How To Tempt A Crook

by Linda Verji

  “Oooh!” His groan mingled with her whimper as he started to push in.

  She was so tight, so warm. Needing to be in her completely, he gripped her buttocks with both hands as he arched upwards and shoved himself deeper in. Not content with being a passive participant, Kelly lowered to meet his long stroke. Then finally he was completely inside her.

  They both had to take a break for a minute as sensations careened and bounced between them. Spencer had never felt this kind of pleasure, never even imagined that it existed. Being inside Kelly was more amazing than he could put into words. They fit so perfectly together that it was ridiculous.

  With him still inside her, Kelly sat up. Her palms firmed on his chest and her eyes locked with him. Then she started to ride.

  Damn, the lady she could ride. Spencer felt like a stallion who’d just found his mistress. Kelly rode him slowly. She rode him expertly. She rode him thoroughly. Her pussy swallowed him whole as she came down, then gripped him tight, refusing to let go as she rose. Her gaze was shadowed and intense as she worked her hips up and down him. With each downward stroke, she took him completely inside her then spat him out the next second.

  He was going crazy. He was going mad.

  As if the feel of her tight pussy gripping him like a vise wasn’t bad enough, watching her breasts jiggle with each jerky movement was enough to make him lose whatever marbles he had left. He reached upwards to squeeze and massage her lush breasts in time to her riding. Her moans, whimpers and the way she bit her lip in response catapulted him right into ‘fuck it’ mode. Fast as lightning, he flipped her over so he was the one over her.

  Then he took the lead.

  He forced his arms under her knees then shoved his shaft completely into her. If he could leash himself, he would’ve slowed his strokes to prolong the moment. But she had him too far gone. She’d driven too far past the edge of craziness.

  He jabbed into her with long, hard strokes to match the stab of his tongue in her mouth. The feel of her hands sweeping over his back to grip his ass sent even more frantic need shooting through him. Everything in the room disappeared, leaving just the two of them. All he could see, all he could feel, all he could hear was Kelly. And he wanted more of her.

  All of her.

  He tore his lips from hers to watch her as he fucked her. Her expression was a satisfying mask of lust and pleasure. But he wanted to see her eyes.

  “Look at me,” he ordered harshly even as he continued to pump his cock within her.

  Her pussy tightened around him, but she didn’t open her eyes.

  “Look at me,” he repeated. This time, he shoved his cock so hard into her, she jolted and her eyelids flew open.

  There it was. That almost animalistic desperation that told him she loved this just as much as he did. It shadowed her eyes, turning them almost black as she stared up at him.

  The wild look in her eyes was the scissor that cut the final thread holding him back. His strokes got faster and shorter. He pumped harder. He felt her begin to shake and convulse just seconds before his own tremors began. The boiling in his balls was more intense than anything he’d ever experienced. It only worsened when Kelly started crying out as her pussy trembled and milked his shaft. She was coming.

  Grimacing, Spencer pressed his forehead to her temple as he sped up.

  Faster. Faster. Faster…

  “Aaah.” The dam broke and flooded them both. Drowning in exquisite sensations, he forced himself as far up inside her as he could. He held himself there, rigid and still, as he exploded.

  Long after his release had subsided, Spencer was still gasping, and his heart was still thumping like a rogue drum. Kelly had wrung him dry, and it felt wonderful. His arm tightened around her waist as he spooned her. Though he was no longer aching, he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. The feel of her back against his chest, her ass cradled in his groin and her legs tangled with his, sent warmth and tenderness flowing through him like a spring.

  Somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew that this need to keep her close was a primitive urge to dominate, an urge to make it clear that she was his woman. It should’ve given him pause. It didn’t. Instead, he pushed his nose into her neck and held her tighter.

  Kelly was so quiet that he thought she might’ve fallen asleep. But then she sighed. It was such a loud and sad sigh that it had him lifting up on one elbow to stare down at her. He found her staring at the wall ahead with a blank look as if deep in thought.

  Concern streaked through him. “Are you okay?”

  “Mm.” She nodded then closed her eyes.

  Her response should’ve been enough to satisfy him. It didn’t. It left him haunted by a lingering unease as he settled back behind her. He took a breath then squeezed her. Maybe if he held her tight enough, that unease would disappear.

  It didn’t.

  And Kelly sighed again.

  This time he had no doubt that something was wrong. Deep inside, he already knew the reason for her sighs but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. He closed his eyes and pressed his nose to her shoulder, willing her to go to sleep and stop sighing.

  She sighed again.

  With a sigh of his own, Spencer turned her in his arms until they were lying face-to-face. For a long while, he just watched her expression, noting the shadows in her eyes as she stared right back at him. Though she didn’t speak, her sad eyes said everything she wanted to say, and it sent pain stabbing straight to his heart.

  His throat tight, he murmured, “Don’t regret it.”

  Even as he said the words, he knew that they were useless. Her eyes told him that she already regretted sleeping with him. Disappointment stabbed at his heart. Though he understood where she was coming from, he hated the fact that their pleasure was a source of guilt for her.

  She watched him for a moment then whispered, “I can’t help it.”

  “Kelly, please.” His tone was soft and pleading as he curled his fingers around her wrist.

  He didn’t even know what he was asking her for, but what he was sure of was that he wanted to be like other couples. He wanted to cuddle, laugh, drift together into sleep and to wake up the next day happy to just be with each other.

  In that moment, he realized something; that he really did want them to be a couple. And even though this wasn’t the right time to confront her with his feelings, he whispered, “I like you.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” The look in her eyes was as distant as it was empty. “It’s time to stop now.”

  No, he didn’t want to stop. Feeling a strange pain in his chest, he asked, “Why?”

  She pulled her wrist from his grip and sat up against the headboard. Pulling the covers to her chin and drawing her limbs almost to her chin, she murmured, “You know why.”

  His gaze on her, he sat up too. “Because of your dad?”

  Her blank gaze on the wall ahead, she nodded curtly. “Because of my dad.”

  “What about me?” Frustration bit at him. His voice was low and intense as he studied her. “What am I to you?”

  His question brought life to her gaze. Her eyes flashed as she turned them to him. But she didn’t answer.

  So Spencer continued, “I know I’m a bastard for coming after you even after everything that happened between us.” He wetted his suddenly dry lips. “But I can’t help it. I like you. I like you a lot.”

  In a flat monotone voice, she said, “Well, stop.”

  “Stop?” He laughed, but there was no humor in the grating sound. “Do you think I would’ve fallen for you if I had a choice?” He pushed out a long sigh. “It just happened. I wish I could stop it. Damn, I wish I could stop it. But I can’t. Neither can you, otherwise I wouldn’t even be here right now.”

  Protest flashed in her eyes, and her lips parted. But no words emerged.

  He wasn’t surprised. They both knew he was right.

  Cupping her shoulder with one hand, he asked, “Can you really claim that you don’t have any feeling
s for me?”

  “I don-” She pressed her fist to her chest as if her heart was actually hurting as she said, “I can’t. I can’t have feelings for you.”

  “You already have feelings for me.” He could see it in the stiff set of her shoulders and in the deep lines of her downturned mouth. “You can’t hide from them.”

  “But I can try.” She shrugged his hand off her shoulder before turning to face him. Her eyes were shimmery with unshed tears. “I’m attracted to you, I won’t deny that. But I also can’t erase the shame I feel after we’re together. I feel too sorry towards my father to take this any further than this. So can we just stop?”

  Her tears and the pain in her words squeezed at his heart and he found himself reaching for her hand. “Kelly.”

  “No.” She jerked her hand away from his reach. “Please, Spencer. Just go back to your room.”

  He wanted to stay and talk more. He wanted to convince her that even her father would understand their feelings. But he wasn’t in any position to speak for her father. Reluctantly, he dressed up and left.

  CHAPTER 15

  Kelly, it seemed, was serious about stopping whatever was going on between them dead in its tracks. In the last week or so, she’d taken to avoiding him. During team meetings, she somehow always ended up at the farthest end from him. Out of the blue, she’d developed an interest in Angelina’s cases and always volunteered to be her first or second chair. If she needed something from Spencer, the request was done through email. If she needed to pick a physical object from him, she’d end up so busy that Duke or Russell would volunteer to get it for her.

  Her evasion strategies were so subtle, none of their coworkers noticed that anything was wrong between the two of them. In fact, if Spencer didn’t already know her and the conversation they’d had, he would’ve completely missed it too.

  He had to give the lady points for creativity. Spencer smiled resignedly as he read another email from her requesting files for a case she and Angelina were working on. The email was cold, clinical, and there was a note at the bottom that said if he wanted more information, she’d email him. Subtle! If he wasn’t so frustrated by her actions, he would’ve laughed out loud.

  Actually, frustrated was an understatement for how he felt. His emotions were oscillating somewhere between disappointment and desperation. Every time he saw her, he wanted to shake her and force her to look at him and see that being together wasn’t a mistake. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her that they could get past their history. But he couldn’t. He didn’t have the right.

  Unfortunately, this was something that she needed to work through on her own without pressure from him. And while she did, he’d just wait. Maybe she’d eventually come to him. Or maybe not. Either way, it wasn’t up to him.

  “So this is how you spend your Saturdays these days?” Lawrence’s booming voice yanked him from his morose thoughts.

  Surprised, Spencer looked up. When had his godfather even entered his office? And what the hell was he wearing? To complement his white pants, white golf shoes and the sunglasses above his head, Lawrence was wearing a Hawaiian shirt that was a vivid shade of pink and carried several palm trees. If that shirt were a flag in space, no one would need a telescope to see it.

  Spencer asked, “Are you trying to blind someone?”

  “What do you mean?” Lawrence strode deeper into the office.

  “That outfit.” Spencer gestured up and down his godfather’s sizeable girth. “I’m getting a headache just looking at you.”

  “You’re getting a headache because you’ve sitting in front of your computer too long,” Lawrence countered flippantly before lowering himself to the couch.

  “What are you doing here?” Spencer asked.

  “What are you doing here?” A frown marred Lawrence’s usually cheerful expression. “Don’t you have something better to do with your weekend?”

  “What I have is a lot of work to catch up on.” Spencer picked up a pile of files and waved them at his godfather.

  “If I wasn’t your boss, I’d be fooled into thinking you’re the only lawyer around he-” Lawrence stopped speaking. Wincing, he rubbed his chest.

  Immediate concern streaked through Spencer. “You okay?”

  “Yeah! Just heart burn. I think I drank too much coffee,” Lawrence dismissed as his hand dropped to his lap. He offered, “Why don’t you come with me today?”

  “Come with you where?” Spencer lifted his eyebrows. “The golf-course?”

  “A poker match.” Lawrence explained, “I’ve got a game on with Judge McConnell, the D.A. and a few other people. I’m sure they won’t mind an extra player.”

  “No thanks.” Spencer shook his head. “Not interested.”

  “Why not?” His godfather frowned. “This is a good opportunity to form some connections. When you take over the firm, you’ll need them.”

  “I think I’ll pass,” Spencer reiterated.

  Any other lawyer would’ve been excited to be in line to take over a big firm like Chambers & Quinn. Spencer wasn’t. This firm deserved someone who was invested in it at its helm, and he just wasn’t that someone. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the right time to tell his godfather that, so he hedged, “Like I said, lots of work to catch up on.”

  Lawrence studied Spencer for an uncomfortably long time before quietly asking, “It’s about Kelly, isn’t it?”

  “What’s about Kelly?”

  Lawrence released a heavy breath. “The reason you’re working so many overtimes and weekends.”

  “No, it’s not,” Spencer denied. He picked up a file then began to flip through it, willing his godfather to let the subject drop.

  But Lawrence didn’t drop it. “Did something happen between you two?”

  “No.”

  “Did you break up?”

  Spencer looked up surprised. “Who said we were together?”

  “No one.” Lawrence smiled. “But I raised you, and I know when you’re looking at a woman with hearts in your eyes.”

  “Hearts in my eyes?” Spencer made a face. “No damn way.”

  “You have feelings for K-” Lawrence winced again.

  Frowning, Spencer studied his godfather. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Stop changing the subject.” His hand still on his chest, Lawrence asked, “Did you break up?”

  “We were never together in the first place,” Spencer said to assuage his godfather’s curiosity before turning the subject back to Lawrence’s constant winces. “Have you seen a doctor or taken any medication?”

  “For heartburn? Who does that?” Lawrence waved his hand dismissively. “And don’t think you’re going to get me to forget the whole Kelly thing just because – ah!”

  This time real pain crossed the older man’s expression, and he clutched his chest tightly. Spencer was off his feet and rushing to his godfather’s side within seconds of that groan. But by the time he got there, Lawrence was already gasping for breath.

  “Lawrence, Lawrence.” Blood pounding in his ears and panic tightening around his chest, Spencer knelt by his godfather’s side. “What’s wrong?”

  Clutching his chest, Lawrence groaned. “Ah! My- my-”

  Suddenly, his body slumped to the right, his head headed straight for the vase on the side-table. Spencer caught the older man just in time. However, while he was heaving Lawrence back to sitting position, the older man passed out.

  * * * * *

  KELLY MISSED SPENCER.

  It was mind-boggling, wasn’t it? That one could miss someone even while getting to see that person every day at the office. But it was hard to deny it when he was all she could think about.

  Her efforts to avoid him, while minimizing their day-to-day contact, had only increased his presence in her dreams. While she slept, memories of his kisses and touches haunted her. While she dreamt, her brain recapped their last conversation and revised it so that she could say what she’d really wanted to tell him t
hen. That she liked him too. That she wanted them to be a couple just as much as he did.

  It was too bad, wasn’t it? That she was who she was, and he was who he was. If they were different people, her heart wouldn’t be aching so much.

  “Are you crying?” Sin’s voice cut into Kelly’s morose thoughts.

  “Of course not,” Kelly protested, but when she ran her palm over her cheek, she found it wet.

  “Yes, you are.” Sin, who was sitting in lotus position on the couch beside Kelly, watched her with concern. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s the movie.” Kelly pointed to the TV screen in front of them. “It’s really sad.”

  “We’re watching a comedy,” Sin pointed out. Her forehead creased. “What’s going on with you? Since you guys went on that work trip you haven’t been yourself.”

  Kelly lowered her eyes to the throw pillow on her lap. “Nothing’s going on with me.”

  “Something’s going on with you,” her friend insisted. “I let it go because I thought you wanted to work it out on your own, but now you’re crying.”

  “I’m not crying,” Kelly murmured. As if to defy her, a tear slipped down her cheek to fall on the throw pillow, leaving a wet and undeniable mark on the patterned fabric.

  Sin saw the tear and immediately scooted closer to her. A frown marring her pretty features, she demanded, “Tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help.”

  “You can’t help.” Kelly sniffed.

  “Maybe – but talking about it might make you feel better.” Sin slung an arm around Kelly’s shoulder. “C’mon, just tell me.”

  Maybe Sin was right. Maybe talking about it would help. Picking at the throw pillow’s plaid fabric, Kelly muttered, “I slept with Spencer.”

  “What?” Sin’s voice was high-pitched, and her eyes were wide with shock. She blinked. Then blinked again. “You did what?”

  “I slept with Spencer.” Kelly held up two fingers. “Twice.”

  Sin stared at Kelly like she’d just confessed that she had magical powers. Still clearly shocked, she drew in a deep breath then blew it. “Okay. Alright. Wow. That happened.”