As he watched the nine friends exchange glances, he felt like a young Jedi knight seeking approval from the Council of Elders to embark on a dangerous mission.
“Damn, bruh,” Jagger murmured, his hazel eyes filled with surprised wonder. “Sounds like you’re really feeling this chick.”
Colby smiled softly. “I am feeling her. Like you wouldn’t believe.” And because he’d always been able to confide in these men without fear of ridicule or judgment, he added quietly, “I think she’s the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. As much as I resisted returning to the ATL, I’d have made my way back home a helluva lot sooner if I’d known she was here waiting for me.”
Silence fell over the room. Expressions softened, throats cleared, big bodies shifted from one foot to the other.
Shokare, seated beside Colby, reached over and affectionately palmed the back of his head while Percy clapped him on the shoulder.
But it was Quentin’s reaction that mattered the most to Colby. Quentin, along with Marcus, had given Colby the sun, moon and stars to join their law firm. He didn’t want to betray their trust or give them any reason to regret bringing him on board.
Standing with his arms folded across his broad chest and his long legs braced apart, Quentin silently regarded Colby, his eyes shrewd and assessing.
Colby waited.
After a prolonged deliberation, Quentin chuckled gruffly and shook his head. “I hope to hell you know what you’re doing, kid.”
“I don’t,” Colby admitted with a rueful grin, “but when has that ever stopped me before?”
Chapter 10
Ava spent Sunday cleaning her house and watching football—or at least trying to watch football. Although the matchup between the Falcons and Eagles was an exciting one, she couldn’t concentrate on enjoying one of her favorite pastimes when her thoughts were consumed with Colby.
After the Falcons won the game, she turned off the television and poured herself a glass of wine. Needing to do something productive, she decided to catch up on paperwork.
She’d just put on some music and settled down with her laptop when the doorbell rang.
Her heart lurched into her throat.
Because she instinctively knew who was at the door.
Still, she was unprepared for what seeing him would do to her.
Standing on her doorstep, Colby looked too fine for his own good in a ribbed pullover, black jeans and black Timbs. The sexy five-o’clock shadow didn’t hurt, either.
Ava swallowed hard, pulse racing. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I know.” Those fathomless dark eyes roamed across her face. “I couldn’t stay away. I managed to get your home address from one of my resourceful contacts.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
“Then tell me to go.” His voice was low, husky with longing. “Just say the word, and I’ll leave.”
Ava stared at him, willing the words to come. But they didn’t. And they wouldn’t.
Shaking her head in helpless surrender, she whispered, “You know I don’t want you to leave.”
That was all the invitation he needed.
Stepping forward, he caught her face between his hands and crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with fierce, hungry possession. She responded with equal fervor, wrapping her legs around his waist as he lifted her off the floor and carried her into the house.
Shoving the door shut behind them, he braced her against the nearest wall and ravished her lips, then skated his mouth down to her throat, the sensitive area behind her ear and over her bare shoulders. She moaned, her senses spiraling out of control under the sensual onslaught. She pressed herself into him, feeling every sinewy muscle that defined his hard, powerful body.
Shoving his hands into her short hair, Colby reclaimed her mouth, his tongue gliding against hers in a sensual tango that made moisture pool between her thighs. She closed her eyes as his hands cupped her breasts through her cotton halter, his thumbs stroking her tight nipples.
“The bedroom,” she breathed. “Now. Please.”
“Where?”
“Upstairs. Forget it. I can’t wait that long. In there.”
He spun around and carried her the short distance to the living room. They slid to the carpeted floor, his body covering hers as their mouths meshed and parted feverishly.
In no time at all they were undressed and lying naked together, skin to skin, hard against soft. Colby slid two fingers inside Ava, curving his fingers toward the front of her pelvis until they hit a spot that made a bomb detonate inside her.
She arched backward, keening and convulsing in wild ecstasy.
When the violent spasms had tapered off, she sat up and pushed Colby onto his back. Propping himself up on his elbows, he stared at her as she wrapped her fingers around his engorged shaft, stroking him slowly and sensually.
He shuddered, his erection thickening even more in her grasp. She leaned down, her tongue tracing a line from the base of his cock to the head. Then, watching his taut face, she closed her lips around the swollen mushroom tip and sucked hard.
Colby hissed through his teeth and bucked his hips against her.
Unbearably aroused by his reaction, she eased her mouth down his steely length, taking him all the way to the back of her throat. He groaned and closed his eyes, his head falling back to the floor.
Gripping the heavy base of his shaft, Ava began working him in and out of her mouth, enjoying the silky heat of his skin on her tongue. He swore gutturally, his hand plunging into her hair to cup the back of her bobbing head. Her pussy throbbed as she hungrily deep-throated him while caressing his swollen balls.
Suddenly he stiffened and groaned, his pulsing cock shooting hot, creamy cum into her mouth. Ava sucked him hard, swallowing every thick drop he fed her.
He watched her, nostrils flaring, eyes blazing with arousal. When she released him, he reached for her, pulling her down to his heaving chest so they could share a deep, carnal kiss.
Moments later, he rolled her onto her back, parted her legs and entered her with one long, savage thrust. She cried out his name, tightening her thighs around him.
As he began thrusting into her, her hips rose to meet him stroke for powerful stroke. Sweat soon coated their bodies, and their breathing mingled in rapid, shallow pants that echoed around the room.
Gazing deep into Ava’s eyes, Colby whispered fervently, “I love you.”
Stunned, she stared up at him.
“Tell me you don’t feel the same,” he challenged, daring her. “Tell me.”
Ava shook her head, tears swimming into her eyes. “I can’t,” she confessed huskily. “Because I do love you, Colby.”
A flash of exultant triumph lit his eyes before he leaned down and kissed her passionately, his hips surging fiercely against hers.
Moments later they erupted together, shuddering and clutching each other as if their very lives depended on it.
For several minutes they lay completely still, shaken by the sheer magnitude of the revelations they’d just made.
In the background, Kem crooned the lyrics to his romantic ballad, “Why Would You Stay”
After another moment Colby raised himself above Ava, absorbing his weight on both arms as he gazed down into her face. “You don’t know how badly I wanted to hear you say that.”
She stared up at him, stunned to discover how hard she’d fallen for him. “I didn’t realize how I felt about you until just now.” She paused, then added truthfully, “I don’t want to feel the way I do.”
“I know,” Colby murmured understandingly. “We’re in a difficult position.”
She sighed. “That’s an understatement.”
His eyes searched her face. “I can’t change my feelings for you. I’m not sure I would even if I could.”
Ava gazed at him, torn between conflicting emotions. As one desire overrode all the others, she whispered, “Spend the night.”
Colby traced her cheekbone with his
thumb. “Just try to make me leave.”
* * *
Long afterward, with sweat cooling on their bodies from hours of lovemaking, they lay in each other’s arms and just talked.
“Why did you tell me you dealt with numbers when we first met?” Ava asked.
Colby chuckled, the deep vibrations rumbling through her. “Sometimes I get the wrong reaction when I confess to being a lawyer so I decided to blur the truth. I’ve always been good at math, so I was probably an accountant in another life.”
Ava pretended to ponder this before shaking her head. “Nah. I don’t see it.”
“Not even in another life?”
“Nope.”
Colby laughed, kissing the top of her head. “What do you have against accountants?”
She grinned. “Nothing. I dated one years ago.”
“Yeah? What happened?”
“It didn’t work out.” Like all of my relationships.
“Why not?”
She shrugged. “We didn’t have the same interests.”
“Hmm.”
Deciding to steer the conversation away from her pathetic love life, Ava said, “I caught a rerun of Howlin’ Good this morning. Your sister was on there promoting her latest cookbook.”
“Yup. I was at the taping.”
“So what’s it like being related to a celebrity chef?”
Colby chuckled. “Well, I can tell you that I definitely benefited from her culinary talents when I was growing up. Lexi loved to cook and experiment with new dishes, so we always had plenty of good food to eat.”
Ava smiled, hearing the affection in his voice. “You two must be very close.”
“We are. I’m close to both of my sisters.”
“The other one still lives in New York, right?”
“Right.”
Ava hesitated, tracing her fingertip along the thick pad of a pectoral muscle. “So why did you come back to Atlanta?”
She felt him tense beneath her.
Lifting her head from his chest, she watched as his expression grew shuttered. Remembering the cryptic response he’d given her when she’d posed the question before, she realized that this was obviously a touchy subject for him.
Which only made her more determined to delve beneath the surface to see what he was harboring.
“You said you had some unfinished business to take care of,” she prompted softly.
He met her probing gaze, then nodded grimly. “Ever since I left home for law school, I’ve been pretty much estranged from my mother.”
“Why?” Ava asked gently.
He hesitated, pain flickering in his eyes. “My father walked out on our family when I was a kid. My mother didn’t…handle his absence very well. It affected our relationship. So after I graduated from college, rather than stay here and grow to resent her any more than I already did, I decided to leave.”
Ava nodded, eyeing him knowingly. “But it didn’t work, did it? No matter how long you stayed away, you couldn’t outrun the past. So you decided to stop running.”
Colby nodded slowly.
As a wave of protective tenderness washed over her, Ava reached up and gently cupped his cheek. “You did the right thing.”
He looked into her eyes. “Time will tell.”
“That’s true,” she said quietly. “All you can do is take things one day at a time.”
Colby nodded, his expression softening on her face. Holding her gaze, he turned his mouth into her palm and tenderly kissed it, spreading tingles of warmth through her body.
“Since we’re sharing,” he murmured, “can I ask you a question?”
Ava instinctively tensed. “Um…sure.”
His eyes searched hers. “Why isn’t an amazing woman like you in a serious relationship right now?”
She smiled ruefully. “Actually, I was recently involved with someone for more than a year.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“What happened?”
“He, ah, broke up with me.”
“What?” Colby looked so incredulous she could have kissed him. “Why’d he break up with you?”
She sighed. “He thought I was a workaholic. And he was right. I am.”
Colby lifted a brow. “Weren’t you a lawyer when you started dating him?”
“Yes, but I don’t blame Neal for—”
“Neal? That was his name?”
“Yes,” Ava said, amused by the note of jealousy in Colby’s voice. “As I was saying, I don’t blame Neal for resenting my long hours. I think it takes a special kind of person to date or marry a lawyer.”
Colby’s eyes glinted. “So what are you suggesting? Lawyers should only date and marry other lawyers?”
“Maybe.” Ava smiled. “Or maybe not.”
“Ever dated another lawyer?”
She shook her head.
“Well, you are now.”
Ava gave him a sharp look. “We’re not dating, Colby.”
“We’re doing something,” he murmured, gathering her protectively into his arms, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. “We’re definitely doing something.”
Chapter 11
By the next morning, Ava knew what she had to do.
She’d been putting it off for weeks, afraid to suffer the repercussions of her actions. But after what she and Colby had shared yesterday, her conscience wouldn’t allow her to continue the charade.
Shortly after she arrived at work, she headed to her supervisor’s office. But when she reached the open doorway and found Tate standing by the windows with his arms folded across his chest and a smug gleam in his eyes, a knot of dread twisted in her stomach.
Swallowing hard, she shifted her attention to her supervisor, Hayden Rainer, who headed the firm’s labor and employment practice group. He was an attractive man in his early fifties with graying brown hair, shrewd blue eyes and a deep bronze tan.
His expression was grim. “I was just about to call you, Ava. We need to talk.”
“Yes, we do.” She darted a nervous glance at Tate, who hadn’t moved. “I was hoping we could speak in private.”
“No need,” Rainer said flatly. “Please come inside and close the door.”
Ava complied, then walked to the chair opposite Rainer’s desk and sat down.
He leaned forward, his hands folded on his blotter. “I’ll get right to the point, Ava. It has come to my attention that you’ve been engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Johnae Kearse’s attorney, Colby Austin. Is this true?”
As the blood drained from Ava’s head, her gaze swung to Tate. When she saw the look of malicious triumph on his face, she felt sick to her stomach. The conniving bastard had been spying on her.
Swallowing her outrage, she turned back to her supervisor. “Yes,” she answered quietly. “It’s true.”
Rainer gave her a look of grave disappointment. “For how long?”
She hesitated. “I met him before I was assigned the Southern Pacific lawsuit.”
Rainer frowned. “But once you learned that he was opposing counsel, you continued sleeping with him. Is that correct?”
Ava dropped her gaze to her lap, her face hot with shame. “Yes.”
Rainer muttered a harsh expletive under his breath.
“I’m sorry—”
“Do you have any idea what could happen if this information gets into the wrong hands?” Rainer demanded. “Do you realize the kind of damage this could cause to our firm’s reputation? Our credibility? Jesus, Ava, you’re the last person I ever thought I’d have to take to the woodshed over professional misconduct.”
Ava met his infuriated glare, striving for composure. “You have every right to be disappointed in my behavior, Hayden, and I accept full responsibility for my actions. But I just want to state for the record that my client hasn’t suffered any harm as a result of my relationship with Mr. Austin. Throughout this process, I’ve never failed to represent the company’s be
st interests.”
“Bert Lusskin might feel differently!” Rainer barked at her. “When you advised him to increase the counteroffer, who’s to say you weren’t acting on behalf of the plaintiff’s attorney—aka your lover?”
“I wasn’t!” Ava vehemently insisted.
“I think Lusskin would have a hard time believing that, under the circumstances.” Rainer’s expression hardened. “I’m pulling you off the case, effective immediately. Turn everything over to Tate and have no further contact with anyone from Southern Pacific. Are we clear?”
Ava shot a glance at Tate. He was all but bouncing on his heels, gleefully reveling in her downfall.
“Are we clear?” Rainer prompted tersely.
Ava met his gaze, then swallowed hard and nodded.
“Good.” Mouth set grimly, Rainer leaned back in his leather executive chair. “You’re a good lawyer, Ava. That’s why you’re up for partnership. But you can’t afford to make these kinds of mistakes if you expect to have a future with this firm. Once you start down that slippery slope of compromising your ethics, it’s hard to regain your credibility.”
“I understand,” Ava murmured, bracing herself for the possibility that she’d be suspended for professional misconduct. Her mind raced as she imagined herself joining the ranks of other disgraced attorneys whose names appeared on each state bar association’s website, the details of their misdeeds displayed for all to see.
“Because you have no prior disciplinary violations,” Rainer continued sternly, as if he’d read her mind, “I’m inclined to believe a suspension may not be necessary.”
Ava drew in a shaky breath that burned. “Thank you,” she said humbly.
Rainer scowled. “Don’t thank me just yet. I’ll be investigating this matter further. If any new facts come to light regarding your behavior, you’ll be hearing from me.”
Merry Sexy Christmas Page 28