Bedded by the Boss (Louisiana Liaisons 3)

She had always been the one in control. Always had men chasing her. She flitted from romance to romance, never letting any one man get too close.

Not since the man that had ruthlessly impregnated and abandoned her.

She steeled her spine.

His other hand lifted and his fingers threaded through her hair and gripped her skull. She couldn't suppress a small shudder. There was accusation in the eyes that tangled with hers, and she had no idea why. She needed him gone tonight, away from her, so she could think. So she could breathe. His dominant nature was confusing to her tranquility. Her stability was shaken.

He pinched her chin harder. "Once again, you're going to get your way. But understand me when I tell you it's not going to keep happening. You're going to give it up and it's going to be soon."

Robert felt the provocative effect of her eyes on his. The softness of her body so close to him. His erection swelled and pushed against his fly. His hands tightened involuntarily on her. Her eyes flared into his. He read distress in the huge round orbs as he saw them fill with tears, a half second before she lowered her lashes and shut him out.

Possession and resentment slammed into his gut. This shit was becoming intolerable. She was beginning to hold a fascination for him that he couldn't allow. Shouldn't allow. He needed to purge her from his system, and quickly.

The best way to diffuse the provocation was to remove himself from her radius.

He released her from his hold and left.

Chapter Seven

Wednesday morning, Renee sat at her desk and tried to concentrate on the papers in front of her. Robert was across town meeting with a new contractor he was hiring, and since Mrs. Argenot had started working shortened hours, the quiet in the office should have made it easy to concentrate. It was a struggle she was determined to win.

She didn't have much experience with plat maps, but organization and basic math were strong points for her, and the numbers she was looking at didn't add up. She went over them for a third time. There had to be a mistake.

At eleven o'clock, Robert walked in and threw her a look before closing himself in his office.

She attempted to conquer her nerves before she approached him. She gathered the papers and stood up. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, then walked over and tapped on his door.

At his growl, she entered.

He looked up and their eyes clashed in instantaneous attraction. God, he was right. She couldn't keep working here.

Renee rushed to get the words out. "I n-need to show you something."

When he didn't say anything, or give any indication he was absorbing what she was saying, she left the doorway and walked over to his desk. She slowly went all the way around it until she was standing next to where he was sitting.

Robert tensed when she came near and wondered what witch's trick she was trying to pull on him. He noticed the serviceable, utilitarian outfit she was wearing again and questioned her use of resources.

When he saw what she put in front of him, he tried to regroup. He switched his brain back to business mode. It wasn't easy with her scent in his nostrils.

Renee started with an apology for her inexperience in the field. "I'm sorry. I'm still kind of new at this. I d-don't really know what I'm looking at. But I think it might be important. Maybe you don't know this. Maybe you do and it's nothing." She was rambling. She stalled, took a deep breath and placed a manicured finger on a column. "All the sixteen digit account numbers seem to be in s-sequential order." Her finger moved a bit. "The property I.D. numbers are mostly in numerical order. But s-see this?" She pointed and his sharp eyes followed. "When the page number turns over, the sequencing changes." She summed up the problem. "I d-don't think the property is in La Fourche parish."

Robert was stunned. By all evidence, she was probably correct. He couldn't assimilate the mistake they had almost made. He had almost made. He hadn't caught it. Mrs. Argenot hadn't caught it.

But, by God, the zoning commission would catch it. This had probably saved him three lost weeks of red tape and headaches. He looked over at where she had stepped away from his desk and was holding herself so still.

A new facet of her character unfolded before him and hit him between the eyes. A new understanding of her person that he had never bothered to see before.

He cleared his throat. "Good job, Renee. I'm impressed. How did you catch that?"

She was already moving away to the door. "I don't know. I like numbers. They're fun." She opened the door and stopped briefly.

"Fun?" He was dumbfounded.

"T

hey always do what they're supposed to do. They always add up." She paused. "You can always trust numbers."

Robert watched the door close behind her and lowered his forehead to his hands.