by Lulu Pratt
“You really are insane.” I don’t even know how to talk to him like this. I want him to walk off the edge of the planet and eviscerate. “I wasn’t sleeping with anyone. You were a disgusting jackass who didn’t listen to me and treated me like shit. We’ve been over all this in mediation and therapy, remember? You were supposed to sign the divorce papers a year ago! I’m not going to talk to you about this anymore. It’s done.”
“It’s not over until I say it’s over, Kate.” David changes from ridiculous to dangerous in the span of a breath. He slides off my car and advances on me. “You don’t get to make the decision to end this. We do what I say.”
“You don’t own me.” I spit, but my hands clench tighter around my keys. “I’m not a prop you move around sets. I’m a person you took advantage of for too damn long. Go away, David.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you agree to talk to me. This charade is going to end, Kate. Thinking about you fucking someone else is making me crazy. When I find out who it is, I’ll kill them. Don’t think I won’t.”
“You thought I got a side boyfriend?” I sass over Lily’s arm. “Guess you’re still as full of shit as before.”
“You are mine.” David growls. “You can’t satisfy my appetite, but that doesn’t mean this ends. Step up your game and everything will be fine.”
“You are getting divorced, dumbass.” Lily tries to shove him backwards but he barely moves. “And now you threatened her with bodily harm. That’s not going to hold well in court.”
“Stay out of this.” He sneers.
“I’d rather live in a cardboard box than go back to you.” I hold up my fist with the key. “Get away from me.”
“I’m one button push away from the cops showing up. Get the hell away from us.” Lily lifts her phone enough to show him, but keeps it close to her body. “Try me. Just try me.”
“You’d rather live in a cardboard box, eh?” David laughs. It’s evil, sinister, totally unhinged. “I can make that happen. Just watch me.”
“One more step and I’m calling.” Lily warns.
David throws the bouquet at me and mutters, “Fucking bitch.”
I stand tall until he gets in his car and peels out of the parking lot. It’s only then that I allow myself to collapse.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ERIC
My legal pad is a series of scribbled tits and asses. This conversation is exhausting and my side is losing. Which means I don’t want to play anymore.
The day David McArthur leaves my life is going to be glorious. Best damn day of my life. It can’t get here soon enough.
“Are you even listening?” Vivian snaps her fingers in my face. “I don’t think you’ve listened to a word I’ve said in the last five minutes.”
“Closer to ten.” I toss my pen on the table. “I don’t know why this couldn’t be done over the phone? You know as well as I nothing we do will make either party happy. David’s an asshole, Kate’s not budging, neither of them can be made happy.”
“You’re the side who is refusing to acknowledge Kate’s fair share of the combined assets. This is her life, her money, too. Expecting to her roll over on it is ignorant.”
“Not ignorant. Her name isn’t on the accounts.” I point out and spin the pen over my thumb. It was an old debate intimidation tactic we used at competitions, back in my cooler days. It never actually intimidated anyone, but it was a tick that let every lawyer find his fellow forensics nerds.
Spoiler: Vivian is not one. Nor is she intimidated.
“Yes, and we’ve already established how that happened. He intentionally misled Kate. That’s a problem.”
“He was within his legal rights. I don’t know why we’re still talking about this.”
“You know as well as I do skirting the law isn’t looked upon favorably in court.”
“David isn’t going to settle for these terms.” I shrug carelessly even though it kills me inside.
Vivian is correct and David is a raging asshole for what he did, even if he had the legal right to do it. Kate is getting screwed by the guy who liked to screw the help, and there is no poetic justice to it.
“And Kate won’t settle for anything less.”
She is smart not to.
“You’ve got to meet us in the middle, Viv. I know neither of them want this to be handled by a judge, but there has to be some give.”
“All she wants is her fair share.”
“The law doesn’t say it’s hers to take.”
“The law most certainly does.”
“Look, infidelity cases are messy. He’s insistent she started the chain of affairs. Even if she didn’t, sleeping with someone outside their marriage is not grounds to take the money.”
“What are you talking about? He violated what is essentially a contract.” Vivian stares at me like I’m dumb.
“A contract that never explicitly states they cannot venture outside their bedroom for companions. It’s not an issue unless someone tries to say it is.”
“Someone did say it is, so now it’s an issue.”
“Look, we can argue their respective merits all day—”
“Like how your client is a notorious slime bag while mine is a celebrated humanitarian?”
“—but it won’t change that his name is on the accounts and hers isn’t.”
“We both know that won’t hold up.”
I shrug again.
She’s right and every day that passes makes me consider this. I can’t let David screw her over. I’m already making a pretty penny on this case once it finalizes and I can let some of that go if it means I’m not aiding him in her total destruction. But I still have to make it look kind of convincing or my ass is grass at work.
“Well, this is what we are bringing to the judge. I was hoping we could work some of the smaller details out, but if you aren’t willing to budge, then I see this meeting was useless.”
“Which is why I requested a phone call.” I smile thinly. “Look, Vivian, I know you know this isn’t personal. This guy, say what you want about him, doesn’t want to settle for anything less than this.”
“So you are willing to let this go to court and risk getting worse than what we are offering by a judge who can smell his bullshit from a mile away?”
Fair question. And yes, at this rate, I am very much willing to risk that. Let the fucker go bankrupt and Kate get what she deserves. I’d still get paid at the end of it.
“You know I can only do so much.”
“I strongly recommend you talk to David.” Vivian packs up her bag and shakes her head. “Is he really as awful as he sounds?”
“Worse.” I pinch the bridge over my nose. “You have no fucking idea, Viv. He’s the worst client I’ve ever had.”
“Is that right.” She studies me carefully. “I think you’re up to something.”
“What?”
“You don’t back down. I smell bullshit brewing.”
If one more fucking person calls bullshit on me, I’m going to lose it. “I’m not brewing anything, Viv. Yes, he really is that bad. No, he won’t settle for less. I don’t know what else you want from me.”
“You never concede anything like this in our meetings.”
“I’ve never had a client like him.”
My phone vibrates. I glance down to make sure it’s not David. Even better, it’s a picture message from Kate. My pants tighten without even looking at it. The last few pictures messages from her have been… inspiring.
“Eric.”
“What?” I slide my phone under the table and open it. Kate is draped over a familiar chaise, naked. She says she’s waiting for me. My cock jumps at attention, waiting for her, too.
“You know I don’t play games. And we both know you thrive on them.”
“For fucks sake, Vivian.” I slide the phone in my briefcase with the rest of my useless notes. “I’m not going to entertain this shit. We’re both better than this.”
“Fine.�
�� She stands and shoulders her bag. “Be prepared to lose.”
“Hasn’t happened yet.”
“First time for everything.” She offers a tight smile and leaves quietly.
Another photo comes to my phone, a very naughty one featuring my favorite humanitarian. My cock throbs in my slacks. After this terrible meeting, I could really use her writhing under me.
We haven’t seen each other much because of my work load. And, if I’m being honest, because I haven’t known fully what to do with her. For as often as I think about her, our precarious situation looms over my head like a guillotine.
Every moment together with her is the best of my life. But I represent her ex, and I can’t exactly walk off the case.
I’d thought about it more than once. David truly is the worst client I’ve ever had, but it would screw over Kate more than anything else. Quitting the case to sit by her side will look fucking terrible before a judge.
A few more weeks. I could do this for a few more weeks. I’ll step up my visits with Kate and use sex as a stress relief. Maybe she needs more sex as a stress relief, too.
I throw my briefcase in the back seat of my car and head out. Not even Los Angeles traffic can kill my raging erection.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
KATE
Eric is breathless when he opens the door. I can’t stop the stupid grin and the fizzy bubbles from flooding through me, and I don’t want to anymore. All I want, after this terrible week, is to lose myself in the man who turns my world upside down.
“I need you.” Eric’s voice rumbles over me. He lays his jacket and tie on the bar. “I need to forget this whole goddamn week and only see you. For just a little while.”
“Me, too.” I push myself off the chaise and help him undo his buttons. Just being near him instantly silences the buzzing in my mind. “You’re the only thing that makes sense right now.”
He covers my hands with his and kisses me with fire. Words aren’t needed anymore. We melt together like snow and everything slows: my heart, my breath, the world.
I pull off his shirt and place it with his jacket, followed by his pants and belt after he slips out of them. Eric presses himself against my back, his cock rubbing against my lower back. His hands leave a trail of heat across my chest and stomach. Kisses drift down my shoulder and up my neck.
Every other encounter together has been desperate, needy. This feels different, more comfortable. More tender.
Eric kisses down my other shoulder and caresses my breasts with soft fingers. We sway together gently to a silent song as we rub each other. I slide the band of his boxer briefs over his cock and run my fingers across his great girth, following the trail of veins to his head.
He groans and rests his head against the back of mine. I repeat the motion over and over, loving his sounds and the feel of him tensing against me. For all his dominance, he never makes me feel uncomfortable. Instead, I thrive on knowing how I undo him.
Eric gently turns me and presses his cock against my stomach. My center aches to have him inside, but I instead slide down him and hook his waistband with my fingers. He steps out of his last shred of clothing and towers over me, magnificently erect.
I caress his length between my breasts and lick his head with each pass. Eric groans and grasps the edge of the bar every time I do. Fucking him with my mouth is an experience all its own. Not only is it incredibly sexy, and drives me to pleasure myself while pleasure him, but I feel in total control.
The moment he thrusts his hips toward me, I slow down and pull hard with my mouth. His fists tighten around my hair but I don’t take him back in my mouth. Instead, I exhale slowly across him and stroke the soft skin between his balls.
He responds with a deep moan. I’m slowly learning what drives him crazy and I love it.
Eric pulls me up to him and kisses me again. He leans me against the bar and throws himself into each touch. It feels like he’s writing me a love song with his tongue and I could listen to it all day. We wouldn’t need sex if he continues to kiss me like this.
“I need to be inside you,” he whispers in my ear. “I need to feel all of you around me.”
“Need is such a strong word.” I tease.
“It isn’t strong enough.”
I lead him to the bed and move him into a seated position against the headboard. This is my new favorite position, where we can be close while making love to one another. I love to watch his face contort as he thrusts into me. I love to be bare and exposed when I fly apart with his cock inside me.
We move together slowly and kiss through the movement. It transcends every other experience together. Our bodies move seamlessly against one another; where he goes, I follow. Where he thrusts, I take. Where I push, he pulls. We become one entity in motion.
“Kate.” Eric gasps a little as I grind into him. His lashes flutter and he stares at me with such deep emotion I almost come from the power of it. “I—”
“I know.” I whisper against his lips.
“I don’t think you do.”
I place a palm on his chest and curl my hips harder against him. He closes his eyes and rests his head against the headboard as I move. His fingers press into me territorially and that exact moment is when it hits me, hard.
I want this man in my life forever. I don’t care how. I just want to look at him like this every day and lose myself in the waves of passion.
“Eric.” I whisper his name because the pressure in my chest mounts. I can barely breathe through the growing buildup between my legs.
Before, it always came quickly and burned through me. This orgasm comes in cresting waves, threatening to diffuse and send me into a million pieces.
“Eric.”
“I know.” He says quietly, a moan escaping him.
“No, you don’t.”
He cradles my head and pulls me to him without a break in the gyrating of his hips. We are forehead to forehead, breaths quickened, vision blurred. I can’t stop the moans from spilling over my lips because I can no longer control my body.
The electric fingers of the mounting orgasm settle into my lungs and threaten to seize. Our eyes meet and I feel the emotions he can’t bring himself to voice. The longing that radiates throughout him.
The love that flows between us, hot and unspoken.
As soon as that word populates behind my eyes, that pesky little four-letter word, I finally succumb to release. I gasp out his name and tears spill down my cheeks. My entire body shatters and rearranges itself under his touch. I don’t know the sky from the ground and I’m flying through space and time.
His grunts increase and he thrusts against me harder, working my hips against his cock in a frenzy. He bites down on my shoulder and gasps as his own orgasm rips through him. We cling to each other while our heart rates settle, panting and dizzy.
“You’re going to be the end of me.” He murmurs.
“No,” I cup his face in my hands and kiss him softly, “we are the new beginning.”
“I don’t think you know what you’re asking.”
“I think it’s time to stop pretending, Eric.”
He doesn’t say anything, but I can see his thoughts warring against his heart. The struggle over what he wants. The struggle I know so well.
“I know what I want.”
“This is a chaotic time in your life.” He says it slowly and doesn’t look at me, which somehow makes it feel even worse.
“The chaotic period has passed. This is the resolution. I’m not helpless, okay? This is not something I’m clinging to as a sick sort of rebound.”
His face scrunches for a moment. “That’s not what I meant. I just don’t want to take advantage of you, Kate. I’ve done too much of that in my past. It’s not what I want for you.”
“What do you want for me?” I ask softly.
Again, the words stop up behind his lips. I can’t bring myself to say them either. I kiss him instead.
We have time to figure it out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
ERIC
“Mr. Stevens?” Sophie’s face is taut when she steps into my office, which is never a good sign.
“This can’t be good.” I close the file laid out before me and recline in my chair. “Is it Williams?”
She shakes her head.
“Vivica Gattis?” Another shake. Shit. I stack my files together and toss them into a desk drawer. “All right. Send the asshole in.”
“Asshole? I knew we’d be friends.” David McArthur quips, letting himself in with a wink. “You’re my brand of man, Eric.”
“Glad to hear it.” Years in a courtroom keep my jaw from clenching. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Updates. I know you met with Kate’s lawyer recently.”
“Correct. I told you no headway was made and we are going to court.”
“That’s what I don’t like.” David clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “I don’t want this to go to court and create a bigger circus than it is already. I need you to get her to back down.”
“Unfortunately, your whoring about Hollywood has given them an extra boost of fight. I warned you to keep it low-key when this whole thing started, David. There’s a reason why I tell you to do something. I’m the expert here, remember?”
“It’s not whoring. I’m just enjoying myself. Though, this past weekend could probably cross the line.” David grins widely at me. “Tom Watts threw a killer party at his mansion. Girls everywhere. God bless the bikini, am I right?”
“David.” I seethe quietly and struggle to keep my voice level. At the rate this guy is going, I’m going to be the laughing stock of the courthouse. No one in their right mind would continue to deal with this bullshit. “If you can’t stop your fucking antics, I’m going to have to drop your case.”
“Excuse me?” The smile drops and something I’m sure he meant to be sinister surfaces. How adorable. I could beat the mouth of this guy in two seconds. “You can’t do that.”
