by J. H. Croix
I should’ve been mortified. My God. I was making out in my office with one of my clients. And not just any client, but a high profile sports star. If anyone found out about this, it could seriously dent the entirely respectable reputation I’d cultivated.
Attorneys weren’t supposed to fuck their clients.
Problem was, thinking about how I wasn’t supposed to be doing this only made me hotter. I could feel the wet silk between my thighs and shifted my legs, anything to relieve the need there.
Ethan drew back, catching my nipple lightly in his teeth as he did and sending a hot jolt of pleasure to my core. He lifted his head, his hooded green gaze locking with mine. I expected him to tease but he didn’t. He just looked at me, the air heavy around us.
My heart thudded against my ribs. The longer his gaze held mine, the hotter I got inside. I was so wet, I could feel the moisture on the insides of my thighs. His cock was hot and hard against me, the feel of it making me want him inside of me. I wished for the thousandth time I wasn’t still stuck a virgin. If Ethan knew, he’d likely bolt out of my office so fast, he’d leave skid marks behind him.
He pinched my nipple, and a little moan escaped. I was so flushed all over, I doubted he could notice I got even more flushed at that. His mouth curled at one corner in a devilish grin. I should’ve gotten annoyed with that. Instead, my body, traitor that it was, only tightened further in anticipation.
One last tease of my nipple and his hand slid down over my belly. It just now occurred to me he’d unbuttoned my blouse and my skirt was riding up my thighs. His hand kept going, curling over the curve of my hip and down along my thigh. My legs were bare, and the feel of his calloused palm against my skin made me so crazy I shifted my legs again. Oh. My. God. I was so far gone I almost came just from moving my legs.
“Before I go, I need to know one thing,” he said, his voice low and taut.
I was so bad off, everything he did made me want him even more. My belly clenched at the sound of his voice.
“What’s that?” I asked, my voice raspy and need galloping through me so hard and fast I could barely breathe.
He shoved my skirt up and trailed his fingers up along the inside of my thigh. “I want to know if you’re as wet as I’m hard.”
I swallowed, flushing all over again. I couldn’t have stopped him if I tried and I didn’t want to. He lightly stroked a finger over the silk of my panties, never once looking away from me. His half-grin disappeared and his eyes went dark.
He dragged his finger over the silk again before pushing back abruptly. At that moment, there was a sharp knock on my door. No one but Jana knocked on my door, but the last thing I needed was her to open it and find me like this—my shirt unbuttoned, my bra damp, my nipples so tight they ached, and my skirt up to my waist.
Flustered, I kept my back flat against the door. Ethan shifted back to a teasing grin, his eyes flicking from me to the doorknob.
“I’ll be out in a few minutes, Jana,” I called, striving to keep my tone normal.
“Okay, your four o’clock appointment is here,” she said, her voice muffled through the door.
At the sound of her footsteps retreating, I glared at Ethan. “This is not funny.”
I pushed away from the door and yanked my skirt down. Before I had a chance to button my shirt, he was immediately in front of me again. Without a word, he buttoned my blouse, pausing between my breasts, his eyes flicking up to mine.
“I didn’t figure you for a black silk girl,” he said with another half-grin.
Dear God. He was going to make me lose my fucking mind. All he had to do was throw one of those devastating grins my way and I almost melted to the floor.
I couldn’t even formulate a reply with my heart banging wildly, my belly somersaulting and my channel throbbing with need. He pinched one of my nipples before buttoning the rest of my blouse.
He held still, and I could feel his hard shaft nestled against me again. I didn’t want him to leave. That’s how far gone I was. I had another client waiting to see me, and if Ethan had pushed even the slightest bit, nothing would’ve kept me from finally saying goodbye to my virginity. Right here in my office.
He reached up and brushed my hair back away from my face. “You shouldn’t wear your hair down when you’re working,” he said gruffly.
“Huh?” was my brilliant reply.
“You’re too fucking beautiful as it is, but with your hair down, you’re downright dangerous. No man can see you and not want you,” he said bluntly. “I said I’d have you, and I will, but I don’t intend to share.”
His gaze had gone somber, while all I could do was gape at him. I was so caught in the wild beat of my desire for him, I could barely think. He was worried about my hair?
“Share?” I asked dumbly.
He shrugged, that insouciance he wore so well coming the fore. “Right. I don’t want your four o’clock appointment coming in and getting off on looking at you.”
I had no idea what to say. My mouth opened and closed. Finally, I gave my head a shake and tried to focus. A bit difficult with his cock hot and hard and nestled against my core. Hell, all of him was hard. His body was like an in-the-flesh example of the perfect male specimen—all honed muscle and sinew. Another shake of my head, and I managed to form words.
“Ethan, men don’t notice my hair. They don’t notice me. Trust me on this.”
He arched a brow. “Yes they do, luv. You don’t pay attention. You’re too busy being proper. Trust me on this.”
A laugh escaped as I stared at him. He stepped back and reached up, sliding his hands through my hair. After a second, I realized he was actually trying to put my hair up.
This time I really laughed and swatted at his hands. “Oh stop. I’ll do it. I usually leave it up, but I didn’t know you were coming in, and I hardly got any sleep last night,” I said as I quickly spun my hair into a knot.
I walked to the mirror and smoothed it back from my forehead. Wild though my hair could be, it was long enough to easily tie into a knot. I strode to my desk and snagged two bobby pins from the paperclip holder before returning to the mirror to pin the knot in place.
I wasn’t really thinking. It was all too much and too crazy what I’d just allowed to happen with Ethan. My body was thrumming with need. I spun back to find him standing by my desk, his eyes watching me.
“Have dinner with me,” he said abruptly.
One look in his eyes, and I nearly melted right where I was. But I couldn’t. This was insane. I couldn’t date a client. Not to mention if Ethan knew I was a virgin, he wouldn’t even consider me. He was a player, and I knew it. Good God, the man was in the gossip news all the time, mostly known for his healthy appetite for women and for being plain handsome as all hell.
I started to shake my head, and he shook his right back at me. “Don’t tell me no. I know you want me.”
Even though his words sounded cocky, his tone sounded earnest.
“Ethan, it’s not that, and it’s not just because you’re my client. That’s a thing, but I’m not exactly the kind of girl you go for.”
His eyes narrowed, and he arched a brow. “I think it’s pretty obvious you are,” he said, his tone droll.
Next thing I knew, I went and said the stupidest thing ever. “I seriously don’t think you’re into virgins.”
The second the words flew out of my mouth, I wanted to die. Right there. My face got hot. I fought the urge to run right out of my office because that only meant running right into Jana and my next client.
Ethan’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. He stared at me, hard, for a few beats and then straightened, walking to stand just in front of me.
“Oh no, luv. That’s not a problem.”
Chapter 7
Ethan
I hung back on the pitch and watched the play. Liam, as usual, had set our offense up beautifully. He’d just nicked one in the goal and was already bringing the ball back up the fi
eld. I wasn’t sure what was up with the opposing team tonight because the last time we played them, they worked our defense to exhaustion. Tonight, I had to be on my game, but it was a light game for the defense. Not much later, I walked off the pitch with Alex Gordon at my side. Alex was one of the best goalkeepers in professional play anywhere in the world. If you asked me, that is. Nice thing was, pretty much anyone who knew anything about pro football, excuse me soccer here in the US, agreed.
I glanced to him. Alex was forever serious. He’d just locked the opposing team out completely and didn’t even seem to notice. He dragged his sleeve across his face and glanced to me, his brown eyes catching mine. “Good game, eh?”
“It was a bloody easy win.”
He grinned, just barely. “That it was.” He started to say something else as we entered the stadium hallway leading toward the locker room, but he came to a stop, a slow grin spreading across his face. That grin meant only one thing. His girl Harper was here. I glanced ahead to see her weaving through the players ahead of us. She reached Alex, and he swung her up against him, drawing her close for a kiss.
Serious Alex wasn’t so serious when it came to Harper Jacobs. He’d fallen for her like a rock sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Thank fucking god she kept his head above water after that. She wiggled her way down and glanced to me.
“Hey Ethan, another win,” she said with a smile. “You guys barely broke a sweat.”
“Well, your boy here made it bloody hard for the other guys to score. Made my job even easier.”
Harper looped her arm around Alex’s waist as he pulled her to his side and kept on walking to the locker room. With her glossy brown hair and bright blue eyes, Harper was lovely. I could objectively notice that but didn’t feel the slightest pull for her. We chatted casually as we walked to the locker room. Alex dipped his head for a kiss before stepping away from Harper. I never paid much attention to my mates and their loves, but I couldn’t help but notice Alex and Harper now. Their mutual desire was plainly obvious, as was the tenderness in Alex’s eyes. He was crazy protective of her, but Harper was a strong woman and held her own.
I gave my head a shake. What the fuck was I doing staring at them? It wasn’t like I gave a damn about their constant PDA, but all I could think was what it might be like to have something like that with Zoe. Another hard shake of my head, and I made my way into the locker room. A scalding hot shower might get my mind off of Zoe. Problem was ever since she’d dropped her little bomb the other day, I could hardly stop thinking about her.
The noise of the locker room faded when I stepped into the showers, heading to the far corner. With water sluicing over me, all I could think about was the way it felt to kiss her. Some kind of mad, insane heaven. She was so fucking hot and she had no clue. Her mouth was an unholy temptation. And her body? Fuck me. It took all I had not to rip her clothes off and fuck her right there, and that was before I knew she was a virgin. I recalled her taut nipples under the black silk.
Mate, you can’t be fantasizing about Zoe here unless you want a cock stand for everyone to see.
I forced my thoughts off of her nipples, but my mind went straight to the feel of her against me. She was tall with those legs that went on forever. Her skin was like silk. Her panties had been drenched. I’d meant to tease her, but I hadn’t anticipated what it would do to me. I’d barely held onto my control. That wasn’t a problem I ever had. I loved to drag things out, to tease a girl until she was wild. Once again, what I meant to do and what happened with Zoe never turned out to be the same thing.
Hell, I’d gone into her office fully intending to find a chance to kiss her. I’d thought I’d tease her, have a little fun and leave her hot and bothered. I bloody nailed leaving her hot and bothered. Problem was, I left her office so hard I had to go back to my flat and take matters into my own hands. Literally. I was bloody certain that hadn’t happened since my grammar school days. There were many perks to being a pro-footballer. Back in London, you were practically royalty. Hell, just about anywhere in the world. America was a bit behind the times with the hero worship of soccer players, as they dubbed us, but we had our pick of women anywhere we went. I hadn’t had to trouble myself to find a girl since I left for university.
Under usual circumstances, if I had a raging hard on, I found myself a more than willing woman. At the moment, no woman other than Zoe appealed to me. Just thinking about scouting about for one nearly bored me to tears. Coach’s warning that I needed to steer clear of pubs would be no trouble. Problem was, how the hell did I persuade Zoe to stop being so uptight about this whole client thing? And was I insane enough to chase after a virgin?
I pondered that question as I toweled off and tossed my clothes on. Out of habit, Tristan and I walked to our flat together. Some nights, I might leave him behind to go out looking for fun. Tonight, I appreciated his typical quiet. I was pondering how the hell it could be Zoe was a virgin. I mean, I knew with utter certainty that she hadn’t gone through life without turning heads. She was bloody gorgeous. Oh, she gave off that buttoned up, proper air for certain. I grinned thinking about how tidy she looked when I left. Her blouse was perfectly in place and her skirt pulled back to its demur length. My mind flashed to the way she’d looked before with her breasts nearly spilling out of her black silk bra, her nipples perked up, and her skirt up around her waist.
Bloody hell. I couldn’t be walking around with a cock stand all the time.
Within a few minutes, I followed Tristan into our flat, heading straight for the refrigerator. A glance inside reminded me it was my turn to do the grocery run this week.
“Aw hell. I forgot to take care of the groceries,” I said, straightening and letting the refrigerator door fall closed.
Tristan flashed a grin and shrugged. “No worries, mate.”
“Oh no. It’s a worry. I’m bloody starving. Pizza?”
At Tristan’s nod, I slipped my phone out of my pocket and promptly dialed our preferred delivery place.
A bit later, we were lounging on the sofa with the pizza on the coffee table. I finished off a slice and eyed Tristan. I had a question and one I wouldn’t ask many of my mates. In fact, likely only Tristan because I trusted him completely. Problem was, I couldn’t believe what I was pondering.
I’d never actually had sex with a virgin. I knew some guys thought it was a thing, but it had never been something I chased after. Zoe dropping that little bomb would normally have sent me the other direction. Instead, the opposite seemed to be happening. All I could think about was her. Even worse, I was worried about it. To be honest, I was a player and I damn well knew it. I liked to have fun and keep things light and easy. I made sure I left women satisfied and figured all was in good fun. But…a virgin? I was having nightmares it would be horrible somehow. I had four sisters I could ask, but I wasn’t about to do that. We were close, but there was no way I wanted to know about their respective first experiences, nor to hear what they might have to say about me even asking them something along these lines.
Tristan had his own sisters and I figured him to be one of the more sensitive mates I knew. Right then. I’d simply ask him.
What I meant to be a question came out not quite so. “Zoe’s a virgin.”
“What the hell, mate? Are you announcing random facts about women now?” Tristan asked as he sputtered on a swallow of his beer.
The funny moment steadied me. I handed him a napkin from the coffee table. After he wiped his chin, he eyed me for a long moment, his way too perceptive gaze boring into me.
“You’re telling me this, why?” he finally asked.
I grabbed another slice of pizza and took a bite. I needed something to do to keep from squirming where I sat. After another few bites, I’d basically inhaled the poor pizza slice. I eyed Tristan and shrugged. “Uh, dunno why I’m telling you,” I finally said.
He gulped down some water and looked back my way. “Right. You don’t know. Perhaps it’s because you’ve got it bad for her
and haven’t a bloody clue what to do about it?”
I almost choked on the bite of pizza I’d just taken. I should’ve known better than to try to ask Tristan anything. He was too damn perceptive. There was that and the fact he wasn’t a player, not like me. Rather, he approached women as an interruption to the deeper pursuits of his brain. Beyond playing ball, his only passion was medicine. At least, as far as I could tell. He didn’t avoid women. In fact, the few I’d known him to be involved with were absolutely gaga for him. Back in London, he had a long-term dalliance with a girl he’d gone to university with. It was strictly business. She was as cool and guarded as he was. They had sex, they kept it casual, and there were definitely no messy emotions to interfere with his life.
You asked him for a bloody good reason, and he’s right. You’ve got it bad for Zoe and you have no idea what to do.
All of this would be so much simpler if she weren’t a virgin. I wished like hell I didn’t know that giant detail.
“Don’t see why it should be a thing. If you like her, do something about it. Though I’d wager she’s not the kind of woman you usually chase after. Like I said before,” Tristan said, interrupting my train of thought.
Annoyance flashed through me. “Now why do you say that?”
I didn’t share that Alex had said something to the same effect once before. I might like to have a little fun, but I wasn’t an asshole. Nor was I an idiot.
“Because she’s the real deal man. She’s obviously a damn good attorney, brilliant if her reputation means anything. She’s gorgeous too. However, she’s not the kind of woman to be charmed by a pro athlete. You won’t be finding her at the pubs or anything like that. Never know though. Maybe she wants the same kind of casual thing you prefer. Work seems to be her priority,” Tristan replied.