Free Spirit [New Crescent 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) by Mary Lou George

he answered. “Yeah, if memory serves me right, we haven’t had a theft since you moved in. Maybe you should go into the security business.”
    She laughed. “I have a job already and another one in the wings. Thanks.”
    They were smiling at each other when Chase found them. With a frown, he said, “You’re needed outside, some delivery.”
    Reggie straightened and started to move with Duncan. Chase stalled her. “I was talking to Duncan.”
    Taking the grand staircase, Duncan looked back at Reggie and shrugged innocently.
    While working in the house, Reggie never wore heels, so Chase towered over her. She wasn’t accustomed to feeling small. But he managed to make an astonishing success of it. The thought irritated her, and she didn’t bother trying to keep it out of her voice when she said, “That was rude.”
    He ignored her and walked into the master bedroom. Reggie refused to follow. The sight of him so close to that massive bed ratcheted the tension up another notch. One more turn and she feared she’d spin off into the stratosphere.
    “Have you tried to connect with Constance today?” he asked.
    “Yes, as a matter of fact I have. I was doing just that when Duncan came. He found me in the garden and told me about the paint delivery.”
    “And you ended up in the doorway to your bedroom. That makes perfect sense.”
    His harsh tone failed to anger her. Instead, it exhilarated her, and she almost thanked him for it. She’d needed an outlet for her tension. She was ready for a fight, and he’d just given her the perfect opportunity to let it rip.
    “I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to get at, but my relationship with Duncan is no one’s business, least of all yours.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “Relationship?”
    She walked into the bedroom and stood in front of him. She wanted to hit him, make contact, anything to crack his calm.
    She settled on sarcasm, a rash decision. “You caught us, Chase. A second later and you would have caught us grabbing a quickie.” With theatrical exaggeration, she sighed. “Mmm, Duncan is insatiable. He can’t get enough. We’ve been doing it behind everyone’s back the whole time. That’s part of the thrill.” Feigning ecstasy, she ran her hand up her thigh, between her breasts to her neck, with her eyes half closed. “Duncan’s so hot. Other men can be so cold.” She stopped the provocative act immediately when she caught the look on his face.
    His eyes flashed blue fury at her. He laughed without humor and said, “Cold? You think I’m cold? For a smart woman Reggie, you are almost pathologically stupid.”
    His use of the word stupid fueled her already raging fire and she prepared to retaliate. Instead, he grabbed her elbows, and pulled her against him with force.
    The flood gates opened. She fought back. At almost six feet, Reggie was not an ineffectual fighter, and at some point during her enraged attack, she knew she’d landed some pretty good blows. But she kept struggling until she realized Chase wasn’t fighting back. It was no good when he didn’t fight back. She chanced a quick look at him and was horrified to see genuine amusement in his face. For a split second, she considered wiping the smirk off his face by grabbing a most carefully guarded part of his anatomy. Then the absurdity of the situation struck her, and she started to laugh with him. They ended up collapsing on the end of the bed breathless, side by side.
    Laying on his back and looking up at the ceiling, Chase said, “Better?”
    Reggie nodded. “Much.”
    He turned, propped his head up with an elbow, and said, “I came up here looking for you. I have an idea of how to make Constance appear again.”
    She looked at him, the laughter still vivid in her eyes.
    He said, “I’m going to make dinner for both of us tonight. We’ll even eat in the dining room. After dinner, we’ll take a walk in the gardens. It’s supposed to be a full moon tonight.”
    She understood