‘Got to, I’m afraid,’ she said casually. Gail and Kieron had joined the group round the bar, and she felt herself colour as Gail drawled in cool amusement:
‘A boy-friend? You do surprise me! Who is he? Or can we guess?’
She was looking at Matt as she spoke, her eyes openly deriding, and Briony squashed an impulse to tell her the truth.
‘How about a kiss for good luck?’ Doug suggested. He looked at her like a playful puppy, and Briony knew that if she refused he would be hurt. Leaning forward, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, while several of the others cheered. As though he knew how much the gesture had cost her Doug whispered, ‘Thanks, honey. Take it easy with Kieron, he’s not me, you know.’
‘Unfortunately.’ The word was out before she could stop it, but before Doug could make any comment Matt had lurched up to them, his expression belligerent as he threw his arm round Briony.
‘Briony’s with me,’ he told the older man. ‘I’m taking you home—aren’t I, Briony?’
Too furious to speak, Briony pulled away, but Matt refused to let her go. The alcohol he had consumed seemed to have wrought a sea-change to his character, and far from being embarrassed by his behaviour he seemed inclined to become even more possessive.
‘I think you’ve had a little too much to drink, old man,’ Kieron interrupted calmly, his hand going out to restrain him. Matt shook him off, and for a moment Briony felt fear crawling along her spine as she saw the look in Kieron’s eyes. It vanished almost instantly, to be replaced with one of cool contempt.
‘Got to take Briony home,’ Matt muttered, subsiding a little as though even his muddled brain had perceived the danger.
‘I’ll take her home. You’re in no fit state to drive,’ Kieron told him in clipped accents. ‘In fact I think we’d better have your car keys, unless of course you were planning on staying with Briony overnight.’
There was an electric silence when Briony directed a freezing glare at Kieron and the others shuffled uncomfortably, avoiding her eyes.
‘No?’ Kieron drawled. ‘Hardly surprising. Give me your keys and Gail here will make sure you get home safely—won’t you, Gail?’
The blonde looked surprised and slightly chagrined, and Briony wondered how Kieron knew that Gail and Matt lived quite close to one another. Unless perhaps Gail had told him? It was plain from the other girl’s expression that she had expected to be the one going home with Kieron, and the look she directed at Briony was openly hostile.
‘I don’t need anyone to take me home,’ Briony announced firmly. ‘I’m perfectly capable of taking myself. In fact I must leave now or I’ll miss my bus.’
‘You’re not walking through the streets alone at this time of night,’ Kieron told her in clipped accents, his fingers closing about her arm and forestalling her flight. It was hot in the pub and he had discarded his jacket, his tie pulled loosely away from his shirt collar, which was unbuttoned to reveal the tanned skin of his throat.
‘This isn’t New York,’ Briony countered, but Doug was frowning slightly.
‘He’s right, you know, Briony,’ he told her. ‘It isn’t wise to walk alone in London at night.’
It seemed as though they had all entered into a conspiracy against her, one of the younger reporters recounting with obvious relish stories of muggings—and worse. Even allowing for certain embellishments they did not make pleasant hearing, and Briony felt the gooseflesh prickle along her arms as she contemplated the long walk to her bus stop. Urban violence was a fact of life and it would be foolish to ignore it. Even Matt seemed to accept that Kieron was going to take her home, and sulkily handed his keys over to Gail.
Kieron did not release his grip of her arm, and as they made their final goodbyes she hissed at him, ‘There’s really no need. You don’t even know where I live. I could be taking you miles out of your way.’
‘I know all right,’ he told her grimly. ‘I’ve been through all the staff files—and now unless you really want to see me lose my temper, just shut up, will you?’
His car wasn’t parked very far away, but Kieron retained his hold of her arm, forcing her to try to match her small paces to his longer ones as they walked along the pavement. Briony glimpsed their reflection in a store window. To an onlooker their pose represented that of close friends—or lovers. She pulled away, shivering suddenly, although the evening was quite mild. How often in the past had they walked together like this? But then she had had no thought in her head but the sheer thrilling pleasure of Kieron’s proximity.