Free Provocative (Tempting Book 3) by Alex Lucian Page A

black car parked in front of the house. It wasn’t familiar.
    The knock repeated itself and I sighed, flipping the throw blanket off of me and putting my bare feet onto the cool wood of the floors.
    When the knock continued, I shouted, “I’m coming! Jesus.”
    After opening the door, I just stared. Dark, thick hair met a full beard. The eyes seemed familiar somehow, but I knew as I stared at him that I’d never met him before. His crisp black dress shirt was rolled to his elbows and tucked into dark jeans. My eyes skipped over his muscular arms, taking in his overall aura of being a total bad ass, an aura that threatened an almost exciting kind of violence.
    I didn’t let him in, just held onto the side of the door. “Yeah?” I asked.
    The man seemed to take me in, eyes sliding over my yoga pants and tank top. I pulled my sleep sweater across my chest.
    “Is Nathan here?”
    “Nope, sure isn’t.” I began to close the door but his flat palm on the wood stopped me.
    “Nathan has a box of stuff for me. I’m here to collect it.”
    “And who the fuck are you?” I was annoyed that he was taking up my time and hadn’t even had the courtesy to introduce himself.
    He stepped closer to the door and my pulse skipped. This man screamed danger. “Who the fuck are you ?” he echoed.
    “I live here.” I clenched my teeth together.
    He laughed, but his eyes weren’t smiling. “Of course you do.” His palm on the door pushed and I scrambled to retain control of the situation by pushing against the door.
    “Hey, back the fuck off!”
    His eyes changed, from light interest to annoyance. “Look, little girl, I talked to Nathan two Tuesdays ago.”
    Two Tuesdays ago. When I lost the baby. Where had Nathan been, when I called him? I remembered he was gone, far away. He’d never told me where.
    The guy kept talking, oblivious to me being lost in thought. “He knew I was coming into town to get some shit. Move aside.”
    Was this guy for fucking real? “Hell no,” I spat, some of the fire that had been gone coming into my voice. “Back up.”
    “Nathan!” he hollered over my shoulder.
    “What the fuck?” I asked, not intending to say it aloud. “He’s not home. You can come back when he is.” I pushed against the door, but it didn’t budge against his hand. I suddenly felt so fucking stupid for telling him that I was here all alone. His one palm on the door was stronger than my full body weight against it.
    “Why don’t you call him? I don’t want to let you in the house while he’s gone.” I wanted to see him prove he knew Nathan—because if he did, he should have his phone number.
    “Fine.” He pulled out a shiny black phone and typed a series of numbers in. Whoever this guy was, he didn’t even need to pull up Nathan’s name in his contacts—he knew the phone number by heart.
    Who was he?
    And why hadn’t Nathan told me about him?
    He held the phone up to his ear, but after waiting a few seconds, he hung up. “He didn’t answer.” He stared at me, as if he expected me to still let him in.
    Suddenly, he let go of the door, causing the door to give under my weight. I stumbled and he stepped forward so that he was in the house, reaching a hand to steady me. The heat of his hand on my arm was like a brand and I shook off his touch.
    He was inside of the house. Shit. Fuck.
    “Who are you?” I asked again, pissed to be kept in the dark. I backed up a step, hit the bannister. I tried to remain as if I was in control of the situation as the man looked around.
    “When will he be home?” His eyes were narrowed and he turned to look at the driveway. “I won’t be in town much longer.”
    I had zero intention of telling him when Nathan would be home, but it wasn’t like I even knew the answer to that. Nathan came and went, and he was often home while I slept and gone when I woke.
    “It’s just a box of stuff. Surely you know where it is.”
    “I don’t. Sorry.” I tried remaining