"I'll think about it." Elena folded the envelope and slid it into the pocket of her jeans, then hurried to escort Candice to the door.

When she opened it, she found Stephen towering on the other side, tall, blond, and icily handsome. He watched Candice slip past, his eyes narrow with disapproval. "What's she doing here?"

"She's a friend, Stephen. My father still allows me to have friends."

The sarcasm, not surprisingly, flew right over his head. "Well, I don't want her here again." Stephen glowered, his gaze deliberately challenging. He was broad shouldered and long-legged in a way that should have made Elena's Burning Moon hormones hum. Yet he left her literally cold. There was just something off about him. Even his handsome face reflected a subtle wrongness. Despite the precisely chiseled features that were the hallmark of the Chosen, his eyes were just a fraction too close together, and his lips were just a little too thin.

Centuries of inbreeding at work, Elena thought. Yet another argument for Lucas Rollings…

"You know, you really do smell delicious." Stephen shouldered his way into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Stephen, what the hell are you doing?" The sinister excitement in his cold blue eyes made the hair rise on the back of her neck.

This was bad. Very bad.

He inhaled deeply. "Ahh, that Burning Moon. Pheromones and sex, my favorite combination." His smile turned chilling. "Especially with a little fear thrown into the mix."

Definitely not good. She took a wary step back. "My father told me he doesn't want me alone with any male for the next month." Never mind that those instructions had pissed her off at the time. Right now, she was grateful.

Stephen's narrow mouth curled into a smile. "That order doesn't apply to me. We just put the finishing touches on the betrothal agreement. You and I are to be married."