That, and I’d wanted to make sure that she had extra protection.
We’d gotten word from Flint last night that there hadn’t been anything or anyone found in connection to the break-in at Carmichael’s place, or my shooting.
Meaning, whoever had done it was still out there.
But, while we’d been out yesterday, Flint had been busy.
He’d put a full security system into Carmichael’s place. And when I say full security system, I was talking top-of-the-line, only the people that had the connections, security system.
I wasn’t sure how Flint had gotten his hands on it, but I’d been damned impressed.
Still, I’d sent her with Lion just in case.
I hadn’t slept well last night, either.
I’d been thinking of all the things that could potentially go wrong.
Like what if I didn’t hear her in the middle of the night and something happened? What if someone got in despite the tricked-out security system? What if I physically wasn’t capable of helping her?
Needless to say, as I shuffled my way to the bathroom, the very last fucking thing that I wanted to do was go try a case.
But I didn’t have a choice.
I had exactly an hour and a half until I had to be at the courthouse, and shot or not, Judge Stanley would not be forgiving if I was late.
Getting through my normal daily routine, I was just getting to the point where I put the button-up shirt on when I realized that it wouldn’t be happening.
Though I was moving a little better today, tiny buttons and a screaming arm were not for me.
That, and I needed the bandage changed and I couldn’t reach the exit wound at my back.
Plus, I could really use an excuse to go see the sexy little thing across the street.
Finishing up everything that I could on my end and taking some drugs to hopefully hold me over, I grabbed my shirt, tie, suit jacket, keys and phone before heading out the door.
The walk to Carmichael’s place took less than a minute, and I was surprised to find that, although it felt fairly bad, I was moving a whole lot better than I had the day before. Things didn’t absolutely kill me when I walked. More like a dull throb.
When I knocked on the door, though, the reverberation down my arm made me grimace, which was when she chose to answer the door.
She frowned hard at me. “You look rough.”
I felt rough.
But better.
“I’m okay,” I admitted, holding up my shirt and tie. “Will you help me get dressed?”
She grinned then.
“Yeah,” she agreed immediately, opening the door wide. “The dogs are actually in the back yard playing with Francis. Well, Francis and Lion are playing. Danger is watching but getting closer and closer by the second.”
I wanted to see this, so I passed her and walked to her back door where I looked out.
Sure enough, Lion was in the kiddy pool that Carmichael had spoken about yesterday, and Francis had only his head buried.
“Do you think that the raccoon is feral?” I asked curiously. “I mean, Lion has all her shots, but still.”
“I think that she’s probably fine,” Carmichael admitted, taking my suit jacket, tie and shirt from me. “Turn around.”
I did, my eyes taking her in.
She was wearing a short pair of sleep shorts that were loose and flowy. Something that I could easily slip my hand up one of the leg holes if I wanted.
Her shirt was an old shirt that had seen better days. It said “Track & Field” on it in white, cracked letters.
I wanted to rip it off of her and pull her in so I could feel her skin against mine.
With only a single glance, I knew that she was naked underneath that shirt. No bra to be found.
I also knew that when she shifted, her breasts would bounce with the flow of her movements.
I groaned and looked away, my eyes going to the pool outside to watch the dog and the raccoon play.
“Arm,” she ordered, holding my shirt out.
I gave her my bad arm and she help me thread it into place but paused when she got it halfway up my arm.
“You’re not wearing an undershirt today?” she asked curiously.
I shook my head. “Couldn’t find a clean one. I need to do some laundry.”
“I think that you need help.” She laughed. “I have a shirt you can wear. It might be short, but I stole it from Flint last year and it should fit.”
She dropped the shirt she was holding back onto the counter after carefully taking it off my arm and then headed into her room.
And I was right.
Her breasts swayed prettily underneath that shirt.
Even worse, her ass jiggled in her shorts.
I wasn’t sure which one made me harder.
Though, the longer that I stood in the kitchen wondering about it, the surer I became.
I’d fallen in love with Carmichael the day that she’d walked in in her short shorts. So, the answer was her ass. Her ass definitely made me harder.
“Here,” she shook the shirt out. “It’s not too wrinkled, either. I just wore it last night. Hope that doesn’t bother you.”
Wearing a shirt that smelled like her? Yeah, that definitely wouldn’t bother me.
“No, that’s fine,” I admitted. “Anything will work right now.”
She helped me get it on over my head, then helped me thread each arm through.
She was right, the shirt was a bit short, but still long enough that I would need to tuck it in.
Speaking of tucking it in…
“I can’t do that.” I shook my head when she gestured at me to tuck it in. “It was hard enough putting the belt on. I couldn’t even get it into the usual hole that I use.”
She frowned hard at me and bit her lip as she contemplated what she was about to say next.
“I can help,” she said softly.
My jaw tightened. “Go for it.”
At first, I thought she was just going to tuck my shirt in without unbuckling my belt, but she shocked the absolute shit out of me by not only unbuckling my belt, but also unbuttoning and unzipping my pants.
By the time that she had my pants hanging open, my cock was so hard that it was holding my pants in place by sheer volume.
Her eyes widened at first, obviously having seen what I’d felt, but she didn’t say a word as she tucked the shirt in, then helped button me back in my pants.
It wasn’t until she was doing the belt up that she accidentally brushed her knuckles along my cock.
I clenched my molars together as I tried to breathe through the orgasm that I’d nearly had just by her brushing her knuckles against my clothed dick.
“Arms,” she murmured, her voice a bit husky.
I gave her my bad arm, grimacing only slightly when she got it all the way into place.
I’d just gotten it up onto my shoulders when she immediately started to button up the buttons.
Which was when we realized the problem.
She should’ve waited to tuck my shirt in until the button-up shirt was on because now we’d have to go through the whole process all over again.
“Oh, fuck,” I heard her mumble under her breath, finally coming to the same realization that I had moments before.
I swallowed hard and tried to control myself, but this time when she unbuckled and unzipped, my control snapped.
I didn’t think that she touched my cock on purpose, but that didn’t seem to matter.
One second, she was pulling my zipper down, and the next I had her pinned to the counter, my cock pressing against her warm center, and my mouth slamming down on hers.
She gasped into my mouth, her hands clenching on my sides as she dug her fingernails into my skin.
Her mouth tasted like everything I’d always imagined it would.
Sweet, cherry, and mine.
“Holy shit,” I breathed, pulling away to draw in a ragged breath.
She loo
ked at me, lips puffy from my forceful kiss, eyes glazed, and a look of pure feminine excitement on her face.
“When I get home from court,” I said to her, “we’re doing this. No more fucking around.”
She swallowed hard. “Was that what we were doing?”
I nodded.
She placed her hands on my chest, then smoothed her hands down until she had my entire shirt tucked in well.
“Okay.”
Just one word.
One single, solitary word.
It had the power to make my cock jerk.
“Okay,” I replied back gruffly. “Okay.”
She finished tucking my shirt in, then smoothed her hand down the front of my stomach to make sure that everything laid flat.
“I used to look at you in your suits,” she whispered raggedly. “Used to think about taking them off. Never about putting them on.”
I laughed then groaned. “We were supposed to change the bandage.”
She frowned. “How long will you be in court today?”
“A couple of hours at most,” I answered her, body tight.
“Then we’ll change it when you get done. It hasn’t even been a full twenty-four hours yet since I did it last night.” She was shifting her legs.
Her nipples were peaked, too.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
I was going to hell.
“Then let’s go.” I stepped back.
“I forgot to buckle the belt.” She picked the tie up off the counter. “And you certainly need this.”
I wasn’t sure how much more of her hands on me I could take.
Thankfully, she didn’t take long to get the buckle into the right place, and not once did her hand accidentally brush things that shouldn’t be brushed.
Or, maybe they should be brushed, just not before I was due in court in less than forty-five minutes.
“All done,” she said huskily after looping the tie around my throat and tying it expertly. “You look all lawyer-like and don’t even look like you got shot the day before yesterday.”
I grimaced. “I feel like I got shot the day before yesterday. If this Vicodin doesn’t kick in here in a second then I’ll really hate myself.”
She tilted her head. “Is someone coming to pick you up?”
I frowned. “No.”
Her brows rose at my answer.
“You can’t drive on Vicodin, Croft.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll drive you.”
I was about to open my mouth to argue with her when I realized just how stupid that was.
Why would I argue about her driving me? I wanted her with me.
“Okay,” I said slowly, trying not to let my excitement show. “But I don’t know how long this court hearing will take me. Are you going to be able to hang out until I’m done?”
She smiled then. “Don’t worry about me, Croft. I’m a big girl.”
CHAPTER 11
Moister than an oyster.
-Text from Carmichael to Croft
CARMICHAEL
I’d never really thought about Croft and what he did for work.
I mean, logically, I knew that he was a lawyer. I knew he did lawyer-like things that consisted of him arguing in court and being a general badass with his words.
But I had no idea in the world that it would be so hot to watch him work.
Yes, I knew he was hot in general. I’d seen the man with his clothes off for Christ’s sake.
But seeing him in the courtroom, in his element, in his power suit that fit him like a well-worn glove, bright red tie, polished shoes and shrewd expression? I hadn’t even realized that Croft’s hotness could go to the next level.
I was wrong.
I was practically fanning myself in the back row of the courtroom.
“Objection.” Croft stood up, smoothing his tie down as he moved slowly. “He’s badgering the witness.”
“Sustained. Move on, Mr. Freed,” Judge Stanley ordered, sounding miffed.
I was miffed, too.
The other lawyer was grasping at straws. There was a high likelihood that the other lawyer hadn’t quite done his homework, and he should’ve. Because Croft was making him look like a tiny little puppy who’d come to play with the big dogs.
“I have no other questions,” Bad lawyer Freed grumbled, looking green as he realized that he wasn’t going to win this one.
More stuff happened after that, but I was so freakin’ horny by the time the judge called a recess for the jurors to deliberate that I hadn’t even realized that Croft was walking toward me.
I was so lost in my thoughts—which happened to be pushing him down in that leather chair on his side of the courtroom, pulling off my jeans, and sliding myself down onto his hard cock—that I didn’t even know he was right in front of me until he touched my cheek.
“You okay?”
I blinked at Croft’s husky words.
I started fanning myself with a piece of paper that I’d seen in the seat next to me. “Sure.”
His eyes took in my flushed chest, my reddened cheeks, and the way I was panting.
“You don’t look okay,” he murmured as he inspected me.
I licked my lips, my eyes dragging down the length of Croft’s body.
God.
I wanted to ride him like I stole him.
“You’re beautiful, you know that?” I found myself saying. “You’re so confident and hot up there, as if you were born to be there.”
His eyes went lazy and hot as he said, “Thanks.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, gesturing toward his shoulder.
He grimaced. “It’s starting to hurt pretty badly again.”
I patted my purse. “You got somewhere I can look at it? I have a couple of your pain pills in here, too.”
He jerked his head up in a nod. “I do.”
He held his hand out for me to take, and I did, my hand sliding smoothly into his.
His hand was big, warm, and practically engulfed mine as he helped me to my feet.
I tried not to put any weight into his hand at all as I stood, which ended up with me brushing against his front.
That’s when I felt his cock.
It was hard.
I’d been so preoccupied with not looking at it, not giving away what I was feeling, that I’d not been paying attention to how he was feeling.
He didn’t stiffen or pull away, and in fact leaned further into me when I had no other choice but to brush by him to get out into the aisle.
Taking my hand, he led me to the door of the courtroom and down a long corridor.
I spied the bathroom and was surprised when he walked right past it and continued on as if he hadn’t seen it.
“That was…”
“We’re not going to that one. If I have to take my shirt off, then I’m going to the one that’s less frequently used,” he muttered.
He had a point.
If he didn’t want to be seen, I wouldn’t go to the closer one either.
But the one that was less frequently used was actually so far at the back of the building that I was surprised he’d even known it was there.
“Um,” I said as he pulled me into the men’s side of the restroom. “How did you know this was here?”
He looked at me.
“Do you really want to know how?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure.
The way he put it, I had a feeling that it had a lot to do with a woman.
And if that was the case, then no, I did not want to know.
I mean, logically I knew that Croft wasn’t a monk. He’d dated quite a few people since I’d known him.
But if he so much as said anything about bringing a girl in here… I just might murder him.
“Yes,” I said, even though my stomach was flipping.
“Okay, so I ate a bad burrito at lunch…” he started.
I held up my hand. “Never mind.”
“No, you’re hearing it all,” he said. “You asked a
nd…”
“No, really. I thought it had something to do with a girl,” I blurted.
Because, although I really thought Croft was hot, there was no way in hell that I was going to talk to him about bodily functions such as the one where he was going with his burrito story.
He laughed and reached past me to open the door to the men’s room.
I looked inside and was startled to see that it was only a two-person bathroom.
Or, at least, there were two stalls.
“You know,” I said. “Y’all get all this extra shit.” I pointed at the four urinals that were lined against the wall. “Then we women have to go into the bathroom with the two stalls. And you wonder why it takes us two and three times as long.”
He looked around. “Your bathroom really only has two?”
“Probably. Or three, if there’s a stall where your urinals are,” I pointed. “Take your shirt off.”
He did, unbuckling his belt, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants.
I swallowed hard when my eyes were automatically brought to his crotch.
He was wearing bright red underwear today, so there was no other choice but to look due to the differences between the black pants over top of them.
“Stop looking at my dick,” he ordered.
I started to think about that kiss that we’d shared earlier, the one that’d been so hot that I’d been wet since we’d left his house.
“Stop,” he growled.
My eyes flashed to his, and I wasn’t even embarrassed that I’d been caught.
“I can’t help it,” I admitted. “It’s hard.”
It being his penis.
“You know how when your adrenaline gets pumping and when you’re done, you want to fuck or fight?” he wondered.
“No,” I whispered.
That was a lie. I knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Well, I want to fuck you. I’ve been hard since this morning. I’ve been denying myself for over two years now. Watching you prance around in those tight booty shorts that barely cover your lower cheeks. But having you here? In my place? It’s making me hot as fuck, and I want to fuck you against this wall,” he growled.
I wanted him to fuck me against the wall.
“We can’t,” I bit my lip. “We’re in a public bathroom.”
I would, really I would, but we both had reputations to uphold, and sadly, the very last place we needed to do that was in his place of business.
Quit Bein' Ugly Page 10
