Hello Stranger (The Ravenels, #4)

by Lisa Kleypas

With effort, Garrett managed to speak. “Is that the man you referred to as your mentor? Why did he want me to be here tonight?” “It’s a warning for me,” Ethan said flatly, not looking at her. “A warning about what?” The question seemed to fracture Ethan’s self-assured façade. “He knows that where you’re concerned, I . . . have . . . a preference.” Guiding her past the palms, he opened the service door and took her to the landing of a servants’ stairwell. The abrupt cessation of noise was an unspeakable relief. It was cool and dimly lit in the stairwell, the dank staleness relieved by a slight breeze filtering in through outside air vents. “Preference,” Garrett repeated cautiously. “What does that mean? You prefer me to what?” As they stopped in a corner, Ethan’s head and broad shoulders were silhouetted in the faint glow of a sconce on the opposite wall. She began to tremble as he stood over her, big and dark, his nearness awakening a pulse of high music in her. “I prefer you to everything,” he said gruffly, and bent to take her mouth with his.