Seducing the Defendant

by Chantal Fernando

  “Yes, poor Yvonne,” Hunter says, clearing his throat. “Not like she gets any sex here at all. Nope. Not. At. All.”

  We all turn to stare at him, my eyes going wide at that admission. So I’m the only person not getting laid in the office? I need to call Scarlett in for a visit.

  “You and Yvonne?” Kat asks, mouth forming the shape of an O. “Well, I didn’t see that one coming.” She looks to Tristan, and then me. “And I’m telling the cleaner to disinfect everything, and I mean everything.”

  “Really appreciate that,” I tell her, meaning every word. “I didn’t realize the firm moonlighted as a brothel. And, Hunter, never say the sentence I don’t shit where I eat, ever again.”

  “I never said it was me she was having sex with in here,” Hunter throws out, looking amused. “But thanks for the faith you all have in me, guys.”

  “Don’t act so innocent,” Kat tells him, laughing. “So who is she having sex with?”

  “Why don’t you ask her?” he returns with a stubborn lift to his chin. “That’s her business.”

  “Her business that you just told everyone in here,” Kat points out, arching her brow.

  I didn’t realize just how badly I need this time away from this place. I love these guys, I do, but I could really do with having to miss them just a little bit. My phone rings, and everyone clears out so I can take it. Maybe there’s a little professionalism left in them after all. I smile at the thought.

  My circus, my monkeys.

  “Jaxon Bentley,” I say into the phone.

  Croatia is sounding great right now.

  chapter 34

  Scarlett

  “SO ARE YOU STUDYING something in college?” I ask Gwen, smiling as she walks over with piles of books in her hand.

  “I am, yes,” she beams. “I’m one of the oldest students in the class, but I love it. I also love books, feeling them, smelling them. I could do all my research on the internet, but I don’t know, I like doing it this way.”

  “Well, happy to have you here,” I tell her. “Sometimes there’s no one in here, so it’s nice to have some company. What are you studying?”

  “English literature,” she says, a dreamy look appearing on her face. Today she’s wearing all black, as usual, fishnets with black shorts, and an oversize off-the-shoulder top. She’s a character, that’s for sure, and after having a few conversations with her I’ve found her to be a really nice person. She’s clearly a dreamer, and I like that about her.

  “That sounds amazing,” I tell her, nodding to the books. “Although I should have guessed from all the classics I’ve seen under your arms.”

  She laughs at that. “Everyone is telling me I won’t have many job opportunities, but you know what? At least I’m trying to make a career out of something I love. I’m twenty-eight years old, and right now I work as a waitress in a strip club.” She looks me in the eye and adds, “A fully clothed waitress.”

  “No judgment here, Gwen,” I tell her, offering her a small smile. “And it’s good to have dreams. If you can’t follow them, and whatever you’re passionate about, what’s left, right?”

  “Love,” she replies, ducking her head. “I suppose. I wouldn’t know much about that either.”

  “It’s out there and will find you when you least suspect it,” I tell her. “Hey, what are you doing this weekend? Do you want to hang out?”

  “SO NOW IN CONJUNCTION with being friends with an old lady in the Wind Dragons, you’ve made friends with a stripper?” Jaxon summarizes after listening to the story about my day at work.

  “She’s not a stripper,” I tell him, rolling my eyes. “She works at Toxic as a waitress. There’s a difference.”

  “Have you even been to Toxic before?” he asks, tone laced with amusement. I haven’t, and he knows I haven’t. I’ve hardly been to any clubs, never mind a strip club. I can picture it in my head though, and I imagine women dancing topless on poles, while Gwen walks around serving drinks.

  “I think the better question is, have you?” I fire back at him, tightening my lips. I flick my hair over to the other side so I can see him clearly, tilting my head toward him. He’s driving, so all I get is his profile, and a quirk of his lips.

  “I have,” he admits, checking my reaction before looking back at the road. “A few times actually. Why, do you want to go?”

  “Why did you go there so much?” I ask, curious, not angry. What he did before he met me is his business, and although I like to annoy him and play around, I don’t actually get angry or hurt about his past.

  “I don’t know, I remember taking Demon there once when he got caught up on some chick. He was moping,” he explains, trying to remember his times there. “Once was for a guys’ night out. I don’t really remember; it was so long ago.”

  I wonder if that chick was actually Olivia. I think it most likely was.

  “Fair enough,” I reply. “Gwen is actually just a waitress though, and she’s in college. She’s supersmart. I think you’d like her.”

  “I think you make friends with anyone who is unique,” he tells me. “If you like her, then I’m sure I’ll like her too. As long as she’s good to you.”

  I smile at him. “You haven’t told me where we’re going yet.”

  “Just out to grab something to eat,” he says, reaching his hand over to my upper thigh. “Today was a long-ass day, I’m exhausted.”

  “I’ll give you a massage when we get home,” I tell him, reaching over to massage the back of his neck. “Anything else I can do to help you relax, let me know.”

  He works so damn hard, every single day. And he’s still always in a good mood when he comes home to me. He’s just a genuinely good, hardworking man. I’m such a lucky woman, and I’m never going to take that for granted, ever.

  “You’re doing it right now,” he says, hand tightening on my thigh.

  When we arrive at the restaurant, Jaxon pulls out my chair and waits for me to sit down before taking his own. He waits until we both order before he slides me an envelope.

  “What’s this?” I ask, curiosity and excitement filling me.

  He doesn’t say anything, just smiles.

  “What have you done now, Jaxon?” I ask, shaking my head at him. I rip open the envelope and pull out its contents. I read over the piece of paper that says Jaxon and I are going on a trip around Europe.

  Holy crap.

  “You didn’t,” I mutter, eyes going wide as saucers. “Are you serious? We’re going on a vacation together?” I glance down at the paper. “For a month?”

  “Yeah,” he says, looking a little unsure. “I mean, if you want to, and if you can get off work.”

  “If I want to, are you kidding me? And I can work out something at the library. There’s no way I’m going to miss this,” I get out of my seat to hug him, wrapping my arms around him, not caring if people are looking or not. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how excited I am, and how much I love you.”

  “You have no idea how badly I want to take you away and have you all to myself, all while we travel and see part of the world together,” he says, giving me a soft kiss. “New experiences with you. I can’t wait.”

  I sit back down and beam at him. I did not expect something like this, and I know he’s a workaholic and hardly takes any time off, so this is a huge deal.

  “I’ve always wanted to go to Italy,” I tell him, unable to stop smiling.

  “I know,” he says, grinning. “I remember you telling me that.”

  Our eyes hold.

  He remembers everything I say.

  I don’t know how this happened, how I found Jaxon and how he became mine, or how I was the lucky one he picked, but I am.

  And damn, it feels good.

  “I don’t even know what to say right now,” I admit, my cheeks starting to hurt from
smiling. “I’m so happy.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. The look on your face tells me everything I need to know,” he says, thanking the waitress as she brings us our drinks.

  “Thank you,” I also tell her, then give my attention back to Jaxon. “You know I don’t care where you take me. It could have been the next town over and I would have been happy. I’m just really excited to get away with you.”

  “The next town over,” he repeats, chuckling to himself. “You may need to raise your standards, Scarlett.”

  I roll my eyes at him. “What, should I become more demanding? Only be happy when you do something extravagant like this? I’m just happy to spend time with you, Jaxon, and if that’s a crime, then sue me.”

  He smirks at my choice of words. “You going to say sue me to a lawyer?”

  “I believe I just did,” I reply with an arched brow. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “Tie you up and punish you,” he replies instantly, gray eyes sparkling.

  “Doesn’t sound like much punishment to me,” I say, lifting the glass of water to my lips. “I think you’re going to have to come up with something better, Jaxon. Or are you losing your touch? Maybe love has made you soft.”

  He glances down at his crotch. “Love has definitely not made me soft, Scarlett.”

  I cover my mouth with my hand as I laugh, trying to stifle it. “You are not hard right now.”

  “Actually, I am,” he says in a low growl. “Lift your leg up and see for yourself.”

  “No,” I say instantly, but then consider it. I bring my leg up and gently rub my foot along his dick, which is indeed hard. I smirk. “What made you hard? Was it the tying-up part?”

  I would’ve never thought I could talk so openly about things like this, yet here I am, in the middle of a restaurant, asking him what exactly turned him on enough to make him rock-hard in a public place where we can’t do anything about said hard-on.

  “I’m always hard when I’m around you, you know this,” he says, then scowls. “And that’s not helping. Stop flicking your hair, and being cute and shit.”

  I lower my hand. “I’m not doing it as foreplay; my hair keeps falling on my face!”

  “Looks like foreplay to me,” he mutters grumpily, but I don’t miss the twitch of his lips. “I really hope I ordered the better meal this time.”

  “You didn’t,” I say, leaning back in my chair and studying him. “You went for your safe option, which is steak, but I took a gamble on something different, so it’s going to be something exciting.”

  “When you gamble, it’s a hit or miss. So either I’ll be eyeing your plate, or you’ll be wishing you opted for the safe option,” he says, reaching over and taking my hand. “Don’t worry, baby, I’ll share my food with you when your salmon fettuccine doesn’t work out as planned.”

  “Well, there you go. Either way I win then,” I tell him, smiling widely. “I can’t believe we’re going to Europe together.” I shake my head in disbelief. He smiles and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad you’re happy, baby.”

  He’s right—I shouldn’t have gambled on the salmon, but lucky for me he shares his steak, and he doesn’t even throw it back in my face.

  Now that’s love.

  “YOU LOOK STUNNING,” HE tells me, eyeing the flash of leg through the slit of my maxi dress.

  “Thank you,” I reply, glancing down at the paisley floral print. I wasn’t sure what to wear tonight, and I really want to make a good impression. We’re having dinner with all of Jaxon’s colleagues—Hunter, Kat, Tristan, Yvonne, and Callum—and if I’m being honest, I’m a little nervous. He walks me through the restaurant with his palm on my lower back, which relaxes me slightly. He stops at a table where two people are seated. The woman sees us first and smiles. She’s beautiful, with dark hair and eyes. She has a petite build and is wearing a pretty red dress.

  “Scarlett, this is Kat and Tristan,” Jaxon introduces. “I thought we were late, but I guess the others are even later.”

  “They’re all coming together,” Kat tells Jaxon, standing and offering me her hand. “It’s so nice to officially meet you, Scarlett.”

  “You too,” I tell her, smiling warmly. “And I just wanted to say thank you for all the work you all did on my case, I know it was a team effort.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad it all worked out,” Kat replies, then glances up at Tristan. “Just another day in the office with these guys.”

  Tristan shakes my hand next, his blue eyes searching mine. “It’s good to see you again.” I remember Tristan from my bail hearing and while he also is a great lawyer, I’m glad Jaxon took my case. “By the way, you’re way too good for him,” Tristan continues, pointing to Jaxon.

  Kat laughs, nodding. “I agree.”

  “Who needs enemies when you have friends like these,” Jaxon mutters, pulling out my chair for me, in between himself and Kat.

  I sit down with a grin on my face.

  “I love your dress,” Kat says to me, smiling. “Have you been to this restaurant before?”

  “Thank you,” I tell her. “And no, I haven’t, but Jaxon tells me every time you have a work dinner you end up here.”

  Kat smirks and fiddles with the cutlery by her empty plate. “It’s true. I don’t think I even need to look at the menu anymore.”

  “The food is good though, right?” I ask, wondering why they keep coming back otherwise.”

  “The food is great,” Tristan tells me as Jaxon passes me a menu. “I love this place.”

  “He doesn’t like change,” Kat whispers to me.

  “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” he says, just as the others arrive. I’m introduced to them all, and they all seem really nice. It’s a little awkward seeing Yvonne, considering she’s the receptionist, so I’ve had to interact with her every time I came into the office to see Jaxon. She doesn’t make anything of it though, and treats me like a friend.

  “Do you want some wine?” Jaxon asks me, then turns to the others. “I don’t have to ask you, maybe we should order several bottles of it.”

  Yvonne raises her hand. “I’ll have some red, thank you. And by some, I mean a lot.”

  “Scarlett’s here,” Kat tells her. “Can we at least try to act normal?”

  “Oh, don’t act normal on my behalf,” I tell them, smiling, feeling amused. They all continue with their banter, including me when they can. I can feel Jaxon watching me, so I turn my head to my left and arch my brow at him. I suddenly feel my hand on his thigh, and I look back at Kat, who asks me a question.

  “Sorry, what did you say?” I ask her.

  She pours me a glass of wine and slides it to me. “I said that we should do something this week. A little female bonding, what do you think?”

  “I think that sounds perfect,” I beam.

  I’m slowly becoming a part of Jaxon’s world, and I couldn’t be happier.

  Our world.

  chapter 35

  Jaxon

  I OPEN MY FRONT DOOR and cringe, knowing that I’m not meant to be here right now. Scarlett is having a movie night with her friends—the biker chick, the stripper, and now Kat and Yvonne—and I was going to have a few after-work drinks with Tristan and Hunter. But I forgot my wallet today, so now I need to sneak inside and grab it before I head back to the bar. Acting like a special ops agent, I tiptoe into my bedroom undetected, then glance around frantically for my damn wallet. I look under the bed but it’s not there, so I try the pants I wore to work yesterday, which are still in the hamper.

  Bingo.

  I slide my wallet into my pocket and prepare to make a quick departure without being undetected. “Goosebumps,” by Travis Scott plays through the house, and I have to wonder what kind of party these women are having. I just step out of my bedroom when I walk into Valentina Sullivan.<
br />
  “Jaxon Bentley,” she says slowly, narrowing her eyes on me.

  “Valentina,” I say, glancing down the hallway. “I need to make a quick exit, so let’s pretend you never saw me.”

  “Why?” she asks, arching a brow. “Don’t you like your woman’s friends? We’re a great bunch. You should spend some time with us.”

  “I’m good, thanks,” I say quickly. Too quickly.

  “Scarlett!” she yells, smirking at me. Fuck, the woman is pure evil.

  “Shhhh,” I tell her, trying to hush her. “I just came to grab my wallet. Wouldn’t want to ruin your girls’ night. I’ll just be on my way.”

  Scarlett comes down the hallway and smiles when she sees me. “Jaxon! What are you doing here?” She runs to me and jumps up into my arms. “I thought you’d be at the bar.”

  “Forgot my wallet,” I say, kissing her quickly. “I’m just on my way there now.” I look into her eyes, which are glassy. “Are you drunk?”

  “Nope,” she says, then starts laughing.

  Fuck me.

  I need out, now.

  “Jaxon wants to meet everyone,” Valentina tells her with a straight face. “But he doesn’t want to ruin our night.”

  In this moment, I feel no guilt for sending her boyfriend to prison.

  “You could never ruin anything, Jaxon,” Scarlett says, threading her hand in mine. “Come on. I know Gwen’s been waiting to see you.”

  I grit my teeth and head out into the living room where everyone is lingering about. The women are either dancing, chatting, or eating, and all of them are in their pajamas.

  I feel like I’ve crossed enemy lines.

  Scarlett even turns the music down. Jesus.

  “Everyone this is Jaxon, Jaxon you know Valentina already, and this is Gwen and her friend Nina,” Scarlett introduces. “And you know Kat and Yvonne already, obviously.”

  “Hello,” I say, smiling at them. “Nice to officially meet you all.” I look at Kat, who smirks at me.

  When Scarlett had come to the office to bring me lunch this week, Kat and Yvonne cornered her. While I normally like to keep my professional life and personal life separate, I’m glad Scarlett has made friends.