by Lily White
“I don’t know what is going on here, Luca, but I can promise you I did not cancel our motion today. The judge is allowing Tanner’s motion to be heard, but he’ll withhold judgment until I have a chance to find out how this scheduling snafu happened.”
There was no point in telling her how it happened. Anybody who knew the Inferno would easily guess that their resident hacker, Taylor Marks, had his hands all over this.
The urge to lay my head on the table was too much. I closed my eyes instead, tears stinging the rims that I refused to shed. Marjorie continued whispering, but her voice was an inaudible hum, the judge’s voice accompanying hers when he gave Tanner permission to proceed with Clayton’s bid to enforce the terms of the prenup.
None of the words made sense to me, everything mashing together into an incomprehensible stew of white noise punctuated by the beat of my broken heart.
“...Petitioner would like to call a witness.”
My eyes snapped open. A witness? To what? Damn it. I should have been paying attention.
Marjorie leaned my direction, her hissed whisper that of a cracking whip. “Is there something you need to tell me, Luca?”
“I don’t know what’s going on.” The whispered admission was hard to choke out, my stomach rolling over the painful boulder my breakfast had become.
Bile crept up my throat, sweat beading at my temples.
Marjorie scoffed. “Did you or did you not have an affair with the man currently approaching the witness stand?”
“What?”
My head snapped up, eyes focusing on a middle aged man I’d never seen in my life. With thinning, brown hair and a ruddy complexion, the man walked with an unsteady gait, his large belly folding over the waistband of his cheap black linen slacks.
I had no idea who the man was, but I had no doubt Tanner had convinced him to lie and claim I cheated on my husband. My stomach threatened to heave, the acidic taste of bile now coating my tongue. That son of a bitch.
THAT SON OF A FUCKING BITCH!
“I’m going to be sick.”
Taking my cue, Marjorie shot to her feet. “Your Honor, my client feels quite ill and needs to use the restroom. May we take a short recess before the witness’ testimony begins?”
Obviously put out by the interruption, the judge’s expression softened to look at me. Breathing out, he waved his hand at the witness. “Return to the viewing gallery, Mr. Hillcox. Court will take a fifteen minute recess.”
I couldn’t wait another second. Dashing from my chair, I cleared out of the courtroom to run down the hall and burst into the bathroom. I’d barely reached a stall before my stomach gave, bacon and eggs coming up with the acidic tinge of disaster.
Tears streamed down my cheeks and my hands shook over the seat of the toilet. After three painful heaves, the sudden illness had passed, the muscles of my stomach locked from the violence of vomiting. Behind me, the bathroom door creaked open, the sharp click of Marjorie’s heels marching in my direction.
Her knuckles rapped on the stall door. “Are you going to be okay?”
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Yes. I just need a few minutes to clean up.”
Silence settled for a brief moment, then: “Tell me you didn’t have an affair, Luca. That’s all I need to know.”
More tears escaped my eyes, burning their way down my cheeks to drip from my jaw. “I didn’t have an affair. I have no idea who that man is. I’ve never seen him before in my life.”
“Perfect. That’s all I need to hear. I’m going down the hall to make a few phone calls. Take your time cleaning up and I’ll see you in the courtroom.”
The sound of her retreating steps was followed by the creak of the door. Silence filled the bathroom for several minutes while I gathered myself together. Normally, I would have fought tooth and nail against an accusation as false as an affair. If anybody cheated, it was Clayton. Yet, with Tanner mixed into this, I knew any battle I fought would be a losing one.
When the door creaked again and footsteps entered, I pushed myself to my feet to clean up and leave. I wasn’t in a rush to return to court and hear the lies they would level against me. But not showing up at all would only make things worse.
After exiting the stall, I turned a corner and stopped dead in my tracks to see Tanner leaning casually against a wall, his hands tucked into his pockets and his mouth quirked in lazy amusement.
“Long time no see, Luca.”
The deep tenor of his voice shook me to the core.
“Are you ready to make a deal?”
Luca
I first met Tanner when I was a second year at Yale. He had a presence about him you couldn’t ignore, a constant shadow that bounced against light, always within view, but somehow lost when you tried to look at it directly.
A hot commodity, Tanner wasn’t interested in anything long term, he was a playboy like his friends, a mistake waiting to happen, yet one woman after the other was happy to take the plunge, each believing they would be the woman to end his philandering ways.
It goes without saying that none of those women were up to the challenge. For the short time I knew Tanner, he never settled down. He was the center of The Inferno.
Nine ruthless men. Nine unrepentant sinners. Nine irresistible manipulators that would do you a favor if you promised to pay the price.
One doesn’t deal with The Inferno without getting burned. And I would soon be the idiot who went straight to the ninth circle to make a bargain with Treachery himself.
“I don’t think I need to point out you’re in the woman’s restroom.”
He grinned, a seductive slide of the corner of his mouth daring me to do something about it. Thick black lashes dusted his skin as he blinked slowly, his moss green gaze locking me in place when his eyes were open again.
“Are you going to throw me out?”
Stretching his neck from side to side, he rested his head against the wall. He was still as solid as I remembered from Yale. Tall and broad, toned and muscular in all the right places.
How many good women had drowned beneath the temptation of his body?
“Might not be a good idea considering the sticky situation you appear to be in.”
Yanking the handle of the faucet, I raised my voice over the stream of water, glaring at Tanner’s reflection in the mirror.
“A sticky situation no doubt thanks to you.”
A negligent shrug of his shoulder.
“What can I say? I’m an expert at making situations sticky.”
Ignoring the double entendre, as well as the wicked gleam in his gaze, I splashed water on my face to clean my skin.
My makeup was already a mess thanks to the vomiting and crying, the water only managing to cool the hint of red on my cheeks and rinse away the lines of running mascara.
Slapping my hand over the handle, I shut off the water.
“What do you want from me, Tanner?”
My gaze was trained to the sink basin, my palms splayed over the counter. It was the only thing keeping me on my feet at that moment. Had I been alone at home, I would have curled into a ball on the bathroom floor.
“I think you know what I want.”
Quiet steps approached me, his large, strong hands engulfing mine over the counter. The wall of heat at my back made me shiver at his close proximity, made me remember what it felt like to be this close to him in Yale.
“The question is: Are you willing to give it to me?”
Indignant laughter bubbled from my throat.
“You can’t be serious. After all this time and you’re still upset about what I did?”
Three years. In the time since I last saw Tanner, I’d been a married woman hopelessly devoted to the man I chose to be with after I left Yale. It was a stupid decision, but one I’d made in desperation.
Yes, I knew Tanner wanted to keep me in his bed, but it would only have been until he was done playing with his new toy. He nev
er gave more time to a woman than that.
If he was still upset I refused to play by his rules, what did that say about him?
Why would a man who could have any woman he wanted go through all of this just to get me back?
His chest shook with quiet laughter at my response, his hips brushing my ass in the most tantalizing of promises. It was too bad for him I’d erected a wall around me years ago that was impervious to his charms.
“I have you between a rock and a hard place, Luca. A scurrying mouse trapped beneath my paw. Our witness will attest to the fact that you’ve been fucking him for the past five months. Twice a week, during hours I know you can’t verify your whereabouts.”
Recognition hit me, hot, fat tears stinging my eyes to realize that Tanner would use my father’s death and my graveside vigils against me.
Twice a week.
I knew he meant the Tuesday and Thursdays nights I spent several hours seated on a bench by my parents’ tombstones.
Pure rage filtered in to mix with my sorrow. How dare he?
Leaning forward, Tanner brushed the tip of his nose along the line of my jaw. I hated the way my body shivered in response. Hated how I breathed a little deeper to drag in the notes of his masculine, earthy scent.
“Our witness will describe what you sound like in bed. He’ll tell all about the kinks you prefer, the hours you spent sweaty and breathless beneath his bulging belly just begging him to give it to you harder. The small noises you make, or how you roar when you come. He’ll explain how enjoyable it is to feel you tremble when your body comes down from being pushed over the edge into a breathless orgasm.”
Pausing, he pressed his body tighter to mine, the evidence of his arousal hard against my ass.
On a low voice that was barely a whisper, he spoke against my ear.
“He’ll even describe the heart shaped birthmark on the left cheek of your supple ass. A birthmark, by the way, that I have missed seeing for myself.”
The tears stinging my eyes slipped free to roll over my cheeks. Glancing into the mirror, my eyes met Tanner’s.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
A soft nip on my earlobe preceded his response.
“Why not?”
Releasing my hands to grip my hips, Tanner spoke slowly, his breath running down the line of my neck with seductive, tremor inducing heat.
“Three point seven million dollars, Luca. That’s what you stand to lose if I let that man testify. But...”
His hands squeezed my hips, his arms drawing me tighter against his body.
“If you play this game right, I can make it all go away. I can destroy your worm of a husband. I’ll enjoy destroying him, and I’ll make sure you enjoy it just as much.”
Clenching my eyes shut, I shook my head in disbelief.
“First, I didn’t make a choice between you and Clayton. It wasn’t exactly like you were an option. Clayton actually wanted to be with me. You just enjoyed tormenting me. And second, you would do that to your own client? How will that affect your career as an attorney?”
“You let me worry about that. What do you say? Will you meet me tonight to discuss my terms?”
What choice did I have? If I said no, I’d walk into that courtroom to get slaughtered. I’d watch three years of being the perfect wife to a disgusting, prick of man go down the drain with nothing to show for it.
I’d given up everything for Clayton. I’d stayed home and played housewife and dinner party hostess. I’d turned a blind eye to the fact that he was fucking his assistant and any other woman that would spread her legs for the duration of our marriage. I’d given up everything just for him to decide a younger version of me would make a better wife.
I had nothing left except the money I helped Clayton earn by managing his entire life outside of business. And I deserved that money. I deserved what he owed me for the years he cheated and lied.
“Fine. I’ll meet you to discuss your terms. But that doesn’t mean I’ll say yes to them. I still have a sliver of pride left in me and I won’t let you take that away.”
Another soft laugh.
“It’s not your pride I want.”
Letting go of my hip, Tanner slipped a card from his pocket and placed it on the counter beside my hand.
“That’s my address. I’ll see you at seven sharp. As for today, I’ll postpone the inevitable.”
He left the bathroom as quietly as he’d entered, the crush of silence suffocating me until the door opened again and Marjorie poked her head inside.
“Time’s up, Luca. We need to get in there to see what other nasty tricks Tanner has up his sleeve.”
Slipping fully inside, she made her way to lean against the counter. I placed my hand over Tanner’s card before she had a chance to see it.
“I spoke with my assistant and she swears we never sent a notice of cancellation of our motion, which means that son of bitch your husband hired is not only playing games against you, but me as well.”
She brushed a hand through her platinum hair.
“I won’t let Tanner win. We’ll get through today, and once I get back to my office, I’ll get to the bottom of this and make him wish he never accepted your husband’s case.”
While I had no doubt Marjorie believed she stood a chance against Tanner, I knew all too well she would never win.
He had years of experience manipulating the world around him to get what he wanted. There wasn’t anything low or slimy enough he wouldn’t do. He was a master at wrenching control and a maestro of always having the upper hand.
“Let’s go.”
Defeated, I led Marjorie from the bathroom back into the courtroom, both of us taking our seats as court was called into session. Tanner was the first to stand and address the Judge.
“Your Honor, I’ve conferred with my office, and in light of the scheduling change today, as well as opposing counsel’s claim of lack of adequate notice of my client’s motion, I’ll ask at this time that we reschedule the matter for a later date.”
The only satisfaction I gained from Tanner’s words was the look of shock on Clayton’s face.
Glaring up at Tanner with heat darkening his skin, Clayton was obviously enraged about Tanner cancelling the hearing.
It wasn’t much, but that little bit of a stab back at him had to be enough for me at the moment. Winning against him was one thing. What I would have to do in order to win a whole different issue.
There was no doubt in my mind I’d be meeting Tanner tonight to learn he wanted me to spread my legs and lose my soul to him one orgasm after another. He’d wanted me to submit to him since the day I turned away from him at Yale.
“Do you have any objection to continuing this matter, Counselor Stoneman?”
Marjorie grinned, her fingernails tapping over the table. She wasn’t naive enough to believe Tanner was postponing the hearing out of the kindness of his heart, but she was smart enough to jump on board and take advantage of the opportunity.
“I have no objection, Your Honor. Although I will admit I’m surprised Mr. Caine is extending the professional courtesy.”
“I’m nothing if not professional.”
Tanner glanced at me while verbally patting himself on the back. Glaring at him, I choked on the hint of a smile curling his lips.
“Very well, this matter is adjourned for now. Counselors, the next time you’re in my courtroom, be sure to have all your I’s dotted and T’s crossed. I do not appreciate having my time wasted.”
With that, the judge left the courtroom. We rose as he walked out, and I dared one more peek in Tanner’s direction. A grin split his lips as Clayton hissed a barrage of whispered words, no doubt seething for what Tanner had done.
Marjorie stole my attention when she touched my arm. Voice low, she made a promise she couldn’t keep.
“I’ll get to the bottom of this tonight, and by tomorrow, you’ll have nothing to worry about when it comes to getting what you deserve.”
From over her shoulder, I watched Tanner and Clayton leave the courtroom, Tanner winking once as he passed.
There was no question that I’d get what I deserved from Clayton. The only question was whether I would do it bent over Tanner’s desk, or lying on my back.
TANNER
Three years I’ve wanted her.
Three years I’ve had to choke down the bitter truth she actually agreed to marry a dickless sycophant.
Three years I’ve sat back and patiently bided my time while following every article about Luca and her son of a senator husband in the paper, including the exclusive photos published by a trendy magazine from the day she married that jackass.
They made a big deal of donating the money from that exclusive to charity.
Luca, I’m sure, was proud of having done so. But from what I learned over the past week playing attorney to her piece of shit husband, that money never saw the palm of charity’s extending hand, more like her newlywed husband’s pocket before he gambled it away.
I’d had higher hopes for Luca when I first got to know her. She was the first person to attempt to put me in my place, the first woman I’d met who preferred to be real rather than some fake made-for television version of herself in order to appease the other fake people around her.
I’d actually grown to respect her as an opponent in our game, but then she’d made the stupid decision to marry Clayton Hughes.
Had that decision worked in my favor? Of course, it had. But did I have to like it? Fuck no.
Luca Bailey had always been better than that.
Listening to Clayton rattle on about his less than honest endeavors over the past few days without dragging him out of my office and leaving his decaying body in a remote curbside ditch had been a lesson in patience. Patience I only exercised because of Luca.
She not only had information I needed, but a body that, like fine wine, had improved with age. I was willing to do anything it took to see it up close and personal again.
After a few drinks and an hour or so of pretending to like the man, I suffered the waste of time listening to Clayton’s tongue go from rigid to loose, his banter that of a college frat boy regaling his glory days of easy pussy and rebellious, responsibility-free days.