Legal Desire

Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

OUTOFNECESSITY, Trev had become a fighter. He’d fought his entire life. For himself. For his mother. For Wally. For all the other people who’d been hurt.

But now that he was hurt, he found he had no fight left. Maybe it was because of all those years he’d spent fighting. He’d just worn himself out.

And Allison McCann wasn’t like any other opposition he’d ever met. She was stubborn and determined to stay away from him. He’d tried calling her. She declined them. And when he’d texted her, she’d blocked his number.

She wanted nothing to do with him, and he could understand why. He wished he’d been honest with her from the beginning. But he hadn’t known her then.

He hadn’t known that she wasn’t the mole, that she wasn’t the ice queen. He hadn’t known how much he would come to love her.

God, he missed her. He ached for missing her.

“You need a case,” Simon told him.

As the managing partner, Simon handled their money, too. He liked the cases Trev took on because he brought in the most money. Usually, Trev liked the cases he took on, but he couldn’t get excited about one now. He couldn’t get excited about anything now.

Not without Allison...

“You need to stop moping around,” Stone said. “You’re depressing the hell out of everyone.”

So this week’s business meeting was apparently all about him instead of the business.

“Fuck you,” he told Stone.

“Fuck somebody,” Ronan crudely told him. “Maybe you’ll stop being so tense and stressed.”

There was only one person he wanted to fuck. No. He wanted to make love to her, but Allison wanted nothing to do with him now.

“Muriel has a new friend,” Ronan said. “Maybe she can set you up with her.”

He glared at his partner. Maybe Ronan meant well, but it was as if he’d plunged a knife in Trev’s heart and turned it. No. Allison had done that when she’d walked away from him the last time.

Ronan held up his hands, palms out. “Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m just trying to help. According to Mur, this woman’s been through a tough time lately. Maybe you can cheer each other up.”

“Stop trying to fix me up,” Trev said.

“We’re just trying to fix you,” Ronan said.

And Stone added, “You seem broken.”

He felt that way himself, like his heart was broken. But he knew there was only one person who could fix him.

“I didn’t want to lose you,” Simon said. “But maybe she was right. Maybe you need to quit the practice and run for office.”

Great. Now even his friends didn’t want him. He needed to stop moping around—just as they’d said.

“I am no politician,” he said.

“Not yet,” Simon agreed. “But if you hired someone to help you with your image...” He arched a blond brow.

And Trev groaned. “It’s not going to work,” he said as he realized what his friend was up to: matchmaking. “Allison will never take me on as a client.”

Simon nodded in agreement. “She refused to work with any of us again,” he admitted. “I’ve tried to hire her back a few times.”

So his, apparently, weren’t the only calls she was refusing to take. That didn’t make Trev feel any better, though.

“Is she still furious with us for thinking she was the mole?” he asked, eager for any news of her.

Simon shook his head.

“You’ve talked to her?”

“No,” Simon said. “I watched the news. Haven’t you?”

She’d cleared Street Legal of all of the bad publicity. She’d spoken with a red-faced Monica Waters about the perils of spreading unsubstantiated stories and how she regretted that she had done it herself in the past. She promised that she would do better in the future with her clients and the media.

And Trev knew that was no empty promise.

“She’s right,” Ronan said with a ragged sigh. “We all need to be more careful.”

Less ruthless.

More considerate.

Trev nodded in agreement but then absolved his friend of the guilt he must have still been feeling over how he’d believed his client over the truth. “Muriel’s career is doing great,” he reminded her lover.

Ronan nodded. “Even better now that she’s hired a publicist. Maybe she can hook you up.”

“Bette’s using the same agency,” Simon said.

Trev snorted. “I don’t need a publicist. I’m not running for office.”

“Trust us,” Ronan said. “You’re going to want to meet with this publicist.”

And then he knew. Simon wasn’t the only one matchmaking. The notoriously antiYrelationship Ronan Hall was also matchmaking. But then Ronan had fallen in love. They all had, so they knew why Trev was so miserable.

They knew that he was in love, as well. But unlike them, that love was not reciprocated. That was why he was miserable and they were all so damn happy.

He shook his head. “She’s not going to agree to meet with me.”

“Let Muriel and Bette worry about that,” Simon said.

“And if she does, I’m not going to be able to convince her to give me another chance.”

“So you’re giving up?” Stone asked with disgust. “You, who has always been able to argue your way in or out of every situation, is going to give up without a fight?”

He didn’t want to fight with Allison, though. He wanted to love her. But he wouldn’t be able to do that if he didn’t fight for her.

Allison could not believe what had happened, that her business hadn’t only survived Edward and her mother’s sabotage, but that it was also thriving.

She had quite a few new clients and was about to meet with a referral for possibly another one. She stared across her desk at two of those new clients. Bette Monroe’s brown hair was bound in a tight bun while Muriel Sanz’s curled wildly around her face. It had just about every color of hair in it, even some of Allison’s red.

But these women weren’t just clients. They had become her friends, as well.

Their friendship was far more important to Allison than their business. They were amazing women. It was amazing that they had forgiven her for what she’d done in the past.

She’d once offered representation to Muriel Sanz, but Muriel had pretty understandably told her to go to hell. And Bette, as her best friend, had no doubt supported that decision. But now they were supporting Allison.

“Why?” she asked.

“Why’d we bring lunch?” Muriel asked. “It’s because you haven’t been eating enough.” She used chopsticks to pick a piece of chicken from Allison’s nearly untouched plate. Hers was empty.

Bette bumped Muriel’s arm. But she already had the chicken in her mouth. “Stop eating her food.”

“She’s not eating it,” Muriel pointed out.

Allison really liked these two women. They were more down-to-earth than anyone she’d ever met.

“Eat,” Bette urged her as she gestured at Allison’s nearly full plate. “You’re too skinny.”

“What are you? Her mother?” Muriel teased her friend.

Allison wished. Of course, it wasn’t possible since Bette was younger than she was. And nicer...

So much nicer than Allison’s mother had ever been. “I wasn’t asking why you brought lunch,” she told them. “I was asking why you’re here. Why you both brought me your business? Why you care?”

“We’re your friends,” Muriel said as if that answered everything.

“But why?” Allison persisted. “I haven’t done anything to earn your friendship. Hell, I’ve done just the opposite.”

“You were just doing your job.” Muriel reminded Allison of what she’d told her when the supermodel had confronted her months ago.

“I was a bitch,” Allison said.

Muriel bumped her shoulder against Bette’s. “Some of my best friends are bitches.”

“Hey!” Bette protested.

“Honest, loyal bitches,” Muriel said with a smile as if she was delivering high praise. And it actually was. “That’s how you’ve handled yourself with this whole mess. You didn’t make it but you cleaned it up with class and integrity.”

Allison expelled a shaky breath. She hadn’t been certain that she had. She’d tried. But until now she hadn’t had confirmation of her success. Now she knew—and these new friends were the proof—that she was becoming the person she wanted to be.

Nothing like her mother...

“Thank you,” she said, and her voice cracked with emotion. Ordinarily, that would have bothered her, that she’d betrayed any emotion. But she wasn’t pretending to be the ice queen anymore. She didn’t want anyone to think she was cold and unapproachable anymore.

Not even Trevor.

But apparently, she had convinced him too well. She’d been so emotionally raw from Edward’s betrayal, from her mother’s and from what she had considered Trevor’s betrayal that she had refused to take his calls and had blocked his every attempt to contact her.

But then he’d stopped trying.

And instead of being relieved that he was leaving her alone, she’d been devastated. If he’d really cared about her, he wouldn’t have let her go so easily.

But he had...

So it was good that they were over; they’d never had anything real but sex.

How she missed the sex...

She pushed her plate toward Muriel. “You finish it.”

“I’ve tried that,” Bette said. “Giving her my food to fatten her up. But it doesn’t matter what she eats. She never gets any bigger.”

Muriel laughed and cursed her best friend. But she shoved the food into her mouth.

“You should be eating that,” Bette said with concern. “I worry about you.”

Allison’s heart shifted and warmed in her chest. Nobody had ever worried about her.

But Trevor had that night he’d been so upset that she’d gotten rained on. He’d also been so concerned that someone was trying to hurt her.

But he’d hurt her far more than her mother and Edward had. But she was strong. She was resilient. And thanks to these women, she was feeling better.

“Thank you,” she told them.

“It’s just lunch,” Muriel said.

“That you ate,” Bette added.

“No, thanks for the referral.” She glanced at her watch. “He should be here soon.”

The two women exchanged a furtive glance and Allison’s pulse quickened. “What? What did you do?”

“We might have tricked you a little,” Bette sheepishly admitted.

“But we didn’t lie to you,” Muriel said. “He is our friend.”

“And he does need a publicist,” Bette added.

“But most of all he needs you,” Muriel said.

And Allison groaned.

“He’s been miserable without you,” Bette said. “His friends can’t stand to see him like this.”

“And I can’t stand to see him at all,” Allison said. Or she would lose it—lose her heart completely. No. It was already too late for that. He’d kept her heart.

“Guess you’ll have to sit, then,” a deep, masculine voice murmured.

And Allison glanced up to find Trevor standing in the doorway.

Bette and Muriel jumped up from their seats. “We’ll get out of your way,” Muriel said as she headed toward the door.

“She didn’t leave any food for you,” Bette warned him as she passed him on her way out.

“Thank you,” he told the women. Then as soon as they stepped into the hall, he closed the door behind them, shutting himself inside with her. Alone.

Allison’s heart pounded furiously. “Do I need to fire my new assistant?” she asked.

“Why?” Trevor asked. “He’s not listening at the door.”

“Because he let you in.”

“I know him,” Trevor said. “He’s a friend of Miguel’s.”

That was why she’d hired him. Miguel had recommended him. Like the women, Miguel had become a friend. For some reason he seemed to care about Allison.

Had she fooled anyone with her ice queen routine? Had she fooled Trevor? It had been a few weeks since she’d seen him last, that day in his office.

He stared at her as if he was eating her up with just his gaze. His green eyes had gone dark, nearly as dark as the circles beneath his eyes. And his hair was longer even than it usually was, hanging well past his collar.

He obviously hadn’t been sleeping any better than she was.

“Why are you here?” she asked. “Do you really need a publicist?”

He shook his head. “No. I need you.” He walked forward then. “I know you’re mad at me and that you might never fully trust me. But I trust you so much that I’m giving you my heart, Allison.”

He came around the desk and instead of pulling her from her chair, he dropped to his knees in front of it—in front of her. “I’ve never given anyone my heart before. I’ve never trusted anyone enough to not abandon or hurt me...but I trust you. I love you.”

Tears blurred her vision, so she had to blink to be able to see him clearly. And for the first time she did see him clearly. He was so brave, so damn brave.

He inspired her to be brave, too.

“I love you, too,” she said.

He reached up and cupped her face in his hands. And his fingers trembled slightly against her skin. “Then why haven’t you wanted to see me?”

“Because I love you,” she said. “I never felt like this before. So I got scared.”

If he wasn’t too proud to get on his knees in front of her, she wasn’t too proud to tell him the truth.

He leaned forward and covered her mouth with his, kissing her deeply, hungrily.

She’d missed his mouth so much. His lips, his tongue, his unique rich flavor.

She deepened the kiss and tunneled her fingers in his overly long hair, holding his head to hers.

He stumbled back and pulled her out of the chair so that she fell on top of him, her body sprawled across his. She laughed against his mouth, her breasts pushing against his muscular chest.

His heart beat heavily beneath hers. “I’ve missed you so much, so damn much.”

She nodded. “Me, too. I’ve missed us.” That hollow ache had filled her—until now. Now warmth and happiness filled her. And soon he did, too.

They pulled at each other’s clothes, undoing buttons and lowering zippers until they rolled around the floor, naked. Skin slid over skin. Lips over lips...

Then he moved his head, kissing his way down her body. He made love to her with his mouth, making her cry out with pleasure. Then before she could reach for him, before she could slide her hand and her mouth over him, he was moving inside her. He’d rolled on a condom and now he rolled onto his back, so he was the one on the floor.

And she was astride him. His hands moved from her hips to her breasts. He teased the nipples, building up the tension he’d just released. She squirmed against him, rocking her hips, riding up and down his shaft.

His hands moved from her breasts to her hips. He grasped them and helped her match the frantic rhythm of his thrusting. She lowered her head and covered his mouth with hers—kissing him deeply as he filled her.

Then her body tensed and shuddered, a powerful orgasm moving through her. She kept going and going...until Trevor’s hands gripped her hips more tightly. He held her still as he came, too, joining her in ecstasy.

And it was ecstasy, being with him again. Back in his arms, she dropped onto his chest, and he held her tightly against him. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured. “I missed you so much that it hurt.”

She felt a twinge of regret. She hadn’t meant to hurt him. She’d only been trying to protect herself from pain. Maybe she was her mother’s daughter—concerned more about herself than anyone else.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry...” Tears pooled in her eyes, blinding her to him again.

He kissed her. “It’s not your fault,” he said. “I lied to you. I know why that would make it hard for you to trust me. But I promise—and this is no empty promise—I will never lie to you again.”

“You’ll tell me if I look fat in my jeans?”

“You’ll never look fat, but I will tell you if you do,” he promised.

And she believed him. She believed that he would always be honest with her. And so she had to always be honest with him. “I love you, but I’m not sure I’m the right person for you. If you want to run for office someday—”

“I know you hate politics,” he said. “So I would never ask you to run with me.”

“I would,” she said, “if I didn’t think I’d hurt your chances of winning.”

“You won’t,” he said. “With you by my side, I know I can accomplish anything, even what I never had the guts to try before.”

“Politics?” she asked. She would step back if her reputation was going to hurt his campaign. She would let him go—no matter how much it would kill her to do so. No. She was not her mother’s daughter. She was herself—worthy of love and friendship.

He shook his head. “A relationship.”

She smiled. She’d never really had one, either, because the thought of getting that involved, of getting her emotions involved, had always scared her. Until now.

Trevor was right. Together they could handle anything. Moles. Sabotage. Sex.

And love.

And maybe someday, down the road, even a campaign for office. Whatever they wanted, they would be able to achieve together.

But right now all Allison wanted—all she needed—was Trevor Sinclair. And she knew he needed her just as much because he was already beginning to harden again inside her.

And then he began to move...

She smiled, and he kissed her smile.

“I love you,” he said.

“And I love you...”