Dangerous Defense (Hearts on the Line #2)
Chapter 1
It was obscenely expensive, totally impractical, and the most gorgeous thing Gabrielle Rousseau had ever seen. Soft and silky, it flowed over her skin like a caress, whispering, “You know you want me.”
With a wicked smile Gabrielle slipped out of the emerald-green nightgown and redressed, layering her sensible tan suit over her frivolous lace bra and panties. Placing the pièce de résistance on top of the rainbow offering of underthings, she abandoned the dressing room before practicality set in.
She was worth it, Gabrielle reminded herself. After the fight she’d been through, she deserved a perk. Winning a case was an incredible, though fleeting, high. Lingerie lasted longer.
Partner. She tossed up her head seeing the title in her mind’s eye.
Each victory brought her dream closer. And this particular triumph, the seemingly impossible task of proving Mike McDermott not guilty of murder, had given her an adrenaline rush that could only be compared to—So far, she hadn’t found anything to compare it to.
Fast track, choke on my dust. She was on the warp-speed track now, phasers on stun.
The emerald nightgown slid from the top of the heap of clothing in her arms. Gabrielle grabbed for it, missed, and tripped over a display, landing amongst the kaleidoscope of lingerie that pooled at a man’s feet.
Cursing her clumsiness under her breath, she didn’t look up but scrambled to retrieve her haul.
Hopefully he’d go away and leave her alone, not try to help and make her feel like even more of a klutz.
No such luck. He dropped down beside her, and she found herself gazing at richly black kid leather Italian loafers.
Exactly the type of shoes a prosperous businessman would wear.
Or a successful attorney.
Lord, please don’t let it be anyone I know, she prayed.
Not that there was anything wrong with going to a lingerie shop on her lunch hour.
But as one of Christian, Gilmer & Simmons’s hottest and, she hoped, fastest rising trial lawyers, she took pains to present an entirely professional image.
A weakness for fancy lingerie wasn’t something she wanted printed on her resume.
Gabrielle raised her head and stared into gray eyes fringed with thick brown lashes.
Straight gold-blond hair fell to the collar of his navy pinstriped suit.
A patented knock-your-socks-off smile kicked up at one corner of his mouth and a skimpy black lace bra dangled from his long, graceful fingers.
“Excuse me. I believe this is yours.” His deep voice held laughter in check, though amusement glimmered in his eyes.
Warmth flooded her face, spreading over her neck and chest. Paralyzed, she stared at the blond god in front of her and wanted to sink into the floor. “No, I—you—Oh, never mind.”
So much for her famed ability to think on her feet. She snatched at the bra, catching the lace on the clasp of his watchband. Yanking on the elastic strap, she tried to untangle them but only managed to create a snarl, much like the effect she had on a fishing line whenever she touched one.
“It won’t—I can’t—” Increasingly frustrated, she fought with the bra, which by now had taken on a life of its own and wrapped itself around his arm like an amorous python. “Oh, damn, I give up,” she finally muttered.
His smile melted her into a quivering puddle.
Heat shot through her veins, pooled in her stomach, and spread lower.
Her dazed gaze remained on his face until he disentangled himself with an easy flick of his wrist, hinting at an intimate acquaintance with women’s underwear.
As he handed her the bra, his fingers brushed against hers.
She could have sworn her skin tingled from the shock.
Her humiliation complete, she murmured, “Thank you,” and prayed he’d leave. He didn’t.
“Here, let me help.” He began to gather up other bits of satin and lace.
“Thank you,” she repeated, “but I can get the rest myself.” Go away, go away, go away, she chanted silently, adding an emphatic expletive.
He ignored her, picking up a minuscule pair of hot-pink panties, a peach-colored lace nightgown, and another bra that should have been banned as an incitement to riot.
The scents of satin and rose-petaled sin intensified in the air, assaulting her senses and firing images of those dexterous fingers dancing over?—
Ruthlessly squelching her wayward thoughts, Gabrielle gritted her teeth, gathered the remainder to her bosom, and rose at the same time he did. Cheeks flaming, her chin angled in challenge, she thrust out an imperious hand.
“You have excellent taste,” he told her, placing a few of the items in her outstretched hand. “No, that’s mine,” he added when she tried to take a silky black teddy from him.
“It doesn’t look like your size,” she snapped before she could help it.
He laughed, more heartily than she thought the comment deserved. “It’s for a friend,” he said, his voice rich with enjoyment. Another knee-weakening smile tugged at his lips.
Friend? Right. “So are these,” Gabrielle said with an ironic smile.
He walked to the checkout counter with her, politely waiting his turn as she laid out her things. Rhonda, the clerk, greeted Gabrielle by name and asked if she’d received the latest sale circular.
“Haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays,” Rhonda continued, chatting as she rang up the sale. “Where you been hidin’ yourself, honey?”
Her face heating anew, Gabrielle mumbled, “Work, mostly. I haven’t had much time for shopping lately.” She glared at the man, daring him to comment. His lips quivered, but he remained silent.
Spreading out powder-blue and white scented tissue paper, Rhonda wrapped each individual piece of lingerie with the care a jeweler gave to a perfect gemstone.
“Oh, for God’s sake, Rhonda, just put the damn things in a bag,” Gabrielle finally said, her patience snapping like the last link in a trace chain.
She heard a choked-off laugh and turned her head, slicing the blond god with a razored glance. Rhonda grinned knowingly as she finished and handed her the striped paper shopping bag. Lighten up, Gabrielle, she told herself. You’ll never see him again.
And a good thing too. He was obviously involved with someone. Even if he hadn’t been, her performance had to be the Kodak moment of embarrassing incidents. She should be glad she’d never see him again.
Unable to resist a last glance, she looked over her shoulder at him as she left. Their eyes met. He gave her another one of his bone-melting smiles and winked.
She should be glad . . . but she wasn’t.
* * *
Gabrielle made it to the weekly meeting of the criminal defense litigation section with minutes to spare.
She took a seat at the huge conference table, sinking into the chair beside Nina Abbot, a junior attorney she’d struck up a friendship with and who often assisted Gabrielle with her caseload.
Nina didn’t stand on ceremony with Gabrielle, and Gabrielle liked it that way.
There was already too much pomp and circumstance at CG&S.
“Okay, let’s hear the rest of it,” Gabrielle said, referring to a conversation she and Nina had begun earlier that day.
“Surely you’ve seen him,” Nina said. “He transferred here weeks ago. Where have you been, girl? What have you been doing?”
Gabrielle figured she was the only person in the Dallas office who hadn’t yet met Devlin Sinclair. The hotshot defense attorney who’d just transferred from the Houston branch was rumored to have come to Dallas at a senior partner’s urging.
She knew Sinclair’s reputation, of course, just as she knew the reputations of all of the competitive defense attorneys within the large firm. However, since the firm maintained offices all over the Southwest, she had never met the majority of them.
“I’ve been buried under the legal avalanche of the century, remember?” she said to Nina. “I didn’t think I’d ever wade through the paperwork. Besides, I know you. You think any male between the ages of twenty-five and sixty has potential.”
“Not just potential.” Nina shook her head and sighed.
“No, this guy is absolutely—Oh, God, there he is.” She brushed her blond bangs away from her face and patted at the cascade of curls falling to her shoulders.
“He’s coming over here. Maybe my horoscope was right, maybe—Gabrielle.
” This was accompanied by an elbow digging sharply into Gabrielle’s ribs. “He’s staring at you.”
Smiling at her friend’s sotto voce discourse, Gabrielle turned her head. No. Tell me no, she thought, her blood congealing as she watched a man walk toward her with a swift, confident stride. Blond hair. Gray eyes. A long, lean, cool drink of water. Heaven help her, she needed a drink.
“You bum!” Nina whispered in her ear. “You have met him. How could you not tell me?”
He stood before her smiling, a heart attack just waiting to happen. “Devlin Sinclair.” He held out his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced.”
Gabrielle extended a limp hand and said faintly, “Gabrielle Rousseau.” She could only thank God that her mouth hadn’t dropped open.
Taking the chair beside her, he said, “Rousseau? The McDermott case, right? Heard about that this morning.” He looked at her with approval—and not a trace of jealousy. “Congratulations. Tough case.”
Get a grip, you fool, she lectured herself. You face rabid DA’s daily. Take control here.
“Thank you,” she said.
Brilliant response, Counselor.
There wasn’t time for more, thank heavens. Just then the section chief, Sid Norris, entered, and the meeting began.
* * *
An hour later, Gabrielle felt much better. Terminal boredom had helped settle her nerves. Sid had actually complimented her on the McDermott case, an act that was unheard of for the chief attorney.