He hated her. Thought she’d lied to him all this time. Well, she had. But she’d told herself it was to protect him. What would he have done if he’d known? Turned away from her in disgust? Or would it have brought them closer?
She’d never know now, would she?
“Ria, you need to eat.” Freddy stepped up behind her, cupping her shoulders with his hands. “Come on, you’ve barely eaten since you got home. You’ve lost weight.”
“I think I can spare a few pounds.” She winced. If that had been Connor standing behind her, she’d be in a world of trouble. But it wasn’t. He was in Dallas, moving on with his life. She should probably try to do the same.
“I am going to find you a new Dom,” Freddy announced.
She turned, gaping up at him. “What?”
“You obviously need a Dom’s steady influence in your life, and you won’t listen to your brother.” He gave her a ferocious look.
“I always listen to you.”
He snorted. “Once upon a time, maybe. No longer. Unfortunately, I can no longer take you over my knee when you’re naughty. But if you had a Dom, he could.”
“You’ve never once spanked me.”
“Maybe I should have. You wouldn’t so easily defy me now.”
“Defy you?”
“You must eat, Ria. I won’t have you getting ill.”
“I can’t eat.”
“Because of him.”
She shook her head.
“Don’t lie to me,” he told her in a low voice. “You miss him. You loved him. That is not easy to get over.”
“And yet you’re eager to go out and find me a new Dom.” That sounded like an absolute nightmare. What kind of Dom would her brother find for her? Eew, just thinking it sounded wrong.
“It doesn’t have to be a sexual thing,” Freddy told her. “But you’re going to fade away if you continue like this.”
“I don’t want anyone else.”
“Then I will have him sent for.”
“You can’t do that. You can’t make him want me. Love me. I don’t deserve him. He deserves much, much better.”
“Actually, you have that the wrong way around.”
She gasped at the voice, turning to find Connor standing there, in the interconnecting door between the living room and the study next door.
“Connor, what are you—” She quickly moved, standing between him and Freddy. She held her hands up to her brother beseechingly. “Freddy, don’t hurt him.”
“Are my guards all right?” Freddy said calmly.
“Well, Hunter is watching over them so that’s debatable. They’ll probably be ready to kill themselves after spending too long in his company.”
“I see I underestimated you, Mr. Maxwell.”
“Happens a lot. Call me Connor, I think we’re going to be spending some time together.”
“That so?” Freddy looked from her to Connor.