N. Walters - A Legal Affair

The corners of his lips twitched. “Thing?”

“You know what I mean.” She glared at him. “This one-night stand, this affair or whatever you want to call it.”

His face sobered. “How about a relationship?”

“Fine. I started this relationship when I approached you at Shamus and Cyndi’s wedding.”

“I don’t remember putting up much of a fight.” His voice had lowered into the tone she thought of as his bedroom voice. It made her stomach flutter and her skin heat. She tried to ignore it.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Why was he being obtuse about this?

“What do you mean, sugar?”

She closed her eyes briefly and swallowed hard as his tone gentled. The two of them sitting at the table, just talking, was such an intimate moment that she had to blink back tears. Her emotions were close to the surface, but she shoved them back down. She’d get through this no matter what. She wouldn’t give in to tears. She’d gone into this affair with her eyes open. In fact, she was the one who had insisted on keeping it a clandestine affair.

“I knew you wouldn’t be here for long.” Her voice was low and husky with unshed tears. She cleared her throat, taking a sip of tea before continuing. “But I was attracted to you. More attracted than I’d ever been to any other man. Even though I knew better, I thought I could have an affair with you, take what I want and not get hurt.”

“Alicia—”

“No, let me finish.” She stared at him, beseeching him to let her finish this while she still could. “Please.”

He nodded, but she could feel the barely suppressed energy vibrating from him. His body was tense, coiled for action. He held himself still, like a predator waiting to pounce.

She shook her head, amused at her own train of thought. Gill was a civilized man, not a barbarian.

Although the way he was staring at her was anything but civilized, and her body responded immediately. The tips of her nipples hardened, elongating into tight points that pushed at the cups of her bra. Her sex clenched tight, awash with cream that dampened her panties.

Taking a deep breath, she forged onward. “This was an affair, plain and simple. I knew you wouldn’t be staying.” She wrapped her hands around her mug, feeling the warmth seep into her palms. “This has gotten out of hand. You didn’t sign up for a public inquisition or to have your honor and integrity questioned. Your job for me is done. You probably want to leave as quickly as possible, and that’s most likely the best thing to do.”

Alicia didn’t look at him. Couldn’t look at him. She hadn’t thought she was a coward, but had discovered that she was. She couldn’t watch him walk away from her.

Her stomach clenched and she bit her lip to keep from crying.

“Are you done?” he asked, his voice soft, yet firm.

She nodded, still refusing to look at him.

“That’s bullshit. All of it.”

Her head snapped up. Anger whipped through her. “Bullshit?” She’d just poured her heart out to him and that’s all he had to say. “Bullshit!”

“Yes. Bullshit.” He stood up so suddenly the chair tipped over, falling to the floor.

Putting his hands on the table, he leaned forward until their noses were almost touching.

As she watched, his nostrils flared and his lips flattened. “I never asked for a one-night stand or an affair. That was what you wanted.”

She came to her feet slowly, flattening her hands on the table so that the tips of their fingertips were almost touching. “Then what do you want?”

“You,” he growled. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he practically dragged her around the corner of the table and into his arms. Her mug went flying, tea spilling everywhere, but she didn’t care. Their lips met. Clinging. Tasting.

“I don’t know why I want you so damn much,” he muttered as he peppered her face with kisses. “You’re stubborn and opinionated and too blind to see what’s right in front of you.”

She returned his kisses, desperate to touch any part of him she could reach. Her lips coasted over his strong jaw, his slightly crooked nose and his firm chin. “You’re no prize yourself.” She tunneled her fingers into his hair. “You’re stubborn and opinionated too.

And just so damned male.”

He chuckled and then groaned as she hitched her legs around his hips, crossing her ankles at the small of his back. She did it without thought, knowing he wouldn’t let her fall. Her mound brushed against the hard bulge in his jeans. It felt so good, she did it again, this time intentionally. Heat flooded her lower body.

Gill positioned his hands beneath her thighs, holding her steady. He nibbled and nipped at her neck, working his way steadily toward her ear.

“If I’m so bad, why are you still here?” she gasped as he flicked his tongue over the curve of her ear.

“Don’t you know, sugar?” He stilled, his entire body going motionless. “I love you.”

Now it was her turn to freeze. Somehow, she got her lips to work even though they felt as numb as the rest of her. “What did you say?”

Keeping his arms wrapped around her, he turned and pushed her back against the wall. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, her sex against his. It felt natural and right. Perfect.

Using his lower body to keep her upright, he leaned back slightly, clasping her face between his palms. “I said I love you. I know it’s quick, but I’m old enough to know my own feelings. I love your mind, your sense of justice, your sense of humor, the way you see the world around you. I love waking up in the middle of the night and feeling you wrapped in my arms. I love showering with you in the morning, and starting our day together. I love knowing you’re thinking about me during the day, the way I’m thinking about you.” Gill rubbed his thumbs over her flushed cheeks. “I love hearing your voice when I come through your front door at the end of the day.” He kissed her softly, gently.

“I love you, Alicia.”

Never in all her years had she ever heard anything so romantic. She’d never expected a declaration of love, let alone one so eloquent or beautiful. “Oh, Gill,” she breathed.

“This is the part where you tell me that you love me back.”

She could sense the unease behind the bravado and realized that he had no idea how she truly felt about him. Her lips parted. She leaned forward. “Gill,” she began.

And then the phone rang.

Alicia jumped and Gill swore. It rang the second time and he offered her a wry smile. “Answer or ignore it?”

The answering machine kicked in and her quick message was played. After the tone came a voice all too familiar.

“Alicia, I know you’re there. Millie told me you’d gone home. If you don’t answer, I’m coming over there.”

Alicia sighed. “It’s my mother.” She unhooked her legs and slowly slid down Gill’s body. “Hold my place?”

He nodded, slowly lowering his arms from around her. She grabbed the phone before her mother hung up and made good on her threat. “Mom.”

Her mother began to babble incoherently, and Alicia held the phone away from her ear for a moment before attempting to speak. “Mom, calm down.”

The chatter stopped and she heard her mother take a breath. “I heard that the fact you’re having an affair is all over town and that clients are leaving your practice in droves.”

Alicia’s stomach dropped, but she ignored it. “I think that droves is a bit too dramatic, Mom. I might lose one or two clients, but that’s it. I can always get more. I’ve worked hard in this town and my reputation can weather this.” As she said it, she realized that she truly believed it. “Besides which, I still have several large clients who won’t leave my practice.”

Now that she was truly thinking logically about it, Cyndi O’Rourke’s account alone was huge for her practice, and she knew without a doubt that Cyndi wouldn’t pull her business just because of Gill. If anything, Cyndi was likely to cheer the fact that Alicia had a lover. Her long years of work would speak for itself with the community. Yes, there would be some problems, but nothing she couldn’t handle. She felt her worries about her law practice slip away.

“But you’ve worked so hard to have a place in the community.” Alicia could hear the concern in her mother’s voice.

“Mom, I still have a place in the community.” She’d built her business from scratch and could do it again if it came to that, although she didn’t think it would. She had faith in herself and her abilities. “Maybe even more than I realized before.”

“But to risk it all for some man!” her mother wailed.

“He’s not just any man.” Alicia paused and stared at Gill, who had wiped up the spilled tea and now stood beside her patiently waiting. She had a sudden sense that he would always stand beside her if she’d let him. Now that the moment was at hand, all her old fears seemed silly and immature. “I love him, Mom.”

She sensed the flood of relief as he pulled her into his arms. She leaned against his chest and sighed with relief. His muscles tensed and then relaxed. She could hear the heavy, reassuring thud of his heart beneath her ear. This is where she belonged.

Her mother had gone silent. “Mom, are you still there?”

“Are you sure, Alicia?”

“More certain than I’ve ever been about anything in my life.” And she wasn’t just saying the words. She truly felt it right to the marrow of her bones.

“You’ll bring him to supper to meet me and your father?” She could picture her mother already planning what she would serve and what china she would put on the table.

Being proper was very important to Crystal Flint. She and her mother might be very different in the way they viewed life, but Alicia never doubted that her mother loved her.

Alicia smiled. It wouldn’t take Gill long to get her family’s stamp of approval. Not that he needed it, but she wanted her family to get along with him. She had no idea where their relationship would go from here. It was enough for now that she loved him and he loved her.

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll call you later.”

“Alicia,” her mother paused. “I only want what’s best for you. I don’t want you to be hurt.” That was her mother’s way of letting her know she cared and Alicia felt the last of her tension seep out of her body.

“That’s what I want too. Talk to you later.” She hung up the phone and turned to face Gill. She felt strangely light, almost buoyant. “Now, where were we?”

“You were about to tell me how much you loved me.” His voice was thick with emotion.

“I was, wasn’t I?” She took his face between her palms, feeling the slight scratch of scruff on his chin. She met his gaze and saw her love reflected in his steel-blue eyes. “I love you, Gill Baron. No matter what happens, no matter what comes of it. I don’t care what anyone else thinks about our relationship. All that matters is us.”

“Alicia,” he groaned as he buried his face in the curve of her neck. He leaned down and grasped her bottom and lifted her. She tucked her legs around his waist, and wrapped her arms around his neck, as he started walking toward the bedroom. She couldn’t wait to make love with him.

Gill kept his face buried in Alicia’s neck, inhaling her sweet, seductive fragrance as he carried her to their room. He no longer thought of it as just hers. He’d put his stamp on the place in the short time he’d been here. Some of his clothes were in the drawers, his shaving kit was in her bathroom, his shirts hung in the closet alongside her blouses and the book he was reading rested on the nightstand. He felt more at home here then he did in the apartment he’d lived in for the past ten years in Alabama.

Alicia signified home.

He kicked the door shut behind him, and made his way quickly to the bed. He had to get her naked, to touch her soft skin, to taste her intoxicating cream, to claim her as his.

She touched his face and tugged lightly on his hair. “Are you okay?”

Was he okay? He was overwhelmed by the emotions churning inside him. He’d never expected to feel this way about anyone, but somehow with Alicia, it was the most natural thing in the world. “Yeah, sugar. Everything is perfect.” Or at least it would be when he buried himself deep in her body.

With more haste than finesse, he placed her on the bed and stripped her jeans from her body. She lifted her butt and wiggled to help him slide the denim down her legs. He yanked off her socks, tossing them aside. Lifting one of her legs, he placed a kiss on the inside of her ankle, against the curve of her knee and then on the inside of her thigh. He inhaled deeply, breathing in her unique scent. She smelled of flowers and honey and hope.