Page 8 of Provoke You

3

The Baroness

Ela

The marine had blood in his veins after all. And if the hard ridge on his jeans was any indication, he wasn’t totally immune to me. A flutter swirled in my belly and slowly spread down to my core. Something about Matt, the way he filled the space, drew me to him.

“I thought you said nothing happened between us.”

“Nothing did.” The intensity in his eyes made me sink a little lower before he continued. “You…we kissed, and I got carried away.”

“What do you mean carried away?” I racked my brain for the memory, but everything from last night was fuzzy. I wanted to hear him say what he did to me, how he almost ripped my top.

“I kissed you back. When you passed out in my arms, it caught me off guard. I grabbed your blouse so you wouldn’t hit the sidewalk. It’s hard to catch someone when you only have one free hand.”

“And that was it?” That was anticlimatic. Maybe he could go back to how he kissed me before.

“As I said last night, a quick tumble with Ela Leblanc is not worth losing a job over.”

Well, there was a song I’d heard a million times. “I’m nothing if not consistent. Say no more.” I pushed him hard. “I won’t get between you and your fancy job, whatever the fuck that is.”

“You really don’t remember anything about last night, do you? How much did you have to drink?”

“I only remember the one drink.” The thought of alcohol made me feel nauseous. I spun around and opened the door. Steam puffed into the hallway as cold air gushed in. I winced when I stepped out and Matt didn’t move. The handcuffs were going to leave a mark. Rubbing my wrist, I faced him. “Stop judging me. I know the whole thing was stupid.”

He flinched and wrapped his fingers around my skin to keep the metal from touching my skin. “I’m here for the head of security job at LB Industries. I have an interview this afternoon.”

Now his behavior made sense. He helped me because of who I was. “I thought you said you didn’t know who I was.”

“I was being an ass.” He relaxed his shoulders.

“Finally, we agree on something.” I stomped back to his bedroom. His warm body stayed close behind mine. “Wait. You said you have an interview? With my dad? He’s here?”

“That’s what I was told. His chief of staff wanted me to meet him in person.” He slipped on his shoes, and I did the same.

The usual pang wrapped itself around my chest. I shouldn’t care if Dad didn’t want to see me. How many months had he been gone? Three? Six?

“Let’s go. I’m sure babysitting the LeBlanc girl isn’t part of your job description.” I hoped he hadn’t heard all the bitterness in my tone.

He shook his head. “I’m not a bodyguard, more of a strategy and planning consultant.”

I got a feeling he’d already told me this. What did we do for the two hours before I fell asleep in his bed? Did we make out the whole time? Well, there was a fantasy that would stay with me for a long time. No point in dragging this out. Time to go home.

“Where am I taking you?” His voice boomed in the small hallway that lead straight to the kitchen and front door.

He had a nice place, painted in vibrant colors. The old cypress smell that was so New Orleans filtered through the windows. The hardwood floors creaked under our feet with every step. It was such a sad sound.

“Conti Street,” I said when we reached the sidewalk.

“The Baroness? I thought you said you wanted to go home.” He ushered me toward a black SUV. I recognized it as one from Dad’s fleet. Nice house, company car. He already had the job. The interview today was a mere formality. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to mess that up.

“You did your research.”

“That’s what I was doing last night. Recon, if you will.”

Did he just wink at me? “Yes, the Baroness is home for me. Feels more like home than any other place.”

“You live in a hotel?”

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