demanded with sudden intensity. “I’m getting the impression he’s more than merely a colleague.”
“He is…was…” Brenna lifted a hand vaguely. “We were quite close. We date regularly and…” She couldn’t quite meet the piercing silver eyes now.
“And you were thinking of a more permanent arrangement?” Ryder growled.
“I thought we were rather well matched, as a matter of fact. We respect each other, enjoy each other’s company, have an enormous amount in common…” she began belligerently.
“None of which means anything after last night,” he broke in to say in a very even tone. “And don’t look at me as if you’re experiencing total shock. You don’t have all that much in common with Damon Fielding or you wouldn’t have been so hurt by his failure to champion your cause. If you’d had so much in common, you would have known him well enough to predict exactly how he’d react in the situation you described. On the other hand,” he added imperturbably, “you knew me well enough after only three days to be not at all surprised at how I reacted to that little scene this morning!”
“What are you talking about?” She glowered at him, her stomach tensing with premonition.
“Whatever you had with Fielding is over,” he explained calmly. “You made that decision last night when you invited me into your bed. I warned you I’d hold you to your choice once you made it. You belong to me now, Brenna Llewellyn.”
You belong to me . The words hammered into her mind as she sat staring at the man sitting across the table from her. “No,” she whispered desperately. “No, you don’t understand…”
“Are you going to try running away?” he asked as if only academically interested in the answer. Ryder reached for another slice of toast.
“If you think we have so much in common that we can predict each other’s reactions, you tell me!” she shot back furiously. How dare he sit there so calmly and talk about her belonging to him? Maybe in his world people thought in such primitive terms, but certainly not in hers! But she had known ever since she awoke this morning that this was coming. It was the wrongness she’d been aware of since she’d opened her eyes. She had known she’d made a tremendous mistake letting herself be swept away by the mood of the evening. How could she have been so incredibly stupid ?
He was chewing his toast and contemplating her question. “To tell you the truth I can see you going either way,” he finally stated with a nod. “You might run just to see if I really will come after you.”
“That would be childish in the extreme!” she snapped, incensed because the question had leaped into her mind the moment he had suggested the fact that she might actually choose to run away. Would he come after her? It was useless to speculate. Brenna Llewellyn didn’t resort to such emotional tricks. She had been trained to deal with problems much more intelligently than that!
“Not childish, but perhaps tritely feminine,” he corrected judiciously. “To save you the bother, I’ll tell you right now that I would, indeed, come after you. And I probably wouldn’t be in the best of moods when I found you, either. But if I had to bet on the most likely reaction, my money would be on the side that says you’ll stay and battle this out even though the conclusion is a foregone one after last night.”
“Hardly!”
One tawny brow arched in cool mockery. “The conclusion is foregone, lady, but if it will soothe your frazzled nerves I’ll reassure you that I’m still willing to wait. Just as I was willing to wait last night. I won’t push you back into bed.”
“You’re too generous!” Brenna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The morning was shaping up disastrously!
The brackets at the edge of his mouth softened although he didn’t quite smile. “It’s not a question of generosity, Brenna. It’s just that I know you well enough to realize that
“He is…was…” Brenna lifted a hand vaguely. “We were quite close. We date regularly and…” She couldn’t quite meet the piercing silver eyes now.
“And you were thinking of a more permanent arrangement?” Ryder growled.
“I thought we were rather well matched, as a matter of fact. We respect each other, enjoy each other’s company, have an enormous amount in common…” she began belligerently.
“None of which means anything after last night,” he broke in to say in a very even tone. “And don’t look at me as if you’re experiencing total shock. You don’t have all that much in common with Damon Fielding or you wouldn’t have been so hurt by his failure to champion your cause. If you’d had so much in common, you would have known him well enough to predict exactly how he’d react in the situation you described. On the other hand,” he added imperturbably, “you knew me well enough after only three days to be not at all surprised at how I reacted to that little scene this morning!”
“What are you talking about?” She glowered at him, her stomach tensing with premonition.
“Whatever you had with Fielding is over,” he explained calmly. “You made that decision last night when you invited me into your bed. I warned you I’d hold you to your choice once you made it. You belong to me now, Brenna Llewellyn.”
You belong to me . The words hammered into her mind as she sat staring at the man sitting across the table from her. “No,” she whispered desperately. “No, you don’t understand…”
“Are you going to try running away?” he asked as if only academically interested in the answer. Ryder reached for another slice of toast.
“If you think we have so much in common that we can predict each other’s reactions, you tell me!” she shot back furiously. How dare he sit there so calmly and talk about her belonging to him? Maybe in his world people thought in such primitive terms, but certainly not in hers! But she had known ever since she awoke this morning that this was coming. It was the wrongness she’d been aware of since she’d opened her eyes. She had known she’d made a tremendous mistake letting herself be swept away by the mood of the evening. How could she have been so incredibly stupid ?
He was chewing his toast and contemplating her question. “To tell you the truth I can see you going either way,” he finally stated with a nod. “You might run just to see if I really will come after you.”
“That would be childish in the extreme!” she snapped, incensed because the question had leaped into her mind the moment he had suggested the fact that she might actually choose to run away. Would he come after her? It was useless to speculate. Brenna Llewellyn didn’t resort to such emotional tricks. She had been trained to deal with problems much more intelligently than that!
“Not childish, but perhaps tritely feminine,” he corrected judiciously. “To save you the bother, I’ll tell you right now that I would, indeed, come after you. And I probably wouldn’t be in the best of moods when I found you, either. But if I had to bet on the most likely reaction, my money would be on the side that says you’ll stay and battle this out even though the conclusion is a foregone one after last night.”
“Hardly!”
One tawny brow arched in cool mockery. “The conclusion is foregone, lady, but if it will soothe your frazzled nerves I’ll reassure you that I’m still willing to wait. Just as I was willing to wait last night. I won’t push you back into bed.”
“You’re too generous!” Brenna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The morning was shaping up disastrously!
The brackets at the edge of his mouth softened although he didn’t quite smile. “It’s not a question of generosity, Brenna. It’s just that I know you well enough to realize that
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