“She texted me at work today that she took one of my sweatshirts when she walked Chico. She was just returning it.”

“Okay,” Leary says testily. “I got it. Now can you just fuck me?”

I grin at her before leaning in to kiss her again. This time a bit softer. My fingers come up and work the buttons of her coat open, then I’m sliding it from her shoulders. She’s wearing a simple cream-colored turtleneck tucked into her jeans with a wide black belt. It’s amazing how, even in jeans, she can still look elegant and classic.

Bending down, I curl my hands under her ass and hoist her up. Her slender legs wrap and lock around my hips, and her head tilts to the side to kiss along my jawline. I walk her back toward my bedroom, giving a sharp “Stay” to Chico when he gets up to follow us.

Next follows a struggle between the two of us trying to undress each other. We fumble with buttons, zippers, and her bra clasp. Shoes get in the way; socks prevent a sexy disrobing.

None of that matters, though, because in moments Leary is on top of my bed and I’m on top of Leary, my cock resting heavy and pulsing with need across her pelvic bone.

I kiss her again, starting off slowly, but almost instantly, the lust flows hotly again between us. Her hips flex against me, rubbing her bare pussy all over my cock. Her wetness seeps through her folds, coating my shaft slick and driving me delirious with need.

Looping one arm under the back of her leg, I hoist it up and spread her wide. Fisting my cock, I line up, watching in fascination as I push just the tip in with a slight movement of my hips. I take a moment and marvel at the beauty of my thickness just nestled in between those pink lips, knowing that I’m getting ready to sink into her heaven.

My gaze comes back up to her, and her eyes are pinned on me with anxiety. “Are you okay?” I ask her, holding my body absolutely still.

“Do you forgive me?” she whispers, and it all comes back to me.

I pushed her right into my bed without giving any thought to resolving things between us. My mind scrambles . . . what the fuck am I doing?

Should I stop or should I push inside her?

Do I accept things the way they are and just wait for the day she truly hates me for what I’ll do to her case?

Or should I man up and cut things off right now?

My cock jerks in rebellion over the thought of pulling away from Leary, at least physically, so I completely succumb to my lust and need for her and slam my way inside without answering her question.

Leary’s neck and back arch off the bed, her head tilts back, and she groans in approval over my invasion. I pull out and thrust back in hard again, my entire body shuddering over how good her tight pussy feels around me.

Once more . . . slide out, slam back in, and Leary lets out a tiny whimper of pleasure.

My hand strokes up the side of her body, over her breast, past her collarbone, and I wrap my fingers around the front of her neck. Leary’s eyes snap open, looking at me in curiosity. I give a small squeeze to her slender throat and grind against her, my breath huffing out with exertion.

I pull out and slam back in, hard and deep, my fingers squeezing just a bit harder so I know I have her attention.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” I tell her quietly. Slide free, almost to the tip . . . pump back in to the hilt. “But you need to promise me a few things.”

She nods at me, her mouth open slightly, her eyes clouding over again as I keep tunneling in and out of her. God, she’s so fucking sexy, and it’s taking all my control not to just unleash a fury of need on her right now.

I pull out one more time, push back in, not so fast, but so deep that my pelvis grinds harshly against hers. I rotate my hips once more, grinding again. Leaning my face toward hers, I snag her lower lip between my teeth and give her a bite before letting go. I lick gently at her lip then pull back just enough so she can see my eyes.

I’m not sure what type of desperation they’re showing, but before I can finish her and me off at the same time, I have to know I have a fighting chance with her for the long haul. I need to know that she accepts me for what I am, otherwise I’m dooming myself.

“You need to promise me you know—deep in your heart—that nothing I do on this case is done to hurt you personally.”

“I do,” she murmurs. “I know that.”

I reward her with a few more luxurious thrusts of my cock.

“Promise me, Leary,” I breathe against her lips. “No matter what happens during the trial, you know and accept I’m just doing my job.”

I stroke deep inside her and she moans. I’ve lost her to the pleasure, so once again I still inside her body. Curling my hand, I now hold her by the back of the neck. I pull up, causing her head to rise off the pillow. A swift kiss . . . another bite to her lip. “Promise me, baby. You know I’m just doing my job. I’m not trying to hurt you.”

“I know,” she assures me, and she contracts her muscles around my dick, causing me to groan. “I know and I promise.”

Leary’s arms come up over my shoulders and wrap tightly around my neck. She pulls me to her face and kisses me deeply, sweetly swirling her tongue against mine. My hips start moving again, unable to hold still against this onslaught.

Our breathing picks up . . . our kissing turns deeper . . . our hips move in synchronicity, mating my cock with her pussy on the most profound level imaginable.

I have her promise. She won’t hold my job against me.

I have her promise.

I hope she keeps it.

CHAPTER 17

LEARY

“Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me?” Reeve asks me, for what I think—by last count—is the fourth time.

“No,” I tell him, giving him a side glance as he sits in the passenger seat of my car. “Let it be enough that there’s something important I want to show you, and you’ll have to cool your heels until we get there.”

It’s been four days since Reeve and I made up.

Four days since I promised him that I wouldn’t hold his job against him. That I knew and accepted that anything he did in this case was not designed to hurt me personally.

I made that promise willingly and with utter truth in my heart. I’m not willing to let this case stand in my way of being with this man. As a rational woman, I have to accept that Reeve is who he is. He’s my opponent on this case, and we can’t change that. He’s going to fight me tooth and nail when we get in that courtroom, and I’m going to fight him back just as hard. That’s the way our legal system works.

What I did with my promise is assure him that no matter how much blood we draw in the courtroom, I am not going to let it change my feelings about him.

And there are indeed feelings involved.

Deep feelings.

I realized it the minute Reeve walked away from me after the mediation. The finality of his words and his tone of voice immediately made me see that I was getting ready to lose something very good in my life. Now that I have him back, I’m going to try harder than ever to continue to cement this bond we’ve established.

And that’s why on this Saturday morning, I insisted he get up, get dressed, and we go for a drive. I told him there was something I wanted to show him.

It’s time for me to share more of who I am. It’s time for me to pull the door open wider and let him all the way in.