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He was staring at her, his expression so lived inside him that he wasn’t always aware of
“I won’t tolerate it,” he suddenly bit out
“Tolerate what?” she retorted “My refusal to do as you order?”
If he turned arrogant Breed on her now, she was going to get violent herself
“Your refusal to do as you wish,” he snapped “That dress Those shoes I didn’t even have to see your face to feel how s Where are the pretty clothes, Ria?” He stalked to the closet and looked in, growling at the sight of more of the same Simple clothes Dowdy skirts “Where are the clothes you want to wear?”
“In the stores” Her voice was clipped, her own anger rising now “Where they belong If they’re here, I’ll wear them That siate suspecting that there’s more to me than they’ve always believed The Vanderales’ poor orphan employee could never afford those clothes A paper pusher? Really! How long do you think they would believe that if they sawabout?”
“Who put that in your head?” He raged, stalking fro from it actually “Dane? The Leo? I’ll be damned if it will continue You’re a beautiful wos Why shouldn’t you have them?”
“Because it’s detri “My job, Mercury Remember? Would you have believed I was noyour damned accounts if I had arrived dressed in silk and heels?”
He stared back at her, the blue lights in his eyes firing deeper, darker “I wouldn’t have had the brainpower to think,” he finallyyou before you ever arrived at Sanctuary”
She wanted to roll her eyes at him “Neither you nor Jonas would have ever taken me seriously”
He pushed his fingers through his hair, his gaze raking over her “That’s a cop-out,” he informed her “One look at you, Ria, and anyone knows better than that Do you think the reason the coate aren’t suspicious of you is your clothes? That’s not true, Ria They’re not suspicious of you because they’re arrogant and too certain of their own intelligence to believe anyone could be smarter than they are”
She shook her head She didn’t want to hear this It wasn’t true It was the job, and it was t
hat simple She owed the Vanderales They had kept her safe until she was grown, they had given her a job, they had given her a life when she was alone, deserted
“You hide, Ria,” he stated “Those clothes aren’t because of your job Those clothes, your demeanor, the way you dress—it’s so you can hide”
She shot hi her wrap from the end of the bed