Provoked

by Riley Murphy

  “Behave?” She stopped squirming and grumbled, “I’ve just suffered a major trauma to my head. I might not be thinking or acting correctly.”

  Most men she knew would have stopped and asked her if she was okay. At the very least they would have tried to comfort her, by telling her not to worry. This one? He chuckled. Not just any kind of a chuckle either. It was a throaty “that’s a good one” laugh.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You are, tiger. I think it would take more than a smack on your cheek to addle the senses you have.”

  Crap. How was she supposed to argue with that left handed compliment? And why did the feline endearment please her? It wasn’t as if he was talking about her. He was talking about Cat, wasn’t he? That being the case she had no idea what to say or how to react. Did Cat handle nights like this frequently? The thought that she might was an eye opener. Why couldn’t either one of them have it easy? A clear path to capture their dreams and fulfill simple aspirations made more desirable after all that had happened in their lives over the past year. Cat had to be feeling of the same pressure she was. The need to get busy building a life instead of skating through each day waiting for something to happen. Hadn’t they both learned that life was too short to simply react to things around them? But then, look where her taking action had landed them.

  She gathered her resolve and was ready to do whatever it took to get through this. Time to be Cat, and that tiger he assumed her to be. “I’m not kidding about my head, but I can assure you there’s nothing wrong with my feet. Put me down.”

  He completely ignored that command and walked into Maxie’s office, not stopping until he got to one of the two chairs that sat opposite the desk. Then in a rather annoying and somewhat patronizing move, he deposited her in one of the seats. He may as well have patted her on the knee and said, “there, there”. The nerve.

  “If I were you, I’d save the outrage until after Max explains the change of plans.”

  She didn’t like the twinkle in his eyes, and even less the way one corner of his mouth tipped up in amusement. She wanted to ask him who he was, but then maybe Cat should know that already. Best to be evasive. “Oh?”

  “Yeah.” He walked around the desk and sat in the boss’s chair as if he owned the place. He better not own the place. Suddenly dread crept inside her. What if he did? “Max owes me a favor and I’m here to collect.”

  Well, that was a relief. At least he wasn’t an owner or something. She was halfway to letting out a breath, when he said, “You might say, I’ll be doing more favors by collecting on this one.”

  The way his eyes drilled into her made her hot. Bothered. Uncomfortable. She was quickly coming to see this was going to be her new favorite word. “Oh?”

  He grinned and the sight took her breath away. His white teeth flashing against the dark bearded stubble that covered the lower part of his face and chin got her thinking about dirty sex and dark, mysterious men. Like him. He was a handsome, no denying that.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll have a choice.”

  “Only one?”

  He nodded. “If you choose correctly, after that all your choices will be mine.”

  She sat forward. Surely to God she hadn’t heard that correctly. “Come again?”

  “Exactly.” He sat back. “Whether you do that or not, will be up to me as well.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. Was he talking about…? “How dare you.” She moved to get up and leave, but his bark sounded as threatening as a bite.

  “Catherine, sit down.”

  Although she did, she didn’t plan on staying there. Cat would have… What would Cat have done in this situation? It was clear the guy was a Dom so wouldn’t she have respected him? One look at his stern expression and she realized she wasn’t prepared for a situation like this. A man like him. She was supposed to have been sitting in the hole, reading her books and sipping tea. Not getting stared down by a menacing brute who was daring her to disobey him. Why would he do that?

  So he can punish you.

  That thought made her drop her gaze. What had he said before about Maxie rethinking his position on…? She recalled the words disciplinary action and Catherine’s situation. Holy shit on a salty cracker! She looked up. “Is this because of the note I left you? I’m really sorry about that.”

  His eyes never wavered. “I might have let the note go, but I couldn’t ignore your very succinct voicemail message and we both know why, don’t we?”

  No, she wanted to scream. She had no idea what her sister could have said to him to make him show up here and do whatever it was he was planning to do. One look at his stern expression and a few ideas were starting to materialize though. “I’m, ah, sorry about that too.”

  He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sure you are.”

  Hm. Whatever Cat had said must have been bad. Either that or heartfelt apologies didn’t impress him. “Why don’t you tell me the exact parts of my message that bothered you?”

  Now that smile widened, reaching his eyes and causing attractive crinkles to appear at the corners. “No, thank you.”

  That wasn’t an appropriate response. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Yes, you will.”

  And neither was that. “I highly doubt it.”

  “All done. Trash has been taken to the curb. Now, did the two of you figure everything out?” Maxie asked as he came into the room and closed the door.

  “Yes.”

  “No,” she said at the same time holding the Neanderthal’s stare. Too afraid to look away for fear she’d miss any clues to what made this man tick because, well, bombs ticked just before they exploded.

  Cat’s boss sat in the seat next to her and cleared his throat. “Master Cannon and I have come to an agreement about you. He’s worried you’re out of control and therefore putting yourself in harm’s way. He wants to help you.”

  Charlie wasn’t sure she believed the man had such pure motives. The way Maxie was stating the case it was almost as if he believed the irritating Dom was willing to put himself out to help her or something. “I can assure you, Mr. Cannon, I—”

  “Sir.”

  His challenging glare didn’t faze her one bit. She tilted her chin and glared right back, mentally deriding, sir? “Were you knighted? If you were, congratulations. But we’re in America and sorry to inform you, titles like that tend to get ignored as here we’re all seen as equals. Men and women even.”

  She added that last as patronizingly as he’d placed her in the seat before, but then she saw Maxie out of the corner of her eye leaning sideways to look at her like she’d grown two heads, and too late she realized she’d overdone it again. It was a knee-jerk reaction, but now that she was paying attention to her behavior, was Cat right about her? Was she a man-hater?

  “You did hear me before, didn’t you? This is Master Cannon.” Maxie readjusted in his seat and turned. “Neil, I’m really sorry about this. I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

  Charlie knew. She was supposed to be the spunky, roll with the punches Cat, and not the uptight feminist with the stick lodged in her butt. It may have felt great standing up to an egotist, but the reality was, the longer they eyed one another the more she came to suspect there’d be no way she’d pull this off while he was around. And as to that, it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere while she continued to bait him, so she dropped her gaze. Again.

  “She needs to make the choice. Now before I change my mind, and she’s back to being your liability.”

  He’d spoken so quickly after she broke eye contact with him. Was it on purpose? To show her that meek gestures like the one she’d just made got rewards? Not that it mattered. He was dead to her. “I’m sorry. What’s the choice?” She addressed Maxie. “I’d rather you explained it to me, please.”

  Demure tone of voice? Check. Manners? Check. Ignoring the egotist who sat radiating steam from his ears across from her? Priceless.

  “Neil?”
/>   “Go ahead.”

  Maxie actually cringed a little before he began. “Here’s the thing. After the way you’ve behaved with his technicians, Master Cannon came to me concerned about you. He thought you could you use a refresher course—”

  “Refresher?” The mechanic chuckled. “That’s mighty generous of you, Max.”

  It took everything Charlie had not to look at him. She pulled in a deep breath and nodded to Cat’s boss. “I’m listening.” The inference being that one of them in the room wasn’t.

  “Yes, well, at first I wasn’t in agreement, but after the incident with the photographer I’ve had a change of heart.”

  And if she was following his line of reasoning she might need a change of undies. Mr. Frustrating-The-Ever-Living-Crap-Out-Of-Her wanted to be her mentor, teacher, or both? “What are you saying? I have to put up with him? For how long? What happens if I say no?”

  Maxie’s incredulous look gave her pause, but his words nearly undid her. “I have no idea why you’re behaving so rudely.” He turned to Cannon. “Seriously, Neil, I’d be the first one to tell you on her best day she’s challenging, but behaving like this?” He turned back to her and scowled. “Here’s your choice. Apologize and accept what Master Cannon is generously offering, or you’re barred from the club for good.”

  This kind of censure coming from Maxie was her wake-up call. She was Cat right now, not Charlie. She knew the guy thought the sun rose and set on her sister, and because of how she was behaving in this moment he was not only disappointed, but embarrassed by her behavior as well. This wasn’t a game. This was Cat’s life she was messing with. It didn’t matter whether she agreed with it or not. She needed to make amends and do what she promised her sister she’d do. She couldn’t get Cat fired or worse, expelled from the community she adored. This club was more than a job to her sibling, Charlie knew that.

  “Offering?” The word came out as a whisper. She wasn’t even sure Maxie would hear it until he answered.

  “Specialized training—it’s what he’s known for, as a reminder to be more careful in the future with men inside the club, but especially out in the regular world.” After she nodded he told her, “Apology first.”

  With the word specialized echoing in her mind, she said, “I’m sorry for being disrespectful.”

  “And?” Maxie prodded.

  “I will humbly accept Master Cannon’s offer.”

  There was that chuckle again. It really grated on her. “Humbly? No need to overdo it, tiger. I’m assuming since you thought you’d be staying here you brought your things with you?”

  She looked at him. “Yes, they’re in the hole.”

  “Go gather them up. I’ll be there in a few minutes. As soon as I finish here with Max.”

  She stopped at the door and then turned back, trying to keep her panic to a minimum. “Are we going somewhere?”

  “Why else would I ask you to collect your things?”

  Again, not the best or most appropriate response, because it told her nothing. She left with a heavy sense of dread hanging over her until she turned the corner and ran right into her sister’s friend.

  “Cat! Oh God, Cat, are you okay? What is Master Cannon doing here? I almost wet myself when I saw him in Maxie’s office. What did he say to you?”

  So much for being worried about her. All Tory wanted was the scoop on Master Neanderthal. “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” she said and continued down the second hall toward the hole. She didn’t know why they called it that. It really was more of a large supply closet with a bed, a lamp, and a stack of magazines about gardening.

  “Is he here to stay? Did he mention anything about tonight? Me? I’ve heard he’s only trained two women in the last three years. I met one of them. Her transformation was incredible. She wound up marrying her Dom. The wedding was so romantic.”

  Charlie pushed the door open and went right to the sleeping bag, picking it up before she started to fold and roll it. “Transformation?” She frowned. What, was the guy a plastic surgeon on top of everything else?

  “Alesa was a smoker and skittish, you know? One week with him and she put the cigs down. She was also more grounded. Hard to explain, but a better person for sure. Why are you packing that up?” She pointed to the bag. “Didn’t you say you were here for the next few days?”

  “There’s been a change of plans.” Charlie’s phone rang and she seized the opportunity to escape having to explain. “Sorry, I’ve been waiting for this call.”

  Tory nodded and then waved. “Sure, I’ve got to get some towels to Gina anyways. Come and say goodbye before for you go.”

  Charlie tucked the rolled bag into the attached vinyl sleeve and zipped it up while she debated answering the call. She didn’t recognize the number. It did have the local area code, but for all she knew it could have been Cannon, so she ignored it. She was in the process of collecting her books when it rang again. That’s when she took a closer look. Six missed calls. There was only one person in the world that cell-stalked her like that. Cat.

  “Hello?”

  “Don’t freak me out like that. Why haven’t you been answering my calls?”

  “I didn’t know it was you. Why aren’t you using your phone?”

  “Shit. I forgot about that.”

  Charlie could hear drawers being opened and closed in the background. Before she asked her what she was looking for she said, “You’ve forgotten about a lot of things. Did you steal Tory’s ring back from the rubber ducky guy?”

  The background noise stopped. “How do you know about that? I told you to go to the hole and read your books.”

  “No. You told me to help out at reception to get into Maxie’s good graces, remember? Tory works in reception, but even if she didn’t and I hadn’t worked the front desk for a couple of hours tonight I still would have known because the guy showed up.”

  “Zealer, the photographer did?”

  “He didn’t introduce himself, but I figured out who he was just before he hit me.”

  “You let the guy hit you? There goes my reputation as a badass.”

  The sound of her searching started again, making Charlie mad. Didn’t she care that she could have been hurt? “That’s all you’re worried about? What about my face?”

  “He hit you in the face?”

  “Where do you think he hit me?”

  “Not in the face, I can tell you that. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, it was more a slap.” She adjusted the rolled bag on the mattress and then sat on it. “The mechanic took care of him before he was able to do any real damage.”

  “The guy who was rude to you today? What the hell? Did he follow you there or something?”

  “No, he knows Maxie.”

  “Oh.”

  “He’s some kind of big shot. A master. Master Cannon.”

  There was dead silence for a ten count and then Cat whispered, “Neil Cannon?”

  “Yeah,” Charlie drew out wondering what was wrong with her usually snarky sister. “The Neanderthal.”

  “Holy fuck. He was the guy who came to the house to change that filter?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And I…I left that message…and said what I did…to him…about him…oh, no, no, no.”

  “Actually you did and now I have to pay for it.”

  “What? How?”

  “I’m not one hundred percent sure. I had to agree to take his offer or else you’d be kicked out of the club for good.”

  “What offer?”

  “Now that I think about it wasn’t an offer. It was more an ultimatum.”

  “Charlotte.”

  “I agreed to do some specialized training with him. I’m thinking it will involve groveling and apologizing for having a mind of my own.”

  “Why do you always fall into a pile of shit and come out smelling like a rose? I’m the one who needs his help, not you.”

  Cat’s words surprised her. “What do you need his help for other than servic
ing your cars? The guy’s a mechanic.”

  “Listen to me. I don’t have much time, he’s back.”

  “Who’s back?”

  “Wilde. This is the guy’s phone he left to guard me. He locked me in his room like a common criminal.”

  “Well, I did steal his money,” Charlie reminded.

  “Yeah, but…”

  “What did you do?”

  “Nothing yet. Other than steal the guard’s phone and sneak downstairs to rifle through Wilde’s office. There has to be a clue around here somewhere.”

  “You’re at his place? A clue to what?”

  “What’s frying his ass besides the stolen cash. No worries. I have a plan. The guy’s a vanilla pushover. He doesn’t stand a chance against me. You, on the other hand, under Master Cannon’s control? This could be disastrous. I’m not even sure what to advise you. I know one thing. You better get that stick out of your ass, before he removes it himself.”

  Charlie scowled. “Yeah right.”

  “Shit. Wilde’s searching for me. Look, I’m being totally serious. Neil Cannon is used to getting his own way. He built and owns the Cannon Motors Franchise that’s worth millions. He’s highly respected in the community, and he’s tough with a capital ‘T’ when it comes to training subs.”

  “A spoiled rich guy. Great.”

  “No. That’s my point. He earned respect in the community for his methods, not his net worth. If anything, his money was a detriment that he had to overcome to achieve his standing. How can I put this so you’ll understand what I mean? I know. You work at our museum. Big for our state, but how does the Dalton measure up to the Guggenheim or the Louvre?”

  “It doesn’t.”

  “When it comes to Doms that mentor and train? They’re all Daltons compared to Cannon’s Guggenheim. Got it?”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Even as she said this she recalled the mechanic’s first Dom-like words to her earlier in the day, when he told her not to play with him. His husky reprimand had affected her on some level, she couldn’t deny that. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure out how to make this work. I promise.”