The woman was fine, no question about it. She was five or six inches over five feet, and she wore those CFM’s all the time. They brought her height up to a very respectable level. She was slender and toned, and the picture of her calf muscles was still in his head from a few moments before. Her hair was long and blonde and came half way down her back, and her face could stop traffic.
She was a femme fatale. A siren. A vamp, a witch. His gut was tied in knots, and there was no way in hell he was moving on with his life before the ink was dried on this deal. He was going to screw her, and the only question was when.
****
A week later, Renee thought she was quietly going insane. The first five weeks of this job had been bad, but the last week had been agony. Her boss snapped at her constantly. He told her she was late when she wasn’t. He complained that her work was sloppy, when she knew it was impeccable.
If she didn’t need the extra money and benefits so badly, she would have quit and gone back to her old position. They still wanted her. Her old boss called her like clockwork every Monday morning to check up on her and tell her that her job was still hers if she wanted it.
It was a safety net in a highly volatile situation. Things had gotten so bad here that on Monday she had actually hinted to her old boss that it might not be working out. It probably wasn’t fair to keep them hanging, but a girl had to think of herself first. God knows she didn’t have anybody else to take care of her. Her daughter, Brittany, was in her first year at LSU. College was expensive. Thank goodness, her kid was smart and had won a TOPS award from the state for tuition. But room and board were killing her! Brittany wanted the full college experience and that included living on campus. Renee wanted her to have it since she deserved it for all her hard work, and Renee didn’t want her to miss out on what she herself had never gotten to have.
Getting pregnant and having her daughter before the age of twenty had been rough, and the small amount of child support she had received from her ex-husband had been sporadic at best. It had completely dried up the day Brittany graduated from high school. They were on their own now.
Renee heard the click of a door and looked up into the menacing face of Robert Thibodeaux. His impact on her senses was no less disturbing than the first day she met him.
Scratch that. At least then, she thought there was the barrier of a wife to separate them. Now she knew better. She felt like she was tiptoeing around an explosive keg of dynamite.
He stood in the threshold leading to his office, holding a coffee cup in his hand. “What do you call this?” His words were insolent.
“Coffee?” This was how their conversations had gone for the last week. Biting questions. Hesitant, respectful replies. She was handling the situation the only way she knew how. Forty-eight more days. Forty-eight more days. She would beat him at this. But Christ, if she made it through her ninety days, is this how her working life would be? Sidestepping him, trying to ignore the fact he wanted to sleep with her? If she wasn’t sure about that before, the night at the Ninth Street Wine Grotto had underlined the fact. He wanted her. But his arrogance was over the top. Was he always such a dick? Or was it just her? She never heard him being anything less than respectful to Mrs. Argenot. What the hell was she setting herself up for? Fighting his lust? Fighting hers?
“How long have you lived in Louisiana?” The scathing question came back and hit her.
Where was this going?
“All my life.” She couldn’t suppress a small shudder as tension gripped her.
“Obviously you haven’t figured out we like our coffee strong. This tastes like water.” He walked over to his private restroom and she watched through the open door as he poured the liquid down the sink. He left the cup there and turned around and came back to her.
He put both hands flat on her desk and leaned over toward her. His size was meant to intimidate. “I know this is going to be difficult for you, but do you think you could possibly learn how to make a decent cup of coffee?”
“Y-yes, sir. I’ll t-try again.” He was so close Renee could smell the hot blend of male muskiness and aggression radiating from him in tangible waves. What the hell was wrong with her that she was so attracted to him? He was an asshole. An impossibly good-looking asshole. Her eyes ran over him. Six feet, four inches of seething testosterone stood over her. He rarely wore a business suit, preferring jeans and casual short sleeve button downs. The tails of his shirt hung over the waistband of his jeans in a disheveled style. He looked and dressed exactly like the man she knew him to be. A blue-collar worker with astute intelligence and a keen sense of business who had taken risks and struck it rich. Renee knew his story. Mrs. Argenot was as proud of him as she would have been of her own son.
Her eyes continued to catalog his good looks. His hair was thick and dark, and badly in need of a trim. The thick wisps of hair falling against his forehead did nothing to detract from his masculinity. They only highlighted a face pulsing with intensity. A face that radiated power and an inherent ruthlessness. His eyes were dark, a chocolate brown with grey irises that glittered whenever they fell on her. His nose dominated his features in a blatantly male way. His mouth was generous, twin grooves bracketing his lips. She pushed her chair back an inch but continued to sit and watch him in agitation.
“What are you waiting for? Permission?” he barked at her.
Renee’s body jerked from the impact as his voice lacerated her nerves. Forty-eight more days. She stood up and sidestepped away from him toward the coffee bar. He turned and followed her and stood watching, his hands fisted at his sides. Her fingers shook as she made coffee by rote. She stood with her back toward him while the machine perked.
Robert saw the steel in the slim line of her back and his fisted hands clenched involuntarily. He had to physically stop himself from reaching out and touching her. It had been like this for every hour of the forty-two godforsaken days she had worked for him.
His life until forty-two days ago had been smooth, on an even keel. He worked hard building custom homes and office buildings, and made a lot of money doing it. He lived alone, the way he liked it, and by necessity usually had a woman in the background.
Unfortunately, he had been forced to get rid of the current woman in his bed when she began making impossible demands. Which made this situation all the more volatile, because he didn’t have a ready outlet for all the fucking testosterone building up inside of him.
And Renee Guillot was more potent than most women. She was fucking with him from every angle.
Renee felt his eyes on her back like a physical touch. Her hands shook as she poured coffee from the carafe into a clean cup. The betraying tremor upset her more than anything. Slowly she turned and faced him and started to hand him the cup. Her nervousness increased and the hot liquid spilled over onto her hand. She let out a small shriek of pain, and the coffee started wobbling more.
“Fuck.” Robert reached out and took the cup from her and placed it on the counter. Turning her around, he reached over and turned the cold water on and picked up her hand and held it under the running water.
Renee felt assaulted on all fronts. Her hand was burning from the hot liquid, and Robert was crowding her from behind, his arms wrapped completely around her as he held her hand still under the flow of cold water.
She began shaking more violently.
“Jesus Christ, calm down. You’re okay. It can’t have hurt that bad.” Robert snaked one arm all the way around her waist and pulled her back into him. It didn’t help and the shaking continued.
Lust hit Robert all at once as he inhaled her scent and felt her body warm and soft against his. The picture of her spread out on his bed assailed his senses. His grip tightened on her.
He came back to awareness as he felt her pulling away.
Renee turned off the water and moved back from him. She picked up a dishcloth to steady her nerves and wiped her wet hand. She turned to face him and straightened her shoulders.
S
he motioned to the coffee. “Try it.” She took a deep breath and crossed her arms protectively in front of herself.
He picked up the coffee, took a sip and grunted. “Better. I knew you could learn.” He gave her one, all encompassing glare and walked back to his office.
Renee slowly let out the breath she had been holding.
The coffee was exactly the same as the first time she made it.
Chapter Two
Tuesday at mid-afternoon, Mrs. Argenot walked out of Robert’s office with her arms full. “I’m going to the courthouse, Renee. I’ve got to get this application for permit filed, and pick up a copy of the plat map for La Fourche parish. After that, I’ll be at the appraisal district. You’re going to have to hold down the fort for the rest of the day.”
“No problem. There’s not much on this afternoon’s itinerary except for a three o’clock with Cameron Industrial Supplies. Everything else is business as usual. Be careful out there.”
Renee really liked the older woman. She was business first with a soft outer maternal coating. She was a pleasure to work with on a day to day basis.
Mrs. Argenot paused on her way out the door with a calculating look. “Oh, that James Cameron! You haven’t met him yet, have you? We’ve already built two warehouses for him. This consultation is only customary. We’ll get the bid.” She lowered her voice. “He’s a nice man, Renee. He’s single, dear. Pays his bills in thirty days. And so nice looking. You’ll have to tell me what you think tomorrow.”
The older woman gave her a conspiratorial smile and breezed out of the office.
****
At three o’clock, Renee glanced up from the paperwork in front of her to the man that walked in from outside. She immediately saw what Mrs. Argenot meant. The man was tall and broad and very nice looking, if a bit young. He had brown hair with streaks of gold running through it. Renee immediately pushed the comparison to dark, steely strength from her mind and focused on her job.
“You must be Mr. Cameron.” Renee gave him her friendliest smile.
“And you must be the new secretary Mrs. Argenot has been raving on and on about.” He walked across the room and extended his hand toward her.
Renee heard a subtle click in the background as she stood and gave him her hand. “Yes. I’m Renee Guillot.” Renee held her smile as the man continued to hold onto her hand.
“Call me James, please. We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other. Now that I’ve seen you, I don’t think I’m going to waste my time with getting other bids.” Renee felt his grip tighten and subtly caress her hand. If her brain hadn’t been completely absorbed with Robert Thibodeaux, she knew she would have found the touch very pleasant.
James broke eye contact with her at a sound from across the room.
Robert stood scowling in the doorway of his office. Renee felt the provocative effect he had on her every time she was in his presence.
He took his time watching them. Tension gripped Renee. Finally he spoke.
“Cameron. Good to see you. If you can let go of my secretary long enough, maybe we can do some business.”
James slowly let go of her hand and followed Robert into his office.
****
Almost two hours later, Renee was clearing her desk for the day when the two men came out of the meeting. They shook hands and James Cameron looked her way, nodded, and left the building.
Robert stood with his arms crossed, glaring at her. Her heartbeat accelerated as he came prowling toward her. He crossed behind her desk to where she sat and lowered his hands to the arms of her chair and caged her in.
Her breathing went haywire. Her eyes were riveted on him.
“Don’t flirt with my clients again.” His words were sharp, punctuated.
Renee sucked in a breath and began shaking her head in denial. Forty-seven more days. “I didn’t—”
“Bullshit. I saw you. I don’t need your help getting the business. You just do your work and keep those sweet little smiles to yourself.” His arms tightened on the chair until his hands turned white. Anger radiated from him. He was too pissed for her to try to reason with.
She nodded her head in agreement.
****
Robert stood under the stream of icy cold water and tried to contain the primal emotions running through him. It had come too damn close today. That mother fucker Cameron looking at her like he was measuring her for his bed. The smile she had given him in return. And the possession and lust that coursed through his body when she sat so still in his arms.
He was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. He needed a woman in his bed. Needed one tonight.
But only one would do. And he couldn’t have her yet.
The waiting was going to make him snap and do something stupid.
With a steady stream of cuss words, he flipped the water to hot and reached his soapy hand down and did what he had to do so he would have enough control to face her the next day.
Chapter Three
The rest of the week crawled by in slow motion for Renee. Friday morning, she found herself questioning more and more why she continued to live on this tightrope. This job had good pay and benefits, but it didn’t stand between her and starvation. Especially after the conversation she had with her daughter the night before.
She was curled up watching an old movie trying to take her mind off the menacing image of Robert Thibodeaux when her cell phone rang. Her daughter’s picture blinked, and her own special ringtone filled the air. “Hey, baby. How are you?”
“Mom. Guess what?” Brittany barely paused before continuing in an upbeat voice. “I got an R.A. position!” Her young voice was enthusiastic.
Renee didn’t know what that meant, but could tell it must be good. “Great, baby. What’s an R.A.?”
Brittany answered in a rush of sentences. “It’s a resident advisor. I’m really young to get it only going into my second year. But I must have been impressive because I didn’t even have to come back for a second interview. Mrs. Cobb, the lady in charge of resident life, looked at my application and resume and hired me on the spot.”
“Hired you for what? What is resident life?” Renee was happy for her daughter, but didn’t want her burdened with a job. She needed to keep her grades up, so the scholarship money would keep coming in.
“It means I’ll continue to live in the freshmen dorms next year, and be kind of like a big sister. Kids will come to me with problems, or just questions and I help them out. Of course, I’m supposed to report any alcohol or drug use or stuff like that, but I don’t think that’s going to be much of an issue because I haven’t run into anything like that this year. Well, not in the freshmen dorms, anyway.”
“And they’ll pay you for this?” Renee questioned.
“Well, not really. I just get my room for free. All you have to do is buy me a meal plan next year. And hopefully every year after that.”
Renee felt a huge knot of stress dissolve and relief take its place. “Are you serious? We don’t have to come up with the dorm money? And you don’t actually have to work any extra? You just have to live there and answer questions?”
“Yeah, Mom. That’s basically it. I didn’t want to tell you before I applied for it because I didn’t want you to get your hopes up. But now we can celebrate. Yay!”
Renee thought back over the conversation of the night before and was still amazed at the sense of relief she felt. The financial burden of college was almost non-existent now. She was very lucky to have a smart, responsible daughter. And now she was free to quit her job and leave this hysteria-inducing environment. So why should she stay? It dawned on her all at once the actual choice she had now.
She could quit this job or⦠Or she could quit dancing around him and let him catch her. Sudden images provoked her curiosity. He was absolutely the sexiest man she had ever met in her life. He had been an object of fascination for her since the first time she laid eyes on him.
There was no question he wanted her. She
wasn’t stupid. She knew the signs. He was like a bull with a red flag waving in front of his face. How much would it take to push him over the edge? Could she be so subtle that he never knew what hit him?
She bit her lip and wondered if she should even try.
****
Later that afternoon she got her chance when he came prowling out of his office, looking for the file she was working on. She started out the enticement well enough, but chickened out halfway through.
Handing the file to him, she pushed her chair away from her desk just enough to draw his eyes down to her legs where she slowly crossed them. With a subtle movement, she reached down to her thigh with a hand that trembled and smoothed away an imaginary wrinkle. As his eyes followed her, she lowered her hand to her ankle and slid it back up toward her thigh again, this time going underneath her skirt and dragging it a bare inch above her knee before making a small production of trying to cover her legs.
She lifted her face back to his and froze. His eyes were riveted on her, his nostrils flaring and slashes of red marking his cheekbones.
Robert felt the kick to the guts exactly where she aimed it. The impact of her movements hit him. Her eyes held his for two seconds and then dropped away.
But not fast enough.
The game had just changed.
Lust slammed through him. He reached out and took the pen she held from her fingers. He saw the small gasp she tried to hide. “You think you can possibly win against me, baby?”
Renee felt a quiver of fear slide through her veins. She hadn’t expected him to call her out. She wasn’t ready for this yet. She gritted her teeth and tried to bluff. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t you? You’re a hot little package, but don’t for one minute think you can take me on.” He reached out and grabbed her chin between his fingers and lifted her face. “Trust me. You couldn’t handle the results.”
The Louisiana Liaisons Series Box Set Page 15