Provoke Me

by Cari Quinn

  She didn’t live in Maryland anymore. Probably a good thing. He’d never been one to wallow in the past but the first few months after it ended, he’d often driven past the home she shared with her husband and their two kids. The last time, he’d heard splashing in the pool and a child’s whooping laughter.

  After that, he’d stayed away.

  Her kids would be in high school now. And the child she and Spencer had almost had—if they’d almost had one at all—would be in pre-K.

  Disgust had him turning away from the glass. And from the memory.

  He glanced at his watch. It was already ten p.m. Laughter rang out down the hall but the chorus of voices had lowered substantially after closing time. He’d been holed up in here all day and his legs itched with the need to move. Christ, he needed a workout.

  He needed her.

  Was she getting ready for Kink? Picking out her sexy little outfit, doing her hair and makeup. She didn’t need much primping. Other than lipstick, she rarely seemed to use anything besides eye shadow. He’d noticed the colors she swept on her lids more than once. Fun colors, a rainbow that brought out the gold flecks in her eyes.

  He released a breath. Eyes that were going to kill him if he kept thinking about them.

  He couldn’t let her go there alone. Even if she went back with her friend, where had that friend been last night? All kinds of creeps frequented the club. She was too beautiful to wander around unaccompanied.

  But if she meets someone—or several someones—she won’t be alone, will she?

  As if he’d let that happen.

  Kelly wasn’t Diana, and a little recreational sex never hurt anyone. This wasn’t some sort of weird karmic twist for what he’d done when he’d been naïve enough to think he couldn’t lose. Back then, he’d been supremely confident in his ability to control every situation. Too confident, as proved by the colossally stupid move he’d made five years ago.

  His only consolation was he hadn’t succumbed easily to her flirtation. Diana had teased him shamelessly for months until he’d decided to go for it. He’d been passed over for promotions and, what the hell, she was hot. If sleeping with her would get him what he wanted faster, he certainly had no objections.

  In those days, he hadn’t objected to much.

  He hadn’t known she was married, not at first. By the time he’d discovered that fact, he’d been in too deep.

  He’d never expected to fall for a woman he couldn’t have. And not just because she was already taken. Diana was much more infatuated with herself than she’d ever been with anyone else, even if her parents still thought she’d walked away from her job and handed it to Spencer to protect him. After all, he hadn’t been family and Diana’s happiness was paramount to them. If she hadn’t gone to bat for him, they might’ve fired him for creating unnecessary drama. She’d helped him out by stepping aside and campaigning for him to be allowed to stay. All out of the goodness of her heart.

  It was a lovely story if one believed in fairy tales. Too bad he didn’t.

  Her goal had been simple enough—buying his silence after discovering she was pregnant. She still loved her husband, she claimed, and wanted to use her surprise pregnancy to try to save her marriage. She insisted there was no chance the baby was Spencer’s and that she’d had a “miracle” one-night reconciliation with her husband.

  Hurt and overwhelmed, he’d agreed to keep quiet about their affair. But he doubted her version of the story in light of her confession she’d been attempting to have a third child with her much-older husband for years, to no avail. They’d argued. A lot. She’d begged him to understand. And he’d tried. He really had. Then the baby died and the last of his feelings for Diana died with him or her.

  They’d ended things quickly and quietly and he’d taken over her position as regional manager, a position even higher than the one he’d coveted. Since then, he’d been busting his ass to prove to everyone—including himself—that he’d earned that job, that he was earning it every day.

  He’d made mistakes, yes. Big ones. But nothing mattered more to him than the store. Hadn’t every failed relationship he’d ever had proved that? No woman could compete with his need to prove himself to Diana’s parents. To his sister, who still thought he was some sort of indiscriminate fuckup, despite all he’d accomplished. To his parents, who thought his little brother Adam, the whiz kid athlete with all the money and the magic touch with real estate, practically shit gold.

  He’d never slept with anyone else he’d met on the job. But somehow Kelly had broken every one of his rules. Even when he’d suspected maybe she had set her PDA on his desk to lead him right to her—and possibly for reasons beyond pleasure—he hadn’t been able to resist. He didn’t want to believe she would stoop as low as he had to get what she wanted. He wouldn’t believe it.

  For three years, he’d used all their differences as examples of why she’d never fit in his world—or his bed. Even so, his reasons for wanting to maintain his distance weren’t sufficient to keep him away. Now that he’d had a taste, they felt more insubstantial than ever.

  They were adults. Consenting, unencumbered adults. Their…liaison didn’t have to interfere with work at all.

  Fuck and duck. Easy enough.

  Jaw clenched, he powered down his computer, already rearranging tomorrow’s schedule. He’d get everything done so he could be in Virginia as planned. If he needed to work all weekend, he would. If he had to tabulate those damn P&Ls on the plane, he’d do that too. Whatever it took.

  He smiled in spite of himself as he grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. And if they ended up in jail…well, she’d said it best.

  What was life without risk?

  * * * * *

  Kelly stared forlornly at Kink’s entrance, the drink she held not doing anything to blunt the disappointment trickling through her.

  “You look like a puppy waiting for its new owner,” Alana said over the music, grabbing the cherry off the tiny sword in Kelly’s drink. “Your new pal must’ve been great in the sack.”

  Much to her surprise, Lan had yet to abandon her. She also had yet to stop looking at the door. The two of them made quite a pair.

  “There wasn’t a sack involved,” she said absently, sipping her amazingly potent Midori Sour made by the ebullient Jack. Tonight she’d actually been smart enough to eat dinner before hitting the club. “Wall.”

  “Ah ha! So you did do someone.”

  Kelly shrugged and braced an elbow behind her on the bar. She’d worn her second-most provocative outfit, a turquoise tube dress that stopped abruptly below her thighs.Just below. The leers she’d received since sitting down motivated her to keep her legs tightly closed.

  If Spencer didn’t show, she was going home. She’d yet to see anyone else who rated so much as a second glance. Even if she had, she wasn’t interested in this lifestyle. To her, sex was pretty much a sport for two. Maybe watching could be hot sometimes but she wasn’t going to hang out forever sipping loaded drinks and pining.

  “What about you?” Kelly asked, glancing at her friend. Alana had gone for a plaid schoolgirl-type skirt and obscenely tight pink blouse, unbuttoned just enough to reveal her ample cleavage. “Where’s Ramon?”

  When Alana waved off the question, Kelly rolled her eyes. She didn’t get what Lan saw in him. Package size only went so far. She also didn’t understand the secrecy. Alana and Ramon had hooked up countless times.

  Then she saw Spencer, gliding through the crowd like the blond oh-my-God hot piece of ass he was, and she forgot all about her best friend’s love life.

  Lan kept talking but Kelly’s attention blinked out. Tonight he’d dressed in dark slacks and a white shirt, top button undone. Always only one button. More, she imagined, would violate the strict rules of Spencerdom.

  Kelly wet her lips. She hadn’t gotten to touch his bare skin last night, not really, though she’d gotten an eyeful in the steam room. His pecs were firm and well-defined and the flat disk
s of his nipples were the perfect size for her mouth. She’d lick her way down the golden strip of hair that skimmed his torso, a treasure map to her own personal pot of gold.

  She sat up straighter and lifted her knee, just a little. If she could’ve been sure he would be able to see her offering, she would’ve taken off her panties and spread her legs. Wanting him made her shameless; dignity had gone the way of the dinosaurs.

  Tonight she would be the dirty girl she rarely let out of her cage.

  Spencer’s gaze roamed the crowd while Alana droned on and Kelly waited for him to see her. To her surprise and disgust, he gripped the elbow of a slinky redhead draped over the end of the bar. Nina. Of course. Her heart stuttered as he leaned down to whisper in her ear before stepping back. Apparently Nina didn’t want him to let go so soon. She grabbed his cock, stroking rapidly while Spencer looked suitably torn.

  Bastard.

  Kelly turned toward the scrawny guy on her left. He’d made a few jokes about her looking good enough to eat. Thus far she’d ignored his remarks. But he had an unoccupied mouth and now was an excellent time to show her appreciation for that fact.

  She leaned in and locked her lips on his without announcing her intention. To his credit, he didn’t seem surprised by her overture. Those sorts of moves were probably de rigueur here.

  She didn’t resist when he slipped his tongue between her lips. He reeked of beer. Ugh. The smell made her gag, but at least he didn’t try to stab her with his thrusting tongue.

  “I knew you wanted it, baby.” He broke the kiss to lick her ear. Normally that would’ve turned her on. Not now. “I bet you’re imagining my tongue inside you, aren’t you?”

  She tried not to shudder. And not in a good way. “No, not until you said that.”

  Wrenching her head away, she shifted her gaze to Spencer, who was watching her with lust burning in his eyes. Nina still rubbed his groin—and he clearly wasn’t stopping her—but his expression made it evident who he wanted.

  Thank God.

  “Earth to Kelly.” Alana smacked her knee. “What the hell’s gotten into you?” she whispered, jutting her chin at the guy who chose that moment to begin massaging Kelly’s breasts.

  Kelly moistened her lips, surprised to feel herself getting wet. When would she ever learn about taking her games too far? She opened her mouth to answer but her new buddy picked that moment to pinch her nipples roughly. Her body shot into overdrive.

  Speech went out the window as she focused on Spencer. Electricity shot between them, connecting them even while other people touched their bodies.

  He wouldn’t hesitate to fuck her tonight.

  The primal heat rising between them combined with her building anticipation pulled a raw moan from her throat. Somehow he seemed to hear her. His shoulders braced, his jaw tightened. He started to step closer but Nina wound her arms around his neck, grinding against him unabashedly. His wide hands came up to palm her ass cheeks and just the sight of those long, thick fingers spreading made Kelly’s back arch, driving her breasts outward for her new pal to caress.

  “I’ve created a monster.” Shaking her head, Alana hopped off her stool. “See ya later, Kel. Don’t have so much fun you forget the raincoats.”

  Raincoats? Kelly frowned. Oh yeah, condoms. Well, duh. She’d only be making sure one guy used a condom, because she might let some stranger paw her and toy with her tongue, but she sure as hell wouldn’t be letting him into her body.

  Even games had limits.

  “You like giving BJs?” The guy who was decidedly not Spencer mumbled in her ear. “Because I could really use one right now.”

  Her mind revolted at the idea but the devil on her shoulder demanded to see how far Spencer would go. Or better, how far he would let her go.

  A little warning bell went off in her head. Being a tease wasn’t cool. If Spencer didn’t come over, could she go through with this? For all she knew, he’d be happy to watch her suck off another guy. Look where they were, for cripes’ sake.

  “What’s your name?” she asked throatily, hoping she sounded seductive rather than nervous.

  “Gary. Yours?”

  She didn’t want to tell him. Why giving him her name seemed more personal than her mouth, she didn’t know. “I like them just fine,” she said instead, swallowing hard as he started undoing his belt.

  Weren’t there areas here that were off-limits for sexual activity? The dance floor, she’d thought, but she’d seen some dubious things there last night. Then she noticed two chicks with their hands between each other’s legs and decided anything went pretty much anywhere.

  She watched Gary open his zipper. This was really going to happen. Unless she got out of there in a hurry, she was about to give a blowjob to a complete stranger in front of a room of more strangers, her boss and, somewhere, her best friend.

  Surreal didn’t begin to cover it.

  Gary, to his credit, kissed her again before he directed her hand to his cock. She tried to relax, telling herself none of this meant anything. Other people enjoyed Kink and so could she. For all she knew, Spencer could be getting a BJ of his own. Not that she dared look at him. She was afraid to see something that hurt as much as it aroused.

  “C’mon, baby, suck me. Now.”

  So much for dipping a toe into the pool of public screwing. As her fingers brushed hot, smooth skin, she jerked back, but not in revulsion. Someone had his hand in her hair and it sure wasn’t Gary.

  She glanced back and Spencer jerked her in his hold, almost daring her to try to get free.

  She didn’t. For once she was right where she wanted to be.

  “Get lost.” The heat in her lover’s dark eyes as he stared down Gary and his bewildered, partially drooping erection almost made her feel sorry for him. Her new, uh, friend had just been unfortunate enough to become collateral damage in her and Spencer’s sexual tug-of-war. “She’s with me,” Spencer added, as if his death grip on her hair didn’t make that clear.

  Kelly tried not to react outwardly. Really, she did. She dug her nails into the side of her bare thigh to keep from grinning like a fool. But that didn’t stop her from launching herself into his arms.

  She’d never slept with someone she hadn’t kissed—her one-way assault in his car so didn’t count—and it was high time she got a kiss from him. Preferably half a dozen kisses. He owed her that much.

  He didn’t resist. His lips parted easily and he tasted of coffee rather than whiskey. The kiss was rough and demanding and her clit pounded with each thrust of his tongue. She clutched his shoulder hard enough to leave marks, afraid he’d dematerialize like a ghost of excellent sex past.

  God, she couldn’t believe this was really happening. Again.

  When they came up for air, the room seemed a lot smokier and Gary was gone. The long, stiff cock prodding her belly definitely demanded all of her attention anyway.

  Her fingers brushed the crown of his erection through his trousers. He was so damn hard. Her gaze flicked up to his speculatively. He obviously really got off on this place but at least he hadn’t wanted to share her. Her fingers moved faster and he inhaled raggedly, the sound alone causing a fresh rush of juice between her legs.

  “Still want to suck a cock?” His breath burned against her temple.

  She reached for her drink and took another sip, a long one. She wanted his cock in her mouth. Lord knows, that wasn’t the problem. But doing that, here, in front of all these people…

  The idea didn’t repulse her. Not exactly. Then she pictured being with some other guy—preferably one she found hot, unlike Gary—while Spencer watched, as he’d watched Nina, and her nipples tingled.

  Maybe her vanilla had room for some chocolate chips after all.

  “C’mon.” He skimmed his fingers down the inside of her arm and took her hand. His warm palm cradled her much smaller hand completely. “Let’s go.”

  She set her half-empty drink on the bar and stumbled after him. “Where are we going?”
/>
  He didn’t answer her and he also didn’t wait for her to catch up as he maneuvered them through the throng of people clustered near the exit.

  “Spencer, wait.” She yanked on him hard. “I don’t want to leave.”

  She didn’t. Not when he was with her. Being here with him felt intimate and erotic and she couldn’t believe how excited she was. Given a little time, she might even warm up to that BJ. She just needed a bit more mental foreplay first.

  “If you have to drink to relax, you shouldn’t be here.”

  “And you’re not my boss. Not tonight.”

  His eyes glittered in the low light when they met hers. “Fine. You want to stay? Stay.”

  “I do. But only with you.”

  Irritation flared on his face as she undid a couple more buttons on his shirt. She lightly tugged the fine mat of hair on his chest and smiled at the worry wrinkle between his eyes. He was so freaking serious all the time, he probably needed Kink to bring out his sense of play.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” she said softly.

  Any other guy would have given token resistance, but Spencer wasn’t any other guy. He led the way across the dance floor and up the twisting stairs to the lounge. Tonight it reeked of patchouli and the music sounded jaunty and tropical rather than Middle Eastern, but the vibe was still relaxed and casually sexual.

  Even though both couches were taken—really taken, by people in various stages of lovemaking—leaving only a small loveseat for her and Spencer, she felt instantly more at ease. Downstairs the atmosphere and the people were slick, as if sex were as much a commodity as the drinks. Up here it felt as if it was shared for everyone’s enjoyment.

  She grinned as Spencer sat down and tugged her onto his lap. “What?” he asked, immediately on guard.

  “Nothing.”

  A guy like him, as polished as they came, wouldn’t understand why she liked the low-key atmosphere of the second level better. She scraped his hair back from his face, surprised at the pleasure she got just from looking at him. The buzz of need between them had ebbed to a steady hum, but the sheer joy of being with him burned dark and hot.