Wrangling with the Laywer (12 page)

She swall
owed heavily, her heart thudding in her ears. She thought about speaking but she discovered she couldn’t move. Her body was frozen in anticipation.

“I just want you to know this means a lot to me. That I won’t forget that you’ve done this.”

She inhaled involuntarily, looking down. His scent filled her. “You don’t have to thank me-”

He rested his elbow on the back of the sofa, lifting himself up and touching his thumb and forefinger under her chin.  She looked up and was immediately lost. His eyes were dark and watching her so tenderly she lost the ability to breath as emotion flooded her. His features remained hard and brutally handsome, making the impact of his gaze all the more confusing to her. She floundered as a sensation of tense arousal battled against an instinctive rush of
affection. It culminated in a hypnotic lethargy as his thumb stroked her lower lip. Just like last time, his eyes dropped to her mouth and she realised he was going to kiss her.

Chapter Seven

There was a silken brush of fabric as his arm moved against her side. His head lowered, a rush of scented skin and heat, and then a flood of moist warmth as his lips closed over hers. She’d been holding her breath and it rushed across them as she exhaled. He breathed her in, and his hand slipped to the nape of her neck, cradling her head as he moved his mouth across hers gently. She felt his tongue, tasted the sweet, slick textures of his mouth, and parted her lips to allow him entry. There was no question that she would allow him; she needed to taste him. The kiss deepened. His fingers spread up through her hair, guiding her head as he savoured her mouth. He tasted phenomenal, like brandy and a curious mix of the luxurious scents of his skin and his hair, so infused with his rich masculinity. It worked to completely erase her of all thought.

She shifted, turning her body so that his arm slid snugly around her waist. Her breasts pressed against his chest. She felt him gently guide her lower body forward while his kiss pushed her back down against the cushioned softness at her head. She felt the length of him pressing up against her side. It was such a welcome sensation that she released a small gasp of air at the back of her throat. The noise was absorbed in the passionate kiss between them; he responded by delving into her mouth further with his tongue. Like a switch had been flicked, she felt longing pool low in her body.

She didn’t immediately register the scraping of the conservatory doors opening in the distance. It took a few seconds for her mind to process the sounds. When she did, it was not welcomed, primarily because she felt the sudden stillness in his body. He lifted his head, separating their lips. Cold air rushed between them. She could feel that her face was wildly flushed with arousal; he studied it with a pained expression. His finger brushed across her bruised mouth, and he kissed it again, slow and full of renitence. She closed her eyes for a blissful second, wishing the rest of the world would dissolve and leave them to fully explore this moment. Her hands lifted to his neck, kneading his soft, clean hair and pulling him back into her. A groan of satisfaction sounded low in his throat. She parted her lips, gaining him entry again to the soft eagerness of her mouth.

Voices infiltrated the room, followed by a swirl of icy air.

She opened her eyes, almost moaning when his mouth left hers. “They’re coming in here.”

He straightened, brushing a ragged hand through his hair. She sat up and pulled her sweater straight. The movement only served to highlight how aroused she was; she felt the soft fabric course over her nipples like rough velvet. A pressing sensation remained between her legs. She turned to Gabe with involuntary longing.

His answering expression was beseeching. “Do not look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

He stared at her a second longer. “Like you’re as turned on as I am.”

She averted her eyes. It had just been a simple kiss.

A simple kiss? The tremble in her hands betrayed the lies her mind was trying to sell her. She couldn’t believe she’d just kissed Gabe Stahl. She had an image of him striding around the courtroom yesterday in his three piece suit; it was hard to believe this was the same man was sitting next to her on the sofa trying to gather his wits. She couldn’t look at him. Their bodies seemed to be alive with static, drawing them together. She could still smell him on her; it was like an olfactory drug trying to drag her under.

He was turned on. She’d felt it. Her mind flashed and then went blank. He was sitting next to her, turned on and wanting her.

Gabe moved to his feet. His body pulsed with need. Gritting his teeth, he took a couple of seconds to compose his heartbeat. His abdomen was tight, an ache spreading below it. He considered reaching down and taking
Harper’s hand, leading her upstairs to his bedroom before they were seen. He wanted her so badly that he felt like he hadn’t had sex in months. He felt like a teenage boy, blindly desperate to have her. He was dangerously close to losing control of his better judgement, and giving into this desire.

His mother and the children were stamping around the conservatory entrance, brushing snow on to the floor, and any minute now they would look up at notice him. He breathed deeply, considering his options.

“I’d better go out there and help your mother,” Harper told him.

Her voice was flimsy, breathless. He turned to her as she stood, looking down into her still flushed face. Her lips were bruised from his touch. He felt a possessive satisfaction in the sight. The ache flared again, and he frowned as he dampened down on it. Would she follow him if he led her upstairs? She was clearly aroused.

“Are you going to let me past?” A thread of humour warmed her gaze. Her voice had recovered some strength, but there was a suggestive richness to it that floored him.

She was flirting with him, challenging him. “I don’t know,” he responded honestly.

He saw the breath catch in her throat. He smiled, knowing in that second without a doubt that she would follow him.

“Gabe...”

He felt maliciously amused by her plaintive tone. She was maintaining a proper front, but only just. He could see how much she wanted him. He could still feel it coming off her in waves of fragrant heat, whether she meant to communicate it or not. “I’m still debating whether or not we should conclude this upstairs.” There was no harm in at least introducing his intentions.

A surprised smile curved around her lips sexily. “I’m not going upstairs with you.”

“So if I took your hand right now and led you up there, you wouldn’t follow me?”

“No.”

He laughed lightly at faint tremor in her voice as she sounded the emphatic monosyllable. “Liar.”

“Your mother’s standing about ten feet away from us.” She was amused and disapproving all at once.

“They won’t have seen through the glass doors. We’ve got about ten seconds before they come through.”

He couldn’t be sure if her heart started racing, but she certainly seemed to be holding her breath. His heart was beating like a drum. He was bluffing, mostly. They couldn’t escape for even five minutes alone with the kids in the house, but it was thrilling and intensely erotic to watch her consider the option. He felt harder than ever.

There was a thump on the doors to the den. He turned, seeing Finn banging a mitted fist on the glass with a delighted smile. Gabe’s body relaxed; he felt the atmosphere lighten as though someone had popped a balloon. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Harper. He managed a regretful expression.

He cheeks flushed again. God, she was beautiful.

“I’d better go take a walk around the block,” he told her with tight humour. “I’ll leave you with my mother.” He leaned back. She slid her slender curves through the confided space between him and the table, her behind grazing him. The reaction in his body was so intense it felt like a shooting pain. “Have a little mercy on me,” he uttered, wondering if she’d done that on purpose.  It didn’t help when she flashed him a discreet smile before leaving to attend her son.

By the time dinner rolled around, Gabe was feeling a lot less playful. After a quick shower, he spent the afternoon idly watching over Alice, who trailed around after him, content to do whatever he was doing. She was subdued, which worried him
more than seeing her visibly upset. He helped his father work on one of his classic cars in the heated garage before entertaining his mother with news of his exploits while she was directing the catering staff in the kitchen. Harper and Finn had gone down to the freezing cold beach for a walk; no one else had been up to it, and Gabe was glad for the physical reprieve from her. He needed to keep his head clear.

With Alice quietly ensconced in sight in front of an animated movie in the den, Gabe wandered back into the kitchen. He waited until the last of the catering staff had left before he told his mother about Christine’s letter. It did not go down well.

***

Dinner was a formal affair with a small group of neighbours invited to pad out the numbers at the table. 
Harper volunteered to bathe the children; he noticed she was glad to make an early escape, though he was sure the rest of the table’s occupants wouldn’t have guessed. She’d clearly impressed them with her understated intelligence and good manners. She’d come across as capable and charming in equal measures. The more Gabe watched her, the more he realised what great wife material she was. If he’d been looking for a wife to enhance his social networking, which he wasn’t, she would be perfect. Ironically because she was so sincere; she seemed to have a genuine and equal interest in everyone.

The tension around the table wouldn’t have been especially evident to all of the occupants either. Gabe knew
Harper had picked up on it the second she came back from the beach. Vivien had been livid at the suggestion her granddaughter had been abandoned by her mother. Tight-lipped and clearly uncomfortable, she’d made it clear she expected her son to step up to the plate and care for this daughter, stating in no apparent terms that she did not plan to assist in the topic of day care. Gabe still felt furious. Yes, he was shocked, and yes he was having a hard time envisaging how he was going to manage all of this, but that his mother had even questioned his loyalty to his own daughter cut him to the core.

He stood by the large bed in his room later that night, the curtain open and moonlight casting a ghastly light across the rumpled sheets.  Staring out at the only visible remnant of the sea, his eyes watched the white curls of the tide sweeping continuously down to the shore. The storm has passed and in its wake the sea was calm and the starry sky clear. He felt every bit as clear inside his mind, and as brittle and cold.  They were leaving tomorrow after breakfast. He wasn’t sure why he’d even come here. Memories of the comradery of the journey that morning barely dented his mind; he recalled the heated, physical exchange with
Harper on the sofa with irritation, distracted by the tight, longing sensations. He lay down again, covering his body with the sheet and releasing a pent-up breath.

His life was a mess. These women around him were causing complete havoc. He was lying here, hard and... His brow furrowed in distaste. Hard and needy. He felt like he needed her. He immediately felt less hard for a moment. It was like physical whiplash, with an emotional chaser
. Everything would be so much simpler if he could just focus on wanting to have sex with her. This complication with Christine, and Alice’s strange connection to Finn, was all conspiring to thwart what could have been an enjoyable affair. Presuming he’d been able to balance that with the case. He couldn’t believe this had been his only problem just the morning previous. He willed himself back to that confident, successful man standing on the balcony at the courthouse watching her sexily heel-clad legs and plotting his wicked sexual conquest. Where had he gone? Who was this dumb brute who’d spent all afternoon mooning over how soft her lips had felt as they’d pressed against him?

In his mind’s eye he had a flash of her hard nipples protruding through her fluffy, white sweater. Grabbing the pillow to cover his face, he groaned audibly into it.

Harper
chose not to comment on the abrupt way they left after breakfast the following morning. She and Finn warmly gave their thanks for the wonderful day on Saturday and said their goodbyes before waiting in the car. Alice and Gabe followed shortly afterwards. He was wearing a three-piece suit again, his hair smooth and his expression like granite. Alice looked as if a breeze could carry her off, ineffectual in his arms. She waved at her sullen-looking grandparents over her father’s broad shoulder. Gabe didn’t turn around to share in the touching scene. He looked like that formidable court brawler again, she decided, moving down in the warm leather seat. This wasn’t a man who indulged in stolen kisses on a Saturday afternoon on the sofa; this was a man who wined and dined, coolly seduced and then lost interest. He was all about the chase.

The drive home was completed in relative silence. She’d never been so relieved to see the comforting, familiar facade of her pedestrian Brownstone.  Gabe refused her polite offer of coffee before he left. “I have a last-minute meeting scheduled,” he told her brusquely, dropping her bags into the hallway. “Kevin’s agreed to come in today and interview some nannies. We’ll have someone for Alice before the end of the day.”