“Think about it, Kate. Try to put the happiness of your children before your own. You need a stable influence in your life. After I saw you in that trashy outfit, I realized you need me back. God knows what people thought, seeing you parading around like a—”
“Don’t you dare!” She shoved her chair back and forced herself to walk across the room, away from him. One more word and she would slap him, and not just once. “Did Sally leave too fast for you to find a replacement? Is that why you’re trying to get back together?”
He stood up and walked toward the living room, dismissing her with an absent wave of his hand. “We’ll talk later. I promised Justin another game of Wii bowling.”
Katy threw her napkin at his departing back and stifled her scream.
She tidied the kitchen then headed to her office for a moment of calm before the storm of hyperactive, overtired children descended on her. After the divorce, she had replaced Steven’s dark, oppressive furniture with a glass desk, cream leather chairs and open steel-framed bookshelves, transforming the dark, stuffy space into a light and airy oasis. A sanctuary of sorts.
She pulled out the Saunders file and found the list of names. Despite the threat, Martha had decided to continue with the case. Her boyfriend had encouraged her to forge ahead and leave the threats to him. What would it be like to have such a supportive partner?
Katy sighed and called the number for the third man on Martha’s list, Terry Silver. If Martha had the courage to keep going, she would be with her client every step of the way.
After setting up an appointment to see Silver the following week, Katy closed the file and buried her head in her hands. She couldn’t stop thinking about Mark. If she didn’t find a way to deal with her fierce attraction to him, she might as well kiss her career goodbye. She knew, without a doubt, one day, in the haze of lust that invariably descended on her the moment he drew near, she would go too far.
If she hadn’t already.
At exactly ten o’clock, Mark’s cell rang. He settled himself on the tired hotel bed. Well-worn springs creaked under his weight. He hadn’t expected her to call. Hoped, yes. Expected, no.
He grabbed the phone off the night table and double-checked the caller ID. Why had he even suggested this? He could have just called her office in the morning. But the combination of sexual allure and fierce intelligence turned him on like nothing else. Throw in those luscious curves, the wide, blue eyes and the long, silken hair and she was a recipe for disaster. A recipe he couldn’t wait to taste again.
The phone rang a second time.
His body tensed in delicious anticipation. Who was he kidding? The call had nothing to do with the case, and everything to do with hearing the exotic purr of her throaty voice.
He answered on the third ring.
“Mark?”
His body tensed at the low, sultry, breathless whisper on the other end of the phone.
“Katy.” He stared at the ceiling and breathed slow and deep. Slow and deep. God, that’s exactly how he wanted her.
“You said this might be a good time to talk about the case?”
“I’m afraid I have bad news.” Mark rushed his words wanting to get the professional part of the call out of the way. “I didn’t make any progress with your settlement proposal.” He couldn’t tell her the situation had gone from bad to worse, and in the next few days she would discover her client was on the other end of a vicious lawsuit.
“Ah, well. That’s a shame, but not entirely unexpected. I sent the proposal to your client so we could show the judge we made the effort. I guess I’ll see you in court then for the disclosure hearing.”
A tiny fissure of fear opened in his chest. He had expected her to be more…disappointed. At least as disappointed as he had been. The settlement would have been an easy way to resolve the potential conflict.
Scrambling for a hook to keep her on the line, he said, “About your disclosure application…you know I won’t let you get away with such a blatant fishing expedition.”
“How are you going to stop me?” He caught a hint of laughter in her voice.
“Maybe I’ll throw something unexpected your way—tie you up so you can’t attend the hearing.”
“Tie me up?”
Mark closed his eyes as images of Katy, bound and spread out before him like a banquet, flickered through his mind. He imagined licking his way down her body, feasting on the soft bounty of her breasts, sucking her cherry nipples and tasting the nectar between her thighs.
“God, yes,” he rasped.
His shaft rose painfully against his zipper. Damn. He was already losing it. He had better control than this. He took a deep breath and stared at the bland, two-toned painting on the wall in front of him. Typical hotel décor. Mind numbing. Just what he needed.
“How would you tie me up?” Her throaty voice made his balls tighten in an instant.
“Emergency injunction? Surprise witness? Last minute amendment?”
“Rope,” he blurted out. “Silk is best.”
Her gasp, soft and low, sent his arousal soaring. He tensed his body to stave off the urge to rip open his jeans and deal with his burning need for release.
“How would I get to court if I was…tied up?”
“I’d leave you some wiggle room.”
“Mmm. What would you be doing while I was wiggling? Grab the opportunity to…handle things…on your own?”
A smile curled his lips when he realized she was playing the game. God, he wanted this woman. Badly. If he hadn’t been in Seattle, he would have been hard pressed to stop himself from seeking her out. Ropes in hand.
“I’d stay and watch you wiggle.”
“And if I escaped?” Her voice dropped to a low, sultry purr.
“You’d be a very sorry girl,” he growled. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. They were right on the line they shouldn’t cross, but it was a just a phone call, nothing more.
“The way you say it…”she breathed, “…makes me want to be sorry.”
He wanted to be sorry too. Sorry he had started this. Sorry he had no control when it came to her. But he wasn’t. Not a bit.
Dropping the phone, he buried his face in his hands and dragged his fingers over his coarse stubble seeking a familiar sensation to distract himself. He’d had dozens of one-night stands over the years. Detachment had never been a problem for him. Until now. Katy got to him on a level he didn’t understand. He undid his belt and shoved his jeans down over his hips before picking up the phone.
“So I guess after that we would go to court,” Katy said softly.
“Court?” Mark tore himself out of his self-reflection and tried to catch up with the game.
Katy giggled. “I’d have lost all restraint by then.”
Restraint. Probably a good idea.
A shiver raced up the length of his spine. “I would like to see you totally unrestrained, sugar.”
“If I turned on my webcam, you would.” Her throaty whisper held a teasing note.
“Turn it on.” His shaft ached and every nerve ending sizzled with need. He shoved the wretched, restricting underwear down to his knees and grabbed his erection as it sprang free of its prison. Big mistake. He clenched his teeth and challenged himself to make it through the call without getting off.
“I can’t,” she whispered. “But talking like this…it makes me hot.”
Mark let his head fall back against the wall with a thud. Damn it. He grasped his cock firmly and began to stroke. “Talk to me, sugar. If you won’t let me see you, then you’ll have to paint me a picture. Tell me what you’re wearing.”
Her sharp intake of breath kicked his arousal up another notch.
“We’re pushing the limits, Mark. Maybe we should—”
“No.” He cut her off with a bark that betrayed his need. “It’s just a phone call and I have a passing interest in your…sartorial choices, particularly if they involve lingerie or garter belts.”
Soft lau
ghter. A rustle. Footsteps. The slide of a drawer opening. A soft thud. Squeaking springs. Panting.
Anticipation ratcheted through him and his fingers curled tight around the phone.
“Red,” she whispered. He heard more rustling. The snap of elastic. The hiss of nylon.
He froze. His entire being focused on the sensual sounds filling his ear.
“Silk slip. Lacey garter belt. Suspenders. Thigh highs. Panties and—”
“Stop.” Mark hissed out a breath. “It’s probably better if you don’t say anything else. As you said, there is a line we don’t want to cross.”
Her soft whimper of disappointment gave him an idea—a way to keep them technically on the right side of that line.
“I’m going to say a few things, sugar. You don’t have to answer me. In fact, it’s better if you don’t. I’ll just be musing to myself while you’re on the phone, but if you feel the need to interrupt me with those sexy little sighs and whimpers, I won’t complain.”
“Mark, I—”
He chuckled. “Ah ah ah. You’re not supposed to say anything. But I’m thinking about you. I imagine you’re lying on your bed in your sexy outfit but it’s too hot in your bedroom. Your slip is clinging to your body. You want it off so you slide your hands up and over the silk to your breasts. They’re tender, swollen. You cup them, squeeze them gently, relieve the ache. And then you can’t resist. You circle your thumbs around your nipples until they peak under the silk. So hot. So hard.”
Katy moaned.
“Good girl.” He cut himself off and fought for control. His hand tightened around his cock and he stroked once, twice, enough take off the edge, but not enough to send him over.
“If you were going to imagine me, you would probably imagine I ditched my shirt before we even started this call and when we started talking about ropes, I had to ditch everything else. And I’m hard. So goddamn hard for you.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and then murmured her approval.
Mark smiled. “I imagine you’ve got the slip off, but now your panties are wet, too wet. You slide your hands down those luscious curves and unhook the garter straps one by one, then slide off the stockings.”
He heard the soft snap of elastic. Once, twice, three times and then four. His cock thickened and he pumped slowly into his hand.
Katy groaned and he heard the faint hiss of her stockings sliding down her legs.
“Now the panties, sugar. Slip your fingers into the elastic and ease them over your hips.”
The squeak of springs. A soft whine. He increased the pressure around his cock and began to stroke faster. At this rate, he wasn’t going to last very long.
“Are you wet and ready for me, sugar?” His voice caught in his throat and he increased his rhythm. “I am so ready for you.”
“God, yes,” Katy moaned.
“I’m here for you,” he murmured. “Let your hand slide down over your mound to cup your hot little pussy. That’s it, sugar. Spread your wetness up and around your clit. But don’t touch. Just a tease. A taste. And back down to your folds. Around again. Move your other hand to tweak your nipples, one at a time, rolling them between your thumb and forefinger until they’re hard, as hard as my cock.”
Her rapid, panting breaths fired his need. He was rough with himself now, quickening his strokes as his hips jerked, desperate to find release. He forced his words through gritted teeth. “I’m stroking myself like there’s no tomorrow, sugar. I’m rock hard and ready to come for you.”
Katy groaned, a low, guttural, sensual sound that took him right to the edge.
“You’re close, aren’t you? Slide one finger inside your pussy. So hot and wet. In and out and then add a second finger. Fill yourself like I would fill you if I was there.”
Her soft, strangled cry took his breath away. He squeezed his eyes shut and pictured her touching herself on her bed, her eyes half-lidded, lips plump and wet. “Lift your hips and ride those fingers. You want to come for me, sugar?”
“Now,” she breathed.
Fuck. Red sheeted his vision. Every muscle in his body tensed. He had never needed release as badly as he did this very moment. He tightened his hand in a vicious grip and thrust hard into his palm.
Katy’s voice rose to a thin whine. “Maaark.”
“Now, sugar. Flick your thumb over your clit and come with me.” He grabbed his underwear and slid the soft cotton over this throbbing shaft.
“Oh, oh, oh. I…” Her muffled scream sent him over the edge. His body went rigid and pressure exploded from the base of his spine, jetting out his cock in wave after wave of mind-numbing pleasure. He groaned; the sound drowning out the last sweet sighs of her release.
For a long while he heard nothing but the sound of her ragged breathing.
“Oh God.” The regret in Katy’s voice sent a chill through his veins.
“Don’t worry.” He tried to keep his voice calm and relaxed although he felt anything but. “It’s just a phone call—a bit of fun. Nothing serious enough to raise any professional concerns.” Mark clenched his teeth as soon as the lie left his lips. But maybe it was better this way. He couldn’t hold back around her, but if he pushed her away, it wouldn’t be an issue.
Who was he kidding?
Still, her silence rocked him to the core. “Sugar?”
“Sure,” she mumbled. “Just a bit of fun. We wouldn’t want anything more than that.”
Chapter Nine
“I don’t want to go to Dad’s place.” Justin pushed his chair away from the table and Katy sighed.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, darling. Ted asked me to take his place at the legal awards dinner tonight. He’s the one who put me up for partnership. I can’t refuse. It’s work and it’s important. Plus, this is your Dad’s weekend with you. I’m sure you’ll have a good time.”
But I won’t. No club. No Mark. She had messed everything up on the phone. She shouldn’t have agreed to the call. In the back of her mind, she had known it wasn’t really about work. Maybe she had unwittingly formed some kind of emotional attachment to him. Or maybe she was just confused. Either way, it had to end.
“We won’t have a good time,” Melissa groaned. “Sally dumped him so we’ll have to eat sandwiches all weekend and he’ll be in a bad mood.”
“Don’t be silly, Mel. Justin packed the Wii. Once that’s hooked up, you’ll forget you even need to eat.”
The front door creaked open. Steven’s running shoes squeaked across the floor. Of course he wouldn’t think to use the doorbell.
“Hey, kids, ready to go?” He walked into the kitchen and his smile faded. “What the hell are you wearing this time?”
Katy looked down at her new dress and smiled, perversely pleased at Steven’s reaction. For the first time in years she had wanted to dress in something other than the conservative black wool sheath she usually wore to formal dinners. Something sexy. A few discreet inquiries around the office had sent her to the exclusive boutiques in West Vancouver, and the minute she saw the elegant, mock corset dress she knew she had to have it.
“Don’t you like it?” She ran her fingers down the strapless black silk dress, tracing the Asian-inspired brocade of red flowers, white birds and branches with her fingertip. She checked the back laces and tightened the red silk drawstring, letting the loops fall onto the tight pencil skirt that hugged her hips and ended just above her knees. The dress fit so snugly she could barely move, and it pushed her breasts up just enough to be noticed but not so much as to be unprofessional.
“It’s indecent,” Steven spluttered. “And when you wear it with those fucking bondage boots…Geez, Kate, what’s gotten into you? You look like a sl—”
“Watch your language in front of the children,” she snapped.
Melissa and Justin shared a glance. “Dad said the f-word,” Melissa breathed in awe.
Steven grimaced. “Those boots were a mistake. I should never have let you buy them.”
“Y
ou would have had a long way to fly.” With a few hours to kill between witness interviews in London one winter, she’d wandered around Covent Garden, getting lost in the narrow, twisted little alleyways until she had seen the boots in the window of a fetish store. The soft, knee-hugging black leather and the shiny, silver stiletto heels had called to her, but not as much as the laces. They started at the toe and worked their way to the top, then around and down the back. Just like a corset. Steven hated them. With a passion.
“I can’t believe you’re going to a legal awards dinner wearing lingerie and bondage boots. Do you not care about your career? I’m sure the judge at the custody review will be interested to know how you conduct yourself in your spare time.”
“I think Mom looks beautiful,” Melissa said softly.
“Sluts don’t dress like that,” Justin added, revealing a maturity beyond his years.
Katy and Steven looked at him in horror.
“How do you know how sluts dress?” Melissa voiced the question on everyone’s mind.
Justin shrugged. “I’m nine. I know a lot of things.”
“This is your fault.” Steven pointed his finger at Katy. “He used to be an innocent boy.”
Katy fisted her hands by her sides. Say nothing in front of the children. “Mummy has to go, darlings. Go get your things. I’ll see you on Sunday.”
She kissed them and waited until she heard them on the stairs before turning to Steven. “I’m decently covered, just not in the uptight, conservative clothes you encouraged me to wear. And if you ever speak like that in front of the children again or threaten me in any way—”
He cut her off with a bark of laughter. “What? What are you going to do? Sue me? Kill me? The father of your children?”
Her nostrils flared. “Death would be too good for you.”
Mark tapped his fork on the white linen tablecloth. An endless parade of penguins marched up to the podium to accept their statues and waddled back again. His firm, Richards & Moretti, hadn’t won anything, but then he hadn’t expected they would. Litigation work had dried up with the recession, making the Saunders v. Hi-Tech case one of the few pieces of high-profile litigation the firm had secured during the last year.
Legal Heat Page 11
