Consensual

by Livia Jamerlan

  “Howard, my friend, I thought we’d agreed to stop meeting like this.”

  My lungs couldn’t grasp the air they needed. I recognized that voice. Haas. His velvety voice—the same one that had haunted my dreams for the past week—flowed through the room. My body froze. I closed my eyes and prayed that Howard would skip the formal introductions.

  “Come on, Haas. Let’s get this over with. I’m missing a round of golf because you insisted on doing this today,” Howard joked.

  Oh, great. They’re buddies.

  My mind drifted back to how his lips felt on my core, and I lowered my head, hoping not to be recognized.

  Haas entered with an entourage of associates, a stenographer, and a witness for the defense behind him. They each took a seat across from us before we got started. Keeping my head low and buried in my legal pad, I tried not to make any sudden movements. His main focus was Howard and the witness, not me. My palms were sweaty, so I wiped them on my skirt as I took a calming breath.

  The deposition began and I got lost in my notes, keeping my head down so Haas wouldn’t recognize me and no one else would talk to me. My heart continued to beat at a rapid pace. I didn’t know what would be useful or what I would need later, so I wrote down as much as possible, trying to focus on what they were saying.

  Seconds passed and no one spoke. The conversation had stopped suddenly and the room was dead silent. Breathe.

  I lifted my head from my legal pad and noticed every eye on me. Slowly, I turned to the right and looked straight into his hazel eyes. His gaze was like the sun, burning right through me. The air in the room seemed to vanish. I was trapped. The room waited for Haas to continue, but he’d paused in the middle of what he was saying to stare at me. He didn’t speak. He only cocked his head to the side and smiled, at what I could only guess. Was he remembering our time together? The mischievous look on his face seemed to give away too much; it was enough to make me want to crawl into a hole. This couldn’t be happening.

  “Like I was saying,” he continued, looking back at his witness.

  I felt the crimson flow through my body as Haas picked up right where he’d left off. I dipped my head low again, turning my attention back to my notes. When I’d met him last Friday, I was buzzed and the room was dark. He was different now; his hazel eyes looked brighter than I remembered. The intensity of his smile, of his attention, albeit brief, made my panties moist. What little focus I’d had to begin with was no longer on the job at hand. All I could seem to do was remember the ride in the limo and his tongue on my core.

  Oh my God, his tongue. The way he’d brought me to the brink of an orgasm within seconds by flicking his tongue on my clit …

  “Why don’t we take a quick recess? Snacks are in the next conference room,” Haas said to no one in particular.

  I stuffed my notepad back into my tote and looked at Howard. “Do you mind if I step out to get some fresh air?” I needed to get far away from Haas as fast as possible.

  “Of course not. Just be back in fifteen minutes.”

  I nodded and stood, making my way out of the room as quickly as possible. But the four-inch heels wouldn’t let me escape fast enough. I arrived at the elevator and pressed the call button.

  Come on, come on. Hurry.

  “Lynn?” he called from behind me. Fuck. I closed my eyes for a brief second. It was now or never. I had to face him, but I couldn’t turn around. So I just waited and watched the numbers change above the elevator.

  “It’s nice to see you again. You ran out last time without a proper good-bye.” I felt him a few inches away from me, and my heart raced in my chest.

  “I’m sorry.” I had no idea what I was apologizing for. He was the married bastard. My focus was still on the closed elevator door and the numbers above it.

  “For running out on me the other night? Or for leaving me with a tremendous case of blue balls after I ate that tight little pussy of yours? Or for ignoring me just now?” His voice was low so only I could hear.

  “Look, I’m sorry, but what we did was a mistake,” I whispered back to him, unable to meet his gaze as I stared at the ascending numbers.

  “It didn’t feel like a mistake to me when your come was dripping off my lips,” he purred in my ear. It made the hair on my neck stand on end.

  “Don’t you dare, Haas. She’s my best student, and I won’t let you convince her to come work for you. I need her on this case,” Howard said from behind us. When we heard his voice, we both turned to face him. Howard rested his hand on my shoulder. “I forgot to introduce you. My apologies. Braelynn, this is Peyton Haas. Haas, this is my intern for the rest of the semester and summer, Braelynn Wolf.”

  Peyton Haas.

  Peyton Haas of PH Esquire.

  He was Peyton.

  My hand trembled as I shook his, only making the situation more awkward. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Haas.”

  As if on cue, the elevator door opened. I shot them both a quick smile as I slid in. I pressed the lobby button twenty times before the door began to slowly close.

  Come on … close. Close.

  “Melissa, hold my calls. I’ll be right back,” I heard him say before he slipped between the closing doors. This couldn’t be good. The door slid shut and we began to descend.

  “So, Braelynn is it?”

  Haas

  It was hard to resist her tantalizing scent of jasmine and citrus—the same scent that had been taunting me since I’d tasted her that night. She stood near the keypad, her hands fidgeting as she played with her nail polish. She looked so innocent, not like the sexy vixen I’d been with last Friday night.

  “What is it? Cat got your tongue?” I reached for the emergency stop button. The elevator lurched then steadied as I moved closer to her, guiding her to the corner of the elevator.

  Just like a hunter stalking my prey.

  I reached above her and turned the security camera away so it couldn’t record us in the corner. She looked up at my movement, and I caught her eye as I brought my arm down and rested it on the wall beside her. Her blonde hair was perfectly aligned along her beautiful face. I struggled against the urge to take her right there in the elevator.

  “Look, about the other night,” she began, looking back down at her hands.

  I guided my hand under her chin, forcing her to look at me. Her deep green eyes had my cock awake and growing in my pants. As her tongue glided across her lower lip, I imagined her mouth around my cock while those green eyes stared up at me. I needed to taste her again.

  “Step back, love, so no one can see us.” I pointed to the camera above.

  She quickly stepped back. Her body crashed against the hard steel wall, and I heard the air escape her lungs. Invading her personal space, I moved closer so that our bodies were pushed against one another.

  “We can’t … uh, we can’t do this.”

  I felt her pulse racing under my hands on her neck. I reached up slowly, threading my hand through her hair, resisting the urge to pull on it.

  “I just want to know why you ran out on me,” I said softly against her swollen lips. Lips that were pleading to be kissed.

  “It’s complicated,” she murmured.

  “Why is that? Did you get yours in the limo and then back out?” I slowly ran my hand along the nape of her neck.

  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she spoke. “I thought Peyton was your wife,” she explained, opening her eyes. “I’m Braelynn, the cleaner who cleaned your house hours before meeting you at Quay. You never said your name was Peyton, so when we walked into your house, I assumed—”

  “That I was a married man,” I finished for her. “Just the opposite.” I skimmed my thumb over the skin of her neck. “I’m very available and want nothing more than to fuck you.”

  I brought my hand to the hem of her skirt, lifting it slowly. I felt the edge of her stocking attached to a garter, and my cock twitched as I pushed up against her, bringing my lips to her ear. “Come back
to my place, Lynn, wearing nothing but these.” I pulled on the elastic, letting it smack against her smooth skin.

  “Haas, I can’t. We can’t.”

  “You remember what I told you, don’t you? I always get what I want.” I pushed her skirt higher, sliding my finger across her lace thong. “I can be very persuasive.” The small whimper that escaped her throat only enticed me more. “I promise to make this pussy pulse with pleasure.” I slid my finger back and forth against the delicate material. “If you want, I can take you right here.”

  “Please, don’t—”

  I brought my lips to hers and she responded, allowing me in. Her tongue wrestled mine as I ground my cock against her abdomen. She melted in my hands, letting me guide her body how I wanted. I explored her mouth, imagining what it would be like to have my cock shoved between her soft, plump lips.

  As I moved my hand to pull her panties, the emergency bell began to ring, disrupting us. Reaching over, I released the brake and pressed the fifth floor button as I pulled away from her. Intoxicating. That’s what she was. Her eyes, her smell, her hair, her skin. I fixed my erection and looked over at her.

  “You know where to find me.”

  She didn’t speak. She just stood there, flustered, against the wall. When the door opened I walked out, not looking back. I hoped I’d left her high and wet and needing me.

  I wasn’t one to chase women, but I couldn’t get her out of my mind. I had jerked off multiple times to my memory of her, but never once was it as satisfying as I had hoped.

  I walked around the fifth floor looking for no one in particular. I just needed a moment to regroup so I wouldn’t be the asshole who got caught walking out of the elevator pitching a tent, not that it would be the first time.

  When I purchased the building, I designed it so my elevator, the only elevator that came to my office, wasn’t accessible to anyone else. You needed to have a meeting in my office for it to open on your floor, and there was no way to call it unless Melissa sent it to you. Not being caught fucking in there was a breeze; walking away without showing my erection was a different story. I called for the elevator with my master key card and moments later it appeared.

  The elevator car was empty, but I could still smell her. I walked back to the conference room to find her seated next to Howard. What I wouldn’t do for her to be kneeling under my desk. Focus, Haas.

  “Sorry for the delay. I had some business to attend to downstairs.”

  Howard began to question Drew’s coworker and I tuned him out. This case was an inconvenience. I had only agreed to represent Drew as a favor to my father. Howard’s inquiry had everyone’s attention, but I focused only on Braelynn, my former housekeeper who’d lied about her school schedule and her name.

  Who’d thought I was married.

  Who’d thought I was going to take her to have sex in the bed I shared with someone else.

  Who’d lied to me about not being able to clean my house anymore.

  This time she wasn’t taking notes. She was cracking her fingers, fidgeting, and watching the time pass on her watch; she wanted to be anywhere in the world but in this conference room. After Howard finished, we all stood to part ways.

  “Howard,” I began, “as always, it was a pleasure. I’m hopeful we can take care of this without a trial. Speaking of which, I believe I’m missing some information about the case. If it’s not too much trouble, could you please have Miss Wolf bring me a copy of your files by the end of this week?”

  She snapped her head up, and I couldn’t help but smirk at her reaction.

  “Of course. I’ll have her bring them to you right away.” Howard extended his hand. “Stay well, Haas.”

  I watched as she walked toward the elevator with Howard. She was not getting rid of me that easily.

  Braelynn

  My heels clicked on the hardwood floor as I entered my house, turned, and slammed the front door with all my might. Kennedy was still in her pajamas, picking at her breakfast, but I didn’t say hello as I passed her. I headed straight for the freezer and took out the black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream, then stomped over to the drawer and grabbed the first spoon I could find. I popped the lid open and brought a spoonful of delicious, creamy goodness to my mouth.

  “Bad first day?” Kennedy questioned. She was eating cinnamon French toast as she scrolled through shots from her latest photo shoot on her iPad.

  “The worst first day.” I took another big spoonful and shoved it straight into my mouth. I tried to talk but brain freeze got the best of me.

  “Gosh, Lynnie, how bad was it? You’re not even breathing between bites.”

  “Bad previous intern,” I mumbled between spoonfuls. “Haas is Peyton. Peyton is the defense attorney on the case.” I managed to get that last bit out before I swallowed.

  “What? That makes no sense. Put the ice cream down for two seconds and explain.”

  I pushed the pint across the granite countertop, right into Kennedy’s hands. “There’s a big case I’m working on. The intern who wrote the cheat brief for it was a complete moron. I had to do it all over again, which took most of the morning. But the kicker of the day? Haas, the guy from Quay, his real name is Peyton. The same Peyton I cleaned for and then quit because I thought I’d almost slept with her husband. But he wasn’t married to Peyton; he is Peyton. How do I know this? He’s the defense attorney on my very first big case. And to make matters even worse, he pinned me in the elevator and whispered sweet nothings in my ear.”

  I walked back to the freezer and pulled out a new flavor.

  “Braelynn, you can’t eat your problems away with ice cream.”

  I turned to her with a defiant grin on my face. “Watch me.”

  “Seriously, what are you going to do?” She took the small spoon from her lips and closed the lid. “You know you can’t sleep with him.”

  “Geez, Kennedy, I wasn’t going to sleep with him. I know I can’t. I would never put my career on the line like that. It will all blow over. I’m pretty sure his fine piece of ass has no problem getting laid. Ugh.” I shoved another spoonful in my mouth.

  I was secretly jealous that it wasn’t me who would be getting laid. The way he’d held me in the elevator … my core throbbed the same way it had a week ago at his touch. I had almost lost complete control of myself. I’d wanted nothing more than for him to take me, and I’d been so close to begging him to just do it. I wasn’t my usual composed self around him, and that only added fuel to the fire when I thought about him. His strong hands wrapping around my thigh, squeezing my breast, tracing my neck, pulling my hair … His soft fingers brushing against my skin, tormenting me through my lace panties …

  I scooped a giant spoonful and closed the lid. One last bite to calm my raging need for him.

  “On a different note,” Kennedy began, “Caleb has a table for the gala on Wednesday. Come with us. I’m pretty sure there will be plenty of single bachelors there.”

  I brought my index finger up. “One, I don’t want to be your third wheel.” I popped up my second finger. “Two, I’m not on the prowl, needing to bang the first eligible bachelor that talks to me. It was a one-time thing that will never happen again. I’ve never gone home with a strange man before. Shit, I don’t even remember the last time I got laid.” I sat on the barstool next to her and dropped my head to the cool countertop.

  “Well, I’m pretty sure you’ll have no problem finding someone to help you scratch that itch if you want to.” She pushed the pint back over to me. “Plus, you will not be the third wheel. I invited Gus.”

  “Okay.” I sighed. “Since Gus is going, I’m down. I have to clean the Smith’s house on Wednesday after work, but it should be quick. They were only there for two days before heading out of town again.”

  After my ice cream vent, I took a quick shower, then curled up with my laptop. I Googled every possible Drew Seymour in the tristate area. I clicked from one Internet article to another, and after I found his personal i
nformation and all of his social media sites, I began trying to piece the puzzle together. Natasha was suing him for unfair and deceptive business practices and slander. How was I going to prove that? I needed tangible evidence if I was going to make this story stick.

  “Are you done sulking over your shitty day?” Kennedy asked, knocking on my bedroom door before opening it.

  “I'm not sulking. I'm just frustrated.” I closed my laptop on my lap.

  “Well…” She walked in with her iPad in her hand and sat on my bed. “You're not going to like what I found out about Mr. Come-Hitter.”

  "What do you mean?" Her comment piqued my interest.

  “Remember that night we all went out?” I nodded. “I said he looked familiar, but since I was pretty intoxicated, it didn't register until you gave me his full name." She handed me the iPad.

  “You looked him up?” I asked.

  “What?” She laughed. “We both know you were going to do it. I just beat you to it. He went to the same school as Caleb, though they weren’t there at the same time. He graduated from Harvard, has his own law firm, and is one of New York’s most eligible bachelors, according to Page Six,” Kennedy said, leaving me the tablet so I could see for myself.

  Once I realized how great an attorney Peyton was, I grabbed my phone and paid an old buddy a call. I needed to get all the dirt I could on Drew if we were going up against Peyton. It rang twice before he answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Poochie. It’s Braelynn.” Poochie and I had crossed paths my freshman year of high school—the last year I’d spent in Providence before Loren and I moved to the outskirts of Newport. He was the only one I’d stayed close with.

  “You know, no one calls me that anymore, Brae.” He chuckled into the phone.