Forrester eyed each one of them. “Make sure Mahoney knows that.” He snatched the paper back and disappeared down the hall.
Cassie gripped the edge of Lilly’s cubicle and dropped her head on top of her hands. “We’re screwed.”
“We’re not. We have time.” Gabe glanced at Lilly. “You’d better put the trial date on our calendars. And let’s order dinner.” He nudged Cassie and pulled his coat from under her, making her stand. “Guess we won’t be back at the pub anytime soon. The conference room is about to become our new Friday night hangout.”
He started to walk away, and then stopped. “Now that the press is interested, can someone please tell Simon not to talk to any reporters without one of us present? Who knows what he might say.”
Cassie hurried to her office. “I’m on it.”
When the two of them were gone, Lilly opened the calendar on her computer and entered the Holbrook trial date. She blew out a breath, the wisps that had come loose from her braid flying up with the motion. Three months until they had to go to court. Plenty of time, but with Forrester so angry, it felt like no time at all.
Three months. That was the same length of time as the new contract she’d signed with Jack last week. Tomorrow would be the third time she’d kneel in his playroom. She was already counting down the minutes, eager for his hands on her, for the way he took everything she knew about submission and turned it around. From understanding and sweet in his kitchen, he became demanding and implacable in his playroom, voice low and sinful as he whispered the filthiest things in her ear.
Lilly shifted in her chair. She shouldn’t be thinking these things at work.
She found the order form for the local pizza joint. After calling in their dinners, she took out her phone and opened Jack’s last message. They’d begun texting on and off, although it was more to check on her than anything substantial. She typed out a text.
I won’t be at the pub tonight. Too much to do. See you tomorrow.
She waited a few minutes for a response, but there was none. He was probably in class, but even if he weren’t, what did she expect other than a quick “okay”? As much as she liked him, this wasn’t a relationship. This was an agreement for their mutual benefit. Nothing more.
Hours later, she was sitting with Gabe and Cassie in the conference room, the Giordano files scattered on the table. Lilly stared at the database on her laptop.
“Okay, let’s review,” Cassie said. “Simon left Giordano last June. He opened his lab, discovered the new formula—”
“Documented in a notebook that looks like it came out of a sewer,” Gabe interrupted.
“—then invited Jacqueline to lunch to share his find. He asked her to work for him, but she turned him down. If she was the Giordanos’ chief scientist by then, she had to know they had proof Simon took the formula.”
“Unless she didn’t. She could’ve gone back to them with the information and constructed the same thing.”
“The logs don’t show that.” Lilly skimmed the entries on her screen, ignoring the column heading she still didn’t understand and focusing on the things she did. “There’s a timestamp for when each one was generated, and an entry describing Simon’s formula dated before he left.” She shook her head. “Why didn’t the Giordanos patent their formula?”
Cassie searched through the pizza boxes for a last remaining slice. “Because then they’d have to go public with it. With a trade secret, they don’t have to disclose the details.”
“So they can sue Simon without having to prove they have the same formula at all.”
Gabe grinned. “Good system. When they win, they charge. When they lose, they tell the bookies to kiss their rears.”
Cassie stopped hunting. “Don’t start.”
Lilly sighed and rubbed her eyes. If Gabe got Cassie all riled up by misquoting movie lines, they’d never get anything accomplished.
“Someone must know the real formula,” Lilly said. “Could we subpoena one of the other researchers?”
Cassie gave up on one box and moved to the next. “They won’t talk. They’ve probably all signed nondisclosure agreements. I’ll bet only the Giordanos and Jacqueline know the real details.”
“Keep your buddies close but your opponents closer!” Gabe shouted.
Cassie thumped an empty pizza box against the table. “That’s not the line!”
Lilly ignored them both. “So if it’s their word against Simon’s, and we can’t get our hands on their formula, how do we win?”
“We have to prove Simon is telling the truth,” Cassie answered.
“All I have in this world is my back and my word, and I won’t bend them for anyone.”
Cassie balled up a napkin and chucked it in his direction. Gabe ducked, yelling from beneath the table, “You mean, you won’t say hallo to my beetle friend?”
She grumbled something in Spanish. Gabe sat up and clucked his tongue.
“Oooh, we know we’re getting to Miss Cassandra Flores when the Latina comes out in her.” He rolled the r in her first and middle names for an added effect. Cassie looked ready to punch him.
Lilly made a last desperate attempt to keep them on track. “So, if there’s any possibility the Giordanos aren’t telling the truth, then why did they refuse the settlement?”
“It’s like Forrester said. It’s not about money.” Gabe reached for a file, finally back to business. “They have enough funds to pay for Mahoney’s fees and give him a trip to the Bahamas to thank him for his time. They don’t care about the cash. They want Simon out of business.”
“And if we lose, we’re out of business.” Cassie put her hands on her hips and sighed. “Why did they have to hire Mahoney out of all the lawyers in Boston?”
“What’s the deal between him and Forrester, anyway?” Lilly asked.
“They were rivals all through law school. Forrester graduated with honors while Mahoney didn’t. Then Mahoney got a clerkship Forrester had been gunning for, and he never got over it.” Cassie reached her arms over her head and stretched. “What do you think Simon is going to pay us in now that we’re going to trial? Corduroy pants? Pocket protectors?”
“I’m sticking with the chickens,” Gabe said. His phone chirped and he plucked it from the table. “Looks like Nick is on his way home. I’m going to head out.”
Lilly’s skin heated as she wondered if Jack was leaving the pub too. She reached for her own phone, acting like she was simply checking her email. A new text from him was on the screen.
Don’t work too late. And make sure you get plenty of sleep. You’ll need it for tomorrow.
Lilly struggled to hide her smile as she typed her reply, two words she knew would make Jack’s eyes go dark with lust.
Yes, Sir.
“All chained up with no place to go.”
Jack ran the edge of his riding crop in a line down between Lilly’s breasts. She was helpless, held in place, chained down. And it felt so, so good.
“You like it when pain mixes with pleasure.” He circled the tip of the crop around her nipple, then slapped it quickly before caressing again. “Don’t you?”
Lilly could barely think with how good it felt. Jack struck her breasts, her belly, the insides of her thighs, then stopped to grip her by the hair with his free hand.
“I asked you a question.”
“Yes, I like it,” she sputtered. “Please, Sir.”
She didn’t know why she was begging. For him to stop torturing her. To keep torturing her. To never stop.
“Beg for it.” He let go of her hair and slapped her again, this time right above her slit. “Beg for my crop on your pussy.”
“Please spank my pussy with your crop, Sir!” He’d reduced her to groveling, a pleading live wire of desperation.
She didn’t care.
Jack clasped her throat.
Brought his face to hers. Looked into her eyes.
“You’re beautiful. And you’re mine.”
He flicked the crop against her clit with strokes so rapid she couldn’t tell what hurt and what would push her over the edge. Jack could, though. And when he brought her there, she screamed.
After Jack released her from the restraints, he curled her up in his arms and played with her hair, massaging her scalp. The gentle movements of his fingers lulled her until she thought she could fall asleep. It was the most peaceful she’d felt in a long time. When he stopped and tapped the tip of her nose, she opened her eyes, drowsy and slow.
“Thirsty?” he asked.
“Very.” Her throat was parched and raw.
He handed her a bottle of water, his breathing even, posture relaxed. It was no surprise he was so calm after today’s scene. Greedy for her mouth, he’d pushed his cock past her lips before bringing her up from her knees. He’d come even faster than last time, and the guttural fuck, yes he’d hissed echoed in her head.
Lilly smiled around the bottle opening. He could light her up like a firecracker, and it seemed she could do the same to him as well.
“Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen,” he said.
She nodded from the tangled sea of plush bedding he’d covered her up in. Talking in the kitchen was something he’d wanted to do after every session. She found it a little odd after what they’d done together, but she would’ve felt cheap too, if he’d done nothing but show her the door afterward.
He really was nothing like Damien at all.
When she padded upstairs, she was greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee.
“It’s decaf,” he said, handing her a cup.
“Too bad. I could have used the caffeine to push me through the rest of the day.”
He sat on a stool and motioned for her to join him. “You planning on working?”
“Aren’t I always?”
“Workaholic.” She grinned as she sat down next to him, enjoying the easy banter between them. “How’s the case going?”
“Not so great.”
“Give me the highlights.”
She hesitated. “You really want to hear?”
“I’m a law professor. Of course I do.”
Of course. He taught at Harvard, for Christ’s sake. Why hadn’t she tapped him for information yet? He might have some helpful ideas.
“To start with, our client is a total mess while the plaintiff’s case is totally solid.”
“Anything in the depositions that can help?”
“Unfortunately no.” She’d sat in while Gabe questioned the Giordanos. With their designer suits and polished testimony, they’d been confident as only people with nothing to lose could be. Jacqueline Broussard, however, had been an incredibly nervous witness. Every answer she gave was coupled with anxious glances to Mahoney and the court reporter. But their stories matched, the documentation ironclad. “It doesn’t help now that the press is interested, either. Plus I’m still completely stumped on this database.”
“Database?”
“It’s a log from the plaintiff. I wish I could find something in it, but I can’t seem to. Our opposing counsel is someone Forrester hates, so he’s pissed we haven’t found anything.”
“I think it’s less about not finding the information and more about you not believing you can.” Jack sighed and looked out the window. “There’s so much pressure at these firms. The battle cry to win, win, win.”
There was a faraway look in his eyes, one that made her realize he wasn’t talking about her.
“We’re always pushed to find this one answer, and if you don’t find it, then you haven’t done your job. It’s like you’re being set up to fail. It’s pretty damn rare that one document will be what backs up an entire case. Legal research is a time-consuming process, not something that you can just turn a page and find.”
She’d never thought about it that way before. Then again, she’d never had a teacher like Jack.
He turned to face her, his gaze holding her steady. “If you think your client is innocent, then the evidence is there. You just need the confidence to know you’ll find it.” One side of his mouth curled up into a half smile, eyes crinkling around the edges. “I have faith in you.”
Lilly sat up a little taller on her stool. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He paused, his tone changing, going softer. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Why doesn’t Nick know what happened between you and Damien?”
Her stomach dropped. One sentence, and she was plummeted into the past.
Jack touched her cheek, the backs of his knuckles brushing against her skin. “I’m not judging. I’m only asking because you two seem very close.”
“We are, but my family isn’t exactly big on acceptance.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning my mother isn’t supportive of Nick and Gabe. At all. It was a big shock for her when he came out, and she never accepted it. They were so close, and now she barely talks to him.”
“But that’s your mother. Not Nick.”
Lilly averted her eyes. “I know.”
Jack tipped her chin up, not letting her look away. “Do you really?”
“I do. It’s just…” she started, not sure how to put it into words. “I can’t stand the idea of what happened between Nick and Mom ever happening between him and me. If he thought badly of me for not looking out for myself…” She winced. “I can’t let that happen.”
Jack studied her for a long moment, then nodded. “I understand. Thank you for telling me. Now finish your coffee so we can get you home. Same time next Saturday?”
He grinned, and the glint in his eyes made her forget about her past, about work, about anything else other than him.
“I can’t wait.”
Chapter Twenty
“Where did you get your scar?”
Jack paused, his hand frozen as it held Lilly’s, halted in the motion of rubbing salve into her wrists. Her skin had gone a deep shade of pink after he’d kept her bound for a session that had been different than all the others. He’d pushed her limits, wanting to show her the pleasure she could get from something she’d feared: the Wartenberg wheel.
She’d trembled at the sight of those gleaming spikes, but Jack promised her she was ready for it, insisting it was for sensation and not for pain or punishment. Knowing she could either let him test her boundaries or keep hiding and stay afraid, Lilly met his challenge, whispering “green”. Lilly had remained tense when he ran it over her belly, but the barbs didn’t hurt when Jack wielded them. He swept it along the swell of her breasts, and each roll left a tingling path in its wake. She’d gasped in surprised pleasure when he made a thorny dance across each nipple.
The pride in his eyes brought her more gratification than any toy could.
That was probably why she’d blurted out the question, more brave than usual because of what she’d just accomplished.
“I’m sorry, Sir. That was out of line.”
They were in the playroom, not in his kitchen. Their roles hadn’t shifted yet.
“It’s all right.” Jack finished massaging ointment into her skin. “It was from a whip.”
“Someone whipped you?”
“No, I did it to myself. Accidentally.” He turned his arm over and examined the scar. “It was years ago. Hurt like a bitch.”
Lilly sat up and bent her head, her chin jutted toward his wrist. He held out his arm. She leaned forward and examined the arc of white.
“May I?” she asked, her finger hovering above it. This scar seemed like a doorway to another world.
Jack nodded, and Lilly ran her forefinger along the puckered skin, stroking it like a worry stone. She knew she should’ve been thinking about th
e pain he must have endured, but all she could picture was a younger Jack testing the limits of his dominance, seeing what that power felt like for the first time.
“I was so excited when it came in the mail,” he said with a quiet laugh. “Eve laughed when I got it. Told me she had no idea she’d married Indiana Jones.”
Lilly didn’t stop moving her finger, but her breathing went shallow, her mind on high alert. Jack so rarely talked about his wife.
“I tried out a couple of practice strokes, but I had no idea what I was doing, and the whip curled back around and sliced right through my flesh.” He shook his head, as if he were chastising his former self. “Once I felt how much damage it could do, I never used a bullwhip again. Making a mistake like that with Eve wasn’t an option.”
She caressed his injury, the tactile proof of Jack’s decision to keep his wife safe. He was so careful with her, so diligent in never causing her harm. Lilly felt a flash of jealousy, but pushed the feeling away.
It was crazy to be envious of a ghost.
She stroked the scar once more, her touch coming to rest on the highest ridge. “You were very good to her.”
Jack took her hands in his and turned them over. “It’s a lot of responsibility, hurting someone like this.”
Lilly could feel her pulse in her throat as he gently swept his thumbs over the red marks on her skin.
“Was it ever too much responsibility?” she asked. “I mean, did you think you’d have to stop?”
She’d wondered how it was possible—how he and Eve had navigated jobs and parenting and family, but still managed…this.
“I went half of my life without realizing I was a Dominant. Something always felt off. I was never satisfied.” Although the shadows of the room hid half his face in darkness, it was the closest she’d felt to really seeing him. “Once I started, I couldn’t go back. For me, there’s no other way to be.”
Lilly felt something click inside her, his answer resonating. It was what she’d felt all along—why even when she’d buried her desires, they kept pushing through in her nightmares, refusing to be silenced.
She couldn’t stop now if she tried.
His Contract: Legally Bound, Book 1 Page 14