Page 61 of Provoke You

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” I sat on the bed next to him. He smelled of lavender soap and Matt.

“At least now you know exactly what you need to do. What do you want more? To save the Baroness or your freedom?”

Freedom? Was that it? Was I afraid to lose myself the way Dad did when he took over? I was the last LeBlanc. My family’s legacy depended on me.

“What’s stopping you?”

“I don’t know. For so long, Dad told me I would never be ready. I don’t want to be the one who drives the family business into the ground.”

“I’m sure Old Ben would be there to help. I’ll be here too.”

I shifted my weight to face him. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Okay. Let’s call him and tell him to start the process. Dad will hate me for this, but he’s leaving me no choice.”

He grinned at me. “That’s my girl.” He walked to the dresser and grabbed his new phone. He scrolled through his screen, tapped on it, then put the device to his ear. “Ben. Ela is ready.” He glanced at me while Old Ben talked. After a while, he simply said okay and hung up.

“He will send the papers for you to sign tomorrow. The process will only take a few days.”

I let out a long breath and fell back on the bed. “Thank you. Now what?”

“Now we wait. When the paperwork goes through, we can go and have another chat with your dad.”

Maybe that was what I was afraid of. Facing Dad and taking away something he wanted so much. LB Industries was his life, and I was getting ready to take all that away. A part of me knew it wasn’t fair to him. Why would he corner me like this? What did he want that he didn’t already have? He must have known I would fight tooth and nail to keep the Baroness. It was my home, for Christ’s sake.

“Ben wasn’t what I thought he’d be.” Matt lay next to me.

“No? What were you expecting?”

“A coward. But now I see that everything he did was to protect you. He stayed in Utica for you.”

For so long, I thought Old Ben had abandoned me, but he hadn’t. He’d disappeared because he thought it was for the best. What did Grans tell him to make him think he needed to stay away? Why did Dad fire him after Grans passed away? Old Ben knew the ins and outs of LB. He would have been a great asset to Dad.

I turned my head left on the soft covers of my bed to meet Matt’s gaze. His beautiful features were comforting. The strength in his eyes made me feel safe. I needed to feel safe. What I was about to do scared the shit out of me. Dad was going to hate me for it, and I didn’t know if I could handle it.

“You don’t have to be afraid.” The tone of his voice was soothing.

“I can’t help it. Too many people would suffer if I fail.”

“Don’t think about that.” He ran a finger down my cheek, and I moved in to kiss him.

He sighed against my lips and rolled over on top of me, supporting all his weight on his arms. I’d gotten so used to his rejections that every time he’d let me in, a rush of adrenaline sparked below my navel.

“If it’d been up to me, we would’ve stayed here all day.” He nibbled on my neck, moving my bathrobe out of the way as he worked his way down to my breast.

“What is that you’re doing?” I glanced at him, where his tongue wreaked havoc on my nipple.

“You want me to stop?”

“No. Don’t stop. I like it.” I let his hands and mouth wash away the last three hours of the day. I didn’t want to think about what I had do next. I didn’t want to think about what Matt had to do next. It was easier to think that today was a normal day of hanging out with a guy I was really into.

“What happens after I take the dive and take over LB? Would you stay in New Orleans?”

He glanced up at me with a gleam in his eyes. “I want to stay.” He kneaded my breast and kissed his way across to the other side. “With you. If you want.”

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