Her Twisted Pleasures (15 page)

Alex moved close behind me, his lips brushing my temple, his hand caressing my hair, warm and tender.

I wanted to throw myself into his arms and cry, but somehow resisted that impulse.

Oh sure, ignore him when he offers comfort, but come running when he offers sex.

“Are you okay?”

Did he have to ask? Couldn’t he tell I was torn apart inside, beating myself up for wanting things I didn’t deserve? No, idiot! I am not okay.

His hand tightened in my hair and he lifted my head, gentle but firm. Our eyes met in the mirror. His jaw twitched, and for the first time, I read him: genuine concern written all over his face, and in his eyes, guilt and pain, and something completely foreign to him—

need. Something I recognized but he wouldn’t acknowledge.

He needed me.

“Are you okay?”

His naughty boy mask fell back into place, and he grinned as if he’d just gotten away with something dirty. “Absolutely.”

His hand fell to his side and he stepped back.

I turned and kissed him, not touching his body—lips, tongue, open mouth feeding my need. Bad idea, but I wanted it. When he put his hands on my hips, I stepped back. “We should leave separately.”

“Right.” He opened the door and peeked out into the hall.

“All clear.” When Alex looked back at me, his mask slipped. “If you need anything… from me, you know where to find me.”

“I know.”

He nodded and slipped out the door.

I waited a few minutes and slinked back into the game room.

Holland made a few hand gestures only I would understand. I wandered over to him and frowned. “Can’t this wait until Monday?” I growled.

He pasted on a fake smile to mask his annoyance and looked nervously over his shoulder. He wouldn’t push it with so many people around.

I smiled and chatted with random people before finally approaching Will. He was playing darts, laughing and drinking. I guess he hadn’t noticed I was gone. Good.

Good?

Alex waved to Will and the two of them moved to a private corner. My men, my lovers—

both of them.

I couldn’t help feeling a little proud. Proud of fucking two guys? Twisted, but I liked it. A hot tingly shiver ran down my spine as I imagined having them both at once. Wouldn’t that be…. Mmm… wow.

Alex smiled and said

something to Will, who nodded, grinning slyly. In my hopeful imagination, Alex had just told Will he was sleeping with me and Will had

approved. I knew that was impossibly hopeful, but maybe….

It was just sex with Alex and me.

Right.

Twisted Trust

Another late night at the office. I gotta quit doing this. I loved my job, but this firm and its clients weren’t worth all my time. I needed a vacation, or maybe even a new job in a new city. A change of scenery might have done me some good, but would I fit in somewhere else?

The email on my screen turned blurry, and I forwarded it to my assistant, Lindsay, to deal with tomorrow. Another one popped up—from Kristen, my old college girlfriend who Will dated, then we traded. I stopped picturing her naked, and concentrated on her words when I realized she was writing about something important.

She lived in Charleston, South Carolina; probably married, since her last name didn’t look familiar—not that I could recall exactly what it was.

Apparently, she worked in the district attorney’s office.

‘Hi Alex. I hope you’re well. I hear you’re an amazing defense attorney. If you ever get tired of putting criminals back on the street, we could use a good prosecutor. I remember how good you were at making people confess their secrets. I could never hide anything from you. Are you interested in the job?’

Huh. A prosecutor in the Deep South—that was

definitely different scenery.

The infamous Chicago wind battered my window, slapping wet snowflakes against the glass. Winter went on forever here. Moving to a climate with no snow would be nice, but to switch from defending criminals to putting them away… well, that might be nice too. I’d believed in ‘innocent until proven guilty’ once. Now I didn’t believe in much of anything.

I clicked reply. ‘Hi Kristen.

Nice to hear from you. How’s the DA’s office treating you? Thanks for thinking of me. Yes, I’m interested.’

The moment I hit the send key, all the things I’d miss here in Chicago flashed through my mind. It wasn’t a long list, but Talia topped it.

Whoa. Not good. I’d miss fucking her, but that was all.

End of story. I could easily find another hot piece of ass in Charleston. Maybe Kristen.

Married or not, she could never say no to me.

I leaned back in my chair and was picturing her naked again when my door flew open and Talia scrambled in.

She slammed the door

behind her and panted, “Alex, I need your help.”

“What happened? Did he hurt you?” I jumped up and crossed the room before she’d caught her breath. I pulled her into my arms and she burst into tears.

The only man I knew

capable of hurting this beautiful young woman was Talia’s old boss, Holland Spencer.

She wiped her eyes with my silk tie and shook her head.

“Not yet, but he said… he said….” More tears soaked my shirt.

I took her hand and led her to the couch, holding her while she tried to collect herself. “Talk to me.”

She sat up straight and took a couple deep breaths. “I’m in trouble. I don’t know where to start. This has been going on since…. How did I get myself into this?” She collapsed against my chest and sobbed.

I’d never seen Talia break down like this. She was always strong and sassy. I loved picking fights with her, saying things that would bring other women to tears, because she gave it right back to me. What did Spencer do to her? Bastard is going to pay.

“Come on, baby.” I lifted her chin and wiped her wet cheek with my thumb. Her trembling red lips looked so soft and vulnerable, I had to kiss them, gentle and sweet. It felt like the right thing to do. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t know how.” She laid her head on my shoulder and slid her arms around my waist, clinging to me.

It felt good to hold her, but I had to distance myself—

physically and emotionally—to get control of the situation. I slid back, forcing her to sit upright, without withdrawing completely. I held her hands and made her look into my eyes. “Are you still working for Holland Spencer?”

She shook her head.

“Technically, no.”

Before Spencer got

promoted, Talia had been one of his legal assistants, but when he made partner he’d left her behind, and I’d put her to work for another lawyer in my department. So if he was no longer her boss, why did he still control her?

“What are you doing for h i m ? ” God, I hope she’s not fucking him.

She bit her lip and looked out the window. A deep sigh wracked her body and her shoulders slumped. She looked ready to confess. “About a year and a half ago, when I was his assistant, I stumbled across a secret account.”

“Did you tell anyone about it?”

“No, but I kept an eye on it, and I found out he was mixing the firm’s cash flow with client funds.”

“Did you have proof?”

She looked me in the eye.

“Yes, I did, and I confronted him with it.” Her lip quivered and tears welled up again.

“What did he do?”

“He slapped me, right across the face. And he threatened to have me fired—or worse.”

I remembered seeing a bruise on her cheek, but she’d said she’d been beaned by a softball. I didn’t buy it at the time, but I couldn’t prove otherwise. I’d thought maybe a guy had hit her, but that was before she met Will and, as far as I’d known, she wasn’t dating anyone.

“What happened then?”

“He asked me how I found it, and I told him it wasn’t hidden very well. I panicked and….” She wrung her hands and blinked back tears. “I offered to show him how to keep it secret. He was impressed, and asked me to maintain the account. He offered me a cut of the profit. It wasn’t much to him, but it was a lot to me.” She dropped her head and covered her face with her hands.

I pulled her close and caressed her back. This wasn’t the first time I’d comforted a guilty woman, but Talia wasn’t a client. This hug felt like much more than comfort. My jaw twitched.

“I tried so hard to get out.”

She shuddered in my arms.

“But every time I said I was done, he threatened me.”

“Is that what happened tonight?”

She nodded. “I told him I wouldn’t do it anymore. I told him I had proof, and I was going to the police. He panicked and….”

Her eyes drifted to the left; she was creating a lie.

“He told me I would go to jail too.” She sat up straight and wiped her face. “But I said I didn’t care. That’s when he came after me, and I ran to you.”

She’d left something out, but I decided not to pursue it.

Antagonizing her wouldn’t help. “You did the right thing, coming to me. I can protect you.”

She trembled when I said that. “Will you defend me if I get arrested?”

“It won’t come to that.”

Her eyes grew wide and her breath quickened. She was scared. Scared of what I could do to Spencer? Good.

“Don’t do anything….” She hesitated, and I saw a battle in her eyes.

“Don’t what?”

Her face hardened. “Don’t let him get away with this.”

“I won’t.” I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text message to a former client. I’d kept his ass out of prison after more than one arrest, and he owed me a favor. It didn’t take him long to reply with a time and place.

“What are you doing?” She tried to peek at my phone, but I tucked it back in my pocket.

The less she knows the better.

“Making sure Spencer knows he’s being watched.” I flipped through the files in my head for others who could help me protect her—clients, ex-cons, cops. “Does Will know about this?”

A tear spilled down her cheek. “No. I got involved with Holland before I met Will. I want to tell him, but I’m too ashamed. What would he think of me?” She snuggled against my chest.

“He would protect you, Talia. You know that.”

“I know, but I’m so

confused. I feel like….” She began pacing in front of the window, gnawing her lip. “Like he has no idea who I really am.

Who am I kidding? I have no idea. I have no control over anything in my life, and he has it all together. If he knew how fucked-up I really was, he’d….”

Her swollen lip quivered.

“He loves you.” The word love sounded strange coming from my lips. Every time Will and I got together to talk about my encounters with Talia, he told me he loved her. I always wondered if he really meant it.

I knew guilt about our affair was tearing her apart, and so did Will, but he never did anything about it.

“I know. That’s what makes this so awful. I’m keeping too many secrets from him—the one man I trust more than anyone.”

“You can trust me,” I said quietly.

She stopped in her tracks and looked at me, her eyes wide and disbelieving. After a second, she almost smiled. “I know. I do. I didn’t at first, but now….”

The worst thing I could’ve done in that moment was touch her, kiss her, but I stood up and slid my fingertips across her damp red cheek and into her silky hair.

Damn it, Alex, don’t do this. I lifted her face in my hands and kissed her sweet mouth, touching my lips to hers as if it were the first time, precious and innocent.

She melted into me, her body fusing with mine as if we belonged together. “I need you.” She breathed on my lips.

“I know.” I kissed her, thinking about all the things I wanted to do for her—dry her tears, keep her safe, make her happy.

What the hell am I doing?

Don’t think, just feel. But when I closed my mind, my heart opened up, and guilt for kissing my best friend’s girl overwhelmed me. Why did that idiot let me do this? I’m not good enough for her. I could love her if —

No, no, no! Don’t feel anything. Just fuck.

For the first time in too many years, I wanted more than fucking. I wanted to explore the connection between us.

I led her to the couch and pulled her onto my lap so we could touch each other face-toface.

Her gaze met mine and held it while my fingers caressed her cheek, tucking a wild strand of hair behind her ear. I kissed her, barely brushing her mouth at first, but when her lips parted, my tongue invaded. Her skirt slid up her thighs and I tugged her stockings down, stroking her bare skin.

She moaned and yanked my tie off, clawing at the buttons on my shirt.

I grabbed her frantic fingers and held her still. “Go slow.

Let’s enjoy this.”

She smiled and glanced out the window behind us, perhaps afraid someone might see us.

Will had no idea Talia had come tonight, and I decided not to tell him. This encounter was for her and me.

“Why? You’re never

patient.”

I shrugged. “I can change.”

Why did I want her to believe that? I slid my hand under her hair, pulled her down and kissed her slow, forcing her to wait.

I slid my hand under her hair and pulled her down, kissing her slow, forcing her to be patient. My cock hardened under her splayed thighs, and she rubbed against it as I groaned into her mouth and let her unbuckle my belt. Outside, an alarm screeched, but Talia didn’t bat an eyelash, intent on yanking my zipper open with persistent fingers, and wrapping them around my dick.

“Still feel like going slow?”

She flicked her tongue in my ear.

“You’ll get what you want, baby. Don’t worry.” I couldn’t get enough of kissing her. Her mouth tasted like a ripe strawberry warmed by the sun.

Her hair spilled over me, caressing my face with an angel’s touch. My heart pounded while I kissed her neck, and when I leaned back to catch my breath, she unbuttoned her blouse. I didn’t even have to ask.

“Like?” She gave me a shy smile.

I nodded and she let the silky barrier fall to my feet. Her blue satin bra kept her small breasts hidden, but when she leaned over me, one of them popped free and I latched on to her fat raspberry nipple. She sighed and squirmed, opening my shirt while I freed her pretty breasts.