Provocative Attraction

Second-chance romance

Viva Hail always dreamed of a world far away from her struggling Philadelphia roots. It ended up costing her the man she loved. Now Rook Lourdess is back in her life in a big way. As her personal bodyguard, the world-renowned security expert sweeps her off to his chalet in Italy, rekindling a desire that could forgive the mistakes of the past.

Rook is finally ready to put his obsession with Viva behind him. But when the celebrated actress becomes an eyewitness to a dangerous money-laundering operation, he’s her best hope of survival. What better cover than the Hollywood star running off with her ex-lover? Will their reignited passion offer a chance to write a new ending, or is Rook giving in to a temptation that could break his heart once again?

“See reason here. Murray’s my agent. I can’t just disappear. What am I supposed to tell him if he calls me back?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Rook’s insanely desirable face was a study in pure menace.

“Well, I have to tell him something.” Viva blew at a curl that bounced between her brows. “He practically has to beg me to take breaks. He’d never believe I just ran off and—”

“Not even if you told him you ran off with me?”

Openmouthed, Viva could only stare.

Rook took advantage of the quiet. “Tell him we’re rekindling the flame. Tell him...tell him I threatened to tie you to my bed until you agreed to go along and you believed me. I think that’s a threat I’ve followed through on a time or two, isn’t it?”

Viva tried to speak, laugh, something...but she failed at every attempt. She ran her tongue over her lips and tried speaking again. “He’d know that’s not true. He’d know I’m lying—”

Any further argument was silenced once he kissed her and her tongue was otherwise engaged with his. Rook had taken command of her wrist and tugged her across the brief space separating them on the desk. Seamless and confident, he settled her across the broad width of his thigh, making her straddle the limb in a ruthless, brazen manner.

Dear Reader,

I’d like to start this letter off with a big THANK YOU! Your embrace of the Provocative Series has meant so very much. Provocative Attraction and the stories preceding it—Provocative Territory and Provocative Passion—really hit me out of nowhere and took me along for a ride crafted heavily by the characters.

The journey continues with Rook and Viva’s story. Questions are answered amid the heavy tension and regrets experienced by our hero and heroine. Viva Hail has got a lot on her plate. There’s the new season of her hit show to prepare for, turmoil and mistrust brewing between her and her agent, and then there’s Rook Lourdess—the man she loves...the man she left.

It’s always such a treat returning to the worlds I’ve created. This return was definitely a treat—one that I hope you’ll fully enjoy.

Let me know what you think!

Love,

AlTonya

altonya@lovealtonya.com

ALTONYA WASHINGTON has been a romance novelist for over eleven years. She’s been nominated for numerous awards and has won two RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards for her novels Finding Love Again and His Texas Touch. AlTonya lives in North Carolina and works as a college reference librarian. This author wears many hats, but being a mom is her favorite job.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Copyright

Prologue

Philadelphia, PA

“She’s not doing commercials because she’s interested in keeping the public informed on what’s new at the market, Rook.”

Rook Lourdess flexed his fingers once, twice. It was a habit he’d learned had the remarkable tendency to alleviate the need to clench a fist and follow through with connecting said fist to the jaw belonging to the unfortunate soul who’d riled him. Lately, that had been Murray Dean—former friend, former partner and present traitor.

“What are you getting out of this?” Rook asked once the need to punch Murray had passed.

Murray gave a half shrug. “Not a damn thing—”

“Not yet.”

Murray’s jaw muscles clenched noticeably then. “I’m not blind, Rook, and neither is Viva. She’s got a chance in there.” He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder toward a long corridor that opened into an expansive main room to the party where most of the guests still mingled.

“You tell me, what were the odds of coming along to one of your boring-ass client events and running into one of the biggest movie producers in the country?” Murray continued.

Rook felt his jaw flex He had no handy remedy to ease the action that reflex usually prefaced. “Did she need you to tell me that?” he queried, his voice low and mildly lethal.

Murray grinned. “She doesn’t know I’m out here, but since her getting your attention at a client event is even less likely than her getting it when you’re supposed to be off the job...” Again, he shrugged. “I thought it’d help to step up.”

“Help her? Or help you?”

Murray snorted a laugh through his nostrils. “Me? What am I supposed to get out of it?”

“I don’t know.” Rook’s gaze narrowed, reflecting a jolting amber glint. “It’s something, though. You do nothing without a reason.”

Bristling at the barb, Murray raised a brow. “Are we getting around to my leaving the security firm, now?”

“Leaving, huh?” Rook rolled a broad shoulder in a casual shrug. “A leave that was followed by your very generous offer to the rest of the guys to come on over to your neck of the woods.”

Agitation more noticeable then, Murray rubbed at a clean-shaved albeit weak jaw. “And they threw my offer back in my face,” he admitted. At that point, it was useless to deny the unethical moves he’d orchestrated. “What’s the problem now, Rook? None of them were willing to jump ship. You’re lucky to have a group of very loyal men.”

“Yeah, they’ve all been loyal. All but one. The one I never thought would stab me in the back.”

“Because I wanted something for myself?” Murray sounded incredulous.

“No. Because you wanted what belonged to me.” Viva Hail, his girlfriend of four years, was an aspiring actress.

“Ahh...and no one takes or even looks at what belongs to Rook Lourdess without paying the stiffest penalties. Guess I should watch my back now after standing up to you about Viva.

“Do you know how on edge she’s been about talking to you about Fritz Vossler’s production company?” Murray went on when Rook remained silent. “She thought you’d be pissed. Guess she was right.”

“To know that, you must’ve been watching her pretty close.” Rook flexed his fingers again, but the fist clenched anyway.

Murray’s shrug regained its casual resonance. “Didn’t take much watching to know that. Her eyes went back and forth between you and Vossler a good five minutes in there. When you headed off to see to more business, you could all but see how relieved she was.”

“Murray.”

Both Rook and Murray turned at the sound of the soft but husky feminine voice that had called out.

Viva Hail stood in the foyer where Murray had cornered Rook after Rook’s brief chat with his client and security team on hand for the evening’s gala event. Rook’s client represented a well-known Philadelphia charity that had national appeal to those with ties to the theater and film industries.

Viva shook her head once in Murray’s direction.

Murray turned back to Rook. “Listen, man,” he began in a tone far more humble than the one he’d used previously. “In spite of everything, I do care about you guys. I was just trying to help.” He left Rook with a quick smile, headed to Viva and brushed her arm when he drew near. “I’ll be at the bar,” he told her.

“I hear you need my attention, is that right?” Rook considered Murray’s departing form before looking back to Viva. “I’m only working off his insight, but he seems to have a crap load of it.” He made an effort to come down off some of his frustration. “Be straight with me, V. Have I done something to make you afraid to talk to me?”

“No. No, Rook. Please don’t think that.”

“Then tell me what to think.” He threw another look toward the corridor. “When the hell did you and Murray get so close?”

“Since he became the manager of Fritz Vossler’s East Coast security division.”

Rook ignored the tightening of his jaw muscle then. Word had reached him of Murray snagging the big fish a few weeks back. “What’s that got to do with you?”

Viva began a slow walk around the perimeter of the townhome’s foyer. The hem of her empire-waist crimson gown swished elegantly about her curvy frame as she moved. “Mr. Vossler and his people are scouting for fresh talent, and anyone they sign is privy to all the perks his West Coast assets receive. Security is one of them.”

“Again, what’s that got to do with you, V?” His manner proved to her he already had the answer.

“Vossler just asked me to sign with his company.”

“Just asked?”

She smiled, understanding. “He asked weeks ago.”

Rook smiled then too and commenced his own slow pace of the foyer. “Weeks ago...guess that’s what he was talking to you about the other night at Jazzy B’s.”

Viva inhaled sharper than she realized. Sometimes she forgot how scarily perceptive her boyfriend was. “He goes there a lot when he’s in town.”

“Right. Looking for new talent and all.”

“Rook... Don’t make this harder.”

“‘This.’” Rook stopped his pacing. “Exactly what is ‘this,’ V? Telling me you signed with a producer? I don’t think Murray would’ve been looking as smug as he was if it was only about that.”

Viva watched him, amazed and wondering how he read a person so easily. Resolved, she gathered what remained of her struggling courage and decided to get it over with. “Mr. Vossler offered me a part—not a commercial but a real part. Shooting starts in two weeks on location...in Rio.”

Rook felt the blow her words dealt him. He forced himself to recover quickly. “Brazil. Congrats.”

“Rook—”

“How long will you be gone?”

“Five months,” she said after a split second of hesitation. “We head out to Los Angeles right after that to finish filming and postproduction. That’ll take another month or so.”

Rook resumed his stroll. Then his steps took him in a wide circle around Viva. “That’s a lot of prepping to do in two weeks. Shots, passport, your job.”

She smiled again. There was no humor in the gesture. She knew what he was getting at. “I’ve done all that already,” she said.

“And at no time was there an opportunity to tell me?”

“I didn’t know how—” She bristled anew when he erupted into cold laughter.

“Didn’t know how? Hell, V, I guess we’ve got more problems than I thought.”

“I don’t want this to ruin us.”

The small, bewildered tone of her voice squeezed his heart. “How could you think it wouldn’t, babe? Our communication is already in the crapper. You being out of the country for half the year isn’t gonna help that.”

“I have to take this, Rook. It’s what I’ve been working for.”

“Right. After all, you’re not just doing commercials because you’re interested in keeping the public informed on what’s new at the market.” At her confused look, he grimaced and shook his head. “So I’m losing you to this?”

“I don’t want that.” Viva clasped her hands between her breasts and moved to him. “It could work.”

“We barely see each other as it is. I’m busy all the damn time getting the firm on point and that’s done no favors to our relationship.” He paused to smooth a hand across his hair, a mass of soft, close-cropped twists capping his head. “Only thing that’s kept us together, V, is you having a less demanding job. That’s over now.”

Viva felt something chill inside her at his use of the word over. Again, she grabbed hold of fledgling courage. “What are you saying? If I take the job, we’re done?” she asked.

“Don’t put that on me, V. You know how shaky things are between us right now. You know as well as I do that we won’t survive another blow. But you can forget about me letting you go. I’m afraid that’s a decision that’ll be made for us. My actions have already set the path. I guess yours will put us on it.”

Her vision was a blur then. He was right. They’d been passing ships for months. Her going to work for Jazmina Beaumont’s gentlemen’s club had certainly not been the best decision. The fact that he’d become increasingly busy building his firm had taken his mind off the concerns he had with her waitressing there.

They wouldn’t survive this, but he was saying that he refused to be the one to put that nail into their coffin. Could she?

“When are you due to leave?”

She barely heard his voice cut through the storm of her thoughts. “End of the week,” she said.

Rook had pretty much schooled his expression but the devastation in his entrancing amber stare was unmistakable.

Viva knew she had the answer to her question then. She could put that nail in their coffin. She already had.

Chapter 1

Philadelphia, PA

Six years later

Rook Lourdess knew his rich laughter had the tendency to carry whether he was in the midst of absolute silence or chaos. Both environments proved to be appropriate descriptors that night. His laughter carried out from the party still going strong indoors to the terrace that somehow maintained its serene quiet.

“Sounds good,” he was saying to whomever he spoke to through the mobile he held to his ear. “Sure you don’t need me there?” Rook nodded, listening to the caller’s response.

“I guess that’ll work, seeing as how I’ve got that five a.m. conference call...Italy,” he added, following a few more seconds of silence.

“Yeah, they sound serious. I keep waiting on them to call and tell me they made a mistake...Ha! I appreciate that,” he said once more silence had passed from his end.

“Forget it!” Rook’s laughter clung to the words. “I don’t care how much you lay on the flattery, you’re not goin’...Nah, B, I need you to stay here and hold it all down at the firm, but don’t worry, we’ll be having that talk soon enough...Yeah...” A somber element crept into Rook’s voice then. “Yeah, I’m not looking forward to it either. Listen, man, I better get goin’. Just be ready with that report by tomorrow afternoon. I want to get this all put to bed before I leave... All right, talk to you then.” Following another brief stint of silence and more laughter, Rook was easing the phone into a back trouser pocket. He didn’t head back to the party, but stood on the terrace and looked out into the night. Moving closer to the stone railing, he inhaled deeply and smiled.

Robust cheer sounded indoors, but Rook resisted the tug of the partygoers and reminded himself that he needed to hit the sack.

His Italian contacts would be speaking with him at 11:00 a.m. their time. He had to be sharp as possible by 5:00 a.m. That wouldn’t happen unless he headed for his car and home right then.

Rook was turning to make his exit down the terrace’s wide steps when he heard her.

“Italy, huh?”

So much for getting to sleep anytime soon, Rook thought when he saw Viva Hail seated and looking coolly lovely from her spot on one of the cushioned chaises dotting the terrace.

Seeing her never failed to seriously screw with his sleep. Whether it was on the big screen or small didn’t matter. Seeing her in person...well, he shuddered to think of what his Italian business associates would think of him when they spoke in eight hours. He wouldn’t be getting that full night of sleep he’d hoped for.

“V.” His voice was soft, unlike the sound of the blood rushing in his ears.

“Sorry for eavesdropping.” Viva lifted a manicured hand a few centimeters from her lap and let it fall back to the beige silk pants she wore. “I was out here when you came to the terrace. I didn’t mean to listen in.”

“It wasn’t anything top secret.” He moved closer to where she sat.

“Was it business or pleasure?” Viva didn’t close her eyes in mortification when she heard the question trip off her tongue, but mortification rolled in hot and heavy waves all the same. Pleasure was always a given when it involved Rook Lourdess. She knew that well enough, didn’t she? Again, she waved. “Sorry to pry.”

Rook grinned. “You’re not.”

“So, um, what part of Italy are you visiting?”

“Belluno.”

“Ah...” Viva smiled and closed her eyes as she nodded. “That’s not far from Cortina. It’s really beautiful this time of year.”

“So I hear.” Hands hidden in the deep pockets of his dark trousers, Rook strolled closer. “Has your work taken you there?” He somehow resisted asking if her knowledge of the place was on a personal level.

Viva was already nodding. “I did a movie there two years ago while the show was on hiatus. An ensemble-cast thing. It was fun.”

“Ensemble cast, like the show. How’s that going?”

“Very well. We’ve been a truly blessed bunch.”

“So no talk of finales anytime soon?”

“If only.” Viva threw back her head and sighed. “I was sure we’d be done after season four with everyone so busy with other successful projects, but...” She flexed her fingers over the pants that matched a shimmering blazer. “The audience still loves us, the ratings are dynamite... I’d say we’ll be a bunch of kick-ass secret agents well into our nineties.”

Laughter hummed around the terrace then.

“So, um, are you visiting Italy on new business for the firm?” Viva figured additional prying couldn’t hurt at that point.

“Remains to be seen,” was all he could share before the party volume grew to a maddening pitch and tipped over to deafening.

Rook and Viva realized the French doors had opened as chief of detectives Sophia Hail exited with congratulatory cheers behind her.

“There she is!” Rook’s voice carried across the terrace as he closed the distance to Sophia and enveloped her in a bear hug. “The news is in the air. Congratulations. It’s a good night for the Philly PD,” he said and kissed her cheek.

Sophia, the recent recipient of an unexpected promotion to chief of detectives, wore a grin that seemed to make her entire face glow.

“Thanks.” Sophia laughed, returning Rook’s tight squeeze. “But I can’t let any of these accolades go to my head, no matter how good they feel floating up there.”

The accolades were well deserved. Sophia and her team had just come leagues closer to wrapping up a complex money-laundering scheme that had implicated several members of the force. Sophia’s predecessor was among them.

Viva stepped up to draw her younger sister into a tight squeeze. “Congratulations, sweetie. Are you done for the night?” she asked once they broke from the embrace.

“Hardly,” Sophia sighed in a manner that sang with satisfaction. “I just wanted to get back. Mama went to all this trouble to put together this party for me. My people can handle the wrap-up and I’ll be back at the job in the morning.”

Sophia slid Rook another smile and squeezed his arm. “Think you can fit me in for a quick talk sometime tomorrow?”

“Sure. Might be early. I’ve got a five a.m. chat to Europe tomorrow.”

Sophia whistled, her eyes twinkling. “Good luck with that.”

“I’ll need it.” Rook smoothed a hand over his chest as though the idea pained him. “I should’ve been in bed hours ago.”

“Well, I plan to make it an early day myself,” Sophia said. “I’ll make time whenever you can drop in.”

“Count on it.” He nodded before gracing Viva’s face with his arresting gaze.

Sophia appeared as though she could read the look. “So, V, I’ll just see you inside, okay?”

“No, you stay,” Rook said. “I’m the one who needs to get going.” He gave Viva a smile. “Good seeing you. How long before you leave?”

Viva lifted her shoulders and let the move hold a few seconds before she lowered them.

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Don’t leave without saying goodbye, okay?”

“Count on it,” she returned the earlier confirmation he’d given to her sister. With effort, she kept a cool smile in place while he said good-night to Sophia and made his way from the terrace.

“He hasn’t changed.”

Sophia smiled at Viva’s remark. “Did you think he would?” she asked.

The ebony flecks in Viva’s warm chocolate stare appeared to sparkle beneath a sudden nudge of emotion. “I prayed he wouldn’t after everything that happened. Sophia, um...is he, um...is he seeing anybody?”

Sophia looked off in the direction where Rook had taken his exit. “I’d have to ask Tigo,” she said, referring to her fiancé and one of Rook’s oldest friends, Santigo Rodriguez. “Far as I know there hasn’t been anyone since you.”

Viva shot her sister a stunned expression.

“No one steady since you,” Sophia qualified.

Viva wasn’t wholly convinced of that either, but such a statement was easier to swallow than one suggesting there had been no one since her.

Rook Lourdess was a presence. He exuded a power that went beyond the obvious potency presented by the striking breadth of his physique. His massive build, combined with a jolting stare and remarkably crafted face, had a talent for unsettling women as thoroughly as it mesmerized them.

Still, it was the subtle aspect of his persona, Viva believed, that was even more alluring. Unarguably, the face and body were difficult acts to follow. The body was a well-honed six and a half feet of solid muscle sheathed in a rich caramel-toned casing that was only rivaled by the face. It was surrounded by a halo of blue-black that, despite the efforts to keep it close-cropped, remained an unruly cap of waves.

The carefully crafted face was accentuated by a heavy-lidded amber stare of such a hue, it seemed almost translucent. The nose emphasized strong, high cheekbones offset by a generous and fully kissable mouth—one Viva remembered was capable of exerting the most extreme forms of pleasure and release.

She cleared her throat, not sure if the moan she’d just given in to had been overheard by her sister or merely an echo in her own head.

“Sure you don’t want to catch up to him? He probably hasn’t gotten to his car yet.”

Viva snorted. “If I punch you, would that be considered assaulting an officer?”

Sophia gave in to a sly grin. “I’d make the charges stick.”