Free Face Value by Cheryl Douglas Page B

over her shoulders. “I’m glad we agree about
that.”
    Tucker watched
her hair fan out, and his only thought was how it would look spread
out over his pillow. Agreeing to reason was the easy part.
Wrestling his libido to the mat every time he saw her was bound to
be more difficult.

Chapter
Seven
    Tucker stormed into
Lauren’s house early the next morning in a foul mood. He’d tossed
and turned most of the night, thinking about her and that kiss. He
was there to confront the man with the audacity to ask her out, and
he was even more on edge. He knew better than to walk into a
situation that riled up, but if he didn’t confront Rob, he was
bound to explode on some poor, unsuspecting soul who hadn’t done
anything to warrant his anger.
    Ten, nine,
eight… “I want to talk to you.”
    All four of the
men within shouting distance turned to Tucker with the same thought
in mind: I hope he’s not talking to me.
    Rob turned
around slowly, and Tucker wanted nothing more than to wipe that
smug smirk off his face. He shoved his hands in his coat pocket for
one reason: he was less likely to strike out if he was retrained.
“What the hell were you thinking?”
    “Uh, you’re
gonna have to be more specific, boss.”
    The grin on his
face told Tucker Rob was too stupid to recognize a threat staring
him in the face.
    Will stepped
forward, getting in Tucker’s face. Tucker didn’t have to ask why.
His friend had seen him in that state too many times over the
years.
    “What’s this
all about?” Will asked, looking from Tucker to Rob.
    “This stupid
son of a bitch came on to a client yesterday.”
    “So what?” Rob
said, still smirking. “She wanted me. If she said she doesn’t,
she’s lying.”
    Tucker lunged
and immediately had four guys surrounding him, trying to physically
restrain him as they talked him down.
    The front door
slammed shut. “What’s going on here?” Lauren asked. She looked from
Tucker to Rob, waiting for a response. “Is there a problem?”
    “No, no
problem,” Tucker said, shaking his friends off so he could make his
way outside. He couldn’t believe he’d almost let his temper get the
better of him. That hadn’t happened in years, and he’d sworn it
would never happen again.
    Tucker ate up
the pavement with long strides. He needed to get out of there. He
slammed the door of his truck, but before he could start the
engine, Lauren hopped in. Muttering a curse, he rested his head
against the leather headrest and closed his eyes, drawing deep
breaths. “I have to get to work.”
    “Not until you
tell me what that was all about.”
    He couldn’t
deal with her right then. She messed with his head in a big way,
making him feel things he’d sworn he’d never feel again. “This
isn’t a good time.”
    “Too bad.” She
fastened her seat belt. “If you leave, I’m going with you.”
    He sighed. At
least reason was finally permeating the cloud of fury. “Get out,
Lauren.”
    “No, not until
you tell me why you almost beat the hell out of one of your
employees.”
    Tucker knew he
shouldn’t have confronted Rob in that state. He should have waited
until he was calmer and the taste of Lauren on his lips had faded
away. He was too close to her and their situation to be objective.
Tucker’s anger wasn’t about an employee hitting on a client. It was
about a man hitting on a woman he wanted for himself. He was so
jealous he couldn’t even see straight.
    “I came to talk
to him about happened with you yesterday. It got out of hand.”
    “I knew I
shouldn’t have told you.” She crossed her arms.
    “You should
have told me.” He reached for her hand, though he knew physical
contact was the worst way to forget what happened between them last
night. “I’m glad you told me.”
    “Why?” Instead
of pulling away, she threaded her fingers through his, rubbing
circles on his palm with her thumb.
    “If you have a
problem, I wanna know about it.” That was Tucker’s M.O. He took
care