“Is this about Emma?” Callie forced the other woman’s name out over a lump of envy.
“No.”
Ah, hell. Even though her mind played an endless loop of getting Ben naked while she crawled all over him, Callie knew she didn’t actually have any rights to the man. Her debilitating case of lust didn’t have anything to do with his very real relationship with Emma. Time to step back and be professional.
“Look, I’m sorry I came in during your…well, your thing.” She didn’t know what to call that spectacle, so she didn’t try to define it. Talking about it would only put the image of Emma and Ben together back in her head, and Callie had spent all day trying to stamp it out.
“Thing?”
Callie heard a tinge of amusement in his voice. “I don’t know what the correct name is.”
His shook his head. “I said no. That’s not it.”
“I can talk to Emma if that will help.” Callie had no idea how to start that conversation or what to say, but she made the offer anyway. This being the bigger person stuff just sucked.
“I got it, but not necessary.”
He liked using that phrase even when it didn’t make any sense or have an understandable context. “Got what?” she asked.
Ben exhaled as the rigid anger left his body. “Stop talking about Emma.”
Seemed Ben turned a bit touchy when the topic of his girlfriend popped up. Probably a guilt thing. That’s what happened when a guy tried to dip his pen in too many wells.
“I’m trying to ignore your jackassery here and apologize.”
Instead of revving up again, Ben smiled. “My what?”
“I was going to call you a douche and the bag it came in, but I thought you’d have me arrested.”
“And here I thought you didn’t know where to draw the line.” He leaned back against his desk with his feet out in front of him at an angle. The move put his thigh right next to hers. “So tell me why you keep apologizing about Emma.”
Callie only remembered one time, but arguing about that struck her as lame. Now that Ben’s temper had returned to human levels, she didn’t want to send him racing back to crazy town again. “You two were in a clinch when I came in.”
“You call that a clinch?”
Whatever it was it made Callie’s head explode. “Sure.”
“Tell me something.”
No way was she agreeing to that without more information. Hand this man an opening and he’d steer a submarine through it.
He kept talking anyway. Looked pretty relaxed in his slouch as his smile inched up on his lips. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
If he wanted to shock her…well, he did. “How is that relevant?”
“Call me curious.”
“Are you allowed to ask me about that?”
“You think there’s a law against it?”
“There should be.”
“So, you’re not going to answer?”
Not until she knew where this was going. “What does the state of my love life have to do with anything?”
“You know all about me. Only seems fair I get some background on you.”
“I need to know about your life in order to do my job.” At least that was the excuse she used when she ventured outside the file Mark gave her. She’d lost her clearance when she walked away from her job at the FBI, but she still had friends of the computer-hacker variety. In just a few hours she had all the paperwork that existed on Ben.
She had to admit her little search mission turned out to be a huge disappointment. His background was so clean it squeaked. If he hadn’t passed through screening committees and all sorts of interviews to get his current judicial position she would have thought someone manufactured his past. No arrests. No trouble. Great grades. Always within the law. For some reason she expected to find a smart guy with a bad-boy past. That sounded good in the fantasy she created in her head but looked as if it wasn’t true.
“So, you’re not poking around in my life just because you’re nosy?” he asked.
No way could he know about her travels through his personal history. She’d been careful and cleaned up behind her. “I don’t poke.”
“Tell me what you want to know.”
She smelled a con. “Anything?”
“You get one question.”
She thought about his decision to leave the military and about the scarce information on his parents. She skipped all that and went with the issue at the front of her mind. “What’s going on between you and Emma?”
“I’ve already answered that. We’re friends.”
Callie snorted just to let him know what she thought of his fake deals. “I don’t climb all over my friends when the door shuts.”
“Really? When do you climb on them then?”
“Huh?”
He closed in. One minute he shot her a lazy smile. The next he stood up straight and hovered over her with his cheek right next to hers. “What do you do with your friends?”
Heat thrummed off him, surrounding her and filling her with a tingly sensation from shoulders to toes. “I don’t—”
“Do you touch them?” Ben trailed the back of his hand down her cheek. Dragged his thumb across her lips.
“I…”
“Smell them?” He leaned down and nuzzled her ear. “Do they smell as good as you?”
His mouth traveled down her neck, nipping and kissing. Hot breath tickled her skin as his fingers caressed her waist. The double whammy of touching slammed her breath to a halt in her chest. Her body strained to get closer to him as her palms skimmed up his back.
Holy crap. “This isn’t a good idea,” she said.
“Probably not, but I’ve been wanting to do it all day.”
“I thought you were mad at me.”
“Be quiet for a second,” he said.
Then his mouth covered hers. His lips pressed deep and strong and his tongue brushed against hers. There was nothing teasing about this kiss. It shot through her hot and wet, electrifying every cell inside her. She fell into the sensation of being overpowered and claimed. Her stomach tumbled and her knees dipped. Muscles relaxed as her brain shifted into neutral.
“God, yes,” he mumbled when their mouths lifted on gasps of harsh breaths.
He dove back in. His lips met hers over and over again in a kiss that had her winding her arms around his neck and pulling him close.
Him. Her. Touching. Nothing else mattered. Pleasure crashed over her, drowning out everything around them. Fingers searched and sculpted. Her hands swept into his hair while his pushed against her lower back, easing her closer to the juncture between his thighs. She heard the grumbling moan in his chest and the deep breaths from her own.
She lifted her head in an attempt to get some air. “Ben…that…”
“You taste so good.”
His mouth found that sensitive spot right at the slope of her chin. Her kryptonite. A few nibbling kisses and she wanted to strip that conservative shirt and tie right off him.
She dropped her head back to give him greater access. “Right there.”
When his mouth found hers again, lights exploded in her brain. He kissed like he worked, with an intensity that sent her common sense screaming in wild defeat. The touch of his lips was all she dreamed about and everything she feared.
But her mind shouted out a red-light warning through the sensual haze. She had a job and he had a girlfriend.
Callie pulled her mouth away, letting her forehead rest against his cheek as she struggled to breathe without wheezing. “We have to stop.”
“God, why?” He mumbled the question into her hair.
“Emma.” Callie now hated that name.
With the gentle touch of his palms, he lifted her head and stared down at her. The gaze from deep brown eyes searched her face. The rapid beating in his chest thumped against her as his eyes grew soft.
“I don’t cheat,” he said in a husky whisper. “If I were with Emma I wouldn’t be kissing you.�
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Callie knew she should pull back, but she rubbed her hands up his back instead. “But, I saw—”
“Evidence of a lifelong friendship.” He traced her cheekbones with his thumbs. “That’s it.”
“You’re not—”
“No.”
“Does Emma know that?”
His chuckle vibrated against her from everywhere their bodies touched. “Definitely.”
Relief washed through Callie. She balanced her head on his chin as she tried to figure out what it all meant. “Now what?”
“You invite me to your house.”
“That crosses a line.” She could recognize that over her misfiring brain waves and damp panties.
“I’d carry you to mine right this second, but Mark will be there eventually to screw everything up.” Ben dropped a quick kiss on her mouth.
“Oh, yeah. Your brother.” And her boss.
“And we’re going to need hours of privacy.”
She debated the pros and cons for all of two seconds. The temptation proved too great. “Well, as you keep telling me, you’re the one in charge.”
Ben’s smile lit up his face. “About time you admitted that.”
Chapter Six
Emma finished her afternoon docket and left the bench in time to see Mark storm into the back room of her suite and grab her clerk by the arm. He dragged Scott MacAllister behind him down the hall to her private office, and was not too subtle about it. Scott’s high-octave screaming didn’t help, either.
Everyone came running. Emma waved off her bodyguard and reassured her assistant as she followed in Mark’s footsteps. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked in a harsh whisper as she shut her door.
Mark barely spared her a glance. “Get out of here, Emma.”
“Absolutely not.” She used her best judge tone to convey her anger over his disrespect.
If Mark picked up on her mood he didn’t let on.
“This is between me and young Scott here.” Mark’s face flushed with fury as he dropped Scott into the nearest chair and held him there.
She feared he’d kill Scott if she moved away. “This is my office,” she said, trying to break through the irrational mood that gripped Mark.
“This is my case.”
Dread settled in her stomach. “What has happened?”
“Your clerk has the starring role on the security tapes of Ben’s office.”
“No, Judge Blanton. I didn’t. I wouldn’t.” Scott shook with fear as he tried to get up.
Mark grabbed Scott by the collar and shoved him down again. “Shut up.”
“But you’ve got this all wrong.” Scott’s voice grew louder as he tried to reassure Mark of his innocence.
“I have eyes, Scott.”
And the strength of the devil. Emma stepped up, hoping to calm both men with her presence. “Tell me what’s going on,” she said as she unwrapped Mark’s fingers from Scott’s shirt.
Scott rubbed his arm from the spot of Mark’s earlier viselike hold. “Someone gave me the note.”
Mark scoffed. “Nice story.”
Mark’s anger and Scott’s fear still didn’t rise to the level of an explanation for her. “I don’t understand why you’re all over my clerk.”
“He’s there on the security tapes. I watched it myself. He came down the hall and slid the threatening letter under Ben’s door.” Mark turned his wrath back on Scott. “I want to know why.”
“I just delivered a message. I do that all the time.”
“It’s true, he does,” she said.
Mark wasn’t ready to calm down. “If that’s true, why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
Emma shifted through the information in her mind. “He was probably afraid you’d kill him.”
“I might yet.”
They barely made it inside the front door of her apartment before Ben pinned Callie against the wall. In their rush of entwined legs and arms, they knocked over a small table in the entry, sending something glass crashing to the floor. He heard the shattering fall as he shoved the front door shut with his foot.
He hoped whatever had broken didn’t matter much to her, because he couldn’t stop to investigate even if he wanted to. And he didn’t. The sole purpose of his wanting stood locked in his arms with her hand on his ass.
Everything moved in a haze of color and light. He remembered making a somewhat clumsy pass at her in his office and then struggling to drive his car while she shouted out directions and slid her hand along his inner thigh. The only thing that saved them from an accident where he wrapped his car around a tree was the desire to get her home and naked. No way was he checking out of this world before he got that opportunity. He stayed focused for that reason alone.
But they were home now. In her domain, where she would be comfortable and in charge. Where he could learn every inch of her skin without worrying about Mark busting in or anything stopping them. Where he could run the live version of the movie that had been playing in his head, the one where she could give free rein to the energy burning through her and use that hot mouth of hers for something other than giving him shit.
The threats and frustration faded into the far distance. Whatever or whoever plagued him and wanted him dead could wait. He concentrated solely on Callie—the eager touch of her hands and fierce heat of her kiss. Nothing else mattered but that.
Their bodies rolled against the wall until he moved them out of the way of the broken glass. Sharp breaths mixed with searching hands as their mouths slanted over each other again and again. Need flushed through Ben until all he could think about was getting her onto any flat surface and peeling that navy suit right off her.
Blond hair spread over white sheets as he pushed deep inside her. Yeah, he had been dreaming about that one since he met her.
“Lock the door,” she whispered against his lips.
This was one order he didn’t mind her giving. “At your service.”
He left her for the second it took to throw the bolt, then he came back even more eager to pull her close. Fingers dove through her hair and knocked the barrette loose. Silky strands fell over his hands and across her shoulders. Long and smooth. Just as he imagined.
And he wasn’t alone in searching. Her hands moved to his belt, shifting and tugging until he felt the tightness around his waist loosen. The belt hit the floor. When his fingers returned to the button at the top of his pants, his stomach dipped, giving her easier access to ripping the clothes right off him. The kiss in her hair, the brushing of his palms over her collarbone, all of it allowed her to take the lead. To be ready on her terms.
The clicking of his zipper got him moving again. He chanted her name as he stripped off his jacket and dropped it to the floor. Without breaking a kiss he reached for her blouse. One, two, three. The pearl buttons slipped from their holes, revealing miles of creamy skin and a pink lace bra that begged for sex.
But he didn’t need an invitation. He rubbed his palms over her breasts, learning every curve and caressing until her back arched and her nipples puckered. A finger eased under the material’s thin edge, giving him access to her bare skin. When he folded the silk back and slid a thumb across the plump top of her breast, she broke off the kiss and stared down at her chest.
Every time his thumb passed over her nipple, her body jumped in response. Her high, round breasts lifted and fell on harsh breaths.
“Bedroom,” she said in a breathy voice.
He wanted to do the romantic thing and carry her to the bed, but his erection pounded too hard to let him do it. “Can’t make it.”
She glanced over his shoulder, her eyes wild with need. “Sofa.”
“Yes.” Hell, the wall worked for him. He still couldn’t believe they made it out of the car and up a flight of stairs to the front door without peeling their clothes off.
She grabbed his hand and dragged him into her small living room. A couch and a chair and…some other piece of furniture. He didn’t really give
a shit what. All he wanted was her. He could do an inventory later. Maybe after they had sex six or seven times and his dick no longer threatened to burst.
But all of his good intentions fled when she dropped down on the cushions in front of him. The sexy move put her eye level with the part of him that was most desperate for her. She didn’t play games or hesitate. No, she knew exactly what they both wanted. She slid her hand inside his pants, under the elastic of his briefs and straight to his cock. Her fingers squeezed, caressing his tip before sliding down the length of him.
His knees buckled.
Seeing her hair fall over his lower body made him rock hard. He wondered how he would survive the delicate torture of her exploration. When she took him between her lips and down her throat, he knew he wouldn’t. His body bucked and trembled. Every time she eased him back out of her mouth, his hips tensed and pushed forward as if his lower body could not tolerate the separation from her.
The gentle assault of hands and tongue continued until his mind crashed. All the fantasies about taking her long and slow vanished. Something primal and raw replaced them. He wanted her naked and panting, spread out on the floor before him while he pushed deep inside her.
“Protection.” Ben forced the word with a groan.
She glanced up, her mouth wet and her eyes glazed with longing. “What?”
“We need a condom.” If she didn’t have one, he would go door to fucking door of the condo complex until he tracked one down.
“Right.” She placed a kiss on the tip of his cock and stood up.
He immediately regretted speaking up. A flaming heat gripped him. With her gone, his muscles refused to relax. Rather than waste time standing there with his erection pressing against his pants, he started to strip. Off came the tie and shirt. He shoved his pants and briefs down and stepped out of them. There he waited, naked and still in the center of her living room.
Leave Me Breathless Page 5
