Free No Limits by Alison Kent

“He can’t do this. He cannot do this to me.”
    “I believe he already did,” Bear said, turning to Chelle. “What time tomorrow?”
    “He wants to come at ten. The calendar was free, so I penciled him in.”
    “Thank you, Chelle. That’s all.” He waited for the door to close before he added, “I’m getting tired of having my days upended. It’s past time to eat.”
    “That’s all you can think about? Food? You’re not worried that he’s discovered the truth?” Lorna’s face had paled, her bright lipstick and cheek color looking more like it belonged on a clown.
    Times like these he wondered why he still thought her attractive, why he’d chosen her as his ally all those years ago. Except seeing her reaction to Simon and the man not even here…he remembered the way Lorna at twenty had walked and talked, how boys for miles around had panted after her.
    There was something to be said for the power a woman held over a man. She could take a deal a lot further, make a client a lot happier than Bear ever could alone. Too bad he’d never had the chance to see Michelina Ferrer at work.
    He got to his feet and held out his hand, feeling the aches in his bones from the cushions that were as soft as the rest of Lorna’s décor. “Let’s get lunch. You look too nice not to show off around town.”
    She stood with her arms wrapped around her middle but finally gave in and wrapped her fingers around his. “I can’t eat. My stomach feels like it’s weighed down with a boulder the size of the Gulf.”
    “I’ve got a bottle with your name on it.” He brought her fingertips to his mouth and kissed them. “It’s just the thing to loosen you up. All you have to do is drink.”

Twelve
    N oon. Finally. Paschelle Sonnier had thought the lunch hour would never arrive. And even better, now that it had, was Lorna going to lunch with Judge Landry and giving Chelle permission to close the office until she got back.
    Since Lorna’s lunches with the judge usually involved more alcohol than food, it wasn’t unusual for them to be gone two or three hours if they ever came back at al l . Chelle didn’t have far to drive for her own lunch date, but she wasn’t going to press her luck. She would keep her time away to ninety minutes, max. King, as anxious as the others to find out what Simon wanted, told her he’d meet her at her place today. He didn’t believe for a minute the trip to Louisiana was to check out the old place, like Simon had said.
    Chelle was probably the only one in town who didn’t care why King’s cousin had come back to Bayou Allain. She wanted King happy, that was al l . And she was pretty sure he would be anything but when she arrived sans news.
    She made a quick stop at the corner of St. James and State, then turned left, and in another half mile right onto Fern. Her cottage sat at the end of the long and winding road, and that’s where King was waiting.
    Her heart felt weightless in her chest, floating into her throat and making it hard to draw breath. Her tummy tingled, tightening up to send tiny shivers to tickle between her legs. She clenched her sex, feeling herself grow ready.
    It had been like this since the first time she’d seen King that long-ago night at Red’s. She’d tended bar in the French Quarter when she’d lived in New Orleans, wasting her business administration degree slinging drinks the same way she was wasting it now working for Lorna. Then she’d been biding her time, checking the classifieds and Monster.com, though she didn’t know why she bothered.
    Working from early evening until two a.m., then partying until dawn was a lot more fun than a corporate nine to five. And then came Hurricane Katrina and the loss of her life as she’d known it.
    She’d hit the road, dazed, confused, and run out of gas in Bayou Allain. She’d been here ever since, with no idea why she stayed. At least she hadn’t known until the night she met Kingdom Trahan.
    She’d been tired of