Mr Justice

by Piper Sullivan

  “Everything is not about you, Walker. Okay?”

  “I know that, but this clearly is about me since you’re acting like you can’t wait to get away from me.” He was getting angry now which only made me feel more exhausted.

  “Maybe I can’t, Walker. Maybe the only thing I want in this world is to get away from you.”

  He stared at me, hurt and shock burning in his eyes. His gaze was fiery and dangerous, a smarter woman would have been wary of it. She would have stepped back and slammed the door in his gorgeous face. “Why?”

  A frustrated growl escaped and the smart girl I knew was inside of me, finally woke up and pushed the door closed on Walker. “Goodbye, Walker.”

  “No!” His hand darted out and stopped the door before it met the frame.

  “Walker, stop.”

  “I can’t.” The words came out tortured and sincere, like he really wished he could stop, but was unable to for some reason. “Dammit Audrey, I can’t.”

  “Try,” I begged quietly because one of us had to be smart. One of us had to do the right thing and since my mental and hormonal states were compromised—thanks to Walker—it had to be him.

  “I have tried. And I can’t.” He stepped in closer and closer until he was inside the house, his breath fanning over my face and his big brown eyes staring at me like they could see down to my soul, the way I always wished he would see me.

  I wasn’t strong enough to fight against the fire burning in his eyes, to ward off the impact his closeness was having on me. “Walker.” It was the last word out of my mouth before his lips were on mine, tempting me beyond all reason with the soft firm pressure until my lips opened for him and my tongue danced with his. The taste of him was more than I could handle and before I knew it, we were locked inside together as clothing went flying in all directions. It was a bad decision. A terrible choice but when his lips and teeth touched my body, moving down the column of my neck, fire skidded across my flesh until I was nothing more than a pile of trembling nerves in his arms.

  “Fuck, Audrey. I can’t get enough of you.” The words were torn from his lips on a rough growl that shot straight through my body before settling between my legs.

  That would have been the perfect opportunity to shove him away, to put some distance between us so I could think straight instead of thinking like a hormonal teenager. But when my hands settled on his chest, they dragged down his chest towards his waist. On their own, I swear. But my hands didn’t stop, they couldn’t, not when his skin was so hot and so hard. Not when I missed him so much.

  Too much.

  As much as I wanted to push him away, I couldn’t. Not when I knew what my future would be. A single mother in a small town with very few options for dates, never mind an actual partner to share the heavy lifting with. I accepted it. Mostly.

  Let’s just say I was on my way to accepting it.

  So, no, I didn’t push Walker away. I pulled him in close and leaned back to give him better access to my neck and I lost myself in the feel of his lips skittering over my skin. In the feel of him sliding into my body, his gaze hot and focused on me as he took us both higher and higher. So high that I almost let myself believe that look of love in his eyes as we shouted our pleasure at the same time.

  Almost.

  Instead, I closed my eyes tight and gave myself over to passion.

  Two more times.

  * * *

  “This is becoming a bad habit, Walker.” It seemed as though every time I opened the front door, his face was on the other side. “Here to check up on me again?”

  “Nope.” His smile was handsome in a boyish kind of way and, damn him, he was wearing jeans. “This time I bought a lot of food and decided you could share it with me. But if you’re not interested,” he let the words hang in the air unspoken.

  But I wasn’t a chump. “What is it?”

  “The Spring Fling special, of course. Same all week.” I groaned at the smug grin her wore because every year Mr. Spring Fling chose his favorite sandwich and it became the Spring Fling special for an entire month.

  And because I knew what his favorite sandwich was. “A Reuben?” It explained the sudden moisture gathering in my mouth and Olympic caliber flip of my stomach. “Be right back.” I rushed off to the downstairs bathroom and slammed the door behind me, locking it on instinct. I made it about half a second before my stomach gave another offering to the porcelain gods. Fucking sauerkraut.

  Even thinking of the offensive pickled monstrosity made me retch again into the toilet. There was one summer I tried to like that sandwich in a misguided attempt to share something significant with Walker. It hadn’t worked because sauerkraut shouldn’t be a thing and because I couldn’t compete with Jessica Murphy and her D-cups. Or her willingness to hand out blow jobs like party favors.

  “Hey Audrey, are you okay?”

  Shit. “Uh yeah, I’m fine. Be out in a sec!” I took a moment to make sure my stomach was done trying to kill me before I rinsed my face and mouth, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My black hair was overgrown, hanging past my ass which made it more of a pain than anything else. My skin was pale, almost yellow because I couldn’t keep anything down for more than an hour. In short, I looked like hell. No wonder he only wants to bang me.

  That was another thought I shook off before leaving the bathroom. I found Walker in the kitchen, unpacking the sandwiches. “You’re pale.”

  “And you’re tall.” At his raised eyebrows, I shrugged. “I thought we were saying obvious things to each other. What are you really doing here?” There was no way in hell he just stopped by with food and no ulterior motive, especially after I let him screw me in the front hall.

  “I thought we were past this, Audrey.”

  “Past me asking questions? Never.” I learned early on that the only way to get answers was to ask the right questions. People wouldn’t tell you the whole truth and nothing but the truth unless you pushed. Poked. Annoyed them into telling you.

  “Fine,” he sighed and raked a hand through his hair before pulling the sandwiches out. “I wanted to explain to you about…Lindsey.” It was the first time I’d ever seen Walker appear less than confident and it was endearing, dammit.

  “Who is Lindsey, one of your girlfriends?” The only thing I wanted to talk about less than the baby in my belly was the women Walker bedded on a regular basis.

  “The brunette you saw me with at Big Mama’s.”

  Oh. “Right. Well you don’t need to explain, Walker.” She was exactly the kind of woman he’d end up with anyway and it was a good reminder. Hell, Lindsey was mostly responsible for our most recent sexual encounter. If not for her, I might not have let that last thread of hope drift away on a breeze.

  “I want to.” I put a hand to his when he moved to take out the other sandwich, taking it and closing the bag up tight.

  “No need to open that.” I took a few steps back when he unwrapped his sandwich, hopefully far enough away that I didn’t get sick again. “You don’t owe me an explanation, Walker.”

  “She wants to help me become County Attorney. Well her image consulting firm does.” Yeah I’ll just bet she does. Walker was handsome, charismatic and great at his job, she was probably grooming him to be her husband. “She thinks I could win a seat even higher than County Attorney?”

  “Why is that so shocking? It’s always what I assumed you’d end up doing one day, running for office.” I’d always known it which was why I never pursued the crush, well it was one of many reasons I hadn’t pursued him. There was no place for a woman like me in his life. “That’s your path.”

  “Is it?” The question seemed sincere enough, he leaned forward like the answer mattered. “Why?”

  I shrugged and picked up a cold French fry from the paper carton on the table, stepping back to eat it. “You’ve always been ambitious and politics is the next logical step, isn’t it?” But before that could happen he would need the perfect wife who would produce smart, healthy a
nd perfectly photogenic progeny.

  “I don’t know, Aud. County Attorney is in my wheelhouse, it’s what I do everyday. I put bad guys away and I try to help people who’ve made mistakes get their shit together before that stops being an option. I love my job. Politics is just a distraction.”

  I wanted to believe that, more than anything, because it would allow that last little glimmer of hope to flicker back to life, but I didn’t believe it. Walker was meant to do big things, he always had. To do that he would need the right woman at his side and she wasn’t me. “Maybe you should listen to Lindsey. I’ll bet she told you it was time to settle down?”

  He frowned. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

  It wasn’t too hard to figure out. “It’s Texas. Your age. The job you want. It’s pretty obvious that you need a…family or a pretty little wife to show people that you’re the right kind of people.” And I wasn’t the right kind of people. Sure, because of Helen I wasn’t a pariah, but being associated with me wouldn’t help him win any election, and definitely not a big important one, which meant I couldn’t tell him about the baby.

  Ever.

  “I still haven’t decided if I want it bad enough so don’t donate to my campaign just yet.”

  I arched a brow and folded my arms. “Who says I’d vote for you?”

  “Oh you’d vote for me.” Walker stood with a teasing grin on his face, his steps slow as he stalked me like prey but I refused to budge. Just because my body acted like a hoochie mama when he came around, didn’t mean I would run from him or my feelings. “I could make you, I bet.”

  My eyes closed when one finger traced the shape of my face, starting at my forehead and trailing down my jawline and back up the other side. Brown eyes were almost black as they focused in on the fluttering pulse at the base of my throat. Walker licked his lips.

  I licked mine.

  Neither of us looked away, we couldn’t. The moment, the energy between us was too charged, too electric. Too all consuming.

  One move and we’d be naked again, clawing at each other until pleasure swamped us both. I took a step back and then another. “Maybe you could, but you haven’t decided to run. Yet.”

  “No, I haven’t.” But he wanted to.

  “But you will.” He would.

  Walker

  “What do you think? Am I just regular handsome or handsome as fuck?” Will held his arms out wide and twirled in front of the three-way mirror, an arrogant smile on his face.

  I looked at him from my spot still inside one of the fitting rooms, trying on what felt like the thousandth suit in as many hours, the suit fit well and it was black. “It’s a damn suit, you look like a guy in a suit.” I wore a suit everyday and still I felt like a damn wound up toy. “What’s the big deal, anyway?”

  Will shrugged like it didn’t matter but I could see that, for some reason, it did. “It’s a dance and I wanna look good. Something wrong with that?”

  “Not at all, just curious. The suit looks fine but not the tie.” He frowned and gave the tie a second look before snatching it off and going to the wall of ties that hung by the window. “A new color or a new style?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at his distress. “Yes.”

  “Asshole,” he grumbled and turned his attention to the ties while I took his spot on the raised platform to inspect my own dark blue suit.

  The cut was slim and though I had a hundred suits at home just like it, I wanted something new for the dance. Something Audrey hadn’t seen me in. Not that it mattered. “Is my tie supposed to match my date’s dress? Helen said something about that, didn’t she?”

  Will shrugged again, too distracted with something that he wanted to pretend was a tie problem, but I knew was something more. “I don’t know Walker. And since I don’t have a date, it doesn’t matter.”

  “Yeah, thanks.” For nothing.

  Finally he took pity on me. “Want me to ask Audrey what she’s wearing?”

  Yes. “No, it’s fine.” Unlike every other female in town, young and old alike, Audrey didn’t seem to be working herself into a fuss over the Spring Fling dance. “I’ll go with something simple.”

  “I’ll ask,” he said and held up two different ties, both of them green. “How does your mystery woman feel about not being your date to the dance? Why isn’t she your date to the dance?”

  That was a good damn question and one I couldn’t very well answer truthfully. “Who said anything about a mystery woman? Besides you, that is?”

  “I know you’ve got a woman, Walker. The question is…why all the secrecy?” His gaze drew closer, careful and assessing while I kept my expression blank, hiding all traces of the details he was searching for. “Is she married?”

  “Because that’s my thing?”

  “No but when a man goes as long as you have without a woman, he grows desperate. Really desperate.” Will clapped me on the arm and flashed a wide grin before he bumped me off the platform to pose in front of the mirror. “So?”

  “There is no woman, Will.” None I could tell him about even though it killed me to keep it secret. I still didn’t know how Will would react to me and Audrey but it didn’t matter so technically there was no me and Audrey. She’d been as adamant as I was that there couldn’t be anything between us, and even though we couldn’t stay away from one another, it felt wrong.

  Dirty.

  Secret.

  “You’re my best friend and have been since we were kids, man.”

  “Your point?”

  His lips twitched. “My point is, I know when you’re lying and right now your pants are on fire.” At my offended look, my best friend tossed his head back and laughed and laughed. He laughed until his golden brown skin was tinged pink and his eyes watered as his hands clutched his stomach. “The worst liar ever.”

  “Or maybe you’re projecting on account of whatever’s going on with you and Hope.” Those words shut him up quick. “That’s right, I noticed. But because I’m a good friend, I kept my mouth shut.”

  A low growl escaped. “There’s nothing but friendship between me and Hope.”

  Yeah, I believe that. “Whatever you say.” That shut Will up long enough for us both to settle on suits for the dance, at least until a familiar blond pixie bounced past the big window with a smile and a wave. He was oblivious but I wanted to put my theory to the test so I waved her in.

  “Hey guys! Shopping for the dance?” Hope was the epitome of bubbly and bright, the exact opposite of Audrey but somehow they’d become close friends.

  “Yep. I think Will needs help choosing a tie.” We both looked over at the man in question just as he looked up, surprised and frustrated and just a little bit happy.

  “What?”

  “Walker said you need some help. We can’t let a bunch of ties defeat you, can we?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief and something else I refused to name when my own life and emotions were such a fucking mess.

  “I’m fine,” he grumbled and turned back to the wall, leaving me and Hope to make awkward conversation.

  “Since he’s fine, let me help you Walker.”

  I didn’t need any help but maybe I could get something else. “I’ve already picked a suit,” I told her and motioned to the blue three-piece hanging on a rack. “What do you think?”

  Hope eyed it carefully, taking her time to choose her words. “It’s nice. For a lawyer trying a case, not for a dance. Not for romance.”

  My gaze landed on Will’s quickly before bouncing back to Hope and her laughing hazel eyes. “Sorry,” she mouthed the words. “You need something hotter. Less formal.” The woman was like a little tornado, sifting through a dozen racks in just a few minutes until she came up with a sleek black suit that looked more appropriate for an evening wedding than a small town dance. “There you go.”

  It was a nice suit, black with a European cut that would flatter. The shirt, tie and pocket square combo was a bit…much. “Purple?”

  “It’s lavender,” she
said and rolled her eyes before shoving the package in my arms and leaning in close. “It matches Audrey’s eyes.”

  Dammit, she was right. The silky fabric was almost the exact color of eyes I knew well and this color was Audrey’s eyes when she was happy, horny, smug. Satisfied. Excited. “Thanks.” It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her about Audrey, how she was doing. What the hell was wrong with her, because I knew something was. She was pale and sick, tired all the time and she refused to talk about it. At all.

  “You’re welcome, Walker. Good luck.” Her words were weighted with more than one meaning and I nodded my understanding.

  “Thanks for the help, Hope. Now please, have mercy on Will.” She cast a wistful look over her shoulder at Will and sighed. “But not too much,” I added with a wink.

  “You know, I think I will.” Her smile blossomed and I knew he was in deep trouble with the girl next door. “Thanks.” She sauntered off and I returned to the dressing room with the black suit hanging over my arm and thoughts of Audrey filling my mind.

  * * *

  “You know this can’t continue, Walker.” The words rushed out of Audrey on a sigh and pierced my chest like a knife. A justified feeling considering we were naked and our limbs were still tangled together, we smelled of each other and sex and something else, something indefinable. We’d been wrapped up in each other for hours, nothing else existed but us and our hunger for each other. Our thirst for pleasure.

  “I don’t know that at all, Audrey.” My hand slid up and down the curve of her hip, a gesture that slowly hypnotized me. “We are on the same page and that’s what matters, not what everyone else thinks.” We weren’t on the same page at all because I was a liar. We had been on the same page but somewhere along the way, during the on-again off-again nature of our relationship because that’s what it was, a relationship, I started to want more. More of Audrey.