Alaric just stared at her.
For a long, silent moment, the entire world seemed to freeze. The lazy, predatory confidence vanished from his face, replaced by a mask of genuine, unadulterated shock. His ruby eyes, which had been burning with a hot, possessive fire, were now wide, the gears in his brilliant, terrifying mind visibly turning as he processed the bombshell she had just dropped.
His hand, which had been tangled in her hair, went still. The hard ridge of his erection, pressed against her hip, even seemed to lose some of its insistent pressure. He had accounted for her husband. He had accounted for her guild, her intelligence, her beauty. This... this was a variable from so far out of left field that it had momentarily short-circuited his entire worldview.
