rice

the tomb-like silence. "Utterly insane!

with disbelief. "Eleanor, you can't allow

ing to peel back my skin and read the secrets in my bones. "Give me a reason,"

stare was a physical weight on my shoulders. But th

," I said, my

hest level of your family. Only a response from the highest level can wipe it clean. Only the Don him

my focus

r the rest of his life, he will have to look at me not as the woman he discarded, but as the wife of the man h

. I forced myself to mee

rity," I said, m

it is no secret in New York that you were injured in the war yea

. Impotent. Firing bla

ve of killing intent rolled off Brent. It was so terrifyin

my ground

no threat of succession disputes. There will be no new children to challenge the existing lines. It would be a pu

ness, and presented it to him as a bene

disappear, but something else flicke

better than anyone the truth of her son's situation, the reason he had remained unmarried for s

e spoke, bu

at is your

of the entire room shifted fro

ved with a quiet grace that was more intimidating than any overt threat. He stopped directly in front of me, close enough that I ha

le, a gravelly sound that vibrated through my bon

the world of danger, a life that would be

my choices, Mr

I felt like an insect under a microscope. My entire

itched, a barely perceptible mov

," he

landed like a

d with astonishment. Now they not only looked at me as if

low exhale escaping her lips. When she opened t

oor. "Get the priest. The wedding will

ost buckled my knees washed over me

done

n the aisle of St. Patrick's Cathedral. No

f the families, the groom would now be Brent Aston House, a wave of shock and confusion rolled thr

rent slid it onto my finger. His touch was firm, possessive, hi

xpression unreadable. He placed a hand on my jaw, his thumb brushing against my skin, and leaned in. His lips w

ly a few years younger than my own father,

d and silent crowd, I knew my l