Kirith leaned back in the chair, a furrow forming on his brow. He seemed to come to himself with a faint curse.

He swung his gaze back to Landon, meeting his gaze. Steepling his fingers together, he regarded Landon over their tips.

“I have been considering what to do with you.”

Landon tensed, swallowing the last of the orange juice with a single gulp and setting the glass down with a thump, his heart beginning to pound.

Still, Kirith didn’t seem like he was about to do something terrible; he seemed more contemplative than anything else, certainly nothing like he had been when he first captured Landon.

Landon watched him warily, not trusting this sudden change.

Kirith gave a faint sigh and rubbed his jaw with one hand. At that moment, he looked weary, as though Landon were just another problem he had to contend with, and an unwelcome one at that.

“Now that my initial anger has died down, I find myself in a quandary. Considering that you did not harm Laura, I am at somewhat of a loss. I have thought of giving you to one of my friends and letting them deal with you, but…”

Landon couldn’t decide if that would be worse or better. Certainly he didn’t want to be with whoever had Nate. He wanted to be nowhere near his brother. If he survived this, this might be his only chance to escape, to be free of both Nate and Adrian once and for all.

Kirith sighed again, bringing Landon back to the present.

His captor looked at him with a faint grimace, as though he would rather not have this task at all, and Landon keenly felt his own fault in this. He was the one who had invaded this man’s island; Kirith hadn’t asked for them to come. Was it so surprising that the man wanted him gone?

“I have a proposition for you,” Kirith’s tone held no inflection, nothing to indicate which way this was leading. “If you accept it, your imprisonment is over, though you will be remaining on the island. If you refuse, then I can give you to another, if that is what you wish. Either way, I do not want you remaining here as a prisoner. There is too much chance of Laura discovering why you’re here and I will not have her upset. Is that clear?”

Landon nodded warily. This all sounded too good to be true. This man wouldn’t simply offer him something straightforward, would he?

“I am minus a companion at the moment. The last one I sent on his way for being a greedy, manipulative, whiny bastard.” Kirith gave an unamused smile, his eyes cold and hard. “I have no use for clingy lovers. They bore me.” He leaned forward a little, watching Landon’s expression closely. “The deal is this. You are attractive enough and your tests came back clean. Give me your body for a few months, until I tire of it, then you may go free.”

Landon was speechless. He blinked several times, trying to get his mind around what he had just heard. Then he surged to his feet, fists clenched. “No fucking way! Marcello offered the same damn thing. You think I would accept it from you when I refused it from him? You can go to fucking hell!”

Kirith shrugged, rose to his feet, and headed for the door. “It was only a suggestion. Since you have refused it so categorically, I will speak to the others and have one of them take you. I’ll let you know who tomorrow.” He rapped on the door and when it opened, he left without a backward glance.

Landon was left in silence, stunned, angry, and wondering if he had just made a terrible mistake…