“Say whatever you have to say to keep your pride, Isabeau. Words don’t matter much. But you think long and hard before you endanger someone’s life. That’s on you. Mating is a higher law and there’s no getting around it. You can’t pretend it away. This is between us, no one else. We’ll work it out.”

She blinked rapidly to stop the burning tears. Damn him. He’d destroyed her. He couldn’t have known how deep a blow he’d struck. She wasn’t the kind of girl boys had flocked to when she’d been growing up. There were no dates or dances in school. Boys had rushed to her friends but never to her. Same with college. She had never discovered why others avoided her. She tried to learn the art of flirting, of conversation. She’d made it a point to be friendly, but she was always pushed aside and had finally accepted she wasn’t attractive to the opposite sex and women found her too intimidating to be her friend.

Conner had come along and made her feel beautiful. He’d made her feel wanted. Of course, his name hadn’t been Conner and he’d been lying to her about his feelings for her. And she should have known. Men like Conner, dangerous, magnetic, charming and sexy, simply didn’t look at women like Isabeau. He’d made love to her over and over, and all the time he’d been doing his job. Someone had paid him to seduce her in order to get close to her father.

The shame was overpowering. She felt like such a fool. To believe, after all the years of knowing that men didn’t find her attractive, that a man like him would fall head over heels for her was ridiculous. She felt almost like she deserved what happened to her for her own stupidity.

“You killed my father.” She flung the accusation at him, so mixed up she couldn’t breathe properly. Her breath came in ragged, harsh gasps, her lungs burning, as if she was starved for air. He sounded so calm. So in control. She wanted to slap his face all over again.

“I had nothing to do with your father’s death. That was his choice and you damn well know it. I told you before, I have enough sins on my soul, Isabeau, without you adding things I’m not responsible for.” He towered over her for a long moment, his expression grim, his eyes deadly, and then he drew in a breath and touched her hair with gentle fingers. “I know it’s difficult to be with me, but you’re doing fine.”