Free This Love's Not for Sale by Ella Dominguez

and hot breath on her neck and body.
    She ran her hand through her sho rt hair and pinched her cheeks for color. She rushed to the lobby but then thought it better to slow her pace so she didn’t appear too desperate. Pausing in the hallway, she watched as Tucker paced the lobby. He had a tin can in his hand and she wondered what kind of gift he had gotten her.  Dana came around the corner so fast, she bumped right into Lilliana.
    “What are you waiting for, go get him,” she shrieked as she pushed Lilliana forward and into the lobby.
    Dana made such a ruckus, several pairs of eyes zoomed in on her, including Tucker’s. His infectious grin and the sheer brilliance of his naturally perfect teeth made her want to fling herself onto his solid, semi-muscular body and into his arms. When Tucker pushed his hair from his eyes and bit his bottom lip, it was all Lilliana could do not cream her scrubs. Maintain your composure , she reminded herself, unsure if she could do such a simple thing.
    She closed her eyes and pulled herself together.
    “Hey Lilly, it’s good to see you again. I was hoping we could grab a quick lunch. Are you available?” he asked as his eyes examined her body.
    “I think so…”
    “Yes, she’s available ,” Dana said with a giggle.
    Lilliana shot her a shut-the-fuck-up look and Dana slunk away like a puppy with its tail between its legs. “I was just trying to help,” she muttered.
    Tucker did the most polite thing and grabbed her hand as he led her out into the parking lot.  The warmth of his brawny hand was a welcome sweet gesture. Perhaps romance wasn’t dead after all and maybe she had been all wrong about Tucker. Maybe he really was a good guy.
    At his car, he opened the door for her and helped her in. She had never been treated so lady-like. Adam certainly was never this polite or chivalrous. She watched Tucker move around the front of the car, his eyes never leaving hers. After he climbed into the driver’s seat, he leaned over and buckled her in and paused with his mouth right next to her ear.
    “I’ve been thinking about you all day, pet, and those amazing lips and tits. I see I left my calling card on you,” he breathed, reaching his hand around and touching the tender love nibble on the back of her neck. He gripped her tightly and pulled her into his mouth, his tongue slipping past her lips. She moaned from the pain and Tucker inhaled, sucking the breath from her as she sunk her teeth into his long, thick tongue.
    He tasted so good Lilliana didn’t want him to stop and she would’ve been content to spend her whole lunch break sucking face with the gorgeous man known as Tucker McGrath hovering over her, his hands all over her body. 
    Ending their slow, deep kiss, Tucker replied, “I couldn’t sleep so I made something for you.”
    He sat back and handed her a tin container with a Christmas scene on the front. She opened it to find homemade biscuits. She laughed a little not understanding its meaning, but still touched by his gesture.
    ***
    “They’re my mother’s recipe,” Tucker lied.
    When he saw the genuine elation on Lilliana’s bright and eager face, he looked forward and out the window, unable to make eye contact with her. It was too easy to get lost in the way she looked at him and he swallowed hard. That feeling of guilt was burgeoning in his belly again. The fluffy biscuits were no more his mother’s recipe than a frozen Hungry-Man dinner. He had stopped off at a 24-hour food mart the previous night before and bought some instant dough. At the time, he was tickled with himself for thinking so quickly on his feet, but now… now he just felt like shit when he saw Lilliana bite into one of them and how happy she was.
    “Oh, Tucker, t hey’re delicious. Thank you. I… ” she trailed off. Lilliana’s eyes roved over her face and rested on his mouth. “I think I had you pegged all wrong.”
    Feeling deeply uncomfortable with the look in her eyes, Tucker reached