Provocative Attraction

by Altonya Washington

  Viva had nothing against fierce footwear, but filming could last several weeks and hours on end each day. Flouncing around in stilts for much of that time wasn’t her idea of a fun work environment. With a resolved, albeit grim smile, Viva slipped into a pair of the intimidating pumps, bracing herself on the boxy arms of the chair she occupied before standing.

  Though pumps were familiar staples of her wardrobe, she did exercise a fair amount of discernment when it came to the potential for breaking her behind all in the name of fashion.

  “Anyway...” she groaned, taking a tentative step. “For the fans...”

  The shoes were to die for, she thought. Pink satin inlaid on white leather straps that crossed over the top of the shoe. The material seemed to glimmer when it captured the light.

  Despite the killer height, the shoes felt remarkably comfortable. Viva didn’t know if it was her familiarity with heels or that the shoes really were that comfortable, but walking instead of teetering proved more possible than she’d guessed. She could only hope the other stems in the shipment would be just as forgiving.

  She was rummaging through the box, trying to decide which pair to try on next, when the entertainment segment of the twenty-four-hour news channel segued in. Her mouth fell open when she heard the name Reynolds Henry. She listened as the broadcaster repeated the headline.

  The actor, who had faded into obscurity following a flash of fame and promise, had been found dead in his West Hollywood apartment of an apparent prescription-drug overdose. The broadcaster went on to present a brief montage chronicling Henry’s troubled life.

  Viva conjured an image of the lanky, blond actor whose biting wit and outspokenness had made him a fan favorite for a time. Her sympathies went out to him and the tragic path his life had taken. She knew that at one point or another, most actors’ lives veered along similar stretches. More often than not, those stretches led to ends that mirrored Reynolds Henry’s.

  Viva had been among the thankful ones who’d managed to overcome the pitfalls and detours that could’ve made her life hell. Nevertheless, pitfalls and detours had not completely eluded her.

  She’d made her own share of mistakes similar to the ones the TV broadcaster presented with such fervor in relation to Henry. She’d made those unfortunate decisions back in the early days, of her own accord. Though she’d certainly been well counseled on the dark situations and shady characters she’d encounter in the life she was seeking, she hadn’t listened, hadn’t wanted to and had feverishly rebelled against the truths her parents had dished her way. The truths Rook had dished her way...

  What would he say if he knew of those mistakes? How would he react to seeing her unfortunate acts broadcasted on a TV screen? She wondered. How would he react were she to tell him?

  Grimacing, Viva shook off the possibility. Did they have a chance? A new chance now in this recent turn of events? Did he miss her the way she missed him, or was his acceptance of Sophia’s request to look out for her just him doing the right thing? Something that seemed to come so easily to him.

  Was it as simple as all that? If not...then did she stand any chance at all of recapturing his heart—his love—if she revealed all to him? Hell, was that even necessary? It was the past—one she had no desire to revisit.

  “Stop, V,” she told herself, grimacing anew while tapping her nails to her temples. There was no need to torture herself. Best to leave things as they were.

  Sophia’s case would be closed soon enough. Murray would be dealt with one way or another and she’d be back to her life. Rook would carry on with his. And old truths? Old truths were best left where time had placed them. In the past.

  It was foolish for her to even hope for anything fresh between her and Rook. She could accept that.

  The bell sounded and she celebrated the intrusion while heading for the door. Seconds after pulling it open, all aspects of her pep talk fled from memory.

  Rook stood in the hall.

  Chapter 6

  “Bad time?” Rook wanted to be the first to break the awkward silence.

  “No,” Viva said once she’d given herself an inward kick to hasten speech.

  “You’re sure?” He let his amber eyes drift down over her form-fitting black capri yoga pants to the chic high-heeled sandals that showcased her pedicure.

  Viva followed the trail of his gaze and winced when discovery bloomed. “Leesi’s going undercover,” she said, citing the name of her on-screen character, Leesi Errol.

  Rook grinned. “Looks like she’s gonna be having a good time.”

  “The camera will make it look that way, but my feet are sure to be screaming the entire season.”

  “And yet you’re using your free time to play around in them.”

  “Hardly.” Viva waved Rook inside. “I gotta practice if I want to look authentic in these things.”

  Rook watched as she closed the door, approval no doubt lurking in his eyes. “I thought strolling around in those things would be like second nature to you.”

  “Well, I love heels.” Viva gave the shoes a skeptical look. “Stilts are another matter altogether.” She looked up in time to consider Rook’s stare. “Is there a problem?”

  “No problem at all.” Rook’s stare remained fixed.

  Hoping for a change in subject, Viva motioned toward the TV. “Sounds like it’s getting chillier out there. Can I get you some coffee? Sophia always makes way more than she can drink.”

  “Sounds good.” Rook glanced over his shoulder. “Is she here?”

  “She said she was heading to the precinct before going to her office. You could probably still catch her there if you came to see her.”

  “Actually, it’s you I came to see.”

  Viva noticed the gold envelope he carried.

  “Our boarding passes.” He handed her the envelope. “I’m taking for granted that your passport’s up to date?”

  Viva laughed, accepting the packet. “That’s an understatement. Yeah, I’m good there.”

  Rook nodded, his eyes resuming their provocative trek up her body. He could’ve easily emailed her the flight info, but was quite pleased with himself then for making the decision to come see her in person.

  “Oh! The coffee.” Viva hurried to the kitchen, teetering a bit on the towering heels. “Do you still take it with sugar and all that cream?”

  “That’s right.” He followed her into the kitchen where he relaxed against the doorway to enjoy watching her move around.

  Even in the heels, she still had trouble reaching the larger mugs on the uppermost shelf of the cabinet above the coffeemaker.

  Pushing off the doorway, Rook went to help her at the cabinet. Cupping her hip, he urged her to still while he grabbed two mugs.

  “Thanks,” she said when he handed them to her. “I could’ve probably used more of this coffee last night instead of all the wine. I know I made a fool of myself. I just can’t remember how much of a fool.”

  “That’s funny,” Rook said, maintaining his stance behind her. “I can’t recall you making a fool of yourself either.” Dipping his head, he inhaled the airy fragrance following her.

  Viva turned then, searching his startling eyes with her own. “If you weren’t a stronger man, you’d have woken up in my bed this morning.”

  “A stronger man...” He massaged the bridge of his nose as if suddenly weary. “A stronger man wouldn’t have let you go in the first place.” He stepped back, blinking as he suddenly noticed what he’d said. Additionally, he took note of how close he was to touching her—really touching her. Touching her the way he thought of whenever she crossed his mind, which was most days and every night.

  With Olympian willpower, Rook stepped back. “I didn’t come to interrupt you here, only to bring stuff for the trip.”

  “But—” Vi
va looked to the counter space “—your coffee.”

  “I shouldn’t stay, V.”

  “Rook.” She caught his wrist and squeezed. “If you insist on taking me with you to Italy, we’re gonna be together most days, you know? No time like the present to see if we can handle—” She wasn’t given the chance to finish the thought.

  Rook had sudden possession of her mouth. The pressure was unforgiving, with a famished intensity, as if he were starving for her. Viva clung to him, her fingers half-curled into the fabric of his shirt. The height of the sandals put her just under his eye level and she could feel the breadth of his broad frame flush against her.

  The kiss all but rendered Viva’s hands useless, but not so for Rook. His roamed her body with all the familiarity of a skilled and patient lover. He cupped her generous bottom that was appealingly outlined in her snug pants. In the midst of squeezing, he lifted her until he was snug in the V of her thighs.

  Viva couldn’t deny the moan pressing for release inside her throat. With a subtle urgency to her moves, she worked herself nearer to him in search of heightened sensation.

  Rook applied another decisive squeeze to Viva’s bottom before he set her atop the counter. Viva’s response was to link her shapely calves around his waist in order to keep him close.

  She could feel him shifting into retreat mode and she wasn’t ready to lose him yet, to lose him again...

  Rook eased back, paying more attention to the drill-sergeant-like voice inside his head. The gruff voice warned against him being a slave to his hormones. Just the same, he teetered on the ragged edge of losing what ability he had to resist her when she loosed one of the sweet moans that stroked his ego like mink to the skin.

  “V...” He meant for the murmur to evoke precaution. Instead, it held desire in a viselike grip.

  Viva eased up from the counter to fuse herself against him. Her breasts crushed into his chest with every effort she made to breathe.

  “V...” Rook reached deeper that time, seeking just an ounce of his evasive willpower. He swore he’d hold on to it for dear life once he found it. Hands firm on her waist, he set her back on the countertop and put his forehead to hers.

  “I’d say we’re even,” he panted.

  “Not—not really.” Viva offered up a breathy laugh. “I at least had the decency to set my love scene in the bedroom.”

  Light laughter surged for Rook then too, but the gesture was brief. “I should go, V.”

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  “You should.” He indulged in another whiff of the melon fragrance that clung to her skin and hair. “This isn’t what we need.”

  “It is.” She moved her brow against his cheek. “We need this and more.” In spite of that, she decided to bite the bullet she’d dodged since the party. “We should also talk, Rook. Really talk.”

  “That’s not a good idea.”

  The blunt refusal had her blinking in surprise and confusion.

  “It’s not a good idea for me.” He put distance between them then.

  Her confusion mounted, but it seemed Rook had exhausted his explanations.

  “I’ll be here a couple of hours before our flight leaves,” he said and left her alone in the kitchen.

  * * *

  Elias Joss studied two of his four best friends in the world. His vivid blue-green stare was discerning in its steadiness.

  “Did he say what this was about?” Eli asked.

  “No,” Linus said, and idly clinked salt and pepper shakers together, “but my guess is on Viva.”

  Elias nodded along with Tigo. The men had waited, at Rook’s request, in a local bar and grill not far from the downtown headquarters of Joss Construction. The business had been established by Eli’s father and was now jointly run between Eli, Santigo and Linus.

  The guys didn’t have long to wait. Rook arrived about ten minutes after their scheduled meeting time. Following handshakes, hugs, and the placing of food and drink orders, Rook got to the purpose of the gathering.

  “She wants to talk,” he said in a flat tone and watched his friends trade curious looks.

  “Well...” Eli began a slow finger tap against the checkerboard tablecloth. “You know, um, that’s a female thing. They...they like to talk. Come to think of it, it’s a people thing...”

  Laughter gained volume until it carried on a lively chord around the table.

  Linus patted Rook’s shoulder. “What’s up, man? Talk to us.”

  Rook waited for the server to leave their drink orders. He appreciated the few additional moments to get his thoughts together. He needed them.

  “I don’t want to talk to her—not about what went wrong between us.”

  “What’s changed, man?” Linus’s concern was apparent.

  “It’s already too much. I can feel it.”

  At Rook’s solemn admission, Tigo and Eli traded knowing looks.

  “Are you sure you want us here, man?” Eli asked.

  “I’m positive.” Rook passed Eli a grateful smile. “I hoped seeing you guys—how happy you are...” He looked to Tigo and then shook his head while massaging the bunched muscles at his nape. “I thought it might change my mind about not wanting to fix things.”

  “Why wouldn’t you want to fix things?” Linus asked.

  “We’re leaving, um...” Rook traded the neck massage for one that drove his thumb into the center of his palm. “I’m taking her with me on this trip. We’ll be alone together for weeks.”

  “I see...and being together alone is so not the perfect time to talk and fix what’s screwed up between you.”

  Linus’s blatant sarcasm drew smiles from everyone, even Rook.

  “We’ll be alone,” Rook reminded his friend once the laughter had eased.

  “You wouldn’t hurt her.”

  “I know that.” Rook confirmed Linus’s words without hesitation. “But talking about it...she’ll see what it took me through and I...”

  “You’ll be stuck there,” Eli guessed, “with no place to hide how she hurt you when she left.”

  “Exactly.” Rook’s grin was sly when it emerged. “Only she didn’t leave—I did. She didn’t want us to be over. She only wanted to go after what she’d been working for. It was me who all but said if she left we were done. I was the one who put that nail in our coffin.”

  “So tell her that,” Tigo urged.

  “And then what?” Rook countered, resting his hands palms up on the big, sturdy table. “Watch her go back to her life when all this is done?”

  “She might not want that,” Linus said.

  Rook’s grin meshed with laughter. “I’m about to relocate out of the country, remember? She’s just reconnecting with her family. How’s all this supposed to work?”

  “You’re grabbing at excuses,” Eli warned.

  “You’re right.” Rook took a moment to mop his face with his palms. “If I tell V all this and I still don’t get her back...” He looked to Linus. “It’ll be worse than before. I don’t want to think about what happens if I can’t come back from it. She’s already blaming herself—I could see it in her eyes when she said she wanted to talk.” He sipped the locally brewed beer he’d ordered.

  “Us talking,” he continued, “me coming clean about what I went through, what anger did to me...she’ll think it was her fault no matter how much I tell her it wasn’t.”

  “So don’t take her with you,” Tigo blurted. “Between all of us and that warrior squad you’ve got at L Sec, we can keep her safe until Soap’s case is closed and she’s out of the woods.” He reached across the table, squeezed Rook’s wrist. “Go talk to her, spill all this and give her time to deal with it around here with her folks. You go handle your business in Italy. Get all this old drama off your chest and go find out what it fee
ls like to live out from under the weight of it.”

  Shrugging, Tigo reached for his beer mug and raised it in toast. “Come back here with a new perspective. At the very least, you’ll have slayed a demon that’s been riding your back for way too long.”

  There was silence following Tigo’s words. After a moment, Eli clapped a hand to his friend’s back.

  “I swear he’s gotten smarter since he’s gotten Sophia back by his side where she belongs,” Eli teased and joined in when laughter followed.

  “Sounds like a damn good plan to me,” Linus added.

  “It does.” Relaxing back in his chair, Rook fixed his friends with an easy smile.

  * * *

  “We could’ve waited another day or two to do this, you know? You and Rook aren’t leaving until—”

  “No, Soap, I needed to get this out while I still had my nerve.” Viva added a shaky laugh. “Thanks for letting me be involved in this.”

  “I know it’s got to be hard talking about such sticky stuff regarding someone who gave you your big break,” Sophia said as she squeezed her sister’s arm.

  Viva nodded. “Whatever Murray’s into needs to come to an end. It’s probably weird, but in a way, maybe I’m helping him.” She snorted a laugh.

  Sophia joined in. “Sounds perfectly sane to me.”

  Viva sent her sister a skeptical look. “You sure you want to be using the term ‘perfectly sane’ and my name in the same sentence?”

  “I think we’re safe.” Sophia left the conference table in her office to top off her coffee and get more hot water for Viva’s tea. “You think you’ll hear from Murray again?” she asked.

  “Not sure.” Viva blew at a coiled lock dangling across her brow. “He sounded pretty resolved when we talked.”

  “I see.” Sophia prepped her coffee and added hot water to a new mug for Viva. “Guess that’ll leave lots of time for you and Rook to talk, huh?”