Free Never Dare a Tycoon by Elizabeth Lennox Page B

a long pause.
     
Brett didn’t reply. His only response was to pull her closer.
    Antonia couldn’t fight it. She relaxed into his embrace and enjoyed the sensation of being close to him again. After all the long nights of dreaming about him, the reality was so much more wonderful.
Brett took her back to their table after several dances and she asked him to get her a drink.
     
“What would you like?” he asked.
     
“Anything,” she said, feeling desperate. “Champagne is fine.” She intended to head home as soon as he left her, afraid of what he made her feel.
    Brett nodded and turned to find a waiter. Once he was out of sight, she finally thought she could make her escape. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be right back,” she said to Sal.
Sal didn’t even look at her when he gently, but firmly, held her arm. “Stay for a moment.”
     
“Sal, I’m just going to the ladies room,” she said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.
     
“No you’re not. You’re going to try to slip out the door,” Thomas said as he came up to stand on her left side.
     
Antonia hadn’t heard him come up beside her, but that wasn’t unusual for Thomas. He was the more soft-spoken of all of them. “I am not,” she denied.
     
Carlos came up in front of her and shook his head. “Oh, no you don’t. Stick around, let’s see what happens,” he said, a huge grin on his face.
    “I can’t believe what’s happening here!” Antonia said, shocked that her brothers were conspiring against her in this way. “Are you all willing to throw me to the wolves? Please, let me go. I can’t stay here.”
    Sal’s grin was almost imperceptible, but Antonia saw it. “Not all the wolves – just one. He’ll be right back. Then he can escort you home if you still need to leave,” he said.
Antonia stood there in shock. “I can’t believe you would force me to stay in the company of a man I don’t like,” she said, furious with all of them.
     
Carlos laughed. “You certainly liked him when you showed him the hedges a few weeks ago.”
     
“And it looked as if you liked him out on the dance floor,” Giuseppe said, laughing and shaking his head as he took his place in their circle.
     
Antonia turned beet red. But she had no response. Instead, she stood there surrounded by her brothers, blocked on all sides by five huge men.
    Brett finally returned with two glasses of champagne. As soon as he approached, the wall of men evaporated and she was left to look at Brett’s lazy smile as he handed her the glass of sparkling wine.
Antonia took the glass and downed the liquid. Then she handed the glass to Brett and took the other one, drinking the bubbly liquid quickly.
     
“Thanks,” was all she said.
     
He swallowed a laugh. She was outraged with her brothers, but they were doing his unspoken bidding. “Would you like to dance some more?”
     
“Yes,” she said grudgingly.
    Brett nodded his thanks to her brothers without her knowing it as he led her back onto the dance floor. He didn’t even mind when she took another glass of champagne from a passing waiter, downed the liquid and set it on a table, all without losing step with him.
    Out on the dance floor, he pulled the reluctant beauty into his arms, trying not to shake with laughter. He knew what she was doing. Since she couldn’t escape physically, she would try to escape mentally. But it wouldn’t work. He’d been trying it all week, and he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind.
    God she felt good, he thought to himself. He knew the champagne was going to hit her hard and fast in a short time. So he reveled in the feeling of having her in his arms for the short time before he had to get her home.
    He wondered if he’d finally learn where she lived now. It would be ironic if he could accomplish in one night what a private investigator had been unable to do for two whole weeks. That had been part of his frustration when he’d walked into the ballroom tonight.