- -
- 100%
- +
“You’ve also noticed my ass.”
Wonderful. She’d been caught. “Unless you have eyes in the back of your head, I don’t see how you could know that.”
“When I was standing at the bar a minute ago, getting your wine, I was watching you in the mirror and saw you giving it a look. But that’s okay because I’ve looked at yours more than once.”
Alisha’s head started to whirl, but it wasn’t the limited amount of alcohol that had her thoughts so jumbled. It was him. “Why did you wait until now to tell me all of this?”
He reached up and brushed another rebellious strand of hair away from her cheek. “You kept giving mixed signals every time I was around you. Stop, go, maybe. I was never sure how you were going to respond to any kind of overture from me. But after I saw you tonight, sitting in that bar alone, looking so damn good, it was all I could do not to grab you up and carry you out.”
Aha! His true motive. She was the only one alone and, therefore, available. “I thought this was all about friendship.”
“I’m willing to settle for friendship, if that’s all you want. But it’s going to be tough when I’ve had some fairly serious fantasies about you for months now.”
They couldn’t be half as wicked as hers involving him. “What kind of fantasies?”
He ran a slow fingertip up and down her forearm. “Like the other day, when we passed each other in the stairwell. You had on that brown suit—”
“Yes, and if I recall correctly, you told me brown wasn’t flattering on me.”
“I told you that because what I really wanted to do was take it off you, especially when you leaned your arm on the rail, your jacket parted and I saw just a glimpse of right here.” He drew a line down from her collarbone to the side of her breast, causing a shiver to run the length of Alisha’s body. “That little bit of bare flesh had me wondering exactly what you had on underneath that jacket. Five more seconds and I might have tried to find out.”
Alisha shivered. “I see.”
He toyed with the silver-and-green chandelier earring hanging from her lobe. “I’m not sure you do. But let me tell you about my favorite fantasy, then maybe you will see.”
Alisha wasn’t sure her heart could take much more. It was already beating like a bongo against her chest. But she had to know. “Since you seem to be on a roll, continue.”
He grinned. “You know that sofa in Riley’s chambers?”
“The ugly plaid one?”
“Yeah. The last time I was there, I’d just seen you in the hall. You asked me about the holiday schedule—”
“And after you’d harangued me about not owning a calendar, you told me what you knew, end of conversation.”
“That wasn’t the end of it for me,” he said. “Just being around you, even for those few minutes, had me distracted. I was requesting a continuance from Riley and I fumbled around like an idiot because I kept imagining us stretched out on that sofa. Naked.”
Wow. “Please tell me Riley wasn’t watching in this fantasy.”
“No, it was just you and me, after hours.”
She swallowed hard. “What were we doing?”
“You sure you want details? It’s pretty wild.”
For a long moment Daniel simply stared at her with those incredible, intense eyes. She still didn’t quite believe this was happening. Still had a difficult time believing he wanted her in that way.
She was mildly aware of the colorful flashes of splintered lights outside the window and very aware of how much he affected her. “I believe the fireworks have started.”
“Yeah, they have.” Daniel pulled her against him with one arm and framed her jaw in his free hand, rubbing his thumb over her cheek in a hypnotic cadence. She reacted with low-down heat and a rush of dampness, as if he were touching her intimately. “Happy new year, Alisha.” Before she could return the greeting, he laid his lips on hers.
On one hand, she’d hoped he was a lousy kisser, forcing her common sense to come back around. On the other hand, she knew he wouldn’t be, and he wasn’t. He drove her into merry madness with his soft lips, tantalized her with his tongue until she lost all sense of reasoning or thoughts of why she shouldn’t be doing this.
But doing it she was. And worse, she wanted to do more. She wanted to do him.
Daniel prided himself on knowing women well, including all the things that made them hot, made them want and at times even made them beg. But Alisha Hart had thrown him totally off balance. He sure as hell wasn’t complaining, because he’d imagined this for months—having her pressed against him, kissing her senseless until he questioned if he had any sense left either. Still, he needed to take it slow. Needed to make sure he was reading her right before he did something that might make her bolt.
But when she broke the kiss and whispered, “Show me the details,” slow suddenly lost all its luster. Slow couldn’t describe what happened next. He pulled her up from the sofa and went after the zipper on her dress while she tore at the buttons on his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she muttered as she tackled his fly.
“Probably not,” he replied as he slid the dress down in a rush.
And that was the end of all meaningless protests. He considered suggesting the bedroom as he relieved her of her bra and panties in quick order, but it was too far away and he was too far gone. After he shirked off his slacks and briefs, they ended up on the couch, facing each other in a tangle of limbs, hands roving over each other as he kept his mouth firmly fixed with hers. He found her breast with his mouth and slipped his palm between her thighs, finding her, as he’d predicted, hot and wet. She released a soft moan as he touched her, moving in sync with his hand as he drove her to the edge. Luckily she hadn’t touched him in the same way yet, otherwise he might go over with her.
“I want you,” she whispered. “Now.”
Exactly what he needed to hear to continue. With the last scrap of coherent thought he told her, “I want to see your face.”
He rolled to his back, settled her on top of him and guided himself inside her. His breath hissed out through his gritted teeth and hers caught in a gasp. She leaned down and teased his lips with her tongue, splayed her hands across his chest to explore but failed to move, as if trying to prove she was in control. In many ways, she was.
Daniel had no problem with that. He’d never been territorial when it came to sex. But then, he’d never been with a woman quite like her. With her ruffled red curls spiraling down her shoulders and her blue eyes glazed, she looked like a mixture of fire and ice. She made him hot, made him sweat, made him mutter a curse that made her smile.
“What do you want me to do, Daniel?” she asked, her voice as sultry as her expression.
He palmed her breasts with both hands. “Whatever you feel like doing. I’m at your mercy.” And he was.
She lifted up, then moved back down his shaft with agonizing slowness. “Am I doing your fantasy justice?”
“Oh, yeah.” Even those two words took a lot of effort when she began to quicken the pace.
Alisha Hart might look like the wholesome girl next door, but it wasn’t long before he discovered she made love like a wild woman. She rode him hard and fast, taking him to the limit of his sanity. She raked her nails down his shoulders as he drove into her, touching her without restraint until he felt the grip of her orgasm.
Too soon, he thought when he moved past the point of no return. Too soon and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. With one more upward thrust, hard and deep, he came with a vicious shudder that ran the length of his entire body.
She collapsed against him, their harsh, broken breathing the only sound echoing in the room, their skin slick and damp where they touched. He slid his hands down her back and over the rise of her butt, then back up again, while he kissed the side of her neck, working his way back to her lips.
Alisha Hart was potent poison, deceptive in that she covered her inherent sexuality with a confident, cool exterior. Any man lucky enough to experience all that enthusiasm was probably a goner, and that included him.
Following a sigh, she lifted her head and looked toward the window. “I think the fireworks have ended.”
As far as Daniel Fortune was concerned, they had only begun.
For long, listless moments they remained in the same position, Alisha lying atop Daniel with her cheek resting against his heart. She was too exhausted to move, although she had no desire to do so. However, she also had no idea what had gotten into her. Oh, yes, she did. Daniel Fortune had gotten into her, and she’d willingly let him. More importantly, she’d completely let go—something that was quite out of character for her, at least with a man she barely knew. Oh, wait. She’d never been with a man she barely knew, and that was why none of this made much sense. Yet she had no real qualms at all, only the sense that she could get used to more of this, and that wasn’t even something she dared to consider. This one instance of absolute bliss would be all she’d expect to experience with him after tonight. Otherwise, she’d be setting herself up for a major fall.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, intruding into her thoughts.
“You could use more color in this room.”
He tugged her head up and forced her to look at him. “I’m not buying that, because after what just happened I doubt my decor is on your mind.”
“Okay. I was thinking about our carelessness.”
“I know. It’s not like me to forgo a condom.”
It wasn’t like her either. “I’m personally disease-free and on the pill.”
She felt him immediately relax. “Then you can’t get pregnant,” he said.
“No. Can you give me a gift that keeps on giving?” A fine time to ask, and something she knew better than to ignore. Something she’d never ignored until now. But timeless wisdom hadn’t visited her once this evening.
“I’m clean,” he said. “Do you want to see the results of my physical?”
“No. I’m going to trust you on this one.” She had no choice.
He pushed her hair aside and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “Good, because you can trust me. I wouldn’t do anything to compromise your safety.”
Another bout of silence passed before Alisha said, “This is absolutely crazy.”
“Call me crazy, but you seemed to enjoy it. I sure as hell did.”
She certainly couldn’t deny that she’d enjoyed it greatly. “Maybe it was the atmosphere or the fact that I haven’t been with anyone in a long time.”
“I know what you mean. It’s been awhile for me, too.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Why?”
“Well, aside from the obvious things, such as you’re an eligible bachelor and highly regarded, you’re also a man.”
“Being a man doesn’t have anything to do with it. My job doesn’t always allow for an active social life.”
Active sex life would be more accurate. “That’s true. Neither does mine. But regardless of our reasons for why this happened, we can’t take it back.”
He frowned. “Do you want to take it back?”
Did she? “Honestly no, I don’t think I do. It was… It was…”
“Hot.”
“You could definitely say that.”
His frown faded into a smile. “Great?”
She answered his smile with one of her own. “Better than great.”
He scooted up and propped his neck on the sofa’s arm. Alisha rested her chin on his chest and stared up at him, totally enthralled by his mouth, his five-o’clock shadow and those ever-changing green eyes that he kept locked on her. Reality worked its way into her mind, bringing with it more concerns she couldn’t ignore. If anyone found out about this tryst, she could be buried. Maybe that wasn’t exactly logical, but sometimes logic was influenced by past experience. “Daniel, you have to promise me something.”
He got that guy-about-to-panic look. “This sounds serious.”
“Relax. I’m not going to ask for a key to your apartment. I just need to know that you’re not going to tell anyone about this.”
His expression was a mixture of relief and frustration. “Do you think I’m going to scribble your name and number on the bathroom walls?”
“No, but these things have a way of getting around via the grapevine.”
“Alisha, we both deal with confidentiality on a daily basis. I’m not going to mention this to anyone. Except my insurance carrier.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“My shoulders might need medical attention.”
Alisha lifted her head and noted several scratches running from his shoulders to his upper arms. “Did I do that?”
“Yeah, unless I have a cat I don’t know about.”
Heaven help her, she’d scarred him for life. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“I’m not.”
Mortified, she pressed her face into his chest. “I have totally lost my mind,” she said, her words muffled but still discernible.
Once more he lifted her head up with his palms. “You and I both knew this was going to happen sooner or later.”
He probably could use an ego check. “I respectfully disagree. I wasn’t planning on this at all. I’m not a casual-sex kind of girl.”
“I don’t think what we did would qualify as casual, and there’s nothing casual about you. But you are full of surprises.”
“How so?”
“Let’s just say if there were ten women in the room, you’re the last one I would’ve expected to be that uninhibited.”
She playfully slapped at his arm, right at the point of his wounds. He gritted his teeth and sucked in a breath. “Obviously I’m making things worse,” she said.
But when she tried to roll off him, he tightened his grip. “I don’t want you to move an inch because I like you right where you are.”
If he kept saying such charming things, she might start believing them. “I have to go home now.” When she leaned to retrieve her panties from the coffee table, he yanked them from her grasp and held them up.
“‘Happy New Year?’” He laughed, a low, grainy, sexy laugh. “I’ll be damned. Special-occasion underwear.”
She reached up, snatched them back and played keep-away. “I had no idea anyone was going to see them.”
“Do you have a pair for all of the holidays?”
“It’s one of my quirks.”
“Can’t wait until Valentine’s Day then.”
Again disbelief drilled through Alisha. Surely he wasn’t seriously thinking they’d still be together next month. “You know, I really do need to go now.”
He tightened his hold on her. “You’re not going anywhere tonight.”
“Says who?”
“Says me. First, you’ll have to walk back and it’s crazy on the river tonight. You wouldn’t be safe.”
“You can drive me back to my car.”
“I thought about that, but that would mean we’d have to get dressed, and I prefer you without clothes.” He slid his hands down her bare back and gave her bottom a squeeze. “And even if I did take you back, that means you’d have to drive home with all the drunks. I’m not willing to let you do that.”
“Then you’re going to hold me here against my will?”
“I’m going to hold you against me all night.”
Alisha’s heart took a little tumble over the sincerity in his voice, the sudden softness in his expression. He brought her mouth back to his and kissed her again. A surprisingly tender kiss, gentle and thorough and thought-robbing. She now faced two options—forcing the issue and demanding he let her drive home or staying with him until morning.
But he was right—driving could be costly in terms of her safety. And being in his bed could prove costly in terms of her emotional distance. Yet when he nudged her aside and stood, staring down on her with his gorgeous body in full view and his hand extended for her to take, she didn’t hesitate.
Daniel Fortune might be dangerous, but he was the kind of danger she could definitely enjoy on a daily basis.
Three
Daniel awoke the next morning to find the space beside him unoccupied. He sat up and rubbed a hand down his chest, hoping the hot redhead hadn’t fled without at least telling him goodbye. He also had another pressing issue—the tent he’d pitched beneath the sheet. Making love in the morning was among his favorite pastimes, and frankly having more of Alisha Hart this morning sounded like an excellent idea.
He crawled out of bed and discovered he was stiff in a few places he hadn’t expected. Sex on a couch had a disadvantage in terms of comfort, but he wouldn’t change a thing. The only thing he’d change is the fact they’d both fallen asleep before they’d utilized his bed. He’d just have to mark that down on his to-do list, provided Alisha agreed. He intended to ask as soon as he found her.
Without bothering to dress he began his search in the bathroom, but he didn’t discover her there. No one in the guest room either. He walked into the living room and found it deserted. Next stop, the kitchen, where he came upon a pot of coffee brewing but not the missing defense attorney. He did find a note taped to the refrigerator. After pouring himself a cup of the brew, he pulled the paper down and read the scribbled words.
I had a great time last night, Counselor. Here’s my number. Just keep it off the bathroom wall.
His laugh was part amusement, part disappointment. He’d planned to spend the day with her since neither would be required to work, even though he had plenty of work to do. But the day wasn’t close to being over, and hopefully a phone call would remedy her absence.
Alisha Hart was one hell of a woman, and he didn’t intend to let her get away that easily. At least, not until he argued his case.
When Alisha answered the phone, she expected to hear her mom or dad wishing her a happy new year. Instead “Why did you run off without waking me up?” came through the line in a deep, provocative tone.
Daniel Fortune was more intoxicating than ingesting a barrel of moonshine. Just the sound of his voice nearly caused her to drop the receiver. “I tried to wake you, but you were snoring away.”
“Did I keep you up with my snoring?”
“Not really.” She hadn’t minded it at all. But she hadn’t slept all that well either, mainly because she’d been in a strange bed with a man who by all rights was practically a stranger. However, she had gotten to know him much better last night, and that made her blush like the devil.
“I should’ve told you to jab me and I would’ve turned over,” he said. “I usually only snore when I’m on my back.”
He had been on his back, giving Alisha the opportunity to study all the little details—from his solid chest, which was covered in a thatch of hair that thinned into a stream running down his belly, and below that… Well, that was the stuff female fantasies were made of. “You weren’t that loud. It sounded kind of like a purr.”
“A purr? I sure as hell don’t purr.”
“I’m so sorry. I certainly didn’t mean to wound your macho pride.”
“I’m definitely wounded. Those scratches look pretty bad this morning.”
“You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?”
“I will as long as you promise me you’ll wake me before you leave the next time.”
Next time? “Actually I did try to get you up before I left.”
“I said wake me up. Believe me, you did get me up.”
Her face fired up, right on cue. “That’s not what I meant. I shook your shoulder. I swear, I don’t think a grenade would have roused you. Anyway, I needed to get home and get some work done.”
“It’s a holiday, Alisha. You should take the day off.”
She slid the reduced-calorie TV dinner into the microwave, stirred the good-luck black-eyed peas simmering on the stove and prepared to tell a little fib. “Actually I’m supposed to have dinner with friends, maybe watch a bowl game or two.”
“You like football?” He said it with typical male enthusiasm.
“Love it. My mother’s responsible for that. Nothing gets her more excited than the gridiron.”
“Now I know how to get you excited—turn on the game of the week.”
He had her excited now. So much so, she jumped when the microwave signaled it was time to rotate the container. “What are your plans for today?”
“I was hoping to spend the day with you.”
“Sorry, but I can’t.” And she was sorrier she’d lied. Earlier she’d turned down Julie’s dinner invitation because she intended to work. She’d turned Daniel down because she needed time to assess where this whole thing was going.
“I can’t change your mind?” he asked.
Oh, he probably could if she let him, which she wouldn’t. “Maybe some other time.” A big maybe.
“I’m going to see you again, Alisha. And next time we’ll do it right.”
“I didn’t know we did it wrong.”
He released a throaty chuckle. “I meant right as in having dinner. An actual date. I don’t want you to think that last night was only about sex.”
“It wasn’t?”
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t want you back in my bed, but I would like to get to know you better outside of bed.”
“Do I need to bring out the arguments again as to why we shouldn’t even consider that?” she asked.
“You can, but I’m not going to listen. We have no real conflict of interest at the moment and we can be discreet about it. I think we should just go for it and see where it leads.”
Probably places Alisha had never been before. In fact, she’d taken that first step last night when she’d gone to bed with him. Correction: gone to sofa with him. “I’ll think about it, but I’m not going to promise anything.”
“Go ahead and think about it. I’ll pick you up Monday night. We can have some dinner.”
“Daniel, I—”
“I’m not going to take no for an answer.”
“You’re definitely living up to your reputation. No negotiating, no settling.”
“No holds barred when it comes to us. And this is about us, not about our jobs. We deal with our careers during the day, and that leaves the night open for whatever we want to do together.”
Alisha shivered, even in the warmth of the kitchen. “I guess we could have dinner, as long as it’s in an out-of-the-way place.”
“You can come here. I’ll make dinner.”
“You cook?” This man was simply too good to be true.
“Yeah. I can cook. I can do quite a few things that would probably surprise you.”
She had no doubts about that. “Then I guess I’ll see you Monday night.”
“And if I happen to see you Monday during the day, I’ll try not to touch you in public, although it’s going to be damn hard.”
She’d definitely avoid the stairwell and Judge Riley’s chambers. “Have a nice day, Daniel. And happy new year.”
“You, too, Alisha. And if you start having any reservations, just remember us together last night. It’s only going to get better.”
Any better and Alisha might lose herself totally to this enigmatic prosecutor.
But what the heck. She’d lived in a celibate shell for over a year. Long past time to make up for lost time. After all, what was the worst thing that could happen?
“You want me to do what?” Daniel glared at Allan Vera, the current D.A., hoping he hadn’t heard correctly. Maybe he hadn’t. All morning he’d been distracted by thoughts of a defense attorney he couldn’t get out of his head.
Vera released a rough, irritated sigh. “You heard me, Daniel. I said you have to take the Massey case.”
Of all the asinine directives, this one had to top the list. “Krauss is handling it fine.”
“I’m taking Krauss off and putting you on it. The city leaders want this one to go away quickly.”
“I’ve got a full caseload and the Jamison murder trial still pending.”
“Jason Jamison is still on the loose.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be caught soon. In the meantime I plan to build a solid case against him.” As far as Daniel was concerned, any man who would strangle his lover and shoot his own brother with calculated precision deserved to suffer all the punishment the law would allow. First, they had to catch him.
“This Massey thing should be easy enough,” Allan said. “Krauss has already handled the details. You don’t have to do much of anything but show up in court to argue the case.”