Page 94 of Provoke You

“The guys want to say goodbye.” Matt stepped back to let them through.

Tears stung my eyes. I’d only known Matt’s guys for a few weeks, but in that time, we’d become friends. I was sad to see them leave. “You’re really leaving?”

“Yep. Gotta go where the action is.” Kitt crossed his arms over his chest, eyes a little too glossy under the can lights in the living room. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the guy was sad to go too.

“Dammit.” Matt dug his hand in the front pocket of his pants, then slammed a hundred-dollar bill on Chase’s chest.

“Finally.” Chase kissed the money and stuffed it in his jeans.

I laughed. “What was the bet?”

“I didn’t think Kitt would cry. But look at him.” He chuckled. “We’ll see you soon, man.”

“I have allergies. Okay?” He shook his head, then moved in for a bear hug. “Keep practicing those punches.”

“I will.” I wiped my face. “Thank you for everything.”

“You’ll be all right.” Chase wrapped one arm around my shoulder. “Give ’em hell.”

I stood by as Kitt and Chase loaded up their car with a bunch of equipment they had in the back room. I had no idea what kind of ops they were running in there. Whatever they did, it kept me alive.

“I bet I could find something for them to do in the office,” I said when Matt shut the door behind him.

“I’m sure you can, but can you really see them doing office work?” He braced his hands on his hips, looking all hot and sexy.

“No. I can’t.” I let out a breath. The thought had crossed my mind several times since Matt came back. In the weeks I’d known him, I’d realized that even though he’d left the corps, he would never stop being a marine. How much was he wishing he were leaving with his guys? “And you?”

He met my gaze. We were suddenly alone, together. “What about me?” He sauntered toward me with a look in his eyes that said he was done talking. But I needed to know.

“I have a chief of security position that needs filling. You know, if you’re still interested.”

He brought his eyebrows together in that sexy brooding way that was all Matt. “You’re offering me a job, Ms. LeBlanc.”

“You earned it.” An electric charge sparked between us. The temperature in the room went up a few degrees the way it always did when he looked at me like that, as if he had a plan for me. Wasn’t that what Matt did, planned and strategized? He removed his suit jacket and laid it on the couch next to me. Every pore in my body wanted him right now. I shuffled back.

“I’m not asking if you’re staying. I already know you are. I want to know for how long.”

He reached out to touch my face, and I stepped back again. With a half smile pulling on his lips, he stalked me until I bumped into the wall behind me. The kiss he planted on a small patch of skin showing through my silk blouse sent tiny sparks across my chest. My nipples stood at attention when his hot breath filtered through my lacy bra.

The first time we met, when we were handcuffed to each other, he wanted nothing to do with me. It hurt my feelings because I didn’t understand what he was holding back. It was this. He was afraid that if he let go, we would both fall. Hard.

I tunneled my fingers through his soft hair, and he glanced up at me, one hand pressed against the wall next to my head, the other hovering over my buttons.

“The two days I spent away from you were hell. I want to stay here for as long as you’ll have me. I’ll do whatever job you want me to do.” He pulled on the fabric of my top, undoing one button off at a time. “I don’t need a job, though.”

“Right. You have all that fuck-you money.”

“I do.”

He could live anywhere and do whatever he wanted, but he wanted to be here with me.

“How about you?” He held my gaze. “Is this life what you want? Getting up, going to work, putting up with me? Wasn’t that the reason you waited so long to claim your inheritance?”

His chest rose and fell as he waited for my answer. This was important to him. He wanted me to be happy. The life I led before was what kept me numb. I was awake now. “I want this. I want a life with you.”

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He cupped my face, and his mouth captured mine. I parted my lips. We became one tangled mess of arms, legs, and hot breaths, as pants, tops, and shoes came off and got flung across the room. “I missed you.” He grabbed handfuls of my breasts, kissing my neck and then my nipples.

I ran my hands up his sides, taking in every angle of his muscled chest and arms. He’d asked if I wanted this life with him. What would be the alternative? A life without this intense need I had for him, the sweet relief I felt every time he touched me, or his complete surrender to me when we were like this. Without his touch, I would’ve died a slow death in the special ward.

---