James shifted her on his lap, running his hand up her thigh. “That’s good to know.”
Mandy gasped when she felt his fingers slip between her folds. “I thought you had work to do?”
“Shh,” James said. “Close your eyes. I can do both.”
Mandy did as ordered, laying her head back so it rested on his chest. She could hear his fingers tapping on the laptop, even as his other hand explored her core. Mandy bit her lip to keep from moaning. James moved his fingers inside her, pinching her clitoris as she writhed on top of him. James punched in his final set of numbers and then slapped the top of the laptop down. He didn’t stop his finger ministrations. Instead, he pressed his lips to her neck and let his other hand join the fray.
Mandy felt the tingling build, exhaling heavily when the orgasm washed over her. James kept his fingers moving until he was sure she was done, and then he moved her to the floor as the last tremor fled her body. He kissed her deeply, positioning himself above her as he nudged her thighs to the side.
He slid into her in one long, fluid motion, filling her with one stroke. He dropped his face to hers, kissing her deeply. They moved together, their hands trying to touch everything as they moved together. When they came, it was in unison. James collapsed on top of her, letting his heartbeat – and emotions – fall into sync with hers.
Twenty-Four
“You want to have lunch?”
Mandy glanced up to find Heidi hovering in the doorway to her office. James had made her promise to remain inside the courthouse – just like every morning over the past three days – so she was momentarily torn. A lunch that came out of something other than a paper bag seemed like a heavenly suggestion.
“Sure.”
What? What James didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. It’s not like she was wandering into a dark alley in the middle of the night.
They agreed on the local Chinese restaurant, chatting avidly as they crossed the road. Since the restaurant was within eyesight of the courthouse, Mandy let her guilt disappear. I’m fine. Nothing weird – other than finding out Chad Cooper was gay, that is – had happened in days. Maybe she was in the clear? Maybe she was safe.
Once they were settled at a table and had placed their orders, Heidi took the opportunity to pounce. “So, tell me about James.”
Mandy smiled, fighting the urge to blush. “What do you mean?”
Heidi wagged her finger. “Oh, don’t do that. You two have been inseparable for more than a week. He’s ridiculously hot. It’s obvious he’s solved that whole dry spell problem. Spill.”
“What makes you think he’s ended my dry spell?”
“Because you’re glowing,” Heidi replied. “And practically floating, actually. You’re glowing and floating. That means you’re having sex. And, if the sheer amount of glow and float is any indication, you’re having a whole lot of sex. I want to know about the sex.”
Mandy focused on her placemat. “Things are going well.”
Heidi groaned. “You have to tell me more than that.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Well, for starters, what does he look like naked? I’ve been trying to picture it, but my mind implodes every time I do.”
“He looks good,” Mandy admitted.
Heidi waited for her to expand on the statement.
“Fine, he looks really good.”
“How, um, big is he?”
“Big?”
“You know, down there?”
Mandy shook her head. “I’m not talking about that.”
Heidi brushed off Mandy’s statement. “He looks big. I’m betting he’s big. I’m also betting he knows what he’s doing in bed.”
Mandy opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when Heidi held up her hand to still her. “I’m your friend. You’ve kept me in the dark forever. I can’t take it. If you don’t tell me, I’m going to explode.”
“It’s been a week.”
“It feels like forever,” Heidi shot back. “I want to know details.”
“Maybe I don’t want to tell you details,” Mandy suggested. “Maybe it’s none of your business.”
“I don’t care what you want,” Heidi said. “Until I can get Chad Cooper to bend to my will, I have to live vicariously through you. Now, tell me what I want to know.”
Mandy rolled her tongue in her mouth. There was no way she could break the Chad news to Heidi without explaining how she found out.
“Let’s just say he knows what he’s doing,” Mandy said.
“He’s had a lot of practice, huh?”
Mandy considered the question. She’d never really thought about it. She knew he’d been with other women. She was sure he’d been with Ann in high school, even though that thought made her want to vomit. She just didn’t want to think about other women besides Ann – not that she wanted to think about Ann at all. “I guess.”
“Oh, that was a stupid question,” Heidi admitted. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” Heidi said. “When you love someone, you don’t want to think about the people they’ve been with.”
Mandy froze. She’d told James she loved him a few nights before, only letting the words escape her lips when she was sure he couldn’t respond – or run. She did love him. She knew that. She’d always loved him. Even as a wide-eyed teenager with no knowledge of the real world and what it represented, she’d loved him. He didn’t love her, though. That was the worry constantly haunting her these days. He wasn’t the type to settle down. He wasn’t in this for a future. She was just a distraction. When this was all over, he would let her go, she didn’t doubt that. She wasn’t ready to admit that to someone else. Maybe Chad was a safer topic of conversation after all.
Thankfully, there was another person standing at the edge of the table to distract Mandy. When she looked up, she was surprised to find Ally standing there.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” Ally said, sliding into the booth next to Mandy. “I was looking for you. One of the secretaries at the courthouse said you might be here.”
Mandy introduced Heidi and Ally.
“You’re James’ sister?” Heidi asked. “That’s so cool.”
Ally cocked an eyebrow. “It wasn’t so cool when I was a kid. He was always bossing me around and telling me what to do.”
“He still likes to do that,” Mandy said.
Ally shifted her pointed gaze. “How is my brother?”
Mandy swallowed hard. “He’s fine. He’s been helping me, like you suggested.”
“Oh, I know how he’s been helping you,” Ally laughed. “Grady gave me an earful last night. From what I can tell, he’s been helping you a couple of times a night.”
Mandy’s cheeks started to burn. “I … I … I’m sorry.”
Ally tilted her head, her long dark hair dipping lower and cascading down her shoulders. “Why are you sorry?”
“Because he’s your brother,” Mandy offered lamely.
“So?”
“So, you’re my friend,” Mandy replied. “We were best friends. You don’t sleep with your best friend’s brother.”
“Says who?”
Mandy was flummoxed. “Isn’t that one of the general rules of friendship? You don’t sleep with your friend’s brother and you don’t sleep with your friend’s sister. Those are the rules.”
“Maybe, when you’re a teenager,” Ally replied, pulling Mandy’s pop in front of her so she could take a drink. “We’re not teenagers.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be?”
“Because he’s your brother.”
“So what?”
“This can’t possibly make you happy,” Mandy said.
“Why wouldn’t it? You’ve been like a sister to me,” Ally said. “Sure, we were out of touch for years, but you’ve always been my friend. Besides, it’s not like I didn’t know you had a crush on him. You doodled his name all over y
our notebooks when we were kids. It was pretty obvious.”
“You doodled his name? That’s so romantic,” Heidi sighed, sipping from her own pop.
“Still, it’s weird,” Mandy said.
“Why is it weird? You’re both adults,” Ally said. “You’re free to do whatever you want.”
Mandy remained silent.
“I want my brother to be happy,” Ally continued. “He certainly wasn’t happy with Ann, that gutter snipe. When he was in the Marines, I didn’t get to see him a lot. When I did, I could tell that he was happy with what he was doing – and even happier to be out of Barker Creek. I want him to be happy on every front. If you can make him happy, then I want you to make him happy. I’m fairly certain he makes you happy.”
“Oh, he does,” Heidi said. “Do you see the way she’s glowing?”
Ally graced Heidi with a smile. “I do.”
“Is your brother glowing, too?”
“I haven’t seen him,” Ally said. “I’ve been at the office twice this week, but each time I stopped in Grady and Finn told me he was otherwise engaged.”
Mandy fought her discomfort. “He’s just been helping me.”
“He’s just been helping you out of your panties,” Heidi said, her smile wide and her eyes sparkling.
“Heidi,” I admonished her.
“Stop being such a prude,” Ally ordered. “Finn and Grady have kept me abreast of the situation.” Ally lowered her voice. “They told me what happened that first night.”
“Your family never could keep a secret.”
“We’re gossipy,” Ally agreed. “They also told me what happened with Ann.”
“She’s a witch.”
“She’s the devil,” Ally said. “They also told me you handled the situation well.”
“What does that mean?”
“You didn’t engage her,” Ally said. “That’s what she wanted. She’s always been a drama queen. It doesn’t surprise me that she tried to push your buttons – or that her husband ran away and drained their bank account. That woman has had bitter divorcee written all over her for more than a decade. She’s gotten exactly what she deserved.”
“That’s kind of mean,” Mandy said.
“So? She’s a bitch.”
Mandy couldn’t argue – so she didn’t. “I’m not hiding under any illusions that this is going to end well.”
Ally fixed Mandy with her dark eyes. “Why do you say that?”
“Your brother isn’t exactly a relationship kind of guy.”
Ally tilted her head to the side. “Not before, no,” she said. “I think things may be shifting.”
Hope welled in Mandy’s chest – an emotion she immediately tried to tamp down. Ally was always a romantic, an idealist. Her brother was a different story. “James has been really great. He’s intent on making sure that nothing happens to me.”
“And that makes you sad for some reason?”
“When this is over, when he doesn’t have to watch me twenty-four hours a day, what happens then?”
“Then you guys settle into a routine,” Ally replied. “Both of your lives are in upheaval right now, there’s no denying that. From what Finn and Grady say, I have a hard time believing James is just going to walk away when you’re safe.”
“What makes you say that?”
Ally grinned. “Did he really buy you stained-glass butterfly wind chimes at an art fair?”
“He told them that?”
“Apparently he was proud of it,” Ally said. “Grady is appalled, by the way.”
Mandy didn’t know how to take that gossipy tidbit, so she ignored it. “I don’t want to get my hopes up.” The admission was hard, but Mandy felt lighter when the words escaped her mouth. She wasn’t alone in this. She had backup. If James crushed her heart, she still had her friends.
Ally patted Mandy’s hand reassuringly. “Mandy, you’ve been in love with James for as long as I can remember.”
“I was there. I already know that.”
“The thing is, I’m starting to wonder if he’s been in love with you just as long.”
The air escaped Mandy’s lungs in a whoosh. “What?”
“I’m not saying that he was pining after you when he was in high school and you were in middle school,” Ally said hurriedly. “That would be gross.”
“That would be gross,” Heidi agreed.
“I’m saying that, even when you were in middle school, he was drawn to you,” Ally said. “There was a reason he took such a … shine to you. He’d sit there at the kitchen table and listen to you rattle on and on about whatever book you were reading. He complimented your clothes and, let me tell you, you dressed like an idiot back then so he was totally lying. Do you really think he was interested in that stuff? I don’t.
“He sat there, though,” Ally continued. “He asked you questions. He gave you a ride home. He tried to protect you when Ann zeroed in on you. He’s always cared.”
“That doesn’t mean he wants a relationship.”
“No,” Ally agreed. “The fact that he’s calling you his girlfriend and mooning over you when you’re apart, that means he’s ready for a relationship.”
Mandy wanted to believe her. She wanted to believe her more than anything. She couldn’t fight the niggling doubt resting in her heart. “I don’t want to believe in a future if he’s just going to break my heart.”
Ally patted Mandy’s back to comfort her. “I can’t solve this for you. Something tells me James is going to do that himself.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and I can’t wait to see him do it,” Ally said, leaning back as the waitress slipped a plate in front of Mandy.
Hope is a funny thing. Having it makes you lighter.
Worry is a funny thing, too. Having it makes you heavier.
For some reason, after talking to Ally, Mandy chose to embrace the hope.
Twenty-Five
Mandy was just finishing up for the day when her cell phone dinged with an incoming text. It was from James.
I’m running late. I shouldn’t be more than a half hour. DO NOT leave your office. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll text you when I’m at the front door and it’s safe to come down.
Mandy sighed. She knew he was only being protective – and it gave her a warm feeling inside to think he cared that much – but she was sick of not being able to transport herself from one venue to another without constant supervision.
Mandy took the opportunity to tidy her desk. She wasn’t known for being particularly clean or organized in her personal life but, when it came to work, she was exactly the opposite. She saw herself as a representative of the court and, as much as the job was disappointing, she knew she was performing a vital service.
She rummaged around her bottom drawer until she found the can of aerosol cleaner she stored there and sprayed it on her desktop, using a handful of paper towels to wipe it off. Then, for lack of anything better to do, she used a can of compressed air to blow the lint and crumbs out of her keyboard.
When she was satisfied the desk was pristine, she sat back down in her chair to wait. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her she’d managed to take up exactly five minutes.
Mandy spent the next five minutes twirling around in her chair like a bored child – a distinction that wasn’t lost on her. She was annoyed at being treated like a child, and yet she couldn’t stop acting like one. It was nervous energy, she decided. She was eager to see James, nothing more.
No, it was definitely something more. She didn’t like being in the building alone this late at night, even knowing James was on his way. There was something … off.
Mandy got to her feet, moving to the door and peering in either direction as she poked her head outside. The hallway was dark, the only light coming from the emergency fixtures on the top of the walls. Even with the dim glow, Mandy couldn’t see far enough down in either direction to convince herself that someone wasn’t hiding in the shadows.
Mandy listened hard, trying to filter out the normal sounds of the building – the central air leaking from the vents, the far away hum of the elevator – and focus on the sounds that weren’t supposed to be there.
She realized, after a minute, that she’d been holding her breath. She exhaled slowly, fighting the laugh that bubbled in her throat. She was going to drive herself crazy if she kept this up. There was no one in the building. Well, actually, somewhere in the building was a security guard. She was perfectly safe.
She’d just managed to convince herself that everything was okay when she heard it. A footstep. She froze and listened again. I’m imaging it. No one’s there. The front doors automatically locked at 5 p.m. Random people – including James – couldn’t just wander in. My mind is playing tricks on me! Then she heard it again. When she heard it a third time, she realized she wasn’t imagining it. Someone was definitely down there.
She didn’t have a lot of options in front of her. The footsteps were coming from her left – the same direction as the elevator. If she locked herself in the office, she would be trapped. She wasn’t convinced that the flimsy particleboard door that separated the hallway from her inner sanctum would stop anyone. That meant she would have to run to her right, the only way out of immediate danger was the stairwell.
Mandy didn’t take the time to think, she followed her gut instinct and bolted to her right. She pressed herself against the wall so she would be able to gauge her progress in the dark, counting doors as she progressed: Judge MacIntosh’s private chambers, Heidi’s office, the prosecutorial conference room.
The door to the stairwell was right in front of her. She didn’t risk a look back into the dark hallway until she had the door open, one foot over the threshold. That’s when she saw it – the dim but obvious human silhouette. He was moving toward her, unhurried but steady.
Mandy bolted through the door and started rushing down the steps. Once she hit the fifth floor, she forced herself to slow her pace. The stairwell was dark and light was at a premium. The emergency fixtures were present here, too, but only on each level. She had to keep her hand on the railing because, if she tripped, things would get a whole lot worse.
Deadly Intentions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 1) Page 18