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�Please spare me,� she muttered lowly.
�What did I tell you,� Hawk remarked to Brent with raised brows.
Whitney glared at her father. �You two discuss me?�
�It passes the time,� Brent remarked simply then glanced to Hawk. �With your permission, I'd like to escort your daughter to the dance floor and perhaps wear some of that feist out of her.�
She glared from Brent to her father. �Don't I have a say in this?�
�No,� they both remarked simultaneously.
�Be gentle with her,� Hawk remarked softly.
Brent took Whitney's hand and almost drug her to the dance floor. He spun her toward him and held her against him to prevent an escape.
�I don�t like you, you know,� Whitney informed him firmly.
Brent smirked. �I never said you had too,� he replied simply.
�Then why don�t we skip the pleasantries, so I can find someplace quiet to avoid you and your kind.�
Brent raised a surprised brow. �You�re direct.�
�It avoids being bothered by the intolerable type,� she snapped.
�What makes me intolerable?� he asked with a humored smile.
�Look around you,� Whitney replied. �You�ll see for yourself.�
Brent smiled to another couple dancing past them. He didn�t look at her. �Won�t give me a chance, will you?�
�Chance for what?� she growled lowly.
Brent looked at her while they danced and raised his brows. �To earn your respect. Prejudging others is a shortcoming.�
Whitney looked up into his eyes for the first time. He was a very handsome man, but she tossed that thought from her mind. �Why would you care what I think?� she demanded to know.
He stared into her eyes and smiled gently. �Because I�m not your enemy.�
The song ended. He released her, took a step back, and kissed her hand. �Thank you for the dance.� Brent turned and walked away.
Whitney watched him as he mingled with his other guests. She wondered what he was talking about. Her father found her and danced the next slow song with him.
�Did you and Brent have a nice conversation?� Hawk asked curiously.
Whitney frowned. �He�s a charming snake.�
Whitney walked across the ballroom. Several men approached her and talked for a few minutes, but she would make up some excuse to get away. She finally decided to leave the ballroom and find a place to hang out until it was time to leave. Whitney looked at the expensive decorations along the walls. He had many old paintings, guns, and swords. Further down the hallway, there was a vase and two jousting polls. There was a suit of armor further down the hall and several more along the stairway platforms and around the mansion.
She looked up the wide carpeted staircase that went both left and right on the next level. Whitney would be out of view of anyone, and they wouldn't easily find her. She headed quietly and quickly up the stairs to the dark, upper level. She walked halfway down the hall and entered one of the rooms. She turned on the light. There was loud growling. Whitney looked toward the king sized, hard topped, canopy bed and saw the wolf lying on top of the spread.
�What a pretty wolf,� she announced gently.
The wolf's tail began to wag slightly. Whitney entered the room and approached the wolf with her hand extended. The wolf sniffed her hand then allowed her to pet him. Whitney sat on the edge of the bed and stroked the wolf's silver and gray coat.
�Does that mean man own you?� she asked in a friendly voice with a smile. �If you want to really be a good wolfy, you'll bite him while he sleeps tonight."
The wolf licked her hand and panted happily.
�Don't encourage him,� came Brent's low voice.
Whitney looked toward the doorway and saw Brent leaning against the doorframe with his hands deep in his pockets. The wolf's tail began to wag faster. Someone was glad to see Brent Valdemar.
�Don't you have guests to attend too?� Whitney asked coldly and continued petting the wolf.
�Oddly enough, one of my guests happens to be in my bedroom. Why do you suppose that is?� he asked with a curious tilt of his head.
I was looking for the washroom,� she remarked bluntly without looking up.
�You passed it before coming up the stairs,� he replied. �Come on, back to the party.�
Whitney slowly stood and walked toward him and the door. She paused only inches away from the cold man. �You could throw me out of your house and save both of us a lot of pain and suffering,� she remarked.
A tiny smile crossed his face. �There wouldn�t be much sport in that,� he replied simply.
Whitney cocked her head to one side and glared at him. �You�re odd--�
Brent guided Whitney to the office. She gave him an odd look then entered. Hawk stood by the glass doors and stared into the darkness. Brent entered behind Whitney and shut the door. He immediately went to his desk and sat behind it. Hawk turned away from the glass doors and smiled gently.
�Have a seat, Whitney,� Hawk announced warmly.
Whitney eyed both of them. Brent played with some little trinket lying on the desktop.
�What�s going on, Dad?� she asked suspiciously.
Hawk forced a tiny smile. �I�m going on a little trip,� he informed her gently. �I don�t know how long I�ll be gone.�
Whitney glared at Brent with surprise and anger. �You�re sending him on one of your stupid cargo runs?�
Hawk stepped closer. �I volunteered to go, Whitney. I�m the best qualified,� he told her.
She looked back at her father. �You can�t go. You know what�ll happen if you leave,� Whitney snapped. �Your house will be a den for the people I hang out with.�
�I thought about all of that, and I�ve come up with the only fitting solution,� Hawk said and looked back at Brent. Brent didn�t look up.
Whitney�s eyes widened with a look of horror. �Oh, no! You aren�t leaving me here with him!�
�Whitney,� Hawk said with a sigh. �Please, sit down.�
Whitney didn�t move. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at her father.
Hawk sighed and scratched his head. �Brent and I talked about this for a long time, and we agreed on a solution to both of our problems. You�re going to stay with him until I return.�
