by Exley Avis
Perhaps taking her to bed wasn’t such a hopeless cause after all, no matter what she said.
If I upped my game, the evening might still end with a seduction – and I didn’t really care who did the seducing.
“So what do you want to know?” she said, taking my by surprise. I hadn’t expected her to be so forthcoming. “Ask me anything.”
Her eyes focused unashamedly on the exposed skin at my throat and lingered there. Obviously I wasn’t the only one trying to see through shirt fronts that evening.
If we were alone in my apartment, would she undo my buttons slowly and teasingly, I wondered? Or would she tear my shirt off over my head in a rush to feel her body against mine?
For the court record, either was fine by me so long as it happened.
And soon.
I asked the direct question my cock and I were desperate to have answered. “Are you dating anyone?”
Allie pressed her wine-glossed lips together and pretended to think hard. “You’ve been dancing around that question for days. Define dating,” she said, sounding like a true lawyer, but one with an extra diploma in flirting.
“Are you in a relationship?”
“Does going out to dinner three times count as a relationship?”
“Not really.”
“In that case then, no. I’m single.”
It was difficult to hide my satisfaction. Battling Allie’s morals was one thing but taking on a boyfriend as well would have made my job four times more difficult. “When was your last long term relationship?”
“What’s long term?” She was enjoying herself a great deal at my expense.
“More than six months,” I clarified.
“At Oxford.” The answer back came as quick as a flash. “In my second year.”
That made it a good eight or ten years ago. Although I couldn’t believe she’d lived like a nun in the interim. She must have seen me working it out because she supplied the answer before I even had to ask the question.
“I went into articles with Brindley & Ellis and was working ten-hour days from the start. You know what this job’s like. Twenty-four hour commitment with no time off at weekends for good behaviour.”
I was more interested in her bad behaviour. I’m rarely attracted to good women.
I went on a fishing expedition. “So no men at all?”
“I didn’t say that.” She grew cautious suddenly. “But most men want something uncomplicated. Fleeting. Fun. And so do I. I don’t have time for clingy boyfriends and explanations. Neither do you, I imagine.”
She crossed those endless legs of hers and her calf brushed mine. At first I thought it had been an accident but she didn’t hurry to pull away so I didn’t either.
“Who are you dating?” she asked. “I imagine an ex-model. Tall and blond with a job in an art gallery.”
She couldn’t have been more wrong because I rarely went for blondes and shook my head. “No one recently. I’m like you. Too busy for anything serious. A few dinner dates here and there. Drinks. The odd weekend away. Nothing long term.”
I played it down rather than mention my fondness for casual encounters and hot, one night stands. I may be a flirt but no one would ever accuse me of being indiscreet.
“So we’re both free agents,” Allie said significantly.
“Consenting adults,” I confirmed.
“I get the impression you’d consent to just about anything.”
She wasn’t wrong and I flicked up my eyebrows to tell her she’d guessed correctly. “Let’s just say, I have a broad brief.”
Leaning back in her chair, Allie looked hard at me as if she were trying to read my mind. Thank God she couldn’t see exactly what was going on in there. Even she’d be shocked.
She unfastened the clip holding her hair up and shook it loose. My reaction was intense and noticeably physical.
I longed to bury my face in that long, shiny hair, or wrap it around my fingers while I kissed her senseless. It’d look so sexy spread out across my pillow. Or better still, I imagined each curl tickling my stomach as her lips edged down my body towards my cock.
As it had always had a mind of its own, that reckless cock of mine hijacked my thought processes, tired of behaving itself with such a breathtakingly beautiful woman next to me. Before I had time to work out a polite way of expressing myself, it made me drop the pretence and play it straight with Allie.
“You and I need to have a without prejudice conversation,” I told her, wanting whatever I said next to be completely off the record. I was about to overstep the mark by a very long way and didn’t want her using every word against me in evidence.
“Whenever a lawyer says that, you know there’s trouble coming,” she said, but didn’t stop me talking.
“It depends how you define trouble.”
“You’re trouble. All six foot three and high IQ of you.” She didn’t seem to mind that much. “I spotted the danger signs as soon as I laid eyes on you.”
“In that case, you must like playing with fire. Why else would you have kissed me?”
“Ah.” She had the grace to blush and look away. “I wondered how long it would take you to bring that up.”
“It’s been the only thing on my mind since it happened,” I admitted. “I can’t stop thinking about you. Even when I’m in court.” I laughed. “And when I’m supposed to be reading the most boring building reports on earth I can still taste your lips.”
“Then stop!” She made it sound far simpler than it was. “No good can come of it. Business and pleasure never mix.”
“How do you know?” If she thought she could talk her way out, she’d picked the wrong opponent. I never let a line of questioning drop until I had exactly the answer I wanted. “Surely it’d be worth taking the risk for the amount of fun you and I could have together.”
Her reaction told me it had been exactly the wrong thing to say. “It might be fun to you but it amounts to professional suicide for me. I’ve worked hard to get this far up the ladder. If this case goes well, I could make partner next year. I won’t throw all that away.” Her green eyes glittered with defiance and her cheeks burned.
Our meals arrived and Allie sat back to draw breath, although she didn’t take her eyes off me the whole time the waitress was at our table. When we were finally alone again, I leaned back toward her and lowered my voice, even though anyone with half a mind could read my intention in my eyes.
I decided to do something I very rarely did around women I was pursuing – tell the truth – because, for some indefinable reason, I didn’t want to play games with Allie.
“I could dress this up in sweet talk but I won’t insult your intelligence,” I began, wondering how straightforward I dare be. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve met in a very long time. I’m going crazy over you. I can’t get you out of my head. I’m not concentrating, I don’t sleep, and all afternoon, all I’ve thought about is taking you in my arms and repeating that incredible kiss.”
“Stop it, Radford. Please.”
I loved the sound of my name on her lips and wanted to hear her sigh it out when I sucked her nipples, or scream it when I made her come. My cock doubled in size and I longed to feel those red-nailed fingers clenched around it, pumping hard.
“I won’t stop,” I growled, losing control as desire surged through me. “That kiss was scorching hot. And you meant it to be.” I paused to give her chance to argue but she didn’t. After kissing me the way she had, there was no defence.
“I’m constantly horny.” I said. “I fantasise about stripping you naked and fucking you to the point of exhaustion. You gave me a hard on the moment I laid eyes on you and, no matter what I do, I can’t get rid of it.”
“Please, Radford.” Her breath came in short, sharp gasps but she couldn’t stop staring at my mouth, as if plucking up the courage to kiss me again. “You’ve got to understand how impossible this is for me.”
To emphasise her words, her hand circled my forearm, her skin inviti
ngly cool against mine. Her fingers pulled at the thick, dark hair, and traced the shape of my watch before sliding way up under my shirt sleeve. The need to have those hands all over my naked body suddenly intensified – as did my desire to fuck her in every position ever invented.
“Let’s get out of here,” I begged. “My apartment’s a short taxi ride away.”
“No!” Her reply was sharp and emphatic. She snatched her hand away from my arm as if I were too hot to touch suddenly. “I mean…”
For the first time since I’d met her, she seemed at a loss. The bravado drained from her, leaving her lost for words and unsure of herself.
A strange sensation flooded me that I recognised as shame.
Here I was, forcing her to jeopardise her entire career just because I couldn’t keep my dick in my trousers. It was the one and only time I’d ever put a woman’s feelings above my burning need to get laid.
Allie Lawless had to be someone really special to change my habits of a lifetime. The realisation brought me up short and I backed off.
“I’m sorry.” I said, even the apology sounding strange on my lips. “You’re right. I’m pushing too hard.”
“No,” she repeated. “It’s not that.”
She reached under the table and lay her hand on my thigh. The muscles tensed under her fingers and she squeezed my leg slightly before she slid her hand closer to my groin. I thought my cock was going to explode right there in the bar and held my breath, but her fingers stopped maddeningly short.
If she’d have reached up and grabbed my balls she couldn’t have had more of my attention.
“You are gorgeous,” she said, closing her eyes and letting out a long slow breath for emphasis. “You push every button. And, if you were just some guy I’d met in a bar, I’d be in that taxi with you right now on the way to your apartment.”
“So what’s stopping you?”
“The fact that you and I are working so closely together. This is a huge case. So much is resting on it – for both of us.”
I wouldn’t be put off. “I’m sure two holders of the Melton Prize can work out how to run an affair and a court case,” I said, flashing her what I hoped was a winning smile. “We can keep our affair strictly outside office hours. I’ll be discreet. No one will ever know what happens between us. I promise.”
To persuade her further, I ran my hand up the outside of her thigh, feeling the unmistakeable shape of suspenders under her skirt. I love stockings. Adore them with a passion. And the thought of those endless legs in them almost sent me over the edge.
“I doubt we’d make it work,” she said, unconvinced. “After all, neither of us has a great track record. Three dates in, one of us will move on and then there’ll be the uncomfortable moments and awkward silences. We have the makings of a winning team and I can’t compromise that.”
“Always assuming we break up.”
“What?” Allie did a double take.
But then so did I after hearing the words that had just come out of my mouth. Given my years of court experience, I could make just about anything sound like the truth. But I’d really meant this.
What if we got together and it never actually ended?
“Perhaps we won’t break up,” I repeated. “Usually after three dates I’ve run out of conversation and I’m missing the thrill of the chase. That might not happen.”
Allie closed her eyes and shook her head in indecision. “I don’t know,” she said. “It isn’t that simple. I need time to think.”
At least it wasn’t another refusal.
“Okay. If that’s what you need,” I said reluctantly.
I must have been losing my touch. If Allie could resist an all out charm offensive from me, she was built of sterner stuff than most juries.
“Are you prepared to wait until the case is over?” she asked, looking at me hopefully. “Concentrate on work for the next couple of months?”
How could I resist those big green eyes and the promise of that incredible body in the future? I swallowed hard and scrambled around for a decision.
On the one hand, I’m an instant gratification kind of a guy when it comes to sex and women, but Allie did something very strange to me. She actually made me prepared to wait.
“If that’s what it takes,” I confirmed, trying to smile and praying my cock would accept my head’s decision. “But don’t be surprised if I drop the occasional hint in the meantime.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from a flirt like you.” She grinned wickedly and fed me a forkful of her pasta.
“Shh,” I said, motioning for her to keep her voice down. “Everyone else in here thinks I’m a high-priced barrister at the top of his game.”
“Well obviously you’ve never kissed them. Or stared at their arse.”
“For the record, you kissed me. And as for the arse-staring, that’s privileged information. You’re not allowed to hold it against me.”
Allie looked at me over the rim of her wine glass, her eyes containing a dangerous glint I really liked the look of.
“Trust me,” she said. “If you and I ever get together, it won’t be information I’ll be holding against you.”
Chapter Five
I don’t know how I stopped myself leaning across the table and snogging Radford right there and then. His smile was so sexy he should have had a licence for it and the gloss of good wine on his lips made him even more kissable than normal.
In case you’re wondering, I’d noticed how expensive the wine was. I’d had a bar job during my university holidays and I could tell you the price of just about every vintage you care to name. And believe you me, someone who spends that much money on a bottle of wine for a midweek drink with a colleague is up to no good.
Not that I minded.
I liked that Radford was making the effort and trying all his best moves on me. Luckily, I was still two steps ahead of him, although I did trip myself up slightly by asking him to wait for a date until after the case has finished.
That’s two whole months! Possibly even three! How on earth am I supposed to keep my hands to myself for that long?
Yes, I can hear you quoting my golden rule back at me, never to sleep with clients or colleagues. But we’ve already established that Radford is neither.
The sensible half of my brain was telling me that this case could make or break my career, and that I should give romantic entanglements a wide berth until we’d gone to judgement.
But every rule is meant to be broken and what kind of lawyer would I be if I couldn’t find a loophole somewhere? It would be a very dull job indeed if I only used my considerable brain power on concrete stress fracture reports.
At ten o’clock we gathered up our jackets and left the wine bar, Radford promising to walk me as far as the tube station. I wondered whether his apartment was somewhere along the way and that he might suggest a detour. I admit to being slightly disappointed when he didn’t.
The Temple area of London, where Radford had his chambers, is a traffic-free oasis of gardens and ancient courtyards between two major roads. Its alleyways were deserted at that time of night, most of the lawyers having left, and I was glad to have Radford with me on some of the darker corners. He led me along a narrow passageway between two high buildings that I’d never used before and I wondered whether it was a shortcut to the Tube.
I should have known better.
Before I knew what was happening, Radford took hold of my arm and manoeuvred me into a doorway. He pushed me back into the shadows, out of sight of anyone passing and I guessed he hadn’t stopped me to discuss a point of law.
I know. I should have fought him off. I should have resisted. But he’d already put my briefcase down and his body was holding me still against the heavy oak door.
Sometimes you’ve just got to go with the flow and let someone else take charge.
Radford’s lips brushed across mine in the darkness, his breath warm against my face in the cool night air. My mouth parted ex
pectantly, ready to receive his kiss as his tongue teased my top lip, but he pulled away and I gave a little sigh of disappointment. Instead, his hand came up under my hair and he tangled his fingers in it to pull my head back.
A soft moan escaped my unkissed lips when Radford’s hot mouth came down upon my exposed neck. His lips gently pinched my skin, raising goosebumps down my spine and sending a wash of warm sensation out across my shoulders
I shivered in anticipation, despite the heat of his body, and his arm tightened around my waist. He crushed me so fiercely against him I was forced onto tiptoes and arched my back, pushing my breasts into his unyielding chest and tilting my chin up further to receive another shower of kisses across my neck.
Every ounce of resistance left my body.
Radford’s hot lips trailed up my throat, along my jaw line and eventually found my impatient, hungry mouth. I held my breath, straining upwards for his kiss but he continued to tease, pulling away as his mouth brushed mine and holding himself just out of my reach. I heard his soft laugh.
“Kiss me, “ I begged, my words no more than a sigh on the night air. “Please, Radford.”
His lips smiled triumphantly against mine. And then they parted for a kiss. Tentative at first. Soft, warm, delicious and full of promise. A taste of sweet pleasures still to come. Gradually deepening as I responded in relief at finally having his lips on mine.
With Radford giving me the kind of kiss I’d been desperate for all evening, my knees buckled and I tightened my arms around his neck to stop myself from falling. He kissed me like I’d never been kissed before; possessing me and driving every sane thought out of my head until I knew I’d never get my fill of him.
Golden rule or not, I melted.
When we’d kissed in chambers, I’d been in control, but my common sense now lost all restraint. My hunger matched Radford’s as he surrendered himself completely to desire; our bodies catching fire simultaneously; our movements mirrored and instinctive. His hands swept down across my bum and yanked me against him so the outline of his gargantuan cock imprinted itself on my belly.
His kiss was hot and intoxicating. Imagine what the rest of his body could do to me.