Her Tender Tyrant by Elizabeth Lennox Page A

expense of more redundant positions.” She said that so emphatically that he wanted to growl that she was being silly. “And I’m going to translate your effective use of their assets to mean that you turn their resources into more profits for yourself.”
    His eyes were watching her lips, wondering how long it would take if he kissed her before she couldn’t argue with him any longer. “Making money isn’t a crime.”
    Juliette sighed and instantly, Marcus thought of other ways to have that sweet breath float onto his skin. And oh boy, he liked those ideas!
    “I’m going out to work,” she said, stepping back and pulling her eyes away from him. She didn’t really care what he did with his companies. In fact, she’d just discovered her work was sponsored by a grant provided by his company. So why was she trying to make him look bad in his mind? Of course people lost their jobs in a merger or acquisition or whatever it was that he did with the companies he bought up. And yes, he should make as much money as he wanted. His subsidiaries were extremely generous with their grant money so it wasn’t like he wasn’t promoting innovation and growth.
    Why was she being so catty with him?
    Because she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to feel those hard lips touching hers and feel that amazing flame rise up to overwhelm her again.
    “I have to go,” she whispered again, realizing that she was just standing here, staring up at him, and probably looking like an idiot. “I’m sure you have things you have to do as well.
    “The horses are taken care of, the dogs are fed, the cats are…somewhere,” he commented, looking around because he actually had no idea where the cats were. But then he shrugged his shoulders. “I’m going to watch the football game.” He took a long swig of the beer. “So think of me in here where it’s warm and cozy while you’re out in the field, watching horses eat grass. Wouldn’t you prefer to hang out with me and watch the game?”
    “Football?” she asked with a cringe, but her mind remembered the way her butt had fallen asleep yesterday and her toes had been almost frozen through because of the cold wind. “Um…nope. The cold sounds better than whatever football game you’re going to watch.”
    “You’re insane. And so wrong it isn’t even funny,” he said and opened the fridge to find something to eat. “Make sure you take a sandwich this time. You’re too skinny.”
    Juliette looked up at his back, his broad shoulders just looking like the perfect target. For what, she didn’t know. She actually looked around for something to toss at him but everything around her was either too heavy or wouldn’t have any impact on his too-muscular back.
    Her eyes traveled to the table in front of the sofa and she finally found her revenge. A perfect revenge!
    Slipping sideways, she tip toed over to the low table. While his head was still stuck in the fridge, she tucked her revenge into her bag, then moved back into place.
    “Okay, well, have a good afternoon then!” she called out and spun around so he wouldn’t see the smile of excitement on her face. “Bye bye!”
    Marcus looked up the moment he heard her sweet voice. She was never sweet. At least not to him.
    He watched as she rushed out the door. As soon as the door shut behind her, she started running, yet another hint that something was wrong. His sweet, adorable, cute and sexier-than-any-woman Juliette was doing something devious. He could feel it!
    Marcus looked around, trying to figure out what she’d done. Something was very wrong, he thought. But for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what she’d done. Looking outside again, he caught her hair flying behind her. It was only a flash, but as he kept his eyes on her, she glanced back towards the house, her hair flipping into her face before she turned back around and raced away.
    What had she done? Looking around again, his eyes scanned the room. Something was missing