by Karen Booth
She wasn’t wrong. It had been. But now that it was years later and he couldn’t imagine himself with Kelsey at all, the pain wasn’t quite so persistent. “I didn’t find out about the affair until after she left. I’ve somehow convinced myself that it wasn’t that bad because I didn’t know about it while it was going on. That might be some faulty logic at work.”
“Those are the things we say when we’re trying to protect ourselves. There’s only so much hurt a person can endure.”
“Is there really a maximum? Sometimes life keeps throwing stuff at you, whether you want it or not.”
“I have to ask why you didn’t stand up to her. You had no comment in the article I read. I have a hard time imagining you taking that lying down. A lawyer always fights back.”
“But a lawyer also knows when to quit. Some battles just aren’t worth it. Plus, who wants to get into a fight over love? In the newspapers? Either it’s there between you or it isn’t. You can’t just pull it out of thin air. And it wasn’t like I was going to convince her to come back.”
He watched as she sank farther back against the cushions, wineglass in hand. What kind of pain had she endured? Was that why she sometimes seemed like such a mystery? “Now that I told you my sad story, I want to know if I can ask about the guy who burned you.”
She looked down into the rioja in her glass, swirling it round and round. “Bad timing. It wasn’t all his fault. It was an unfortunate situation.”
“Those are an awful lot of vague details.”
“Okay, then. Here are the specifics. I got pregnant and he panicked. He couldn’t handle it. We’d only been going out about six months and it had been very casual.” She breathed deeply and sighed. “So I did him a favor and I called if off. I already knew that I wanted to have a baby, so I decided I would just deal with it on my own, but then life decided to throw me the cruelest of curveballs when I lost the pregnancy.” Her voice cracked when she uttered those last few words. The room fell impossibly quiet.
“I’m so sorry. That must have been awful.”
“Nobody knows about it. I mean, he must have figured it out when I never had a baby, but it’s not like he ever checked in on me or asked.”
“You never told your brother what happened?”
A sad smile crossed her lips. “You know, I thought about it, but I don’t think Sam would have dealt very well with it. I think it would have made him feel helpless, and I didn’t see any good in that. So I dusted myself off and I went back to work and I tried to forget.”
She was so tough. So resilient. No wonder she made such an excellent attorney. “Back to being a shark?”
“That’s the last thing I am.” Isabel waved it off.
“A beautiful shark, of course.”
Her eyes flashed in the soft light from the fireplace. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”
“I’m no dummy.”
“And I’m serious when I say I’m not a shark. It’s an act. Acting is how you win. You can’t tell me you aren’t the same way.”
“I’m not acting right now.”
Cocking her head to one side, a dark strand of her hair fell across her cheek. The way she narrowed her sights on him made him feel as vulnerable as he’d felt in a very long time. “I believe that. But when you’re working, you have on your armor. You’re ready for battle. And if I’m being completely honest, I think you were playing an act the night we met.”
Jeremy reached for the wine bottle and poured more into her glass before topping off his own. “Isn’t everyone on their best behavior when they first meet? Trying to impress the other person?”
“Yes, and that’s why I didn’t want to talk about work. I wanted us to just be a man and a woman having a conversation.”
“And you think I was faking my way through it? I guarantee you, I didn’t fake a damn thing up in your room. That was all legit.”
Isabel grinned, her cheeks flushing pink. “I believe that. I do. It’s the first part of the night when you were acting. Playing the part of the fun-loving guy.”
“Hey. I love fun. I just don’t have a lot of it.”
“But you’re not as cavalier as you try to make yourself seem. You act like nothing bothers you, but you aren’t like that. You’re thoughtful and serious.” She took another sip of her wine, then scooted closer on the couch. “And now that you’ve told me the story about your marriage, I know why. You’re trying to hide your pain from everyone.”
Jeremy swallowed back the emotion of having her see right through him. “I just don’t want to feel hurt anymore. That’s all that is. So I pretend like it’s not there and I figure it’ll eventually go away.”
Slowly and evenly, she nodded, gazing up at him with her sweet and tenderhearted eyes. He loved that she had so many sides, that she was a woman of many facets. She could be determined one minute and gentle the next. “I know. I just want you to know that you don’t have to pretend with me.” She ran her finger around the rim of her wineglass. “We’re nearly off the clock.”
“Just a man and a woman having a conversation.”
“No hiding.”
Two simple words from Isabel and a wave of heat rose in Jeremy, starting in his thighs and rolling upward, taking hold in his hips, stomach and chest. He fixed his gaze on her, on the rise and fall of her breaths, the flush in her cheeks, the brilliant flash of life in her eyes. Electricity was arcing between them. A current. A jolt. One minute they were talking work and life and pain and now...well, he would have had to be a complete idiot to not notice that this was all leading somewhere he hadn’t quite planned on.
What was it about Isabel that didn’t merely tug at his heartstrings, but unraveled them? It was more than attraction, although that was its own powerful force. There was a connection between them, one that went beyond working together.
“I was hiding from you this week.” The words rolled out of his mouth as if he’d planned to say them all along, which he hadn’t at all, but it still felt good to own up to it. So good that he wanted to keep going. “That night at dinner, all I wanted to do was kiss you. But the pressure is on with this case and I worried I would end up sabotaging myself if I spent any time with you.”
“So you invited me here because you didn’t have a choice.”
He shook his head. “No. I invited you because I had a reason. I finally had a legitimate reason to do what I’d wanted to do all along.”
“I have an admission of my own.” She sat forward, angling her body toward his.
Jeremy’s pulse picked up, running along at a clip. “I’m listening.”
“I thought about kissing you way before dinner. I thought about it that day in your office.”
All he wanted was for her to bend at the waist and plant her soft lips on his. He wanted to feel her body pressed against his. He wanted to get lost in her and never be found. “And since then?”
“There’s been a lot of inner conflict over it.” She licked her lower lip and placed her wineglass on the coffee table, which felt like an ultimatum—kiss me, or don’t.
Jeremy didn’t want to leave any challenge from Isabel unaccepted.
Ten
Isabel was tired of waiting. She had to have Jeremy. The trouble was, the fragile parts of her ego really wanted him to make the first move. And he was being the perfect gentleman. Apparently setting aside her wineglass and biting down on her lower lip were not enough of an invitation.
She scooted closer to him on the couch, pulling her leg up all the way onto the cushion and facing him. Looking at him was both the easiest thing in the world and the most difficult—he was so handsome, it made the center of her chest burn. The fire popped and crackled, the heat warming one side of her face. He tossed back the last of his wine, as if needing liquid encouragement, and there was a very big part of her that wanted to just come out and say it—I want you,
Jeremy. Now.
He finally placed his own glass on the table and turned to her, his eyes beautifully dark with desire. She’d wanted plenty of men in her lifetime, but none as bad as Jeremy. None so bad that it made it hard to breathe. Whether it was unfinished business or the notion of false starts, they both deserved this.
“I don’t want you to feel as though I’m taking advantage,” he said, reaching for her hand, caressing her fingers softly. “It’s my house and you’re vulnerable here.”
Isabel’s heart and body were aching for his touch. “I don’t know that I’ve ever felt more comfortable. Anywhere.” She inched herself closer until their knees were touching, then she took his other hand and raised it to her lips. Even that one touch of skin against skin left her nearly gasping for more. She had to be closer. She had to be next to him. And it had to happen now.
Isabel shifted up onto her knees and straddled Jeremy’s lap. The pleased look on his face was her reward for bravery. She let her weight settle, pressing her hips into his, already the heat and need pooling between her legs. Her hands went to the hem of her sweater and she pulled it up over her head, her hair collapsing around her shoulders when she cast the garment aside. She loved falling under his appraisal, his dark eyes scanning her body. She didn’t need him to tell her she was beautiful. She saw it all in his expression.
The first kiss was the softest, as if they were marking the moment. The beginning. His lips were just as firm and perfect as she remembered. Possibly more so. She set her elbows on his shoulders and dug her fingers into his thick hair, rocking her center against his. She could already feel how hard he was, even through the layers of denim between them. Their tongues wound together. He ran his across her lower lip. His warm hands roved the landscape of her back, then he finally had the good sense to remove her shirt and unhook her bra, pulling the straps forward to be rid of it. He took her breasts in his hands, cupping them completely and rolling her nipples between his fingers. Her skin gathered and grew hard beneath his touch, the perfect contrast to the softness of the kiss. But she wanted his lips and tongue everywhere, so she wrenched her mouth from his.
He took the invitation, licking and sucking one nipple, then the other, his hands squeezing her breasts firmly. Electricity zapped from her chest straight to her center, as if there were a line connecting the two. It felt so good that she wanted to close her eyes and simply languish in the sensation, but it was so hot to watch his face as he flicked his tongue against the tight buds of sensitive skin. Isabel curled her fingers into his shoulders, letting her nails dig into his skin. Jeremy’s eyes popped open and he looked up at her, their gazes connecting before he took a gentle bite of her nipple. It was the perfect amount of pain, just enough to show how much he wanted her. It took every bit of pent-up desire inside her and ratcheted it up another notch.
Isabel reached down and lifted his sweater up over his head, spreading her hands across his glorious chest, firm and muscled with the perfect amount of hair. She kissed one sculpted shoulder, then across his clavicle, nestling her face in his neck, letting the stubble scratch at her nose and cheek while she inhaled his warm smell. Jeremy’s hands were at both of her hips, squeezing hard and pulling her against him even more tightly. White-hot liquid heat pooled between her legs as she felt his erection against her center.
Both of his hands traveled north to the middle of her back and the next thing she knew, he had shifted her until she was lying back on the couch, the leather cool against her overheated skin. Jeremy stood and shucked his jeans and boxers, never taking his eyes off her. He was everything she wanted, long and lean and so primed for her that it was impossible to not feel lucky. She wedged her mind in the moment and focused on the physical, like the way her need picked up when she watched him take his steely length into his own hand and give it a few careful strokes. She loved seeing his own hand on his body, but it also made her desperate to touch him.
Isabel unbuttoned her jeans and lifted her hips off the couch, shimmying them and her panties down her legs. Jeremy helped her pull them from her ankles and then she was completely bare to him, ready and dying to have him inside her. “Come here,” she said, her voice sounding a bit desperate.
“I want to see you touch yourself,” he replied.
Isabel wasn’t much of an exhibitionist, but Jeremy had her so turned on right now, she would have done anything he wanted. She dropped one foot to the floor and eased her knee up, spreading her legs. She brushed her fingertips against her chest, down along the flat plane of skin between her breasts. The anticipation on Jeremy’s face was priceless. He watched her, both enthralled and speechless, standing next to her and stroking his erection. She studied what he liked, even as she relished her own touch as her fingers rode down her belly and finally between her legs.
A gasp left her lips when she touched her apex, the skin warm and slick with desire. She began to move her fingers in delicate circles, feeling as though she could rocket into space in no time at all if she wasn’t careful. Jeremy lowered himself to a kneeling position before her, kissing the knee of the leg that was still up on the couch. Isabel didn’t stop with the ministrations, even when it was pushing her even closer to her peak. She wanted to see what he would do next. She was desperate for it.
He kissed his way along her inner thigh and she moved her hands out of the way to comb his thick hair as he moved lower. His mouth found her center and he used his fingers to gently spread her folds and give himself better access. As hot as it was, Isabel’s eyes clamped shut as he drove her to her peak with his tongue, which traveled in circles hard against her. She did her best to hold off on the pressure, but it eventually became too much, and she felt the dam break, the way her body gave in to him completely. She knocked her head back and called out as she rode out wave after wave of warmth and pleasure. On the other side of the room, the fire continued to roar, but Isabel knew that the heat coming from it was only a fraction of what Jeremy was about to give to her.
* * *
Jeremy took one more taste of Isabel, wanting to be immersed in the sensory delights of her unbelievably gorgeous body. Everything about her was soft and sweet, yet hot and carnal. If things between them never went any further than tonight, at least he’d always have the mental image of her touching herself, of her fingers rolling over her most delicate places, while the heat of the room flushed her skin with a breathtaking shade of pink.
But right now, he had more pressing needs. He had to be inside her. Isabel pulled her legs back, then knelt down next to him on the floor and pushed the coffee table a good foot or so away from them. Jeremy stretched out on the plush area rug as Isabel positioned herself between his knees, taking his throbbing erection into her hands and stroking delicately. Everything in his body went tight—his abs, his hips and thighs. She took her time and he loved watching as her slender fingers rode his length, up and down. As good as it felt, he wanted more of her, and as if she knew what he was thinking, she lowered her head and took him between her plump lips.
Her tongue was hot and wet on his skin, which was already straining from the tension. He couldn’t think of another time he’d been so hard or wanted a woman so badly. He gently rolled his fingers through her silky hair as she swirled her tongue and made it nearly impossible to think about anything other than pleasure and warmth. Just when he was starting to feel as though he couldn’t take much more of the pressure, Isabel released him from her mouth, kissing his lower belly.
“Don’t move. I’m going to get a condom from my purse.” She flitted off to the kitchen and was back in seconds, tearing open the packet and kneeling next to him. She then climbed on top of him, taking his length in her hand and guiding him inside.
As she sank down on top of him, he marveled at how well they fit together, how this was even better than that first night together, when logic said that it could never be better because the excitement of everything new tends to eclipse the familiar. They
moved together, perfectly in sync, and Isabel lowered her head to kiss him. Their tongues wound together as his fingers roamed down her back to the velvety skin of her bottom, his hands encouraging her to raise her hips as far as she could, only because it felt so damn good to have her ride his entire length.
The pressure was building in his hips, and everything was pulling tight again. Isabel’s breaths were ragged, but he wanted her closer before he came, so he slipped one of his hands between their bodies and found her center with his thumb. She countered with pressure of her own, pressing her pelvis into his harder and harder, grinding her body in a circle with every pass.
Isabel rounded her back, using her hips to force him closer to his peak. He clamped his eyes shut and his body gave way, pleasure pulsing and slamming into him. Isabel followed mere seconds later, burying her face in his neck and rotating her hips, making the final waves longer and even more pleasurable. She collapsed on top of him, warm and a bit sweaty, resting her head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the top of her head over and over again. There were no words between them and Jeremy felt that was only fitting. They had exchanged plenty of them in the few short weeks they’d known each other. It was nice to get back to a place where they could let actions speak louder than words.
She rolled to his side and curled into him. He wrapped his arm around her waist and for a moment, they both got lost in the warm flicker of the fire. This was not how he’d imagined tonight going, but if he was being honest, it was everything he ever could have hoped for.
Eleven
Jeremy woke with a feeling he hadn’t had in a long time—hope. He was also drunk on infatuation. Isabel was simply amazing, and last night had been unbelievable. Everything he’d thought about their sexual chemistry had been on the money. He hadn’t made it up.
“Good morning, beautiful,” he said, kissing her bare shoulder.
