Legally Yours

by Manda Collins

  Matt’s big hands on her shoulders startled her, and Julie bit back a yelp.

  “Sorry,” he said, turning her in his arms and giving her a light kiss. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Still processing the fact that she was alone with Matt Ellis, Julie stifled a giggle.

  “Lunch is almost ready,” he said, his ease with her calming her rattled nerves. “Why don’t you have a seat and pour yourself a glass of wine.”

  Before she could protest that drinking on a work day was a bad idea, he was gone.

  Sighing, she stepped out into the courtyard toward the table. Pulling out a chair, she took the uncorked bottle of chilled white wine and poured herself a small glass. A little bit wouldn’t hurt. Besides, being around Matt made her nervous. He was clearly planning to check off the “outdoors” item on her list, and if last night’s encounter in the printer cubicle was any indication, she was going to need a bit of liquid courage.

  Picnic basked in hand, Matt paused in the open French doors to survey Julie seated primly at the patio table.

  He had surprised himself with the number of ideas he’d come up with for helping Julie with her list—even before he made it home last night. It wasn’t so much that he thought himself to be a boring lover. On the contrary, he was pretty inventive and had the witness testimony to prove it. But there was something about the idea of bringing buttoned up, brilliant Julie Streeter to the dark side that brought out the showman in him. He not only wanted to show her every trick he’d ever learned, he wanted to teach her a few of her own.

  Of course, today’s outing owed as much to his grandmother’s decision to recreate a little piece of her native New Orleans in her Birmingham apartment as with anything else. But as long as she stayed at the country club for a couple of hours he was okay with that. Though it wouldn’t be the first time he’d brought a girl home to Grandmother’s house, it would be the first time he’d brought a girl home to fuck her brains out. And he was okay with that too.

  There was something different about Julie. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, that set her apart from his past lovers. Maybe it was the fact that she could hold her own in a debate over arcane legal precedents. He hadn’t been particularly choosy about the intellect of his past bed partners. Or perhaps it has something to do with the way she dressed. He’d always been a little bit of a sucker for a low cut blouse, but with the way that Julie filled out her turtlenecks, he was definitely coming to appreciate the wonders of a tight sweater. Today’s button down number was pretty sweet too, though.

  Whatever had drawn him to her, Matt was determined that he and only he would be the one who showed Julie Streeter just what was possible between two consenting adults. Just the thought of her with another man made him see red. And he didn’t like to imagine what she would have done if he hadn’t been the one to find her list last night. He’d been at their firm for a little over a week and he had seen the looks the male attorneys gave her when she wasn’t paying attention. Even the married ones. He had no doubt that if the wrong guy had found her list he would have wasted no time getting her to the nearest horizontal surface. And yeah, maybe it was hypocritical of him to feel that way, but he’d had a hard on for the woman for almost ten years. And if he didn’t miss his guess, she’d felt the same about him.

  Whatever this thing was between them, he was going to make sure that she had no cause to regret any part of it. And at the end of his two weeks in Birmingham, she might even be able to open up a little and let herself act her age, instead of pretending that she had left her best years behind her.

  Jesus, stop being such a girl, Ellis. If he didn’t watch it, he’d be offering to braid her hair and start talking about his feelings.

  Shaking his head at his maudlin turn, Matt headed over to the table, where Julie was sipping a half glass of white wine.

  “This is great,” she said. “I had no idea this little courtyard was tucked away in the middle of downtown.”

  Taking the seat next to her, Matt began to unpack the basket, which she noted, was all marked with the logo from her favorite deli. So much for his cooking, she smiled to herself. She took some comfort in the knowledge that even the great Matt Ellis couldn’t do everything.

  “Yeah,” he responded, pouring himself a glass of wine. “Gram grew up in New Orleans and when Grandfather married her and took her away to the frozen tundra of Birmingham she made him promise her a courtyard. And this is it.”

  “That’s sweet.” Julie took a bite of kiwi fruit, savoring the sweet taste of it. “I didn’t know you had ties to Birmingham when we were in school together.”

  “Well, you were so shy, I don’t think we ever really got a chance to talk about anything other than class stuff.”

  Since Julie remembered every conversation they’d ever had—even the most trivial—she said nothing.

  But if Matt noticed, he didn’t say anything about it. “I used to come to stay here for the summer every year. My parents were always too busy with the social scene or their own issues to have much time for me. And when they split up I moved here permanently.”

  “I had no idea.” Julie marveled that Matt had been here in Birmingham at the same time she was and she’d known nothing about it. Which was silly of course. She hadn’t even known him, so how could his being here have affected her one way or the other? Still, somehow she felt sad that he’d been here grieving the break-up of his parents’ marriage and she’d been across town living her life without ever guessing he was there.

  They continued to chat about their lives before law school, and even a bit about what they’d been doing since. The food was delicious, and Julie had to admit that the company was just as good.

  “Now,” Matt said, his grin turning wolfish, “it’s time for dessert.”

  Since she had seen the now empty picnic basket, Julie had a fair idea of just what dessert would entail.

  He took her by the hand and took the wine bottle and their glasses and led her to a chaise lounge, padded with a brightly floral patterned cushion.

  When she went to sit down, however, he shook his head. Placing the wine bottle and glasses on a nearby table, he sat down first, and pulled her down into his lap.

  “There,” he whispered against her ear. “That’s much better.”

  She wriggled a bit and soon felt the lift of his erection pressing against her bottom.

  “Much, much better,” he said against her neck.

  “Smart thinking wearing a skirt today,” he said, running his hands up her legs to reach around and unzip the garment, caressing her bottom as he pulled it off.

  Julie sent up a silent prayer of thanks that she’d worn the sexy bra and panty set from Victoria’s Secret today instead of the sensible cotton mismatched pair she’d briefly considered. At the time she’d bought the enticing underwear she’d been sheepish about the expense, but seeing the expression on Matt’s face when he saw the black silk boy short panties bordered with blonde lace, she decided they’d been worth every last penny.

  “Does the bra match?” he asked, his blue eyes darkening with lust.

  At her nod, he swallowed, sending a little thrill of satisfaction through her.

  His kiss took her by surprise in its intensity. And as they played dueling tongues, she felt his hands fumble a bit as he unbuttoned her crisply starched blouse.

  She should have felt vulnerable out here on the terrace, in just her bra and panties, but when Matt set her on her feet before him, she was almost overwhelmed by how empowered she felt. The desire in his gaze was both aphrodisiac and ego-booster.

  He stood up, his erection spoiling the fall of his trousers, but Julie was sure that any fashion designer of sense wouldn’t give a damn.

  “Lie down on the chaise,” he ordered. And rather than balking at his demand, she obeyed without question. She, who was usually so utterly in control of everything around her, reveled in letting someone else take charge for a change. And to her surprise, she trusted this
man implicitly. In a way she hadn’t been able to do since before her parents died. In this moment, in this instance, she gave herself up to him and found pleasure in knowing that she need not fear giving her power to someone else.

  ***

  Matt watched with ill-disguised desire as Julie, in her hard-on inducing lingerie, draped herself across the sunshine-warmed chaise.

  It was a cool fall afternoon, and he saw her nipples, hard and shadowed through the thin fabric of the bra. Had he ever seen anything more arousing than Julie laid out like his own personal sexual feast? He didn’t think so.

  But letting her relinquish control was only part of the experience he’d planned for her today. She’d wished on her list for an outdoor encounter, and what was the big draw of sex in the great outdoors, but the danger of being caught.

  On the other side of the privacy fence, he heard the slam of the neighbor’s French door.

  Right on time.

  “Just trim around the hedges today, Justin,” Mrs. Pennington said from her courtyard next door.

  He watched with satisfaction as Julie realized just what he had planned for her.

  “Matt,” she said, her eyes going wide as he moved toward her, “I’m not sure if…”

  “What’s wrong, Jules?” he asked, reaching out to move a lock of hair behind her ear. “Scared?”

  But what he saw in her eyes wasn’t fear, but excitement. Her fear wasn’t for the situation, but fear of herself. Fear of what she wanted. He saw her square her shoulders, pressing out those gorgeous breasts, and gave a silent cheer. Atta girl, Jules.

  “No,” she said, not breaking his gaze. “No, I’m not.”

  “Good.”

  Next door, the yard man began to whistle. His off key tune carrying to them on the wind.

  He knelt down beside the chaise, and pulled her around into a sitting position, her legs open and tucked up on either side of his hips.

  “Let’s get this party started,” he said with a grin.

  ***

  Julie felt her heart beating like a three alarm fire bell, her body already tightening in anticipation of what Matt had planned for her.

  When she’d put outdoor sex on her list, she hadn’t really thought the concept through. After all, there weren’t all that many places in the Birmingham area where an outdoor tryst was legal. Not that that stopped the couples who hooked up in Rushton Park across from her apartment. But then, she had no wish to have her picture plastered across the local newspaper as someone who’d been busted for public indecency.

  It hadn’t occurred to her that Matt’s invitation to lunch would end up with them naked outdoors. Hell, she hadn’t really gotten beyond her surprise about what they’d done against the cubicle wall last night.

  But now, sitting out here in the afternoon sunshine with only a few scraps of cloth between her and his hard, hot body, she wondered what had kept her locked indoors for so long.

  Feeling the sun on her skin was arousing in a way she’d never dreamed it could be. Though her underwear was something akin to a bikini, she hadn’t worn an actual two piece bathing suit since her childhood. But there was nothing childish about how she felt about the man before her.

  “Take off that pretty underwear of yours, Julie,” Matt said, a thread of command in his voice that should have pissed her off, but instead excited her.

  With a nod, she complied, reaching behind her to unfasten the bra, while Matt, impatient, tugged her tiny bikini panties down and off.

  “Much better,” he said, his gaze not on her face, but on her exposed sex.

  Having his gaze on her was at once arousing and embarrassing. In her uber-feminist college days, she’d examined herself with a hand mirror, but wasn’t all that impressed. She wasn’t ashamed of her body, but she wasn’t quite sure why men found female genitalia so arousing. As far as she was concerned it wasn’t all that interesting—except of course insofar as it was able to give her fabulous orgasms. But that was less about looks than biology.

  “Gorgeous,” he said, pulling her by the legs to the outer edge of the chaise, and finally looking up into her eyes. “Know what I’m gonna do now, sweet Julie?”

  Unable to speak in the face of such open desire, she shook her head.

  “I’m going to put my mouth on you,” he said, against her ear. “And I’m going to make you come harder than you ever have before.”

  And to her surprise, his words, combined with the sunshine, the sound of the yard man next door, and her nakedness all combined to clench her inner muscles in a taste of things to come.

  She was lost in sensation as Matt dragged his mouth down from her ear, to her neck, to skim over her breast and downward. His hands on her knees, he opened her wider to his gaze and as she closed her eyes to the sight of his light hair between her legs she felt the first glance of his tongue against her clitoris.

  Biting her lip, she whimpered against the moan she didn’t dare let out.

  “Delicious.” His breath tickled against her as he flicked his tongue against her, lapped from the bottom of her labia to the tip of her hooded nub.

  Unable to stay upright, Julie leaned backward against the chaise pillow, her pelvis struggling to move as Matt’s strong grip kept her still against his ravening mouth. Again and again he stroked his tongue against her tender flesh, changing up his technique just enough to keep her guessing. Not knowing just where the next incredible sensation would come from.

  When he added his fingers into the mix, thrusting first one, then two, then three digits inside her in alternate rhythm to his tongue’s quick jabs against her clitoris, she nearly wept with pleasure. Biting her knuckles against the need to gasp out her pleasure, the sound of the man next door wielding the garden clippers against the overgrown hedges was almost too much to bear.

  When her inner muscles began to clasp Matt’s fingers, she was finally able to breathe past his hold and move against him, the final burst of freedom letting her orgasm break through. Again and again her body clasped him inside her, as she thrust upward until finally with one last burst of pleasure, she went over the cliff edge and gasped out her release.

  Chapter Five

  When Julie got back to the office that afternoon, it was to find Clay sitting in her desk chair, flipping through the file for the Daltry case.

  “Finally,” he said when she walked in. “I need the section of the Robins deposition where he says Daltry’s injury shouldn’t have kept him out of work for so long.”

  “I’ll get it,” Julie said, making a concerted effort not to snap. “Let me sit down and find it and I’ll bring it to you.”

  “Where did you go?” He looked genuinely curious, but his question still pissed her off. “You never leave the office for lunch,” he continued, unaware of the hole he was digging himself.

  Julie was trying to figure out how to tell him it was none of his fucking business—in a deferential way, naturally, when another of the lawyers, David Walton, did it for her.

  “Jesus, Clay,” the other man said, pausing outside her office door to roll his eyes at his colleague. “She’s your paralegal, not your slave.”

  “Hey man,” Clay defended himself. “I was just curious. It’s not like she’s ever deviated from her routine before. I have a right to know if something is going on that will affect her work schedule.”

  Right, Julie thought. She was not only predictable but she was only of interest to Clay insofar as she affected his own work schedule. She wasn’t surprised, but it still hurt.

  Before he could dig himself in any deeper, David grabbed Clay by the arm and towed him out of her office. Sorry he mouthed as he followed the other attorney down the hall.

  Great, Julie thought, digging through the file. I’m not only predictable, but my boss thinks he has a right to know that I spent my lunch hour having hot monkey sex with the corporate counsel for the firm’s largest client. Way to pick ‘em, Streeter.

  Firmly closing the door on the memory of Matt’s mouth on her
, she turned on her internet radio for distraction and got to work finding Clay’s testimony.

  Since the rest of the week was taken up with long hours and lots of tedious but important work, Julie and Matt’s lunchtime interlude was not repeated. And by the time Friday afternoon rolled around, all she wanted was a glass of wine and a hot bath.

  She’d just changed into a pair of yoga pants and a baby tee, when a knock sounded on her stairwell door. Since all her friends knew to come to the back door, where more parking was available, the only people who came to the hall door, which led to the front entrance of the building, were either selling something or delivering something.

  Puzzled, she padded over to the peep hole and looked out.

  “Hey Jules, it’s me,” Matt said from the hallway.

  What was he doing here? She wondered.

  Unlocking the two deadbolts and undoing the chain, she finally opened the door to see her visitor, who was looking deliciously rumpled after a long day at the office. His hair was sticking up a little, as if he’d been running his fingers through it. His tie, a gorgeous purple silk, was loosened, and he held an overnight bag in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

  “Sorry I’m late,” he said, kissing her on the cheek and slipping past her into the den. “Nice place. It fits you.”

  “Um,” Julie followed him into the kitchen, trying to figure out how to put this delicately. She decided to go for the direct approach. “What are you doing here?”

  From the kitchen, where he had already taken off his suit jacket and hung it over the back of a chair, Matt grinned.

  “Come on, babe. You can’t expect a guy to forget he’s promised to give a blow job lesson. I’m a gentleman, but even gentlemen have their breaking points.”

  He calmly proceeded to uncork the wine, and reached into her glass paned cabinets to remove two wine glasses.

  “But we never said that would be this weekend,” Julie protested, adding lamely, “or anything.” What was it about this guy that made her lose her cool like this? She was a strong, independent woman and he practically turned her into a bowl of jello. “I might have plans this weekend!”