Hard Candy

by Volley, Rue

  "Are you all right?" He lifted his head.

  "I am." Their breathing synchronized together. "Are you?"

  "Aside from the table killing me, I've never been better."

  "Maybe we should move to the couch." She tilted her head back. The large leather sofa would make the perfect place for them to figure out their next move, plan on where they would spend the night, and even make love again.

  A chuckle left his throat, vibrating through her. "Of course, the couch." He moved off to one side. "Let's go to the couch."

  She slid off the table, turning her back to him in order to give him time to deal with the condom. With their clothes heaped in a virtual tossed salad on the floor, she smoothed down her skirt and sifted through the clothing to find something to cover up.

  "Don't be putting anything on." The echo of his belt buckle hitting the wood floor reverberated through the room.

  She peeked at him over her shoulder.

  In one movement he stepped out of his pants and removed his jacket and shirt. "Take everything off, I already need you again." He grabbed his wallet off the table and retrieved another condom. "I feel insatiable with you."

  If she needed further proof that the little extra she put in his drink worked, she got it in the form of his growing erection. Though her mouth watered, her mind begged her to stop and realize everything was false and contrived.

  "Take off your clothes, Emma." He widened his eyes as if to take her all in. "I want to you see you."

  No one had ever looked at her like she was gorgeous and desirable. She reached behind her and unfastened her bra.

  "Drop it." His erection continued to inflate.

  She shimmied the straps down her arms and let the garment fall to the floor.

  "Now the skirt." He stroked his already hardening erection as he watched her strip. "Do it slow."

  Without taking her focus off him, she found the zipper twisted on the side of her skirt and pulled it down. Damn, watching him watch her reignited her own desire, and she snaked the fabric down her thighs, shifting her hips to prolong the action.

  He opened the condom and tossed the wrapper aside. "One last item to go."

  Her panties were useless now anyway, a drenched small piece of fabric with little function except to tantalize one aroused attorney. She wanted to ensure he remembered these details come morning. In a bold action that even shocked her, she hooked her thumbs on the sides of her underwear, faced away from him, and bent over as she removed them.

  "Stay in that position and go to the couch." His tone took on the one he used when he questioned a witness, in control and demanding.

  In keeping true to her part, she sauntered to the couch without looking back in his direction. She put her knees on the cushions, arching her back as he stepped up behind her.

  With one finger, he traced the length of her spine giving her the shivers. "I like it when you do what I say."

  "What else do you like?"

  He ran his palms over her backside. "I think, Miss Hollingsworth, you are going to become extremely familiar with all my wants and needs, but I'll let you in on one right now." Once more he entered her.

  "Is that all?" The sensation of being filled ran through her.

  "Not even close." He took his time pulling out and then thrusting back into her.

  To keep up with him, she pushed back, meeting his every movement. Her own demand built faster and more intense than she anticipated. She caught a reflection in the window of them in their animalistic position with him pounding into her. "Oh God."

  He grabbed her by the hips and continued to drive deeper. "That's right."

  His fast strokes shocked her on many levels but especially because she wanted it. Yes, the idea of him using her body for nothing but his own pleasure heightened hers. Her legs trembled, fighting to hold her up. "Leland." She dug her nails into the soft leather of the couch.

  A man who picked up on even the smallest nuance, she didn't have to say anything further for him to act. "Come here." He pulled her up and held her to him, lowering both of them to the couch and slipping out of her.

  "No." She writhed against him, wanting him back.

  "Sh." He hooked her leg back around over his and reentered her. "Better?"

  Instead of the sharp slams against her, his movements became liquid, flowing. She squirmed, unsure what she wanted more.

  "Someone is right there." He reached around her, his fingers first brushing over her aching nipples and trailing down to her center.

  The second he found the one place sure to make her lose control she sucked in her breath, every inch of her swollen and tender. Once more Leland paid attention to the details and softened his touch. Light flicks with his fingers gradually grew to focused rubs as he prodded her to another climax.

  Her second orgasm hit hard, not a smooth wave, but a flood as the nerve endings he expertly manipulated fired off in rapid succession. She quivered and her hips bucked in time to the overwhelming bliss.

  "Oh God, Emma, I can feel you coming." His body went rigid.

  She closed her eyes and concentrated on how he throbbed into her core, only edging her on to another round of pulsing euphoria. Never had she felt such a powerful reaction during sex.

  "Yes." He ground against her. "It's so good."

  She contracted her muscles, milking out the last bit of delight. They panted in unison as they came down from their delirious high.

  He held her tight and kissed the side of her face as he pulled out of her. "I didn't think I was going to celebrate the holidays this year."

  Not only did they have a celebration, they had an all-out gala event. Her only concern was to make sure it went deeper than sex. "I didn't either."

  "I always had a feeling you'd be a vixen if I could ever get you out of your suit." He tilted her face and kissed her, opening his mouth and searching out her tongue with his.

  While she kissed him back, it wasn't a kiss from a satiated man. She leaned back. "Leland."

  His hands returned to her breasts and he dipped his head down to her neck. "Yes, Emma." He licked his fingers and played with her nipples.

  She swallowed, trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to ask. Not a good issue for an attorney. "What are we going to do about this room?" Nothing like trying to get the answer through a different path.

  "We are going to worry about tomorrow when it comes." He pushed himself up and kissed her. "Is that all right with you, counselor?"

  Either their lovemaking had made him different, or the magic wish had done it. "Okay."

  "Stay here, this is much better than the table." He got up off the couch. "I have some more condoms in my office. I'll be ready for you again in a minute."

  She put her hand over her mouth, praying she gave him a catalyst, not something to act out of character. The woman wasn't joking when she warned there were risks to manipulating the universe. Would he even know her in the morning, and if he found out what she did would she get off by claiming her actions were a crime of passion?

  Chapter Five

  Emma opened her eyes right into Leland's bare chest and froze. His erection pressed against her stomach. Last night wasn't a dream. She shielded her eyes from the sunlight glaring through the window.

  Pinned between Leland and the back of the couch, she took a moment to assess their situation.

  The potion, the wish, the magic, they all worked worked, maybe too well. Leland spent the night making love to her, and she’d let go and explored things she always wanted. She had loved him before and even more now.

  One thought screamed at her. Love was no defense for the crime she committed.

  The prosecution would nail her.

  She tilted her head up. His messy hair and stubble only served to make him more handsome. He encompassed her within his protective embrace. She wanted to wake up right here every morning, but he didn't belong to her.

  She should have worked harder and not taken the easy path.

 
She took Leland. She didn't earn him. Was she allowed to steal one thing? A small digression in exchange for having to struggle for everything else?

  Would she wonder every day if he would figure out her deception? Worse yet, did he even remember last night? The words he said, the things he did could have happened because the potion let out his true self, or it could have just been a drug filled delusion.

  He moaned and stretched his legs.

  Stuck between him, the couch and her thoughts, she bit her lip realizing she made a grave mistake.

  With his eyes still closed he traced her contours from shoulder to hip and up again until he stopped in the crook of her neck.

  Her nerve endings came alive offering instant arousal. She could make love to him again in an instant.

  "Good morning, Emma." He ran his hand through her hair.

  "You know me." Tears stung the back of her eyes at him calling her by her first name.

  "The evidence is definitely stacked in my favor." He let out a chuckle and dipped his head down.

  She put her hand to his mouth.

  His smile stretched across her fingertips. He opened his eyes, blinking twice before focusing on her and taking her hand. "I know we have a ton of work, but I say we go clean up and have a proper breakfast." He kissed her hand. "If you can fix the mess I made, I promise to take you out for Christmas Eve."

  "Leland." Her heart swelled.

  "My passion got the best of me last night, but I will make it up to you." He let go of her hand and took her chin. "I know I shouldn't be kissing you at work. We're going to have to figure this out."

  Once more he joined their mouths. Her moment was handed to her. Time to veer from the path she mistakenly took. She’d had everything she wanted and she ruined it. Because she was too afraid to face him as Miss Hollingsworth and let him discover her without any chemical help, she had resorted to stealing. If she said nothing she would always know, but if she told him she would lose him for sure. But with the wish potion she never truly had him.

  "Leland!" She pushed him back.

  "Emma?" He flung his legs over the edge of the couch giving her an out. "What is it?"

  She slid off the sofa, her skin sticking to the leather and her muscles aching at having to move again after the active night. "I can't do this to you." She skidded to a stop at their pile of clothes, trying to decipher the mish mosh of fabric.

  "Do what to me?" Leland stood. "Leave and walk out without an explanation?"

  After finding her skirt, she stepped into it and twisted to find the button. "You don't understand."

  "Then tell me." He came up next to her. "Is this some kind of joke to you?"

  She shuddered at his closeness, especially since she should be in his arms. "No, it's not." She put on the tatters of her jacket and slipped into her shoes. "It's not a joke."

  "You owe me some sort of explanation." He set his jaw and stared her down like someone who just breached justice.

  With the jacket’s buttons scattered around the room, she pulled the fabric around her, brushing her hand against the vial in the pocket. She had only one chance to tell him the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. "You didn't really want me last night."

  "So somehow making love to you for the better part of the night in my conference room because I couldn't control myself makes you doubt me?" He narrowed his eyes.

  "There's a reason you couldn't control yourself." Lord help her, she was about to lose everything, including her job.

  The man had trained for years on how to outwit any opponent. He didn't move, waiting for her. An old trick but an effective one.

  "I always wanted you. I tried in my own way to get you to notice me outside of work." She slid her hand into her pocket and curled her fingers around the vial. "I found a woman who made me this." She held the proof out to him. "She said it was a wish, and I could have it…you."

  He plucked the small container out of her palm. "What is this?"

  "What was inside was supposed to get you in the mood." She broke the cardinal rule and turned away. "You didn't really want me last night."

  Part of her thought, or hoped, maybe prayed he would toss the vial aside take her in his arms, kiss her and say he was glad she drugged him. She would even accept him laughing and telling her aphrodisiacs didn't exist, but his love for her was real.

  Instead, the room became as quiet as a courtroom getting ready to hear the final verdict.

  Leland didn't say a word he only held the vial up to the light and shook his head.

  Sometimes one didn't need to hear the judge know the plaintiff's fate, one only needed to look at the expressions on the jurors' faces.

  His face told her everything he didn't need to say. The little lift to his lips had vanished, his eyes dimmed. The magic, the sparkle and the joy disappeared.

  "Leland?" Maybe she could strike a plea bargain. "I need to explain."

  Rather than speaking he gave her his final answer by handing her back the vial.

  A chill invaded her as she took the small glass container, and wrapped her arms around her middle. With regret and adrenaline pumping through her, she dashed out of the room, running right into Shannon and one of their law clerks. "What are you doing here?"

  "Well, well, happy Merry Christmas to you. So it is men." Shannon nodded and winked. "I had some last minute papers to file before we took our week off. But it looks like Santa gave you all you wished for."

  She glanced around the law office she loved. The place where the man she loved worked. Never again would she be able to return. "Wishes don't exist." She still didn't have a snarky come back, so to salvage any dignity she might have left, she turned and walked out of the office.

  Chapter Six

  "Miss Hollingsworth!" Leland's voice literally rumbled out from the office out into the hallway.

  The few staff members who showed up to work at Ryan, Howe and Carter followed her to the elevator where she waited for the doors to open and show her a little mercy. She should have opted for the stairs. Instead she stood in the middle of a horror movie where the elevator never showed and the screaming monster with his pink slip ran after her.

  As she scrambled to recall anything from her trial training, she straightened up, trying not to admit defeat though she knew she committed the crime.

  "Ms. Hollingsworth!" Leland stormed out of the law office and down the hallway.

  She stared at the illuminated arrow pointing down and arched her back as he came up behind her. "I'm leaving, Leland, you don't have to say the words. Aside from what is in the conference room, copies of the Fleishman file can be found on my desk. The password to my computer is Leland." With that admission she might as well jump out of a window, especially when a few scattered chuckles echoed around her.

  "For the first time, you're wrong." With a hand on her shoulder he turned her toward him. "That wasn't even close to what I was going to ask."

  She glanced up at him. Somehow he’d managed to put himself back together except for his hair hanging loose around his face. "What were you going to ask?"

  "Why must you always make me go searching all over for you?" He moved closer.

  She pressed her lips together and glanced at everyone gathered around to watch their spectacle.

  "Emma." Always the master, he stepped over, blocking her view of the audience.

  "Why do you feel the need to know where I am?" She searched his eyes.

  "Don't answer a question with a question," he chided.

  "Maybe I want to be found. Maybe I want to be found by you." She might as well let it out. After a conviction an admission of guilt came easily.

  "Do you know why I search for you?"

  She shook her head, not wanting to answer his question for him.

  "I want to make sure I don't lose you." He inched closer.

  "Leland, I'm sorry." Lowering her gaze, she stared at his shirt, almost smiling at the fact he missed one button.

  "I'm not." He hooked h
is fingers under her chin and tilted her face up to his. "You have given me every piece of evidence I needed to win a trial. This time was no different. I needed to see the possibilities."

  Those gathered began to clap.

  The magic returned to his eyes. The little twinkle, the extra something only she got to see. "So, what is the verdict?"

  "How do you know what you gave me even worked?" He wrapped his arms around her.

  She opened her mouth but had no words. Was the man normally this virile?

  He tilted his head.

  "But that's what I wished for." She smiled.

  "No matter what, we won beyond a shadow of a doubt." In front of everyone, he lowered his mouth to hers and led her back into the office.

  Epilogue

  "Miss Hollingsworth!" Leland bellowed through the office for her.

  Emma smoothed down her dress one last time, peeked in the mirror in Leland's private bathroom. Being the Senior Partner's girlfriend did come with a few major perks. After a year she hoped she’d have been more than a girlfriend, but she promised herself and him, no more wishes or any other tricks.

  Of course, after being with Leland, she wasn't certain the aphrodisiac worked. He had staying power and rebound abilities that would make any other man on the planet positively jealous. Still, they were together, and he told her everyday he never wanted anyone as much as he wanted her, so in a way, the wish worked wonders.

  Though she still wished for love.

  She opened the door and joined him in his office.

  "You look spectacular." He took both her hands, holding them out and admiring her.

  She chose the shimmering emerald green dress because she knew Leland would love the way it clung to her curves. "Thank you, you look very handsome as well." She brushed a non existent piece of lint off his shoulder, not bothering to straighten his bow tie. Except for that one night, his tie never needed straightening.