Full Bloom

over any decision, and Jacob was as furious with himself for his own uneasiness as he had been earlier with Emily.
    He stalked barefoot into the kitchen and reached into a cupboard for a bottle of medicinal Scotch. It was going to be a long night, and the knowledge that Emily was spending it not more than a couple of miles away in a lonely hotel room did not make things any easier.
    He had to stand firm on this, Jacob reminded himself for the thousandth time as he splashed a healthy swallow of Scotch into a water glass. He was not normally a tolerant man, but he had long ago realized he would probably tolerate almost anything from Emily. Still, he had to draw some lines with her.
    Dammit, he wanted her to want him for himself, not because she had decided he was strong enough to be used in a power play against her family.
    Jacob tossed back the Scotch and prowled restlessly back out into the living room. From his window he could see the lights of the hotel where Emily was staying. It was torture to stand here thinking about how good it would be to spend the night in Emily's bed. Self-inflicted torture. He must be turning into some sort of stupid masochist.
    But it would be even more masochistic to let her turn him into a club that she could use to beat the other Ravenscrofts over the head.
    It was obvious to Jacob that in the past couple of years Emily had finally begun to tap into her own strength as a woman and as a Ravenscroft. Until tonight he had been glad to see the transformation, aware that she had come into her own and aware, too, that on some level she was free to love him now.
    But tonight Jacob had been shattered to discover that her motives for becoming involved with him were not the simple, straightforward result of womanly passion.
    He did not doubt the passion. That had been real enough. His body tightened at the memory of Emily flowering in his arms. But tonight he had realized that she might have come to him for more subtle and complex reasons. He was worried now that she had fallen so easily into his arms because she had sensed instinctively that he was the one man she could use to retaliate against her family for years of overprotectiveness and interference.
    He'd give a great deal to get his hands on that damned assertiveness training course instructor. Whoever he or she was, that person had done the job of bringing Emily out of her shell only too well. Of course, the instructor had had basic Ravenscroft material—tempered steel—with which to work, Jacob reminded himself wryly.
    Jacob stared out the window at the lights of the hotel. He wanted Emily more than he had ever wanted anything else in his life. God knew he had waited long enough for her. But he wanted her to love him for himself, not because she could use him to finally take a stand against her family.
    Jacob swore silently as he examined the web in which he was caught. He, of all people, should have realized how dangerous it was to get involved with Ravenscrofts. Corner any one of them, even the youngest and the softest little female in the bunch, and you found out fast enough they all had claws.
    Jacob grinned reluctantly. He wouldn't deny Emily the right to unsheath those claws once in a while. He was too much of a predator himself not to understand her need to fight back occasionally. Hell, he needed a woman who could hold her own. He had no use for wimps, male or female.
    He glanced at his watch and promised himself he would see Emily first thing in the morning. He was convinced that all she needed was a little time to think. By breakfast she would have had the whole night to reconsider her actions. Jacob was sure she would realize that she had been wrong to confuse her feelings for him with her need to take a stand against her family.
    It would be worth the lonely wait tonight to give her time to sort things out. She was an intelligent woman. What's more, she was falling in love with him, Jacob told himself. That love was his high card. She might be a Ravenscroft, but she was different from the others. She was too gentle to dig in her heels over this, for instance.
    All he had to do was give her a little time. When she was ready to admit she had been wrong, he would be ready and waiting to graciously accept her apology.
    But at seven o'clock the next morning when Jacob knocked on her hotel door prepared for tearful remorse, he was stunned to discover that Emily had already left Portland. She had caught an early-morning plane