Provocation (Explicitly Yours 3)

“I’ll stop you right there,” Beau said, removing her hands from him by her wrists. “You’re getting a phone today. It’ll be our first errand. Then we’ll see about getting you a temporary credit card until we can get you a real one. I’ll give you one of mine too, but you should have a couple in your name just in case—”

“Beau, don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit—?”

“No. Look at me.” Lola lifted her eyes to his and waited. He pulled her hands back to his chest, right over his heart. “Yesterday, even though I thought I’d never see you again, it still drove me insane knowing you were out there with nothing. Don’t fight me on this. Without a cell phone or credit card, anything could happen to you, and I wouldn’t even know.”

Lola’s heart jumped into her throat.

“It drove me insane…out there with nothing…I wouldn’t even know…”

Beau had reassured her that he never backtracked on his decisions. Never changed his mind. When he wanted something, he took it. Always. But what would happen if the thing he wanted most slipped right through his fingers—and not even his fortune could get it back?

Lola had the motive to bring Beau to his knees, and she had the means to make it happen. All she needed now to complete the puzzle was Beau’s heart in her palm.

She stepped even closer to him and looked into his fiery, green eyes. Gently, she twisted her hands out of his grip to reach up and cup his face. And what a face it was—the kind a girl could get lost in if she didn’t know any better. “If that’s what you want, Beau, then I’ll do it. I trust you.”

Beau kissed the insides of her hands. Any bitterness left his expression as his features softened.

Beau loved to play—to hunt his prey. That must’ve been because he’d never lost.

Maybe someone ought to beat him at his own game. Maybe then he wouldn’t think it was so fun.

16

Present day

Beau wasn’t home at seven o’clock for his big surprise date with Lola—he was home earlier. His last meeting had been a homerun despite being distracted and had put him on track to close a lucrative deal. As if he hadn’t already been riled thinking of all the things he’d finally get to do to Lola, making money always gave him a buzz. He’d waited her out—not patiently, but he’d waited—and he didn’t want to miss a minute of their evening together.

Now, he was perched on their bed while Lola finished getting ready. She came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped securely under her armpits.

“Come on,” Beau said, practically falling off the edge of the mattress. “Just give me a sneak peek.”

She smiled. “You only have a few hours left. Your reward will be that much sweeter if you wait.”

She’d been stubborn from the start, but Christ did it frustrate him in the best way possible. Night after night, sleeping next to her, sharing a bathroom and a bedroom with her, and she’d only slipped once. He’d been clinging to that memory like a castaway to a raft.

“You’re a tough negotiator,” Beau said, following her with his eyes until she disappeared into the closet.

“It isn’t a negotiation,” she called. “You broke the terms of our agreement once. Do it again, and it’ll be the last time.”

“If you’re trying to torture me, it’s working. Hearing you talk business gets me even harder.”

She leaned out of the closet, giving him a glimpse of her naked shoulder and the outer curve of her breast. “Why? It reminds you of that morning Johnny and I came to your conference room?”

Beau licked his lips. He was as close to having her now as he had been that day. She’d sat across the table from him, statue-like, but once in a while, her face would flicker with hurt or embarrassment when Johnny spoke—or when he was decidedly quiet. All Beau had gotten from her was anger. “Would it upset you if it did?”

“No.” She ran her finger along the edge of the doorway. “Maybe one day you can fuck me on that table.”

Beau had been teasing about getting hard, but her dirty talk was an alarm to his sleeping cock. Beau resisted standing up. He wasn’t sure he could keep himself in check. “Let’s skip dinner.”

She shook her head. “I’ve been planning tonight for a while. Besides, I’m hungry.”

“Give me sixty seconds, and you’ll forget the meaning of the word.”

“Sixty seconds?” She grinned and returned into the closet. “Is that what I have to look forward to?”

“It would serve you right after keeping me on edge for so long.”

A dresser drawer rolled open, then closed with a wooden thump. He was more tempted than ever to sneak in and steal a look at her white breasts and long, tight tummy. He’d showered after work, but already he could use another cold one.

Beau was in love with her, at least he was pretty sure of it, and that feeling was strongest in moments like this one. For a woman who’d worn as many jeans-and-shirt combos in her life as Beau had suits, she was completely at ease in the things he picked out for her. He could just sit and watch, and he never had the urge to walk away. If any other woman had told him ‘look don’t touch’ night after night, Beau would’ve laughed at her on his way out the door.