“Of all the...” He spun away and scrubbed his hand across his face. A curse followed and then he faced her once again. “You’ll need to return it. Immediately.”
“Did you think I was planning on keeping it?”
“No, I...” He huffed a breath and before she knew what was happening, he was holding her by her upper arms and leaning in. Stormy eyes locked onto hers. “There’s brazen, and then there’s plain foolhardiness. You cannot honestly think you can walk around dressed like that without anyone taking notice?”
Athena blinked. “I don’t see how my choice in clothes is any business of yours. You’re not my father or my brother.”
“No, I’m most certainly not,” he told her with a fierceness that took her aback. “But that doesn’t mean you are not my responsibility while you are here or that I shouldn’t be honest with you. The fact is, you are providing every man who sees you like this with a fantasy that will stir his loins for the rest of his days.”
Shock thundered through her. His words and what they implied were beyond the pale. No one had ever spoken to her with such crassness before. She clenched her jaw and glared back at him. “How dare you?”
“It’s time for you to be made aware,” he told her darkly. “You no longer have a child’s body. In case you hadn’t noticed.”
She turned her gaze away from his and stared at the wall behind him while taking deep breaths. “I cannot very well muck out a stall while wearing a dress. That wouldn’t be practical.”
“Perhaps you ought to leave the mucking out of stalls to the grooms then?”
She huffed in response to that and crossed her arms in protest. “Fine.”
He released his hold and took a step back. “Athena, I’m not telling you this to be difficult. If I didn’t care about you or your wellbeing, I’d let you gad about as you please.”
Acceptance wasn’t easy, but the sincerity in his voice cut through her defenses until she was forced to acknowledge his point. “I know I can be a handful and that I am not the easiest person to deal with.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being feisty,” he told her gently. “In fact, I marvel at your vivacity. But your innocent naïveté puts you in danger.”
“I’m not as naïve as you think,” she grumbled. “I know there are villains about in the world. My sister-in-law, James’ wife, Abigail, almost became the victim of one.”
“And yet you still ride around the countryside unchaperoned, intent on visiting a man who for all you knew could have harbored ill intentions toward you. What if I’d been plotting a chance for revenge?”
“Were you?”
“That’s not the point and you know it.”
“I never go anywhere unarmed,” she tried, hoping to offer him some reassurance.
He stared at her, then slowly nodded. “All right. Show me your weapon.”
Reaching down, Athena pulled a knife loose from her boot and held it up for his inspection. Pleasure burst through her when she saw the approving look in his eyes. Good. Now he’d know she wasn’t as careless about her safety as he’d assumed. She raised her chin and met his gaze boldly.
“Stay right there. Don’t move.” He crossed to the door several paces away, then turned back to face her. “Now, pretend I’m a murderous scoundrel determined to have my way with you before I slit your throat. Defend yourself.”
“What?” The word was barely out before he was upon her, one hand grabbing her wrist so roughly she let go the knife. Athena narrowed her gaze at the slate blue eyes staring back at her. “That’s not fair. I wasn’t ready.”
“We’ll do it again then.” Releasing her, he returned to his previous position and started advancing once more.
This time, Athena managed to dodge him once before he caught her wrist and pushed her back against the wall, trapping her there, his hand adding pressure until she was forced to release the knife once more.
She frowned at him. “I don’t want to hurt you. Obviously, if you were a real attacker I would have stabbed you.”
With a snort of clear disbelief, he let her go and went back to the door. “Do it. Try to stab me, Athena.”
“I can’t.”
He tilted his head as if in thought, then went to his desk and opened a drawer. “Use this instead of your knife, then.”
Accepting the wooden ruler he held toward her, she returned the knife to her boot. With the ruler clasped in her hand, she took a deep breath and readied herself for his next attack. When it came, she swung her arm. The ruler grazed his shoulder before he managed to grab her wrist once more. Instinct brought her knee up, but rather than connecting with him her legs swung out to the side, meeting air right before she landed on her back. Straddling her, Robert pinned her arms above her head, removed the ruler from her grasp with unsettling ease, and tossed it aside.
“Do you believe me now?”
Athena stared up at Robert. She’d never felt more vulnerable before, nor had she ever been as aware of another person. Ragged breaths squeezed her lungs in accordance with her jittery heartbeats. He was leaning over her, holding her captive, his face so close she was able to see the small imperfections marring his skin— a tiny scar on his chin, a small bump almost hidden against the side of his nose. His eyes gleamed with smug satisfaction, but it was his smell that stirred her awareness the most. Earthy, with hints of morning coffee, it instilled in her a desire so fierce she believed she might die if he did not kiss her.
“Yes.”
One word – a whisper stirring the air with possibility.
His grip on her tightened. Her breaths grew increasingly ragged.
“Athena.” He murmured her name. His nostrils flared and she saw his lips part. The blue in his eyes deepened.
“Yes,” she whispered again.
He swallowed, his throat working as if in accordance with some impossible chore. And then, as swiftly as he’d knocked her off her feet, he pulled her upright and stepped away. “Get changed so we can have breakfast. Once we’ve eaten, I’ll teach you how to defend yourself properly.”
A queer sense of disappointment raced through her. She studied him as he stood there, partly turned away from her. Incomprehension snapped at her from every angle. She didn’t understand what was going on, why she was being assaulted by all these perplexing sensations. He’d had her in a position that ought to have terrified her, and yet, against all odds, it had thrilled her. She’d wanted him to kiss her, for heaven’s sake. Nothing about what had happened between them just now made an ounce of sense. A burn of humiliation heated her cheeks as she spun away and went to the door, fleeing from him and from the power he wielded over her.
CLOSING HIS EYES, ROBERT waited until he heard her climbing the stairs before he dared move. Christ, he was a fool. What the hell had he been thinking, putting her on the floor like that with himself on top? The position had been indecent – too close a resemblance to that of lovemaking. And she’d responded. By God, he could still envision her parted lips, the sigh with which she told him, “yes,” the glazed look of passion brightening her eyes as he’d leaned in.