In His Own Defense

by Ann Jacobs

  “Stop. Let me love you.” She managed to get his pants unbuttoned and unzipped, but… “Lift up your backside so I can get you where I want you.”

  “Damn it, I don’t want you on your knees,” he said, but he obliged her by arching up so she could pull down his pants and boxers.

  She bent and licked away the little drop of slick, salty lubrication at the very tip of his erection, then ran her tongue around the ridge where the plum-shaped head met his long, thick shaft. “Well, this is where I want to be. Loving you.”

  Hot. Pulsing. So big she had trouble believing she’d taken it inside her body and loved the stretching, full sensations that burst into shards of incredible pleasure. So smooth. “So beautiful.”

  “It’s just my cock, baby. Pretty much like every other cock.” His protest dissolved into a throaty groan when she took the head all the way into her mouth and sucked it while cradling his balls gently between her palms. “Your mouth feels so good…so hot… Stop! Stop now or I’m going to come.”

  When she hesitated he pulled back, stood, and scooped her into his arms. The next thing she knew, she was lying face down on the bed with pillows stuffed under her abdomen. And he was behind her, fumbling with protection—and in her, his magnificent cock—she liked that word though she doubted she’d ever say it—sliding inside her, filling her. From this new angle, his cock made contact with something that sent waves of pleasure coursing through her body every time he withdrew and slid back in. Deeper, harder.

  His hands cupped her breasts, and his fingers tugged rhythmically on her nipples. His teeth grazed the tender skin at the nape of her neck. Pressure built with his every touch, every deep penetration of her flesh. Every sensation intensified—the incredible feelings, the mingled scents of floral potpourri and sex, the harsh sound of his breathing near her ear. Sunlight cast its shadows through lacy bed hangings, making strangely erotic patterns on his tanned forearm and hand, her paler skin.

  The taste of his cock lingered on her tongue, salty and sexy. Made her want to taste him there…touch him and kiss him and suck him. Love him every way she could think of and then some.

  He shifted, balancing on one straining forearm and moving his other hand lower to find and tease her swollen clit. One touch and she exploded, her inner muscles convulsing around his big, throbbing cock, coaxing him to give in, share the exquisite climax.

  The last thing she felt before sliding into delicious oblivion was him spasming, spurting inside her…rolling over, taking her with him.

  Later Kristine lay sprawled next to Tony, sated and content. His pulse pounded slowly, strongly against her ear, and the way he cradled her in his arms made her feel protected, loved.

  “Was that your way of telling me you love me in spite of my tainted past?” he asked after they’d lain quietly for a long time. “If so, I liked it.”

  She laughed. “I liked it too. And I love you.”

  “Good. Because I love you too.”

  “Tony, why did you wait so long to tell me about your father?”

  He shrugged. “Having a convicted murderer in one’s immediate family isn’t something most people want to advertise.”

  “Neither is having had a sister who died from abusing recreational drugs. We all have our crosses to bear.” She snuggled up against him, loved the feeling they were sharing their hearts and souls as well as their bodies.

  “It’s hardly the same, honey.”

  She lifted her head, propped herself up on her arms so she could look into his dark eyes. As though she were preparing a closing argument that could mean the difference between the life or death of someone she loved, she chose her words carefully.

  “No. It isn’t. But I love the man you are. I admire how far you’ve come, and I’m awed when I think about the strength you had to have to make that journey.”

  His smile lit her heart, encouraged her to do for him what she realized he’d done for her when he’d shown her truths come in shades of gray.

  “You’ve helped heal me with your strength and courage. Now all that’s left is for you to heal yourself.”

  “I think you’ve done that for me, Krissy.”

  “Then talk to me, darling. Tell me what’s in your heart.”

  “In good time, love,” he murmured as he got up and held out a hand. “Let’s put on some clothes and go look at Mrs. Hayes’s garden.”

  * * * * *

  He’d have done it in the refurbished room where he’d studied so long ago, in the big bed with its lace draperies and old-fashioned coverlet, but Krissy deserved more. Tony wanted to give her a memory to last a lifetime, to share with pride in the years to come.

  After settling her on a lacy wrought iron bench beneath the tree that overlooked their window, he handed her a bright yellow marigold he’d picked. Its spicy fragrance tickled his nostrils. A gentle breeze ruffled her hair, heightening his awareness. Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled, he hoped with anticipation.

  He picked another flower, twirled its stem in his hand when he came and sat beside her. “I love you, Kristine.”

  “I love you too.” She met his gaze, and he believed when he looked into her eyes that she wouldn’t say the words lightly.

  Neither had he.

  He put his flower in her hand. It was a rich, vibrant orange, as fragrant as its yellow companion. Though he longed to touch her, he rested his hands on his knees instead.

  Though Tony had planned his speech as carefully as he would prepare a trial summation, he found himself struggling to communicate. Sweat dampened his neck, made a trail along the muscular plane of his shoulders and chest.

  He hadn’t been so anxious since his first mock trial, his first year in law school, having to force himself to get that first word out. Taking a steadying breath, he plunged in.

  “We belong together as much as these marigolds do, sweetheart, even though we’re as different as they are in many ways. Will you take me as I am? Live with me, have my babies? Krissy, I swear I’ll do you proud. Marry me, please.”

  “Oh, yes, Tony.”

  Joy welled up inside him, brought tears that wet their hands as he slid the ring on her finger.

  Its gigantic center diamond sparkled in the sun, dazzled him with its brilliance. Baguettes winked in the platinum band.

  Was it too big? Too brash? For a second Tony considered murdering the jeweler who’d helped him pick out the ring.

  Then Kristine threw her arms around Tony and kissed him.

  “Like it?” he asked.

  “I love you.”

  He lifted her hand, watched her watch the diamonds sparkle. “I meant do you like the ring? If not—”

  “Don’t even think about taking this back,” she said, laughing. “It’s like you. Larger than life and mine forever.”

  For once Tony was speechless, but it didn’t matter, because Kristine seemed fully satisfied when they sealed their promises with a long, deep kiss.

  Epilogue

  Six months later

  Kristine sat in the back of the courtroom, her gaze fixed on the drop-dead gorgeous lawyer with an incongruous little-boy dimple on his cheek.

  Despite being five months pregnant, she ached for him. As skilled a lover as he was a defender, Tony seduced her each night the way he was seducing the jury now. Her skin burned, though the regular hum of the air conditioner reminded her the indoor temperature couldn’t be much over seventy degrees.

  Nothing, not even listening to his riveting closing argument in Ezra Ruggles’s defense, dispelled the sexual tension that built in her whenever she looked at him.

  Her husband. Her lover. Soon Tony would be the father of their baby. Kristine smiled when she thought of the place they’d bought on Old Tampa Bay, complete with all Tony had said he wanted except the vines, which he’d started badgering the gardener about because they weren’t growing up the walls fast enough to suit him.

  When the first of the babies he’d mentioned jabbed her in the ribs, she recalled a time not
all that long ago when she’d thought of Tony Landry as a devil in angel’s disguise.

  “What’s got you grinning?” Tony asked when he joined her as the jury started its deliberations.

  She took his outstretched hands and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I was just remembering.”

  “Remembering what?”

  “The first time we kissed.” It had felt as though they’d been together for a lifetime when he’d deepened the kiss, nibbling at her lower lip, tangling his tongue with hers.

  Now as then, sensations merged. Contrasting textures of soft cotton and featherweight wool chafed her fingers when she rested her hand on his chest. A pleasant aroma of coffee mingled with the clean masculine scent she knew so well.

  Kristine had thought Tony was a dream, but he’d proven soon enough that he was very real. She reached up and caressed his cheek. The slight rasp of beard stubble along the contour of his jaw tickled her fingertips.

  With each breath she took, she wanted him more. But the courtroom was not the place, and now was not the time. Still she sensed his need. She felt empowered. Sexy, in spite of her advancing pregnancy.

  Hank Ehlers coughed when he joined them, as though reluctant to interrupt them in their private world. “Tony, the jury’s coming in now.”

  Kristine smiled at Tony, squeezed his hand, then watched him stride to the defense table to hear the jury foreman read the verdict.

  Ezra Ruggles would go free. Finally.

  “I knew you’d win,” Kristine told Tony later. “Now it’s my turn to see if I can get monetary retribution for him, to help make up for what happened to him in prison.”

  “You’re my best cheerleader, sweetheart. I don’t want you working too hard, though.” He frowned at the stack of papers on the corner of the desk they shared in their new home.

  “I won’t. You’ll be doing the arguing if Ezra’s civil case has to go to trial. I’m just gathering the ammunition. After all, you’re the one who loves to fight.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t make me fight too hard for you.” Tony circled Kristine’s rounded belly with both arms. “You know, before I proposed, I’d prepared the closing argument of my life, to persuade you we belonged together. I was terrified that it wouldn’t be good enough.”

  Kristine wove her fingers through his, saw him grin at the flashy diamonds that winked up at them from their place on her left hand. “You didn’t need to argue a whole lot in your own defense. You had me from the moment I saw you smile. I just didn’t know it until I grew up and began to see right and wrong in shades of gray.”

  Smiling up at Tony when he swung her into his arms and carried her up the stairs, Kristine said a prayer of thanks. Love had let them help each other to resolve old conflicts and move on to embrace today and tomorrow—together.

  Also at Ellora's Cave

  A Mutual Favor

  Love Slave

  Firestorm

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

  www.ellorascave.com