“You could very well still be in danger, Samantha. There is no time to wait,” Warwick snapped.
“Danger?” James asked softly. “What danger?”
The breath hissed from Samantha’s mouth. “I thought tomorrow soon enough to speak on the matter.”
“Really? You thought tomorrow was enough time to tell your brother you were kidnapped?”
“Kidnapped!” James roared the word, and suddenly there was silence in the room. No easy feat when you considered the amount of people in it. “Study! Now!”
CHAPTERTEN
Warwick grabbed Samantha’s arm and led her from the room. She struggled to free herself.
“I’m an adult, Warwick. I would have dealt with this in my own time!” Samantha snapped the words at him. “Unhand me at once!”
He ignored her and walked. They passed gilt-framed pictures, and yet more vases of flowers. Warwick glanced in a mirror as they passed and noted the furious look on Samantha’s face.
“I told you to tell him.”
“And I said I would.”
“This is no game, Samantha.”
“You think I find being kidnapped funny?”
He held her arm until they reached their destination. Only then did he release her to put a hand on her rigid spine and nudge her through the door and into the study.
“Stop pushing me.”
“I won’t have to if you move your feet.”
She turned and shoved him hard in the chest. He dutifully took a step back to appease her.
“Did that make you feel better?”
“No. Stop trying to control me. I don’t need or want it.”
Her cheeks were flushed, and her fists clenched. She looked about as intimidating as a kitten. He kept that thought to himself.
“So, you’re all about independence now that you’ve lived away from us for a year, are you?”
Her hands opened and closed as if she wanted to strike him.
“I can take it. Hit me.”
“I, unlike you, have control, and I would never punch someone just because they were provoking me.”
He smiled, knowing how much it would annoy her. “How controlled you are, my lady.”
“Stop teasing my sister, Warwick,” James said, entering the room behind them.
“It is a hard habit to break,” he drawled.
Samantha inhaled through her nose and released the breath loudly out her mouth. She then smiled through her teeth.
“It is quite all right, James. I am no longer easy to tease,” she said in a haughty tone.
“Excellent.” James made for the silver tray holding two decanters. “Now someone had better start talking and fast.” He started pouring amber liquid into glasses.
