Temptations - The Complete Series

by Annie Jocoby

  “I know all that. But Charlotte’s stipulation for agreeing not to harm you is that only your firm can represent mom. As I said, I think that she’s full of crap, but I would prefer not to find that out for sure, if you know what I mean.”

  I was faced with another decision. I could cut and run and let Margot be represented by another attorney on the firm. Any other attorney wasn’t going to be as passionate as I was about giving Margot excellent representation. Her case was going to be precarious anyhow. If I let another attorney try her case, there was a very good chance that he or she would lose. And Slade’s mother would spend the rest of her life in prison.

  Or, I could stick around the firm. I would have to see Derek every single day, assuming that Slade was correct in saying that Charlotte made sure that Derek had a job at my firm.

  “You’ve put me in an untenable position,” I said, stating the brutally obvious. Then I shook my head. “Sorry, that was uncalled for. Charlotte is the one who has put me in an untenable position.” I tried not to think about the possibility that my first statement was correct – that Slade had put me in this position. He was the one who brought the poison known as Charlotte into my world. His actions were the ones that gave her so much power to begin with, starting with that night when he decided to cover up what his mother did.

  Slade said nothing, but just wrapped his arms around me tightly. I tried to feel comforted by his touch and his scent, but I couldn’t. All I could think about was the fact that I was going to be subjected to Derek. Even if I cut and run and moved in with Slade permanently – that wasn’t quite on the table, although I had no doubt he would ask me to do so if that was what I wanted – I could never get away from Derek at all. He would be at my workplace every single day, and I couldn’t just quit and leave Margot high and dry like that.

  I suddenly felt sick. “Well, what’s done is done. I need to leave this house.” I had packed a bag of things, and my work clothes were in hanger bags. Bella and Gigi were in their traveling kennels. I was ready to go. “Let’s get out of here.”

  As we left, we noticed that Derek was sitting on his porch swing, drinking a beer. He leered at me as Slade and I left, his beer to his lips, which were curled in a derisive smile.

  Slade packed my things in the car, and asked me to wait for him in the front seat. I then looked out the window and saw him standing on Derek’s porch, his hands on his hips. He seemed to be intently speaking with, who was looking angrier and angrier. At one point, Derek stood from his seat on the swing, and Slade pushed him back down. Derek immediately got back up, his fists balled up tight. He swung at Slade, who ducked and landed an uppercut fist right in Derek’s stomach. Derek doubled over in pain, but rapidly got back up and punched Slade’s face.

  It was soon full on, as the two men scuffled on the porch for what seemed to be an eternity. I was almost in awe of Slade’s cat-like grace that showed itself when he fought. He was in amazing shape, and he rapidly danced around Derek like a prize-fighter. He wasn’t just a street pugilist, randomly throwing punches and hoping that they landed. He was more strategic than that, and showed a great deal of finesse. The upshot was that he landed many more punches on Derek than Derek did on him, and finally, he stood victorious over Derek, who was crumpled up on the porch.

  Slade finally came to the car, after it looked like he had thoroughly lectured a crumpled Derek. “Let’s go,” he said.

  “What was that all about?”

  “Nothing.”

  I got quiet. I didn’t like Slade not talking to me about the scuffle on the porch. At the same time, I knew that Slade was infuriated, and he just needed to calm down a little bit. He would talk to me when he was good and ready.

  I watched him as his tense hands gripped the wheel. He stared straight ahead at the road, not saying a single word. His jaw was clenched tightly, and he kept shaking his head. “Bastard,” he mumbled under his breath a few times.

  I put my hand on his leg. “I hate to tell you this, but you’re doing 90,” I told him as he raced down the highway. He was passing everyone on the road, which was saying something, considering drivers routinely went 80 MPH or above on this highway.

  He still said nothing as he weaved in and out of cars.

  I sighed, looking out the window as the world passed by me at a faster-than-usual rate. I had no idea what to expect when I got to his house. I knew that Margot was there, but I didn’t think that she was aware of what fate awaited her.

  “I hate that bastard, and I hate that he wants to intimidate you,” Slade finally said. “I told him that he was going to leave you alone at the workplace.”

  I nodded my head. “I can fight my own battles,” I said weakly. Ordinarily, that was completely true. I had always been independent and a fighter. But with this situation…I didn’t know if I could fight this battle. Derek had taken so much from me at such a young age. What he had done shaped me, and not necessarily for the better.

  Slade put his arm around my neck as he continued to steer the car on the highway. “Serena, you can’t handle this on your own. I know that you want to, but trust me, you need somebody in your corner on this. I know how to handle slimy assholes like Derek.”

  I tried to tamp down a little smile that was threatening. Truth be told, I liked to see this part of him. This protective instinct that he had for me was something that was almost intoxicating. “How do you handle him, other than giving him a beat-down? And, by the way, you’re still technically out on bail. I anticipate that the prosecutors are going to drop the charges against you as soon as that video is authenticated, but that’s still not a 100% guarantee. I would suggest you keeping your temper in check for the time being.”

  He sighed. “You find your opponent’s weakness and exploit it. That’s the only way to handle difficult people. With Charlotte, I blackmail her. With this guy, I threaten. He’s a typical bully-coward, which means that he’s easily intimidated. He’ll never admit to being intimidated, because he’s all about surface bluster. But, deep down, he can be intimidated by somebody who actually stands up to him. Or should I say he can be intimidated by a man who stands up to him. He’ll still run over any woman, because he sees them as being weaker than he is. He won’t run over me. Trust me on this.”

  “What did you threaten him with?”

  He shrugged. “I just told him that I knew who he was and what he did, and he needed to watch his ass. If I heard anything from you about him treating you disrespectfully, I would expose him for who he is. I saw fear in his eyes when I was saying those things to him.”

  “Why don’t you expose him? Or, for that matter, I can expose him.”

  Slade gave me the side-eye. “Two reasons. One, you don’t have proof of anything. Two, him working with you was one of Charlotte’s stipulations for not harming you. I have to work through what’s going on with her. I need to test her a little, see how much she’s bluffing and how dead serious she is about putting you in danger at her whim. I can’t just do things willy-nilly that are going to piss her off, at least not until I figure out her game just a little better.”

  “She has her pound of flesh with your mother and with you for that matter. I would imagine that you’re also going to be in quite a lot of trouble once the prosecutor finds out that you helped your mother dump that body. And you do know that I cannot represent both of you, because that would be a conflict of interest.” It was always difficult to represent co-conspirators, as there was always the chance that one would be offered a deal to roll on the other. I didn’t necessarily think that would be the case here, but if there was that possibility, I couldn’t represent them both.

  Slade shrugged his shoulders. “I have a very high-powered attorney on retainer in LA. I’m not concerned for myself.” He took a deep breath. “Are you up to this? Defending my mother? She wants to speak with you tonight about her options. I want you to give it to her clearly and without bullshit. She needs to know what she’s up against.”

  Out of the frying
pan, into the fire. “I think that you know what she’s up against. Hugh’s blood is at her old apartment, and, with Charlotte’s tip, I have no doubt your mother will be charged in his murder. She was out on parole for another murder at the time she killed Hugh. It’s going to be an uphill battle for sure. I can get an expert witness who specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder to testify that your mother was reasonable in feeling threatened by Hugh at the time that she killed him. If the jury can buy that she was reasonable in feeling that Hugh was going to rape her, we can win a self-defense argument. If the jury isn’t persuaded that her actions were reasonable, she’ll go to prison for murder. It’s all going to hinge on what I can convince the jury to believe about how threatened she felt, and whether or not a reasonable person in her shoes would feel the same.”

  Slade nodded. “I actually do know all of that, but I wanted her to hear all that from you. She has to have the confidence that you can represent her zealously, and you won’t let a single stone go unturned. I’m counting on you.”

  Suddenly, I felt pressured. More pressured than I had ever felt at any time in my life. “Slade,” I said, feeling nauseated. “You have to understand that the odds are against us here. Even under the best readings of the facts, your mother shouldn’t have done what she did. I don’t blame her for getting a gun and wanting to defend herself but she probably should have just told him to leave. I would imagine he would have just left, as it was a choice between getting out of there alive or getting shot. She shot him, no questions asked. It’s not going to be easy to get her off of this.”

  Slade was staring straight ahead. We had arrived at his home, and he was just staring out the windshield of his car. I wasn’t sure if he had heard me when I was talking to him, so I touched him on the shoulder. He jumped a little when my hand landed on his body. He shook his head. “I know that the odds are against my mother,” he finally said after a long pause. “Believe me, I understand that. I’m relying on you to beat the odds.”

  “I’m hoping I can, too. But Slade, I don’t want it to come between us if something happens. I feel that you’re going to always blame me.”

  All at once, Slade looked angry. Really angry. “What are you saying? Are you telling me that you don’t want to represent my mother? If that’s what you’re saying, then just say it. I’ll find another attorney at your firm to represent her. I’m sure that there are plenty of lawyers at your firm that will jump at the chance to seize my healthy retainer for mom’s representation.”

  “Slade. No. Calm down. I’m just expressing my concern that things between you and I might change if I lose this case. That’s all.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Then don’t lose.”

  At that, he got out of the car and walked towards the house. I reluctantly followed him, feeling as if I was a prisoner who was being led to the death chamber. I walked slowly and deliberately, trying to slow down the process. I didn’t want to face Margot and tell her the truth. I didn’t want to see those eyes. She was going to look at me with hope, and, by the time I got through telling her what I needed to tell her about her chances, she was going to be in tears. The hope would be drained from her eyes. I had seen that particular transformation too many times in my position.

  The last thing I wanted was to see that transformation happen in Margot’s eyes.

  Even so, I knew I was about to see just that.

  Chapter 2

  When we got into Slade's palatial home, I followed him into his bedroom. "We need to forget all about what happened today," he said. "The best way to do that is take a shower. Come and join me."

  That sounded like heaven to me. As if we could literally wash away the stress of what was happening. The stress of knowing that Margot was in danger, and that my psyche might split if I had to keep being in places where I was exposed to Derek.

  We undressed and hopped into his shower. Like everything else in this home and his home in LA, it was opulent and enormous. The walls were slick black marble, as were the floors. There were two shower heads that sprayed water from above, and they both were on handles that could be taken down. This bathroom also had an enormous Jacuzzi tub in the corner that was also made of black marble. I thought about my own tiny bathroom, which was recently renovated by Slade and me, and smiled. When I bought my house, the bathroom had an old-school pedestal sink and a bathtub with claws. I had more modern appliances now, but there wasn't a thing tha I could do about the size of it. The same for the bathroom that was attached to the master bedroom. I could have had this bathroom as my own, but I refused this house when Slade tried to buy it for me, but that was fine. I preferred to live my life independently, for the most part, so I had to sacrifice little things like have a gorgeous shower and bathtub.

  When we got into the shower, Slade immediately took out a sponge and put soap on it. He scrubbed my entire body with this sponge, his hands slowly making circular motions on my belly and breasts. I sighed with pleasure as I felt that this was one of Slade's many ways to take care of me. I spread open my legs, and he scrubbed down my inner thighs and worked his way to my folds and clit. I felt the familiar tingle as he deliberately spent several minutes just soaping down this area while I put my hands on the wall and purred like a kitten.

  It wasn't long before I felt his tongue tickling my clit. My hands were still on the wall, and I couldn't help but cry out. "That feels fucking amazing," I said to him, and it did. His fingers not only was tickling my clit while his tongue was doing the same, but was exploring inside me and inside my butt. I spread my legs a bit wider and bent over, wanting to give him full access to that area. "Please don't stop."

  I heard him start to breathe heavily as his soapy hands wrapped me from behind. He pinched each one of my nipples, and started to kiss the back of my neck. I soon heard him put a condom on his cock, and I felt the wetness, that nothing to do with the water from the shower, pool between my thighs. I felt like I was ready for him, and he took full advantage of that. He entered me from behind, and I reared back my head, wanting to climb the walls. Slade had installed some shower bars, and I gripped them tightly, my knuckles turning white. I put one of my legs on a pedestal that was also installed in this elaborate shower, as I bent over further, wanting him to go in as deeply as was possible.

  I couldn't get out of my mind how glorious this felt for me. The warm water, the feeling of his skin on mine, and the sensation of his enormous cock rhythmically thrusting in and out was making me feel flush and ecstatic. He gripped my waist tighter while he simultaneously wrapped his free arm around my neck. I had my first release, and it was a powerful one that radiated throughout my body. He pulled my hair back violently, so that my head was tilted back. He kissed my lips passionately, his lips consuming mine and burning my flesh. He continued to glide in and out of me, slow and strong, and then faster and faster. He groaned and slowed down more, which signaled to me that he was trying to delay his orgasm. I tried helplessly to do the same, but it was no use. I had yet another orgasm, one that started in my netherparts and spread throughout my body. This one seemed to last forever, as it rocked every part of my inner core and seemed to shatter me in two.

  As he kept pressing me from behind, his heart was pounding so fiercely that I could feel it on my back. He started to kiss me again, and pulled out and turned me around so that I was facing him. I looked at his magnificent body, with every single sinew showing on his pecs and abs, and his glorious and enormous manhood standing at attention. I licked my lips in anticipation of that cock entering me again, but Slade apparently had other ideas right at that very moment.

  He got some shampoo from the wall and rubbed it on his hands while he stared at me lustfully. He put the shampoo in my hair, stroking and caressing every strand carefully. There was a real sense of caring in the way that he was doing this. He made clear that this was another way of showing his love. His intense green eyes were boring a burning hole in my flesh as he continued to casually lather me up while he teased me by showing m
e just how hard he still was. I wanted more than anything to have that hardness inside of me, and I put my hands on him and gripped his manhood tightly while he groaned. The water was glistening on his skin, while his wet hair was in his face, and I closed my eyes and thought about how he looked when I first met him. He looked just like this - sexy, sensuous, yet just a tiny bit vulnerable.

  He started kissing me again, as he pushed me against the wall. His hard cock was penetrating my folds, yet not quite entering me. I felt like melting as he continued to shampoo my hair from this position, while his full and sensuous lips glided gently over my own. He started kissing my face, as his strong hands went from my hair to the sides of my neck. His lips made their way to my clavicle and my breasts as the water cascaded through my hair and down my body. The water was certainly hot, but the temperature in that shower would have been sky-high, no matter how warm the water was.

  I gasped as he finally fully entered me again, and I, once again, put my leg up on the pedestal. He went in deep, deeper than I had ever felt him go before. He leaned my body back by pulling my hair, and pinched both of my nipples. I cried out in sweet release, and I felt him groan as he, too, had his own release. We stood there in the shower, both of us breathing heavily, both of our hearts pounding out of our chests. He leaned his head down and put it on my shoulder as I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

  I finally spoke. "I think that I need to wash the shampoo out of my hair," I said with a smile. "That was incredible, as usual."

  "It always is," he said, and kissed me again. "I think that there's nothing that I like better in this world than soaping up your beautiful body. It gets me going like nothing else ever has."

  I smiled as I made my way to the water again. It cascaded through my hair and down my back and I raised my face to it. The water felt amazing, but not as amazing as Slade's body felt on mine.