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And somehow, they weren’t talking about business again. She tried to move around him, but he snaked out a hand and caught her arm. “Riss, why don’t you come up to my room? We can continue this conversation there. I guarantee that I can keep you busy enough that you won’t have a problem sleeping.” He flashed his blue eyes at her.
“Mr. Davenport?—”
“Derek, please,” he commanded as he ran a hand down her arm.
“Thank you for your kind offer but I think I’ll pass. I’m just…not in the mood,” she finished lamely.
He smiled. “But Riss, I would so enjoy getting you into the mood,” he murmured as he stroked his fingers over her cheek.
She tried to back up but there was nowhere for her to go so she went sideways. With the quickness of a striking snake, he thrust his arm around to block her retreat.
Her stomach clenched. She hated being put in this position. Why didn’t men get it when she said no? She’d had the same problem with one of the doctors in her office. He’d kept hitting on her until she’d finally told him if he tried it again, she’d tell his mother. He wasn’t afraid of his wife, but he’d been terrified of his mother. Since then, he’d left her alone. If only that would work here but she was pretty sure Davenport wasn’t afraid of anything.
“Riss,” he hissed again as he leaned down to kiss her.
A shriek erupted from the foyer making them both jump. Riss took the opportunity to slide under his arm and away from the bookcase. Not looking back at Davenport, she hurried out of the library. Vanessa stood at the top of the stairs in the foyer screaming bloody murder at Dominick.
“How dare you?” she demanded. “How dare you touch me?” The red silk nightgown she wore barely covered her chest and her ass.
“Ms. LeGris, I’m merely suggesting that perhaps you would be more comfortable in your own room. I was attempting to help you to your room.” Another man stood alongside, Louis, she thought his name was, but he offered no help to Dominick. She felt badly for the older gentleman.
The door opened behind her and Riss whirled around. Cash entered the house with Antonio. Relief coursed through her. She hated to admit it, but she felt much better when Cash was close by.
“I do not need your help to get to my room. I was visiting a friend. Now get out of my way and do not touch me again!”
Dominick gave her a small bow as she flounced away, giving anyone who cared to look a flash of her thong as she disappeared down the hallway. Dominick glanced down into the foyer where the other guests had gathered to watch the show. All they needed was some popcorn.
Poppy glanced at Riss. “Not a surprise at all with that one,” she murmured.
Riss nodded but stayed silent.
“Well Peter, shall we go back and finish our game?” Poppy asked and the two of them drifted back towards the billiards room.
“Wonder who she was visiting?” Daniel commented and then took a swig of his drink. He glanced at Riss and winked. “I bet she’s not pleased with the competition. You should watch yourself.”
Riss gasped. “I’m not?—”
But Daniel looked over her shoulder to where Davenport stood entirely too close to her. Daniel snorted and went back through the door into the kitchen.
“Now, where were we?” Davenport said as he put a hand on Riss’s waist. He dropped his head and tried to nuzzle her neck, but she sidestepped.
“Ms. Day, may I see you for a minute please?” Cash’s icy voice sounded across the foyer.
She met his gaze and made sure he could see the relief on her face. “Of course.” She strode towards him, and he pointed towards the stairs.
She went up first and went along to her room. Cash entered after her and shut the door. Her shoulders sagged as she blew out a long breath. She’d just wanted to find the damn book and Davenport had made a mess of everything. She’d never tell Cash just how grateful she was that he had saved her ass. No need to over-share. She turned to face him and realized he was royally pissed off. His eyes were a dark brown and getting darker, and his lips were set in a hard line. Shit.
“Before you lecture me on anything, I want you to know two things. One, I am not interested in Derek Davenport. I spent the last ten minutes trying to get away from him and two, it’s actually none of your business. If I could get him to back off on my own without causing some kind of scene, I would do it. But he doesn’t seem to be big on the world ‘no’ and I’m not the kind of woman who knees men in the balls. So there’s no need to accuse me of doing anything stupid.”
Cash stared at her, his jaw working. He wanted to throat-punch Davenport for even laying a hand on Riss. “Stay out of his way.”
“What do you think I was doing? I was down in the library, and I didn’t hear him come up behind me until it was too late.”
Cash advanced on her, grabbing her around the waist and trapping her against his chest.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded.
“When he grabs you like this? Go ahead and knee him in the balls. If you can’t do that, slam the heel of your shoe into his instep. If neither of those things work, scream bloody murder and jab your finger into his eye. Throat-punch him if you have the strength. Men like Davenport aren’t used to hearing the word ‘no’, so they assume you don’t mean it. Make him believe you mean it if you want him to pay attention.”
