‘Mark? Yes, I know.’
Forehead furrowed, she tried to figure this out. What was the relevance of Mark’s marriage? Did he know her half-brother? Was there some sort of feud between them, though she had not imagined until now that Draco was the sort of man who resolved feuds with his fists. Up to this point she had only seen Draco be controlled and cool, the last man in the world she had imagined losing control. Not that he didn’t have a passionate nature, but outside the bedroom he kept those passions on a tight leash.
She was relieved to see that her half-brother seemed all right, no thanks to Draco. Worried for his safety if he followed after her, she waved her hand and yelled, ‘No, Mark, it’s fine.’ The last thing she wanted was to be in the middle of a brawl.
Had Draco thought she was in danger? The idea might have worked if he hadn’t walked away immediately afterwards, and if it hadn’t been for that look he’d given her, the coruscating contempt in his eyes in that last dismissive glare…
Turning back to Draco, she said in a fierce voice, ‘You lay a finger on him, you bully, and I’ll…just don’t…’ She expelled a shaky sigh. ‘You hit him, you really hit him!’ That part still didn’t seem real; none of this seemed real.
She knew the man was married and she had been totally brazen about it. Draco searched Eve’s face for some sign, some little spark of guilt, and saw none…nothing. How could he have got it so wrong?
Mark reached them, the bruises already coming out on one side of his face, the sight of which made Eve feel sick. She moved to stand between the two men. ‘Leave him alone,’ she warned again.
Draco’s jaw clenched at her protective gesture. ‘I’m curious…is it the title?’
Eve blinked. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘Is that the attraction?’ He slid a look of smouldering contempt Mark’s way and she felt her brother take an involuntary step back. Eve for one didn’t blame him. Draco was being positively intimidating! ‘Or do pretty blond boys do it for you now?’
‘Pretty?’ What on earth…? Mark, he meant Mark, who was not pretty, but definitely handsome, in a much less aggressively masculine way than Draco. When illumination came it was dazzling, and with total clarity she finally realised what Draco had seen—or rather what he thought he had seen.
Draco thought that he had caught her in an assignation with a lover!
Ignoring Mark’s restraining hand, she stepped forward, her hand extended towards Draco.
‘Or does your deceitful little soul enjoy the illicit thrill of sneaking around?’ Draco accused.
Her hand fell away.
The shocked hurt in her eyes made him pause, anger, guilt and jealousy twisting inside him, but only briefly. Had she considered his feelings when she got into bed with his pretty lordship? She had zero loyalty and did she ever consider anyone’s feelings but her own? He’d seen qualities in her that weren’t there, the same way he’d felt a deeper bond where there wasn’t one. There was just sex, as she’d always insisted.
‘Or is it just a case of like mother, like daughter? Where is your father in all of this?’
Eve was not even conscious she had raised her hand until the whiplash crack made her jump back in shock. Only she hadn’t jumped; Mark had pulled her back after she’d slapped Draco across the face.