ProvokeMe (2 page)
Authors: Cari Quinn
He held up a hand.
“You’ve more than met every requirement
set before you thus far.
Since you have, I’ll ignore your very smart mouth.”
That very smart mouth opened and closed on another retort.
She perched on the edge of the loveseat, her breath tripping as his gaze rested
just a shade too long on her tight yellow blouse.
She hadn’t worn it to
showcase the girls, but it was a nice side benny.
Apparently her boss had
noticed.
What the hell was going on?
Had she entered some new
dimension?
He never looked at her like…a
woman
.
Good God, that was it.
He was suddenly viewing her with
something that could only be termed appreciation.
And an edgy speculation, as
if he were about to reach out and feel her up like he might cantaloupes at the
supermarket.
She was certainly plenty ripe for him.
Her eagerly budding
nipples and drenched panties attested to that fact.
“Sorry, Spencer,” she enunciated his name carefully, “but
maybe I’ve missed a step.
What extracurricular activities do you mean?”
Again a pause.
This one ended quickly, with another of those
enigmatic not-quite-a-smiles as he rolled his chair back from the desk and
swiveled toward her.
Trying to make her feel more at ease, she guessed.
As if that would ever happen.
“Standard question, Ms.
Crossman.
I’m merely trying to weigh
your devotion to The Book Nook.
We do everything we can to ensure our
employees’ loyalty.
Retirement plans, generous time off, opportunities to
advance.” His canny dark eyes narrowed, his stare dropping to her
cleavage-revealing blouse yet again before returning to her face.
“Do you
aspire to advance, Ms.
Crossman?”
So much for using her first name.
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue.
The only
thing she aspired to do at the moment was to kneel down in front of his chair
to see if that bulge in his pants was as big as her hormone-laden brain kept
insisting it was.
“Yes.
I do.”
Truthfully she wasn’t sure about that, but she liked keeping
her options open.
He shuffled some papers on his desk and opened a folder.
“Your résumé states you have a degree in calculus, but you started working here
full-time shortly before graduation.
Why is that?”
Great.
She was being interviewed when she hadn’t even
applied for a position.
When she wasn’t even sure she wanted more
responsibilities.
She was happy doing what she was, where she was.
“I love books more than I ever loved math.” She shrugged.
“I’d planned a career as a business analyst until I took a job here.
Within a
few weeks, I knew this was what I was meant to do.”
The corners of his mouth crinkled.
Not a real smile,
exactly, but close.
“My final major was environmental forestry.
My sister got
me a job here after I’d been out of school a few years.
She enjoyed it, but
books aren’t her passion like they are mine.
And I’d been on the six-year-plan
in college to begin with, so she knew I’d try anything.”
Her wickedly smart boss hadn’t done well in his courses?
Wow.
“College took you six years?” she asked, still not quite believing it.
“Yes.
It took me two years to settle on a major.
Does anyone
finish in four years anymore?”
She shrugged.
“I did.” Actually three and a half, but who
was counting?
“Of course you did.” His smile seemed as awkward as his
posture.
Was Spencer trying to share some of himself?
Or did he have another
agenda?
“I’m sure they snapped you up here,” she said, at a loss how
to react to this impromptu session of
You show me yours, I’ll show you mine
.
“When I interviewed here, I was working construction.
No, I
wasn’t snapped up.
I started on the lowest rungs.
And I stayed there until I
got clear about what mattered most.”
She skipped a glance over his broad shoulders, encased in an
expensively cut suit jacket, and imagined his skin sun-browned and gleaming
with sweat.
Maybe he’d even worn a wife-beater, though that strained the bounds
of credulity.
Still, mmm.
“You have the body for construction,” she said, then
wanted to slap herself.
Hard.
Preferably across the mouth.
His smile relaxed a fraction.
“The first few years I worked
here, I still wasn’t focused.
But eventually the store,
this
store, and
the way it was run got its hooks into me.
Working here showed me what it could
be like to love your job.
To live for it.” His gaze sharpened.
“Sometimes you
don’t know what you need until you explore all the options.”
Finally, some common ground.
She smiled.
“So you
understand.”
He didn’t reply.
Kelly took a deep breath and her head reeled at the
oversized dose of Spencer’s mountain-fresh aftershave she inhaled.
God, she had
to get it together.
He’d made her horny for three years.
She could deal.
“I didn’t mean to be rude earlier,” she said into the
silence, noticing his hand had again dipped into the drawer.
She itched to
stand up and see what the hell he was fondling but her thin grip on her
composure kept her seated.
“Think I’ve had too much caffeine.
I’m jittery
today.”
“We’ve been busier than usual lately and nerves fray.
Especially when one has multiple pursuits to occupy their time.” He didn’t give
her a chance to interrupt.
“The Nook’s going to have an opening in upper
management soon and I’ve had my eye on you.
Or I did, before today.
Frankly I’m
not sure you’re ready to lead this store.
And I’m not willing to make a
mistake.”
She jumped to her feet, indignation trumping all good sense.
“Because I snapped at you that means I’m not fit for management?” Suddenly it
didn’t matter if she wanted to be in management or not.
How dare he act as if
anyone in that store cared more than she did?
“Even though I immediately
apologized?”
“Your temper doesn’t seem any more under control now than it
did earlier, Ms.
Crossman.” He shut his drawer with a
click
of finality
and snapped her folder shut.
He might as well have stamped a big ol’
Rejected
label on her forehead.
“Perhaps we should discuss this another time.”
Don’t flip.
Don’t flip.
Don’t flip.
She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded, affixing a
perfectly angelic smile to her face.
If he wanted subservient, he’d get it.
Whatever worked to net her the ultimate goal.
Whether that was a position in
management or her hands on Spencer’s cock—or both—she wasn’t sure.
Her good sense warned her to avoid both possibilities.
Sometimes sense didn’t win.
“Perhaps we should.
Thank you for your time.” She turned to
go.
“Just a moment.”
She glanced back, hoping he’d say something worthy of her
fantasies.
Come sit on my lap
would be a nice start.
“I’d like you to get started on that redesign of the romance
section we talked about yesterday.
Marcia recommends you,” he said when she
didn’t respond.
“You said I could do it when I got time.
With the two-day
sale, I’ve barely had time to pee never mind artfully reshelve books.”
His benign expression revealed nothing.
“You redesigned the
café last year, did you not?”
The bright, cheery café that got raving comments from
customers on a daily basis?
Oh yeah, that was her work.
She’d chosen everything
from the glossy sepia photos for the pale green walls right down to the
glass-topped tables bearing wicker baskets of Leigh’s lemon cookies.
“Well,
yes, but—”
“Your eye for design is well known around this store.
Are
you saying you’re incapable of fitting the redesign into your schedule?”
Even as she seethed at his imperious tone, she plastered on
a smile.
“Never said I was incapable, Spencer.
Just that it will be difficult.”
“The sale’s over today.
I expect you’ll be able to start the
redesign tomorrow.
If that’s a problem, come see me and we’ll find a way to
make room in your daily duties.”
“What if I don’t want to do it?”
She knew she sounded pouty and didn’t care.
She hated that
he never seemed to see her as anything but another cog in the wheel.
No matter
how many department redesigns she executed or innovative ideas she voiced, he
never saw her as anything but his goddamn day manager.
Yeah, he’d ogled her breasts for all of two seconds.
He’d
also given her a couple of hot looks.
But then he’d gone right back to business
as usual.
“I think you know the answer to that question, Ms.
Crossman.
And I don’t appreciate being baited.” He slipped her folder into a drawer, a
succinct dismissal.
Get out of my sight.
Before the guy she’d so stupidly lusted after for years
banged any more nails into her coffin of shame, she got the hell out of his
office, booking down the hall so fast that she nearly ran into someone.
She
looked up and let out a relieved sigh as she took in her friend Caleb Parker
slouching by the vending machine, hands shoved in the back pockets of his
jeans.
Thank God for a friendly face.
“Hey, Kel.
What’s with the frown?” he asked, moving forward
to tap buttons and deposit a dollar and some coins.
Out came a candy bar and he
flashed a grin as he tore off the wrapper.
The guy could make anything sexy,
including taking a giant bite of chocolate and nuts.
Cale and his best friend Tony never failed to coax a laugh
out of her.
She’d eaten lunch with Cale today and the entire time he’d had her
in stitches.
He worked third shift stock and always had some story to regale
her with.
His favorite brand of stories involved sex, something he’d had more
than his fair share of from all accounts.
He didn’t brag exactly, but he also
made it pretty clear he knew what he was doing behind closed doors.
In a perfect world, she would’ve wanted him and not her
boss.
He was single.
Hot as hell.
And not for her.
“Me frown?
No way.” She grinned and rapped her knuckles on
the vending machine.
“But I wouldn’t turn down some chocolate.”
He bought her a candy bar and cocked his head toward
Spencer’s office.
“Saw you go in there with the big boss man.
Something up?”
“No.
Nothing.”
“Sure about that?”
He’d long ago told her he suspected she had a crush on
Spencer, which she’d resoundingly denied.
But every now and then, he leaped
back on the bandwagon.
“I’m sure.” She tucked the chocolate bar in the pocket of
her cargo pants.
She’d need the boost later.
“Gotta get back on the floor.
Thanks for the pick-me-up.”
She glanced at her watch as she headed toward the ladies’
room.
One more hour and she was outta there.
Her best friend, Alana MacGregor,
was visiting from Virginia and wanted her to come check out a sexy new club.
Though she didn’t usually go out during the week, this seemed like a good night
to break routine.
She’d go hang out with Alana for a couple of hours, drink a
couple fruity drinks and be in bed long before midnight.
Her shift started at
six and she was never late to work.
She’d be there bright and early like
always, but tonight she’d have a little fun.
Chapter Two
The slim woman reclines on the loveseat, her pale knees
drawn up in front of her.
Her jean skirt rides up high and toes with nails done
in frosted pink press against the opposite arm of the loveseat.
She has long,
long legs, the kind a man can never forget once he’s seen them bare almost to
the hip.
And though her tangle of blondish-brown hair covers part of her face,
there can be no denying which of his employees had her hand between her
luscious thighs.
Each flick of her delicately strong fingers incites a
moan.
She trembles, catches herself and briefly gains control.
Almost
immediately she’s teetering on that razor-sharp precipice again.
His name
passes her lips, echoing in the silence of the office.
“Spencer.”
Spencer leaned back in his desk chair and hit pause on the
video, his finger shaking.
She hadn’t come yet.
He refused to let himself watch
that much.
Not until more of the employees had left and he could be alone.
He’d watched this video countless times.
Jerked off to it
almost as many, but only while in the privacy of his own home.
He wasn’t bold
enough to masturbate at work, even if he did have his own office.
Even if
she’d
masturbated in it first.
He sucked in a breath and dislodged the disc from his
computer, palming it securely before slipping it into his briefcase.
Tonight
wasn’t the night for this.
He hadn’t intended to watch it but he’d been pulled
to her, drawn as always to the little glimpse she’d given him of the real woman
behind the carefree tease and the workaholic manager devoted to the store.
One.
She’d give him just one glimpse, after he’d neglected
to lock his office on the night he’d agreed to test a new security camera
system.
He’d delayed making a decision on the video camera and kept it running
for weeks after, just in case she returned.
He’d even left his door unlocked,
despite the sensitive data he normally kept under lock and key.
He never took
chances, even though his file cabinet locked and his computer required a
password.
But he’d risked a leak in the hopes of luring her back to the scene
of her very sexy crime.
She hadn’t fallen for the bait.
Now he’d been given new bait
altogether.
He picked up the purple PDA lying in the center of his
blotter.
Someone had left it there, with an incriminating list on-screen once
he’d awakened it from screensaver mode.
Whether the culprit was the woman who’d
gotten off so spectacularly on his loveseat or someone who wanted to cause her
trouble, he didn’t know.
But he would find out.
The door opened and his sister strolled in, her blonde hair
carefully tousled around her face.
“What’s up, Spence?”
“Shut the door.”
Marcia did as he asked and turned back with a yawn.
Probably
keeping too many late nights, as usual.
“What’s going on?”
He held up the PDA, his gaze trained on her face.
Watching
for any change.
“Know anything about this?”
“It’s a PDA.
An old one, looks like.”
“And?”
“And what?
I don’t have time for your games.”
She sounded entirely too evasive for his taste.
If there was
trouble, Marcia Galvin Daly could often be found at the root of it.
“Have you
seen it before?”
“Maybe.” She shrugged and examined her manicure.
Flawless as
always, he had no doubt.
“Could be Kelly’s.”
Spencer leaned back in his chair and tapped the thumb of his
free hand on the edge of the blotter.
“You’re telling me you don’t know
anything about why this was on my desk.”
“Why would I?” She strolled over to the window, her manner
suspiciously relaxed.
He swiveled to look at her and tried to keep his temper in
check.
She didn’t know of his…interest in Kelly.
He’d done his best to ignore
it.
To pretend he didn’t pay attention every time she bent to locate a book for
a customer.
To deny he cared when she flirted with Cale or Tony or one of the
other guys.
But especially, to suppress his urge to follow her home some night
and watch her go through her nightly routine.
Right up to when she undressed
for bed and slipped beneath the sheets, her naked, supple body brushing against
cool cotton…
That was before he’d been on the receiving end of the
one-two punch of her solo love session in his office and now, a list on her PDA
of men she wanted to fuck.
Maybe she
had
fucked most of them already for
all he knew.
And this To Do list included
his
name.
At the bottom.
Number ten.
She’d touched herself and writhed
against the damn loveseat he’d bought at Marcia’s request, in anticipation of
her taking over his office.
But when it came to men she found desirable, Kelly
had listed him dead last.
What the hell was up with that?
Assuming she’d written the list at all.
It could be a prank,
some sort of weird joke.
He’d heard way too much conversation in the hall
outside his office today.
Every time he’d gone into the store, everyone had
smiled and been friendly as pie.
Even Kelly.
Especially
Kelly.
So was she in on the scam?
Or had someone decided to create
some havoc after nosing into her personal files?
Who would come up with a sex
list anyway?
She would.
At his silence, Marcia turned around.
“What’s the big deal
about Kelly’s PDA?
Just give it back to her.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Rather than argue, he took another chance—he was racking
them up—and handed it to her.
With an eyebrow arched, she read the list and
then glanced back at him.
“So I’m supposed to be surprised she wants you?” She
smirked.
“You’re not
too
ugly.”
“How about that she has a list like that to begin with?”
She shrugged.
“Maybe she got drunk one night and decided to
get really honest.”
“You’ve been drunk plenty of times.
Ever done something like
that?” He shook his head and held up a hand.
“Never mind.
You do enough sober
that I’d rather not know.”
“Low blow, little brother.” She returned Kelly’s PDA and he
dropped it in his drawer.
He’d seen the thing enough.
Didn’t matter.
The list
might as well have been surgically implanted on his brain.
His brows lifted as Marcia poked at the loveseat cushions.
“What are you doing?”
“Looking for the wet spot.” Grinning, she bypassed the
cushions altogether and sat on the padded arm.
“Since this little slice of
heaven is going to be all mine soon, I’m not about to let you ruin my new
furniture with your indiscretions.”
He snorted and closed one of the many files he had open on
his computer.
Who was he kidding?
All work ceased when his blonde bombshell of
a sister sashayed into the room.
“No wet spot.
No indiscretions.
You really do
have an overactive imagination.
Been hanging out in the romance section again?”
“I prefer doing to reading, thank you very much.” She
crossed her legs and her skirt crept toward indecency.
“Normally I wouldn’t
encourage you to fuck the staff, but why not go for it?”
“Since when do you care about my sex life?
Or Kelly’s?”
She shrugged and dragged her fingers through her hair.
“She’s a friend.
Of course I care.”
“Uh huh.” Spencer wheeled his chair around to face her.
“Your
altruism wouldn’t have anything to do with keeping Kelly occupied and far away
from Tony, would it?”
Tony Griggs was the night manager.
More importantly, he was
Marcia’s on-again, off-again, on-yet-again, much younger lover.
The two of them
regularly generated more sparks than a fireworks display.
At least half those
sparks were from fury, jealousy and their many ugly stepsisters.
Sort of reminded him of another couple he knew.
Except fury
wasn’t exactly the emotion that sprang up most often between him and Kelly.
He
deliberately kept things cooler than that.
Most of the time they remained civil
when they disagreed during staff meetings.
They just saw things from opposite
sides of the table.
He preferred to embrace and enhance tradition.
She was all
about chasing the future.
Except when it came to the beat-up, antiquated PDA in his
top desk drawer.
Apparently she didn’t practice what she preached.
He certainly wasn’t the jealous type.
Nope, he didn’t mind
that she was screwing guys and keeping a written record of her conquests.
Or
her possible fuckees, whichever applied.
Women’s lib was great.
Rah-rah.
“I’m secure in my relationship.”
“Sure you are.
That’s why if your skirts get any shorter
you’ll be belting your underwear.”
To his surprise, his sister actually flushed.
He hadn’t seen
her look embarrassed since college, if not longer.
“Maybe if you’d stop paying
so much attention to me and Tony, you’d notice Kelly wiggling at the sight of
you.”
“Wiggling.” He tapped his fingers on the blotter and
contemplated the forty things left on
his
To Do list.
He’d planned on
staying late tonight to compensate for his trip to Virginia next week but he’d
lost all interest in work.
A rarity for him but stranger things had happened.
Today’s winner had to be ranking dead last on Kelly’s sex list.
How many of those clowns had she already slept with?
He’d
seen strange little symbols by most of the names—though not by his—but he’d
hardly had time to investigate.
Tomorrow, number one on his agenda was making
sure his employees knew he wouldn’t tolerate any nonsense in his stores.
Jokes,
pranks, gossip.
None of it.
Masturbating in the boss’s office, on the other hand…
He rubbed his forehead.
Soon she’d discover her PDA had gone
missing.
If he wasn’t such a dickhead, he’d go out and hand it over first.
Dickhead was running the bases and sliding toward home.
“Earth to Spencer.” Marcia snapped her fingers.
“Damn, she
has you rattled.”
“I don’t get rattled.” Turning back to his computer, he shut
down the P&Ls he’d been neck-deep in before he’d made the mistake of taking
a lunch break.
When he’d returned, a ticking time bomb had been waiting for him
on his desk.
How could profit and l
oss statements
ever compare with the sexy brunette he’d had enough trouble keeping his mind
off even before he’d known his fascination wasn’t one-sided?
They couldn’t.
Apparently he wasn’t only a dickhead because he hadn’t
returned her personal property, he was also an insensitive prick because first
chance he got he was going to decipher Kelly’s damn code.
Then again, maybe
he’d rather not know.
Marcia cocked her head, narrowing her eyes.
“Normally, no.
But I caught you checking her out yesterday.
Actually I’ve caught you checking
her out a bunch of times.
You’re into her too, huh?”
When he didn’t answer, she blew out a breath.
“No reason not
to let loose a little.
Easy enough to fuck and duck when the deed’s done.
She
can cross another name off her list—gotta say, she’s one ballsy babe—and you’ll
stop looking so damn constricted.” She grinned.
“Besides, you’ll be leaving
soon anyway.”
“Mind keeping your voice down?”
“About the fucking or the leaving?”
“Both.”
She shrugged.
“Some of those guys are sexy, gotta admit.
Kelly does have taste.
But Aaron Myles?
No way.
He was a few years behind me in
high school.
He’s almost as old as you.”
“Having fun?” he asked pleasantly, forcing the grimace just
aching to form on his face to stay hidden.
“Just because you like them young
enough to need help getting on a condom doesn’t mean youth is better.
Maybe
Kelly appreciates experience.”