Chapter 22 #2
“You actually care about people,” she said slowly, as if she could scarcely believe it.
I tugged at the tie on my sleep pants. “I know that’s considered a liability in my line of work, but yeah, I do. So many people don’t have a way to get excellent representation. I can do that for them. I don’t need the fucking money.”
Her smile unfurled warmth through my chest. “And you’re the best.”
I didn’t preen. Much. “I’m very good. And it matters to me.”
“No one is more thorough than you. I know that without a doubt.” She curled her fingers around mine. “Your files are scarily in-depth. I’m pretty sure you know all about your clients down to their shoe sizes.”
“A good lawyer finds out everything he or she can about a case. Surprises mean potential future obstacles. If I know what could trip us up later, I can put together a strategy.”
“PMS is never without a plan.”
My ears heated. “Fail to plan, plan to fail.”
Smoky stood up and bumped my hand—the one cupping Ryan’s. I thought he was looking for me to pet him until he showed me his rump and arched up to rub his head against Ryan’s neck.
I laughed. “Possessive sod.”
“Can you blame him?” She snuggled him against her chest.
“Considering where he’s hanging out right now? Nope.”
She shook her head. “Incorrigible.”
I scrubbed my hands through my hair. “I have to get moving. We have to get moving. First, we need a shower.”
“Do we now?” She lounged against my pillows in a patch of sunlight with the cat in her arms, completely at ease with her nudity. “Anything else you think I need, sir?”
A block wedged in my throat. I was the one who needed a hell of a lot.
More and more with each passing moment.
“Yes. You need me to wash your back.”
Her dark eyebrow spiked. “So, you’re planning on taking the rest of the day off entirely, hmm? Don’t think you won’t have to remit my paycheck if you keep me away from my desk through dubious means.”
I pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder while Smoky shifted to try to displace me. He’d probably hiss at me soon. “Oh, I know exactly what I owe you. Starting with a full slate of orgasms the next time I get you anywhere near this bed.”
“But there’s that handy dandy conference table…”
“You deserve a raise.” I grinned as I made myself roll out of bed.
If I stayed with her a moment longer, I was going to say the hell with work and anything else.
I hummed through my shower and through putting out Smoky’s food and dealing with his litter box, though the indolent feline didn’t deign to stop lazing around with Ryan long enough to come investigate.
When I returned to the bedroom still dripping in my towel, she was on the deck checking out my telescope and talking to Smoky while he pranced along the railing. Spotting me, she let out a screech and ran into the bedroom with the cat right behind her.
“No, let me pick.”
I had no clue what she was referring to until she went to my walk-in closet, muttering to herself as she sorted through and discarded suits. After a minute, she chose a deep gray one with a thin pinstripe and a heather gray tie.
“Pinstriped? Where’s the matching vest?”
“Is there one?”
I pressed a button and a panel slid open, revealing more accessories. Her mouth dropped a little before she reached in and plucked out a deep gray vest.
“I figured you’d go for black like you.” I gestured to her dress.
“I’m not wearing my sex clothes to work. Talk about tawdry.”
“Sex clothes? Do you have a whole wardrobe for boudoir activities?”
She ignored me, as she so often did. “You can drop me off at home, and I’ll shower and change then head back.”
“I’ll wait for you.”
“No, you’ll go to work. You’re impossibly late.”
“And I’m the boss. Who’s going to yell at me?”
Not technically true. It was my father’s firm until he finally walked away, but I wasn’t concerned with getting a demerit.
At least not from my dad. Mrs. Donnelly, however, was another story.
“Me.” She stepped up to me and arched onto her tiptoes to kiss my freshly shaven jaw then nuzzle her lips along my neck. “You smell really fucking good. Like a badass captain of financial industry.”
I laughed and took the clothes she was holding. “And you smell like sex.”
“Literally. I haven’t showered yet.”
“I have a shower you can use, you know.”
She waved a hand. “I need fresh clothes. Besides, this will get you to work faster. Here, let me do that,” she added after I shrugged on my shirt and reached for my tie.
I’d been doing my own ties for a long time, but there was something about the way her nimble fingers tugged and arranged the silky fabric. I couldn’t help kissing the little wrinkle in her forehead as she fussed with it.
Her phone buzzed and she darted back to check it, pursing her lips.
“Problem?”
“You can handle the rest.” She bent to collect the cat and left the room before I could figure out what the heck had just happened. Maybe she had to speak to someone.
I finished dressing. Good luck on her ever telling me voluntarily.
We left a short while later. Smoky wasn’t enthused about Ryan going. He didn’t seem to care much about me.
Definitely a stunning turn of events.
I glanced back before I got into the car and he was basically Velcro’d to the window with a woebegone expression on his tiny furry face.
At least I understood his thought process. As for Ryan’s? Dream on.
I got behind the wheel and neither of us spoke as I headed toward the heart of Kensington Square.
As I took an unexpected left, Ryan shot up in her seat. “This isn’t the way to the office.”
“Nope. You should call your emergency contact. I’m absconding with you.”
She gripped her seatbelt as if she really believed me. “Whatever you have in mind, don’t do it. Isn’t this car enough crazy for one week?”
“You forgot the tattoo and getting naked with you.”
“That tattoo is the size of a ladybug.”
I flicked a glance at my still bandaged wrist. It was a miracle I’d remembered to put on the cream the tattoo guy had given me this morning. “At least a cockroach.”
“Where are you taking me? I know Jiu-Jitsu.”
“You do? Really?” I slanted her a look. “That’s incredibly hot.”
“I’m not telling. If you’re a predator, I need to keep you on your toes.”
“No worries there. If I was tiptoeing any more, I’d be on a highwire.”
I went down another couple of streets then turned at the corner and double-parked.
“You need sugar and caffeine. Girl caffeine,” I amended. “They have your tea, right?”
“Plenty of males drink tea, PMS. Enlightened ones, so that leaves you out.” She looked out the window toward The Honey Pot.
Oddly enough, she probably would’ve been more at ease if I’d kidnapped her and taken her to a cabin in the forest. Why, I had no clue.
“I’m going to tie you up and take you to my underground lair. Be very afraid.”
She didn’t blink. “I’m not going in there.”
“Did you just hear me say I was going to abduct you and spirit you away for dastardly reasons you can’t even begin to fathom?”
She yanked off her belt. “Right, because real criminals say dastardly. Come on already then. Let’s get this over with.”
Not exactly the enthusiasm I’d hoped for from her when greeted with the possibility of donuts, but I’d take it. Our last day working together should be special.
I swallowed hard. But this wasn’t a real ending.
Of course it wasn’t.
She glared at the vehicle as I met her on the sidewalk. “You can’t leave that car there.”
“We’ll be in and out in a minute.” I grabbed her hand and towed her into the shop with me.
The purple-haired woman behind the counter gave me a wide smile and chatted about the many selections in between slanting looks at the surly, silent Ryan. She answered her friend almost coolly, though it was clear the other woman was used to joking around with her.
When the woman—Dre—turned to box up my order, Ryan drew away from me and crossed the shop to look at her phone. She was texting frantically, her thumbs blurring.
Tension throbbed in my shoulders. She was probably telling Luna I’d forced her to get donuts against her will.
We didn’t spend long in the shop. The scent of the donuts filled my head, but the prospect of them wasn’t nearly as enticing when Ryan was acting so strangely. She couldn’t be that annoyed that I’d wanted her to come in with me.
Then again, she was stubborn as hell. And how well did I know her really?
Dre called after Ryan as I opened the door to usher her out. “You better call me. I need that reading asap.”
Ryan didn’t even wave, just marched over to where I’d double-parked the car and slipped inside without a word.
I circled around to my side and noticed she was back on her phone. Lovely. I was about to get in when I noticed a telltale slip on the windshield.
My incredible morning was devolving into utter bullshit.
She didn’t even ask about the ticket when I got in and set the bakery box on the floor on her side. Whatever held her attention on her phone was far more important than dealing with me.
“I’m taking you home?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” She never glanced up.
A couple moments later, I pulled into her lot. She thanked me absently once more before climbing out and hurrying around the side of the building.
I drummed my thumbs on the steering wheel. Okay, then.
At a loss, I turned on the phone I’d silenced last night and had no fewer than thirty-seven voicemails and texts waiting.
The last from my father.
Dad:
Where the hell are you? What are you doing?