Her Reluctant Viscount (Rakes and Rogues) by Aliyah Burke

Jo,” Tryst snarled.
     
    She whirled on him. ”Listen to me, Trystan, Viscount Wilkes. You. Do. Not. Own. Me. So quit telling me what to do!”
     
    She knew his anger grew when she moved closer to Callum.
     
    “Who are you?” he demanded.
     
    “Callum Blackwood.” A cool appraisal of his weapons. “Looking for trouble?”
     
    “I could shoot you.”
     
    His lips quirked even if the smile did not reach his eyes. “You could try.”
     
    “Oh stop this.” Jo put her hands on her hips. “Neither of you are going to do anything and I am safe, so both of you stop thinking the other may hurt me.” She speared Tryst with a glare. “You are acting like Alexander when he does not get his way.”
     
    “Jo,” he said beckoning to her, obviously not wanting her anywhere near the other man.
     
    She not only ignored his summons she turned her back on him and faced Callum. She heard him growl as she talked to Callum, assuring him that Tryst did not mean her any harm.
     
    “Very well,” Callum said. “I will leave you two to discuss what you need to. But I will return come morning to check on you.” He stared past her and glared stonily at Tryst. “And you had better be just fine.”
     
    Callum lowered his head, brushed a kiss along her cheek, and left after one final challenging look to Trystan. She closed the door behind him and prayed her heart would slow down a bit. Callum had never kissed her before, even an innocent one on the cheek.
     
    “I never lied to you.”
     
    Tryst grabbed her shoulder and spun her toward him. He had clenched his hands in fists so tight she wondered if any blood would get through. She crossed her arms and glared at him. That’s all he had to say? He had never lied. Somehow, she thought he might have objected to another man kissing her. Sorrow filled her as she realized she was wrong.
     
    “Did you hear me? I never lied to you.”
     
    She had to give him credit. He was good. It did not surprise her at all for he was in a line of work where lies and deceit were part of the prerequisite skills. Something occurred to her. If Trystan had, would Colin?
     
    “Talk then and stop bleeding on my floor.”
     
    “Do not think I am ignoring you let some strange man kiss you, Jo. Nevertheless, you are right, we need to deal with this first. As for bleeding on your floor, you are the one who threw a knife at me.”
     
    She did not appreciate his attempt at bad humor and knew her expression informed him of that. “I am still waiting.”
     
    He moved. A subtle shift really but it reminded her all over again he was not a typical member of peerage. This man was a warrior. Hunter. Predator. Raw power coiled beneath his skin.
     
    “You, my little hellcat, are very impatient.”
     
    She burned at the term which she had come to view as an endearment from him. “I am neither yours nor a hellcat. How patient do I need to be? Wait until I am dead?”
     
    His eyes flashed blue fire at her statement. She blinked and found him right up in her personal space. “You will not die.”
     
    “Tell me what is going on. All of it this time.” She gripped his arm and his gaze darkened before a slight hiss of pain left him. Glancing at her hand she realized she held where she had sliced. “Sorry.”
     
    “Now you apologize?”
     
    “I am not sorry for defending myself. I may as well fix it so sit down.” With a not so gentle shove, she pushed him at one of her two chairs.
     
    “In my bag I have medical supplies.”
     
    Of course he did. About to ask him where it was, she clamped on her question when she spied it behind the door. She brought the whole thing back and pulled out needle and thread as well as some whisky.
     
    “The man after you killed my group seven years ago. He goes by the name The Alchemist.”
     
    His words startled her so much her hands shook. “Your group?”
     
    “The group I worked with for the Crown. We operate in smaller factions. Easier to deploy that way and