Page 19 of Fergus

Her gaze veered away. Which could, Fergus reasoned, be because she was embarrassed by his earlier bluntness. Or it could be for another reason entirely.

“Thea?”

“I—” She broke off at the sound of the doorbell ringing downstairs. “That’s probably the doctor,” she prompted when Fergus didn’t move.

“He can wait until you’ve answered my question.”

A derisive smile curved her lips. “I think since we last met, you’ve become far too used to issuing orders and having people obey them.”

He smiled. “I hate to disillusion you, but my years in the military mean I’ve always issued orders and expected people to obey them.”

She shook her head. “My mother didn’t know you at all, did she?”

His jaw tightened. “Not in the slightest. Now answer the damned question.”

“You might not have any manners, but I do.” She pulled out of his grasp as the doorbell rang a second time. “The doctor has been kept waiting long enough.”

“And he will be paid generously for his time.”

“Money isn’t the be-all and end-all of everything,” she snapped, turning to leave the bedroom.

Fergus followed her down the hallway to the stairs, intending to continue their conversation. Instead, he immediately became distracted by the sway of her hips and the way her jeans hugged the delectable curve of the bottom he wanted to lay hands on and pleasure until she screamed for mercy.

Fucking hell.

This desire for her was getting totally out of hand.

Out of control.

Hiscontrol.

* * *

Thea hadno idea what Fergus was thinking behind those hooded eyes as he stood in the doorway of the elegant sitting room. He had briefly excused himself to make a phone call while the doctor was examining her.

Now he watched her intently, his brooding expression telling her that whatever his thoughts were, they were very intense.

Making her wonder how it would feel to have all that intensity of emotion focused on her.

As it had been earlier, when he told her he thought she was beautiful and he wanted to bite her arse!

Thea was still trying to process that comment. No one had ever spoken to her in such a forthright way before. It was as thrilling as it was unexpected, coming from a man she believed might despise her.

Fergus seemed just as disconcerted by the attraction he admitted to feeling for her.

It felt even more surreal being here in his home with him.

It was a huge house, the architecture probably dating back to the seventeenth century. It looked as if it possibly had a dozen bedrooms and just as many bathrooms, with half a dozen reception rooms downstairs. It was a huge house for one man to live in alone.

Thea had seen an enclosed solarium as they walked through the cavernous entrance hall earlier, no doubt to be used on the days when the weather was too inclement for going outside. The copious amount of plants gave the glass space the appearance and feeling of being in the garden.

There was a huge walled garden to the back of the house, along with a glass passageway to an enclosed swimming pool.

The only way into those grounds and the house was through those high-security gates at the front of the property.

The inside of the house was as elegant and beautifully furnished as it had looked from the outside. There were marble statues placed about the large marble entrance hall. The ornate furniture, in the visible rooms, looked as if it also dated back to the seventeenth century. There had even been a four-poster bed in the guest bedroom Fergus had assigned to her for the duration of her stay.

Thea had expected there to be an army of servants and a housekeeper or cook to run such a large establishment. But Fergus had told her on the way over here that he didn’t have a staff. He had a cleaning service come in twice a week, his groceries were delivered, and he enjoyed doing his own cooking.

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