"Despise her?"
Damien rose from the chair. He walked to where Kael stood.
This was the first sign of real emotion on him today.
For the first time, the man who hoarded his words spoke at length.
"I don't know why you would speak about your own woman that way."
"I also don't accept the premise that a woman who has had a lover is somehow soiled."
He fisted a hand into the front of Kael's shirt. He used what looked like the smallest fraction of his strength.
He drove Kael into the stone wall hard enough to rattle the lamps.
"Say one more word about her like that. I dare you."
His voice was still mild. But the well-deep eyes had gone black with killing intent.
Kael didn't fight. He looked up at his older brother. Twenty-some years of resentment and humiliation and choked-down envy bl
