“Okay. I’m gonna head out. Don’t stay too late. We all need you well rested and on your game tomorrow.”
She stood to leave when Lanie called a reminder. “Make sure you reset the system when you go.”
Beth nodded her head as she paused in the doorway. “After Ethan chatted with Steven, I’m not likely to forget.”
“Really? Why am I only hearing about this now? What did Steven say, or worse, what did he do?”
“Let’s just say that afterward I discovered the benefits of the high workstation in the back office. No chair required.”
“That’s my fault. I kind of threw you under the bus on that one. It was unintentional, I swear.”
“It’s fine, Lanie. I shouldn’t have left you here without arming the system. Besides, if I didn’t catch it for that, it would have been something else. I’ve been a little crazy over this case too, and my tongue seems to have a mind of its own. Steven’s spanking arm has been busy. He was complaining that the muscle in his arms are lopsided and that he’s going to have to start using his left for spankings, or start lifting weights.” After curling her arm and flexing, she made an exaggerated swatting motion. She squeezed her bicep, she murmured sarcastically, “Yeah, I can see how that could be a hardship on the poor man. Never mind my sore, overworked butt.”
“You misbehave on purpose, so stop complaining. Wasn’t it you who told me that you accidentally on purpose spilled coffee on Steven’s lecture notes before his big presentation last week? You were hoping he’d use some new paddle he’d bought.”
“Hey, I made sure he had copies,” Beth said with a wink. “It was worth every swat, up until the point where I confessed to setting him up. Then… ouch!” She rubbed her behind as she frowned. “Stay clear of Lexan. It stings like a son of a bitch.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lanie laughed. Her phone alarmed with a text message.
“That’s probably Ethan. Tell him to have a safe trip back, hon. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Lanie waved goodbye as she picked up her phone.
Where are you?
Glancing at the clock, she saw it was past eight. He wouldn’t like her answer.
Still at the office.
After a moment, her phone buzzed.
Login to Skype
In seconds, his handsome face appeared on her screen.
“Hi, honey,” she said. “I miss you.”
“Miss you too, baby. What are you doing at the office so late?”
“Practicing my opening statement.”
“You had it down, last night. What’s the real reason?”
“I’ve tweaked it a little since you heard it. And the real reason is I didn’t want to go home if you’re not there. Beth just left so even though we were both working, I had company.”
“Did you eat?”
“I had salad.” That wasn’t a lie; he hadn’t asked when. She still felt a pang of unease over the half-truth and added, “It was a while ago, though.”
“Why don’t you head on home. Pick up one of those Ruebens you love so much from Gordon’s Deli. A glass of wine and a long hot soak in the tub will help you relax and let you get a good night’s sleep. You’ll be ready to kick ass tomorrow.”
“Mm… that sounds nice, but there’s one important thing missing.”
He knew, of course, where she was headed with that. “I’ll be home tomorrow.”
Ethan’s handsome face and his gentle voice were right there in front of her. If only he was there for real, holding her, kissing her, loving her. But he wasn’t, so she preferred to deal with her stress over tomorrow’s trial with more preparation, not wine.
“Will you listen to the changes I made and see how they sound?”
“How many times have you gone over it?”
“Not many.”
Silently, he gazed back at her from the screen—waiting. Eventually, she squirmed, always one to want to fill silence with words. He knew it and had used this trick on her often in the past. Then, as now, it worked.
“Three or four, I guess.”
“Lanie.”
“Okay, three or four in the past hour.”
“You’re obsessing. Let’s put this in perspective. This is not a capital case, where a murderer or rapist is going to get off based on something you do or don’t do in court. This is a civil case—simple as that, right?”
“Yeah, but I owe it to my clients.”
“I’m not suggesting you do a half assed job for your clients, Lanie. But think about it. They wanted the firm exposed, especially Simons. Who, by the way, in no small part because of you and your team, already has a felony conviction. The firm is damaged by that alone, as well as the scandal about the harassment that’s been going on there for years. That’s what your client’s wanted. Any award is gravy.”
“One more time and I’ll head on home. I value your opinion, honey.”
“Did you hear a word I said?”
“Of course I heard you, Ethan.”
“Yeah, but were listening?” Once again he stared at her, long and intently. Then he shook his head with a little smile as if resigning himself to going over it one more time.
“Okay, I’ll hear your summation again. But first, look in your purse. I left you a little present.”
“You did? When?”
“I snuck it in there before I left.”
She pulled out her bottom drawer and grabbed her purse. With the big leather bag in her lap, she started digging through it.
“I was going to say I was surprised you hadn’t found it before tonight, but I forgot. That isn’t a purse, it’s a bottomless pit. It weighs a ton too and can’t be good for your back.”
“So you’ve said before, Ethan. This is the perfect size bag for me. Everything I need fits right in here.” She glanced up at the screen, saw his teasing smile and decided to reply in kind. “A girl has needs, honey.”
“Yeah, baby. That’s what I’m counting on.”
“What?”
“Have you found it yet? It’s in a blue velvet pouch.”
As a diversionary tactic, distraction worked. She was much too curious about the mysterious blue bag to wonder about his cryptic answer. Diving elbow deep into her huge purse she dug around for it. After a few minutes passed, Lanie was beginning to believe Ethan was right about the bottomless pit remark.
“Here it is. It settled to the bottom.” She started to untie the drawstring.
“Wait. Put it on the desk. I want you to unbutton your blouse first.”
Her eyes flew to the screen. “Here? In the office?” They’d had sexy video chats before when one of them traveled. After the first embarrassing and awkward minutes, Lanie had loosened up and enjoyed it every time. The only difference tonight was location having only done it bedroom-to-bedroom before.
“I’ll give you a minute to close the door and the blinds. Hurry back.”
As she moved around the room, ensuring their privacy, she heard his stern voice from the speakers and turned back to the screen.
“I don’t have to ask about the main door being locked and the system being armed, do I?”
“No, you don’t.” She held up her iPhone. Ethan had made an upgrade after the last incident. If Beth forgot to set it, she now had an app that would remotely alarm and deactivate the security system via her phone. She swiped the screen a few times, and then angled it toward him. “See, all secure.”
“Good girl.” His eyes twinkled as she took her seat. “If we’re all set…” He paused, continuing when she nodded. “Your blouse, I want it open.”
Her fingers shook with excitement as she quickly undid the half-dozen buttons and pulled the sides apart.
“Is that a front hook bra?”
“No.” She started to shrug off her shirt.
“Lanie, stop. For the next little bit I want you to do only what I tell you to. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Leave the blouse as it is and pull down t
he cups.”
Lowering the padded cups turned the champagne satin into a pushup bra, which molded to her breasts and plumped them up and pushed them together. Without looking, she knew his eyes were fixed on her chest and her nipples hardened.
“Beautiful. Stand up, raise your skirt to your waist and pull down your panties.”
Following his instructions without question, she felt the cool air hit moist skin as she hiked up her tight pencil skirt and eased down the lace boy shorts.
“Very nice, baby. You can open the pouch now.”
With eager fingers, Lanie untied the draw string and dumped the contents out on the desk in full view of the webcam. Three clamps, a narrow chain, and a vibrator came spilling out.
“Three clamps, two for your nipples and the other is for your clit. Put them on, Lanie.”
He was as turned on as she was. It was clear in his voice, which had grown husky and deep. Wishing he was there to do it himself, she pinched and rolled her nipple until it stood up enough to apply the rubber tipped spring clamp. It was pink, naturally—pink was Ethan’s favorite color—and had some kind of oblong weight on the end. As she released the clamp, there was a light pinch and she was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t hurt.
“Give the screw another half-turn. I don’t want them falling off.”
Her reprieve didn’t last, but a half-turn was still okay.
“Another, Lanie.”
This time the rubber tipped ends bit sharply and she hissed as she willed her body to adjust.
“That’s it. Clamp the other and tighten it the same amount.”
After clamping the other, she looked at the third. She waited for him to direct her, a little tweaked. They’d never played with a clit clamp before.
“It goes on your clit the same way as your nipples, except the tips should face down. Open it enough to clamp around the hood and the little pearl inside.”
As she began, he stopped her again because he couldn’t see below the edge of the desk. Sliding the chair back didn’t satisfy him. Instead, he had her scoot her hips forward while draping her legs over the arms of her chair.
“Perfect,” he announced. “Carry on.”
Spread wide for the webcam, she tried to control the flames from racing up her neck and into her already flushed cheeks as she clamped her own clit. It pinched uncomfortably at first and she had to release the tension some.
“They look very pretty. How do they feel?”
“Tight, but not painfully so.”
“Excellent, now for the surprise.”
“You mean a clit clamp wasn’t it?” I’ve been surprised since I signed on, it seems.”
“No, baby. These are special clamps. At the end of each one you’ll find a button. Push it.”
When she did, her right breast came to life with vibrations.
“What do you think? Too much? Talk to me.”
“No,” she managed to choke out. “Not too much. It feels nice.”
“Hmm, nice isn’t what I was going for. Push the button twice more—that should be maximum.”
Sure enough, two pushes later it was buzzing rapidly on her nipple. “That feels really good, Ethan.”
“I knew they would, baby. Turn the others on high and lay back so I can watch.”
She did and after a few minutes of triple-threat stimulation, she was wriggling in her seat.
“They’re working now, aren’t they?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Are you more relaxed?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Good. Let’s hear your opening statement, please.”
“What? Now?”
“Yes, now.”
“But—”
“This is practice, Lanie. If you can make it through your opening remarks with nipple and clit clamps on, tomorrow will be a piece of cake.”
It took her three tries, before she got it out error free. By that time, her skin was glistening and she could feel the moisture trickling its way down her slit to her bottom. She was thankful that her chair was leather not fabric.
“Good job, baby. Do you feel better about that opening?”
“Yes, Ethan, thank you. My brain has only one thing in mind.”
“I bet it does, but you’re going to have to wait a bit.”
“That’s torture.”
“Ah, baby. You know me so well.” His chuckle was underappreciated. “You look gorgeous spread open for me, pretty pink blush on your cheeks. It matches the pink of your nipples. Your clit is a darker pink and well on its way to a nice rosy red. I’m going to watch as you come and see if that changes. Since you did so well with your statement, I suppose I should reward, not punish, hmm?” At her eager nod, he murmured, “Pick up the vibe and bring yourself off for me, Lanie.”
Her hand was on the vibrator before he finished speaking. The packaging was a challenge, but with the help of her letter opener, she ripped into the L’amore Desire vibrator. She pressed one of the two buttons on the bottom, but nothing happened. When she pressed the other, it began to hum and she gave a sigh of relief. If she had to take the time to install batteries, it would have been too much. She quickly figured out that one button set the mode and the second button set the speed. After experimenting with pulse and one that started out low and got gradually faster, she discovered it also had a low, medium and high speed.
“Is it working? I can’t tell.”
“It’s very quiet. But it’s strong.”
“Thank fuck.” Lanie wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear that and would have laughed if she wasn’t about to squirm out of her chair with need. “Slide it in deep and work it in and out slowly. I’m going to crank up the volume on my laptop so I can hear all your sweet sexy noises when you come.”
Lanie had the six inch purple vibe inside her before Ethan finished saying “slide it in deep.” She was so aroused that with only a few strokes the pressure in her pussy had built and she was racing toward a climax.
Lanie heard Ethan groan as well as the unmistakable sound of a zipper amidst the buzzing of the four battery powered objects either attached or inserted into her body. She didn’t have the control to watch, merely thinking of him touching himself had her moaning and pumping her hips as she moved the vibe faster.
“Switch it on high.”
When she did, the vibrations were so powerful that a cry broke free.
“That’s it, baby. You’re close. I can’t wait to see you fly apart.”
She whimpered as the vibe in her pussy and the buzzing clit propelled her higher. She was hanging on by a thread and knew Ethan was as close.
“Come now, Lanie,” His voice and command was the catalyst that sent her over the edge. As she shouted her release, she heard Ethan’s guttural cries as he came right along with her
As she eased down from her intense high, she opened languid eyes and smiled weakly at him. His hazy, half-lidded gaze, ruddy cheeks and the little beads of sweat on his forehead told her he was equally affected. The rasp of his husky aftersex voice and the dimple that flashed with his broad grin were good indicators as well.
“That was sexy as hell.”
“Yeah, honey, but I wish you’d have been here with me.”
“Next time. You can take off the clamps, sweetheart.”
She did and afterward adjusted her clothes. Gazing back at Ethan on screen, she relaxed for the first time in days—since he’d left. More confident too. She actually felt ready for tomorrow.
“I don’t know how you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Know exactly what I need and give it to me.”
“It’s not so mysterious. You get this way before big cases. Sometimes you’re so worked up you’re like an over stretched rubber band. If you give it one more pull it will break, but if you get it to relax, and release the pressure, it bounces back to its original state.”
“I hadn’t realized I was so tense.”
“I don’t ever want to see you stretched so thin
that you break. It’s my job to see that you stay relaxed and loose.”
“And you do it so well, honey. You planned this.”
“I saw it building before I left, so I made preparations.”
“Thank you, Ethan.”
“You’re very welcome, baby.”
“I’m ready for that Reuben and the tub. I think I’ll go pop into the store and get a bottle of wine like you mentioned. Too bad there’s none at the house.”
“There’s a bottle in the pantry on the bottom shelf. It was a Christmas gift, I believe.”
“I totally forgot about that. It’s cold duck, but it’s red and on ice, I’ll choke it down.”
“Spoken like a true wine connoisseur.” They laughed because wine was so not her thing. She liked it red and sweet, and if it said ‘cooler’ on the label all the better.
“I’ll see you in court tomorrow, Lanie. Have sweet dreams about me, okay?”
“I will, honey. I feel ready for tomorrow, thanks to you.”
“You were ready before I called, Lanie, but you didn’t see it. I simply helped you open your eyes.”
“I love you so much, Ethan.”
“Me too, baby. Get some rest.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Objection.” Lanie called out as she stood. “Mrs. Anderson’s sexual history is neither admissible nor relevant, your honor.
“Sustained.” Judge Victoria Studor, who was presiding, turned her laser sharp glare on the other attorney before biting out, “Mr. Jackson, for the third time, you will abandon this line of questioning. If I have to warn you again, I will hold you in contempt.”
“Yes, your honor. I’ll rephrase.” Bertram Jackson scowled as he glanced back at his notes. After a moment, he asked, “Ms. Anderson, isn’t it true that you were actually pursuing a personal relationship with Mr. Simons? That in fact, you were the aggressor in the incident on the date in question?”
Beth’s musical laughter rose above the crowded courtroom. “Mr. Jackson, my husband is seated in the gallery.” She lifted a delicate hand toward Steven who sat in the front row behind the plaintiffs’ table. His full head of sandy blond hair with a sprinkling of gray at the temples glistened under the florescent lights, blue eyes gleaming with delight, tanned and gorgeous. Even while seated, his tall, muscular frame was impressive in his dark gray suit and he was as fit as if he was twenty-five not two decades older.
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