Under the first two shelves were more interesting books. These were historical books on knights, medieval weaponry, jousting, and the Knight’s Code of Conduct. Just how old was Brayden? Had he been a knight once upon a time? The thought of Brayden wearing heavy armor carrying a heavy sword fitted so well she knew it had to be possible.

She was about to go rifle through his desk, albeit with a little guilt, when a woman’s soft voice brought her head careening around. She followed the sound of womanly singing until it got louder and turned the corner into the dining room. With its white oblong table and elegant, high-backed white chairs, she found an older woman cleaning one of the tall windows with a pole-like object with a sponge at the end. It looked professional, like something building cleaners used.

“Hello,” Vanessa said.

The woman jumped then spun around, eyes scared. They calmed in an instant, but she raised a hand over her heart. “Lord, you scared me.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone else was here.” Anyone else but Brayden, that is.

The other woman laughed a little. She had long hair pulled into a bun at the back of her head and a kind, round face. “Sorry, ’bout that. Brayden mentioned you were here, but I honestly forgot when I came in today. I’m Gail, the housekeeper,” she said coming forward and thrusting out a sturdy, strong looking hand.

Vanessa took it and smiled. “Vanessa. Nice to meet you. Do you happen to know where he is?”

Gail shrugged a big shoulder. She had the kind of body that said she’d done a lot of manual work in her days, and there’d been a lot of them. “Probably still in his room. It’s Friday, which means it’s food time for him. So, are you all right, honey? What’s brought you here? I’ve never seen Brayden with a woman before.” Gail gave her a pointed look that just begged to hear all the juicy gossip.

Vanessa fidgeted. “Well, he’s helping me with some business.” She left it at that. No way did she want to delve into her marital problems.

“Ah, well it’s nice to see another face around the house. It’s always so quiet here. Gets pretty boring.” She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Plus, Brayden could use a little spice in his life. The man never does anything exciting. I think you might just be what he needs to liven up a bit.” She winked, then went back to cleaning the window.

Vanessa stood rooted in place for a minute before the sound of heavy footsteps sounded at the stairs. She moved into the hallway and started to smile Brayden, but the smile halted then faded at the harsh look on his face. His eyes were screwed tight, his cheeks pinched, and his lips flat.

“What’s wrong?”

Ignoring her, he passed by, said a quick hello to Gail, then grabbed her hand and tugged her into his office. He closed the door behind him and suddenly she remembered being alone with him in her room, and that hot kiss. Don’t think about, Vanessa. It’s only going to get you into trouble.

He stood a few feet away from her, that harsh frown on his face. Unease skittered through her like snakes.

She rubbed a hand across the back of her neck. “What is it?”

His mouth twitched, and not in a laughing way, then he looked away from her then back again. “I called Joseph.”

Her response came instantly and without thought. “You did what!” she yelled.

He seemed to harden, his body stiffening, eyes looking stern. “I called him. I told you I would.”

Breathing became hard. She knew her chest was rising and falling hard, but couldn’t seem to get enough air.

“Shit,” he cursed. Then he pushed her into a chair and shoved her head between her legs. “Breathe even and slow now. Come on, Vanessa.”

Oh, God, she couldn’t. Each breath of air felt way too short for what she needed. She couldn’t breathe slowly; she could only suck in air fast then blow it right back out. His big hand spanned her shoulders, rubbing in circles again and again.

“Take it easy, now. I’m going to protect you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

In and out, she sucked in air, squeezing her eyes shut as sweat beaded her forehead. His deep voice was so soothing though, and the hand on her back moved slowly around and around. She repeated what he said as a mantra in her head until finally, she breathed in a deep breath that actually felt like it reached all of her lungs, then let it out on a long whoosh of air. She felt much better, back to herself, and very angry.

Sitting back, she swiped his hand away from her. His jaw clenched and rocked to the side, but fuck him. What did he have to be mad about? She stood and got in his face, or the best she could, considering he had several inches on her.

“Why the fuck did you do that? And without telling me? Without my damn permission?”

He crossed his arms across his big chest. “I had to, Vanessa. I had to see where he was at on this.”

She threw up her hands. “So much for trusting me. So, tell me, did he agree to a divorce since you asked him about it? Did he agree to sign the papers and fax them so kindly to the Justicars Headquarters for me?” She crossed her own arms, but that didn’t make her feel better, so she squeezed her arms with her hands until little throbs of pain reared up.

“No; no, he didn’t,” he said softly.

She laughed the sound bordering on hysterical. “Oh, great. Now he knows where I am. Isn’t that just dandy. You know, this is all my fault. I never should have trusted you. I never should have even come here.” God, she felt like crying and hitting something and screaming all at the same time.

But she did none of those things. Instead, she calmly turned and strode to the door. Her hand curled around the handle just as a much bigger hand flattened against the door. She stared at the wood door, her jaw tight. “Let go.”

“Look at me, Vanessa.”

She studied the deep lines of the wood where veins were darker than the rest.

“God dammit, just turn around!”

Fine, she did. He stared at her, then wordlessly mouthed something, running an agitated hand through his hair. “I had to and I can still help you. I can still protect you.”

“Oh, really?” she asked, sarcasm locked on heavy. “How do you plan to do that? Really, I want to know.”

He lifted his hand as if he was about to say something, then dropped it with a slight shake to his head. “I’m going to contact your father and try that route.”

She clapped her hands together. “Brilliant! And when he tells you he won’t void the contract that’s now doubled the size of his land?”

He ground his jaw to the side. “Then I’ll think of something else.”

She chuffed and wished her heart didn’t feel like it was breaking. It did though. It was one thing knowing she’d never be able to get a divorce from Joseph and another entirely to see the Justicar Brayden, a man much smarter than herself, especially in the way of the law, tell her he’d ‘think of something else.’ Yeah, right.

“I think we’re done here,” she said, her voice hollow.

“Vanessa...”

She turned and paused with her hand on the door. She laughed suddenly, the sound low and raw. “You know, I thought I was pissed with your reaction after we kissed, but this—this is so much worse.” She turned the door handle and left, happy he didn’t call after her. At least, she wished that made her happy.

Vanessa tiptoed downstairs, no easy feat in high heels. The house rested with a quiet that you’d expect in a house where no one lived here. Not a TV was on, not a radio, and no murmurs of conversation could he heard, and it wasn’t even late. Which was great for her.

She went to the wooden side table near the front door and picked up Brayden’s black leather wallet. Weird, it was such a normal thing for a man to leave his wallet by the door, but it still seemed odd to her. Maybe because the way Brayden acted wasn’t so normal, at least to her. Yet, she was beginning to learn many things about him weren’t as she’d thought. Such as, that like any normal person, he kept his keys and his wallet on the side table by the front door, and that he could be very kind if he wanted to be.