“I’m not hot,” Baze murmurs, frowning when I clear my plate and start using it as a fan.
Rhordyn makes this low, abrasive sound that arcs my spine, shoving my breasts forward. I glance at him, lungs compacting when I see his hands gripping the arms of his chair like they’re the only things binding him to this world.
His nostrils flare, eyes full-bellied moons, and there is no color in his cheeks. No light in his features. Nothing but cold, astute awareness.
Something in those depthless eyes reminds me of Shay; of the way he perches in a slab of shadow, waiting for me to toss his fleshy feast so he can pounce.
“What’s your problem?” I ask, working my plate-fan to a frenzy.
Baze makes this high-pitched choking sound. “Oh ...fuck.”
“Out,” Rhordyn snaps, but Baze just sits there, watching him with wary eyes.
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“I saidout.”
His brutal command vandalizes the air, and Baze curses, eyes to the ground as he stands and pursues the door.
I pause my fanning. “Why are you—”
“And clear the north wing of all males!” Rhordyn bellows, his voice a clap of thunder.
“Was already on it,” is Baze’s nasally response before he disappears.
I frown, glancing at Rhordyn. “What the hell is going on?”
Ignoring my question, he waves a hand at Tanith. She peels off the wall and sways toward him, her movements a dance I usually admire—
I don’t realize I’m snarling until Rhordyn growls, long and menacing, and I pry my gaze off the approaching female.
“No,” he berates, eyes skewering me in place.
He seems bigger—broader—his pressing essence commanding me to yield.
I’m just about to stand when he rises like a mountain shoving out of the ocean. “I said no.”
The words power out of him and snip the flame off a candlestick in the middle of the table.
Though my chin is jutted, something inside me curls.
“Tanith,” he grates, keeping me impaled with his emphatic regard. “Cast your eyes to the floor. Now.”
I study the pretty female who is staring at the ground, paused a respectable distance from the table. The sight has my shoulders softening, upper lip no longer peeled back from bared teeth that were ready to chew.
“A cold bath needs to be drawn in Orlaith’s tower,” Rhordyn flings at her, attention aimed at me. “Notify Cook that she’ll be taking meals in her room for the next week; simple, palatable food. And she’ll need some rags prepared and brought up, seeing as she won’t be able to retrieve them herself when the time comes.”
Hang on ... “What?”
Tanith curtsies, then hurries from the room.
“But I don’t want to take meals in Stony Stem for the next week,” I plead as Rhordyn sinks into his chair. “Whatever this is, my answer isno.”
Silence stretches. The man’s not even breathing. So, I take the chance to validate my point while rocking back and forth against my seat.
“Look, I know you think I don’t have much of a life, but I do. And I have things that need tending. There’s just no way I can spend an entireweektrapped in my tower. Much as I like it there,” I quickly tack on. “Wonderful view. Fantastic housekeeping service. The stairs are a bit much after a long day, but who am I to complain?”
His eyes drift shut, lips stamp together. Even his shoulders look heavier ... but I disregard that in light of my own barreling emotions.
