heart sank. He wasn't going to make this easy. Logic and reason

er grovel. He want

tely, she would become exactly what Sheila had designed her to be

t could pierce his armor, something that could gi

t him came back to her in fragments. The disfigured heir. The violent recluse. The man who never appeared

ake of cruelty, but a boundary dressed as poison. If he believed she was willing t

of defiance, of something bordering on

A small, bitter laugh escaped her lips. "The qualification is that

a wife to silence the whispers from your board and your family. I n

ering in their depths. He didn't und

stance between them. She lowered her voice to a c

and beside you, smile for your board, sign whatever needs to be signed

w tigh

sed doors, you

nged. Colde

my house with nothing but a suitcase and a scandal

erself not to step back. If she yielded now

e I can give you the one

o her. "And what

consummated. A reason no one will question why there is no heir, no ho

hat followed

darkened by degree

w it was dangerous. But panic had backed her into a corner, and

red. "Let them thi

om Dereck's face, replaced by a terrifying, absolute s

his one devastating provocation. It was not meant to humiliate him alone. It was me

hen, a murderous rage ignited in his eyes. She had hit her mark. She had

bit out each word, his v

he moved. He lunged forward, grabbing her b

of the bed. Before she could scramble away, his

torted with fury. He grabbed the n

RR

iolent and sharp in the quiet roo

d, his voice thick with ra

scalculated. Horribly. She fought back, a wildcat trapped and fighting for its

me! You'r

He captured both of her wrists in one of h

d forward with her head, sinking her tee

taste of blood

is body going rigid. His grip on her wri

all she

, into his stomach. He gasped, the air knocked out of hi

ner of the room, her torn dress hanging off one shoulder. She crouched th

ed his shoulder, his fingers coming away stained with blood. The sharp pain se

fire still burning in her eyes. His expression was a comple

come after

adjusting his shirt. He walke

her, his face a cold, un

er. The room Arthur had called hers was the very room she had just es

. She kept moving until she found a small, unlocked sitting room at the end of a side corridor.

voice over the house i

that woman's belongin