Now and Forever (9 page)

“I’m representing him,” she said.

“Shit,” he muttered, scrubbing a hand across his unshaven dark blond stubble. “Emma talk you into it?”

Layla nodded. “I can’t say no to her. I’m worried for them, Ben.”

He slipped an arm around her waist and she leaned against his chest. She slipped a hand around his waist, feeling his hard lines through his dress shirt. When her other hand slid up to his neck and around to his hairline, his sharp intake of breath told her she had his attention. She caressed his neck lightly with her lips just the way he liked, nipping lightly at his jaw line.

The rumble of his groan encouraged her, and she moved away from the desk to stand between his legs. His fingers sank into her ass cheeks, pulling her tightly against him. Her resolve to be the one calling the shots started to crumble as one of his hands slid beneath her skirt, his fingertips slipping beneath the edge of her satin panties. His lips met hers insistently, the scratch of his bristle against her chin sending a wave of arousal between her thighs.

“Let me show you how commanding
I
can be,” she said, using all her willpower to pull away from him. She slipped a hand between his thighs and massaged his sizeable erection. His eyelids closed and he let out a rough exhale before pulling her hand away.

“It’s my turn, Ben,” she said firmly. “You held my hands up last time and I was totally at your mercy. Not that I’m complaining.”

“Tell me what you want,” he said, the heat of arousal gone from his eyes now.

Layla paused. “I want you to sit down in your chair so I can—”

He cut her off in his no-nonsense tone. “No. What do you want, Layla? Why did you come here?”

She took an uncomfortable step back. “I can’t come here just to see you?”

“I love it when you come here just to see me, but that’s not why you’re here today. Tell me what you want.”

She felt a sulky expression taking over. “Fine. I want to borrow some money. You know why.”

Ben crossed his arms across his chest. “We’re engaged. You don’t need to use your sex appeal to get things from me. Just ask.”

She looked away, unnerved by his direct read of her. “It’s a lot of money. I hate that I have to ask you.”

“I don’t think we should do it. His parents can help him.”

“No. They don’t want his parents to know. And I told Emma I’d help. I told her I had the money.”

“You do. It’s not that I’m unwilling to give you the money, I just don’t think you should do it. If you choose to anyway, you’ll have to take money from my account and put it in yours. I can’t bail out someone I helped arrest.” His jaw was set and his arm muscles were flexed tightly.

“I have to do it. I’ve failed Emma in the past and I’m not failing her this time. It’s not just about Cole, Ben. He’s the father of our future niece or nephew.”

Ben shook his head and looked away. “You’re not jaded like I am, Layla. I love that about you. But I don’t want to see you bust your ass for someone who’s guilty. He came up with an engagement ring even though they’re supposedly broke. The bakery’s losing money but he’s somehow keeping it afloat. How do you explain that?”

“I don’t know. But I need to get Emma the money. Please don’t be mad at me over this. You’ll get the money back.”

Ben met her imploring gaze. “It’s not about the money. I’m trying to look out for you.”

“I know.”

A few seconds of silence passed and he sighed, sounding resigned.

“My checkbook’s in the top drawer of my desk at my place. You’ve got a key and I already put you on my account. Take what you need.”

Layla rushed forward and threw herself into his arms, pressing herself against him. “I love you. Thank you.”

He held her for a few seconds before she pulled back. “I love you, too,” he said. “And I love your loyalty to your sister. But don’t get your hopes up about Cole. I’m afraid Emma may be a single mom to this baby while he’s serving time.”

***

Emma and Cole were alone in her car on the ride home from the police station, but the silence was so prominent it was like a third passenger.

“Cole,” she said, glancing at the back of his head as he stared out his window. “Talk to me.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” he said, turning toward her. His tortured expression said it all.

“How much money was it?”

Cole blew out a breath. “I still don’t know because I didn’t let them interview me. It’s never a good idea to do that without your attorney present. Once I find one, we can get stuff subpoenaed.”

“Well, you’ve got one,” Emma said, casting a hopeful glance his way. “Layla.”

“Uh . . . really?”

“She wants to do it, and I know she’ll do a great job, even though she doesn’t have a ton of criminal experience.”

Cole rubbed his forehead. “I can’t believe I need a criminal attorney. This is a fucking nightmare, Em. I hate that you had to come bail me out. Where’d you get the money, anyway?”

“I borrowed it from Layla.”

“So she paid my bail and she’s gonna represent me.” Cole sighed deeply. “I’m definitely gonna have to stop being a dick to her now.” He laughed a single note but didn’t sound amused.

“I know this is hard, but we’ll get through it.”

“Bet you’re glad you’re not engaged to me,” he said bitterly. “I’ll probably lose my job. All that I worked for. I’ll be nothing but a loser in a massive hole of law school debt.”

Emma fired back in a fierce tone. “You’ll never be a loser. Even if you’d done this – which you didn’t – I’d still love you. You work so hard and you’ve taken my problems on as your own. You don’t owe the construction loan on my bakery, but you’ve made all the payments so far. You subsidize me when I can’t pay myself—”

“It’s not like that, Em,” Cole broke in. “We’re together. Everything that’s mine is yours. Which, as of this afternoon, is a pretty shitty deal.”

Emma glanced in the mirror before squeezing her car into a tight parking spot in front of their building. “Getting the bakery up and running has been a lot harder than we expected. It may not make it. And now we’re pregnant, which is also a challenge. This arrest is just like those things. We’ll get through it.”

“I don’t deserve you,” Cole said softly as Emma put the car in park. She looked over and his vulnerable expression sent a surge of love for him through her chest. Everyone else saw cool, capable Cole Marlowe, but these occasional glances of his uncertainty reminded her who he really was. Behind the tall, perfect body and golden blond good looks was a man who needed the same reassurances everyone else did.

She leaned over to him, unable to wait until they got inside, and put her hands behind his neck, pulling him her way and kissing him. When she smelled a hint of his crisp, light aftershave, it reminded her of the uninhibited sex that had gotten her pregnant a few months ago. The sex they hadn’t had since then.

She threaded her hands into his hairline and dug her nails in, leaning in closer to kiss him deeper. His slight groan into her mouth made her aware of the throbbing need between her thighs. He fumbled with his seatbelt and pulled away from her.

“Inside,” he said in a low tone. They bounded out of the car at the same time. He had his apartment key out before they even made it to the elevator.

The elevator doors slid open and they stepped on. Emma was relieved when no one else got on before the doors closed. Cole’s arms were around her in an instant. He pulled her in close, kissing her hard and pulling lightly on the ends of her hair.

Her erection was hard and warm against her belly. She’d missed what this part of him did to her. Insistent need coursed from him into her as he kissed his way up her neck to her jaw line. The elevator stopped and they both pulled back reluctantly as the doors slid open.

Emma smiled as she eyed Cole’s very prominent bulge. He adjusted himself quickly and grinned back at her. She felt like a teenager having a forbidden romp as he took her hand and led her to the door of their apartment.

“Oh, I can’t stay,” she said. “I have to go back to the bakery.”

Cole’s face fell into an aghast expression. “What?”

“Kidding. Get that door open, Marlowe.”

He turned the key in the lock and arched his brows at her. “You know what happens when you tease me, Em.”

“I do,” she said, shifting in an effort to ease the pulse of need between her legs. She followed him in the door and pushed it closed. He turned and pulled her close, squeezing her ass.

It had been so long since they’d kissed one another feverishly and torn at each other’s clothes that her body shivered in response to his. His muscular lines and the fresh scent of his soap aroused her in a way that felt new and familiar at the same time.

She stepped out of her pants and let him pull her shirt over her head as they made their way to the couch. When they got there, he turned her around and rubbed a hand tenderly over her stomach. It was a contrast to the nip of his teeth on her shoulder. Her breathing was already ragged when he slipped her panties down and caressed her ass cheeks with the same tenderness he’d shown her stomach.

Emma bent over the couch, her body wound tight with longing. She hoped he knew what she wanted even more than sex. His fingertips wandered lightly down the backs of her thighs and she felt him unbutton his suit pants and let them drop to the floor.

“Em,” he whispered reverently. She clutched at the fabric of the couch, waiting. When he smacked his hand lightly across her ass, she moaned with delight at the small taste of what she’d been craving.

“More,” she cried, her body humming with arousal. His next smack had more force than the first one, but still wasn’t as hard as she wanted. Was he holding back because she was pregnant?

She only wondered for a second before she was grasping the fabric of the couch again as he entered her. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as the familiarity of this connection with Cole washed over her. She’d missed it, and she could tell how much he’d missed it too by his deep, paced thrusts into her.

Her cries of his name were muffled by the couch, which she’d buried her face in. She couldn’t possibly get off this way, could she? But she already felt the blissful rise within her. Cole only gave her a few more thrusts before he pulled back and she groaned her disapproval.

He used his hands on her waist to turn her around and lift her on to the arm of the couch. Her body tingled in response. They’d done it here before, and it had been so good. When he pushed back into her, his mouth met hers at the same moment. He kissed her slow and sweet at first, but the harder and faster he thrust himself into her, the more breathless they both became.

Not only was she moaning into his mouth, he was groaning against her lips at the same time. She saw his strain to hold himself back until she fell over the edge, an orgasm rippling through her in a powerful wave. He was right behind, saying her name with deep reverence. His chest had a sheen of sweat when she pressed her face to his skin, wishing she could be even closer to him than this.

“You should get arrested more often,” she teased, combing her fingertips through his short hair.

He hummed his amusement and kissed her softly. “I love you, Em.”

“I love you, too.”

“Then marry me.”

She pulled back a few inches to meet his blue-gray gaze. “We can only handle so many big things at once. We have plenty of time for that. There’s no one for me but you.”

“I feel the same way. So let’s make it official.”

“We’re already overwhelmed right now,” she said, laying a hand on his cheek. “When we get married, I want to know it’s not because I’m pregnant or because I just bailed you out of jail.”

Cole grimaced and shook his head. “We belong on the fucking Jerry Springer show.”

“Maybe we’ll look back on all this one day and laugh.”

“Yeah. I don’t want you marrying me like this, anyway. Not when I might lose my job and criminal charges are pending against me.”

“I don’t have to go back to work,” Emma said, smiling. “Let’s go into the bedroom and forget all our troubles.”

Cole smiled back and leaned his forehead against hers. “You make it easy to forget there’s anyone in the world but you and me, Em.”

***

His twin sister’s squeal of delight on the other end of the phone put a wide smile on Ben’s face.

“I knew she’d say yes! Of course she did! Congratulations, baby brother.”

She’d been teasing him about the minutes that separated them since she started talking.

“Thanks. I hope you guys can come home for the wedding.”

Bree’s family lived in England, where her husband worked. “We’ll be there! When is it?”

“We haven’t set a date yet.”

“I’m so happy for you,” Bree said. “She sounds amazing, and from the pictures you’ve sent I can tell she’s gorgeous.”

“She’s way too good for me,” Ben said. “Hope no one tells her that before we seal the deal.”

“You’re quite a catch yourself, but I was starting to wonder if you’d ever let anyone catch you. Just don’t screw this up by going all alpha on her, alright?”

Ben wrinkled his face with dismay even though Bree couldn’t see him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t tell her that you expect dinner on the table every night when you walk in the door or that you want to control all the bank accounts. You can be domineering, Ben.”

“We get carryout every night and I could give a shit about money as long as she doesn’t buy a yacht or something.”

Bree sighed, sounding irritated. “Do you deny that you’re intimidating at times? Not just with your height and four foot wide shoulders. You’ve got a glare – and a bark.”

“Geez, you make me sound like a real prick.”

“You’re one of the best men I’ve ever known. I just know how possessive you can be. If she, say, didn’t want to take your last name, you’d fly into orbit.”

Ben grunted with indignation. “And why the hell shouldn’t she take my last name? You want me to take hers or something?”

“No. Just remember that marriage is a partnership, okay? Negotiate. Give and take. Enjoy this time.”

“Got it, Mom.”

There was a flicker of silence on the other end of the phone. “I’m not trying to mother you, I just—”