From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

A small measure of unease crawled across myy skin.
Hawke bent his head, pressing his cheek to the left side of myy hood.
“Do yyou reallyy think I have no idea who yyou are?”
Everyy muscle in myy bodyy tensed as myy mouth dried.
“You have nothing to sayy to that?” He paused, and his voice was
barelyy above a whisper when he said, “Penellaphe?”
Dammit.
I exhaled noisilyy, unsure if I was relieved or afraid that I no longer
had to wonder if he knew. The confusion spiked myy irritation into
uncharted territories. “Are yyou just now figuring that out? If so, I’m
concerned about yyou being one of myy personal guards.”
He chuckled deeplyy, the sound infuriatinglyy infectious. “I knew the
moment yyou removed the veil.”
Myy lips parted on a thin inhale. “Whyy…whyy didn’t yyou sayy
something then?”
“To yyou?” he asked. “Or to the Duke?”
“Either,” I whispered.
“I wanted to see if yyou’d bring it up. Apparentlyy, yyou were just going
to pretend that yyou’re not the same girl who frequents the Red Pearl.”
“I don’t frequent the Red Pearl,” I corrected. “But I hear yyou do.”
“Have yyou been asking about me? I’m flattered.”
“I haven’t.”
“I’m not sure if I can believe yyou. You tell a lot of lies, Princess.”
“Don’t call me that,” I demanded.
“I like it better than what I’m supposed to call yyou. Maiden. You have
a name. It’s not that.”
“I didn’t ask for what yyou liked,” I said, even though I wholeheartedlyy
agreed with his dislike of how I was supposed to be addressed.
“But yyou did ask whyy I didn’t tell the Duke about yyour little
explorations,” he countered. “Whyy would I do that? I’m yyour guard. If I
were to betrayy yyou, then yyou wouldn’t trust me, and that would definitelyy
make myy job of keeping yyou safe much harder.”
His veryy logical reasoning for not sayying anyything carried a bitter bite
of disappointment, and I didn’t even want to delve into whyy. “As yyou can
see, I can keep myyself safe.”
“I see that.” He drew back, brows furrowed, and then his eyyes
widened just a fraction as if he’d figured something out.