Dragon's Lair by Denise Lynn Page A

him.

Chapter 6
    â€œM y lies?”
    Braeden heard Alexia’s furious shout through the closed door.
    The door handle jiggled and he stopped, turned around and waited for her to barge into the hallway. A shouting match in the middle of the family’s private floor would be the final straw to this already wasted day.
    When the handle didn’t turn, meaning she was too irate even to notice that she had to push the button to turn it, he took a step in the opposite direction—toward the elevators.
    With any luck he could get out of the hallway before she figured out how to open the door. He wasn’t escaping. He had a business to run, a resort to open. Cam wanted his input on the candidates for the chief-of-security position. He’d already put his brother off twice today.
    Behind him, Alexia pounded on the door, shouting, “Damn you, Drake, get back here!”
    At the same moment, Sean sauntered around the corner at the other end of the hallway. He’d obviously heard Alexia, because he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall with an arrogant smirk on his lips and an amused gleam in his eye.
    Ten or so years ago, Braeden would have wiped both the smirk and the gleam from Sean’s face. If Sean wasn’t careful, he still might.
    Braeden turned back to his suite and thumped the door, giving Alexia warning that he was coming in. Again, instead of retrieving his key card, he just waved the door open.
    It slammed against the inside wall hard enough to leave a dent in the drywall. And slammed again when he stepped into the suite and waved the door closed behind him.
    Alexia wasted no time. She rushed at him, stuck out her hand and poked her index finger against his chest.
    â€œDon’t you dare slam a door in my face again!”
    He grabbed her arms and pushed her away. “You don’t want to do this.”
    â€œI don’t?” Alexia’s voice raised half an octave. Her breathing was heavy and hard. “How dare you tell me what I do or don’t want to do!”
    â€œAlexia, don’t.”
    His softly spoken warning would have made a sane person think twice. It was apparent Alexia currently had no illusions of being sane. “Or what?” She stood toe to toe with him, glaring up at him. “What will you do, Braeden?”
    She really didn’t want an answer to that. Her eyes shimmered like sapphires against the flush of her face. Her chest heaved, and her lips parted with the force of her breathing.
    What he wanted to do was kiss her until her breathing turned ragged with lust.
    Braeden paused at the turn his thoughts had taken. Following that road would gain him nothing but trouble. And he had enough of that right now.
    She poked him again. “Answer me.”
    Oh, he had every intention of answering her—in his own time and in his own way. It was obvious she was going out of her way to make him angrier than he already was.
    What sort of game was this? What benefit did she think to gain from making him totally lose his temper?
    â€œAre you listening to me?” She raised her hand toward his arm.
    Braeden stepped out of her reach. Since she wasn’t going to let it go, he pulled out his cell phone and buzzed Cam. “We’re going to have to put this off until morning.”
    Cam laughed before saying, “I’m shocked.”
    Braeden didn’t bother to reply. He turned the phone off, tossed it onto the bar, then took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie while heading toward the bedroom.
    â€œDon’t you walk away from me.”
    He stopped, but didn’t turn. “Since you’re so damn anxious to have a fight, I’m going to get out of these clothes first.”
    â€œOh, we have nothing to fight about. I’ll just leave.”
    At that he did turn around. But instead of going to Alexia, he made a show of snapping his fingers at the door. She started this. And this time she wasn’t walking away.