Her Tender Tyrant (7 page)

“Well,” Juliette looked up at him nervously, trying to figure out what was going through her mind as well as his. This new sort of truce that they had together didn’t feel natural. Besides, fighting with Marcus, arguing with him about everything, helped her keep a mental distance from him. He was too good-looking and his body too tempting for her to start thinking of him in any way other than as the enemy. “I guess I’d better get back to work. Thank you for listening to me, I know you have a lot to do as well.”

She hesitated a moment longer, but in the end she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. When she knew that she was finally alone, she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and trying to get her pulse back under control. What was this crazy feeling that she had every time she came close that man? She didn’t like that he had so much power over her. And she didn’t like that she had so little control over herself when he was around.

Marcus stared at the door through which Juliette had just left, his mind sifting through the details of the conversation they just had together. He wanted her. There was no way around that now. Perhaps it was time to change tactics.

“Okay, what’s going on, girlfriend?” Mindy asked from the other end of the phone call. Mindy, a longtime friend, was also in the graduate program. She was working on her thesis while employed as a school counselor. They’d been friends since their freshman year of college although Mindy had found her true love.

Juliette’s eyes glanced across the yard to the man splitting wood. “Oh, nothing that a crazy night out wouldn’t fix,” she told her friend.

Mindy hooped through the phone. “Finally! We’ve been trying to get you to come out with us for months but little miss goody two shoes always had to study! Well, put on your dancing shoes, woman! Josie and I will pick you up later tonight and we are going to have a great time.”

Juliette laughed, feeling excited about being with her friends. The tension was getting a bit too thick around here. If she weren’t mostly finished with her thesis, she’d just ditch the house and find a different herd. This was horse country, after all. There were plenty of other horse farms in the area although she didn’t know the owners as well and the idea of starting her observations over again was more than a little overwhelming.

Of course, there weren’t many horse farms that would allow her to observe the horses with this much access, she reminded herself. Which only made the “Marcus issue” so much more irritating.

She looked out the window, her eyes widening at the scene in the backyard as Marcus took one log at a time, swinging an axe over his head and slamming it down on the log, splitting it in two, then two again. He stacked those four logs up and started again, his muscles rippling in the sunshine while his shirt hung innocently on a fence post close by.

“Oh my,” she whispered, forgetting that she was still on the phone with Mindy.

Of course her friend didn’t miss the exclamation. “What? What’s going on over there?” Mindy demanded. “Don’t tell me that you’ve gotten a whiff of one of those Alfieri men, Juliette. Because you know I’m already jealous. I’ve heard of those spectacular specimens of manhood and they sound absolutely delicious.”

Juliette quickly backtracked, pretending like she wasn’t blushing at Mindy’s blatant appreciation for anything male. Mindy loved men and was constantly trying to fix Juliette up with anyone she could find. “Damien and Jemma Alfieri are down in Texas with their new grandchild. I don’t know when they’ll be back.”

Mindy was silent for a moment. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re whispering sexy nothings into the phone. What’s going on over there?”

Juliette turned her back on the view, refusing to watch Marcus split wood any longer. His muscles were gleaming in the sunshine, rippling with each swing of that heavy-looking axe. The sweat only made his muscles look more defined, more amazing. He was still wearing jeans but even those helped fire up her imagination. She imagined unbuckling that black leather belt, unsnapping the top button of the jeans and….

Juliette closed her eyes tightly, trying very hard not to think about the man out there. All of her thoughts were inappropriate. The man was just outside getting some exercise and she was inside ogling him. If the situations were reversed she would be offended. Then her mind started to think about what it would be like if he were ogling her and everything inside of her warmed up, became hot.

Shaking her head, Juliette took a long, steadying breath. She was slowly losing her mind.

“No. No one is here of any interest except for the horses.
And they’re fabulous, as you can imagine.” She hurried into the next room where there weren’t any windows facing the back yard. And no images of Marcus to get out of her mind. “Yep. It is time to go out, get drunk and have a good time.” She was going to forget that man for one night even if it killed her.

“Okay, I’ll swing by and pick you up at seven. We’ll go out to dinner first and then hit the dance clubs.”

“Sounds perfect,” Juliette said, peeking around the corner, trying to get one more glimpse of Marcus.

But he wasn’t there. Where was he?

She shouldn’t have let her gaze wander, she told herself. Keeping track of that man was the first step to her survival. Clutching the phone to her chest, she walked fully into the kitchen again. “Darn it, where did he go?” she muttered under her breath.

“I’m right here,” the deep voice said.

Juliette jumped at least a foot into the air when she heard his voice and felt him so close to her. Her scream of surprise probably broke his ear drums. When she caught her breath again, she spun around, furious with him. “Why do you need to sneak up on me like that!” she almost yelled in his direction.

Marcus watched in fascination as her nipples puckered through the thin cotton of her long sleeved shirt. Damn, he wanted to taste those breasts. And the rest of her. He bet she tasted absolutely delicious. He’d only had a small sample. But now he wanted more.

“I didn’t sneak up on you,” he countered, leaning against the fridge as he took another bite of his sandwich.

She glared right back at him, furious at how casual he seemed to be when every cell in her body was dancing a little jig at the sight of his bare chest. “You did! You were outside splitting logs one moment and the next you’re in here. Why do you do that?”

He laughed and leaned into her. “Keeping track of me?” he asked softly, that husky voice coming out and causing her heart rate to speed up to heart attack levels. “You were watching me, weren’t you?” he taunted with a sexy half smile.

“No! I just…” she wasn’t sure what to say since her comments made it perfectly obvious that she had been watching him. Caught! She backtracked even more. “I was going to get some lunch and saw you. But my phone rang and I went somewhere else.”

“Somewhere that didn’t have a view of the back yard?”

Darn, why did he have to be so on target? “Get over yourself!” she snapped and walked out of the kitchen. She grabbed her notebook and walked out into the fresh air and sunshine. Taking a deep breath, she knew that this was what she needed. Just to get out of the house, away from that horrible man and all of his…hormones! Or should she say pheromones? She had no clue, which was really bad for someone in her occupation. She was supposed to be studying people. Why was her relationship with Marcus so contentious?

Her whole thesis was based on observing people and knowing how to help them get along better. So why was she standing here shaking like a leaf?

With a disgusted sound, she turned her attention to the horses. They made sense, she told herself. She could study them and watch them all day long. Horses were beautiful and instinctive with none of these complex emotions tying them in knots.

She thought about that for a moment, watching some of the female horses prance along the fence line. Were people really more complex than horses or animals? Or were all mammals basically the same? That’s what she was here to discover, but she’d been doing too much fighting with one large mammal to focus properly on her task.

From now on, she’d just come out here early in the morning and stay out until late enough that he was most likely in the study working on something. The man was supposed to be relaxing, Juliette knew from what his mother had told her. But he wasn’t very good at it. He was working hard, probably just as hard as if he were in his office.

Of course, when a man controlled an empire that large, was there really any way for him to completely relax? Probably not. A small note of compassion sparked to life inside of her with that realization. Maybe he was just tense because he had too much work to do.

Definitely, staying out of his way would help, she thought.

Juliette pulled her boots on, zipping them up the sides then looked at her reflection in the mirror. Yep, she looked ready to go dancing! The red sweater was fluffy but showed off her figure perfectly. Her favorite jeans hugged her butt just right and the boots added a more exotic look than she normally was able to pull off.

She’d curled her hair, applied more makeup than normal, including a red lipstick to match her sweater, and she had given herself a stern lecture to meet other eligible men, to push one specific enormous brute out of her mind and focus on having fun. She was ready!

The doorbell rang right on time and Juliette stuffed money, license and credit cards into one pocket, keys and phone into another.

The doorbell rang and Juliette was relieved that Marcus had already left for the night. She had no idea where he’d gone, but it meant no inquisition as to where she might be going. “I’m ready!” she called in greeting as her friends, Mindy and Josie, both looked at her with a surprised look.

“You look hot!” Josie said, engulfing Juliette into a bear hug. “And obviously ready to party!”

The girls all dove into Mindy’s car and Juliette pushed Marcus out of her mind. She shouldn’t be wondering where he was. She didn’t care if he might be out with another woman. He was an independent agent and probably had a string of mistresses tucked away all over the world.

Ugh! Why did the thought of him being with another woman make her want to throw up? This was crazy! The man went out of his way to pick fights with her. She should be immune to those incredible abs or his sexy half-smile.

“You’re pondering,” Mindy called to the back seat. “No pondering tonight.”

Josie turned around with a gamin grin on her face. “Unless it is some hot, studly man you are willing to share?”

Juliette rolled her eyes but leaned forward, trying to get her good mood back. “You’re both right. Tonight is all about forgetting our troubles and having a good time. So where are we heading?”

The three of them grabbed a burger at the local diner that was filled with families. Juliette didn’t know many of them, but they all seemed very friendly. As the three of them devoured their cheeseburgers, Juliette wondered what it would be like to live in a small town where everyone knew everyone else. It might be nice to know people in one’s community, to have that kind of support network. She looked around at the other families. When one group got up they generally stopped to talk with at least one other table.

“Hey!” Josie called back, snapping her fingers in front of Juliette’s eyes again. “You’re pondering. What did we tell you about that?”

Juliette laughed and swallowed the rest of her soda. “Come on, let’s go have some fun.”

With that, they drove about ten miles to Charlottesville where it was a bit more populated. There were several dance clubs that would have been fun but they chose one that they’d been to a few times before. Walking in, they were some of the first few patrons there, but the three ladies didn’t care.

“Tequila!” Josie called out to the bartender.

Juliette cringed, not one to enjoy tequila shots very much. But she did it, squeezing the lime with her teeth after downing the potent liquor. “Okay, beers for the next round,” Mindy called, raising her hand for the bartender.

Because the night was young, they were able to get their drinks quickly and find a table by the dance floor. But they didn’t stay there long. The three of them laughed and chatted while sipping their beer, but by the time they were finished, they headed out onto the dance floor. At first, it was just the three of them, laughing and dancing any way they wanted. But as the night wore on, more people came onto the floor and they continued to have a blast. Josie and Mindy both did extra tequila shots but Juliette refused, not wanting to get completely drunk. She preferred to just dance in order to relax. And with these three ladies, they danced to every song. Sometimes they were joined by men who grabbed their hands and swung them around, other times they danced in a circle together, laughing at their silly moves, grooving to the beat and just enjoying the freedom of being out on the town without any serious thoughts.

Marcus walked down the back stairs, his eyes scanning the room as he chatted with the other owner. “You doing okay?” Joe asked, as Marcus took it all in.

Marcus thought about that question. Was he okay? There were lovely women all over the dance club, but not a single one did a thing for his libido. Unfortunately, there was only one woman who could make his body react and he resented that fact. She was also the only one who could push his buttons so thoroughly. So why did he want to make love to her until she couldn’t argue with him any longer? Why was it that, every time they started yelling at each other, all he wanted to do was kiss her until she was pleading with him to continue?

The blond over in the corner looked nice, but the way she had scantily clad her figure did nothing for him.

His eyes turned away from her, disgusted with himself but then he caught sight of another lovely lady. The brunette on the dance floor, the one in the boots with the sexy, little butt was a completely different story. He watched her for several moments, enjoying the way her body flowed to the beat of the music. And he was relieved that someone other than a fiery, annoying wanna-be shrink could make his body respond. Damn! He liked the way she moved. The sexy sway of her hips, back and forth, brought to mind another activity in which swaying like that would be…appreciated.

Some guy tried to cozy up to her and Marcus instantly felt a spark of anger. But the spicy little woman handled the other man perfectly by just pushing against his shoulders. She was obviously smiling up at the man but he couldn’t see her face. The man in question continued to leer towards her but he backed off.

“What’ll you have, boss?” the bartender asked as Marcus moved up to the bar, still watching the woman but standing back and enjoying the freedom from Juliette’s stranglehold on his lust.

“Just pour me some of the stuff Joe keeps behind there for me,” he said, not taking his eyes off of what he now considered to be his woman. He was going to move in on her, but he wanted to simply stand here and enjoy her movements and the fact that she wasn’t Juliette. She had a tiny waist and long, brown, almost red, hair that curled enticingly down her back, tickling towards that adorable derriere. As Marcus sipped the whiskey, leaning against the bar and chuckling when she or her friends laughed, he watched the women swaying to the beat and enjoying the rhythm of the music.

A song with a Latin beat came on and Marcus decided that it was time for him to move in. His body thought so as well. And the ladies really had no idea how to dance to this music. Marcus felt it was his responsibility to give at least one of the ladies a lesson on how to move to the salsa sounding music.

He moved slowly, his body thrumming with anticipation. With each step, he was supremely glad that he wasn’t thinking about Juliette or her soft curves, the sexy fire in her eyes when she argued with him about…anything. Everything! Nope, this woman on the dance floor had obliterated the lovely Juliette from his mind and he was going to take advantage of this escape.

So when the fire-headed brunette spun around, Marcus stopped in his tracks as Juliette’s laughing brown eyes clashed with his. He couldn’t believe that he’d finally found a woman who could get Juliette out of his mind and it turned out to be Juliette!

When she stopped, her body still among the other dancers who continued to sway, Marcus came to a decision. It was time, he told himself. Time to exorcise her from his mind and his body. And even if it wasn’t time, he was still going to do it. He was going to make love to Juliette tonight. The past several nights, he’d thought of numerous ways to get her to stop arguing with him, all of those ideas ending with her in his bed, screaming out his name as she clung to him.

Tonight, he was going to go through every one of his ideas, one by one. And he would have her soft body wrapped around his and she wouldn’t be arguing with him about anything.

Juliette saw the tall man across the bar and froze. Surely that couldn’t be Marcus, right? No, her night was all about forgetting this man! How could he show up in the one place she thought she’d be free of him? Talk about life’s little ironies! Okay, so no one could say that Marcus was little.

She stood there, the music moving around her, watching as he approached. But the other dancers no longer entered her consciousness. It was just her, the music and this giant man moving towards her. His eyes had captured hers and her heart beat with each step he took towards her. Gone were all of her arguments about horses and everything else they’d ever tried to converse or quarrel about. It was all about this moment, this beat and this man walking towards her.

She felt her breathing increase right along with her heart rate. He was here. He was walking towards her, and she knew that she should run, or at least come up with some pithy comment about his appearance. But she remained silent.

Instead of asking her to dance, he simply took her into his arms. When he moved, so did she. The music pulsed and their bodies shifted. Never had she danced with a man as smoothly as their bodies swayed. Back, forth, sideways, and all over again. His hands pressed against her back and her hand, telling her which way to move. Or was he just telling her from his mind to hers, their thoughts so in sync that they didn’t need to communicate in any other way? She didn’t care. At this moment, all she wanted to do was sway with him and feel his rock hard body against hers.

His hand slid lower on her back, almost down to her bottom and she gasped, looking up at him. Their eyes connected and something passed between them other than dancing. She swallowed, thinking she should break the connection. But she didn’t really want to. She wanted this. Something was going on and she wanted to be with him, to sway with him. It was too powerful and she was tired of fighting this pull, this connection with him. The way he’d touched her in the past was on her mind and she wanted to know what came after.

They danced several songs, spinning around, swaying and sliding. Their bodies were as intimately connected as was possible while still in public and Juliette wanted so badly to get out of here, to tear his clothes off and feel all those muscles that she’d seen over the past week.

“Let’s go,” he mumbled, his voice low and she could feel the reaction in his body.

“Yes,” she whispered, her body not wanting to move away from his, even to walk out of the dance club.

He took her hand and she clung to him, her mind not allowing any arguments. She hung back for a second, remembering that she hadn’t come here alone. “I have to tell my friends.”

Marcus looked up and spotted the other two women. “I think they already know,” he said with a half-smile. He lifted his hand in their direction, a slight wave but not a full acknowledgement as Josie and Mindy both sent her an encouraging thumbs up sign. A moment later, he looked down at her and saw her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. But he didn’t stop. She continued to walk beside him, holding his hand as if it were a lifeline.

Out in the darkness, the cool, night air surrounded them, giving Juliette a moment to breathe. But she didn’t really want to breathe. She wanted to be with him. So when Marcus opened the door to a low-slung, powerful looking car, she didn’t hesitate. She slipped into the soft leather seat and watched him walk around the front.

When he got in beside her, Marcus looked at her. “I’m going to make love to you tonight, Juliet. Do you have any objections?”

Juliette knew that she should protest. They fought all the time, they had nothing in common and she’d never done this before. But as she looked into his dark blue eyes, saw the heat there, the heat that was probably reflected back from her own eyes, the only thing she could do was nod her head in agreement.

With that, Marcus started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. Juliette had no idea how they got home, but it felt like scant moments later they were pulling into the garage.

Marcus stepped out of the car and came around to her side. He had her door open before she could take a second breath. When he took her hand in his, she accepted his help. But the moment the car door closed behind her, Marcus pressed her back against the shining black vehicle. He was holding both of her hands in his larger ones, and she felt that strange, exciting and scary sensation when his knee pressed between her legs. Everything about this man was aggressive, everything was commanding.

As a feminist, Juliette wondered if she should resist his domineering personality. But if she were completely honest with herself, she had to admit that the power behind his touch thrilled her. So when his dark head lowered towards hers, there was nothing she could do, nothing she wanted to do, but tremble in anticipation of what she knew was coming. When his lips touched hers, she was not disappointed. All the fire that they’d experienced the last time they kissed flamed up even stronger.

One of his strong hands crawled around her waist while the other one lifted to the back of her head, tilting her head so that he had better access to her mouth. When his tongue dove into her mouth she shivered in reaction. A small part of her brain thought, “This is crazy.” But the rest of her body curled in anticipation of everything they would do tonight.

A split second later, he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the house. “I can walk,” she said even while her arms lifted to wrap around his neck.