She bit down on her bottom lip. I wanted to suck it from her teeth. Damn it.
“It was a mistake,” she said quickly, looking anywhere but at me. The rain started coming down heavier, but I didn’t care. We had to talk this out away from the office.
Her quick admission that she regretted our romp in the sack was like a kick to the nuts. I had expected that reaction, but hell if it didn’t hurt.
Why though? Hadn’t I convinced myself it was just sex? That it could only be sex?
Anything else was akin to suicide, given Adam’s very clear feelings on the matter of me and his sister. I was taking my life in my hands by hoping like hell to do it all over again.
But here we were.
“Was it?” I asked, my hand still encircling her upper arm. I noticed she didn’t pull away, but her expression was incredulous.
“How can you ask that? I wasn’t the one getting texts from other booty calls this morning,” she spat out.
I raised an eyebrow. “So that’s the problem? You’re jealous.”
I might as well be poking a bear. She reared back as if ready to launch into a full-on attack. “Don’t delude yourself, Wyatt. Jealousy has nothing to do with it!”
“Then why are you so worried about other women texting me? If it was just sex, why should it matter?” I was baiting her. I knew it. On some level, she probably knew it too, but her anger was clearly getting the better of her.
And damn it was hot.
“It matters because it’s disrespectful!” she seethed. “Women are not commodities for your pleasure, Jeremy! You can’t sleep with someone and be so callous as to remind them that they’re simply one of many! It’s wrong!” Her chest heaved; her face flushed. She was quite literally on fire. This was the same passion I saw from her in the courtroom. When Lena Ducate felt something, she felt it deeply.
I held up my hands in surrender. “I wasn’t being disrespectful. It’s not as if I were texting someone while we were together. I can’t control who calls me. I had no intention of messaging either of them back—”
“Was it Sheila?” Lena demanded.
“Yes, it was.”
“And whose Greta?” Her mouth twisted into a sneer.
“Greta is an... old friend.”
“An old fuck buddy, you mean,” she muttered.
“So what if she is? As I asked before, why should it matter?” I pressed in close to her, so there was barely any room between us. She leaned back to look at me, her hair plastered to the side of her face from the rain.
“It doesn’t matter,” she exclaimed, her blue eyes flashing.
“Good,” I lied.
“All right, then,” she said. It was cold, I could see her starting to tremble. Though perhaps it wasn’t from the temperature.
“But it wasn’t a mistake,” I told her, bending my head close.
“It was,” she argued, though not very convincingly.
“Fine, it was a mistake,” I agreed, and she looked taken aback.
“Of... of course it was.” She stumbled over her words as if she couldn’t get them out fast enough.
I leaned in so that my nose brushed against hers, our lips only a breath apart. “I’d like to make that mistake again,” I murmured.
Her eyelids drooped and her full lips parted. “We can’t, Jeremy. I won’t be another notch on your bedpost. I’m better than that.”
“Yes, you are.” Then I kissed her. Long and deep with a lot of tongues. Right there in full view of everyone.
Adam could have seen us. Someone could easily tell him about the two of us making out in the parking lot. But right then, I really didn’t care.
It was a stupid, stupid thing to do, but Lena did things to my sanity. This woman had gotten under my skin and I wasn’t sure I could get her out—or if I wanted to.
Luckily, she pulled away, showing more restraint than I was obviously capable of. “Stop it, Jeremy. We can’t do this.”
She shoved me away. I backed up, watching as she got into her car. She didn’t look at me as she peeled away, her tires practically squealing.
Chapter 10
Jeremy
Adam walked into my office at the end of the day seeming far too chipper. “You want to grab a beer? I’m meeting Meg at Sweet Lila’s. Thought you could use a drink or two. You’ve looked ready to fall over all day.”
After kissing Lena that morning, my day went from shitty, to really, really shitty. Whitney had loaded a pile of new paperwork on my desk the moment I walked in the door.
“Discovery came in from the DA’s office for Reynold’s trial. Your ten-thirty is already here and waiting in reception and I’ve left five messages on your desk.” She gave me a toothy smile.
“Ugh. You couldn’t have given me time to walk in the door? Maybe get a cup of coffee? A danish?” I had looked around for Lena, but the door to her office was closed. If I was a betting man, I’d say that door would stay closed for the rest of the day.
Avoidance was a powerful tool.
Whitney shrugged. “Just doing my job.”
I patted her shoulder. “And you’re doing it well, Whitney.” I meant it too. She was a hell of a lot better than the last receptionist. She was organized to the point of being anal. She was already an integral part of the day-to-day operations of the firm. And she didn’t put up with crap from anyone. Definitely not me. I wondered if she and Lena had been talking about me behind my back. Sometimes I’d see them whispering together and I swore they would look my way.
Okay, I was officially crossing into narcissist territory, thinking every hot, available woman was chatting with their friends about me.
More likely Whitney’s standoffishness had absolutely nothing to do with me. I got the sense that there was a lot going on inside the older Galloway sister’s head. She was a woman who had survived something, and it wasn’t my place to find out what that was.
I respected her right to privacy.
I looked up at my partner distractedly. “What?”
Adam chuckled, leaning against the door jam. “I asked if you wanted to come down to Lila’s and get a drink.”
“What time is it?” I asked, picking up my phone.
Adam was really laughing now. “It’s after seven, dude. Where's your head today?”
Wrapped around your sister.
Yeah, I definitely couldn’t say that to Adam. Not if I wanted to keep my nose intact. I could take him in a fight, but I wasn’t feeling very perky today.
“I’ve got a lot on my plate. The discovery for the Reynolds manslaughter trial came in today. Talk about digging through a mountain.” I shoved aside a pile of papers.
Adam frowned. “Ask Lena for help. That’s why we hired an associate. She’s here to do the grunt work.”
“Maybe,” I said vaguely.
Adam stared at me for a few more moments. I stared back blandly.
Nothing to see here, Adam. Move along.
“So, drink?” Adam asked again.
I shook my head. “I’d better not. I have at least another couple of hours to put in here. And I think my liver could use the night off.”
“Okay, if you’re sure. We’ll be there for a little while, so if you change your mind…”
“Thanks, Ducate.” I already had my head buried back in the files by the time he left.
After another forty minutes, my neck was stiff, and my vision was blurring. Words had started to swim on the page. I pushed away from my desk and walked out to the kitchen. I usually made it a point to not drink caffeine so late at night, but I planned to make it a late one.
I expected the office to be dark but was surprised to find several lights were still on. Had Adam forgotten to turn everything off before he left?
I entered the kitchen and came up short. “I didn’t know you were still here.”
Lena was standing in front of the fridge, looking inside. Her feet were bare, and she had unbuttoned the top of her blouse. Her long hair was up in a messy bun se
cured by a pencil, exposing the length of her neck. She looked over her shoulder, her mouth pursed in a thin line. “I thought I was alone.”
“Sorry to disappoint.” I brushed past her to get to the coffee machine.
The air was thick with a noticeable tension. She grabbed a diet soda and closed the refrigerator door. She popped the top and took a long drink, eyeing me over the rim of the can. “What keeps you here so late?”
“Going over the pile of shit the DA’s office sent over for a case. It’s slow going,” I said, dumping coffee granules in the machine and turning it on. “Why are you still here? I thought you’d be off celebrating yet another victory.”
Lena’s eyebrows rose and I could see her swallow. We both knew how we had celebrated her victory last night.
Was it only last night?
Damn it! Now I was sporting a chubby. I discreetly adjusted my junk.
Lena cleared her throat and took another drink of her soda. “I’m plowing through some admin stuff. Nothing exciting.”
I tried not to focus on what the word plowing did to my cock.
I poured the freshly brewed coffee into a mug and dumped way too much sugar into the dark liquid. I hated sugar in my coffee. What the fuck? Lena addled my brain.
“You hate sugar in your coffee,” she pointed out as if reading my mind.
“How do you know how I take my coffee?” I countered.
She rolled her eyes. “Because I spent months making it for you. Don’t get an inflated ego because I remember such a mundane detail.” She got the creamer out of the fridge and handed it to me. “I bought some more Irish Creme earlier in the week. I noticed you were out.” I took my favorite flavor of creamer and poured some in my coffee.
“Thanks,” I responded, feeling an odd lump in my throat.
Get it together, Wyatt. It’s just coffee creamer.
She didn’t need to know what it did to me to know she paid attention. That she remembered something so trivial like how I took my coffee and my favorite flavor of creamer. Of course, she’d remember. She was the office admin for months.
Lena Ducate would not turn me into a giant ball of pussy.
“I like your hair up like that,” I commented, reaching out to lift a strand that had come free of the bun.
“Well, you know, a pencil bun is the height of fashion,” she snarked, swatting my hand away.
“You hungry? I was thinking about ordering a pizza,” I found myself offering. Lena hesitated. I gave her my sexiest grin. “It’s only pizza, Ducate.”
“Yeah, sure. The pizza sounds great. I like—”
“Ham and pineapple, I know. I seem to recall your questionable taste in pizza,” I interrupted, pulling out my phone and putting in a call to the local pizza place.
“I seem to have questionable taste in a lot of things,” she muttered, looking away.
Ouch.
I chose to ignore the barb and quickly put in an order for a large Hawaiian and breadsticks. I went back to my office to put away the files. When I came back out, Lena had cleaned off the coffee table in the reception area and set it up like a proper dinner table, complete with plates, silverware, and napkins. She had also pulled up two chairs on either side.
“Maybe we should light some candles or something,” I joked. And then realized how assy I sounded as I took in the look of hurt that momentarily crossed her face. She had gone to some trouble and I was shitting all over it. I sat down in one of the chairs and was immediately contrite. “That was rude, I’m sorry. It looks great.”
“It’s nothing. Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Lena replied gruffly.
It seemed I had a certain skill for pissing off Marlena Ducate.
Cue the awkwardness. It was becoming a thing between us. We were saved a few minutes later by a knock on the door. I quickly got to my feet to go and pay for the pizza. I returned with the steaming box and set it down on the table.
Lena picked up her purse and fished out her wallet. “What do I owe you?”
“Nothing. This is on me,” I told her.
She shook her head. “No way, let me contribute—”
“I can buy a beautiful woman a goddamn pizza,” I snapped, irrationally riled by her insistence.
“And I can pay for my own food,” she shot back.
We stared each other down, neither willing to cave. “Why is everything a battle with you?” I asked.
“Because you made this a war,” she flung back at me.
The air heated. She clenched her hands into fists. More of her hair had escaped the bun and fell in silky tendrils over her shoulders.
“Don’t,” she warned, narrowing her eyes.
“Don’t what?” I asked innocently, standing up and moving around to her side of the table. I pulled her to her feet.
“Don’t do what you’re thinking of doing,” she said weakly, the bite leaving her tone. I felt her melt into me. I loved this moment.
When she surrendered.
“I don’t like it when you tell me what to do,” I murmured wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing her flush against my front. She fitted against me so perfectly. Every curve melding completely.
“Yes, you do,” she sighed as I ran my hands up her back. I pulled out the pencil holding her hair up, loving the way it cascaded down. I leaned down and pressed my mouth against the side of her neck. She tasted like something fruity. I licked her skin, wanting to savor her on my tongue.
“The pizza will get cold,” she protested, even as she bent her head to the side giving me better access. I ran my tongue from her jaw to her collar bone before sucking on the skin at the hollow of her throat.
“I don’t care about the pizza,” I said as I kissed a trail back up her neck. Along the curve of her jaw. Up to her earlobe.
She tensed and pulled back. “I won’t be made a fool of, Jeremy,” she said with sudden ire.
I blinked away the lust haze and tried to hear what she was saying. “How am I making a fool of you?”
She pulled out of my arms enough to put distance between us. “Even if this is only sex, I’m not really interested in being one of many. I’m not saying I want exclusivity, but I’m also not big on sharing. Maybe that’s selfish of me, but—”
“I’m not sleeping with anyone else, Marlena,” I broke in, needing her to know that. It was important.
Lena looked at me in disbelief. “You got a message from Sheila just this morning. Some woman named Greta called you. Don’t play me, Wyatt.”
I held onto her upper arms so she couldn’t turn away from me. I stared deeply into her eyes so she could see my sincerity. “I haven’t slept with Sheila in months, Lena. I haven’t been with Greta since the beginning of the year. I haven’t had sex with anyone but you in a month.” I chuckled. “It’s just you, babe.”
She relaxed before growing tense again. What now?
“But that doesn’t mean there’s anything more going on here. Right? It’s only sex.” She spoke as if she needed to be convinced. Was she convincing me or herself?
If that’s what she needed to hear to be okay with getting naked with me, then I’d give it to her. Because I was slightly addicted to Marlena and I’d do just about anything to get her out of her panties.
“Just sex,” I promised.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me down the hallway, back toward my office. “Where are we going?” I asked when she turned on the light and crossed the room to perch her ass on my desk.
She crossed her legs and leaned back. “I’ve always wanted to fuck on a desk.” Her voice was all smoke and desire and I almost came in my pants right then and there.
“Well, I like to give a woman what she wants.” I kicked off my shoes and stalked toward her. I pulled her ass toward the edge of the desk, her skirt riding up around her waist. I licked my lips and then captured her mouth with mine.
She twinned her fingers up into my hair, giving the strands a vicious pull. I responded by dropping down to my knees and rippin
g her underwear right down the middle. She gasped. “What the hell, Wyatt?”
Without saying a word, I buried my face between her thighs, sucking her clit into my mouth.
“Oh my god,” she screamed, bucking her hips.
I looked up at her from my position between her legs. “Still angry about your ruined panties?”
She gripped my hair and shoved my face back to her pussy. “Shut up, Jeremy. Just shut up,” she rasped.
I did as I was told. I fucked her with my tongue until she was a quivering, unintelligible mess.
She kept crying “oh my god” over and over again as I made her come not once, but twice before getting back to my feet.
“Ready for stage two?” I asked, unbuckling my trousers.
Lena’s eyes were glazed over and she was panting heavily. She reached for the waistband of my pants and undid the button then lowered the zipper. She pushed them down past my hips before digging her fingers into my ass and pulling me toward her wetness.
My cock pressed against her opening. I pushed inside her. Only an inch. Then I realized what I was doing.
“Hang on, Lena. I need to get a condom,” I breathed against her mouth.
“I’m on the pill. It’s fine.” She squeezed her thighs around my waist.
I frowned. “Are you sure? I’m clean, I promise I’m always careful—”
“Jesus Christ, Jeremy, just put your dick inside me already.”
I didn’t need any more encouragement. I plunged inside her with a ferocity that had her gasping. Once I was buried to the hilt, I paused, looking down at her. She gazed back at me; her neck arched. She was still wearing her blouse, which I didn’t like. I wanted to see her gorgeous tits.
I pulled out as I unbuttoned her top. I pushed the material off her shoulders and then kissed her. Long and deep. With agonizing slowness, I thrust in and out of her all the while lavishing attention on her breasts. On her neck. On every sweet inch of her.
I could have gone on like that forever. Taking my time. Enjoying every moment. But Lena wasn’t having it. With her arm, she swept the pile of paperwork off the desk and onto the floor. She laid back across the surface, the heels of her feet digging into my ass.
Say You Love Me : An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 14
