Hard Deal

by Stefanie London

  Her eyes darted to the grand old clock that hung on one wall. Five minutes before she had to sneak away to their meeting spot. The stables. Caleb wanted to re-create the moment that had changed everything last year, only this time they weren’t going to stop at kissing.

  “What’s wrong, Immie?” Penny squeezed her arm. “You seem fidgety.”

  “I’m fine. I should be asking you that question.” She shot a look at her sister. “How’s the dress?”

  “Tight,” Penny grumbled, placing a hand over her stomach. Her bump was fully visible now, but she hadn’t wanted to wear a maternity dress to the ball. So they’d found one that made her look like an earth goddess, but she’d “popped” a little more than expected in the last week. “I feel like a human sausage.”

  “I’m sure Daniel will take you home early if you’ve had enough,” Lainey said. “We should probably find the guys, anyway. They were supposed to be back with drinks.”

  Imogen glanced at the clock. The minutes were ticking down far slower than she wanted them to. Her whole body buzzed with anticipation, like a million butterflies had been set free in her stomach. “I’m going to head to the ladies’ room. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

  She didn’t wait for her sister or her friend to reply, and instead darted out of the ballroom and took the long way around to the courtyard, hoping to hell that neither of the women chose to follow. Outside the air was warm and the scent of jasmine drifted on the breeze. This year they’d set a theme for the ball—summer blooms. Many of the women had dresses with beautiful bold floral patterns and romantic shades of pink and red.

  Imogen’s dress was lush and dramatic. The navy background was offset by huge red and white roses and vivid green leaves. It was cut shorter in the front, hovering around her knees and dipping into a slight train behind her. It showed off her shoes—a pair of strappy, sexy red heels that Caleb had surprised her with earlier that day—to perfection.

  Coupling that with her mask and sneaking around to find her lover, she felt like a supersexy spy.

  Making sure no one was looking in her direction, she slipped into the garden and followed the path around the side of the building. The stables stood proud and quiet, with no sign of her mischievous boyfriend. The mere sight of the charming old structure brought back a rush of memories. The thrill of kissing the masked man, the burn of lust that hadn’t left her body since.

  She walked carefully over the grass, keeping her weight forward so her heels didn’t sink into the earth.

  The past year had been a roller coaster. Once she and Caleb had started dating properly, things had moved quickly. He’d gotten the job with the Wentworth Group and was working harder than ever. They’d grown tired of schlepping back and forth between each other’s places with overnight bags, so she’d moved into his apartment after only two months, much to the dismay of her family.

  They thought she was rushing into commitment again, setting herself up to make the same mistakes. Setting herself up to have her heart crushed. But she knew it was different. And while there had been some adjusting to do, Imogen had no doubt in her mind that it was the right move.

  “Hey, sexy lady.”

  Imogen jumped and pressed her hand to her chest. “You scared me. I thought I was early.”

  A lazy grin spread over Caleb’s lips, curving up toward the black leather mask covering the top half of his face. His broad shoulders were encased in a fitted tuxedo jacket, the satin lapels gleaming in the early evening light. “Baby, you’re right on time.”

  He held a hand out and she took it without hesitation, need and desire rocketing through her at the touch. It was incredible how quickly he could fire up her body these days. It was like he’d found the key to her pleasure centre and could punch the code in with lightning speed.

  “What are we going to do if we get caught?” she said with excitement, rather than fear. His desire was catching and she’d found herself becoming addicted to the thrill.

  “Don’t you worry about that,” he said, squeezing her hand as he led her into the stables. “I’ll keep you covered.”

  “You never know who might be spying.” She nudged him with her elbow. “What if some sticky beak is trying to take our photo?”

  “I’m not sharing,” he growled.

  He twirled her around and backed her up against the wall, hands hard at her hips. She loved that he was demanding and in charge when it came to sex. He pushed her boundaries and managed to make each time feel like the first. It was exhilarating, and despite some initial fears that they might burn out as quickly as they’d started, she lusted after him even more now than she had a year ago.

  But it was more than lust. The nights they spent on the couch eating pizza and watching Netflix were just as enjoyable. He cooked for her often, frequently surprised her with dinner reservations or plans for a weekend away—but more important, he never held back in telling her how much he adored her, how much he wanted her.

  There were no secrets between them. His laptop was always open and had no password—not that she’d ever snooped. She didn’t need to. Because secrecy didn’t lurk in the shadows of their house, and doubt didn’t linger like a poison in her mind. She trusted him with all her heart.

  “I love you,” she blurted out.

  Oh God, oh God, oh God.

  Were they ready for that? They hadn’t talked about it yet, but the word had been bouncing around in her head for a few months now. Saying it felt right, like kicking off a pair of heels that had been restrictive and painful. It relieved the tension inside her, released a wave of warmth that penetrated her all the way down to the marrow of her bones. Honestly and completely.

  Maybe he wasn’t ready, but she was.

  “I know we haven’t talked about where this is going or anything yet, and I don’t know if you agree but I guess I needed to say it out loud because I’ve been thinking it for a while now,” she babbled.

  Caleb didn’t move, didn’t flinch. His bright blue eyes burned intently into hers—like he was looking right into the heart of her. Stripping her back, breaking her apart.

  “Don’t stay silent,” she whispered. “Please.”

  “I think you dropped something.” He pointed to the ground.

  “What?” She shook her head, her eyes searching around their feet but all she could see was dirt. “If that’s your way of distracting me it’s—oh.”

  Caleb held a ring in front of him. The simple white gold band held a diamond that looked almost too big to be real, but the way the light fractured inside it told her it was as real as the earth beneath her feet.

  “Imogen Melanie Hargrove—” He dropped down to one knee. “I love you, too. And thanks very much for stealing my thunder.”

  Tears pricked her eyes, making her vision swim. A wet drop fell onto her cheek and rolled toward her chin.

  “Great, and now you’re crying. This is not how I thought it would go down.” His tone was warm and teasing. “We don’t do anything the right way, do we?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know!” She brushed the tears away with the backs of her hands. “I thought you were bringing me out here so we could get busy.”

  “That’s my girl,” he chuckled. “Always thinking about sex.”

  “Thanks to you.” She grinned. “Now ask me the freaking question.”

  “Imogen Melanie Hargrove,” he tried again, pausing to clear his throat. “It would make me the happiest man alive if you would spend the rest of your life getting busy with me.”

  She laughed through the tears and shook her head. “Really? That’s what you want out of this relationship?”

  “I want it all, baby. I want to have you in every position. I want to wake up every morning next to you so I can see how adorable you look with your face smooshed into the pillow. I want to sit on the couch and yell at the footy with you.” He grinned. “I
want to see you wear every colour of the rainbow. And I want to do it until we’re old and grey.”

  “Yes,” she said, her voice tripping on all the emotion clogging her throat. “I want that, too.”

  He slipped the diamond onto her finger and the cheer of a crowd startled Imogen. She hadn’t even noticed the people gathering at the entrance to the stable—Penny, Daniel, Lainey, Damian, Jason and his soon-to-be fiancée, Anna. Their friends and family.

  Caleb stood, still holding her hand, which suddenly felt so perfect with the ring on it, and drew her into his arms. “I can’t believe you cut my grass like that.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “I can’t believe you invited an audience. I was promised sex and you haven’t delivered, my dear fiancé.”

  “Just you wait.” He lowered his head to hers, the intense stare reflecting all the love and desire she had swirling inside her. “I’ve got plans for us, Imogen. Big plans. And we’re going to need a lifetime.”

  “Good.” She tilted her face up to his, parting her lips in anticipation and not caring at all if everyone watched them kiss. “Let’s get this party started, shall we?”

  * * * * *

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  Legal Passion

  by Lisa Childs

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I AM GOING to prove to you that this man is a bad man,” the assistant district attorney said as she pointed at the defense table.

  Stone Michaelsen had the uneasy feeling that she was pointing at him rather than his client. But it wasn’t as if he could object. He was a bad man—sometimes.

  And right now, watching Hillary Bellows work the jury, he wanted to be very bad to her. She was so damn sexy in her sky-blue suit that perfectly matched her sky-blue eyes. The skirt fit tightly over her rounded ass, and the jacket didn’t quite close over her full breasts, showing off her flesh-colored camisole. She had the rapt attention of every male juror and, since she was so earnest, most of the women as well. When she turned back toward the jury, her blond bob skimmed across her jaw. Her hair looked so silky that his fingers twitched to touch it, to touch her.

  But as always, when he faced her in court, he had to resist the urge to act on this crazy attraction he had for her. Hillary Bellows was strictly off-limits. But even if she wasn’t, she had made it abundantly clear that she didn’t think much of him. He would really have to turn on the charm if he wanted to change her mind about him.

  And, unlike his law partners, Stone was not a natural charmer. He was too blunt and outspoken to be ingratiating and flattering. So was Hillary.

  She continued her opening statement. “I am going to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant murdered his young wife in a jealous rage. The defendant’s attorney, Stone Michaelsen, from the notorious Street Legal law practice, is going to try to trick you into exonerating his client—because he and his partners will do anything to win.”

  Stone resisted the urge to flinch—barely. She was hitting low, even for Hillary, using the recent problems his firm had been having against him. And the problems weren’t their fault; they had a mole in the office, someone trying to throw their cases and make them look bad. If she’d had access to their case files, he might have thought Hillary was the one responsible for the leaks.

  She seemed to be carrying a grudge against him from all the times he’d beaten her before—because her opening argument felt more like a personal attack against him than a summary of the case she was going to present.

  “And like his partners,” Hillary continued, “Stone Michaelsen will use the media and other tricks to make his case, because he has no evidence.”

  He suppressed a flinch at her direct hit. He had a meeting later with Allison McCann of McCann Public Relations. They were going to discuss his next press release. The publicist had already issued statements from his office about the prosecution disregarding the fact that his client had an ironclad alibi for the time of the murder. Charges never should have been brought against Byron Mueller. And the grand jury should have damn well never indicted. But because of that alibi, this would be an easy win for Stone, and another loss for Hillary.

  Maybe that was why she sounded so bitter in this opening statement. She knew she was going to lose, just as she had every other time she had gone up against him in court. What if she were literally up against him? All her lush curves pressed against his body?

  Now he had to suppress a smile. He couldn’t have the jury thinking he looked smug, even though he felt smug at the moment.

  But Hillary looked pretty damn smug herself. She glanced at him again
—instead of his client—and there was a glimmer of amusement in her blue eyes. What the hell did she find so funny?

  It wouldn’t be the fact that she was going to lose. She wouldn’t find that funny at all, not with as ambitious as she was.

  Then she turned away from him and focused on the jury again. She lowered her voice, as if confiding a big secret to them, and said, “Even the alibi his client claims to have for the time of the murder has been discredited with evidence from Mr. Michaelsen’s own case files.”

  What the hell was she talking about? Stone jumped out of his chair and protested, “Your Honor, I object. The assistant DA is making an inculpatory statement—”

  “That I can prove,” Hillary interrupted him.

  The gavel slammed down. “This is Ms. Bellows’s opening argument, Mr. Michaelsen. You will have the chance to defend your client during the trial.”

  “Sounds like I’m the one who needs defending,” he grumbled as he reluctantly settled back into his seat.

  “Mr. Michaelsen...” the judge said, his voice sharp with a warning. Harrison had ruled the bench for a long time, probably too long. What wispy hair he had left was white, and his face was heavily lined with age and disapproval.

  It was never good for Stone when he drew Harrison as a judge. But still, he had to appeal to the guy.

  “Please remind Ms. Bellows that my law firm is not on trial here,” he said. “Only my client.”

  The judge didn’t give Hillary a verbal warning, just a pointed glare that Hillary then passed on to Stone, her blue eyes narrowing. But a slight smile curved her lips. She was obviously enjoying needling him.

  He found his pulse racing as well, and not just over the thrill of a high-profile trial, but over the thrill of facing her again. He’d beaten her before, but it hadn’t been easy. As a lawyer, she’d proved to be his greatest challenge.

  As a woman...

  No. Because she was a lawyer, specifically his opposing counsel on this case, he couldn’t think of her as a woman. But that was damn hard.