anything. It was only reinforcing the wisdom of going very cautiously where Anthony was concerned. Good heavens, he’d actually had her pleading with him to make love to her last night! Surely that fact alone proved how dangerous a relationship with him would be. He’d dominated her practically all her life, but she wouldn’t be able to tolerate that threat to her independence now.
She stepped from the shower stall, plucked a soft terry bath towel from the heated rack, and began to dry herself briskly. No, she’d changed from that hero-worshipping child, and Anthony had to come to terms with it. He had a right to mastermind her career, but her personal life was something else again. How many times over the years had she heard herself described as Galatea to Anthony’s Pygmalion and only laughed at the comparison? Now it didn’t seem quite so funny when she recalled how pliant she’d been to hisevery wish since he’d practically kidnapped her from under Jack’s very eyes.
Jack. She’d promised to get in touch with him before Anthony had snatched her away so precipitously. Dany wrapped the towel around her and strode with determined swiftness back into the bedroom to attempt to locate the clothing that Anthony had removed so deftly last night.
She’d follow Anthony’s orders and return to Briarcliff this afternoon. She had a training regimen to follow, and every minute counted now that Calgary loomed so near. But she’d be damned if she’d be hustled off meekly without giving Jack an explanation for Anthony’s rudeness last night. She’d have Pete stop at Jack’s apartment before they left the city, and to hell with whether Anthony liked it or not. She wasn’t about to let him have his own way about everything. Not any longer.
“You didn’t blur that last spin,” Beau commented mildly as she skated up to the wrought-iron bench on the bank of the pond where he was lolling withdeceptive laziness. “The triple looked good, but as I said …”
“… the spin didn’t blur,” she finished for him as she sat down beside him. She flinched as the iciness of the bench pierced the thinness of her tights. She shouldn’t have worn this short skating skirt when she’d known she’d be outdoors, she thought absently as she bent over to unlace her skates. It was fine when she was skating, but it wasn’t the most practical outfit when they had a ten-minute walk back to the house from the pond. “I knew it didn’t. That snow last night made the ice rough.” She glanced up with a grin. “And that’s
not
just an excuse. It really would have had enough speed if the ice had been right.”
“I wasn’t arguing.” Beau picked up her heavy cream-colored wool jacket from the bench and draped it over her shoulders. “I’m just wondering what we’re doing out here freezing our butts off and having to put up with poor ice when we could be working in that deluxe indoor rink Anthony had built for you out back of ye old family mansion?” His lips twisted in a grin. “As I recall, it even comes complete with a Zamboni to smoothaway that rough ice you’ve been complaining about.”
She avoided those keen hazel eyes as she slipped off her left skate and started unlacing the right. “I felt like working outside today. It was nice having the wind and sun on my face after skating inside for the last few months.” She took the other skate off. “Besides, sometimes it’s good to have the ice a little rough. It gives you something to fight and overcome.”
“And ice is a hell of a lot easier to fight than Anthony, isn’t it, Dany?” Beau’s voice was as soft as his eyes were sharp. “Did he give you a hard time yesterday? Is that why you ran away?”
“I didn’t run away,” she denied quickly with a forced laugh. “Despite what you think, I’m not a child who’s afraid to face some make-believe bogeyman. I just had an impulse to see the bright lights and yielded to temptation. Don’t you ever do that,
She stepped from the shower stall, plucked a soft terry bath towel from the heated rack, and began to dry herself briskly. No, she’d changed from that hero-worshipping child, and Anthony had to come to terms with it. He had a right to mastermind her career, but her personal life was something else again. How many times over the years had she heard herself described as Galatea to Anthony’s Pygmalion and only laughed at the comparison? Now it didn’t seem quite so funny when she recalled how pliant she’d been to hisevery wish since he’d practically kidnapped her from under Jack’s very eyes.
Jack. She’d promised to get in touch with him before Anthony had snatched her away so precipitously. Dany wrapped the towel around her and strode with determined swiftness back into the bedroom to attempt to locate the clothing that Anthony had removed so deftly last night.
She’d follow Anthony’s orders and return to Briarcliff this afternoon. She had a training regimen to follow, and every minute counted now that Calgary loomed so near. But she’d be damned if she’d be hustled off meekly without giving Jack an explanation for Anthony’s rudeness last night. She’d have Pete stop at Jack’s apartment before they left the city, and to hell with whether Anthony liked it or not. She wasn’t about to let him have his own way about everything. Not any longer.
“You didn’t blur that last spin,” Beau commented mildly as she skated up to the wrought-iron bench on the bank of the pond where he was lolling withdeceptive laziness. “The triple looked good, but as I said …”
“… the spin didn’t blur,” she finished for him as she sat down beside him. She flinched as the iciness of the bench pierced the thinness of her tights. She shouldn’t have worn this short skating skirt when she’d known she’d be outdoors, she thought absently as she bent over to unlace her skates. It was fine when she was skating, but it wasn’t the most practical outfit when they had a ten-minute walk back to the house from the pond. “I knew it didn’t. That snow last night made the ice rough.” She glanced up with a grin. “And that’s
not
just an excuse. It really would have had enough speed if the ice had been right.”
“I wasn’t arguing.” Beau picked up her heavy cream-colored wool jacket from the bench and draped it over her shoulders. “I’m just wondering what we’re doing out here freezing our butts off and having to put up with poor ice when we could be working in that deluxe indoor rink Anthony had built for you out back of ye old family mansion?” His lips twisted in a grin. “As I recall, it even comes complete with a Zamboni to smoothaway that rough ice you’ve been complaining about.”
She avoided those keen hazel eyes as she slipped off her left skate and started unlacing the right. “I felt like working outside today. It was nice having the wind and sun on my face after skating inside for the last few months.” She took the other skate off. “Besides, sometimes it’s good to have the ice a little rough. It gives you something to fight and overcome.”
“And ice is a hell of a lot easier to fight than Anthony, isn’t it, Dany?” Beau’s voice was as soft as his eyes were sharp. “Did he give you a hard time yesterday? Is that why you ran away?”
“I didn’t run away,” she denied quickly with a forced laugh. “Despite what you think, I’m not a child who’s afraid to face some make-believe bogeyman. I just had an impulse to see the bright lights and yielded to temptation. Don’t you ever do that,
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