Chapter 2 #2
As silence falls between us, I take in her appearance with rapt appreciation.
She’s dressed in a sleek outfit, one that hugs her curves and exposes her toned calves.
From the soaked-through blouse that reveals the peaks of her hard nipples to the dripping strands of hair that frame her face, she’s not happy— and I don’t know why that irritated look in her eyes is such a fucking turn on, but it has me reaching down to adjust myself, not caring that her gaze drops to track the movement for a split second before snapping back up.
“Sit,” I command, kicking out the chair opposite me.
“I’m not a dog,” she snaps, dropping her bag and coat on the table with a resounding thud.
“No, you’re certainly not.” I smirk as I watch her wring the damp blonde strands of her hair. The rain must be heavy, but I have to silently thank the man upstairs for it because I have a pretty damn good view of what’s beneath her drenched top.
“I don’t ask twice, though.” I gesture to the chair opposite me and she begrudgingly complies, dropping into the metal seat with a huff.
Her shirt sticks to every delicious dip and captivating curve of her body, leaving little to the imagination—though I still try.
She’s even more stunning in real life than on TV.
I don’t think the television does her justice, because even though she should look like a drowned rat right now, she somehow wears it so fucking well.
I have to fight the images swimming in my head, pushing them to the back of mind for later.
She breathes out a heavy sigh, getting straight to it by pulling out a recorder, pen, and paper. She sets it all down on the table carefully, finger hovering over the record button.
I rap my fingers on the table. Usually, my impatience would get the better of me by now, but I’m intrigued by this woman. She’s subtly watching me from the corner of her eye as she gets comfortable in her chair, pulling her sodden hair into a messy bun on top of her head.
“Mr. Bonanno,” she begins. “My name is?—”
“I know who you are, Cassidy Caruthers,” I reply with clipped indifference. “I asked for you specifically.”
“Right.” She clears her throat. The surprise in her eyes tells me she wasn’t expecting me to declare that so quickly.
“So, as legal counsel, I need you to go through the series of events that led up to you being incarcerated.” Her words are straight to the point.
I like that. I hate it when people beat around the bush.
Reaching forward, she presses her finger on the record button on her device.
I lean forward, pressing the red stop button before sitting back in my chair.
“I… ugghh…” her words stumble out clumsily with surprise before she swallows thickly. “I need to record our conversations, Mr. Bonanno.”
“Do you?” I question. I know she does, but because I can’t work this stunning vixen out, I feel the need to push her buttons.
And it works.
She looks cute when she’s flustered. The blush blooming on her cheeks makes her features stand out even more, and I can’t help but wonder how much this woman would blush if I bent her over this metal table and stuffed her full of my cock.
Fuck. I shift uneasily, attempting to ease the pain of my dick straining against my zipper. Clearing my throat, I tilt my head in her direction. “There are a few things we need to clear up before you record anything.”
She nods slowly in return, wariness widening her eyes.
“Firstly, this bullshit about attorney client privilege?—”
“It’s not?—”
My eyes narrow on her and I lift a finger in the air, immediately silencing her.
“Don’t give me a reason to dismiss you.” I don’t need to explain why she wouldn’t want that.
Judging by the look in her eyes, she understands perfectly that representing one of The Five isn’t negotiable.
The message behind my curbed warning is enough for her to simmer, her jaw flickering with agitation.
“And secondly?” she asks impatiently.
My eyes tour her body appreciatively. “If you’re working for me, you don’t work for anyone else.”
“I can’t do that, Mr. Bonanno.”
“Axel.”
She shoots up from her seat, snatching her coat and bag from the table. “This isn’t going to work, Mr. Bonanno,” she snaps.
“Axel,” I repeat. And fuck, do I hate repeating myself.
Huffing out an annoyed sigh, she starts for the door, but I’m quick to intercept her, stepping towards her as she counters backwards. “You can’t demand that I only work for you. That’s not what this is.”
“Isn’t it?” I muse.
She shakes her head, though the uncertainty in the movement has me closing the distance between us until she’s perched on the edge of the metal table, her body fighting the tremble I can see wracking through her.
Damn. For someone of her caliber, her nerves seem to be giving out. I’d like to think it was because of my proximity, but I’m smarter than that.
“You work for me now, Cassidy. Is that clear?”
“Yes,” she finally whispers, dropping her gaze to her feet.
“See?” I smirk, edging around the table to retake my seat. I drop into the chair, crossing an ankle over my knee and gesturing back to Cassidy’s chair across the table. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
The muscle in her jaw flickers stubbornly as she glances at the chair, then back to me. With an annoyed roll of her eyes, she steps back towards her seat, but I don’t miss the angry glare directed at me as she sits down and clicks the recorder back on.
“Mr. Bonanno, do you want to talk me through the events that led you to your arrest?” she repeats firmly, palming her thighs.
I continue to observe her. There’s something about Cassidy Caruthers that intrigues me. I can’t seem to figure her out. I shouldn’t be so invested in someone who is getting paid to get me out of jail, but she’s like a goddamn puzzle I want to solve.
“Not particularly.”
“I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me,” she huffs. Her meager outburst makes no difference to me though, I’m still trying to figure out what it is about her that is calling to me.
Five minutes pass before she starts to grow impatient. Call it a test, but I want to see what makes her so ruthless. I need to know what makes her tick; find out her weaknesses, see if she’s really got what it takes to represent me. Because that’s the one thing I cannot afford. Weakness.
When she loses her patience and starts to gather her belongings, I realize it’s the silence that pisses her off the most. Or maybe it’s the fact I requested her specifically, yet I’ve given her nothing.
“Where are you going?”
She raises an eyebrow, like the answer to my question is obvious. “This was a mistake, Mr. Bonanno.” Her voice grows hesitant as my eyes move with her body. “I should go.”
Cassidy stands and makes her way toward the door, but as she pushes down on the handle and it doesn’t budge, she starts to grow visibly nervous.
“It won’t open until I tell them to,” I state. I still have the power here despite my predicament, and having this conversation unsupervised was not only a test for my new lawyer, but for the force themselves.
I close the distance between us, the tension hanging thick in the air. She backs away from me, pressing so hard against the door that she might become it.
“Then ask them to open it.” Her voice is like a strangled growl, one that has my cock thickening beneath my zipper again. If only she was whimpering my name, the sounds of pleasure leaving her lips…
Fuck! This woman.
“I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to.
” I look down at her, my chest pressed against hers as her breaths grow shallow and stutter.
Clearly my presence intimidates her, but that’s not what this is about.
Her breath hitches when I raise my other hand, her eyes slamming shut as I reach up and pull her hair from where it’s tied up.
Her cheeks stain a beautiful pink as the blonde tendrils fall over her face.
I resist the urge to tangle my hand in it, yank her head back and find out what her kiss would taste like.
Would it be strained? Would it be filled with lust?
“You belong to The Five now, Ms. Caruthers.” It’s pure instinct that causes me to trace her bottom lip with my thumb, wondering what it would be like to kiss those lips, to have them wrapped around me. “Do you understand what that means?”
Slowly, she nods, and I don’t miss the whimper that escapes her parted lips.
“Good girl.”
She blushes, and that’s when I know I have her. There’s no attempt to push me away, to scream out for help or run. She loves the simplest touch and she’s not even fighting it.
I pull away when the realization dawns on me that Cassidy is still an unknown entity and I need to think clearly right now, not with my dick.
I need bail .So I bang the door beside her head with my fist, making her flinch.
The door clicks behind her to signal it’s unlocked, and she leaves without a word.
Only then do I adjust my throbbing cock.
This is going to be harder than I thought.