Playing With Trouble (Desire Bay 1)

Her gaze drifted to his mouth and her words were coming out a little raspier than before. Oh yeah, he affected her, too. Another reason he needed to get her high-class—perfect—ass away from him. Which would be tricky, considering she was all up in his space.

“One more thing.” She took a step closer. “Don’t get too comfortable, Jacob.” Another step, and her voice was low and made his jeans impossibly tight. “This little stunt my father pulled with his ‘Work it out, kiddos’ isn’t going to last forever.” She trailed a finger down his chest, giving sight to the fighter in her. “My first order of business is to make this my business. You never know—you may want to leave all on your own.”

With that, she turned on the only heel she had left and strutted that sweet ass away, deeper into the warehouse, leaving him raging pissed and desperate as hell to go another round with her—preferably in his bed.

Because there was no way he was going anywhere. The battle was set. And Jake was playing for not only his own livelihood, but Walt’s legacy and the only business he’d ever had.

“Deep breath . . . ,” Laura told herself as she limped around the large pieces of machinery and away from the sinfully sexy Jacob Lock. He’d filled out quite a bit since she’d seen him last. He should be nothing more than an annoying obstacle. Not tall, dark, muscular, and . . . did she mention sexy?

It’d taken everything she had to feign confidence, because when she laid eyes on him, a few more puzzle pieces slid into place, and they hurt. Her father had trusted Jacob. Clearly, he was the one who had been running the business. Sure, she had a place at the flower shop and her mother’s memory and wishes with that. But her father loved Jake. Trusted him. And now she more or less had to go through Jake? She’d spent the last decade being kept on a leash by her ex, and her fresh start and penance to her mother were now dictated by Jake’s grace?

No.

It broke her heart thinking of that. She needed to change . . . everything. She couldn’t go back, no matter how much she wished she could. She could only move forward, and she would. She’d keep her promise to her mother to make sure the flower shop lived on. Even though it had taken her a long time to find her way, Laura was finally home, and she felt like she just might be heading in the right direction for the first time in ten years.

She hadn’t meant to be snippy with Jake, but between catching her off guard and now her father’s stipulations, Jake was an obstacle. A giant, sexy, chiseled obstacle that she had to get past for the sake of her soul and her mother’s memory. Because if Jake was set to run the business as a whole, the shop would be gone forever. He obviously didn’t care about it; otherwise it would be open now.

She’d prove her worth. That she didn’t need babysitting or to go through Jake for anything. She’d do this on her own. That was the point. But Jake was making that—and her no-dating rule—really difficult at the moment. Celibacy sucked, and it was wearing on her. Especially since Jake was right—he was not the same as he’d been high school. He looked more than capable of handling a woman’s pleasure.

But she wouldn’t daydream about that. There were too many other questions she had to sort through. But she knew two things: first, this was her chance to try to build a life and get closer to her mother’s memory, and second, Jacob Lock was the son her father had never had.

Her father valued him. Maybe her father wanted to leave his legacy to Jacob? Either way, he’d given her the chance to run the shop. And she wouldn’t fail. Because she still had a shot to have it all and make her mother proud.

She shook her head, warding off the pity party. She wasn’t going to let the past rule her. All the awful insecurities that had been drilled into her head that she was flighty, useless . . . no. She wouldn’t listen to that. She’d made a promise to herself that she would be strong. Assertive. This was her moment to be anyone she wanted to be. And she wanted to be her mother’s daughter. One she could be proud of. One who didn’t run away.

She also needed hope for the future since she had very little in the present other than this opportunity. And she’d cling to that. She might be in over her head—she looked up to the lifter thingy’s jawlike bucket literally over her head—but she was smart and a hard worker. Sure, she’d been popular and the prom queen, but that—along with her spotty record of bad choices in men whom she’d had to prove herself to—was exactly why this fresh start was so important. She was determined to make the most of this chance.

Surely, she could do this. Run the office and shop and contribute. She could make Baughman Home Goods a bigger success than ever. Outshine the warehouse, even! Okay, maybe that was a bit ambitious, but she’d learn and she’d help. Granted . . . she just wanted to run a flower shop, not lumber and gravel central. But still, she could do it. And her first order of business was to revive the flower shop. She had a month to figure her life out and turn a profit before her father would intervene and make Jake her permanent boss—or her his.

Jacob was going to be a problem, though. If she were honest, she’d admit that she was attracted to him. Looked a little long at his chiseled jaw and firm, full lips. Wondered what it’d feel like to be on the receiving end of all that strength and power . . .

Good thing she wasn’t being honest.

Nothing about this situation was great. But she’d manage. She had to. For once in her life, she would come through for herself. She was used to being alone, used to being underestimated, but this time? She needed a win. And she couldn’t let Jacob Lock, with his persuasive mouth or rock-hard body, distract her. He was the competition.

Her mind was clouded with thoughts of their encounter. Every syllable his husky voice had uttered had made her want to choke on all her words, because what she was greeted with was more than a surprise—it was shocking.

He was six-plus feet of solid muscle. In a fitted blue T-shirt that had oil and dirt smeared on it and low-slung blue jeans that were worn to perfection in every possible way, he could easily pass as a member of the superhero squad. Not the band alum and nerd she remembered.

He was a little dirty, a lot down-home, and not big city in the slightest. A trait she kind of liked. Because the mere way he wore that brown leather belt and those scuffed-up work boots made her hormones jump for joy.

Yeah,

she had been staring. She was also painfully aware that she resembled a drenched, lopsided poodle. He pulled off the damp look better than she did. The moisture from the rain made his T-shirt cling to his skin, giving her a glimpse of a perfectly chiseled chest and abs.

But all that didn’t matter. He was the one person that was the exact kind of wrong. Did she want to stop pining for men she had to prove herself to? Wanted to stick to her no-dating rule? Then she needed to stay far away from Jacob Lock. Because even thinking of dating made her think of sex, so that was a bad idea, too. He obviously wasn’t her biggest fan. So for now, it was wise to forget the way those icy-blue eyes made her wet body even wetter.

“Already lost? The exit is back that way.” That same raspy voice belonging to her newly acquired nemesis boomed out. He accompanied his words with a hiked thumb in the direction she’d come.

“Does anyone work around here?” she snapped. Desperate to find someone that wasn’t him.

“Yeah. Me. A lot. The crew took off at four.”

“Why?”

“Because there was one last delivery that I could handle myself. And Carl’s son had a T-ball game he needed to get to. No sense in keeping on good men and having them miss important stuff just for the sake of an hour.”

She glanced down the front of him. Yes, she believed that. The man was built to handle lots of things. Heavy machinery included. And he was nice, too? Of course, he’d always been nice. He also used to wear headgear. Which was what she was trying to focus on instead of how perfectly straight and white his teeth were.