Provoke

He almost choked on his beer as amusement sparkled in his eyes.

“In here?” he’d smirked.

“Yes, here.” Laura had spoken up in a haughty tone. “I’m looking for a Max. Do you know him?”

He raised his eyebrows, realization flashing through his eyes. My face flamed. He knew exactly why we were there.

“Over at the bar. Next to the big dude in the red shirt.”

Laura stood up. Flicking her long, blond hair over her shoulder, she marched in his direction. I hesitated, wondering if I should follow her.

“Don’t worry about your friend. Everyone here thinks you’re both with me. Nobody is going to mess with her.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not, but I couldn’t deny the chills it sent racing down my spine. There had been nobody since Ben, mainly because Ben had left me feeling so fucked up. I glanced at my mysterious new friend. He was hot, with his dark hair and his deep blue eyes. His lashes were so long I just wanted to reach out and touch them. He was the perfect rebound guy.

“So, I take it you two don’t live around here?” He’d leaned back, his arms across his chest as he looked me over, his eyes lingering on my chest. This guy certainly wasn’t shy about showing his interest.

“If you want me to answer your questions, then try looking at my face and not my breasts,” I replied. Shock resonated on his face. Then he laughed.

“Okay,” he chuckled. “Are you from around here?” he asked again. This time he looked me dead in the eyes.

I held his gaze and shook my head.

“I didn’t think so. What’s your name?” he’d asked, cocking his head to the side, the edges of his mouth twitching into a smile as he played with a coaster in front of him.

“Leeta,” I’d replied with a smirk.

“Pretty name for a beautiful woman,” he’d replied. I’d rolled my eyes and burst out laughing. He had eyed me, amused. “Something funny?”

“You, actually. Do those lines ever work?” I’d asked, still sniggering.

He’d had the decency to look embarrassed. “Well, to be honest, the kind of girls I usually end up with aren’t much for talking.”

Laura had raced back over, giving me the thumbs up. She’d looked from me to Mace and decided it would be a great idea to stay there for a while. I’d known exactly what she was up to. That didn’t mean it wasn’t going to work.

That night, we stayed in that bar until four in the morning, talking about anything and everything. This guy I’d been convinced was just like every other cocky, self-assured ass had turned out to be different. He had depth. There were layers to him I never would’ve expected—layers I was only able to uncover after several shots and a lot of kissing.

Within a few weeks, we were spending nearly every night together. It wasn’t until our fourth date that I’d actually realized who he was. Until then, he was just Mace. Hell, I hadn’t even known his last name. But then I was telling him about a case I’d been working on when I literally saw the blood drain from his face. It turned out I was helping lock up an old associate of his dad.

My first thought? Holy hell. This will never work.

His father, the infamous Ronald Jordan, was in prison for life for his part in the hits of several underworld figures, and his brother, Cash, was also inside on drug charges. Thank God I’d played no role in putting either of them in there.

But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized that Mace wasn’t that guy. He came from a bad family, and he had made some bad decisions in his life, but he was a good guy.

He was my good guy.

#

I nodded to the security guard on duty as I passed my way through the screening. Taking the stairs, I flew up them two at a time to room 234, where my case was going to be heard.

Just off from the courtroom was a prep room where I could wait, and go over my closing argument. I slipped inside and flicked on the lights, shutting the door behind me. My phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw I had a new message from Mace.

I shrieked and then clapped my hand over my mouth.

Holy shit!

I blinked and checked the text again. No, I wasn’t imagining it. I stared at the picture of Mace’s very erect penis on the screen. A very impressive picture. I bit my lip as I stared at it, a familiar ache beginning to stir between my legs as I fantasized about his long, thick, erect shaft.