Legally Bound

by Rynne Raines

  Reluctantly, Eve fixed her eyes on the table as she recalled the past ten years. Over the last decade, she had seen him interact in different settings—professional, public, and private. In all of them, he carried himself with poise and confidence. He was honest and kind and unmotivated by money. Eve recalled numerous pro-bono cases he’d taken on over the years.

  The most recent case was young Charlotte Sweeney—a twenty-five year old woman with two small boys and a husband who liked to win arguments using his fists. Eve remembered trying a separate case at the time and seeing the young family at the courthouse. She also remembered seeing Donavan digging into his pockets and giving the boys change for the vending machine. In two weeks, she was sure he’d spent a small fortune filling those boys with candy and soda. Though he wasn’t earning a paycheck from their case, he approached the litigations with the same, if not a more determined and driven manner than he did when there was millions of dollars on the line.

  Eve’s chest tightened. Donavan was driven by ethics, morals, and emotion. He wasn’t the type of man to stand by and watch people be mistreated or taken advantage of, especially when those people could not protect themselves. He would make a wonderful father someday. She thought back to what he had told her about his own father and frowned. He was nothing like his overbearing and cruel father. He was the exact opposite.

  Still, she retained her belief that people were products of their environments. Only now she realized that Donavan’s environment made him a man who people respected. A man she respected. A man who she could picture living out the rest of her life with….

  Eve bolted up from her chair, nearly knocking over the waiter, who had just approached with their order.

  “I’m sorry,” she quickly apologized to waiter then to Caitlyn and swiped up her purse. “I have to go. Um…here,” she tossed a twenty dollar bill on the table, “I’ll call you later.”

  ****

  Charleston and Associates was located in the South East corner of downtown Los Angeles. The shimmering glass, multi-functional, twenty-two floor high rise boasted twelve hundred offices and Donavan’s personal headquarters just had to be on the top floor.

  Eve gnawed on a fingernail as she stood in the far back of the elevator car and watched the fluorescent numbers above the stainless steel doors climb. There was a chance Donavan wouldn’t be in the office today but Eve hoped he was. She needed to set the record straight.

  During the cab ride over her mind went back and forth about what she could possibly say to make things right between them. In the midst of contemplation, her conversation with Caitlyn resonated in the back of her head. What evidence do you have leading you to believe Donavan wasn’t telling you the truth, other than believing that everyone is exactly like your mother?

  None. She had none. In fact, she had evidence proving the exact opposite. Her stomach churned at how badly she had treated him. She felt horrible. When Eve left her mother’s home to become her own woman and rule her own life, she promised herself she would never be powerless again. She accomplished this through controlling every aspect of her life down to arranging her socks in their drawer by color, brand, and style. Only now, she realized that those little quirks and attempts to control everything were meaningless when it was really the past forcing her to do it. I’m still letting my mother control my life.

  Her heart pounded harder as the elevator ascended past the fifteenth floor.

  Caitlyn was right. Donavan didn’t deserve to be persecuted for her mother’s transgressions and it was high time she put the past where it belonged. Behind her.

  Her high-heel clad foot tapped nervously as the elevator approached the twenty-second floor. He wouldn’t want to see her, she was sure. Not after belittling his feelings and stinging his pride and basically telling him that her career was more important to her than what they’d shared. Perhaps he would slam the door in her face before she could get a single word out. If he did, she would force her way back in. She would demand a moment of his time if not only to let him know how she really felt. Like it or not, Donavan was going to hear what she had to say.

  The elevator doors opened.

  Eve quickly but coolly rushed past the three suits leisurely stepping off the elevator. Her legs carried her swiftly down the hall toward Donavan’s office. If she didn’t move fast, she might lose her nerve and do something stupid like send her apology via text message. No. If there was any chance of repairing the hurt feelings between them and having any kind of relationship, she needed to make her apology face to face.

  ****

  “It’s not like you to put your ass on the line like this, Carver.” A whiskey-rough voice boomed from the telephone speaker on Donavan’s desk. “She must be one hell of a lawyer.”

  Donavan rocked back and forth in his chair, his fingers steepled thoughtfully against his lips as he mulled over what Ambrose Charleston just said. “She is one hell of a lawyer, sir. A bit rough around the edges, but there’s not a doubt in my mind she’d be an invaluable asset to the firm.”

  “Yeah well, we don’t usually hand out junior partnerships to just anyone off the street, son.”

  “I’m well aware of that, sir, but that’s what it’s going to take to get her here. We could sit on the fence about it, maybe try to shake her down to a paid internship, but that would be a mistake. I’ve caught wind of several different offers from a number of competing firms—Kiniki and Bosely are at the top of the list,” Donavan lied. Then, he sat back and waited for the sparks to fly.

  “Bah! Kiniki and Bosely! Those bastards have been a pain in my ass since the day they opened shop. Did you know when they were starting out, I even tried to…”

  His temples started to throb as Ambrose went into a rant about their biggest competitor. Donavan hadn’t slept through the night in two weeks and the lack of sleep was catching up with him. When he closed his eyes, even when he was at work or at a business dinner, Eve was there in his mind, tormenting him. Every morning and night he showered and vigorously scrubbed, trying to purge his skin of her sweet scent, yet it was hopeless. The rosehip and lavender smell of her hair was branded into his memory so deep no amount of washing could remove it.

  He toyed with a pen, letting it slide back and forth between his fingers. Picking up the phone and calling her was out of the question. He considered it several times over the last few days but always circled back to the same conclusion. They wanted different things. Unless he was willing to agree to her terms, there was no point talking.

  He dropped the pen on his desk and then scrubbed his palms over his face as Ambrose continued to fume. The old-timer never ran out of shitty things to say about Kiniki and Bosely. Why he was pushing for a junior partnership on her behalf, he wasn’t entirely sure. She would be good for the company, he told himself. Obtaining a position in a larger firm would open more doors for her professionally. He couldn’t give her what she wanted in regards to a relationship based on secrecy, but he could give her this. Perhaps his motivation was more selfish. If he couldn’t have her in his bed, he could at least see her every day at work.

  Now who’s the masochist, Donavan thought bitterly.

  The rapid click of quick-tapping heels outside in the hall drew Donavan’s gaze to his office door seconds before it burst open. Eve?

  “I’m sorry to bother you at work but I need to talk to you,” she spoke quickly and out of breath.

  He swung his gaze to the speaker phone that had gone eerily silent then back to her flushed face. Half rising from his chair, he quickly replied, “Now is really not a good time, Evelyn. I’m on an important call—”

  “It can’t wait,” she interrupted. “If I wait to say this I might never say it and I have to. After my behavior I can understand why you don’t want to see me but, but just listen. All you have to do is listen.”

  Donavan tucked his tongue in his cheek and grimaced as she continued without barely taking a breath.

  “You have every right to be angry, but I’m
going to tell you why you should forgive me. Yes, it was wrong of me to expect you’d be content with anything other than full disclosure. Secrecy is not your style and it never has been. I get that now. You’re proud of who you are and you have every right to be, but you have to understand not everyone shares your confidence and conviction. Some of us are still muddling around, trying to find our way.”

  She paced back and forth, ringing her hands together and Donavan wondered if he shouldn’t hit the hang up button on the phone. However, Ambrose wasn’t one for secrecy either and if Donavan ended the call it might have more of a negative effect than a positive one.

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is that you caught me off guard,” Eve admitted. “Until now the only thing I’ve ever been one hundred percent certain of is my career. I always thought that it’s what got me out of the slums, got me my car and my home. My very way of life. But, now when I think about it, I realize that it’s not my career that makes me successful. It’s me. My hard work and dedication is what got me here, and you were right. I am a damn fine lawyer. If people can’t see that, well, then they can go straight to hell. I’m tired of pretending to be something I’m not. I’m done hiding.”

  The gruff clearing of a throat sounded from the telephone speaker and Eve’s eyebrows shot up. Donavan winced and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Well now,” Ambrose commented and Donavan watched all the blood drained from Eve’s face. “That was quite the moving argument, Ms. Morgan. I have to admit, I was a bit sketchy when Carver suggested taking on a junior partner from outside the company, but I’m sold. Though I’m not entirely clear on the subject matter of your dispute I can say this, if you argue all your cases with half the passion you just demonstrated, you’ll have a promising future here at Charleston and Associates. Welcome to the team, Morgan. Carver,” he barked. “Draw up the paperwork.”

  Donavan arched an eyebrow, keeping his gaze on Eve as he spoke. “What about the senior partners, sir?”

  “Screw em’! It takes those fools an hour to decide what they’re ordering for lunch. We can’t let them debate about this forever. There’s not a chance in hell I’m letting those Kiniki and Bosely pricks get the upper hand on me! I didn’t get where I am today by dragging my feet, boy. Fax me the contract when you’re done.”

  “I’ll have it on your desk by five o’clock. Good speaking to you, Mr. Charleston.”

  The phone went dead.

  Oh God. This is what happens when I act spontaneously, Eve thought miserably as the room began to spin. Did Donavan address the man on the phone as Mr. Charleston? Flustered, she tugged on the high-neck collar of her blouse then nervously twirled her thin gold chain around two fingers.

  “Um…that…that wasn’t the, Ambrose Charleston, as in your boss? Was it?”

  “It was.” Donavan circled to the front of his desk then propped his hip on the ledge. “I tried to tell you I was on a call.”

  So he did. Eve hadn’t believed him, though.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized as her cheeks burned. “I thought you were just playing nice—trying to get rid of me politely.”

  “When have you ever known me to play nice?” He folded his arms on his chest and arched an eyebrow. Eve wavered under his intense gray stare, her heart fluttering a mile per minute. Until now, she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him.

  “Um…wait a second—did he just welcome me on at the firm as a junior partner?”

  Donavan inclined his head. “That he did.”

  Filtering through the scattered thoughts inside her head, she briefly went over what Mr. Charleston said. Donavan had stuck his neck out for her and suggested that they hire her on.

  Her throat dried and she studied him, perplexed. “Let me get this straight. Even after the other night, you still suggested to your boss that they hire me on as a partner?” Eve shook her head. “Why? Why would you do that?”

  “You’re a good lawyer. You’d be an asset to the firm. Simple as that.”

  Was his reasoning so simple, Eve wondered. She didn’t think so. He had known how much being hired at a larger firm meant to her, especially after their conversation the other night. And, although she had treated him as if he ranked lower than her career, he still went out of his way to do this for her. Butterflies danced in her tummy. She wanted to close the distance and throw her arms around him, to show her gratitude for his selflessness, but she forced herself to remain where she was. At the moment, he didn’t exactly appear overly approachable. When she continued to stare in disbelief, the muscle in his jaw flexed.

  “Did you mean what you said?” he asked in an even tone.

  She exhaled all the air from her lungs and nodded. “Yes. Yes, I meant every word.”

  “Prove it.”

  Startled, Eve detangled her fingers from her necklace then cleared her throat. His gray gaze burned hot as it skimmed over her body and sent shivers down her spine. Was this his way of saying he still wanted her?

  Prove it? But how?

  Think like a submissive, Eve. Let feeling and instinct guide you.

  With a careful eye, she studied him while an uneasy tension wreaked havoc on every muscle in her body. If she was misreading his signals, what she was about to do would be mortifying. Was she was willing to take that chance?

  She propelled into motion, slowly striding across the office. Her heart pounded harder with each step that brought her closer to him. He wanted her to prove to him that her earlier speech was not built on empty promises. He wanted physical confirmation that she had changed. She would give it to him.

  Watery legs carried her forward until she was standing directly in front of him, however, he didn’t greet her with open arms or even the hint of a smile. He looked calm and collected, a portrait of coolness. Yet she understood the grounds for his cavalier posture. Their last night together, he had let his guard down and she had hurt him. He would not lower his defenses again. Not without warrant.

  Though he was within arm’s length now, Eve didn’t reach out to touch him. Instead, she ever so slowly sank onto her knees. In silence, she aligned the inside of her thighs with his feet and shifted her hands behind her back. The submissive stance would go further than words, she hoped, considering his office door was wide open. Any second someone could walk by and see her kneeling at his feet, but Eve didn’t care. She was done hiding.

  Head bowed, she locked her eyes on Donavan’s shoes and waited. The next move was his. This was all she could offer him. This was all she could do to show him that she had changed.

  What felt like an eternity passed before Donavan finally shifted his weight off the edge of the desk and gave it a slight shove backward with his foot. He sank onto his haunches in front of her.

  “It looks like someone’s been practicing being a good sub,” he murmured.

  His hand came up and cupped her cheek, tilting her face back to look at him. The tension coiled in her abdomen released with the familiar comfort of his large palm and the gentle calm of his eyes. The second her gaze locked onto his, emotion assaulted her. She wanted to hurl herself against him. She wanted to feel the safety of his arms wrapped around her and the strength of his body, yet she remained immobile. Frozen in the intensity of the moment, they stared at each other for a long time.

  With a watery gaze, Eve combed the planes and angles of his face, committing them to memory incase even this wasn’t enough to convince him she’d changed.

  A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek. I love him. I truly love him. How could I have pushed him away so easily? He has to forgive me. He has to. On a sob, she broke out of her submissive pose and shook her head. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I never meant for—”

  “Shh.” He finally gathered her into his arm and Eve clung to him as if her life depended on it. She clenched her fingers on the collar of his shirt as an onslaught of emotion ripped through her. Regret. Happiness. Relief. Some of the emotions spilled out of her while others
rushed into her, filling a void that had been inside her for years. She sniveled against his shoulder, uncaring to whether or not she looked weak in his eyes. She didn’t know what kind of future they had together—a week, a month, a year—she was content to have him for as long as he allowed. A short time was better than no time.

  Grasping her by the shoulders, Donavan gently eased her back and framed her face in his hands.

  “The other night,” he paused and creased his brow, “I never told I loved you.”

  With the reminder, her stomach knotted and she tried to hide her wince. “I—I know you didn’t. It’s okay though, I didn’t come here expecting—”

  “I should have,” he interrupted, stroking his thumbs along her cheekbones. “I should have told you that I loved you that night. And, I do. I love you, Eve.”

  Before she had time to form a response, Donavan sealed his mouth over hers. His hungry lips pulled and plucked greedily while the pressure of his kiss suspended her ability to think clearly. He loved her. He wanted her. He forgave her. Is this what love feels like? Agonizing, yet heavenly?

  Eve’s chest tightened as he kissed her deeper, gliding and sweeping his skilful tongue inside her mouth. She moaned and savored the muscles in his biceps contracting as he held her tighter.

  When they resurfaced for air, both of them were slightly out of breath. Donavan sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

  “Strange I’m about to say this,” he started in a breathy tone. “But, it might be in both of our best interests to keep our personal relationship under wraps while you settle in here at the firm. The contracts will take a few weeks to finalize. Think you can keep a secret for that long?”

  An unrestrained and uninhibited burst of laughter carried out of Eve and she arched an eyebrow at him.

  “Mmm, I’m not sure, Donavan. You of all people know I’m not very good at keeping secrets.”

  About the Author

  Rynne Raines lives in Westaskiwin, AB with her husband and Rogan, her headstrong cocker spaniel. The Canadian girl spends her days handcuffed to her keyboard and her nights hooting at whichever hockey game graces the channels of her television. Rynne writes fast-paced Erotic Romance for readers who like a little kink with their coffee and Hot Paranormals for those who enjoy taking a walk on the wicked side of night.