Free Never Dare a Tycoon by Elizabeth Lennox Page A

After studying Brett for a long moment, Sal came to a decision.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Sal asked, turning back to watch the dancers.
    Brett said nothing for a moment, just stared at her as she laughed at something her current partner said. But then he carefully and calmly put his glass of champagne on the table next to him. “Retrieve her.”
    off her, he would continue to be angry. he was going to have to deal with it. didn’t react to it well.
Brett’s casualness was all a façade. Until he’d gotten other men’s hands
He didn’t like that fact, but it was reality and Jealousy was a new emotion to him and he
    Tapping her current partner on the shoulder, he elegantly stepped in and took Antonia’s hand in his, then placed her other one on his shoulder, since she seemed too stunned to do it herself. He barely glanced at the man who had been dancing with her, dismissing him as soon as her hand was in his.
“Nice dress,” he said as he moved them back into the line of dancers.
    Antonia couldn’t breathe. How could one man be so incredibly gorgeous in a tuxedo? It was only a suit, for goodness sake. Why did the sight of him make her so crazy?
    Taking a deep breath, she turned her head away, refusing to look at him. “What are you doing here?” Suddenly, she wished she was wearing the dress Sal originally chose. At least it would provide more coverage for her. She hadn’t felt exposed until Brett glanced down at her and she saw the heat in his eyes. The same heat she felt as she moved to the music, his legs touching hers accidentally during each turn.
“You’re a good dancer,” he said, pulling her closer.
    “Thank you. But that doesn’t answer my question. Why are you here?” she asked, marveling at how strong he was. She could feel his muscles as they flexed under her fingers or against her legs.
“Your brother invited me.” He said simply.
    “Don’t you have a date?” She was praying that there was a woman out there that would drag him away from her. She ignored the jealousy that almost choked her at the idea of him dancing with anyone but her.
“Nope. Sorry,” he said. “I got the impression that you are now my date.”
    “Who gave you that impression?” she asked suspiciously, her eyes turning to slits. She tried to put some space between them but he wouldn’t allow it, just held her closer.
    “Your brother,” Brett said, smiling suddenly. He returned a nod when Sal raised his champagne glass to him. Feeling immensely better than he had for the past two weeks, he pulled her imperceptibly closer and looked down into her fiery eyes. “You look beautiful tonight.”
“You said that already,” Antonia replied.
     
“No, I told you that your dress was nice. But I didn’t mention how lovely you look in it.”
     
His voice was husky and the sound of it sent shivers down Antonia’s spine. “Stop it,” she said.
     
“Stop what?” he asked.
     
“Stop doing this to me. I can’t see you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
     
“That’s impossible,” Brett said, swinging her around so that he wasn’t staring at all five brothers as they danced. “Come home with me,” he said.
     
“No.”
     
“Yes,” Brett whispered in her ear, his hand moving to the bare skin on her back.
    “No,” Antonia repeated, but even she could hear the weakness in her voice. She tried to pull out of his arms, but Brett stopped her before she could move more than a millimeter.
    “Oh, no you don’t,” he said, bending down so that his lips were almost touching her ear. “You did that twice already. It’s not going to happen three times. Don’t ever run away from me again,”
Antonia stared at the buttons on his snowy, white shirt. “I didn’t run away,” she lied.
     
“What would you call it?” he asked.
     
“Surviving,” she said accidentally, wishing she could take back the word as soon as she spoke it.
     
“Surviving what?”
     
“You,” she said after