Chapter 109

Lily's eyes waned and she breathed in deeply. This man was overdoing it. "And I swore a vow that I would never be at the compassion of another man."

Wiggling as if her words had blown a nerve, Rhye suddenly rose to his feet, glaring down at her with an offended expression.

 "You’re not at my mercy." He muttered.

"No?" She rushed to her feet with a great deal less grace than Rhye, planting her fists on her hips. "You want to make my decisions for me. You want to tell me what’s best for me. You want…"

Hell, this woman was hard-headed.

"I want to protect you, Goddammit, Lily," he hissed.

"Maybe in your mind, but it feels like a restraint to me."

Without warning, Rhye's hands lifted to scrub his face in a gesture of utter exhaustion.

"God, you drive me crazy, woman."

She grinned wryly. She hadn’t won the battle, but she hadn’t lost.

Not yet.

"Welcome to my world," she muttered. 

Lowering his hands, Rhye gave a sh