Page 2 of Provoke You

“Hey, is he there?”

“He had to fly out for a meeting.” Her voice was laced with pity, same as Cece’s.

Both of them had seen Dad and me drift apart over the years. They’d seen how isolated I felt because of it. With Grans gone, I had no one left.

“He will talk to you. Soon. There’s a lot going on right now.”

Static crackled in my ear when she blew out air. I inhaled the new carpet smell of Dad’s favorite hotel room.

“Hey, how about I buy you a café au lait.” She paused. “In Paris.”

“No, thanks.” I hit the End button and headed downstairs. What was the deal with this rush to send me away?

When I reached the hotel courtyard, I let the warm New Orleans breeze diffuse the knot in my stomach and this feeling that I belonged nowhere. I hated that feeling. I followed my steps to the end of the cobblestone path. The sight of the familiar forest-green door calmed something inside me. I pushed it open and marched to the stool at the end of the bar.

“Ms. LeBlanc, we haven’t seen you around here for a while.” Sam, the bartender, set a champagne flute on the bar and filled it without asking.

“I’ve been busy.” Muscle memory kicked in as I reached for the glass and took a long sip.

Dad was right. At least when I was drunk, he knew what to expect.

* * *

As far as hangovers went, this was the mother of them all. Did I deserve it? Of course. Though right now, with the painful tug in my right eye and dry mouth, I couldn’t remember why. What the hell was in the champagne glass from last night?

The hours after I’d walked into the hotel bar were a big fuzzy cloud in my head. I rolled onto my side slowly to keep the room from doing a merry-go-round and peeked from under the soft sheet tangled around my body. When I made to rub my throbbing temple, a cold grip around my wrist stopped me. Handcuffs? What the hell?

Adjacent to the bed, sitting on an oversize leather chair with his long fingers hanging over the armrest, was a guy I’d never seen in my life. He was fast asleep with his head hanging to the side in what had to be the most uncomfortable sleeping position ever. The how I got here or why my top was missing buttons wasn’t important right now. I needed to get out. The moment my feet slapped the hardwood floor, he shifted his body away from me and yanked me toward him.

Wrapped in his sheets, I balanced on my toes and braced my free hand on the seat of the chair, a few inches from his crotch. Holy shit, we were handcuffed to each other. With my open hand hovering over his wide chest, the adrenaline kicked in and rushed through my body. It didn’t make the headache go away, but at least my brain was working again.

Okay. Think.

Next to where a beaded chain pooled below his Adam’s apple, a tattoo of a string of letters started at his collarbone, then disappeared into the V-neck of his T-shirt. Even in his sleep, he had a scowl across his forehead. The dark stubble on his cheeks made him look angry and dangerous.

My gaze moved from his pecs down to the long legs stretched out in front of him. When he stirred, a muscled thigh rubbed against me and called my attention to the oh-so-generous bulge in his pants. Did we? No, if we’d had sex, he would definitely be out of those tight jeans. His entire body screamed sex. This guy was more than fuckable, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember how I got here.

“Still not interested, princess.” His deep voice jerked me out of my trance. My head snapped up to meet his brown eyes, soft and full of longing. Or maybe that was just the effect of the lighting coming in through the tall windows. He blinked slowly, sexy lips slightly parted, and pressed his free hand on my stomach to push me off him. “The orange juice and ibuprofen on the nightstand are for you. Take them. That’s not a request.”

I’d had my share of rejections. Growing up with parents like mine, who couldn’t find a reason to care about me or anything other than themselves, I was familiar with the pain that came from trying to be with someone who didn’t want me.

A gorgeous man like this saying he wasn’t interested in me stung. I glared at him as I swung around to snatch the juice off the side table. I popped the pills in and downed the whole thing. Okay, that made me feel so much better.

“What the fuck? Did you kidnap me or something?” I placed my hands on my hips. He let out a breath and took his handcuffed hand back, tugging me closer to him. The raw skin on my wrist told me we’d done a similar dance last night.

“What are you talking about?” His gaze bore into mine.

I picked up my hand and pointed at the handcuffs. “I can tell you right now. My dad won’t pay you a dime. In fact, I think you did him a favor. Sucks for you, asshole.”

“Asshole? After what you pulled, I’m the asshole?” Red crept up his neck. “Okay. Obviously, you’re still wasted.” He rose, rubbing his jaw before his hand landed on his hip. “This little game of yours wasn’t funny last night, and it sure as hell isn’t funny now.”

I didn’t know why that hurt. “I don’t care what you find amusing or not. Just get these fucking handcuffs off me. I want to go home.”

“What?”

“What?”

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it, pinching his nose. “You handcuffed me. Tell me you have a key. I don’t have time for any of this.”

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