A/N: While writing this scene, Vincent Price's wicked laugh from the end of Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video is playing through my mind. Bwahahaha…

Summary: It's a hot one this time, folks. But don't believe everything you read, heh!

Jealousy, Take 7

By Ivy Tanté

"Cloud," she whispered in weak protest as she was pulled close. "We shouldn't…"

But the words died off when his wickedly clever mouth slanted over hers to steal her breath away. She was helpless to stop her hands from running up his hard, toned chest to band around his neck, fingers twining into the incredibly soft blonde spikes of his hair. Knees weak, heart pounding, brain cells dying…

"Let's go upstairs," his velvet voice suggested, the tone just a bit roguish. "I've waited all day to hold you, needed to have you in my arms. Let me show you what I've dreamed of doing to you while I drove Fenrir." His voice was husky with desire as his lean body pressed against hers invitingly.

She had no will power, never did with this man. One look from those too-blue eyes could melt her into a puddle at his feet. "But, the bar…" She was losing the fight, especially when his hands started to wander over her body. The man knew just how to make her breath hitch, just how to make her shiver with longing.

"Close it," he commanded, lips trailing down her neck to her collarbone. The feel of his tongue as it slid across the pulse pounding in her neck was indescribable as the world took a leisurely spin. One leather-gloved hand trailed up her thigh, leaving a swatch of heat on her skin that had her breathless.

It was so hard to put a hand on his chest, to try to push him away, "I can't do that, Cloud. My customers…"

Again he got the better of her by scooping her close and letting her feel what she did to him. His lean, toned body was more than ready to prove his words as he continued in that will-sapping heated tone, "They can wait. Come upstairs and make love with me now. I need you so much, crave you beyond belief." He kissed her again, deeply immersing her in his taste as his tongue slid over hers in love play.

And she couldn't resist him any longer as that tempting mouth then worked its way down her neck, grasping the zipper pull in his teeth and slowly began nudging it down…

"You're going to shatter that if you aren't careful," a soft voice intruded, making Tessa Casden jump. Water sloshed over the rim of the glass and soaked her hand as she stared up into the wine-brown eyes of the proprietress of 7th Heaven, Tifa Lockhart.

The woman whose husband she'd just been daydreaming of.

Mortified, Tessa grabbed for some napkins to clean up the mess. "I'm… sorry. I was just thinking…" Don't say another word, Tessa, she warned herself. The situation was bad enough without blurting out something she'd regret later.

Glancing over her shoulder, Tifa looked at the man sitting at the end of the bar and battled fiercely to hide the smile. Cloud Strife was diligently bent over his paperwork, mapping out the route of his deliveries for tomorrow. He'd taken a shower earlier and was now dressed casually in faded jeans and a light gray t-shirt, neither of which did anything to hide his beautiful physique. Beside him, Denzel was asking questions as he fiddled with the small compass Cloud used to measure distances on the map.

Still suppressing the smile, Tifa turned back to the young woman. She was attractive, with a silky fall of light brown hair just past her shoulders and eyes of rich, golden honey. Tifa knew she'd been coming into the bar for nearly a month now, and was a student to judge by the books and papers scattered on the table.

"He is very handsome, isn't he?" Tifa asked with a smile.

"Um, very, yes. I should just… go. Yes, I really need to go," Tessa sputtered, trying to grab all her work at once and just disappear. She couldn't understand why the bar wasn't on fire as hotly as she was blushing.

Chuckling, Tifa laid a hand on the girl's arm, "Don't be in such a rush. I'm not going to throw you out or anything." Leaning back, she offered a smile and admitted, "I've done a lot of daydreaming over Cloud Strife myself."

Tessa couldn't help goggling over that loaded statement. "What?"

And Tifa couldn't hold down the giggle at the young woman's flabbergasted look. "Oh yes. Your name is Tessa, correct? You go to some of the same classes as my part-time bartender, Ben Somners, I think. He's mentioned you a time or two." She motioned to the young man currently manning the bar, a sweet looking guy with short curly brown hair and dark chocolate eyes. He was lean and lanky in build, with long arms and big hands, but he wasn't the clumsy sort. In an effort to look older, he was currently trying for a mustache and goatee. If anything, the attempt made him look even more adorable than normal.

"Ben?" Startled, Tessa quit trying to jamb everything into her backpack and stared at Tifa. "Ben has mentioned me?"

"A time or two, if I'm remembering right. I think you have world history together? His study partner is just horrible, and he needs to find one that's actually willing to read the material assigned. Since you're new in the class you're one of the few not partnered yet, and I think he wants to see if you'd like to work with him. He's really quite smart, has a 3.97 grade point average right now." It was a struggle to keep her expression politely interested.

Tessa wasn't the only one that daydreamed around here. Ben was so head over heels loopy about this girl it was a source of continual amusement for the staff of 7th Heaven. Even Cloud, oblivious as he usually was, had seen the longing glances Ben would toss Tessa's way.

So the fact Tifa had caught her fantasizing about Cloud was the perfect opportunity to direct those dreams toward someone deserving. Ben was responsible, intelligent, had a good job and great work ethics. He was also a very shrewd judge of character and had the type of respect for women that encouraged growth, not smothered it. If she could pull this off they would make a very cute couple. After all, Tessa had very good tastes in men if she was mooning over Cloud.

"I didn't know he was having trouble with his study partner. Rand is a moron, but I thought he at least had a brain," Tessa commented, looking at Ben as he competently worked the bar.

"Rand would rather be partying," Tifa admitted sadly, wishing she could help that troubled young man.

Making a decision, Tessa nodded, more to herself than anything. "I think I'll go talk to him." It was hard to gather her courage, but she knew her conscious would eat her alive if she didn't apologize to the kind woman sitting beside her. "I'm so sorry. And you know what I'm talking about," she added when Tifa looked at her in surprise.

"Yes, I do." Tifa smiled, then asked with a mischievous twinkle in her dark eyes, "So, what was he doing?"

The hot blush that spread across Tessa's cheeks was adorable. "Um, pulling down the zipper on your vest."

"With his teeth?"

The accurate guess made Tessa laugh. "You've had that one before."

Tifa laughed as she rose to her feet to start cleaning some tables. "Oh, yes. That's pretty much a standard."

Tessa watched her walk away with considerable admiration. She'd always thought of Tifa as a strong, vital woman with an iron will and courage to spare. Now, she saw beneath the surface to the kindness and compassion that made her what she was. Cloud Strife was a very fortunate man to have her in his life, and Tessa knew she wouldn't daydream of him any longer.

Because he belonged to Tifa Lockhart, and that was as it should be.