Indulging in Irene (3 page)

Since when did you become such a pussy, Zolt? You’re acting like a character in a fucking Nicholas Sparks novel.

In an attempt to save my manhood, I started working on the jam. I turned a few knobs, flipped this lever and that, found the offending jammed piece of paper, and pulled it out. I wadded the paper into a ball, and tossed it across the room, hitting the recycle bin dead center.

“Very nice. I see your arm is still in fine form.” Irelyn quirked a smile at me, and I grinned back at her like a fool.

What the fuck? I’m the dark and brooding ex-football player. Quit acting like a pussy.

“Yeah, well,” I said with a shrug. “Shall I press the start button or do you want to?”

“Uh, I will. I guess. If this thing jams on me one more time, I’ll kill myself.”

“Okay, but that seems like an extreme solution. Shall I send yellow or white?”

“Yellow or white what?”

“Roses. To your funeral,” I said, then instantly wanted to slap myself. I was such a dumbass. This Zolt was an anomaly. The real Zolt was dark and very much an asshole. Ask Miss No-name from last night. She could tell you all about him.

“Oh!” She giggled and punched me playfully on the arm.

I almost couldn’t stand it. I knew then, I needed to get away from her. This woman, whom I’d known all of five minutes—or six years—was bad news. The kind of bad news that had me imagining things that I didn’t need to be thinking about.

Seriously, I needed to get a grip.

I watched her push the button, and then jump up and down with delight when her document started printing.

Fuck! Her tits jiggled deliciously in front of my face, and I felt my cock harden and my pants tighten further.

Now, this was the Zolt I knew.

Irelyn reached up and kissed my cheek. “Thank you so much, Zolten. Daddy would have had my ass if this wasn’t on his desk by morning.”

Holy hell did she smell good. Not too sweet, not too flowery. Just the right amount of both with a touch of spice added in. The feel of her soft lips on my cheek made me imagine what they’d feel like all over my body.

“Uh, well, glad I could, uh, save your ass. So to speak,” I said in a low tone. I didn’t mean for it to sound sexual. But, fuck, did you see her ass? I did. The idea of bending her over the copier seemed like a great idea. “Call me Zolt. Glad I could help.”

I walked over to my bag and jacket, picked them up, and reluctantly headed for the door. The words “Want to have a drink with me?” poised on my lips. I licked them and swallowed the words. She was the founding partner’s daughter, and she was off-limits.

“Hey, Zolt,” Irelyn called.

I turned around and found her smiling at me once more.

“Welcome to the firm. I hope you like it here.”

Giving her a brief smile, I nodded, and then walked out.

Are you kidding me? My life had changed in one afternoon. I was pretty sure I’d just found trouble, and her name was Irelyn.

Rachel flung herself on my bed. “So, how’d the rest of your day go?”

“Fine,” I answered her as I stripped off my dress and changed into shorts and my Van Halen shirt. I know, most of my friends think Van Halen is old school, but Chris and I loved them until they dumped Sammy Hagar. We used to hop in the Mustang, drive too fast with
Cabo Wabo
blasting. I hugged myself, and let my happy memories of my brother wash over me, praying the nasty images of him lying in a pool of his own blood with his face bashed in didn’t invade and overtake the good ones.

“Just fine? Did you meet him,” Rachel asked as she scrolled through my iPod looking for a song.

“I did.” I kept my answer short, knowing it would drive her crazy.

“Come on, Irelyn. Spill.”

“Well, I was in the copy room trying to unjam a document from the copier/printer beast. I swear that damn thing has it out for me.”

“And,” she said, making a hurry-up motion with her hands.

“And Zolt came in and fixed the stupid machine.”

“Okay. What else?”

“Nothing else.” I sat on the edge of my bed and tied my sneakers. “He was real sweet. Then, he left.”

“So that’s it? You meet the man you’ve had this weird obsession with for six years and all he does is fix your copier?”

“Yeah. What did you think he was going to do, Rach? Bend me over the copier and fuck me?” I knew I blushed as soon as I said it; I could feel my cheeks heat. Honestly, I’d had that exact thought while we stood in the copy room.

She gave me a wicked smile and nodded. “So is he still cute? Please, tell me he is.”

“He is. I mean, he isn’t as muscular as he used to be, and his face has matured. All of which is to be expected. I have to say, he might be even more attractive. His hair is still dark brown. It’s longer now, and I can see waves in it I didn’t remember from before. He must spend time in the sun because I could see the natural, lighter brown highlights.”

“Is he married? Did he have a ring on?” Rach asked and threw the iPod on the bed, giving up on finding whatever song she’d been looking for.

“He doesn’t wear a ring. And…” I smiled sheepishly. “I looked at his personnel record in the system. He’s not married.”

“Nice. Very sneaky of you, Irelyn. I applaud your deviousness.” Her honey-brown eyes sparkled with approval.

I curtsied. “Ha. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“True. Did he flirt with you? Come on. What was your read?”

“I don’t know,” I lied. We’d had a moment. And I was pretty sure there was recognition in his eyes. His beautiful, crystalline-blue eyes. Sigh. “Okay, maybe he did flirt a little. And we both said each other’s name simultaneously. He said it was because he’d seen the portrait in Daddy’s office. Whatever. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Why? Because of Marcus? Bitch, you need to dump his ass. Like yesterday.”

“It’s not that easy, and you know that. Daddy is attached to him. Too attached. But you’re right; I do need to do something.”

“Fuck Zolt Hamil. That’s what you need to do.”

“Oh, my God, Rach, can you be any cruder?” I picked up a pillow and threw it at her, successfully deflecting her train of thought. “By the way, you need to do your roots. Your darker blonde is showing through your lighter blonde.”

“Don’t try to change the subject. Your face gives you away. You’re beet red.”

Rach was right
, I thought ruefully. Maybe not about the Zolt part, but about everything else.

“You need to find a man who can give you a throw your head back, teeth clenching, ripping at the sheets orgasm. Marcus is so not that person.”

“Oh, and I suppose Cory is for you?”

“You know it.” She gave me a large grin.

Rachel, Cory, and I had grown up together. For years, he and Rachel had danced around their attraction. After Chris’s death, things changed between them. They were together now, and I loved it. In fact, I had gone with Cory to pick out an engagement ring for Rachael. I didn’t know when he would propose, but I knew it was coming. Despite the closeness the three of us shared, hearing about their sex life made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t a prude or anything, but Cory was like a brother to me. And, if I was being honest, I was jealous.

More than anything, I wanted a man to take me. Scratch that. I
needed
a man to take me. Not in a violent way, but in a passionate, I can’t stand not to have you right now, kind of way. What I wouldn’t give to have a man throw me on a bed and fuck me senseless.

Marcus would never be that man for me. He didn’t work that way, and I wasn’t attracted to him.

Though I shouldn’t, I wondered if that man could be Zolt? It seemed as though we’d shared a spark….

My Golden Retriever barked, bringing me back from my hot thoughts. I reached down and scratched his head. “Come on. Let’s take Rufus for a walk before I decide eating cookies is a better idea.”

The rest of the week, I spent avoiding Zolt. I couldn’t afford to let a schoolgirl crush manifest. I had a boyfriend, and Zolt worked for Daddy. There were just too many things standing in our way. But that didn’t stop me from walking by his office a few times. I didn’t stop, of course. Well, that was a lie. I stopped once and waved when he saw me walk by. Other than that, I stayed away.

Nighttime was a different story. Erotic dreams about him invaded my sleep. In some dreams, he’d throw me on the bed and fuck me. In others, we make slow, sweet love. The dreams were so vivid that I had a hard time coming out of them when I woke. Zolt was an amazing dream lover, and I couldn’t help but wonder how that would translate in real life.

With these images in my head, I knew I had to stay away from him. If I actually talked to him, face to face, I’d turn crimson.

I was doing great until Wednesday when Daddy assigned me to a case which sent me into the library to do research. Doing research in the library instead of online sucked ass.

Methodically, I searched each stack, looking for the digest that held out-of-date tort law cases. Why Daddy insisted I research outdated cases when there were much more recent, on point ones, I had no clue. Whatever, if he wanted it, he’d get it.

Running my fingers over each volume, I wasn’t paying attention to the fact another person stood to the right of me. Like a klutz, I ran smack into them. Several volumes fell to the floor, and I nearly landed on my ass.

“Oof! Careful now,” he said gruffly. “Watch where you’re—Irelyn?”

“Zolt.” I felt my cheeks heat and practically melt off my face as I rubbed my arm. He may not be in NFL shape anymore, but he packed enough muscle to knock the air out of a girl.

The ache quickly turned into a different one entirely. Fuck, he was hot. The sapphire-blue of his shirt set off the crystalline-blue of his eyes. I knew I was staring into them, but I couldn’t stop myself. If that wasn’t bad enough, my fingers started to twitch with the need to run them through his waves. Brown waves that looked slightly messy in an arranged sort of way.

A delicious fantasy of unbuttoning his shirt and licking my way down his chest started to form in my head, dampening my panties.

“I’m so sorry. Obviously, I wasn’t paying attention,” I said with a mouth that had gone suddenly dry.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Zolt ran his hand down my arm and our gazes caught. A zap of chemistry sizzled between us. Our attraction had morphed into a tangible energy that crackled and snapped.

We both drew in a breath.

“Uh, no. I’m fine,” I eked out. Then, I took an involuntary step back as an image of Zolt lying on the field with his broken leg blitzed my brain like NFL defensive backs attack the quarterback. I dipped my head and let my hair fall to curtain my expression. The memory was as vivid as the day it happened.

A rough, slightly callused thumb and forefinger lifted my chin, and Zolt pushed my hair over my shoulder.

“Don’t, Irelyn. Don’t go there. There’s no point of it.” His hand grazed my cheek and lingered there. I swear my heart stuttered to a stop. For a minute, we both stood there, staring at each other, an entire conversation happening silently between us. A silent thank you from him, and an apology from me for not doing more.

“So, what brings you to the stacks?” Zolt asked after he cleared his voice and dropped his hand.

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. It was a sigh of both futility and exasperation, knowing that I couldn’t have Zolt even if he was interested.

“Daddy has me down here chasing some elusive tort case from the 1950’s. I mean, if it isn’t on West Law does it really exist?”

“The Lewis decision for the Swagger case?” Zolt asked, arching a brow.

“Yes! What the hell? Why does he have us both looking for the same thing? Certainly, there’s enough current case law to justify his argument.” I leaned down and started to gather the books that had fallen from the shelf.

Zolt leaned down to help, and we both grabbed for the same book at the same time. His large hand covered mine, and the contact electrified me once again. I took in his beautiful hand, a hand that used to throw perfect spirals down the field. More than anything, I wanted to feel that hand skim my body as we made love.

I cursed myself for giving into to such a silly fantasy. It could and would never happen. Still, I didn’t move my hand.

Zolt swallowed at the same time I did. This was crazy-exciting and so very scary. If Marcus ever saw us together, he’d know immediately.

Laughing a little, I finally removed my hand from underneath his and picked up the other books, re-shelving them.

“I feel as if I’m on a wild goose chase,” I said, needing to change the air around us and return it to a professional one. But the affect he had on me made me squeeze my thighs together for relief at the very thought of his hands on me.

Once the books were put back, we stood in silence just inches from each other. God, he smelled so good, warm and spicy with hints of patchouli and cocoa, all punctuated by essence of Zolt that was uniquely his own. I wanted to lick him all over.

“Shall we chase this mystery together? Two heads are better than one, as they say.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zolt’s hand rise as if he wanted to touch me. But when I looked down at his hand, it fell back to his side.

“Sure. Otherwise, I think I’ll be here for the rest of my effing life.”

Zolt smiled at me, and I swear my panties melted right off. I glanced at the floor to make sure they weren’t lying between my legs in a gooey heap.

We gathered our things and convened at a table big enough for both our laptops and various books. For hours, we sat together trying to find the elusive case that I was starting to think didn’t fucking exist.

I glanced over at Zolt and found him looking at me with narrowed eyes. His expression seemed to be one of incredulity.

“What?” I asked, feeling self-conscious, wiping at my face. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Nothing,” he said and shook his head. “I’m starting to think this case doesn’t exist.”

“I know, right?” I slammed the book shut and shoved it away from me. Then, it struck me, and I felt stupid for not thinking of it before.

“I think I know exactly what case you’re thinking of.”

“Macintosh vs Handle,” we both said together. That we both had the same idea at the same time should have freaked me out, instead it made me smile.

“Tortious interference against the defendant in 1955,” Zolt elaborated. “The court granted summary judgment in favor of Macintosh.”

“Yes. We should have thought of that before. It’s right on point. Gah!” I smacked myself on the forehead.

“Gah, indeed.” Zolt laughed.

I punched his arm. “Are you laughing at me?”

“Just a little. The expression on your face was too cute.”

“Cute, eh? Great. Just what I want to be is cute.”

Our gazes caught again, and cute was not what I saw in his eyes. Just the opposite. They were dark and smoldering as his gaze dropped to my mouth. He licked his very kissable, full lips.

Fuck!

I licked my own lips in response and moved in at the same time he did. Then, I stopped, remembering Marcus. I pushed back from the table and stood, needing to get distance between Zolt and me—distance I didn’t want. What I wanted was to put my hands on either side of his gorgeous face and kiss the shit out of him.

Why did Marcus have to be in my life now, just when the man I used to dream of taking my virginity, the man I still dreamed of having sex with, was here? It wasn’t fair, and I wanted to scream at the injustice of it all.

Marcus and I didn’t work now and wouldn’t work in the future.

“I better go write the memo and send it to Daddy. I’ll make sure your name is on there as well.” I put my laptop in its bag along with the other odds and ends I had scattered on the table.

“I can write it if you want?” Zolt’s voice seemed suddenly sad.

“No. There’s no sense in you writing the memo. I’m sure you have better things to do.” I smiled at him, hoping it conveyed how much I’d enjoyed being with him. “It was fun researching with you, Zolt. Thanks for your help.”

“We make a good team, Irelyn.” He winked at me and I almost fainted.