He tensed immediately.

"Relax." Her voice was the self-satisfied mew of a satisfied cat and had exactly the opposite effect of soothing him. "I'm not going to bite this morning. We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you," he said defiantly, safe in the knowledge that she couldn't hear him or read his lips.

"What did you say?" she surprised him by insisting, and he tensed even further. She turned his resistant body around to face her as if he were a feather, but he stubbornly continued to stare at her jaw. "I know you said something. .. I could feel the vibration in your chest!"

"I...