*Lucian*
I stride into my library, cross over to the table, pour a generous amount of whiskey into a glass, and immediately toss it down, relishing the burning sensation.
Whatever possessed me to tell Evangeline the things I told her? I begin filling the glass again. Tomorrow night I will shove my neckcloth into my mouth so I won’t blurt all the irritating nonsense…
“I will have one of those if you don’t mind.”
I swing around, knocking bottles to the floor where they shatter. I’m crouched, ready to spring…
“Sorry,” Jay says, holding up his hands. “It’s just me.”
Mortified by my reaction and my thudding heart, I straighten. I have become too complacent. “No one informed me that you were here.”
“I assumed you wouldn’t want them to know. I slipped in on my own.” Jay takes a step neare
