The world fell silent, with Sophia's soft words playing like a spell in William's ears.

"Damn, woman..."

Sophia wasn't stupid. She could sense the change in William's state - at first, he was just teasing her, but somehow she'd hit a trigger point, and things were heading in a dangerous direction.

She shifted slightly and cleared her throat: "Mr. Brown, I was being stupid just now. Please get up - we should sleep in separate beds."

After ...