Free Unbefitting a Lady by Bronwyn Scott Page B

irrationally only to be disappointed. His gaze landed
somewhere else. ‘It’s done, Tom. I’ll come by and tell you all about it.’
    Phaedra stepped forward. ‘You can tell me about it first. We’ll
want to get everything written down in our records. Come by my office after you
get cleaned up. I’ll expect you in ten minutes.’
    Bram shifted his gaze to her, his eyes narrow and cold, making
her rethink the order. Perhaps her order had sounded
a bit high-handed but he’d left her no choice. He’d assiduously avoided her for
two weeks now. While he may have personal reasons for doing so, she did worry
about the professional implications of the avoidance. If everyone thought they
could simply go through Tom Anderson, she would quickly be ignored in the chain
of command.
    Ten minutes later to the second, Bram presented himself at her
office in a fresh shirt, his hair slick from a good dousing at the pump. ‘Lady
Phaedra, I’ve come to give my report.’ His tone was stiff and slightly mocking
as he stood in the doorway.
    ‘You’re prompt.’ Phaedra decided to pretend she didn’t hear his
subtle scold.
    ‘You gave me an order.’ His eyes flicked to the chair in front
of her desk. ‘May I sit?’ She’d forgotten how blue his eyes were.
    ‘Stop it, obeisance doesn’t suit you,’ Phaedra snapped. ‘I had
to do something. You’ve been ignoring me.’
    Bram folded his arms across his chest. ‘I disagree. I’ve been
busy. If you needed to see me, you know where to find me.’
    Phaedra’s temper flared at his surliness. The man was
positively arrogant. She rose and leaned across the desk for emphasis, hot words
tumbling out of her mouth before she could think them through. ‘You kissed me.
That was all. Don’t flatter yourself that I would spend my days traipsing around
the stables behind you in hopes of getting another. You report to me, not the
other way around.’
    Bram rose, meeting her across the desk, his expression hot with
his own agitation. ‘I work for myself, Lady Phaedra. Your brother might have
hired me but I’ll decide how long I’ll stay. I’m not a creature of service like
Tom Anderson who’s devoted his life to the high and mighty house of
Rothermere.’
    She held his gaze steady, her body remembering the potent
masculinity of him. Her stomach quivered with a trill of butterflies. ‘That does
not give you permission for insolence and insubordination. If others see you
circumvent my authority, they will do the same.’
    ‘Then keep the damn door shut because I’m about to “circumvent
your authority” right now.’ Bram stretched a booted foot behind him and kicked
aside the chunk of wood holding the door ajar. The door slammed closed with a
resounding thunk. In that moment, everything changed; Bram reached for her, his
hand rough at her neck, his mouth covering hers in a bruising kiss that both
punished and aroused.
    Phaedra matched him, nipping at his lower lip in retaliation
and in desire; this was rough play indeed and not entirely unpleasant. He
growled against her neck, his hands yanking her shirt from the waistband of her
trousers, his fingertips on her bare skin beneath the fabric, cupping her
breasts, thumbing her nipples into wanton truancy. This was not the time for
exploring the desires he awoke in her. She shoved hard at his chest. ‘I will not
be mastered like this.’
    ‘Neither will I, princess. You can save your orders for the
common servants.’ Bram’s eyes glittered dangerously but he let her go, let her
take a step backwards.
    She would be wise not to push him any further. Phaedra pulled
at her shirt, tucking it back in, and sat down with all the dignity she could
rally. ‘Tell me about the Weston stud.’ She hoped her tones were appropriately
convincing. She’d put the incident behind her, he should too. Phaedra pulled
down the ledger in which all the breeding records were kept and opened it,
another suggestion that their conversation had moved on.
    Bram