Tarnished Knight - By Bec McMaster Page 0,52

“Actually, quite a few young ladies do now. I appear to have started a fashion.”

“Why’d you throw the brick, Lena?”

“Are you accusing me of throwing that?” she replied, putting the book aside in practiced indignation. “What the devil would I do that for? And at who?”

“My question precisely.” He caught it again, his large fingers smothering it. “You’ll be pleased to know it didn’t hit its target. Barrons caught it before it hit him.”

Lena arched a brow as he prowled closer. “Of course I’m thrilled. Wouldn’t want someone ruining his perfectly coiffed hair.”

Will stopped in front of her, leaning down to cage her against the daybed with both hands. Lena pressed back into the soft cushions, barely daring to breathe. This was a side of him she’d never seen before. He never locked himself in a room with her, never came near her. If she brushed against him, then he usually took off like a scalded cat.

This close, she could smell the heady scent of his skin, sun-warmed and slightly musky. Heat radiated off him. The kind that made her want to curl up against him. The kind that warned she just might get her fingers burned…

“Why?” he breathed, the wild flaring in his eyes.

She was trapped. Pressed into the cushions, her lungs locking tight in her chest as every ancient, primeval instinct surged to the fore. Will had always been just a little bit dangerous, but he leashed the fury within him so tightly that she rarely caught more than a glimpse of it.

This was more than a glimpse. This was the fury peering back at her.

“I don’t know,” she blurted, barely managing to hold his gaze. But to lower her eyes meant defeat in some inexplicable way. Her shoulders drooped. “Or maybe I do. I was on the roof to get some fresh air – some peace – and I heard Honoria and Barrons speaking in her laboratory.” Lena swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “It’s his fault that Charlie caught the craving! They both admitted it!”

Stillness leeched through him. The predator was still there, but something had startled it.

“What else did you hear?” he asked roughly.

“They were speaking about the cure for the craving virus,” she replied. “Barrons warned Honoria not to let word of it get out. He said that if the Echelon found out it would be dangerous.”

Will gave a gruff nod. “Aye. Makes sense. Them bastard’s like controllin’ things.”

Lena couldn’t stop herself from scowling. “Do you think we can trust him? Barrons sits on the very Council of Dukes. Why would he keep this information secret?”

“We can trust him.” Will pushed away from her, letting her breathe. Lena’s fingers trembled as he paced the rug in front of her.

Then she realised that the balance of power in the room had shifted. Will had shoved his hands in his pockets with a blank scowl, the way he always did when he felt cornered.

Or was hiding something.

“What makes you so certain of that?” she asked slowly. Her mind raced. “And why would Honoria trust him, when she knew what he’d done to Charlie?” The questions kept falling into place. She’d been too distracted by her emotions before. “Why would she treat him? I know he helped Blade, but it was more than that. She knew him. Quite well, it seemed.”

Oh yes, she definitely had him nervous. Will scraped a hand over the back of his neck.

“Weren’t your father the Duke of Caine’s prodigy once?” A loose shrug that might have meant nothing. “Honoria would’ve known Barrons as a child. There’s only a few years between ‘em.”

Lena’s eyes narrowed. “You do realise that you never look at me when you’re lying?”

His gaze shot to hers.

“And you get a twitch…” She pointed to her right eyebrow. “Here. When you’re nervous.”

“I ain’t lyin’.”

Lena pushed herself to her feet, her skirts falling around her ankles. “You are so.” She was suddenly certain of it. “You know something about Barrons. Why won’t you tell me? This has to do with my family, after all!”

Will stared down at her from his great height. Emotion tightened his face and made his nostrils flare as she stepped closer, grabbing his wrist. Heat branded her fingers. As verwulfen, Will’s temperature ran several degrees hotter than hers.

Their gazes locked. This was the first time she’d touched him in a long time. Perhaps… the first time ever. Despite her anger, Lena let her thumb stroke over the back of his hand, marvelling at the hot silken