Her Tender Tyrant Page 0,51

that. “I think you should see her first before you do anything else. I’m sitting here holding my grandchild. I would love to be holding one from you as well.”

Marcus laughed, a deep husky sound that filled the empty room. And filled his heart up again. He hadn’t realized how empty he had been feeling until this point. He hadn’t allowed himself to really analyze what he’d been feeling. “I think that I need to do this for Juliette before I talk to her again. I need to reassure her about something that I believe is very important to her.”

“Well, if you’re going to do it for Juliette, then I agree that it must be important. But don’t wait too long. I’m worried about her. I’m also worried about you. Have you been eating properly?”

Marcus glanced over at the empty glass of whiskey. “I promise to get a full meal in with lots of vegetables tonight.”

Jemma smiled at his assurance. “And will Juliette be eating as well tonight?”

Marcus laughed once again. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“I love you, dear.”

“I love you too, Mom. Gotta go,” he said to her. A moment later, a text came through to his phone. As he looked at it he was already gathering his keys and heading towards the office. At the last moment, he stopped and turned around. He picked up the diamond ring and stuffed it back into his pocket. A split second later, he was out the door heading to his office.

Two hours later, he was standing in front of Juliette apartment, his stomach in knots as he worked through what he needed to tell her. He had so much to explain, so much to get her to understand. But what if she wouldn’t listen to him? What if she was still too angry with him for what he put her through? It was inadvertent, but it was still all his fault. If he had been more aware of what Linda was doing, of what she was capable of, he and Juliette would probably be married by now.

What if she had found someone else? The thought sent a wave of dread throughout his whole body. But he pushed the thought away because he simply couldn’t imagine, couldn’t stomach, the thought of someone else touching his Juliette.

He lifted his hand to knock on her door but at the same moment the door was opened. There she was. Looking so beautiful that he actually ached to pull her into his arms and show her how much he loved her. But the wary look in her eyes, the anger and hostility, gave him pause.

“I fired Linda.” Marcus could have hit himself for the way he started that conversation, but it was the first thing that came to mind. He’d wanted to try and reassure her of his love, but he just blurted out the news.

Juliette stood there in her doorway, staring up at the tall, gorgeous man who had invaded her dreams so often over the past several nights. She was exhausted, she couldn’t eat and she felt like she was walking in a haze of misery every day. It was all because of this man, and the fact that he wanted more than one woman in his life. She had been aching, hurting, angry and resentful that she hadn’t been enough for him. Now he was standing here in her doorway, looking so magnificent.

And then his words hit her. He’d fired Linda? “Why did you do that?” she asked. Her whole body was trembling as she waited for him to answer her question. It was such an important question, so vital to her whole world at this moment in time.

Marcus shook his head, not exactly sure how to explain it to her. “Because I want you. Because you are the only woman in my life that is important to me. Because you invaded my world, drove me crazy, made me angrier than any woman has ever been able to do, and made me happier than I thought was possible. Linda tried to get in the way of our relationship. She lied to you. She lied to me. She...”

Marcus was about to say something else, but his breath was knocked out of him as Juliette’s soft body flung itself into his. His arms automatically caught her, closed around her and pulled her more tightly against him. He closed his eyes as he reveled in how good she felt. He couldn’t believe that she was here,