Star of His Heart by Brenda Jackson Page A

separating them and came to stand in front of her, forcing her to look up and meet his gaze. “Hey, I knew yesterday you were serious about continuing this ‘friends only’ thing and, although I prefer more between us, I will respect your wishes.”
    â€œDo you?”
    He had a confused look on his face. “Do I what?” His tone was low, gruff, with more than a hint of agitation.
    â€œDo you prefer more between us?”
    He released a frustrated sigh. “I told you I did.”
    She nodded slowly. “And what did you tell Tae’Shawna?” The moment the words left her lips, she wished she could take them back. She probably sounded like a jealous shrew. And she had no right to be that way,considering she had told Ethan there would be nothing between them. Ever.
    She stared up at him to see even more confusion settle in his features when he asked, “Is this supposed to be a trick question or something?”
    â€œNot a trick question, Ethan, just a curious one.”
    He crossed his arms over his chest. “And what does Tae’Shawna have to do with us?”
    A shiver ran through her when he said the word us. Although when it came to them there was no “us,” just hearing him say it did something crazy to her. “By ‘us,’ you mean you and Tae’Shawna?” she asked.
    A smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes touched his lips. “Was that question supposed to be a joke, Rachel?”
    â€œWhat do you think?” She made a move to walk away but he reached out and gripped her arm, not too tight, but enough that the heat of his hand felt like a flame licking her skin. Amazing, she thought. Even when she wasn’t happy with him, he had the ability to make her want him.
    â€œExplain what you meant by that,” he said. She thought she heard somewhat of a growl in his tone.
    He was staring at her, and she returned his stare with no intention of breaking it. And she had no problem explaining what she’d said as well as elaborating on what she’d meant. “When I worked on Tae’Shawna’s makeup earlier today, she took me into her confidence and shared information about you and her.”
    His expression seemed thoughtful. “Me and her?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œAnd what did she say?”
    She shrugged and then said, “Nothing more than that the two of you spent part of the weekend together and that you didn’t leave her place until late last night and that you were her wake-up call this morning. I know you were with me from Saturday night until yesterday afternoon, but—”
    â€œYou’re not sure about the time I wasn’t with you?” he said, finishing her statement for her.
    â€œYes, but it really doesn’t matter. Saturday night just happened between us. And it’s not like I didn’t know about your reputation.”
    He nodded as he held her gaze. “My reputation that you know about from a tabloid you don’t read. Right?”
    It was easy to see his expression had gone from thoughtful to rigid, as if he was struggling to contain the anger she could actually feel radiating from him. She was smart enough to take a step back when he took one forward, and she noticed the eyes staring at her had turned a stormy gray. Not a good sign.
    She took another step backward only to have her spine hit a wall. He caged her in when he leaned forward, bracing his hands against the wall on both sides of her face. If his aim was to get her attention, he had it.
    She lifted her chin and met his glare with one of her own. “What is this about, Ethan?”
    â€œYou tell me, Rachel.”
    â€œI told you. And I also told you that you don’t owe me an explanation about Tae’Shawna because—”
    â€œI wouldn’t repeat it if I were you,” he interrupted in a tone gruff enough to make her heed his warning.
    He didn’t say anything for a moment. He just