Drake Sisters 06 - Turbulent Sea

wouldn't have been pleasant.'
    'It could easily have been a knife.'
    'I know. I'm well aware, after Hannah, what can happen with knives and how easily they're concealed.'
    He brushed back her hair again, his touch this time comforting. 'I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, laskovaya moya . Don't think about the attack on Hannah. Instead, tell me what you and Brian were arguing about. Your music was playing and I only caught a few sentences.'
    She sighed. 'I shouldn't have yelled at him. I was really angry with myself for not inquiring about that missing girl and I took it out on him. Ever since that night, I've been wishing I'd done something. Maybe if I hadn't left it to Brian to run them down, that girl would be safe at home with her mother.'
    'When did you find out she was missing?'
    'After the Chicago concert, a week ago. And yes, she's still missing; I called the police department to check. After a show I often sign a few autographs for the fans who follow all my shows. The girl's mother was there and she grabbed me.' Without thinking she rubbed her arm.
    Ilya pulled her sleeve back to examine the scratches in the dim light. The pads of his fingers soothed over the fading marks. 'She did this to you? Where the hell was your bodyguard? And where was Jerry? He's supposed to be watching out for you.' He brought her arm to his mouth, brushing his lips over the scratches.
    Her stomach did a little somersault at the feel of his lips, soft and firm, pressing against her bare arm. She forced her mind to think when everything in her seemed to be turning to mush. 'Don't worry, everyone acted crazy and pulled her off of me. I tried to tell them I wanted to talk to her, but no one listened to me. Steve drove off and wouldn't stop even when I told him he had to. The last I saw of her, they were dragging her away.'
    'Good. They at least did their jobs - after the fact. She should never have gotten close enough to do that kind of damage.'
    Joley opened her eyes again and glared at him. 'I don't think you're a restful person - at all. The woman was scared and worried about her daughter. She wasn't trying to attack me.'
    Ilya stared down at her with a long, accusatory stare. For some reason his expression made her squirm. She rolled her eyes.

'Okay, she tried to pull me out of the van, but that was because she was so upset.'
    'One of these days, someone is going to get hurt, laskovaya moya , and life as you know it is going to be over.'
    She shoved at his immovable body. 'That's exactly why we don't get along. I just go about living my life as normally as I can, and you throw out stupid statements like that. What does that mean? Is that some veiled threat?'
    'I don't know how veiled it was.' His tone was mild. 'I think the threat was clear enough. Once we're permanently together, you're going to have a bodyguard who actually protects you.'
    She sniffed, showing disdain for his confidence, but her wayward body reacted. 'I don't do permanent.' She glared at him. 'And neither do you.'
    'All that's about to change.'
    She was disgusted that she could be so physically attracted to a man who handed out orders as if born for it. A part of her felt she couldn't come to life unless this man was dominant, and yet she had to fight him until there was no hope of any relationship. She needed emergency therapy, but she was afraid it was already too late. Everything about Ilya both drew and repelled her. She needed him to take charge as much as she needed to fight him for trying to dictate to her.
    He brushed back her hair. 'Don't look so upset. You're going to be fine. You just need a little sleep and you'll be back on fighting form.'
    'I don't want to be attracted to you.'
    He didn't even wince. He simply nodded his head. 'I know. But we fit. We belong. I'm not willing to walk away because you're afraid.'
    She closed her eyes against her own melting body - the clenching of the tight muscles in her feminine channel, the heated pulse and flip of her stomach. She betrayed herself - everything she was and believed in - for this man. It made no sense, but she was too tired to figure it out. 'You're a dictator. Why in the world would you think for one moment -
    even one - that someone like me with a need for control would fit with a personality like yours? You take control, you insist on your way. I'd drive you even more nuts than you'd drive me. We'd end up hating one another.'
    'I don't dictate other than in matters of safety. And someone