Leopard 03 - Burning Wild

and glared at him. “It’s just mean.”
    Jake straightened his tall body, catching her at the waist with both hands to lift her, placing her on the countertop beside the coffeepot so she faced him. “I’ll be better with her. I’ll make an effort.”
    “Do you promise?” Once Jake gave his word, he always followed through.
    He hesitated. She’d known him long enough to know what he was thinking. “Don’t you dare use this as a bargaining chip. You should make an effort with Susan because she’s young and without much of a family. She’s a nice girl and she needs a little help right now, and not just so you can get your way.”
    “You sound so sexy when you get bossy, Emma,” he teased. “I said I’ll make an effort with her and I will. I forgot to tell you I hired a new man. He’s a friend of Drake’s and Joshua’s and he’s been ill. He doesn’t talk much, but he’s a good man. Work your magic on him, will you? But don’t flirt.”
    “I don’t flirt.” She glared at him. “Go to your office and get out of my kitchen. I’m liable to bake something for you and put arsenic in it if you keep this up.”
    “I’m just edgy lately when it comes to you, so don’t hang out too much with the new guy. I don’t know him and he doesn’t know me.”

    “You aren’t making any sense. If he’s Drake’s friend and you’re hiring him, I take it he’s been thoroughly investigated and you’re not worried he’ll cause any of us harm. What are you going on about?”
    Jake lifted her from the counter and set her away from him, his hand sliding over her hip and along her bottom, his palm lingering, even rubbing. “Having to beat the living daylights out of a man I respect, or doing even worse than that. Just behave yourself.”
    “Jake.” She spun around, pushing at the wall of his chest. “What was that?”
    “What?”
    “You just groped me on the butt. I’m not two, you know.”
    “I wouldn’t be groping you if you were two.”
    She put both hands on her hips and gave him her sternest look. “Are you aware that little feel you copped could be interpreted as sexual harassment in the workplace?”
    “You wouldn’t take any money, remember, so technically you don’t work for me. You’re the mother of my children and you make the best damn coffee I’ve ever had in my life.” He flashed an unrepentant grin at her. “If I want more children, sooner or later I’m going to have to do more than grope your butt.
    You might as well get used to it.”
    She tried to stay annoyed with him and not feel the flush of pleasure at being called the mother of his children, or feel happy that he thought of her that way. She’d refused to take money for running the household when he’d taken such great care of her, and then the settlement his lawyers had arranged for her and Andraya had been more money than she ever heard of. He had set up trust funds for both Andraya and Kyle, so money wasn’t going to be a problem. Truthfully, Jake had never really treated her like an employee—more like a pampered pet, indulged but still under his rule. Not taking his money always made her feel more on par with him. She didn’t have to obey his orders.
    She sighed. He was so complicated, so difficult to be around all the time, with his edgy moods and his brooding silences. She knew him better than most people did, but she still found him difficult to read, particularly when he was in the kind of mood he was now.
    She pointed to the door. “Get out. You’re outrageous this morning. I’ve got things to do.”
    Perversely, he straddled a chair. “I’m starving. Feed me.”
    “I thought you had things to do,” she objected, but she was already at the refrigerator, pulling out eggs, bacon and orange juice. “Didn’t you have some big meeting you had to prepare for? I figured you must have tons of lawyers to hand you documents so you can make an informed, knowledgeable decision.”
    “Not on this one. They’ll give me the documents and everything I read will tell me the best thing to do is to sell the company. It’s a small real estate business and it seems to be losing large amounts of money. It acquires land and rarely sells it. The manager has brought me several deals in the last few months, advising me to sell. The lawyers agree with him.”
    “But you’re not going to sell.”
    “No, I’m not. We’ve acquired several pieces of land adjacent to the property I inherited from my great-grandfather