“What the hell are you doing?”
The voice came from behind her. She spun around seeing a woman standing behind her, a look of evil intent on her face. The woman was tall, slender and attractive — or she would have been if her face wasn’t scowled up with rage.
“What?” Jess asked. She relaxed her posture and took a step forward. Jess didn’t frighten easily and she sure as hell wasn’t going to be intimidated by some Barbie Doll with an obvious Meth addiction.
“What are you doing? You are out with my man.”
“Excuse me? I don’t know what you are talking about. If he were your man then you would be out with him and not me.”
“I’m telling you for the last time to stay away from him. He belongs to me,” the woman said, her voice filled with malice and rage.
Jess laughed. She loved it when people got so worked up over something so silly.
“Excuse me, but I’m on a date,” Jess said as she spun away and walked out of the restroom.
When she got back to the table she mentioned the altercation to Alex. He had ordered another bottle of wine and had just poured the first glass. She expected him to be shocked or to deny that he ever knew the woman. That had been her experience with men — they lied and cheated and then lied about cheating.
“That sounds like Veronica,” Alex said.
“Veronica? Well, she may have gotten the wrong idea about us,” Jess said.
“Oh, I’m thinking she has the right idea about us,” he said winking at her. She felt her heart speed up a little bit and willed it to stop. Damn he knew how to flip her attraction switches.
“Veronica and I used to go out — briefly. That was about the time I learned that she was clingy, possessive, and mildly psychotic.”
“Mildly? I'd hate to see a real psycho then,” Jess replied.
Alex smiled. “Well, in the game of love there are bound to be some casualties. It isn’t pretty, but it happens.”
“Is everything a game to you?” Jess said shaking her head. The guy was so smooth it was unbelievable.
“Yeah, everything in life is a game. That’s the way you have to look at it. If you take it too seriously it all starts to suck. Life is about fun. Even when you are working, you should be having fun. If you aren’t then you are doing it wrong. When it comes to people and relationships I feel the same way. People have me figured out wrong. They think I’m some sort of douchebag player.”
“Aren’t you?” Jess asked.
“No, I’m very open and honest with people. In fact I’m too honest sometimes. I told Veronica that I wasn’t looking for anything serious when we started fooling around. She used to be a paralegal at the firm, but when she wouldn’t take no for an answer and started stalking me then I had to let her go. I hated to do it.”
Jess wasn’t sure if she swallowed everything that was coming out of his mouth, but she could tell that Veronica was an obvious nut. She herself had dealt with a weirdo or two in her quest for love, which wasn’t much of a quest when you factored in all the time she spent not thinking about it and not pursuing it.
“I can handle that,” Jess said.
“Good,” Alex replied. He smiled that million dollar smile at her and leaned back in his chair. He seemed to be very satisfied and happy with the fact that she was not the least bit rattled by what was going on.
Next Alex decided to take her dancing at an exclusive club. He had really decided to pull out all of the stops to impress her tonight it seemed.
She was just fine with that. Jess just smiled and sat back ready to enjoy the ride.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Jess pushed herself away from the computer and leaned back in her plush office chair, stretching her back deeply. She let out a huge yawn and really sank into the relaxation of it all. For the past three hours she had been glued to her office chair working on the Jones case. The Discovery process had gone well and now she was working on all of the questions and possible scenarios that needed to be in place in order for her to trample the prosecution on the next step of the trial.
She had shut everything off and allowed herself to become immersed in the details of the work, and she had worked longer than she had intended to without a break. That was a bit of a problem with her and she suddenly realized that she had not had lunch or dinner yet. This wasn’t that unusual either, but now she was feeling her blood sugar crashing and she knew she had to get something in her, fast.
She went down the hall to the vending machine and bought a bag of chips and a coffee. She figured that would tide her over until she got home and had some real food. She had pizza leftovers for tonight.
A noise in the other room garnered her attention. She moved back from the vending machine and noticed Dean working in the other room making copies. She was not at all surprised to see him working this late. It was past eight at night.
She had actually not had a chance to speak with him since their date. It had been an interesting contrast to the date she’d had Friday with Alex. While Alex was overtly cocky and arrogant, albeit in a sexy way, if that made sense, Dean was much more urbane and suave. He kind of reminded her of Daniel Craig as James Bond. He actually looked a bit like him, but much taller. Same intense gaze and steady, flowing movements. It sent the message that he was in control and you were going to have to be ok with it, because he was going to take great care of you. Jess liked that. It had been a long time since anyone had bothered to take care of her.
She had been taken aback by how subtly funny Dean actually was on their date. They had gone to a wine mixer and Dean had introduced her to several people of note in the area, most of them wealthy business owners, and a few minor celebrities. If she had not been so used to keeping these people out of jail then she might have been a bit impressed.
It also turned out that Dean was a snazzy dancer. There had been a section of the wine mixer that had actually been set aside for dancing with one of the hottest dj’s in the area. Dean had taken control and moved her body in ways she was not sure it had ever moved before. The way he danced was very seductive and sexual. It really felt like he was making love to you and the music. By the end of the night she had been ready for just about anything, and she meant anything. But Dean as it turns out was a perfect gentleman. He had dropped her off at her place with a sweet kiss and said goodnight. She had almost invited him up, but she could tell that he wouldn’t have accepted the invitation. It was rather peculiar, but she decided she liked that and it made her want him more. She was really looking forward to their next date.
She was also looking forward to the next date with Alex. He had arranged for them to go skydiving. She had never been and it sounded terrifying, but the way he described it had made the whole thing sound so exciting that it made her want to try it. Jess had never been afraid of trying new things and she certainly wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity like that.
Dean had not asked her out again. He was either very old fashioned, or he was just playing a bit of hard to get with her. She knew that he wanted her. She had felt his cold, seductive gaze on her for the past few months. She had even started to dress a little sexier on days when they had scheduled important meetings. It was fun for Alex and Dean both to get an eye full of her and to watch them squirm.
No, Jess did not consider herself a tease in any way; she was just having fun and she was doing it for all the big girls out there.
“Jess, is that you?”
She had just been about to walk back to her desk when Dean called out to her. He had apparently caught her watching him and he probably thought she was totally checking him out, which she was. Oh, well, she was just going to have to wing it. She put on her sexiest smile and slowly walked into the copy room, carefully accentuating her curves with every bouncing step she took. He looked like his eyes might pop out of his head. This late in the day when everyone had pretty much gone home, Jess liked to remove the restrictive blazer and just wear her blouse. The blouse was a bit see-through and it reve
aled the lacy bra she wore underneath that barely covered her large breasts. It was comfortable so she wore it under the hot blazer all day. It seemed to keep the sweating to a minimum and no one was the wiser until she took it off; then it was party time. Or in her case it was time to do a massive amount of prep work and sifting through paperwork.
“Hey, there. Why am I not surprised to find you still here?” Jess asked.
“Probably the same reason I am not surprised to find you still here,” he replied.
“Well, I guess workaholics stick together,” Jess said with a smile.
“I had a great time the other night,” Dean said. “I’d love to take you out again soon.”
“I thought it was just a one-time celebration?”
“It started that way, but I think it deserves to be something else.”
Jess smiled coyly at him, walking a bit closer, allowing him to smell her perfume and catch some more cleavage out of his peripheral.
“I like the sound of that,” Jess said.
She was starting to feel very aroused. Maybe it was the intense focus on the work she had just been doing. For some odd reason it often put her in the mood.
Dean’s eyes glazed over with lust. He looked at her intently, staring deep into her eyes and through her being. It was very erotic and she could hardly recall when she had felt the presence of attraction that was hotter than it was right now. She found herself leaning in closer to him.
“I have been thinking about this for a while,” Dean said. He pulled her close and kissed her softly.
“I know,” Jess said.
“Do you? Well, then I take it you have thought about it a time or two as well?”
“Maybe,” Jess said between kisses.
“Maybe?” they kissed again, deeper and firmer.
“I think about a lot of things,” Jess said. She kissed him again feeling his hand on her lower back, travelling up under her shirt and scraping the skin. Tingles of excitement began to rise within her.
“What sort of things does your naughty mind think about?” Dean asked, his hand moving to the front and undoing one button on her shirt.
Jess smiled. God he was turning her on.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I definitely would,” Dean said, his voice barely above a whisper oozing sex. Silky.
“Well, you will have to use your imagination,” Jess said as he undid a second and a third button. The cool air invaded her shirt adding to the lust she was building.
“I’m not that creative,” Dean said. He finished off the last button and pushed open her shirt, revealing her large, soft chest held captive by a bra that was almost too small.
“Would you like a demonstration then?” Jess said.
Dean kissed her again, moving his tongue inside her mouth and caressing her.
“I feel that would be best right now,” Dean replied.
“As you wish,” Jess said.
Dean pulled her close and pressed his mouth firmly on hers. His strong hands against the back of her head, pulling her close was so dominant and exciting. She loved to be taken this way. She wanted it, needed it, and craved it. As much as she loved to be in control of everything in her world, when it came down to it she was no different than any other woman—she wanted to be taken, hard.
Dean wasted no time in removing her bra, allowing her large breasts to swing free. He pressed them harder against his body as he continued to consume her mouth within his, moving his mouth in sync with hers, pressing his lips hard against her own.
Suddenly he spun her around and pushed her against the copier. He hiked up her dress and pulled down her panties. In an instant he had freed himself from his pants and with one strong thrust he was deep inside of her.
A loud moan escaped her as she was surprised by the size of him and her body opened wider to accommodate him. He began to move hard and deep inside of her as she braced herself against the copier and let the man take her completely.
The relinquishing of control was in and of itself the most erotic thing for her. With any man she had ever been with it was that way. Just letting him have his way with her and enjoying the pleasure that she was being given. She bucked back against him harder, matching his thrust with her own movement helping him go deeper inside of her.
The pleasure was longer than she had ever known. It lasted a good fifteen minutes of non-stop pumping harder and harder into her, punishing her in ways she craved.
When it was over they casually put their clothes back on and Dean kissed her deeply, to cap the lovemaking off properly.
“I want to thank you for that amazing demonstration. I fully understand what you were talking about now,” Dean said, still playing the game.
Jess laughed. “I’m glad. I have to say I learned a lot as well.”
Dean grabbed up his papers and headed for his office, giving her only a flirty glance backwards as he shuffled slowly down the hall. Jess had to laugh at the nonchalant manner he displayed after giving her a great sexual experience. She loved the offhanded nature of men; they were able to enter someone else’s body and just borrow it for a bit without the slightest emotional attachment.
Jess was glad of this, being a woman who basically did the same thing. It wasn’t that she didn’t want any emotional attachment to someone ever, but the right guy had not come along yet and the right time was far from close. She went back to her desk and worked until midnight, enjoying the quiet of the world.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Alex Mathers sat across the desk from her. He had not spoken in almost five minutes. Three of those minutes he had spent shuffling papers on his desk and catching up on some organization, but now he was just sipping his coffee and staring at her. His gaze was difficult to decipher and she was not sure if he was glaring at her or not. Had she done something to upset him? Was it just the fact that she had not given him a definitive time for them to go out again? She was tempted to fold and stop playing the game she had setup, but it was so much damn fun that she wanted to see how it turned out.
“So, how have you been?” Alex asked. He smiled slightly, but almost in a fake sort of manner. It was kind of funny and Jess had to stifle her laughter.
“I’ve been good. The Jones case is coming along great. I think I’ll get him a good deal.”
“No chance of getting an acquittal on that one?” Alex asked.
“No, there is just too much evidence. The guy’s goose is a bit cooked.”
“I figured as much. Well, you can’t win them all.”
“Was there something in particular you wanted to see me about, sir?”
Alex smiled for a moment. He had an odd look in his eyes now, as if he was thinking about telling her the truth, or that he was just going to toy with her a bit.
“I’ve noticed you and Dean have become… close.”
Jess smiled, wondering how much he knew about her and Dean.
“Yes, we have become closer. Is that a problem?”
“Well, no. I mean the firm frowns on fraternizing between coworkers — especially between boss and associate — but then again I’d have to point the finger at myself if I enforced that rule.”
“So, what is the issue?”
“Well, the issue is that I thought you and I had a great time the other night and I would like to take you out again.”
“I know. I would love to see you again, but I’ve just been so busy that I haven’t had time.”
“But you’ve had time for Dean?”
Jess stopped a moment, and wondered what kind of grade school, whiny stunt he was pulling. Alex Mathers was not someone to care enough to get jealous and he wasn’t the type to get clingy or needy. But he loved to win. That was the thing. He was having trouble wondering why she so far had invested more time into the budding relationship — if you could even call it that — with Dean, but not with him.
“Well, it just worked out that way.”
Alex laughed.
“Well, I want
you to come over to my place tonight. I know you have a lot of work to do, but I want you to come to my place tonight for dinner,” Alex said. He held up his hand when she started to interject and read her mind that she was going to say that she had work to do, which she did.
“Ok, I’ll be there.”
She heard the arguing when she was leaving for the day. It was just after five and it felt weird for her to be leaving then. It almost felt like she was leaving in the middle of the day, which she knew was a strong sign that she definitely worked too much. She was just passing Dean’s office, and she heard the loud voices inside.
Jess paused and strained to listen. She recognized the two voices as Alex and Dean. They were in a heated discussion about something. She knew it was wrong and she could probably get in trouble if anyone saw her eavesdropping on them, but before she could rationalize why she shouldn’t do it, she was already there.
“I don’t see what you are getting so upset about,” Dean said.
“Oh, you don’t? I asked her out first,” Alex replied.
“What are you, twelve? You are acting ridiculous.”
“We have a pact between the two of us that we would never go after the same woman. We have tried this before to disastrous consequences.”
“That was years ago; I thought you had grown up by now.”
“Don’t try to talk to me like I’m a child,” Alex said. The sound of his voice was moving around as if he was pacing back and forth.
“Besides, it is clear that I’m winning the competition. I know that is tough for you to understand, and handle, but it’s true.”
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