Her Tender Tyrant Read Online Free

already erect body jolted into the painful zone when he saw that her dark hair was all mussed up. Almost as if his hands had been fondling the shining tresses for the past six hours.
    He took a deep breath, trying to calm his raging body down. He had to share this house with her for the next few weeks. He had to be kind and considerate – for his mother.
    And damn, why had he promised to protect the little bombshell? His father wasn’t playing fair!
    He followed her into the kitchen, leaning against the counter while he smothered an amused laugh. She was trying to figure out his mother’s coffee machine. The elaborate contraption was a mystery to most. He knew how to do it, but she looked so cute as she tried to figure it out, he didn’t think he was quite ready to stop her investigation.
    He watched for several minutes but when she leaned her forehead against the metal with a frustrated sigh, he decided to take pity on her.
    “Need some help?” he asked.
    Juliette jumped about a foot while spinning around to confront the deep voice. Her eyes traveled over his tall body, noting that he was still in that amazing shirt that pulled across his impossibly broad shoulders. He’d rolled up the sleeves so she could see his muscular forearms and that definitely was not a healthy observation. If she had gotten a bit more sleep, she might not have sighed when she noticed the tanned skin and fascinating dark hairs. Nor would she start wondering what his chest might look like. Or hope that it was just as tanned with that same dark hair covering…
    “Help.” She repeated the word in her mind while her eyes traveled over his body once again. “Help.” The word simply didn’t make sense. She licked her lips and tried again.
    “Do you want help making coffee?” he clarified, amused when she actually licked her lips while looking over his body. He wondered what she would do if he lifted her up onto the counter and parted that robe, slid his hands under the thin material of her….
    Juliette surged out of the hypnotic trance that the sight of his chest had put her under, shaking her head and trying hard to focus on anything other than the delectable and off-limits behemoth in front of her. “Yes. Help would be greatly appreciated.” She turned back to the counter. “I just…”
    Marcus moved behind her, his chest pressing lightly against her back, his hips pressing against that bottom that had caused him so much distraction last night. “Here,” he said, taking the black handle of the espresso machine from her hand. “Put the coffee in this,” he explained, his arms almost wrapping around her as he showed her how to run the elaborate machine. “And then you press this button here. The water is already connected so you don’t have to fill it up.”
    She shivered as he leaned into her once more, her back on fire from his heat. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I can handle it from here.”
    “Are you sure?” he asked, placing his hands low on either side of her hips, causing her to shiver with an intense awareness that she definitely didn’t like. “I haven’t shown you how to steam the milk if you want a cappuccino.”
    She took a deep breath which was a huge mistake because that air was filled with his delicious, masculine scent.
    “No!” she gasped, slipping out from between the granite counter and his harder body. “No. Thank you very much but this is just fine.”
    She took the tiny cup he offered to her, looking at it as if it were a bug.
    “It’s espresso. You only need a little,” he explained with a deep chuckle at her chagrined expression.
    Juliette sighed and took a tentative sip. When the strong brew hit her tongue, she practically gagged. “Goodness, I’ve seen people in the coffee shops drinking this stuff but it is vile!” She set it down on the counter, not sure if she could stomach the bitter drink.
    Marcus smiled at her expression as he walked over to the commercial sized fridge and pulled