The huge double doors, carved with oak leaves and oriental dragons, cracked open. I froze, waiting for Lucien to appear and kill us all. Only...Whisper appeared from the shadows instead.
The tame, gentle panther who shared my bed no longer existed as he lowered his head and stalked the girls, his eyes narrowed and ruthless.
“Eh...guys?” I backed up, not out of fear for Whisper but because I really didn’t want to be sprayed in blood.
Do you hear yourself, Rook?
In what world was it normal to accept panthers as pets and become pissed off at the thought of getting blood on my clothes if he decided to eat someone for breakfast?
Sucking in a breath, I pointed behind them—effectively saving their lives. Not that they’d thank me. “You might want to go elsewhere to finish your conversation.”
“Don’t tell us what to do,” the third girl snapped.
“It’s you who shouldn’t be here.” Evelyn sniffed. “The minute Mr. Ashfall sees you, you’re dead.”
I didn’t bother correcting them and didn’t care that they ignored my advice. Time was ticking and Lucien hadn’t told me what time to report this morning, so I was already probably late.
“I’m just going to go.” Moving around them, the girls spun with me only to freeze as they noticed Whisper directly behind them.
Skidding backward, they clutched each other as the panther bared his teeth and roared.
I fought a smile and dared, stupidly, idiotically, to run my fingers—just like Lucien did—down Whisper’s sinuous spine. I couldn’t decide if I’d done it to prove the point that I wasn’t dead or to warn them not to underestimate me.
Either way, their eyes bugged, and Whisper joined me in my little game by arching his spine, turning to rub against me like I was his new favourite thing, then took my hand gently in his mouth and tugged me toward the mansion.
His fangs pressed against my very breakable skin. The hot wetness of his mouth made me break out in goosebumps, unable to override my body’s reflexes.
“Eh, Whisper?” I breathed. “I kind of need that hand. Please,pleasedon’t bite it off.”
He hmphed and dragged me toward the doors.
The girls erupted in chatter behind me.
“She—”
“It’s bringing her in.”
“What the hell is going on?”
“Why is it dragging her into the house?!”
“You can’t go in there! Everyone’s forbidden from entering Mr. Ashfall’s home!”
Whisper let me go and let loose another loud, ferocious snarl.
Turning to face the women, I asked, “Aren’t you all here to harm him anyway? Why stop at the front door?”
Evelyn strode forward, braver than the other two. Her black slinky dress would be better suited in a nightclub. “We’re not trying to hurt him. We’re trying to give him everything he’s ever wanted.”
“You mean sex.”
She scowled. “He’s been alone for twenty years. He’s lonely.”
“Do you know who he is?” I asked, genuinely, desperately wanting to know. “What makes him so important to you and those men outside? What makes him such a threat that people are trying to kill him?”
Lydia rolled her eyes and came to join Evelyn. “She doesn’t even know who he is, yet his cat is giving her a private invitation.” She flung her hand in my direction, pouting like a drama queen. “How is that fair?”
Evelyn never looked away from me, respect slowly building in her gaze. I waited for her to give me the answers I needed, but disappointment settled as she giggled and flicked her hair.
