’t the only one in need of sleep.

“Roslyn. Why would you do that?”

She flung out her hands. “Why do you think?”

“You’re safe here.”

“Nowhere is safe,” she said. “Sleeping on that bed, out in the open … it feels too exposed. The storeroom I used to sleep in was very small. And locked.”

“We’re inside a locked building.”

She just looked at him.

Nick sighed and slowly sat up, pushed off his blankets and scooted across the bed. When he swung his legs over the side of the mattress she danced back a step or two, almost tripping on the chain. Not like he wasn’t dressed. He’d changed into a T-shirt and some sweatpants to sleep in. The odds were good if he’d left anything hanging out she would have tried to cut it off.

He set the light on the bedside table and gave her a small, tight smile as his head spun queasily. “Easy. We’re just talking.”

The nasty glance she gave him seemed pretty f**king unnecessary, really. Not like he wasn’t proving himself willing to discuss things. Also, not like he could do much, what with the condition he was in. Though she didn’t know that.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath. “Do you really think I would bring you here without making sure you’d be safe?”

Her face lifted in a mocking grin. “Oh, I’m sorry. Is my fear of dying a horrible, bloody death bruising your ego?”

“Ros, be reasonable …”

“I’m so glad this is all about you.”

“Wait, okay? Let’s just stop and think this through,” he proposed, leaning his elbows on his knees. Propping his chin in his fingers stopped the world from sliding south. “You are very valuable to me.”

The sides of her lips turned down in disgust. “Yeah, a van’s worth of valuable. I saw.”

He ignored her baiting, still hopeful they could get some sleep tonight. Please God, let them get some sleep tonight. “Be logical, Ros. You like logical, don’t you? I will not let anything happen to you. I went to too much trouble to lose you now.”

“Aah, the power of the pu**y.”

“Exactly,” he agreed with a smirk. Which was a mistake. If the woman hit him now, he really might be down for the count. “Calm down. It’s the truth. You have it. I want it.”

“I hate you so much.”

“Because I’m honest?” He sighed. “No, Roslyn. This should comfort you. You’re pretty much worth more to me than my own life. You and your pretty pu**y.”

Shouldn’t have said it. Couldn’t help himself. Wasn’t like she didn’t hate him already.

It was a little surprising when she actually hissed at him, though. “I mightn’t even be any good in bed. Have you thought of that?”

“I’m willing to take the risk.” He grinned. “I’m also willing to teach you. I’m actually quite a good instructor when I put my mind to it. You’d be surprised.”

Her jaw shifted restlessly like maybe he wasn’t the only one wearing away teeth. “I desperately need you to go f**k yourself.”

“Roslyn,” he tutted, and the fury in her eyes exploded. She was a lot of fun all stirred up. Pity about the reason. Still, it pleased him to know he could get to her as much as she got to him.

A long, low growl came from outside and her shoulders jerked. He hated seeing her afraid, for reasons even greater than his ego. There’d been enough fear and death. By locking this bird in a golden cage, he’d save her from experiencing more. Perverted, but true.

“You’re safe,” he said in a softer tone.

“I’m here. I’m clearly not going anywhere. We don’t need to be discussing this any longer. Why do you even care?”

“I don’t want you sleeping beneath the bed.”

Blue eyes stared back at him, unhappy.

He smothered a yawn, searched for something to put her at ease. With his brain pounding, he couldn’t have set himself a harder task. He’d promised not to jump her no matter how much he wanted. The place was locked down. The evidence on that front was obvious. His headache left little room for thought. Didn’t put off his dick, but then his dick had no sense. It had gotten him into trouble for most of his adult life.

“Why don’t I go back to my side of the mattress and you come lie down?” he said.

She didn’t move.

“Roslyn, I spent weeks making this place safe for us. Reinforcing every door and window. Testing them. Nothing is going to get you. Not in here.”

One slender, bare foot rubbed at the hardwood floor. The cold hardwood floor. She had to be cooling off fast, out from under the blankets. He knew he was. It had been hours since he’d seen to the fire. Stanthorpe in the winter could chap your ass, and that put it mildly.