Full Bloom

dryly.
    Drake shrugged one elegantly clad shoulder. "The trouble with Stone is that you can't often tell what he's thinking. He does things in his own way and in his own time and he does them for his own motives. I should have suspected that this time around the motivation was you. Even two years ago there was something about the way he used to look at you. But I didn't worry about it then. He was in the middle of a divorce and he was angry and bitter and heading abroad. I think he sensed that if he tried to get involved with you at that point in his life he would have savaged you. And you were too vulnerable yourself at that stage."
    "I'm amazed you noticed anything at all about how I was feeling two years ago, Drake. I got the impression that all any of my family cared about was getting Brad Carlton out of my life, regardless of how I felt about the matter."
    "Carlton was a weak, conniving worm. Getting him out of your life was priority number one. It had to be done before you were hurt any more than you already had been."
    "You mean it had to be done before he had a chance to get his hands on a piece of Ravenscroft International," Emily corrected calmly.
    Her brother gave her an odd glance. "You think the company is all the rest of us care about, don't you?"
    "Oh, I think you're somewhat fond of me," Emily said with a trace of humor. "You're also overprotective, chauvinistic, paternalistic and irritating. I think, given half a chance, you and Mom and Dad would take over my life completely."
    "We only want what's best for you, Em. You were always the baby in the family. And when you did grow up you didn't turn out to be quite what Mom and Dad had expected." It was Drake's turn to look amused. "They don't understand you."
    "And you do?"
    "Not completely. I'll admit you're different in some ways from the rest of us. But I think I've got a better understanding of you than Mom and Dad ever will. That doesn't mean they don't love you."
    Emily sighed. "I know. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't put up with them at all, you know."
    "Stone has made himself your lover, hasn't he?"
    Emily blinked rapidly at the unexpected question. Then her mouth tilted wryly. Drake was using a familiar Ravenscroft interrogation technique. "That's a Ravenscroft for you. Distract the victim with pleasant chatter about family affection and then, when her defenses are down, zing her with the real question." She moved aside the window drape and gazed out into the lighted garden. "My relationship with Jacob is a personal matter. I see no need to discuss it."
    "No games, Em. Just tell me the truth. I might be able to help you."
    Emily glanced suspiciously over her shoulder. "Help me? How?"
    Drake lounged on his father's heavy wood desk and gave his sister an affectionate glance. "You know what I'm talking about. I can handle Mom and Dad a lot better than you can. I understand them. Especially Dad."
    "Because you're a lot like him?"
    Drake shrugged. "Maybe. That's not the point. The point is that Mom and Dad aren't exactly thrilled with the idea of you sleeping with Jacob Stone."
    "What makes them think I am?"
    "They're not fools, Em," Drake said impatiently. "We all saw the look in his eyes when he walked through the door with you. Possessive as hell. The man was staking a claim and daring us to challenge it."
    "Here you all were wasting precious time worrying about my relationship with Morrell while the real threat moved in undetected. An extremely rare case of a bunch of Ravenscrofts caught off guard. How do you feel about the whole thing, big brother?"
    "I won't say I'm thrilled about it." Drake took a sip of his whiskey. "You're my kid sister. You've been my kid sister since the day you were born and you'll still be my kid sister thirty years from now. I'm probably not ever going to like the idea of any man having an affair with you. Part of me wants to protect you from the wicked ways of my own species. Dad and Mom, of course, being parents, feel even more strongly about it. But I'm willing to admit that we've interfered in your life too many times in the past. Maybe it's time you got to make your own decisions."
    Emily turned completely around to face him. She folded her arms, aware that she was so keyed up that she was almost trembling. She took three slow breaths to calm herself. "Translated, I gather that means you think that if I'm determined to have an affair it might as well be with someone you think you can control. Someone such as