by Kim Linwood
The words he said were perfectly average, predictable, solid B+ material for a lawyer fresh out of school. He’d been throwing the case, and I couldn’t sit home on the couch waiting to find out why. “You sounded like your opening was written by an intern. I just wanted to make sure my name wasn’t on it anywhere.”
He stares at me for a long moment and then rests his forehead against mine and laughs. “Fuck. How can you expect me to let you go when you keep being so adorable?”
“Well.” I lick my lips. “First off, I’m not adorable. Puppies are adorable. Second, you start by relaxing the muscles in your fingers.”
He moves closer, his soft breath playing across my neck. His voice drops deeper, into a sexy tone that makes heat flow straight into my center. “Like I said, adorable. But I don’t think you want me to let you go, do you?”
I struggle against him, but he holds me in place with ease so I change tactics and go with honesty. “No, I don’t, because every time you get near me I can’t tell if I want to slap you or tear your clothes off. You’re crazy. You’re impulsive. You’re distracting. And sometimes you are so sweet it hurts, but then the minute I slip up and let you in? You break my h—”
He kisses me forcefully, rough lips forcing mine open while he presses his body against me. I’m distinctly aware of every inch of us that is touching. His heat, his strength, the scratch of his stubble against my cheek, and the sheer intensity of his presence threatens to overwhelm my better judgment.
“I broke your heart.” Declan watches me like he’s seeing something for the first time.
I press my traitor lips together, partly to keep them from revealing any more secrets, partly to keep from closing the distance between us and kissing him again like I want to.
He smiles. “I broke your heart.”
“That’s not exactly a thing I’m celebrating, you jerk,” I snap.
He grins again, eyes going right to my lips. “I can’t break your heart if you don’t like me. You like me.”
“Do not.” I press my lips together to hold back the smile.
His only response is to go right back in, like his plan is to kiss the anger right out of me.
I think it’s working.
Electricity arcs between his fingertips and my flushing skin as he strokes the side of my neck and throat. Without meaning to, I lean into his touch, my body well aware of exactly how good it would be to just give in and let this happen.
His lips leave mine, kissing their way along my jawline. When he dives into the hollow of my throat, I raise my head to let him in, luxuriating in his rough pecks and nibbles. I can barely force out words, but I try. “Tell me again you didn’t do it. Look me in the eyes and say it.”
He slides his hand down and up underneath my t-shirt, dragging the fabric with him until he palms my breast through the thin fabric of my bra. He traps the nipple between his thumb and forefinger, giving a light squeeze. I moan softly, unable to help it.
Nose to nose, he looks straight at me. “I. Didn’t. Do. It. I did, however, go back a couple days ago and find out they still had the thumb drive, which among other things, was full of Michael’s course work. I turned it over to the police along with a report of what happened. It might never go anywhere without more proof, but if you ever need to get a restraining order, it should help.”
I draw in a sharp breath, really not expecting that. “Oh my God! Why didn’t you just say that?”
“Because at first I was pissed that nobody believed me. I know I’ve pulled some messed up shit, but I’ve always owned it.”
That was true. I lean forward and kiss the side of his jaw, watching his eyes soften.
“But I talked to Dad, and then I realized I’d still fucked up. I could have gone to the police when he first called me. I could have grabbed someone to help when I saw him at the wedding. But I didn’t, and I have to live with regretting that my choices put what felt good at the time ahead of what was best for you, and that it fucked us up.”
“Declan...”
“Don’t get me wrong, babe. I don’t regret swinging that bat, or pounding his face in.”
My eyes go wide. “Bat?”
Oh. My. God.
“Doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’ll probably always be the guy that doesn’t hesitate to take a swing, but if I want a chance at you, I need to be the guy who at least thinks about it first.”
“Like you thought about today?” It’s low but I can’t help taking the shot. I also can’t help leaning forward a little farther and nibbling up to his ear.
He chuckles, and we’re so close I can feel it rumble through me. “Today was for both of us. It started out for you, but I needed it too. And shit, I know I can’t make a habit of that, but it was a fucking blast. So what d'ya say? Have I earned a second chance?”
“It’s more like fourth, maybe fifth.”
“That sounds like a yes to me.”
I laugh. “Oh just shut up and get me out of here so we can make up already.”
He lets go of my wrists and tugs at my shirt. “No way, babe. I can’t wait.” In no time he’s exposed my bra and he’s working on getting the shirt up to my underarms.
I bat at his hands. “We can’t. We’re in a courtroom. What if someone comes in? There’re tons of people out there!”
The riot is still going on, a madhouse of yells and rumbles. Someone blows a whistle and the sound of heavy boots on laminate floors sounds down the hall outside. I guess the cavalry is on its way.
“That just makes it hotter,” he whispers in my ear.
I have to admit, he isn’t wrong. He rips off my shirt and his hands go straight to my breasts. I’ve missed this so much.
“You’re so fucking beautiful. I’ve been dreaming about you. I can’t get you out of my fucking mind, babe.” With a sudden movement, he pulls down the left cup of my bra, freeing my breast.
When his teeth lock over my nipple, I let out a sharp hiss. His tongue flicks over the tip, sending an electric current of desire racing through my shivering body. While his tongue works wonders, he liberates my other breast and I’m effectively topless in the middle of a huge courtroom.
As someone intending to go to law school, I have to admit this has always been a bit of a fantasy of mine. Still, it feels a little strange, and a lot scary. As if to emphasize the risk, someone thumps into one of the doors, shaking it and making me yelp.
“Sssh.” He looks up, his eyes crinkled and with a mischievous grin on his lips. “We don’t want them to hear us. Someone might come in.”
Declan’s hands go down to work the fly of my jeans open. I bury my hands in his hair, making a mess of it and not caring because I’ve missed this. I grip him hard, holding him against me while he tugs my pants over my hips. Once they’re past the middle of my thighs, he lets go and they drop around my ankles, trapped over my shoes.
I need to see him. To get him out of his suit, to have his skin against mine. To feel him inside me. “Hurry up and fuck me,” I whisper.
He straightens up, with a glint of something dangerous in his eyes. “A few days off and you think you’re the boss now?”
Gripping his hair and tugging his head back, I force him to look at me. “You owe me.”
He raises an amused eyebrow. “And what does my bossy little mistress desire?”
I reach for his tie, grabbing it firmly. “I should force you to your knees and make you crawl.”
From the way his amused expression doesn’t change, it’s obvious I don’t scare him one bit. “So why aren’t you?”
I grin and tug at the knot, loosening the red silk while he laughs. I don’t care. I don’t even pull it out the whole way. Just enough so that I can get at his collar buttons. Making quick work of them, I continue downwards to expose his beautiful chest, one tight button at a time.
He looks so proper fully dressed, but as the shirt opens, more and more ink is exposed. Exquisite lines and details. Leaning in, I put my lips to his smooth ches
t, tracing the red and blue swirls of a design that ends at his right nipple with my tongue, tasting and exploring him. He draws a sharp breath when I flick over the tight nub.
I finally get his last button after pulling his shirt out of his black suit pants. I push it back and down his arms, my fingers sliding over the swell of his muscles, baring intricate patterns and vivid scenes on his skin. I want to lick all of them, marking him as mine, but it’ll have to wait.
“Because I owe you too, and I’d rather be on mine making you groan.”
Claire
I sink to my knees in front of him, worrying at his belt with my fingers. It comes loose with a rattle. The massive bulge in his pants makes my mouth water, but it also makes it harder to get the little latch and button open. I nearly tear the fabric, but once released, his pants slide right off his narrow hips to pool around his ankles. His boxer briefs follow as I rip them down, and then I’m staring his magnificent cock right in the face.
Every inch of him is mine, and I re-stake my claim by sliding my lips around the salty head of him and then sinking until I feel him hit the back of my mouth. Declan groans and his thighs flex. Swirling my tongue around the underside, I tease and explore until he shivers.
So soft. So hard. I want him inside me, but not quite yet.
His hands slip into my hair, making tight fists so I can’t get away. I drag my nails softly up the backs of his legs as he takes over, guiding me where he wants me most. My cheeks cave while I suck, but he’s the one in charge. I brace my hands against his powerful thighs and close my eyes, just enjoying the feel of his thrusting. Between my thighs, there’s a throbbing echo of each slow, wet slide.
“You feel so fucking good, babe. I can’t keep this up for long.”
I suck harder, wanting to tell him to just go for it. I’m eager to taste him, to feel him lose control, but I want him in me more. Apparently he thinks the same thing, as he pulls me off and lets go, leaving me sitting back on my heels and catching my breath.
Kicking off his shoes and pants, he grabs my hands and pulls me to my feet. He flips me around and bends me over the back row of the audience bench. If anyone comes in right now, they’re going to get one hell of an eyeful. I shiver at the thought, but I’m too far gone to care.
“Stay.” His husky voice brooks no argument. There’s a crinkle of plastic tearing and then he’s behind me, nudging his rock hard length in between my thighs. I groan deep as the smooth head of his cock parts my soaking wet core. Has it only been days? It feels like a lifetime since he was last exactly where I need him. Buried to the root.
Forgetting, or maybe just not caring, I’m getting loud. Declan strokes a hand up my back, around my throat and then over my mouth. “Shhhhh. We don’t want anyone to come check on us, do we?” He drags himself almost all the way out and then fucks back in hard with one thrust that rocks my whole body. I keen softly behind his hand. “Or maybe you do? Do you want an audience?”
My whole body warms as I blush, but I shake my head into his hand even as I feel a rush of heat coat my insides. The thought excites me, but only the idea. Declan laughs softly.
“Good, because like I said, I’m not the type that likes to share. This body is mine to enjoy. Mine.”
From this angle, he feels even bigger than normal, and doubly so as he moves, filling and unfilling me with deep thrusts. God, it feels so good. He has one hand on my shoulder, forcing me down and letting him pull me onto him while he keeps the other over my mouth to keep me quiet. I can’t stop moaning, but at least they won’t hear me in the hall.
I hope.
I’m so keyed up and sensitive that every thrust pushes me closer to completion. I want to reach between my legs and help things along but he hisses and stops me.
“Hands on the edge. You’ll come when I want you to,” he orders.
My fingers wrap around the cool wood and I rotate my hips as I fuck myself back onto his cock. He can be as bossy as he wants, but I’ll never be sweet and passive.
Good thing he seems to like me a little bossy too.
“Fuck, I want to do this to you every day.” Declan’s words are raspy and short, said between harsh breaths and clenched teeth.
His hand on my shoulder moves up to my hair, using it to pull me against him. The back of the bench is hard and rough against my stomach, but I barely notice. He fills me deeply, and I bite down on his fingers trying not to scream as he pounds relentlessly. God, to do this every day. I don’t even know if I’d be able to take it, but I’m willing to try.
The slaps of flesh against flesh echo through the room over a constant chorus of quiet moans and groans. My muscles clench and my vision blurs as my whole world becomes the delicious sensations that surge from my clenching pussy. I shiver, my fingers clutching the seat for support. I’m going to come, bent over a courtroom bench and right out in the open, fucked senseless by my gorgeous, horrible, sweet, conceited, sarcastic and brilliant stepbrother.
It’s a crazy world we live in.
I’m so close, but he holds back just enough to keep me hanging.
“Do you love me?” He growls next to my ear, letting his hand drop away from my mouth.
I shake my head. He’s asking for too much.
“Claire Anderson, I’m dangerously close to screaming it next time I ask. Do you love me?” Declan’s fingers find their way between my legs and he teases me until my legs are shaking and I can barely take it. “Do you?”
“Do YOU?” I gasp, vision blurry with tears of frustration.
“Yes.”
One word. Three letters. Huge.
I can’t hold it back anymore, and he doesn’t even try to tease me now, giving it to me exactly how I want and need him to.
“Do you?” he whispers again.
Stars burst behind my tightly closed eyelids. “Yes!” I scream, both in response to his question, and relief as my whole body goes rigid and I quake in his arms.
He fucks me through it all, but the tight grasp of my sex around him proves his undoing. Right after I finally admit the depth of my feelings, he fills me one last time and explodes inside me. Sex has always been amazing between us, but this was something new. Better. It was a hot, desperate battle to claim each other, and I don’t think anything will ever be the same.
Claire
For a long time, he just holds me, stroking my slick skin. Time stands still, the both of us trapped in the moment. Eventually he has to pull out, and I sigh at the pang of loss.
Neither of us have the energy to go anywhere. Declan pulls me down with him onto one of the benches. It’s cold and hard, but curled up with him after the orgasm of my life, I don’t really mind. Now that it’s over though, I’m self-conscious about what we said.
“Declan... what you asked. It was the heat of the moment and I know it doesn’t—”
“Stop.” He pulls me back onto his chest and strokes the hair away from the sides of my face, looking down at me. “I’m not playing that game. I meant it. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since the night we met, and even though when I met you again it seemed like we couldn’t be more wrong for each other, you’re it for me. These past few days without you have been hell.”
“A few weeks ago we hated each other,” I remind him.
“Shit, I never hated you. What you represented maybe. Never you.”
“I’ll be going back to school soon.” I’m grasping for reasons to push him away and I’m sure he can tell.
“Claire, we’ll figure it out.”
“We hurt each other.”
His chest rises and falls in a nearly silent laugh. “And we’ll probably do it again, but trust me. It will never be on purpose.”
“How can you know that?”
He’s quiet, and I feel him press a kiss against the top of my head. “Because I saw your face when you thought I’d betrayed you, and I would rather tear out my own heart than see that again.”
My eyes start to burn as tears threaten to fall. �
�Shut up.” I sniffle.
“No.” Declan surprises me by shuffling me off his lap and dropping to one knee on the dusty floor next to us. The floor that’s still littered with our clothes. “I won’t shut up. Not about this.”
Oh God. This can’t be happening.
“What are you doing? Get up.”
“Claire Anderson, I don’t know what I did to deserve being here with you, but you’re stuck with me. I fucking love you, and if you’ll have me, I want to make it official. Marry me.”
“What?” I squeak.
“Marry me.”
Never in my life have I been a girl that daydreamed about a proposal, a fancy wedding, or a house with a white picket fence. But everyone, and I don’t care who they are, has ideas about how it happens.
Those ideas never included anything close to being naked in an empty courtroom after screwing my stepbrother while a riot is going on outside the room. You can’t make this shit up.
“You’re crazy.” I shake my head in disbelief.
He arches an eyebrow. “Is that a no? Because I have to warn you, I’ll keep asking.”
“No, it’s—”
“So it’s a yes?”
“No!” Ugh! He’s incorrigible. Life with Declan would be anything but dull.
Am I seriously thinking about this?
“I have to say, you’re sending mixed signals. Can I just pick one? Because I’d prefer to go with ‘yes’.”
“Shut up!” I smack him in the shoulder and laugh, tears in my eyes.
Declan just grins. “Marry me.”
“You really aren’t going to take no for an answer, are you?” Holy crap I think I’m about to get engaged. Am I really going to do this?
“Marry me.”
“Fine!”
He’s going to drive me crazy. I know it. I’m signing myself up for a lifetime of insanity, and I can’t stop grinning at the thought.
Sliding my arms up, I wrap them around his strong neck and pull him towards me. His soft hair catches between my fingers as I clutch him, clinging while we kiss, deeply and passionately.
Someone bumps against one of the doors, almost pushing it open. Hard enough to make the handle click. I pull away reluctantly, giggling at his disappointed groan. “We need to get dressed, before someone comes in.”
