Elin’s POV

Aaron carried me into the bathroom, his strength both tender and possessive as he lowered us into the steaming bath. My body, spent and trembling, could do little but collapse against his chest. He held me as though I belonged there, as though submission was inevitable, and dipped a cloth into the water to wash me with unhurried, deliberate strokes.

His breath, warm and damp, brushed against the shell of my ear, the words edged with menace.

“Those things you said earlier—do you ...