"I shall thank you to respect what he and I have," he bit out. "And to stop treating me as the fool."

His glared was narrow now, golden eyes seeming to glow from within, his pupils dilating to cat-like slits as the anger mounted, pushed by tiredness, rage, paranoia, and so many other things. He simply wanted to take Gideon and chuck him over the side of the boat, remove one thing from this moment that did not set him to grinding his teeth.

His mouth suddenly quirked, cruelty springing up, a trait, perhaps, learned from Felix. "I would say never speak to him again, but someone else already assured that particular demand for me."