“Your woman.”
Something unfurled inside him. He wouldn’t have considered himself a possessive man, but now that he’d decided that she would be his wife, he discovered he felt very possessive where she was concerned.
“Yes,” he said softly. “And before the night is over, you’ll have no doubts that you belong to me.”
A full body shiver took over Ashley. How was she supposed to concentrate on dinner after a statement like that? Devon stared at her across the table like he was going to pounce at any moment.
He had the most arresting eyes. Not really brown, but a warm shade of amber. In the sunlight they looked golden and in the candlelight they looked like a mountain lion’s. She felt like prey, but it was a delicious feeling, not at all threatening. She’d been waiting for the moment when Devon would take their relationship a step further.
She’d longed for it and dreaded it with equal intensity. How could she possibly keep pace with a man who could seduce a woman with nothing more than a touch and a glance?
He’d been a consummate gentleman during the time they’d been dating. At first he’d only given her gentle, nonthreatening kisses, but over time they’d become more passionate and she’d gotten a glimpse of the powerfully sensual man under the protective armor.
She had a feeling that once those layers were peeled back, the man behind them was ferocious, possessive and…savage.
Another shiver overtook her at the direction of her thoughts. They were fanciful, yes, but she truly believed her assessment. Would she find out tonight? Did he plan to make her his?
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Devon prompted.
She stared down at her plate again. What was it anyway? She wasn’t sure she could eat a bite. Her mouth felt as if it was full of sawdust, and her entire body trembled with anticipation.
She moved the shrimp with her fork so that it gathered some of the sauce and slowly raised it to her lips.
“You aren’t a vegetarian, are you?”
She laughed at the look on his face, as if the idea had just occurred to him.
“Tell me I haven’t been serving you food you won’t eat all this time,” Devon said with a grimace. “You would have said something, wouldn’t you have?”
She put the shrimp into her mouth and chewed as she put the fork down. When she’d swallowed she reached over to touch his hand.
“You worry too much. I would have told you if I was a vegetarian. A lot of people assume since I’m so active in my animal rescue organization that I refuse to eat meat of any kind.”
The relief on his face made her laugh again.
“I’ll eat chicken and most seafood. I’m not crazy about pork or the more uppity stuff like veal, foie gras and stuff like that.”
A shudder worked over her shoulders.
“There’s something about eating duck liver that just turns my stomach.”
Devon chuckled. “It’s actually quite good. Have you tried it?”
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Sorry. I have a thing about eating any sort of innard.”