Violet was about to be reminded of that fact, he mused as he approached the bedroom door. He couldn’t afford to let her rewrite their history by replacing her memories of him at his most powerful with ones of him in his weakest, incredibly vulnerable moments.
Before that, however, he wanted to see if she was capable of lying to his face.
Violet
The absence of coffee in the morning was a travesty.
It meant it was either too early for housekeeping to arrive and switch on the coffeemaker, or the unthinkable had happened and housekeeping was running late. Given the fact she’d never had an issue with the service in the past year, she assumed her internal clock was as messed up as the rest of her, thanks to Boudreaux’s presence.
If she pretended all was right with the world, maybe she’d get another hour’s sleep and wake up surrounded by the magical fragrance she needed.
Unfortunately, her ability to pretend was dead and buried when she knew damn well the biggest pain in her ass was somewhere within reach—she could smell him, feel him beneath her skin, almost taste him.
It was infuriating.
“I know you’re awake, Bennie.”
She heaved out an annoyed breath. “It’s hard to sleep with an asshole watching my every move. This is just creepy, Boudreaux, and if I recall correctly, I warned you what would happen if you stepped foot in this room.”
When he laughed, she opened her eyes. It wasn’t submissive Reaux stretched out on the bed beside her; she knew from his tone alone what side of the couch he’d gotten out of this morning.
“What’s so funny?”
“This…” he murmured, reaching out to trail his finger over her breast, barely missing her nipple. “Flannel, Bennie? Cute and whimsical with all these little butterflies, but not what I expected from you.”
“Let me guess—you’d prefer a lacy camisole and matching flimsy thong.”
Reaux’s eyes darkened. “Naked is what I’d prefer.”
Oh no, they were not doing this again. Her pajamas were an excellent deterrent, but not infallible. They’d already desecrated her bed once and, quite frankly, her body was regretting the foolish choice it made yesterday. “How lucky for me that your preferences hold no water, Boudreaux. Make yourself useful and get the coffee started, there’s a good boy.”
An imperious eyebrow lifted. “Do I look like I’m in a submissive mood to you, Bennie?”
With an insolent yawn, she shrugged. “The contract—”
“Fuck the contract.”
Well now, wasn’t this a pleasant turn of events? It hadn’t taken long for him to get bored of the façade, had it? Maybe Lady Luck was going to be kind today.
Violet scoffed and shook her head. “It’s no skin off my nose if you want to break the damn thing. Hell, set fire to it for all I care. Be the highlight of my day, and it’s only just started.” She satup and stretched, delighted at the prospect of being free of him. “Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
He followed her lead, sitting up without his eyes straying from her face. “Getting ahead of yourself, Violet. The only thing I’m gonna do with the contract is bronze it and hang it on my office wall, next to our wedding portrait. Rules are rules, be them yours or mine.”
Some of her elation faded. “Goddamn it, Reaux, just fuck off. Pack your shit, make your excuses to Evander, and get it through your thick, braindead head that whatever this ruse is trying to achieve won’t work.”
His lips twitched. “Yeah, it will, and that’s why you’re fighting it so hard. If you truly believed you were over me, that I’ve got no power here, you’d sail through the next month without a care. However, I’m willing to be… magnanimous.”
She’d rather get bit by a rattlesnake than take his word.
“Answer me a question, just one, honestly. No hesitation, no half-truths.”
Confused, Violet frowned at him. “You’ll put an end to this bullshit if I answer a question truthfully?” It was too early in the goddamn day for this, she thought. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch. Give me the truth and I’ll do as you ask. Tear up the paperwork, say my goodbyes, go home to Louisiana and stay there.” Something wicked sparked behind his eyes as he ran the tip of his tongue over his bottom lip. “Lie to me and, well, I guess that rulebook you’re writing is gonna have a co-author.”
Didn’t that sound lovely and ominous?
Craving coffee and a potentially swift end to this hell she was living in, Violet threw her hands up in surrender. What did she have to lose? “Ask the stupid question.”
