Dream Walker (Gifted Liaisons)

by Capri Montgomery

  “Don’t even try it. That needed at the hospital routine isn’t going to work this time.” Daya stepped past Warren and marched down the stairs. The view going was just as good as the view coming. The thought of Daya coming brought a smile to his face.

  “You are too protective,” she said in a tone that told Warren she and Julian had had this conversation numerous times before.

  “You’re my sister and I have every right to be protective. He’s a nice guy, but you’re…well you’re too young to date young lady.”

  Daya stopped a step short of the bottom. “I’m thirty-three years old, Julian.”

  “Exactly.”

  Warren knew Daya had something else in mind when she started her conversation, but Julian had masterfully eluded her attack.

  “You’re still a baby and I’m not going to let some forty-two year old—”

  “Forty,” Warren said in an even tone.

  “…take advantage of you.”

  “He’s—” Daya’s phone blared out Toccata and Fugue. “Great,” she moaned.

  Warren could tell by the way she caressed the phone that she was contemplating not answering it. Finally, she flipped the phone open and held it to her ear. Warren wasn’t sure why, but something compelled him to go closer to her. It was as if a powerful magnet pulled him down the stairs until he was mere inches from her. Julian gave him a scornful look. He didn’t care. He wanted Daya, and judging by the way she kissed him back, she wanted him too.

  “I’m working out of the office today, and you knew I had a lunch appointment.”

  Warren couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation clearly.

  “I’m working on his case, Dennis. You want to talk about unprofessional; his invading my home last night was unprofessional.”

  Warren saw Julian springing into confrontation mode. He figured Daya had too judging by how quickly her hand went up to keep him at bay.

  “Dennis,” she stopped. Warren could make out parts of the other end to the conversation. From the parts he could hear, he realized Daya was using a lot of strength to stay calm.

  “I’ll stop in on my way home.” Her nostrils flared. “If you want to fire me be my guest. You’d be doing me a favor because I don’t want this case anyway. Now, I’ll be in the office in a couple hours.” She hung up the phone and massaged the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

  “Daya.” Julian placed a hand on her forearm.

  “I’m okay, Julian.”

  “I don’t like to see you like this. The stress is—”

  “I know. I'll find a way to unwind. I promise.”

  Warren wanted to interject some words of wisdom, but the fact remained this was a moment between brother and sister. He was just a spectator now, and he had no plans to make Daya uncomfortable. If she needed to unwind he could help her do that later.

  “Come on guys; I’ll buy you both lunch.”

  Warren felt her delicate fingers intertwine with his as he watched her slip her free hand around Julian’s arm.

  Chapter Four

  “Objection your honor,” Jonas said.

  “There’s no need to object counselor, we’re in chambers not the courtroom.” Judge Richer said in an exasperated tone.

  Daya rolled her eyes. There were at least ten arguments Jonas could have used to combat her reason for dismissing the evidence, and all he could come up with was “objection.”

  “The fact remains, Miss Landers has a point. I’ll dismiss the evidence.”

  “That’s not fair your honor.”

  “Counselor, this isn’t about fair. If you could have presented evidence that the samples weren’t compromised, I would have considered your request.’

  Daya sighed.

  “You seem disappointed.”

  “No your honor.” Daya met his intense blue eyes. He could always read her like an open book.

  Judge Richer dismissed Jonas and took a few minutes to address a problem that he said he knew existed. Daya pretended she was fine, but she could tell he knew otherwise.

  “You think he’s guilty, don’t you?”

  “Yes I do. But it doesn’t matter what I think. I have no evidence. Even if I did, I couldn’t do anything.”

  “You’d be disbarred.”

  “I can’t get excused from this case, and the DA put Jonas on this case. I could get Kroger off in my sleep.”

  “I can sense your half-hearted job on this case. There were at least ten objections you could have made today and you let them all slip by.”

  Richer had been her mentor through college. She looked up to him. His salt and pepper hair and fine wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, made him one of the most attractive judges on the bench. He was wise too. She could always ask for his advice, except for now. Now, he was the presiding judge on the case she was working and that meant a lot of things were off limits.

  “A little advice,” he smiled warmly. “Do your job to the fullest. If you don’t, and by some miracle he gets convicted, he could get it overturned because of your lack of defense.”

  “I know.”

  “You’ll still be disbarred.”

  “I know.”

  “And a killer will go free.”

  Daya’s eyes widened. He chuckled. “Yes, I think he’s guilty as the devil too. But we both have jobs to do.”

  “I’m afraid of him, Alex.”

  She could tell by the sympathetic look in his eyes that he wanted to take her in his arms and hold her.

  “Daya, it’s been my experience that the balance of judgment usually swings to the right eventually. Sometimes, the evidence is right in front of the cops. They just need a little help finding it.”

  She suddenly understood. Kroger wasn’t dumb enough to let anything slip. He wouldn’t have left any evidence behind. She needed to be able to understand how his mind worked. Once she did that, she might be able to trap him. It was risky, but she couldn’t let him go free.

  “Thank you, Alex.”

  “You’re welcome.” He winked. “Let’s get back out there counselor.”

  The afternoon seemed to drag by. Hours of forensic testimony from Greg Hoffman was starting to put everybody to sleep. Maureen Kroger had been in a pink negligee consisting of silk fibers and lace. They now all knew that her last meal had consisted of lobster and a spinach and artichoke dip, which she had consumed less than an hour before death. Unknowingly, Greg had set the stage for the other man theory. A woman dressed in a sexy negligee, a romantic and pricy dinner delivered inside her home on the night where she had been too sick to attend the fundraiser. The jury might have been bored to pieces, but she could see that unmistakable look on their faces—it was the one she often waited for—the moment when they had already made up their mind that her client was not guilty. This time, the look made her sick.

  “Court is adjourned until nine o’clock tomorrow morning.” Judge Richer wrapped his gavel on the desk.

  Before Daya knew it, the courtroom was slowly changing to empty. She reached the outside hallway. Warren stood off to the side. Had he been there all along? Had he seen her courtroom tactics? She smiled and walked over to him. Fully aware that Kroger’s yes were firmly fixed on her, Daya leaned into Warren’s embrace. He felt good, safe and inviting. Visions of their kiss raced through her mind. It had been a week since she had been in his arms. She hadn’t slept much, so he hadn’t been a fixture in her dreams either. She guessed that’s why he was there. He missed her as much as she missed him.

  “We worked our butts off!” Detective Brook’s brash voice jerked her out of her cocoon. She pulled back, fully aware that he was angry over the dismissal of key evidence.

  “Because of you that scum will go free!”

  Everybody’s attention seemed to fixate on the drama unfolding. Warren stepped forward, gently pushing Daya to the side and a little behind him.

  “Easy. She’s doing her job too.”

  Daya’s and Brook’s eyes met. Something harsh fade
d to understanding. In that one instance, she knew; he understood that she wanted a guilty verdict too.

  “I’m sorry.” He said. “I really am sorry.”

  “It’s all right.” She nodded as he took his leave.

  Daya looped her arm around Warren’s waist.

  “You were amazing in there,” he said.

  “Thanks. At this point, I wish I hadn’t been. I tried to be off my game, but there’s only so much I can not do before it’s noticeable. Alex says I have to defend with vigor even if Kroger is guilty. Alex also said I should try to find some evidence.” He hadn’t exactly used those exact words, but she knew it was what he meant. “Alex thinks Kroger is guilty too. I wish the jury were leaning that way as well.” She walked out the building, hugged tight next to Warren.

  “How do you know they’re not?” He placed his hand on the small of her back, giving her sufficient space to walk down the courthouse stairs.

  “I have a gift for seeing these things. Alex says I’m in tune with the jury. He always said that was a good thing.”

  Warren stopped and turned Daya to face him. “You’re either sleeping with this guy, have slept with him, or you want to sleep with him; which one is it?”

  She opened her mouth to finesse the truth, but already she could tell he wasn’t going to believe her. One of her many legal talents included knowing how to tell when people were questioning her defense. “We used to see each other.” She watched the crease form in his forehead. She had never given him the impression she was a virgin. He had no right to be angry. Then again, if circumstances were reversed, she might be angry too. Alex was gorgeous, sexy and still very much in love with her. On some level, she was in love with him too; but she didn’t want to be his Wednesday playmate, and he didn’t want to be her full-time man—or anybody else’s.

  “Oh,” she took a deep breath and gestured for him to keep walking. He didn’t move. “This isn’t the best place for this.” She said, yet he didn’t move. It wasn’t the best place, but he was making it the only place.

  “Alex and I…he was my mentor through college and the early part of my career. We worked some long hours together.” Studying for the Bar had been difficult, but Alex had added some sweet rewards whenever she got questions right. When she passed, they celebrated. His gift, a night of multiple orgasms. “Obviously, working that close with somebody you admire and respect…well we got close.”

  “You had sex with him.” If he were trying to make this easier, he wasn’t. What she and Alex had was more than sex.

  “I fell in love with him, Warren. For seven years we were lovers.” She saw Warren trying to process this latest development. “But it’s over now. We’re just friends.” She prayed he wouldn’t ask her if she still loved Alex. She couldn’t lie to him, but the truth didn’t seem to be an option either.

  “Who ended it?”

  “I did. It was amicable.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s a mature adult. He wasn’t going to get mad and spit fire at me.”

  “No. Why did you end it?”

  “I wanted more and he wasn’t ready for that.”

  “And if he were ready right now?”

  She hesitated. He cursed and started to walk away. “Wait,” she grabbed his arm and he stopped. “A year ago, I could have answered that question right away and I would have said yes, I’d go back to him. Today, I don’t know.” She felt him pulling away again. “I don’t know because until I met you I never thought I could feel again what I felt with him. You came along and I started to feel so much more. It’s as if you’re a magnet drawing me in. I’m excited and afraid. I don’t want to risk losing you, but at the same time…”

  “You don’t want to miss a chance with him?”

  “I’m afraid to fall in love with you. I’m afraid that you might get what you want from me and you’ll leave.” She finished her thought. He started to speak, but she kept talking. “I don’t want to be just a quick lay. I want to be a wife someday.”

  “First of all, I don’t do quick lays. Secondly, we’re connected, Daya. If you think I can walk away now, you’re insane.”

  All of a sudden she felt nervous. This man could change her life. She wanted him to change her life. Professionally she had everything she needed. She had found her comfort zone, mastered her trade and secured a corner office all by the time she was thirty-three. But she had yet to find what she wanted in her personal life. What she wanted was somebody to fall in love with, and somebody who loved her enough to make a commitment. She didn’t need the legal papers, though she wanted them. She didn’t need him to give up his career. She just needed somebody who would be willing to share his life with her—publicly, not in secret. Alex couldn’t, wouldn’t, give her that.

  Sheets of rain started to pour down. “Oh my God!”

  “My truck’s over there,” he yelled as he took her hand. They ran to the safety of his Ford F-150, but they were both already soaked.

  “My place is closer,” he said as he started the truck and headed towards home.

  “I do have my car you know?”

  “I’ll bring you back for it.” His tone told her she could trust that he would, though she couldn’t exactly trust how soon he would do it.

  “I should really go home and get out of these wet clothes.”

  “You shouldn’t drive in this.”

  It was like a monsoon. In fact, they were in monsoon season and there was no telling just how bad the roads would get. Summers always fluctuated on extremes. If it weren’t pouring down raining, there was a massive dust storm. If there wasn’t a dust storm, they were dealing with one hundred fifteen degree temperatures.

  “And you should?”

  “I have a truck, you have a little Volvo.”

  “My little Volvo can take whatever your truck can.” Her tone was purely sexual. He laughed.

  “Besides, I have several shirts at the house you can wear. Or you can wear nothing. It’s up to you.”

  “I’m not having sex with you.”

  “You were going to the other day.”

  “Slight lapse in judgment.” A smile tugged at her lips. She placed her hand on his thigh, dangerously close to his growing erection. She caressed his thigh gently. This was insane and she knew it. She should have let him concentrate on driving, but she couldn’t help it. She needed to touch him. She could barely see the road, yet she had every confidence he was capable of getting them to his house safely.

  Fifty minutes later, he turned down a deserted road. Open fields sat to the right and left, mountains in the distance lulled her mind into a trance. Her hand massaged his thigh absently, stroking up farther with each caress. The rain was starting to slow to a manageable flow and for the first time, Daya realized her clothes weren’t the only thing wet.

  “I thought you said you lived closer. My house is in the city.”

  “My house is just down the road.” His voice was strained with his arousal.

  They had driven well past Queen Creek and had already entered Pinal County. There was no doubt that her house would have been closer. Daya didn’t see a house and even if she had, Warren certainly didn’t live closer to the courthouse. Thinking about his house led to thoughts about his bedroom. She clinched her thighs to ease the ache as her fingers stroked him more.

  “Shit,” he stopped the truck, shifted to park and shut off the engine. The sudden motion snapped her out of her hypnotic haze.

  “Get out of the truck.”

  “What?”

  “Get out the truck.”

  “It’s still raining.” She didn’t know what had gotten into him, but she knew she wasn’t getting out the truck.

  He got out of the truck, slammed his door, stalked around to the other side and flung the door open. “Get out.”

  “No way!”

  He reached past her and unfastened her seat belt. “The front seat won’t be comfortable for what I’m going to do to you.”

  Rain trickled down
his face. “Warren.” She cautioned. He didn’t head it. Before she could mount her defense, he had already pulled her out the truck, swung her on to his shoulder and released the back gate. Another swift move and she was butt first onto the flatbed.

  “Warren, I’m not having sex with you out here. It’s raining.” She placed her hands on her hips in an effort to take charge. The move crushed her baby blue, pinstripe blouse to her body. He groaned as he stripped off his shirt. “We could catch pneumonia and die.”

  “What a way to go.” He mumbled.

  “Warren!”

  He pulled at the buttons on her shirt, ripping a few in the process. “Move back and get comfortable baby. We’re not leaving until I’m satisfied.”

  “I…restate my case detective. It’s raining.”

  “You should have thought of that before you got me hard as a rock counselor.” He pulled her shirt from her shoulders. She inched back to make herself comfortable as he fumbled with her skirt.

  “Save me some clothing here,” she panted as he tugged at her skirt. He changed tactics, hiking her skirt up her thighs and over her hips.

  Her silk stockings and lace garter pushed him over the edge. She could see his need—much greater than her own. One more swift move and he had her panties pooled around her ankles. She kicked them off, leaning back and letting the rain splatter in her face. Warm lips explored her body, quickly finding her breast and taking hold. Obviously not content with the fabric in the way, she felt Warren tugging at her bra until her right nipple was exposed to his mouth.