Chapter 32

She wasn’t in her room. Nor in the library, guest room, or any other rooms in this behemoth of house. His frustration amped up. First, she looks at him like he has hurt her in immeasurable ways when she was the one tending to Evan Ryder, innocent, caught unawares of his want and affection. Lust. Shameless lust. Even if she was innocent, a deer caught in headlights, she needed a good reminder of why he marked her. Of why he had chosen, allowed, and rejoiced in her earthly presence to be distracted when unknown threats creeped on them anew.

He found her atlast, legs folded like a child, swinging in his mother’s garden, her thighs bare, feet covered only in socks. It irked him. She didn’t mean to seduce, yet she did. The moonlight caught in her hair, tempting him to fist the silky strands. That was how she was made, to wear a simple flannel, reaching just the curve of her bottom, and sit there, not a care in the world.

Vanessa sensed Noah behind her, made no move to acknowledge him. Not