That told her. She inclined her head in agreement before turning to her personal bodyguard. It was enough to make a woman wish the word had a whole other connotation. Like naked and in her bed.
Too bad relationships and her just didn't mix. Besides, she knew Breeds mated. They were playful, erotic and wicked, but loving a woman always came with a mating. And mating was almost instantaneous.
So far, she had no uncontrollable urges where his body was concerned. Irrational maybe, but that didn't count.
She fought to restore her equilibrium as Mercury once again escorted her from the estate house to the limo. Sliding into the back, she watched as he moved in opposite her before the car began moving from the driveway.
They were both silent as they rode through the gates and the crowd of protestors that chanted outside them.
The gossip rags fueled the protests. Rumors of forced sexual desires due to a virus the Breeds carried were in the rags again. There was also the story of the serial killer/cannibal who was linked to the Breeds. The rags kept protestors at the door, and suspicion swirling around the Breeds both here and at the Wolf Breed compound Haven.
"You pushed a line with Jonas. I'd suggest not pushing it again for a while," Mercury stated as they headed back to the cabin.
She glanced back at him silently before speaking. "Jonas, like Dane, requires a certain understanding to deal with. If he believed I was easy to run over, he would spend his time denying what I needed and blocking my attempts."
But that didn't change the fact that facing him hadn't been easy. Her heart had been in her throat more often than not, and controlling any hint of fear had been almost impossible.
"Dealing with Jonas is nothing like dealing with Dane Vanderale, Ria. Don't fool yourself. He can make a hard enemy."
"As can Dane." She shrugged.
She looked back at him, the sprawled position he preferred tempting her. She wanted to curl into his lap. She wanted to warm herself against him.
Illogical. Irrational. Insane.
The night before had been filled with dreams of him. He had been outside patrolling the area around her cabin, she knew that. It was too close. Too tempting.
At least he hadn't actually been in the cabin. She didn't share her space very well, no matter how much she was attracted to a man.
She was a die-hard loner. She had decided that a long time ago. People left too easily. They walked in, got you used to their presence, then left, leaving you alone. It was a hard lesson to learn, and one she reminded herself of whenever she happened to wonder what it would be like to actually share space with someone.
"Why don't you have a lover?"
Her head swung around at the question.
"Excuse me?" She blinked back at him in shock, and her body nearly sizzled at the look he was giving her.
His expression was decidedly sensual.
"Why don't you have a lover?" he asked again, spacing out the words as though she might have trouble understanding English. "You're pretty. Single. And you're alone."
"I don't see a woman hanging on your arm," she snapped out. "Perhaps I left him at home."
He shook his head. "There's no scent of a man on you. If you had a lover, the scent of his arousal would linger around you for weeks, even if you were separated from him. So you don't have a lover."
"And I don't consider it your business," she told him, striving for calm.
"I do."
Her heart slapped in her chest, blood rushed to her head, and she wondered if the reaction was a precursor to a stroke. Because it had never happened to her before.
"I don't." She watched him warily now.
"Dane shouldn't have sent you here alone," he told her, his voice quiet, too soft, dangerous. "You're tempting, Ms. Rodriquez. And you're a challenge. Two things a Breed has a hard time ignoring."
And she was going to melt into her seat. Tempting and a challenge? She was plain and she knew it. She tried to spice it up with sexy underclothes and the bling Dane brought her. Not always jewels. Sometimes a scarf, sometimes something as simple as an odd piece of art found in an unknown market.
She liked pretty things around her, because she knew she wasn't so pretty. She wasn't tempting. And despite his claim, she wouldn't be much of a challenge if he decided he wanted into her bed.