Chapter 1 #5
Move, I told myself, but I couldn’t budge.
The message of my mind couldn’t reach my legs because of the swelling of all kinds of sensations in between.
So I stood there helplessly, feeling the lure, the attraction, the desire.
My breath came shallowly, working around my hammering heart as I stared at the tiled countertop and waited for him to speak.
When I felt my body begin to list that smallest, smallest bit into his heat, I knew I could wait no longer.
I had to break the spell, because that was what it was, I was sure of it.
Peter Hathaway had put me under a spell.
I wasn’t normally affected by men this way. I just wasn’t.
“Peter?” I said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
“Hmm?”
It wasn’t a mischievous “hmm” or a mocking one or even a seductive one. It was a very quiet “hmm” that was so innocent, so thoughtful that it was indeed sexy.
Distracted by the idea of sexy, I started again. “Peter?”
“Yes?”
There was something I wanted to tell him but the words weren’t coming. “I, uh …” It had to do with Cooper. I struggled, dug deep for the thoughts. “There are several things you should understand … before he gets here.”
For another minute, Peter didn’t move. Then, slowly, he stepped away from me.
Without caring how it would look, I hung my head and took in the deep breath my lungs craved.
When I raised my head and glanced over at him, his back was to me.
He was pouring milk into the glass that had brought him so close to me in the first place.
At first glance he looked perfectly calm, totally unaffected by what had just shaken me to the bone. Then I noted that his shoulders were very straight, and his head remained bowed well after he’d finished pouring the milk.
Something had touched him, too. I wasn’t sure what it was, wasn’t sure whether he found it as unwelcome as I did, but knowing that I wasn’t the only one with a problem made me feel better.
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, which gave me the only edge I might have in a while, I addressed what I told myself were the first of my priorities.
“There are several things you have to understand about this case,” I said quietly.
“The first is that your bills are to be sent to me. I don’t want any mention of money in front of Cooper.
The second is that I want the best defense possible.
If you can get the case dropped before it goes to trial, so much the better, but in any case, I want Cooper exonerated.
And the third,” I said, “is that I don’t care how reluctant Cooper is, I want you as his lawyer. ”
Peter looked past his shoulder at me. “Are you sure?” he asked cautiously, and I knew he was thinking of what had just happened.
So was I. But I was also thinking that I was in control. I couldn’t deny that Peter Hathaway turned me on, but I sure as hell could overcome it. After all, I had the strength of Adam’s love on my side.
“I’m sure,” I said. “I think you’re just the man to defend Cooper.”
“Why?”
I supposed I could say that he seemed bright and articulate, honest and dedicated, and all of that was true, but the thing that stuck out most in my mind was the picture he and Cooper would make in the courtroom. Between them, they’d knock the socks off any females who happened to sit on the jury.
Not wanting to tell Peter that, I said, “Because my mother says you’re the toughest and the best. I trust her judgment.”
After a long, expectant silence, Peter said, “I accept that.”
Something in his tone made my eyes widen. “You’ll take the case?”
“I’ll take the case.”
I hadn’t expected the turnaround. “But you haven’t met Cooper. You said it would depend on—”
“I know what I said, but I’ve changed my mind.”
“Why?”
“Because you intrigue me.”
My mouth fell open. “That’s a lousy reason for accepting a case.”
“Not really.” His eyes held mine as he came closer.
“Between you and your mom and Hummel, I’ve learned enough about the case to know that it’ll be a challenge.
If Cooper and you are best friends, he can’t be all that bad.
I need a break from the city. This is perfect.
You’ve offered me your hospitality. And you’re here.
” He paused, then said in a husky tone, “This case is just what I need.”
I didn’t like the tone any more than I liked the look in his eyes. It was hungry—hungry in the way of a man who knew how to satisfy a woman and satisfy her well, hungry for the kinds of things I’d sworn I’d never give again.
Hunger alone I could resist, but there was a gentleness there, too, that posed a far greater threat. I was a sucker for gentle men. Adam had been one. So, in his dark way, was Cooper—who, praise be, chose that moment to walk through the kitchen door.
Looking disgruntled, he stared first at me, then at Peter. In the silence that ensued, I had the uncanny notion that it was my future, not Cooper’s, that hung in the balance.
Without leaving my side, Peter extended his hand. Cooper eyed it, eyed me, eyed Peter. I held my breath, unsettled as I’d never been, because though Peter would be the best thing for Cooper, he might well be the worst thing for me.
Then Cooper’s hand slowly went out, and I was trapped.