Aces Wild by Taylor Lee Page B

menace. “Uh uh. Princess. I’ll tell you when you can go.”
    She stopped at the command in his voice and turned back as if trapped in an invisible net.
    He nodded, jerking his chin to a spot in front of him.
    “ Here, Princess. Come here.”
    Horrified at her body’s response to his insulting order, she sputtered, “Why, you arrogant bastard. You…you…”
    “ Come here, honey.” He reached out his hand and caught hold of hers, pulling her close to him. She struggled to move back, and then for just a moment she promised herself, she rested against his chest. She buried her face in the soft linen of his shirt and sagged against him when she smelled the wild woodsy male smell that was drawing her in like a magnet. Startled, frightened, she leapt back.
    He let her go. His voice was soft, crooning.
    “ Settle down, Princess. Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.”
    She took a deep galvanizing breath and moved far away from him backing against the pillar anchoring the balcony.
    Reaching for her courage, she decided to try another tack. Her voice was cool, taunting.
    “ That was an interesting conversation at dinner. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by your behavior given what I learned about your father tonight.”
    Gabe’s expression hardened, his eyes grew cold.
    She persisted, seeking an advantage.
    “ So, Gabe, you are your father’s son? You decided that you would pick up where he left off?”
    When he didn’t respond, just gazed at her, a warning flashed in his eyes that she chose to ignore. She lifted her chin and glared back at him.
    “ Did you decide to start on the west coast while he took the east coast? Did you plan to meet in the middle to compare notes?”
    His eyes narrowed. For a spilt second she thought she saw pain in his eyes. His voice was soft, flat, “I have no plans to meet him. Now or ever.”
    Ana was embarrassed. She could see that she hurt him. At the dinner table she sensed that the conversation about his father hit a painful chord. Intuitively, she knew her words were a low blow.
    Grasping for a way to change the subject, she asked, “How do you know my father?”
    “ You should ask your father that.”
    She was insistent. “I want to know.”
    His response was guarded, non-committal. “We did some work together in the past. He asked me to come here, said he needed help with a couple of things.” He shrugged. “That’s why I am here.”
    Strengthened by the distance between them she asserted herself. “I wonder what he would think if he knew what happened today in the barn.”
    He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Hmm. I thought we weren’t going to refer to ‘that’.”
    “ We’ are not. But I think my father would be interested.”
    “ Yeah, he probably would be. Although he would likely be more interested in the fact that you stood there for twenty minutes spying on me than what I did to inspire your interest.”
    She felt the heat flood her cheeks and moved again toward the door. “Get out of my way. I’m leaving and you can’t stop me.”
    He shook his head and stepped in front of her.
    “ Uh uh. Remember? I’ll tell you when you can leave. Until then, Princess, you are staying right here.”
    She stepped back seeing that at least for the moment she couldn’t get around him.
    He grinned at her. “Yeah, Princess, I think you were pretty damned intrigued by what you saw in the barn. Hell, I’m still trying to take the darts out of my chest that you threw my way anytime Molly was within ten feet of me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous of her, Princess.”
    Ana reared up and shrieked. “Jealous? Of her? That…that…fat piggy…” She stopped herself when she saw that he was laughing at her. She tossed her head in distain.
    “ You really are a despicable man.”
    He chuckled. “Yeah, we already established that, Princess.”
    He began to move toward her, slowly, inexorably. She backed up, but the pillar was behind her, a solid wall.