I didn't answer him. I couldn't.
My heart was thumping from the lingering sting of the slap and the overwhelming heat of Caden’s palm. His touch was a physical jolt that screamed to everyone in the room that there was something between us.
“Caden, release her!” my mother hissed, her voice filled with outrage“You are a guard, a servant of this house. How dare you lay hands on her?”
Caden didn't even look at her. His thumb traced the edge of my cheek, his touch so light it was almost a whisper, yet his eyes were dark with a lethal, swirling rage.
“I asked a question,” Caden said. His voice wasn't loud, but it had a dangerous edge that sliced through my mother’s bluster. “Who did this?”
“It was a disciplinary matter!” Mother snapped, stepping forward, “She was being insolent. It is my
