Love Irresistibly

by Julie James

  She waved her hand, her eyes a little misty. “So there you go. The whole mushy, cheesy tale. Gag away.”

  Cade picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. “That was actually pretty smooth.”

  Rylann grinned. “I know. Former cyber-menace to society or not, that man is a keeper.”

  Nineteen

  BROOKE CUT THINGS closer than she’d intended that evening, and walked through the front door of her condo only five minutes before Cade was supposed to arrive.

  I can work around your schedule, he’d said when they’d spoken earlier on the phone.

  It was such a silly thing, but it had been a long time since any guy had said that to her. Basically, since she’d started working for Sterling.

  It was just a casual comment, she reminded herself. It didn’t mean a thing.

  Focusing on the task at hand, Brooke quickly set up her surprise in the kitchen, finishing just as someone knocked at her door. She answered, still wearing her work clothes.

  Cade stood in her doorway, dressed casually in a polo shirt and jeans. He raised an eyebrow, seeing her in her business attire. “How was the wining and dining?”

  “Longer than expected.” She gestured for him to come in. “Just let me change and then we can head out.”

  He looked curiously around her condo, taking in the view. “This is nice.”

  “Thanks.” Despite the hefty mortgage she paid for the one-bedroom plus den, and the ridiculous assessments on top of that, she loved the place. Hardwood floors, a nicely sized master bedroom, and a small eat-in breakfast area off the kitchen with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city.

  Cade walked through her living room, which opened to the kitchen. He stopped when his gaze landed on the champagne bottle that sat chilling in an ice bucket on the counter.

  He looked at her. “Is that for me?”

  Seeing his obvious surprise, Brooke suddenly felt awkward. When she’d swung by the wine shop around the corner on her way home from dinner, the champagne had seemed like a nice gesture, given that Cade had mentioned getting some really good news. But now she remembered Commandment Number Six of the “Rules of Casual Sex.”

  No personal gifts except for sex toys and massage oils.

  Yes, fine, she got it now. Although, admittedly, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the thought of handing Cade a congratulatory penis ring.

  Surprise!

  Covering quickly, Brooke waved her hand dismissively at the champagne. “It’s a bottle someone gave me as a gift. I had it sitting around and figured that whatever your mysterious news is, ‘really damn cool’ on the scale of ‘meh to holy-shit-I-just-won-the-Rose-Bowl’ merited some champagne.”

  Noticing that Cade still watched her interestedly, Brooke went into the kitchen and pulled a corkscrew out of one of the drawers. She opened the champagne, poured them each a glass, and handed one over to him. “So. What are we toasting to?”

  “In eight weeks I’ll be the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.”

  Brooke’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding. That’s awesome.”

  “It’s just while my boss, Cameron, is on maternity leave,” he said.

  “That doesn’t matter. It’s still awesome.” Brooke clinked her glass to his. “Congratulations.” She took a sip, noticing that his eyes fell to her mouth after she pulled the glass away.

  She swallowed, suddenly feeling as though the temperature of the room had shot up twenty degrees. One look—the right look—was all it took from this man, and here she was getting all hot and bothered.

  “How is it?” he asked, holding her gaze.

  “Not bad.” She gestured to his glass of champagne. “Have a taste.”

  He set his glass on the counter. “I think I will.” He hooked his finger into the waistband of her skirt, pulled her closer, and lowered his mouth hungrily to hers.

  * * *

  CADE HAD BEEN in a state—meaning the horny-as-hell kind of state—since the moment Brooke had answered the door in another one of her hot skirt-and-heels combos. He’d been thinking about getting his hands on her all day, ever since they’d talked, and now here she was, pressed against him, her fingers tangled in his hair as their mouths melded together.

  You like her.

  Ah, lovely. Another annoying voice in his head, this one sounding suspiciously like Vaughn.

  Go away. Got my hands on a woman’s ass here.

  Cade turned his head to murmur wickedly in Brooke’s ear. “It seems like such a waste, going out for drinks when we have an open bottle of champagne right here.” He dipped his head lower to nuzzle her neck, which he’d discovered last weekend was her weak spot.

  Her head fell back. “Well, when you put it that way . . .” she inhaled when he trailed his lips along her collarbone, “I’d hate to be a party to wastefulness.”

  Glad they were in agreement, Cade swept his mouth over hers in a hot, demanding kiss. Brooke wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, so he scooped her up and carried her to the closest piece of furniture he could find—the couch in her living room. He laid her down and climbed over her, tugging at her shirt and sending a button flying in his impatience.

  “Crap. I think I might owe you a new shirt.”

  “I don’t care about the shirt.” She pulled his mouth back to hers.

  That decided, he yanked the shirt open the rest of the way. She moaned when he tugged down one of the lacy cups of her bra, and traced the tip of her breast with his finger. He glided his other hand down, along the silky skin of her navel, then reached underneath her skirt. When he pushed her panties aside, he nearly groaned. “You’re so wet for me already.”

  “Probably because I was thinking about you during my business dinner.”

  Oh, really? “What kinds of things were you thinking about?” He eased two fingers into her, sliding them in and out in a slow, smooth rhythm. “Maybe it started with me doing this?”

  She moaned, yes, and Cade shifted his hand to tease her clit. She reached up and pulled down the other cup of her bra, pushing her second breast up for his hungry mouth, and he greedily sucked on the tight peak. He nipped her gently with his teeth, his erection threatening to bust through his zipper. He wanted all of her tonight, underneath him, on top of him, on her knees—but first things first.

  “I’m going to watch while you come,” he told her. He loved seeing her undone like this, and wanted to prolong that just a little more.

  She moaned softly, her lips parting as she breathed raggedly. He couldn’t help himself; he bent his head and kissed her. Her tongue wound around his just as she began to shudder in orgasm, and he groaned, feeling her body clench tightly around his fingers, letting him know just how good it would feel when he got inside her.

  When she finally came down, he gathered her in his arms and stood up from the couch. His voice had an edge. “Which way to your bedroom?”

  With a sly smile, she waved her hand. “Oh, no. I’m good now, thanks. I think I’ll just crash here and watch TV.”

  Yep, still as sassy as ever.

  “We’ll see about that,” he growled.

  She squealed in surprise when he shifted her in his arms and hauled her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry—business skirt and heels and all.

  They passed by a den before entering what was obviously the master bedroom, given the four-poster, king-sized bed that was adorned with cream silk bedding and numerous pillows. Without discussion, he dropped Brooke onto it.

  She put her hands down to steady herself and stared up at him in disbelief. “You did not just literally carry me in here over your shoulder.”

  “Oh, but as we saw, Ms. Parker, I just did.” He got rid of his shirt, not wasting any time, then undid his zipper and kicked off the rest of his clothes. He stood before her, naked and hard as steel. “Move to the edge of the bed.”

  The teasing look was back in her eyes. “You seem very ornery again.”

&nb
sp; “Brooke,” he said warningly.

  The little minx just smiled.

  She pushed her shirt off her shoulders and tossed it to the floor, then slid two high-heeled legs off the bed. She walked over to him and brushed her hands over his bare chest. “Maybe I can do something to change that.” Without further discussion, she got down on her knees and took him into her hot, wet mouth.

  “Oh, fuck,” he moaned. He threaded his hands into her hair and tried not to explode right there.

  Play-action pass. Bootleg. End-around. Quarterback sneak. Christ, this woman is blowing my mind.

  He looked down and watched as the sexiest, smartest, most confident woman he’d ever met licked her tongue across the throbbing head of his erection.

  It was the hottest moment of his life.

  “Stroke your hand up and down,” he told her in a guttural voice. He felt something raw tug at him, a primal need to make her his. He watched as she swirled her tongue over the head, then eased him further in and sucked. “Just like that. Take more of me, Brooke.” She went deeper still, then moved her mouth over him. He closed his eyes, letting his hands fall to his sides as she used her lips, tongue, and mouth to bring him right to the brink.

  He stopped her before he went all the way over. “Come up here.”

  She slid her hands up his body as she got to her feet. Her eyes widened as he guided her backward until she was trapped against the bed. He turned her around so that she faced it.

  “You remember when we met, how you told me off in your office? Ever since then, I’ve wanted something.” He smoothed his hands up her legs and pushed up her skirt. With one sharp tug, he ripped her lacy thong and tossed it to the floor. “You at my mercy.”

  He heard the excited catch of her breath and bent his head to murmur in her ear. “Good thing you still have those heels on.” He grabbed his jeans off the floor, and removed a condom from his wallet. He rolled it on, then slid his hand up her legs and pushed up her skirt over her bare ass, exposing her to the cool air.

  He palmed one of her butt cheeks, and she gasped and exhaled unsteadily.

  She wasn’t being sassy now.

  In fact, judging from the quick rise and fall of her chest, Cade would hazard a guess that Brooke Parker of Sterling Restaurants was quite turned on right then. “Put your hands on the bed.”

  She did so, the raised bed making it so that she only had to bend a little. He gripped his cock in his hand and pushed the head into her—the high heels gave her just enough height to make this work—then he grabbed her hips and slowly eased into her.

  Cade sucked in his breath as her slick passage clenched tight around him. He heard Brooke gasp and immediately stilled. “I’ll stop if it’s too much.”

  She shook her head. “No . . . I’m good.” She arched her hips back. “Really good.”

  He clenched his jaw, and began to thrust slowly, moving in and out of her in a smooth glide. After a few strokes, he increased his pace, his fingers gripping her tightly. His hips smacked against her bottom as her moans tangled in the air with his. He looked down, nearly going over the edge as he watched his cock thrusting in and out of her.

  He reached around and slid one hand between her legs. She began to tremble, then she looked over her shoulder, her words a throaty whisper. “Cade. Kiss me.”

  With a low growl, he braced one hand against the bed, leaned down, and claimed her mouth in a deep, possessive kiss. Skin to skin, they moved together in a slow, erotic rhythm.

  Something made Cade pull back and stare into her eyes. “It’s so fucking perfect with you,” he rasped. He thrust again and they both exploded, together, their loud moans filling the room until they shuddered to a stop and collapsed on the bed.

  * * *

  “ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY Cade Morgan. That ought to do wonders for your fragile ego.”

  Cade gestured magnanimously. “You are allowed to show your awe.”

  “And so it begins.”

  He laughed, taking a sip of his champagne. Normally, he wasn’t the biggest fan of the stuff, but since Brooke had opened the bottle to celebrate his promotion, he felt rude not drinking it.

  They were curled up on her couch, her legs stretched over his lap as she faced him. After their latest round of damn-that-was-some-hot sex, she’d changed into a tank top and pink pajama-looking pants and had snagged a bag of Chips Ahoy! cookies from the kitchen to go with her glass of champagne.

  He found the whole combination rather cute.

  “So? Tell me how this promotion came about,” she said, looking genuinely interested.

  Cade filled Brooke in on his meeting with Cameron, and also his subsequent conversation with Rylann. This last part seemed to particularly intrigue her.

  “Hold on. You’re friends with a woman whose fiancé you sent to prison?” Brooke asked, interrupting him.

  “What, that doesn’t happen every day?” he joked.

  “Um . . . no.” Brooke mused this over. “Do you think you’ll be invited to their wedding?”

  Cade blinked. Well, shit. “I hadn’t even thought about that.” He cocked his head. “I wonder if they make a card that says ‘Congratulations and best wishes. So glad we’ve all gotten past the time I called one of you a terrorist in open court.’”

  “Sure. I saw two of those at Hallmark last week.”

  They looked at each other and laughed.

  Cade drained his champagne glass and set it down on the coffee table. Then he reached over and stole a cookie from the bag she held. “What can I say? You met me at a very interesting time in my life.”

  The words slipped out before he’d thought about them.

  “Yeah? What else is going on in your life these days?” Her tone was casual, the words said between nibbles of her cookie, but her bright green eyes were keen as she studied him.

  Cade actually debated for a split second.

  I found out that I have a brother.

  Then he thought, Nah. They were having a good time; he didn’t want to ruin the mood by dumping his baggage on Brooke.

  Luckily, he was saved by the proverbial bell when her cell phone rang.

  She frowned, presumably anticipating some sort of work emergency. But when she grabbed her phone off the coffee table and checked the caller ID, her face relaxed.

  She answered. “Hey, you.”

  Cade had a pretty good idea who the “you” was, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about the guy calling at ten o’clock on a Friday night. He reached over and poured himself another glass of champagne, as if paying no attention to their conversation.

  But he was listening, all right.

  “Good,” she said next. Her gaze shifted to Cade in response to whatever the caller said next. “Yes.”

  She smiled as the conversation continued.

  “No.”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Next question.”

  “Next question.”

  “Still, with that?”

  “I’m going into the office tomorrow. How about lunch at The Shore at noon?”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. What are you up to tonight?”

  “Is that the blonde who sounds like a goat when she orgasms, or the chick who makes you talk dirty in a Scottish accent?” She chuckled. “Good luck with that one. See you tomorrow.”

  She hung up and set the phone aside before turning back to Cade. “Sorry about that.”

  “I’ll go out on a limb here. Ford?”

  She nodded, turning back to her cookie. “Yep.”

  Cade waited for her to elaborate.

  She didn’t.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you two aren’t—”

  “Positive.”

  “And all this time, you never—”

  “Not once.” She waved casually at him. “You should understand. You just told me that you’re friends with that Rylann woman. I assume you’re not sleeping with her?”

  “That Rylann woman doesn’t call me at ten o’clock on a F
riday night.”

  “Are you getting ornery again?”

  “If I say yes, do I get another blow job?”

  She laughed at that, blushing a little. “Nice try.”

  Cade found that blush even cuter than the pink pajamas and Chips Ahoy! cookies. “Had to give it a shot.”

  She smiled, and then went quiet for a moment. “Ford and I lived in the same neighborhood growing up. He . . . didn’t like being at home very much, so my parents took him in whenever he wanted. He’s basically like family.”

  Her expression said there was a lot more to that story, but since she didn’t offer anything further, Cade didn’t ask.

  She cocked her head, clearly looking to change the subject. “Do you really want to spend the whole night talking about Ford?”

  “Not really.” And based on what she’d just said, he already felt more comfortable with their relationship, anyway. Not that he had any claim on Brooke or anything. Pfft.

  “Good.” Brooke set down the bag of cookies and climbed over to straddle Cade’s lap. Her voice was throaty and coy. “Maybe we can find something else to occupy our time, then.”

  “Scrabble?”

  With a smile, she lowered her head and kissed him.

  This was how it should be, Cade thought, sliding his hands under her tank top and caressing the bare skin of her lower back. Two people, having a good time and keeping everything right at the surface.

  No need to go diving down into the deeper, murkier waters below.

  Twenty

  ON TUESDAY, IAN dropped by Brooke’s office after she’d gotten back from the day’s EEO training session. He appeared extremely pleased.