“I’m naked,” she whispered. I chuckled at her embarrassment, keeping her voice low, as though someone might hear that she was nude and be utterly scandalized by it.
“Trust me, sweetheart. I am well aware of your spectacular body on display. All the more reason to hurry and eat before I lose all control and fuck the hell out of you again.”
I started to turn, but she dug her feet in. Exasperated, I stomped to my dresser and withdrew a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, then walked back and helped her into the shirt, grumbling the entire time. She was practically swimming in it, the hem falling to mid-thigh. I felt satisfaction and possession start to burn in my chest. She looked fucking incredible wearing my clothes.
“Are you always going to be this grumpy when I’m clothed?” she sassed.
“Probably.” I dragged on the pants before throwing my arm around her shoulders and tucking her into my side. Luckily, our chicken marsala had been ready and warming in the oven when she arrived. I took it out and served us each a plate at my dining room table.
Natalie shifted in her chair, and my T-shirt, which already looked way better on her, rode up to expose more of her creamy, tan thigh. Then she moaned at the first taste of her meal.
I groaned and shifted in my seat, my growing erection making me uncomfortable. She needed food, energy, I reminded myself. Because I intended to spend the rest of the night fucking until we were both too exhausted to move. Studying my plate, I asked her about her current case load.
“It’s mostly a lot of busy work. I’m sure you know how it is being the newest junior associate,” she sighed. “I imagine you’re just as guilty of tossing grunt work at the low men on the totem pole in your firm.”
There was a bite to her words that surprised me, and I lifted my head to stare at her with narrowed eyes. “Everyone pays their dues, sweetheart. I may be managing partner of Harvey Croix now, but I started at the bottom of another firm, just like you.” It was the perfect opportunity to tell her what I’d left out the night before. Before I could go on, her jaw fell slightly, her expression somewhat stunned. “Harvey Croix?” she croaked. Then she smacked her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. “You’re managing partner of one of the biggest law firms in Baltimore?” she asked rhetorically. “Your name is on the fucking door! Holy shit.”
My lips firmed, molding into a frown. “Language, Natalie. I hate to hear such crude words leave your gorgeous mouth.”
She opened her eyes and swung them my way. I couldn’t get a read on them before she was jumping to her feet. “I have to go.”
“What the fuck?” I roared as I stood, blocking her escape from the room.
“This is just, a little too overwhelming for me,” she squeaked. Her breathing was rapid and her eyes a little wild. Good grief, she was genuinely freaking out. Fuck it. I closed the gap between us and grabbed her waist, lifting her into a fireman’s hold. She squirmed, and I gave her bare ass a resounding slap.
“I already told you, sweetheart. You’re mine, and every time I have to tell you that, I’m going to redden this sweet little ass of yours,” I growled.
She gasped, but I ignored her, spanking her once more for good measure. Walking towards the bedroom, I detoured into the entryway and grabbed her torn panties. Once in my room, I tossed her onto the bed and ripped my shirt over her head. Determinedly, I lifted her arms above her head and secured them to the headboard with the torn fabric.
Natalie watched me with conflicting emotions. There was no doubt she was turned on, but there was also a gleam of defiance in her emerald eyes. However, something in my expression must have convinced her to keep quiet.
Ditching my pants, I straddled her with my knees on either side of her hips. Pressing my hands into the pillow by her head, I caged her in, leaning down so we were face to face. “You’re not going anywhere until I know you are one hundred percent convinced of who you belong to.”
She opened her mouth and I pinched her lips together, silencing whatever retort she’d been about to make. “If you aren’t going to tell me what I want to hear, don’t say anything at all.” I replaced my fingers with my mouth.
I’d never taste anything sweeter than her mouth, but I tore myself away to move down her body, to another place I was sure would be every bit as addictive. Along the way, I stopped to pay homage to her spectacular tits, nibbling and sucking on her hardened peaks.
Moving to kneel between her legs, I spread them as wide as they would go. Then I slid my hands under her ass and lifted her pussy, allowing me to drink in the sight. It was pink and swollen, glistening with her arousal, dripping down her cheeks onto my hands.
“Jax, I don’t think—”
My palm went up and came down hard on her ass causing her to yelp. “I’m pretty sure you weren’t about to say what I want to hear, sweetheart,” I stated calmly. Fuck. Her lily white globes. Lowering her back down, I positioned myself on my stomach, opening her pussy lips with my thumbs, my bent arms holding her pelvis in place.
One long lick up her center had my own hips thrusting into the bed, seeking relief. Natalie cried out, trying to buck me off, but I stayed immobile, repeating the action.
Stiffening my tongue, I plunged it inside her, then licked up and swirled it around her clit, before sucking the little bud into my mouth.
“Oh!” she practically screeched. “Jax!”
I lifted my head to stare directly into her glazed eyes. “What, baby? Are you ready to admit the truth?”
She didn’t respond fast enough, so I dove back down and attacked her pussy with a vengeance. Over and over I drove her to the brink of orgasm, then pulled back to slowly edge her back down, until she was writhing and crying out for release. “I’ll give you what you need, sweetheart. Just say the words.” I was praying she gave in quickly because I was already on the verge of coming, my cock continually seeking relief with steady thrusts into the mattress.
“I’m yours,” she panted. “Please, I’m yours.”
“Damn fucking straight you are,” I snarled before pulling on her over-sensitive clit and driving two fingers into her tight pussy. “Let go, sweetheart. I need to be inside you.”
She splintered apart, her screams of pleasure washing over me. Before she was finished coming, I’d already gotten to my knees, lifted her ass, and buried myself deep. The sensation of her walls pulsing, squeezing me so tight as she orgasmed was too much and I lost all fucking control.
I’d intended to make love to her on our second round that night, but I wasn’t capable of anything at that moment but another rough, hard fucking. The bed squeaked with the force of my thrusts, our skin slapping loudly as it came together, our sounds of ecstacy ringing off the walls. The headboard added a steady thumping to the mix as it banged wildly. It was music, all of it. A symphony all our own, one composed by the knowledge that we belonged to each other, that our bodies were made to fit perfectly, to sing in harmony.
I couldn’t hold out for very long, but I managed to wait until Natalie spiraled off into a third orgasm before I exploded. I continued to pump hard as hot jets of come spurted from my cock, filling her, marking her. I’d already known it, but right then, it became glaringly clear that Natalie owned me.
We managed to finally eat, and I succeeded in making love to her. Worshipping her from head to toe before soaring into the heavens together. Around one in the morning, she made noises about needing to get home, but I pretended I hadn’t heard her, holding her to me with no intention of letting go.
When my alarm went off in the morning, I felt better than I had in . . . I couldn’t ever remember feeling that amazing.
“Mmmm,” I groaned. “You’ve offically ruined me, sweetheart. Waking up with you every morning is now essential to my survival.”
Natalie giggled and shook her head, bumping my chin from where she rested on my chest. “I’ve got to get to work,” she pouted.
Glancing at the clock, I sighed, we both needed to get going. I’d forgotten to set the alarm
for earlier, in order to get in a morning fucking session. I kissed the top of her head and snuggled her a little closer.
“Bring a bag with you tonight,” I instructed softly. “That way you’ll have more time in the morning and I can drive you to work tomorrow.”
Natlie raised her head and turned to meet my eyes. “Pretty presumptuous,” she muttered.
I raised a single brow. “You’re mine. I’ll presume as much as I please. Now, get your sweet little ass out of bed before I decide we can both afford to be late while I stake my ownership of this delicious body this morning.”
A pretty blush stole across her face and for a beat, I could see her actually considering the idea. “Out, sweetheart,” I muttered. “I don’t want to be the reason you lose your job. Now go get in the shower and I’ll bring you something to wear home.” It made me feel marginally better about letting her go that morning, knowing she’d be in my clothes.
When I opened my eyes, Natalie was gazing at me with a softness I hadn’t seen before and it warmed me all over. She leaned up and pecked my lips before hopping out of bed. I growled at her, not at all happy with that pathetic excuse for a kiss. I followed her to the shower, determined to eradicate any ideas she had about ever kissing me like that again.
Chapter 5
Natalie
“C’mon. C’mon. Hurry up,” I chanted under my breath as I waited for the elevator.
I jabbed the button again, cringing as I glanced at my watch. Although I’d given Jax a hard time about telling me to bring a bag to his place tonight, it was the smart thing to do. Racing from his townhome to my apartment, getting ready and then hauling ass to the office took longer than I’d expected. It wasn’t even seven thirty yet, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t technically late, since junior associates were expected to be here before any of the partners made it in.
The elevator finally pinged, and I heaved a sigh of relief when the doors closed without anyone else joining me. Grabbing my lipstick from my bag, I was able to put the finishing touch on my makeup by the time the doors opened to the reception area of the firm where I worked. I hadn’t bothered to do it while I was getting ready at home because they were still swollen from my night with Jax, but it had gone down a little since then.
“Ms. Gardner, Mr. Warren would like to see you in his office,” the receptionist trilled at me with a smug little grin on her face.
I didn’t know what I’d done to piss her off, but she’d had it in for me ever since I started here. There had been too many errors on phone messages, company-wide emails I didn’t receive, and scathing looks, for it not to be obvious that she disliked me. Immensely. Of course this was the day she got to the office early, when she usually showed up barely in time to roll the phones over from the answering service. As if it wasn’t bad enough that a named partner had beaten me into the office and wanted to see me, she had to be here to witness it.
“Dammit,” I mumbled, picking up my pace as I headed to my cubicle to drop my stuff off before I raced to my boss’s office. The emotional high I’d been on from the amazing night and early morning I’d spent with Jax flew out the window as I braced myself before knocking on Mr. Warren’s office door.
“Come in.”
I plastered a smile on my face as I pushed open the door and peeked my head inside. “You wanted to see me, Sir?”
“Yes,” he replied, waving me inside without looking up from his computer screen. “Close the door behind you.”
He didn’t say anything else as I sat in one of the chairs across from him. A minute passed, and I had to restrain myself from fidgeting. Another one, and I forced my lips to stay closed instead of blurting out an apology for not being here when he arrived. Finally, his gaze switched to me and I straightened my spine while trying my best to look calm as I stared back.
“You’re new here,” he began, and my stomach fell because I expected a lecture about how things work for junior associates. “Which means you might not already be aware that I’m in the middle of a messy divorce.”
That was so not where I thought he was going with this. “I’m sorry to hear that, Sir.”
“I talked it over with Yates last night since he’s representing me. We both agree that it will look good to have a woman on my side, in case things get any uglier.”
Which explained why he’d called me into his office. The only other female lawyer at the firm was another partner, and I’d heard they didn’t get along with each other. It was easy to understand why he wanted to go with a junior associate who didn’t hate him, instead of a more experienced lawyer who liked to take verbal digs at him on a regular basis.
Even though I’d just complained to Jax last night about only being assigned busy work, I wasn’t excited by the prospect of being assigned to this case—not when I felt like he was tossing a live grenade at me and it could blow up in my face any minute. Representing my boss in his divorce sounded like a bad idea before I factored in the fact that he, himself, had described it as “messy.” If the settlement didn’t go the way he wanted it to, it would be easy to blame me for screwing it up.
“Divorce isn’t really my area of expertise.”
“As a junior associate, your job is to take whatever cases are assigned to you without complaint. Sometimes they’ll be within your area of expertise”—sarcasm was thick in his tone as he repeated my phrase back to me—“and other times they won’t.”
“Understood, Sir.”
He ran a hand over the top of his closely cropped blond hair. “Look,” he sighed. “As much as my soon-to-be ex-wife will make me out to be heartless, I’m not. Yates is damn good at what he does, and this will be a good learning experience for you. Some might even look at it as an opportunity to prove yourself to two named partners in the firm—an opportunity given to you much earlier than any other junior associate, since you’ve only been with us a short time.”
It was clear that his mind was already made up, and there would be no getting out of this. “You’re absolutely right, Sir. I promise I’ll do whatever I can to help get you the best divorce settlement possible.”
I quickly regretted my choice of words when his gaze slid from my face and down my body.
“I think you’ll be more help than you realize.” I suppressed a shudder at the masculine appreciation in his eyes when he finished his perusal and met my gaze again. “My wife is out for my blood, and she hired a shark in her attempt to get it. And, having you on my side of the table is going to make her unhappy. Very unhappy.”
He sounded damn cheerful about it, too. Considering the fact that we had just discussed my inexperience with divorce cases and the way he’d checked me out, I was going to hazard a guess that he was hoping I would make his wife feel insecure. What an ass. “A shark, Sir?”
“Opposing counsel used to work here,” he sneered. “He was pissed when I was named partner before him and left to join another firm. Since then, he’s been a thorn in our side, which my wife damn well knew when she went to him for representation.”
Great, so both parties were making decisions about their legal representation based on what would piss the other one off.
“I see,” I murmured.
“You’ll meet him yourself in a little more than an hour.”
An hour? “I will?”
“Yes, my wife is coming in for a deposition at nine.” I didn’t do a good job at hiding my surprise, and he noticed. “Yates will handle it, but we expect you to sit in.”
“Of course, Sir.”
“If there’s anything time sensitive on your desk, let me know and I’ll reassign it to another associate. I expect you’ll be busy getting up to date on my case for the next few days, at the very least.”
I spent the next hour doing as he’d asked, going through everything on my desk. I handed several files over to other associates and wrapped up a couple more by the time my phone rang and I was instructed to head to the firm’s largest conference room. It wasn’t the usual location for a depo
sition because of its size, but it was the best one we had. From the way Mr. Warren had talked about his wife’s lawyer, it was possible the choice of location had been made as some sort of pissing match.
Although it initially made me roll my eyes, I was grateful for the size of the room when I walked in and spotted opposing counsel seated at the end of the long conference table on the side of the room. The shark who was out for my boss’s blood was someone with whom I was intimately familiar. He was the man whom I’d reluctantly left this morning, after he’d fully demonstrated exactly how he expected me to kiss him—Jax Croix.
Our eyes met and I was caught in his intense regard, though his expression remained neutral. I was barely able to tear mine away from him as I walked the length of the room to take a seat next to Mr. Yates. It wasn’t easy to pull myself together, but I’d managed to wipe the stunned expression from my face when he introduced me to Jax and Mrs. Warren. She lifted her surgically perfected chin and glared down her equally fake nose at me. When she shifted in her seat, moving a little closer to Jax, I balled my hands into fists to avoid clawing her eyes out.
I needed to get control of myself. With a deep breath, I averted my gaze, but I could feel the heat of his stare and it made my skin tingle. It was a damn good thing I wasn’t the one asking the questions during the deposition, because it was incredibly difficult for me to take notes while my mind reeled at the revelation that Jax used to work for Smith, Yates, and Warren. If he’d left the firm the way Mr. Yates explained, and fought many cases against us, he damn well should have mentioned it when I told him where I worked.
An hour later, I had pages of notes. I was in possession of more information than I ever wanted to know about any of my bosses. Or my co-workers. Or anyone I knew. What I didn’t have was any idea of how I was going to proceed with Jax. My heart was telling me to figure out a way to continue my relationship with him, but my head was telling me to get out as quickly as I could or else I’d risk losing my job.
The Yeah Baby Series: Volume 2 Page 16