Tavia nodded in agreement. “I know you’d rather be in your own place, but I hope you’ll be comfortable here for now.”

As she spoke, Gabrielle turned to open a door directly across from the library. The room inside was large, but cozy, with a small sitting area on one side and a four-poster bed on the other. The drapes on the tall window had been drawn to let in the morning light and the view of the manicured grounds below. On a bureau near the opened door, a vase of fresh-cut flowers perfumed the air.

“The room is lovely,” Brynne said as she stepped inside. “Thank you both.”

“Make yourself at home,” Gabrielle told her. “That goes for the entire estate. And you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Or as long as my sister and the Order insist?”

Tavia exhaled a short sigh. “It’s not meant to be a punishment, you know. We’re only concerned for your well-being.”

Brynne knew it wasn’t. She waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s all right. I understand. I even agree that London may not be the best choice for me right now. I guess you might say I’m a bit hard-headed, especially when it comes to being told what I can or cannot do.”

Tavia and Gabrielle exchanged an amused look.

“I think you’ve definitely found your tribe,” Gabrielle said around a laugh.

“What about Zael?” The question popped out of her mouth before she could even think to hold it back.

“What about him?” Tavia asked. A spark of curiosity lit her questioning gaze. “And why do I get the impression there is something more going on between you two than either of you is willing to say?”

“There’s absolutely nothing going on between us.”

Maybe her denial was too immediate, too insistent. It certainly didn’t seem to convince her shrewd half-sibling if the look on Tavia’s face was any indication.

Brynne shrugged. “You heard him yourself. Zael showed up in London last night with the mistaken idea that I would fall at his feet the way every other woman probably does.”

No, she hadn’t fallen at his feet. She’d pounced on him like a woman starved for sex. Which, technically speaking, she was. She was starving for a lot of things, but she’d been an idiot to let Zael glimpse even part of that weakness in her. Now, he’d likely never let her live it down.

What would he do if he knew anything about her other secret shame? The dangerous one that lurked deep in her laboratory-mixed DNA. The one that she’d been hiding ever since she emerged from beneath the collar of her upbringing. Not even Tavia would look at her the same way if she knew. No one would, and rightly so.

Brynne tugged her thoughts away from her monstrous beginnings and back to the source of her more recent aggravation. “As far as the Atlantean is concerned, I have no interest in a romantic relationship or anything else.”

“Mm-hmm,” Tavia replied. “And is that why you’ve been trying so hard to ignore him since you arrived?”

God, had it been that noticeable?

Was it still?

She’d been trying to avoid looking at Zael today because every time her gaze landed on him all she could think about was the feel of his lips on hers. And when she recalled how hot and commanding his mouth had been—how good their bodies had felt, pressed close and moving sensually together on the dance floor—all she wanted was to feel that rush again.

Why couldn’t she have done the smart thing last night and let that cute, clearly available and utterly harmless bartender take her home? Why couldn’t she have said yes to any one of the other men—human or Breed—who’d either circled her at the bar or come right up to take their shot?

She knew the answer and unfortunately it all came back to Zael. She hadn’t wanted any of those other men. She would have sworn she didn’t want Zael either, but her body seemed to have other ideas.

No doubt about it, kissing him had been a colossal mistake.

One she couldn’t take back and, unfortunately, would never forget.

It was going to be a lot harder to put him out of her mind so long as he was under the same roof with her. Even worse, if he was going to be closely involved with the Order for any length of time.

“Do either of you really think he’s a wise choice of ally?”

“You don’t?” Tavia asked. “If you have cause to think that, Brynne, we need to know.”

She wanted to discount Zael outright, but the truth was, despite being a pain in her backside from the second she laid eyes on him, he did seem informed and engaged about the problems the Order was facing. He may be a charmless ass, but he seemed to be trustworthy.

Even where she was concerned, seeing how he hadn’t made a fool of her tonight in front of everyone. Incredibly, after making her think she was fair game for his ridicule, he kept her secret to himself.

And maybe he wasn’t completely without charm either.

Still...

“He’s Atlantean,” she murmured, as if that should be cause enough to doubt him. To her mind, it was at least worth questioning. “What do we really know about him?”

Gabrielle glanced at Tavia, indecision in her soft brown eyes. “We know enough to assume Zael’s alliance with the Order is worth any risk.”

“Because of something to do with the Atlanteans’ queen?” When both women looked at her in question, she added, “I realize I haven’t been formally included in the conversation, but Lucan’s comment to Zael downstairs didn’t exactly sound reassuring.”

That was putting it mildly. Brynne’s instincts had gone on high alert at the ominous mention of the immortal race and their apparent ruler.

“Yes, because of her,” Tavia said, after Gabrielle’s permitting nod. “We learned we had an enemy in Selene a few weeks ago, when the Global Nations Council peace summit was compromised by Opus Nostrum—”

“Attacked,” Gabrielle corrected. “They would’ve slaughtered every Breed dignitary in the place if their ultraviolet weapon had gone off before the Order was able to stop it.”

“I remember,” Brynne said. “There were hundreds of diplomats and world leaders at that gathering.”

The news of the attempted assault had made panicked headlines around the world. As for the Order’s heroic actions, it had done little to endear them to a population of humans who mostly despised the Breed as a whole, or to the Darkhavens who considered the warriors to be a volatile force among their kind with an over-reaching grasp on the law. Even JUSTIS was guilty of eyeing the Order with more suspicion than due respect.