In Serena's Web Read Online Free

the time Brian was dressed and on his way downstairs, however, he had realized—albeit reluctantly—that his responsibilities to Serena’s father had little to do with his own anxiety. The truth was, he conceded bitterly, he was more than just anxious. And for the simple reason that she had spent the night with another man. Period.
    And even though he felt a strong measure of relief when the hostess took him directly to a tablein response to his question and he saw Serena waiting for him, Brian quite naturally greeted her with a scowl.
    “Good morning, Brian.” Serena was cheerful, bright-eyed, and appeared to have slept a solid eight hours.
    Brian knew better. With controlled violence, he took his seat, accepted coffee from an attentive waiter, then waved the young man away before he could offer to take their order. Barely waiting for the waiter to absent himself, Brian snarled, “Well, are you proud of yourself?”
    “For what?” she asked innocently, sipping her coffee.
    Belatedly remembering that they were in a restaurant that was rapidly filling with hotel guests, Brian lowered his voice. But the snarl, though muted, carried considerable force. “For handing Long another scalp to wear on his belt!” he snapped softly.
    “Did I do that?”
    “Dammit, Serena—”
    “You have a very low opinion of my morals.”Her voice was extremely quiet, but something about it drained Brian’s anger.
    “You didn’t sleep with him?” he asked bluntly.
    Being Serena, she didn’t blush or appear to resent the personal question. “No, I didn’t sleep with him. I came back to my room a little after midnight.”
    Brian studied her downbent head, feeling suddenly as if he had wounded something small and defenseless. And the apology came unbidden. “I’m sorry, Rena,” he said gently. “I guess I was thinking more of Long’s reputation than of your … standards.”
    “You don’t know what my standards are.” Clearly Serena was unwilling to forgive so quickly. The misty gray eyes lifted briefly to meet his, and there was something sad in them.
    “Don’t look at me like that!” he exclaimed involuntarily.
    She glanced around to summon the waiter. “Why don’t we have breakfast, Brian,” she suggested softly.
    Since the waiter, no more immune than the rest of his kind to Serena’s glances, was already attheir table, pencil poised, Brian could do little but give his order after she had indicated her own choices. Then he stared at the top of her sable head for a few moments before he fully realized that he had irretrievably lost something by leaping to conclusions.
    And it hurt, that loss. It hurt to realize that she would never again gaze at him innocently and confidingly, that she would now hesitate before reaching out to touch him. He had, with his accusation, lost a large portion of her trust.
    Gone, he thought. Or was it? Serena was the most generous soul he had ever encountered, and perhaps … perhaps there would be no irretrievable loss.
    Brian reached across the table to cover her slender hand with his own. “Rena”—his voice was very gentle—“I’m really sorry. After what you said last night, the only thing I was certain of was that you intended to marry Long. And I … I was angry. I’m so afraid you’ll be hurt, and I don’t want that to happen. I was worried about you, that’s all. Will you forgive me?”
    The misty gray eyes lifted to his again, and theywere curiously shy this time. “I will. If … if you’ll help me.”
    “Anything,” he promised rashly, even as a little voice in his head warned him desperately. Those eyes, he thought, mesmerized, those damned eyes.
    In the sweet, gentle voice that sounded like satin and could stop an army in its tracks, Serena said, “Teach me how to seduce a man.”
    She made it sound normal, he realized dimly. Ordinary. Not in the
least
dangerous. She made it sound matter-of-fact and innocent and entirely reasonable. She made it sound so