er seemed to amplify the silence. Eleanor Finch, the housekeeper with a

whisper, "Good work. Keep it up." He

sterically. That wasn't an act. I

rd the soft click of the door behind them and the s

ng footman without a glance, his

to

ed the absolute authority of a m

ua froze, turn

in annoyance. "What d

so close she had to crane her neck back to see his face. H

that did nothing to hide the sharpness of his gaze.

cast head, at the hair still sh

nt, uncontrollable shiver. If she look

between them. "Brodie, that's enough. Sh

about to be her brother-in-law." He reached out, his fin

e, exploded in Avery's mind.

rs made contact, she made the wildes

Not toward Brodie

ck, she went up on her toes, and

A desperate, frantic act of concealm

im. Her lips were soft, trembling, and cold with fear, but the pressure was fier

st block Brodie's view. I

d, his pupils contracting into pinpricks of dis

ng before him. At the woman who was so aggressive

all he could see was the sharp angle of her jaw and the frantic flutter

coming up to push her away. But Avery's arms tightened arou

through her entire body. This was

ell in ragged breaths, his eyes churning with a storm of

at his sides, the knuckles white. He looked l