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in
the shadows of her home. He stood with his legs braced apart and
his arms folded, the only thing that caught the candle’s light was
his white shirt. He certainly wasn’t smiling, or his teeth would
show.
    “No, Mama,” Kora said, demanding her
attention. “The monster is still here!”
    Mortified, Shannah realized her sister was
pointing at the viscount. She hurried to calm her. “No, honey.
That’s Lord Brendan. Remember he was here before? He’s not a
monster.” I hope .
    Brendan stepped out of the shadows slowly,
with the grace of a large cat. He knelt by the chair, giving Kora a
full view of his face. “See, child? I am no monster. You’re
perfectly safe here.”
    Shannah offered him a relieved smile over
Kora’s head as she felt her sister relax in her arms. She was about
to reach for a handkerchief when Kora used the edge of her blanket
to wipe her nose. Shannah sighed. Someday, perhaps, her baby sister
would learn manners.
    But Lord Brendan captured her with his eyes.
“Our conversation is not done,” he whispered, his voice hard.
    Shannah tried one last approach. “I’ve
nothing more to say on the matter,” she told him, her chin going up
a notch. “You are my employer, my lord, but my family life is not
your business. You certainly have no right to barge into my home in
the night and demand painful explanations about my past.”
    He growled low in his throat and stood,
taking a step back. Kora whimpered and clung to Shannah. So much
for his not being a monster.
    “It’s all right,” she said to Kora. “Here.”
Shannah put the child on her feet and wrapped the blanket around
her. “Why don’t you go cuddle with Matt until you fall asleep? I’ll
join you in a moment.”
    It took another nudge but Kora scurried past
Lord Brendan and back into the bedroom. Shannah stood and rewrapped
her shawl around her shoulders. As she did so she maintained eye
contact with the viscount, so she saw when his eyes raked over her
again. His jaw tightened and he took a step toward her.
    “You’re a widow, then,” he said. “A married
woman who has born a child. According to your own words.”
    If Shannah’s chin went up any more her neck
would snap. “Yes, my lord.”
    He lifted his hand and grasped her shoulder,
not painfully but firmly. “Then you know a man’s touch.” His other
hand brushed across her cheek.
    Utterly at a loss, Shannah didn’t dare move.
She simply stared at him, her eyes wide.
    Lord Brendan leaned close to her ear. “Your
innocence betrays you.” His warm breath swept across her neck.
“You’re no more a mother than I am.”
    Her quavering response came a heartbeat too
late for credibility. “I am his mother.”
    Lord Brendan lowered his face until their
noses almost touched. He tilted his head slightly and his lips
barely brushed hers. “Liar.”
    Before she could recover, he’d stepped out
the door and disappeared into the night.

CHAPTER 8
     
    Brendan paced the length of his study the
next morning, his agitation evident in every step. Shannah was
late. He looked again at the hands on the mantle clock. Quite
late.
    His steps faltered as his thoughts paused
once again on that almost kiss. Brendan sighed. He didn’t know what
had come over him in that moment, he only knew that he wanted to
confirm once and for all that Shannah could in no way be the
child’s mother.
    He should have waited until the daylight
hours when they could have a conversation in the safety of his
study, fully dressed, not with the light of the candle setting
Shannah’s caramel skin aglow. Brendan knew full well he had no
business storming in her home in the dead of night, overwhelming
her and demanding answers to questions that had gone unasked for
too long. But he had done it, rushed off without thinking the
situation through, and perhaps made everything worse.
    What would she say when she saw him now, if
she ever did arrive? Would she give him the set down he
deserved?
    Or had she taken the