“What have you two ladies been up to?” Maddox asked, his eyes going between the two women.

“Oh, we’ve had a glorious time,” Adira said, her arms opening wide as if encompassing the universe. “We watched the plants in the garden grow and saw the pretty fish swim. Then we danced. Do you like to dance, Maddox?”

“I’ve been known to dance,” Maddox said, leaning back against a pillar, his arms crossed casually over his chest.

“That’s wonderful! Then you can come dance with the bees…”

Not quite sure he’d heard her correctly, but hearing Jennie giggle, he gave the older woman a harder look. When she attempted to keep from blinking, keeping her eyes on his, her innocent act set off warning bells in his head. Shaking his head, he pushed off from the pillar and held his hand out to Adira.

“Oh, are we going to dance?” she asked, leaning into him, her arms wrapping around his waist once he’d pulled her to her feet.

“Someone’s going to be dancing all right,” Maddox stated, grinning when Adira squealed with delight. “First though, you said you wanted to talk to Kurt at the stable.”

“Did you know that Arabians dance? It is really remarkable. It takes years of training and yet even though they are huge, they perform these intricate steps so flawlessly… it’s quite breathtaking.”

It took Maddox a moment to puzzle out what she was describing but then connected her thoughts. “Are you talking about Arabian horses?”

Pulling away, Adira gave him a pat in the center of his chest. “Of course.” After a moment, she giggled. “Wait, did you think I meant Arabian bees?” Another bout of laughter followed before she cocked her head as if something had just occurred to her. “But then, why shouldn’t they? Do you think all bees dance, Jennie?”

Maddox watched as Adira did a few turns about the porch, bobbing and weaving in a slow twirl as she made what could only be an attempt to mimic a bee’s buzzing noise. Turning once again towards Jennie, he shook his head. “By the way, your head is on backwards.” He chuckled when Jennie actually lifted her hands to her face and ran her fingertips over her cheeks. “Not that head… that one,” he clarified, nodding towards the garden troll whose eyes were indeed looking down at his own rather chubby ass cheeks.

“Oops,” Jennie said, reaching to rectify the situation.

“That’s one word for it,” Maddox said, snagging Adira’s hand. “Come on, I think some girl needs a nap.”

“No… I need to dance,” Adira countered. “It’s so beautiful, so freeing. Dance with me, Maddox.”

Having absolutely no idea why, Maddox dropped one hand to her waist, the other holding her hand against his chest up near his shoulder and led her across the porch. As he turned, spinning her in a circle, he saw Jennie, her smile wide, her eyes sparkling, her gray head nodding. Despite the fact that he had absolutely no doubt that this woman had shared a bit of her not so secret stash with Adira, he knew she also shared so much more… with his father, with him, with his brothers, and now with Adira. Jennie gave all of her heart, and for that he could forgive Adira’s little buzz. When he realized she was buzzing again, providing the music for their impromptu dance, he chuckled, nodded at Jennie and waltzed Adira straight down the porch steps and across the yard, disappearing into the path through the trees that would take them to the stable.

By the time they reached the stables, they’d stopped dancing but he continued to lead her, his hand cupping the nape of her neck. “Hmmm, I like that,” she said, reaching up to clasp his wrist. “It makes me feel like…”

“You’re mine?” Maddox offered, watching the contented smile spread from her lips to light her eyes as she nodded. “That’s because you are,” he emphasized, bending to give her a quick kiss. Stepping inside the double doors, he allowed Adira to pull away, watching as she practically threw herself at the first man she saw.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “I was just awful. Please forgive me.”

Maddox chuckled as the man gave him a bewildered look while patting Adira’s back. “Um, sure thing, ma’am.”

“Adira, meet Kevin Malloy,” Maddox said.

“Kevin? I thought you said his name was Kurt?” She pushed back, her head tilted to the right, staring up at the man she’d just hugged.

“It is,” another voice said, causing Adira to change the direction of her stare. “Hello, Miss Nazar. How are you feeling today?”

Adira moved quickly to Kurt, giving him a hug. “I feel wonderful but wanted to apologize for the way I behaved. I’m normally not so… so rude. Oh, can I come in or—”

“You’re fine,” Kurt assured her, also patting her back. “You can’t ride, as you aren’t wearing the proper footwear, but you are more than welcome to visit.”

After thanking him, Adira went to the first stall. Maddox watched as she gave a soft sound and the stallion whinnied in response. Moving towards a barrel, he picked up some apples and went to join her. “Here,” he said, offering her one of the fruits.

Maddox could see her love of the horses in her expression as she spent time with each of the three stallions they’d purchased. She fed each one an apple, stroking their faces, pressing her cheeks to their velvet skin, murmuring softly, pausing as if they answered and for some reason, Maddox had no doubt they did. Her joy was magnified when they reached Zephyr’s stall. Reaching up, she placed her palms on the horse’s cheeks, looking into his huge eyes, and bent to kiss the white patch that lay almost completely hidden by his forelock of black hair.

“I’m sorry,” he heard her whisper. “I was irresponsible, and thank you for keeping me safe.”

Maddox could feel the bond between this small woman and huge horse as Zephyr lifted his head, nodding and giving a nicker before his lips opened to nuzzle not Adira’s hand, but her shoulder. She laughed, and when he released her, she fed him an apple and then another.

“Ah, playing favorites?” Maddox teased.

“Perhaps, but he deserves it.” Adira stepped back to him with a smile. “They are all magnificent and are all going to be very happy here.” Turning to address Kurt, she continued, “I would love to work with you and promise I will remember how to dress properly and to behave.”

“I’d enjoy that, Miss Nazar. Would you like to come back and ride this afternoon?”

“Adira, please, and… um, may we start tomorrow?”

Kurt shot Maddox a look and grinned. “Sure, tomorrow works just fine.”

After she’d thanked him, Maddox slipped his hand to her neck and led Adira back outside. “Ready for that nap?”

“Actually, I’m a little hungry,” Adira said.

Chuckling, he nodded his head. “Yes, I saw you eyeing those apples as if forcing yourself to feed them to the horses instead of eating them yourself. What’s the matter? Jennie didn’t let you eat any of those nice fat blackberries?” Her head whipped up, her eyes wide.

“What?”

“Oh, babe, it’s going to be so much fun reminding you that you can’t tell a lie to save your life. As for being hungry, yes, grass can do that to you. It’s not that long before lunch, but I’m sure Jennie must have something in the refrigerator we can nibble on.”

Adira giggled, her eyes still locked on his. “Hmmm, I can wait for lunch if maybe I could raid your secret stash.”

Tightening his grip slightly on her neck to hold her in place, he bent to give her lips the lightest of kisses. “I do remember how very much you enjoyed that lollipop.” He traced the seam of her lips with the tip of his tongue, the memory of her taking long, slow sweeps of her tongue across the purple surface of the Tootsie-Pop causing his cock to jerk. Pulling away, he loved the look in her eyes and her slightly unsteady walk as they returned to the house. He was at the base of the stairs before she spoke.

“I thought we were going to… um, the workout room.”

“I promise you are definitely going to be getting a workout.” He continued up the stairs and then down the hall to his bedroom. Opening the door, he grinned down at her. “About that snack… you’ll be having that as well.”

She looked up and down the hall as if ensuring they were alone before leaning towards him. “Do you have secret candy stashes all over the house?” she asked, her voice no more than a whisper.

His laugh rang down the hall as he led her inside, shutting the door behind them. “No, you’ll find this treat is always with me.” Turning her towards him, he used one arm to wrap around her waist, pulling her close as he took her hand and guided it to his fly. Watching her eyes widen with understanding was fulfilling, but seeing her lip stroked by her tongue again had him stiffening into steel. It was definitely time to see how much experience his little vixen had in the oral department. Stepping back, he gave his first order. “Strip.”

Once she was naked, he allowed his eyes to roam up and down her body. Though she still had bruises of various hues painting her skin, as well as some lacerations still not quite healed, he had never seen a more exquisite woman. When her head swiveled to follow him as he moved to circle her, he said, “No, eyes front and down.” Her instant obedience spoke a great deal of her willingness to learn… to submit. He’d known he was a dominant for as long as he could remember and had been involved in playing with a number of different submissives. But Adira was the first woman who had come to him a virgin in more ways than one. There was no question that she was a passionate woman, but he was going to learn her boundaries—after encouraging her to explore everything—pushing her to allow herself to go just a bit further than she thought she could.

Moving behind her, he said, “Kneel and place your hands behind your back.” She sank down onto her knees and once she’d moved her hands behind her, he squatted and guided her hands so that each cupped the opposite elbow. He drew her hair over her shoulders to flow down her back, the ends dropping past her crossed arms to sweep against the curves of her buttocks. Leaning forward, he whispered, “Beautiful,” into her ear before kissing the side of her neck. Once he stood before her again, he dropped his eyes to her breasts. They sat high, beautifully rounded and tipped with nipples the color of toffee, pebbled into tight points. The diamond in her belly button shimmered, drawing his eyes down and past it to see the black curls of her pubic hair. Grinning, he said, “Spread your legs apart.” Squatting yet again, he slid a single fingertip from the hollow of her throat, down the valley of her breasts, circling her navel before dipping down to swirl within the patch of curly hair. “Tell me, are you already wet for me, Adira?”

“Yes.”

A single, sharp tug on her pubic hair had her give a cry and then the proper answer. “I mean, yes, Sir. I’m… I’m wet for you.”

“Good girl,” he praised. “Look at me.” Her eyes lifted to his, already glazed with her growing desire as he allowed his finger to continue its exploration. Sliding along the plump lips of her labia, slipping between them, spreading them open, he found she was not wet… she was soaked. “How are you at sucking cock?”

The flood of color that bloomed first in her chest and then flooded up her neck to stain her cheeks gave him her answer before she even opened her mouth, but he waited for her response. Would she attempt to exaggerate her experience as she had before? He didn’t rush her, didn’t take his eyes from hers and didn’t stop stroking along her pussy.

“I-I don’t know, Sir. I’ve never tried… but I’d like to learn.”

“Thank you for your honesty.” His finger began to move a little faster, stroke a little harder, encouraging her clit to swell, to pulse, to jump with each pass of his fingertip. She began to tremble, her nipples puckering ever tighter, her breath coming in little pants as he pushed her towards climax. “You’ll find that honesty earns you not only respect, but pleasure. I want you to come for me, Adira.” Her hands moved to grasp his arms but he shook his head, his finger instantly stilling. A soft mewl and a little thrust of her hips had him smiling. “No, put your hands back where they belong and remain still.” Once she’d obeyed, he began again, adding another finger to slide over her clit and then inside her, both curling up to rub against the softly padded area of her g-spot. The mew became a gasp, her body jerking, her arm moving for only a moment before she remembered his instruction and stilled.

Not caring if he did so to help steady her or because he simply wished to remind her that she was his, his free hand moved to slide beneath the dark curtain of her hair to hold her neck. She arched into his touch, the slight movement causing her hips to tilt the slightest bit. Warmth surrounded his fingers, her body’s lubricant coating them, dripping onto his hand as her channel began to tighten in her preparation of exploding.

“That’s right. Let go. Come for me. Come now.” Another two strokes and she obeyed, her body stiffening and then convulsing, her arms breaking position as her hips bucked and her knees buckled, the sound of his name on her lips filling the room. He continued to stroke her, to coax every convulsion from her, pressing his lips to hers, exploring her mouth with his tongue, swallowing her mewls of pleasure. When she finally sagged against him, he slid his fingers from her and released her mouth. “Position,” he reminded gently, pleased when she returned to kneeling, her hands once more behind her. Holding up his fingers, glistening with her essence, he placed them on her lips. “Open.”

Her cheeks flushed, her eyes looked doubtful but her lips opened, accepting his fingers and tasting herself for the second time. “Lick.” The feel of her tongue swiping along his fingers had his cock twitching, reminding him of his intentions when she stated she needed a snack. Still, it was incredibly erotic to feel her tongue laving his fingers. “Suck.” As her cheeks began to hollow in and out, he unbuttoned his fly, easing his rigid cock from its confinement, stroking up and down its length. “Absolutely beautiful,” he said. “Release.” When she did, he pulled his fingers free, bent forward, kissed her softly and said, “I can’t wait until it is my turn to taste.” Her sharp inhale and soft moan told him she was most likely a bit eager for that as well. However, he had another lesson to teach. Rising from his squat, he continued to stroke his cock, his hand once again cupping her neck as she turned her head up to him.

“Just like you did that lollipop, just as you licked and suckled your fingers, you’ll do the same with my cock. Don’t rush. Take the time to savor. Do not be afraid that you are doing it wrong or not well enough. Just enjoy.” When she nodded, he smiled and said, “Open.”

No, she wasn’t experienced but she was obedient. Her mouth opened, her head bent forward and she took his cockhead between her lips. When she didn’t make another move, he managed not to chuckle, knowing she was waiting for step by step instructions. “Lick and suckle, babe. Explore.” It seemed that was all she needed. Her tongue began to swipe over his cockhead, her brow furrowing a bit as her tongue experienced the presence and taste of his precum for the first time.

Maddox used his hand to guide her, his moans of pleasure to encourage her. She began to bob her head up and down, sliding her tongue along the vein on the underside of his shaft. When he pressed her to take more, she resisted for only an instant and then accepted his silent order, allowing his cockhead to bump against the entrance to her throat. One day she’d learn to take every inch of his cock, but today’s experience was to overcome any fear or sense of shame she might have about the deed. There was no need to push her further. Besides, he’d been hard since he’d seen her dancing to the bees’ melody in her head and wasn’t going to last much longer.

“I’m going to come,” he said, feeling his cock swell and his balls tighten. “Just relax and swallow; you’ll be fine.” He continued to stroke in and out of her mouth and once he felt his seed surge into his cock, he tightened his grip on her neck, holding her in place as he spurted his essence into her mouth. She gave a shocked moan but didn’t fight his hold, allowing him to guide her. With his bellow of pleasure, he filled her throat, watching her struggle but proud of her efforts to accept him. Once he was empty, he eased his hold of her neck, his fingers stroking along her skin. “Beautiful,” he praised, moving back to slip his cock from the sweet cavern of her mouth. Squatting, he lifted her chin, finding her blush adorable as he bent forward to kiss her before helping her to stand. Guiding her to the bed, he helped her climb up onto it and between the sheets. Placing his gun on the nightstand, he shucked his clothes and joined her. With her held close to his side, her head on his chest, he heard her give a big sigh.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his fingers playing with the inky strands of her hair.

“Remember how I was going to tell you an Arabian tale?” she asked, her eyes finding his.

“Ah, and you feel robbed?”

“No, not really as I wouldn’t have even known how to tell that story. I was just thinking how amazing it is that everything with you just seems so right, so easy. I’m wondering if I’ll ever need to tell you a story, as you seem to know what I want without me ever speaking.”

Maddox bent to kiss the top of her head. “I’m sure there are fantasies you’ve had that I won’t know and those will make incredible stories.”

She nodded and Maddox closed his eyes, thinking she was falling into sleep. He opened his eyes when she said, “Maddox?”

“Hmmm?”

“Remember you told me that you understood how I felt… about losing my family?”

“Yes.”

“You really do, don’t you? Jennie told me about your mother, your sister. I am so very sorry.”

“Thank you,” Maddox said, not surprised that Jennie had shared something so personal with Adira. The two had seemed to form an instant connection from the moment they met. “It was an awful day. We not only lost people we loved, but that was the day Pops discovered that the trust he placed in the government was unfounded.”

“What do you mean?”

Maddox took a moment to gather his thoughts, appreciating that Adira didn’t push him. “My father worked undercover for the Department of Justice. He’d infiltrated a branch of the mafia, spending almost a year gathering enough intel and evidence to make sure they’d be put away for a long time. They put us, his family, into a safe house in order to assure him that we’d be safe while he testified. We had agents, bodyguards, with us at all times. Two died that night as well. The only reason my father and I survived was because your grandfather made that phone call.”

“How did he even know?” Adira asked, moving to tilt her head up to look at him.

“Evidently they were looking for another source to move their money out of the country. I’m sure they were hedging their bets, not willing to assume they’d come away scot-free and wishing to have a source of ready income. However, what they didn’t realize was that your grandfather, your family, had yet to have dealings with those who deal in drugs. Hadi not only turned them down, somehow he also learned of the plan to assassinate my family. His making that call didn’t save my mother or sister, or the two agents in the house that night, but it saved my dad and me and, as it turns out, his decision came full circle in that we were able to repay the debt… not as we wished, but at least in that we managed to get you out. It was another agent, one who had been turned and was working for the mob, who told them where to find us. From that moment on, my dad decided that the only person he could truly trust was himself. He began to help others, teaching me and my brothers to follow in his footsteps.”

“Learning that my grandfather reached out to your father… it isn’t really logical but it helps balance some of the other things… bad things they’ve done. I’m glad to know that there are people like you and your family… most people would assume that anyone who strays outside the boundaries of the rules… the law, deserves whatever comes to them.”

“Pops’s motto is that no innocent should pay for the crime of their father.”

“Jennie told me your father saved her from a cult.”

Maddox smiled, remembering the day his dad had brought Jennie to the ranch. She’d been pissed as hell, demanding she be allowed to leave. He’d never heard such swearing… on both their parts during the following days. It took his dad a long time to convince what he called “the wild child” to settle, often punctuating his lectures with his hand or belt to her backside. Eventually Jennie had learned to accept her worth, to acknowledge that it wasn’t her destiny to give her life for some asshole megalomaniac’s vision. Once she had, she became the Jennie they all knew and loved. She was still a bit wild, had a free spirit, could curse up a blue streak and debate until she was blue in the face, but she’d brought them love, peace, and a sense of family they’d lost with his mother’s and sister’s deaths. Her mere presence gave them a sense of serenity that they sorely needed to fall back on when returning from missions that forced them to live on adrenaline and go full out, risking their lives to save another.

“She is an amazing woman,” Maddox finally said, moving his hand down to rub against Adira’s ass. “But, young lady, if I find you stoned out of your mind, you can bet that you’ll find yourself back in the dungeon getting another dose.”

Instead of pulling away, she pushed her hips back, filling his palm with her flesh. “Hmmm, is that supposed to be a deterrent?”

Giving her a swat, adoring her squeal, he moved her to her back, positioning himself over her, bending to trace her lips with his tongue before pressing between them. Her hands came up to wrap around his neck, fingers sliding into his hair. Maddox explored her mouth, his tongue dancing with hers until she was moaning, her body arching into his. Pulling away, he said, “You’ve had your snack, it’s time for me to enjoy mine.”

Her hands slid from his hair to his shoulders and then down his arms as he moved down her body, his tongue licking, his teeth nibbling and his lips nuzzling her flesh. Pushing her thighs apart, he was glad to see that the chafing from her ride was healing, softly stroking over the tender skin, watching tiny bumps appear as she trembled. Using a single fingertip, he separated the lips of her labia, loving her soft mewl and her much louder gasp as his tongue flicked along the seam, dipping into her pussy which was growing slicker with every moment. She was so incredibly responsive, so eager to experience, to learn and he had so very much to teach her.

Slipping his hands beneath her buttocks, he tilted her hips up, settling his mouth over her sex.

“Oh… oh,” she moaned, fingers once again finding his hair. The slight discomfort of the pull against his locks, her unconscious lifting of her hips, the press of her body, told of her need. Thrusting his tongue into her pussy, he explored, licked, suckled, lapped at her cream until her mewls turned into the softest of one word repeated again and again. “Please… please… please.”

She asked so sweetly, he thought with a grin against her sex, giving a last long, sweep of it before settling on that tiny bundle of nerves. Suckling it into his mouth had her hips jerking and her hands dropping from him to grip the sheets. It was time to allow her to fly. Taking her clit between his teeth, he gave it a soft bite.

“Maddox!” she screamed, her body freezing for the merest moment before it began to convulse and though her hips jerked from side to side, her hands began to push against his shoulders, his head, he easily kept her in place until she practically bowed in two as she splintered beneath his mouth.

Lifting his mouth and his body, he reversed the path of his journey, kissing her belly, her breasts, her nipples, her neck until his lips were a breath from hers. “Absolutely delicious,” he said before moving that last fraction of an inch and kissing her. Her eyes were glazed, her cheeks a soft deep rose color as he reached into the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a foil wrapped object.

“May I?”

His cock jerked at her soft request and he handed her the packet. The feather light touch of her fingers as she rolled the condom down his shaft had him growing even longer. No woman had ever affected him as Adira. When she bent forward and kissed the tip of his latex covered cock, it was his turn to moan.

She lay back, lifting her legs to wrap around his waist, her hands moving to grab his buttocks. With his cock pressed against her opening, he looked down at her. “Do you have a tale to share?” he asked, grinning as she attempted to force him inside her body.

“Fuck me,” she moaned.

“Ah, a short story,” Maddox said, and her moan turned into a shriek as he thrust fully into her with one movement. She was incredibly tight, hot and slick as he stroked in and out, her whimpers as her body adjusted to his girth, driving him ever closer to his end. “Come with me,” he ordered, driving fully inside, remaining still as he bent to nibble on a turgid nipple.

“I… I don’t think I can…” she whispered.

“You can,” he assured her, pumping his hips again. “You will.” And she did, her eyes wide as she exploded, his mouth capturing her scream and feeding her his groan as they came together. Withdrawing, panting, he grinned at the blissful look on her face. By the time he’d gone into the bathroom to rid himself of the condom and returned, her eyes were closed, her limbs splayed. Climbing back into the bed and lying on his side, he spooned her back against his front. “Mine,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her shoulder as he joined her in sleep.

Maddox and Adira enjoyed the next two weeks, spending almost every moment together. They rode horses and each other. He’d listened to her story about a poor maiden who’d been captured by a tribe of Bedouin and taken to a dark cave. Though there was no magic lamp or a genie to grant her wish to escape their evil grasp, there had been several apparatus that seemed “a bit out of place.” She’d giggled when he looked at her, his eyebrow lifted as he questioned how these desert nomads had managed to roll a huge oak barrel across the dunes to use as an instrument of torture for their captive.

“Must I be the only one with an imagination?” she’d pouted, slapping his chest. By the time he allowed the barrel to roll to a final rest and removed her restraints, she’d been as pliable as the falls of the soft leather flogger he’d used to paint her skin.

Every day had them growing closer and him reminding her that she was truly his… now and forever. Adira had spoken to her grandfather several times but this call was the one that Maddox had been waiting for. It was the one that set the entire ranch on alert.

“No doubt remains,” Hadi said, his voice having gone from easy while talking to Adira to steel once he’d directed his attention to Maddox. “Our government has recovered portions of the explosives used. They are definitely of Russian origin. Poplov used his go-to henchmen, Mikhail Sokolov and Nikolai Orlov, to plant the bombs on the yacht.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, but I still don’t believe they managed this on their own. My gut tells me they had help,” Maddox said.

“I agree as there is also no question that they left the country immediately. Though it remains a bit unclear how as there is no record of their names on any travel manifest, there is a record of planes that departed,” Hadi agreed, pausing, his eyes seeming to darken, his expression to harden. “Legeaux and Forrest… men I welcomed into my home, men who bought my stallions—their planes left within hours of my family’s massacre.”

Maddox explained how Basara told him that both men had left Dubai with their purchases. “We’ve already thought of that and just had the final piece of intel that clears Forrest. He’s dead. A freak car accident that we believe is no accident. I’m afraid he was considered a loose end as I know he and Legeaux were meeting for drinks after the auction. Legeaux was inebriated, probably spilled his plans.”

“So you’re saying that you believe Charles had him eliminated?” Hadi asked.

“That’s what I’m saying. And the fact that Legeaux has dropped out of sight, missing several prestigious races, tells me the man is in hiding.”

Hadi nodded. “So if we find Legeaux, we might find some answers?”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Maddox agreed.

“How do we do that?” Hadi asked.

“Who have you told of your suspicions?” Maddox asked, and upon hearing that the man had shared nothing except with his most trusted advisors and the Steeles, Maddox nodded. “Good, then this is what you do.” He went on to set a plan in motion.

“I’m not happy about using Adira as a pawn…”

“Jidd, you forget, I am your granddaughter. Your blood runs in me. I cannot just sit back. I want to do my part… I must…”

“She’ll be safe,” Maddox promised, his hand moving to Adira’s neck. “There’s not a man on this ranch who wouldn’t die to protect her.”

“I have no doubt of that,” Hadi said, nodding. “All right, I understand my granddaughter’s need and I’ll trust you.”

“Thank you, Hadi.”

Hadi paused, the two men looking at each other, communicating without words. Maddox understood how much inner strength it took for the older man to place his granddaughter into his hands. Finally, Hadi nodded. “I’ll make the call.”

“And we’ll make preparations to welcome the asshole to the ranch,” Maddox said, his tone calm, his eyes dark, his jaw clenched.