The next morning, the regret came when I woke up to a splitting headache. My arms and jaw hurt, but all the pain was in my head. I slid my legs to the ground and rubbed my forehead, my eyes, yet to be opened. I reached for my bedside table to grab my phone but ended up touching bottled water that I knocked aside by mistake and ended up falling to the ground.

Bending down, I opened my eyes to grab the water when I froze. I didn't raise my head at first. I kept staring at the floor that didn't belong in my flat, and then slowly, my head kept rising and rising until I was staring at a room that couldn't have been mine. The first thing I noticed was the walls that were deep, dark grey, and contrasted against the light floors. The huge bed I was on had an oversized headboard of cushion that stretched across the entire back wall. Seductive dark hues illuminated the room and a wall sculpture of various designs, and a large flat screen tv. The pieces of furniture were dark burgundy.

I looked down at what I was wearing—a silk nightgown that felt so soft against my skin, and when I checked, I wasn't wearing any underwear, and my clothes were nowhere to be found. I saw an Advil left on the bedside table that I didn't hesitate to pop into my mouth and wash down with water. My hair was a wild mess that not even running my fingers through it could fix it.

I padded over to the marble-covered bathroom, which was almost as big as the bedroom. It was all white and gold here, with the biggest bathtub sat in a corner on a platform and a glass shower cubicle. There were large windows that overlooked the city. I went straight to the sink, washed my face first, and tried to fix my hair with the brush that I found in one of the cabinets. I also found a new brush, which I used to brush my teeth. After I was done, I grabbed a towel from a hands-shaped stool and dried my face with it before I exited.

Walking out of the bathroom, I darted my gaze around, not knowing where I was, but something told me Rogue brought me here. I remembered that he had saved me last night, which I didn't want to think about. It was humiliating for me.

I passed him in an office, seeing him standing with his feet planted wide, and his arms crossed, facing the window.

"You should have come to me first about that," he said briskly into the phone in his ear. "Don't make decisions without me. You know how this goes."

He sounded annoyed, and I wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation but decided against it. Not because I wasn't curious about the conversation, but because it didn't feel right, and I wouldn't like it if he does the same thing to me.

I kept walking and still wasn't exactly sure where I was going, but I managed to find the kitchen. The penthouse was quiet and still, so beautiful and simple. Different from the other house he had kept me hostage at. This place felt like what Rogue's home would be. I made coffee and drank it all, and he still had not come to find me. Was he letting me be on my own for a little while, or was he still on the phone?

Switching on the TV, I went through so many channels without knowing what to watch, so I ended up turning it off. I went back to the kitchen to have another refill of coffee, and maybe go back to the bedroom and find my clothes, then get the hell out of here. God, I had no idea how I was still so calm about this.

Turning around, I cursed when I found Rogue standing in front of me with a lopsided grin. He closed the few steps between us with his long stride and picked me up. As he was turning around, I hit him.

"I can walk, put me down!" I hit him again but to no avail. I was awake and sober now. I didn't need him to continue picking me up like I was a little girl. It was offending and a little embarrassing. Rogue has had his ways for too long now.

"So violent. I knew we were a good match."

Beyond frustrated, I decided to give up hitting him and just let him take me wherever he wanted. When I remained quiet, he slapped my ass, and I squealed.

"I like it when you put up a fight with me," he murmured. "Don't go quiet and obedient on me now."

"I thought you like obedience."

"Not on you," he retorted with a smile in his voice. "What I like is my cum on you. Will you let me cum on your face?" He massaged my ass as if he was thinking of the idea and enjoying it. How disgusting. Sick fuck.

My face heated like a tomato. "It depends on how long you want to continue living," I clipped, just as we entered the bedroom I woke up in. He carried me to bed, setting me down on edge. When I stood up, he pushed me back down and dragged a stool to sit in front of me.

"You want to take a shower?" he asked, with an amused smile on his face when I kept trying to put some distance between us.

"I want my clothes first."

Rogue rested his hands on my knees to prevent me from crawling away any further. "Your clothes got dirty. I sent them for dry cleaning."

"My clothes were not dirty." I glared.

"How would you know?" he asked. "You were passed out. Which reminds me...." He yanked on my legs, pulling me closer to him, enough that I could take a whiff of his scent. Grinning, he trailed circles on my thigh, adding, "I was promised a reward for saving you."

"I was drunk!" I cried out. "Why would you take what I said anything seriously? The fact that I'm not kicking your face for changing my clothes should be enough reward for you."

"Why would that be a problem? I've seen you naked before." He gave me a devilish smile that set my heart on fire. "And it's my favorite view in the world."

I huffed. "Not while I was unconscious. Who knows what you have done to my poor body."

"I was the one who got assaulted, and you're the one complaining about what you think I might have done to you?" He chuckled, rubbing his chin and considering. "And how are you going to pay me for terrorizing me last night? My lips were assaulted. Look—" He tried to lift his shirt. "Your nails are all over my body. If I hadn't tried to keep you at a distance, you would have taken advantage of me."

"Please, I may have been drunk, but I'm not stupid. I know what I can and cannot do when I'm drunk." I waved him off with an eye roll.

"Really?" Rogue stood up and unbuttoned his shirt, taking it off to display his amazing, sculptured body. It was hard and ripped. He turned around for me to see, and I gazed up at the marks on his back—several of them, which looked like it could have been done by nails. I gasped. He heard the sound and chuckled, turning around to look at me. "Do you believe me now? See what you've done."

"That...that..." Aiming a finger directly at him for emphasis, I said sternly, "that did not come from me. You did that to yourself. I would never—"

He interjected, "But it did happen, and I would like to be compensated for it. There are more marks on my thighs, but I think showing you my back is quite enough. So—" He clapped his hands, his eyes glinting at me, more of green and less of a brown. "how should I be repaid?"

I struggled to reply because I didn't know what to say. He couldn't have made it up because they did look like claw marks, and I was with him last night. I could have done this to him, and I couldn't believe how embarrassing that was. Who knew what else I did. But I didn't want to find out.

"Well?"

I replayed the image in my head and groaned, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths through my nose. When I opened them, I said, "Fine. What the hell do you want? Sex is off the table."

He actually glared at me. "I won't ask you for sex, Beth." He cupped my jaw in his hand and gazed down at me, his eyes dark and beautiful. "I'll be doing that when I please."

I bristled at his statement. "When you please?" I repeated, blood rising to my cheeks. "Not when I'm ready?"

"Of course, I know you will always be ready for me."

My eyes widened, and I swatted his arm. "Why, you arrogant twat! I can't believe that came out of your mouth! Who do you think I am?" I yelled, folding my arms over my chest.

Suddenly, Rogue crawled onto the bed and dragged me on top of him, arranging me, so I was using his body as my own bed. "I would love to answer that for you, but I'm afraid my body can't take too much assault from you. You're yet to repay for last night, and you keep adding more pile." He cocked his head and gazed at me steadily. "If anything, I think you do enjoy owing me, don't you?"

"You're mental."

"So, that's a yes? You're excited to know what I will ask from you, isn't it?" He stroked a hand over my hair, his chest rising and falling with his heavy exhalation. He didn't lose his smile. "That thrilling rush of excitement of not knowing what thing I will take from you." Rogue dragged his finger down my chest and to my cleavage. "It's exciting for me, as well. Perhaps I should sit and think about it very well. I don't want to make a mistake."

I shivered but still managed to give him his well-earned glare. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Are you not?"

"In what world will anyone enjoy owing you something? And come to think of it, it's ridiculous to think I owe you anything for the claw marks. Some men will actually be grateful for it." I pushed him off me, and he easily falls beside me, hearing his chuckle that rumbled through his chest. I sat up and turned, glaring at him. "If you had said I owe you for saving me last night, I would have taken it more seriously, but saying I owe you just for leaving marks on your body is stupid, Rogue. Again, where are my clothes? I need to get home."

"I told you where they are. Unless you want to leave the penthouse in a nightgown, then you're free to do so. Who am I to stop you?" His arms went behind his back to support his head as he looked up at me with a mischievous grin. "But then, you can't leave here if I'm not the one driving you, and no Uber either. That leaves you to walk, but it's Sunday. Everyone is free, and everyone is just dying to see you walk around in your nightgown, that is—" He raised his finger to me. "If I allow you to take it with you. What belongs to me stays with me."

I wanted to hit him.

"You're insufferable," I moaned.

He grabbed my hand and yanked me back to bed, rolling me onto my back and settling his weight on top of me. Rogue smirked as he stared down at me, fiercely intense. "And charming, rich, and the sexiest man alive," he listed off proudly.

I breathed, "You forgot arrogant, psychopath, narcissistic, and the list just keeps going on."

He looked unimpressed.

I shoved at his chest. "Get off me!"

He sighed and muttered, "I should teach you how to be nice to someone who saved you. If I recall, you were the one who called me because you desperately needed my help, and I rescheduled a meeting to come save you."

"Ugh, tell me what you want, then."

He silenced me with a kiss, and I should have pushed him off me or attempted to pull away from him, but I did neither because I liked the way he tasted just as much as the way he kissed and what it did to my body. I completely hated myself for surrendering to him so easily, as if I had no self-control. And if I did, it was on my vacation.

Rogue was the first one to break the kiss, leaving me breathless. "What I want," he started, and I eagerly waited for him to drop it, but then, a grin spread over his face. "will have to wait later because you and I will take a nap now."

"A nap? I just woke up!"

He rolled over and grabbed me, pulling my arm, so I tumbled over his body. Lying on his back, he tucked me into his side and flipped the covers back over us, then settled in with a satisfied sigh.

"Go to sleep."

"I just woke up!"

"Then go to sleep again."

Oh my god.

"Are you deliberately doing this?" I asked in anger. It went quiet for a few seconds before I realized he was silently laughing. When I tried to pull the covers down, he gripped me so hard it cut off my circulation. "Not so tight!"

"I like things tight," he told me softly. "You're so tight and warm, Beth. Perfectly made for me." I didn't think he was talking about what I thought he was talking about.

"Rogue, you need help."

He laughed again.

"Glad you're finding this funny."

He whispered, "You have no idea. Now go to sleep, sweetheart, and if you can't sleep, squeeze your eyes like little kids do. You can also count sheep, whichever your heart desires." It annoyed me how relaxed and content he sounded.

"My heart's desire is for you to disappear."

"And mine is for you to take a nap with me, so when we wake up, we can continue where we left off." A tinge of warmth sneaked into his voice. "And who knows, you might discover you enjoy having me make decisions for you."

I sighed. He took that as defeat.

After some time, he nuzzled my ear, murmuring sleepily, "Good girl." He threw an arm and a leg over my body and pulled me close. It went quiet after that, then out of nowhere, he grumbled, "You should have gone with red. Red would have suited your fiery personality."

I touched my hair absently, glaring at him. So what if he didn't like the color? I loved it so much, and what he thought about it didn't matter. It was all for me.

"Asshole," I mumbled.

I didn't understand how he expected me to be able to sleep just after waking up thirty minutes ago. There was no sign of sleep in my eyes, and it annoyed me how easily he had fallen deep into slumber. Had he been awake all night? What could have been the reason?

*

Don't ask me how I was able to fall asleep, but I did, and when I woke up the second time today, I felt heavy breathing coming from behind me and felt the weight of Rogue's arm wrapped around my waist. Instead of freaking out, I found myself snuggling deeper into him.

I would not admit it to him, but it actually felt nice. He was the first man I woke up in bed with that I didn't hate or felt the need to distance myself from him. Rogue seemed different. A rare thing in my life, which I wanted to release, or find a way to balance everything so this could work.

A rush of breath escaped my lips while I remained to lie there, staring at the ceiling. Countless thoughts occupied my mind, but it was Rogue that screamed the loudest. I wanted to turn around and face him or actually manage to escape him this time.

"How long have you been awake?" His voice was thick with sleep, a sexy sound that blessed my ears. He stretched his legs, inhaling deeply against the back of my neck before pulling me tighter against his body.

"I just woke up," I answered, feeling his erection pressed against my ass and my face flamed. "Did you just wake up?"

I heard him turn, but his arm was still under me, secured around my waist. "I could practically hear you screaming and hurling curses at me in my head, so I was bound to wake up."

"Are you saying I'm your nightmare?"

Rogue shifted and slid his other arm under my body and squeezed me, nuzzling my neck. "You could be the girl of my dreams."

"No, thanks," I retorted, cringing. "that would require I lose my brain cells because that's the only way I can handle you, and I'm not sure you would like someone who is no different to a dummy."

There was a pause from him. "You're so strange. Maybe the strangest person I've ever been with." He sounded off-balance.

My eyes popped, and I found myself turning around to face him with an interesting look. "How many others have you dated?"

He cocked his brow, grinning. "Are we dating, Ms. Wallace?" His eyes burned into mine, and I was breathless from their intensity.

I was filled with sudden panic, so I shoved him, and he chuckled. "You know what I mean, you ass. How many women have you been with?"

"You sound interested," Rogue remarked, caught between amusement and admiration at how I was able to sound uninterested and still managed to look interested.

"I am. I'm wondering how many dumb women actually dated you and if they're still functioning."

"I admit, not a lot of women can handle all of this." He pointed to himself with an arrogant smile on his face. "But I do have an exquisite taste, though." I didn't like the expression in his hazel eyes when he uttered that last sentence, and a little twinge of tingle surged through me.

I nodded, absorbing that, then I smiled at him. "So you're picky."

"You could say that." Gently, his hand moved along the column of my throat, the long fingers caressing the soft skin. I felt as if I was suffocating.

"How many women?" I persisted.

"Not much than I could count. Some I have forgotten. Others were just a fling. Those are the memorable ones."

So, he dated a lot of women. It was expected. My throat suddenly went dry, and I was aware of the crazy leap my heart gave. Mutely, I stared at him, mesmerized by the intensity of his gaze as it roamed over my face. I wondered how they had coped with Veronica, and I wouldn't mind talking to them about it either. I was very much interested in what they had to say.

"You didn't fall in love with any one of them?"

"That would mean I believe in love," he confessed, steadily keeping his gaze on me as if he wanted to read something in my face.

"You don't?" I asked in a whisper, struggling to come to terms with this information. He didn't believe in love, so why would he keep pressurizing me and acted as if he somehow did?

Rogue shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. It's not like I don't believe in love—I do, I have seen it in other people, and I admire it, but I tread more towards passion. It's the only thing that I know I can survive," he explained.

Helplessly, I closed my eyes, unable to bear his intense scrutiny, afraid he could read what was in my heart. But then, I decided to open them and pretended it was my eyes that hurt, so I rubbed and squeezed them.

"But you said you loved Veronica."

"Not romantically, as I've told you."

"What about what you said?" I prodded with a frown. "About my different kind of love being different from yours, and the comment about sacrifice." He should remember that night.

He chuckled. "That, I was trying to annoy you when I asked that, and it did work."

"Asshole."

"What about you? Have you ever been in love?"

"Quite a few times, actually." I didn't know why I told him that, or maybe it was because he was honest with me right now, compared to the rest of the times we had been together.

"Interesting." He did sound interested. "I take it something had gone wrong?"

"Like every other relationship, yes, but I don't mind the heartbreaks. I get better at fixing my heart and moving on. That's the perks of having failed relationships."

"Doesn't sound like fun," he murmured huskily, his lips barely touching my ear.

With difficulty, I answered, "It's not supposed to be."

Gazing down at me with soft eyes and a sleepy smile, he suddenly asked, "Do you love West?" He only barely hesitated. "Honest answer, Bethany. Don't lie to me."

"No, I don't love West."

A brief flash of relief crossed over his face, and his smile widened, relaxing at my reply. "Okay, good."

I lifted my brows. "That made you feel better?"

Rogue flipped me over, so I was flat on my back on the other side of him, then threw his leg over me, pinning me down. "You know it," he answered back.