Read Lover in the Rough for Free Online

hand; the triangular arrowhead contrasted with the muscular curve of the thigh it rested on. His eyes were narrowed, slightly slanted, pure gold. The statue had been carved so that the mineral’s subtle bands of color ran diagonally, giving the man an arresting appearance of being poised between stillness and rippling strength. Light shimmered across the surface of the Tiger God’s masculine body, a seamless blending of every tone between rich gold and luminous brown.
    But she had not chosen the statue merely for its power and extraordinary beauty. She had chosen it because the Tiger God’s magnificent physical self-confidence reminded her of a stranger and a sable night and a kiss that had told her how much of a woman she might be in the right man’s arms.
    Reba heard the distinctive buzzer that sounded in her office every time the front door of Objet d’Art opened. Her office door had a one-way mirror in it that allowed her to see out into the shop while retaining complete privacy. She looked out and saw Todd’s broad figure coming toward her. With a muttered curse she put the Tiger God on her desk, sat down, and released the electronic lock on her office door. Automatically, the door swung open a few inches. She would see that it stayed that way the whole time loverboy was in her office.
    “I’m sick of this jerkaround, Farrall,” said Todd, throwing himself into the chair opposite her desk. “Start selling the damned collection. The rest of the old goat’s estate isn’t worth the lawyer’s fees to straighten it out. I need the money and I need it now.”
    Reba folded her hands and leaned back in her chair, giving Todd a cool look from beneath long lashes. She studied him in silence until he shifted and swore harshly. The smell of alcohol and long nights washed over her.
    “Slow horses and bad cards?” she asked indifferently.
    Todd flushed, telling how accurate her observation was. “Shut up!” he said thickly.
    Reba watched Todd with eyes as hard as the diamond in her ring. Experience had taught her that Todd handled liquor as badly as he did cards. It had been Jeremy’s standing order that his bodyguards refuse to admit his grandson if Todd had been drinking. A year ago Todd had attacked his grandfather in a drunken rage. The thought did nothing to calm the anger that had turned Reba’s usually feminine mouth into a hard line of distaste.
    “Don’t sit there looking so proud and perfect,” Todd snarled. “You’re nothing but a cheap trick the old bastard picked up off the street.”
    The buzzer sounded again, telling Reba that someone had come in the front door. She couldn’t see who it was. Todd’s bulky shoulders cut off her view into the store. Probably Gina, back from her appointment.
    “Say something, damn you!”
    “Make up your mind,” Reba said in a flat voice. “ ‘Shut up. Say something.’ Take your pick. I can’t do both.”
    “Why, you snotty little bitch!” he shouted, lunging to his feet and reaching across her desk, trying to grab her.
    Reba slipped through his fingers with a grace that only enraged him further. He shoved the desk hard, trapping her against the wall. The Tiger God swayed. She grabbed it. Even as she realized that the statue could be a weapon, she regretted having to use its polished beauty on something as sleazy as Todd Sinclair.
    Tim burst into the room, a blackjack in his right hand. “If you touch her I’ll break your neck!”
    “You’ll have to stand in line,” said a voice from behind Tim, a voice that was quiet and cold.
    Both Tim and the drunken Todd froze, pinned by the promise of violence in the voice. Reba felt like laughing and crying at the same time. She wanted to call out to the man but she still didn’t know his name.
    The stranger entered the room with a silent, predatory stride. He grabbed Todd, pivoted smoothly, and slammed the larger man against a wall. Todd swore and shook his head, suddenly sober and more than a little