Legal Heat

Chapter Thirteen


Katy cringed when yet another tree branch scraped along the side of her SUV. Did she have the right address? It was hard to imagine anyone used the narrow, overgrown driveway with any frequency—unless Terry Silver didn’t care about the paint on his vehicles. Or his shocks. The repairs to her vehicle from this little venture were going to eat up most of her monthly slush fund.

Damn Steven. His child support payments were always late, making it difficult for her to manage the monthly finances. But that was Steven. Totally unreliable. He didn’t even need the money. He had rented a small two-bedroom apartment in South Granville near the hospital. He drove an old Volvo. He didn’t own any man toys and he bought nothing for the kids. Her salary paid the bills, but with the sizeable mortgage on the house, she wasn’t left with much at the end of the month. Once she made partner, though, her salary would triple. She could hardly wait to be free of Steven’s financial noose.

She parked in front of a small, run-down house with an incredible view of English Bay and the North Shore. Siding lay in broken pieces on the ground and exposed wooden patches dotted the walls and roof like open wounds. What did he do when it rained?

Properties here in Kitsilano were exorbitantly priced, and often homes were passed down through families reluctant to sell their little piece of paradise. Silver’s home must be one of those. Too expensive to maintain, but too precious to sell.

At least he had agreed to see her. Through the coughing and wheezing on the phone, she understood Terry had been told he only had a few weeks left to live, and he had something to get off his chest. Something he said would help Martha and maybe others as well. But he had refused to talk over the phone. What was it with people and phones these days?

Katy picked her way over the muddied drive and headed up a stone path to the wooden porch. A rusted lawnmower, broken flower pots and an old swing set were scattered over the grass. Did he have children? If so, they must be grown and gone.

She knocked on the screen door, startling when it swung open of its own accord. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside and called for Terry. No answer. She took a moment to adjust to the gloom. The smell of rotten food and stale air, sickly sweet and pungent, turned her stomach. She gave one last, lingering glance at the door behind her before walking down the hallway. Such a tiny little house. The kitchen might have been cozy with its glassed-in breakfast nook and spectacular view, but the piles of dirty dishes, spilled food and ecstatic cockroaches took away from the ambiance.

No Silver. She looked in the living room and peeked into the bathroom with its old-fashioned, chain-pull toilet and rusted sink, then she headed for the bedroom.

Light flooded into the tiny wood-paneled room. She turned and saw a man asleep on the bed, his covers pulled up to his chin.

“Mr. Silver?” Katy placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. A moment later, her brain registered the cold skin, the brown stain across the pillow and the small black hole in his forehead.

Dead. Shot. Gun.

Katy screamed and ran for the door, fumbling in her purse for her phone. Once outside she called nine-one-one and then locked herself in her car while she waited for the police to arrive. Her heart pounded furiously and her hands shook.

Who would shoot a dying man?

Ten minutes later the police arrived in a cacophony of sirens, shouts and banging doors. A police officer knocked on her window.

“You the lady who called this in?” he shouted through the glass.

Teeth chattering, Katy nodded at the young, blond police officer and lowered the window.

He patted her hand. “You just wait right here. One of the homicide detectives will be here in a minute to talk to you.”

She rested her head on the steering wheel as she listened to the hustle and bustle outside. Shouts about contaminating the scene and securing the area filtered through her window, but her mind remained numb to everything but the cold press of wood veneer on her forehead.

“Katherine Sinclair…Katy?”

Katy took a deep breath and looked up at the face in the window. A familiar face—rough, dangerous. Her tension eased the tiniest bit. He hadn’t been overly friendly at the police station but at least she knew him.

“Detective Hunter.”

He nodded. “Why don’t you step out of the car and we can find somewhere to talk? For an officer of the court, you seem to attract an inordinate amount of trouble.”

She stepped out of her car and followed him to a broken-down picnic table outside the police-taped area.

“Are you okay?”

“A bit shaken, but I’ll be fine.”

He pulled a notebook from his pocket and unclipped his pen. “I’m interested to know how a young lawyer manages to stumble across two dead bodies in only a few weeks. What are you doing here?”

“I came to interview Mr. Silver.” Her voice wavered and she took a deep breath. “I set up the appointment last week. He said he had only a few weeks to live, and he had something he wanted to tell me before he died.”

A crash from the house startled her and she turned to see two people in white crime suits carrying large metal boxes into the house.

“Someone shot him.” Her voice rose as panic replaced shock.

He squeezed her hand. “The police and the coroner are inside looking after him, but I need your help. Now, tell me about the case you’re working on.”

Her brain finally clicked into gear. “I…uh…don’t think I can breach client confidentiality.”

James frowned. “A man is dead. Shot in the head. The killer is loose. There’s a potential threat to public safety. I don’t believe the Law Society will have a problem with the disclosure.”

Katy cringed at his cold, brief assessment. “I’ve actually…never dealt with this situation before. I would really feel more comfortable if I could run it by a partner first.”

A smile ghosted his lips. “I know a partner who might be able to help.”

Blood rushed to Katy’s cheeks. “Of all people, he can’t know. He’s on the other side of the case.”

James studied her intently. “That case seems to be causing you two a lot of problems.”

“I’m not having problems,” she snapped. “It’s fine.” She turned away to watch the people in their white crime suits gathering evidence. They reminded her of Justin’s Lego astronauts.

“Look at me.” He tilted her chin up with a gentle touch. His piercing blue eyes held her still. “Do you know what your problem is?”

“I’m sure you’re about to tell me,” she muttered.

He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know what you want.”

“Thanks for the psychoanalysis, but for your information, the issue is not me. We have a professional conflict.”

He smiled, an uneasy gesture on his fierce face. “Any conflict can be overcome. You just have to want it enough.”

Katy grimaced. Mark had wanted it enough to give up the case. But what about her? Would she do the same for him?

“I don’t remember asking for your advice.”

James snorted a laugh. “Still feeling panicked?”

“No.” She made the admission with reluctance, knowing she had let herself be manipulated.

“Anger does it every time.”

Katy studied his face, softened by the sunlight. Not as scary as she had first thought when she’d seen him in the club, or even under the florescent lights at the police station. His was a face to be trusted.

“Now, about those questions…” He tapped his notebook with his pen.

Back to business. As if their entire conversation hadn’t happened.

“Can I talk to you after I’ve spoken to my partners?”

“Go ahead. Give them a call. I’ll wait.” He gestured to her purse.

“I mean maybe this evening. I have another witness to see at lunch, and one after that. I can tell you now about the scene I walked into this morning and about my phone call with Mr. Silver, but the case details I need to run by them.”

James gave her a reluctant nod and she filled him in on her visit from the moment she had turned up the driveway. When she finished, he handed her his card. “Call me if the next one turns up dead too.”





“What do you mean get rid of her? This isn’t the mob.”

Mark pushed his chair back and stalked over to the boardroom window to watch the endless sprawl of rush hour traffic below. Why did Steele want Katy off the case? Was it something other than the simple dismissal it appeared to be? Or was it personal? He should have talked to Steele earlier about withdrawing from the case. Now it would have to wait until he knew what Steele was really after.

Steele sighed. “You know what I mean.”

“Only Saunders, Katy’s managing partner or a judge can remove her from the case if she doesn’t want to withdraw,” he said.

Steele steepled his fingers and rested his chin against his hands. “Corporate spies are not easily scared away. But if Saunders loses a second lawyer and has to start over, she might be deterred. There has to be something you can do.”

Alarm bells rang in Mark’s head. Had Steele tried to scare Martha away? Had he been behind the telephone threat?

“You could settle.”

“Never.”

Mark snorted. The understatement of the year. Steele never settled. Even when the odds were against him. His willingness to take risks had helped him turn a small biotech start-up into one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Canada.

“Well, she’s upped the stakes so you might want to reconsider. She’s been granted an order to depose a witness tomorrow on an emergency basis. She caught me by surprise at the hearing, but I’ll be there to cross-examine him.”

“What witness?”

“Martin Kowalski, your former Chief Scientific Officer. Apparently he’s leaving the country. He agreed to be questioned under oath so his evidence can be entered at trial.”

“Goddammit.” Steele pounded the table with his fist. “He thinks he can drop a bomb and run away. I told Gordon that Kowalski was going to cause trouble. Can you stop the deposition?”

“I tried this morning and my appeal was unsuccessful. Ms. Sinclair must have been confident about the outcome. She didn’t even bother to show up. She sent an articling student in her place.” Mark paced the room, straightening the red leather chairs around the giant mahogany table as he walked. “I haven’t received a witness statement so I can’t even speculate about the evidence she hopes to get.”

“I know what she’s after,” Steele growled. “And if she keeps digging, she’s going to get more than she bargained for.”

“Care to share that information with me? I can’t represent you properly unless you keep me informed.”

Steele shook his head. “Not this time.”

“That’s what you said about the Cunninghams.” Mark shoved two documents across the table, trying not to let his agitation show. “I went to see them this morning after the appeal. Robert signed his amended agreement but his wife, Patricia, refused to sign hers.”

Steele balled the unsigned agreement in his fist. “I should have sent Gordon. This would have been signed if he had been there. You’re letting me down, Mark. Your dogged insistence on adhering to every rule in the law book is becoming wearisome. The world doesn’t work that way. Billion dollar pharmaceutical companies are not run that way. You have to be prepared to bend the rules.”

Ah, the irony.

Mark turned and leaned his back against the glass. A sliver of doubt worried its way through his mind. “You’re responsible for the other lawyer dropping the case, aren’t you?”

Steele’s eyes never left his. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Probably best if you don’t. Why do you want her off the case?” He tried to keep his voice calm and neutral as if they were talking about any other lawyer on any other case, while inside he fought the overwhelming urge to smash something. Like Steele’s nose.

“Curiosity is taking that little kitty to dark and dangerous places.” Steele joined Mark by the window. “You need to have a talk with her. I’m not the only one with something to lose if she continues to interfere.”

Mark’s throat tightened. “I can’t do that. She would see it for what it really is…a threat. Aside from that, it would be unethical.”

“Spin it.” Steele patted him on the back. “Make it into a friendly warning. You have a law firm depending on my good will.”

Mark rubbed his hand along his jaw. If he hadn’t already decided to withdraw from the case, he would have had to do it now. Running a simple case against Katy was one thing, but threatening her was entirely out of the question. Steele had unwittingly just given Mark an easy way out of the conflict.

He grabbed at it with both hands.

“I’m going to have to hand the case over to someone else. I won’t even consider crossing that line. If you’ve been honest with me, it’s a simple case, and Gordon can handle it for you, but if you want it to stay in the firm, Tony—”

Steele cut him off. “Unacceptable.”

Mark shrugged. “Your only other option is to let me run the case in the normal way. No threats. No warnings.”

“Also unacceptable. She seems to have forgotten what kind of case she’s supposed to be running. And you seem to have forgotten just how reliant your firm is on Hi-Tech’s legal work. I have the means to save your firm from becoming another casualty of the recession. All I ask is that you get the little kitty off the case. I don’t care how.”

Mark folded his arms. “I won’t do it. I’m sorry. I’m afraid I have to step down.”

Steele studied him for a long moment. “What about the deposition tomorrow?”

“I won’t prejudice your case. I’ll lodge my withdrawal documents with the court this afternoon, but if you can’t find new counsel, or Ms. Sinclair refuses an adjournment, then I’ll attend at court tomorrow morning to make an emergency application to have the deposition delayed.” He stiffened and prepared himself for Steele’s explosive temper.

But Steele didn’t react as he expected.

“I’m disappointed but not surprised,” Steele said bitterly. “I always knew it would come to this. You’ve never had the balls to take the risks that separate the men from the boys. I won’t forget your betrayal.” His low voice sent chills down Mark’s spine. He had never seen this side of Steele. His quiet menace had every hair on Mark’s neck standing on end and his fists clenched and ready to strike.

Steele slammed his briefcase closed and pulled open the door. “I’ll have to handle Kowalski and that naughty kitty myself.”





“You need to calm down.”

Katy paced up and down the small meeting room at Richards & Moretti. “Don’t tell me what I need, Tony. If I was calm, I would already have called the Law Society.” She glared. “Where is he? If he isn’t here in the next five minutes…”

The door opened and Mark stepped inside, his face grim. “What’s going on? I could hear you from my office, as could our staff and clients. Steele was here. You’re lucky he didn’t recognize your voice.”

“What’s going on?” she shrieked. “You tampered with my witness.”

“I did no such thing.” Mark walked around the table to stand beside Tony.

“You did. Patricia Cunningham was willing to talk to me, but when I stopped by her house this afternoon, she sent me away. She said you’d been to see her this morning. I don’t think there could be any clearer case of tampering.”

She felt no relief once the words were out. Her anger had been building since Patricia had suddenly gone tight lipped and sent her home. Fuming in rush hour traffic hadn’t helped. She hadn’t even gone back to her office. She had come straight to see Mark. She wanted answers. She wanted to know how she had been so naïve as to trust him.

“I didn’t know you had planned to interview her. It was a coincidence.” He spoke with a calm even rhythm as if he was explaining something complicated to a child. “You know there is no property in a witness.”

“Bullshit. I don’t believe it. I told you about the interview. I trusted you and you turned around and stabbed me in the back.” She clenched her fists by her sides. “We can both interview the witness, but one of us can’t coerce the witness into refusing to talk.”

“Stop right there.” Mark’s rejoinder echoed in the small space. “You told me you were going to interview a witness in Burnaby. You didn’t say who it was.”

Tony held up his hands. “I’ve known Mark a long time. I’ve worked with him in two businesses. I trust him implicitly. If he says he didn’t know, then he didn’t know. He doesn’t play games in his practice. He is always totally above board. Sometimes too much.”

Katy clenched her teeth and focused on taking deep breaths. Of course Tony would back him up. He stood to benefit from any profit Mark made in the case. “I don’t believe you either. You’re probably in this together.”

Mark’s face tightened. “You’re overreacting. Why don’t you sit down and we can discuss this without all the hysterics?”

If she’d been angry before, his condescending tone tipped her over the edge. “Don’t you dare patronize me,” she yelled. She yanked out the heavy tortoiseshell clip holding back her hair. “You push and you push and when finally I give in and trust you, you betray me. Just. Like. Steven.”





Mark ducked as the clip skimmed past his head and smacked against the glass window behind him. Katy’s hair spilled out across her shoulders in a glorious chestnut wave. The fire of her fury drew him like nothing else. Her eyes glittered, her cheeks flushed and her breasts heaved under her tight shirt. She looked as delectable as she had on the judge’s desk in the courtroom. Maybe more.

But first, he had to sort out this mess. What the hell had she been doing at the Cunninghams’ house? Even he had trouble believing his own explanation about a coincidence, but he still didn’t know why she needed to speak with Patricia.

With a quick nod, he sent Tony away and walked around the boardroom table, stopping just inches away from her. She trembled but didn’t back down. Instead, she held his gaze, her anger clear in the taut lines of her face.

He cupped her cheek and stared into the raging blue sea. “I didn’t betray your trust and I did not purposely tamper with the witness.”

Purposely. He had to say it because if Patricia Cunningham had truly changed her mind about talking to Katy, then in some way he had influenced her. Maybe he should have said knowingly.

Her breath hitched and she pulled away. “I’m done here. We’re done. I’m going to speak to Ted about getting removed from the case so I never have to see you again.”

She turned to go but Mark snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. “I won’t let you leave until we clear this up.”

“You can’t keep me here.” Her voice rose to a high pitch. She twisted around and tried to push him away, but she was no match for his strength.

He locked his arm and pulled her tightly against him. “Calm down, sugar. You’re overreacting.”

Wrong thing to say. She shrieked and wiggled as she tried to escape. The soft, sweet curve of her breasts rubbed against his chest, her pelvis ground into his shaft, and when he slid his hand over the curve of her ass to hold her still, he realized she was wearing that damn garter belt.

“Be still.” His heart raced and blood roared through his veins, fuzzing his brain with carnal passion until there was nothing but the scent of her arousal, the heat of her anger and the tormenting rub of her body against his. His control began to slip, disappearing too fast for him to catch it, until he had nothing to go on but primal instinct.

“F*ck.” He grabbed her, shoved up her skirt and slammed her against the wall, cupping her sweet ass in his hands. She moaned and wrapped her legs around him, pressing her mound firmly against his erection, barely restrained by the thin layers of clothing between them.

“Even when I hate you I want you,” she spat out.

“Listen to me.” He raised his voice above the rasp of her labored breathing. “I didn’t tamper with your witness, and as of this afternoon, I’m off the case. As promised. No more conflict.”

He slanted his head and pressed his mouth firmly against hers, forcing her lips open. His tongue invaded her, thrusting and demanding until she shuddered and met him stroke for stroke. Her legs tightened around him as he plundered her mouth, taking what she gave, demanding more.

“You’re off the case?” she murmured against his lips.

“Yes.”

“Nothing to come between us?”

“Nothing.” He choked out the word barely able to speak with the effort of containing weeks of pent up sexual frustration.

She licked his bottom lip. “You didn’t tamper with my witness?”

“No.”

“Kiss me again.” Her throaty demand was all the encouragement he needed.

With a low groan, he dove back into the sweet honey of her mouth and their lips fused in a kiss that sent a wave of heat scorching through him. Her teeth slid across his lip and the metallic tang of blood rolled over his tongue. The primal taste stripped away the last thread of his control. He pulled away and yanked her head back, exposing her throat to his lips, his tongue and the sharp nip of his teeth. He breathed in her scent, sultry and sensual, and his cock throbbed in response.

“I want you, sugar.” He nipped the delicate skin at the base of her throat and laved his way down to the cleft of her breasts. He wanted to live out every fantasy of her he had ever had.

Here.

Now.

Without waiting for her answer, he tore open her shirt. Buttons pattered across the carpet like raindrops. She moaned and kissed him harder, a clashing of lips and teeth, stoking the fire of his hunger for her.

“More.” Her moan vibrated against his chest, inflaming him.

He shoved the fabric aside and flicked the front closure of her bra, freeing her soft mounds for his pleasure. He took one rosy nipple between his teeth and bit and suckled until she whimpered and writhed against him, grinding her p-ssy against his throbbing shaft. The barrier between them became unbearable. He wanted to feel her. Everywhere.

“I need you,” she groaned. “Can’t wait.”

Spurred by the ferocity of his need and her arousal, he pinned her to the wall with his hip and pulled a condom from his wallet, tearing the packet open with his teeth. “I’m going to take you, sugar. Hard and fast. If you want me to stop, tell me now.” He barely recognized his own voice, dark and husky with need. He ripped her panties away with a quick jerk then undid his belt and slid his clothing down his thighs.

She placed a hand on his chest and lifted her eyes, half lidded with desire. So beautiful. He could feel the warmth of her palm through his shirt. For a long second, anxiety ratcheted through him. Would she push him away? If she did, would he be able to go?

With a sudden movement, she tore open his shirt and raked her nails down his chest. Buttons shot across the room like bullets. Blood beaded on his skin.

“Christ.” The need to possess her obliterated his rational mind. In one swift motion, he sheathed his cock and then plunged into her hot, slick entrance. So f*cking wet. The urge to drive further into her became unbearable. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down until he was buried deep. Her sex closed around him like a hot velvet sheath and he set up a steady rhythm, one he knew he couldn’t keep up for long.

“Don’t stop.” She rocked her hips against him seeking the friction of his body against her *. He slid one hand between them and rubbed her moisture up and around her swollen nub until her groans became whimpers and his fingers were slick with her wetness.

“God, I love the sounds you make,” he rasped.

He rubbed one finger over her * and changed to a hammering pace. Her body tightened and she arched her back, digging her nails into his shoulders. When she stiffened and gasped, he covered her mouth with his own, swallowing her scream as her p-ssy convulsed around him in heated waves.

Exquisitely tight. Unbearably wet.

His cock, denied for so long, pulsed inside her throbbing sex. He pulled almost all the way out, and then slammed into her, yanking her against him. Two strokes were all it took before he came in a violent rush. A groan ripped out of his throat, drowning the hammering of blood in his ears.

When her tremors had finally slowed, he pulled back and studied her for a long moment, drinking in her dazed eyes and swollen lips. “You’re beautiful when you come, sugar,” he whispered.

He withdrew, smiling at her unhappy moan after he let her down to dispose of the condom and adjust his clothing. But when she reached to pull down her skirt, he grabbed her hand.

“I’m not done with you yet.”

She gave him a wicked grin. “Good. Because I’m not done with you.”

He lifted her and placed her on the table in front of him, positioning her near the edge, legs bent, and heels planted. “Lie back,” he commanded.

She bit her lip but did as he asked. “What about my plans for you?” she whispered as he gently pressed her thighs apart and settled down between her legs.

A smile curled his lips. “Don’t worry, sugar. The night is still young.”





Katy wiggled off Mark’s lap and straightened her clothes. She wasn’t in the mood to be cuddled. Despite the mind-blowing orgasm on his boardroom table, the beat of desire still pulsed through her veins. Unleashed. Out of control.

She didn’t know this Katy Sinclair—half undressed, lips swollen, hair tangled, nipples aching, core throbbing—the woman who had just f*cked opposing counsel in his boardroom.

F*cked. A harsh word. A forbidden word. A word that had earned Justin a week long electronics ban.

But apt. The last hour had been nothing but hard, dirty, desperate f*cking.

It was what she had dreamed of in her bed at night and imagined during their phone call. It was what she thought about every time she saw him. So why wasn’t it enough? Why did she hunger for more? What if this was all he wanted—the thrill of the chase, the satisfaction of conquest, and no strings when he walked away?

She wandered over to the window and stared down at the street below. Although small on the world-scale, Vancouver was always busy. Traffic jams. Crowds of tourists. But no one complained. It was all worth it for the view—mountains sweeping their way down to the ocean, the inky blue water of Burrard Inlet. Spectacular.

She felt Mark before she heard him. His body heat warmed her back through the thin cotton of her shirt when he came up behind her.

“What are you thinking, sugar?” His cheek brushed against her temple, his breath hot and moist in her ear.

“Just admiring the view.”

He smoothed his hand down her back and kneaded her bottom, squeezing gently. “So was I.”

A tremor ran down her spine. He was insatiable. How could he want her again? Didn’t he need time to recharge? Steven had never managed to stay awake for more than thirty seconds after their seven minutes of “fun time” and then he wouldn’t bother again her for at least two weeks.

Mark’s powerful arm circled slid around her waist, pulling her against his long frame. His erection pressed firmly against the cleft of her buttocks. Rock hard and ready to go for the third time in under two hours. Apparently he didn’t suffer the same limited endurance or lack of enthusiasm as Steven.

“Mark, I think we should—”

“Shhh. The office is closed. The cleaners are gone. No one is going to disturb us. I’ve been waiting far too long to let it end now.” His hand drifted over the front of her shirt and eased under her bra to capture her breast. She gasped at the intensity of the sensation and arched into his heated touch.

“No clothes this time,” he said, his voice husky and low. “I want to see all of you.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. His hands swept down her body stripping her of her shirt, bra and skirt without a wasted movement. He spun her around to face him then raked his hungry gaze over her body.

A blush crept down from her face to her breasts and her nipples tightened under his scrutiny.

“You’re beautiful, sugar.”

Flustered, disbelieving, she had no idea what to say. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out.

“You don’t believe me?”

“No.”

He cupped her hand with his own and placed it on his chest. Then he dragged it down over the hard planes of his pecs and his rigid stomach muscles to the arousal clearly defined beneath his trousers. He pressed her hand over his engorged length.

“Do you believe this?” he murmured.

Katy stroked his arousal and squeezed gently. She believed he wanted her. Enjoyed her. But the question was, for how long?

Mark hissed in a breath. “Take it out. I want you to see what you do to me.”

His words awakened something primal in her, carnal. A fevered desire rushed through her, filling her core with liquid heat. She tugged open his fly, and slid his clothing over his hips.

His erection sprang free—long, thick, and threaded with pulsing veins.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Mark stepped out of his clothes and kicked them to the side. For a long moment, she indulged herself, drinking him in. She hadn’t realized how much she had craved this view of him. Mark in clothing was mind-numbingly gorgeous but without clothing…his body was nothing short of divine. She was not only aroused, but entranced. Need shot deep to her darkest, most secret core and she murmured her approval.

Mark crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you going to keep staring at me, sugar?”

Her cheeks flamed and she bit her lip. “Yes,” she breathed. “Oh, yes.”

She let her gaze play all over him, moving along well-defined calves to thighs she ached to touch, over taut abs and the ripple of muscles across his broad chest. Finally, her gaze drifted down the soft, dusky trail of hair to his shaft, engorged and straining toward her, stirred by her visual examination.

What would it be like to feel the swollen head in her mouth, smooth and glistening, or lick the teardrop of moisture at the tip? How would he taste? Salty? Sweet?

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to come for you,” he rasped. “Do you want that, sugar? Is it what you were imagining when your nipples peaked?”

She dragged her gaze up to his eyes and then back down to his throbbing shaft. “I was imagining…how you would taste.”

His heavy sac tightened before her eyes. His crown engorged, becoming a deep pink, almost purple.

“Come and find out.”

She sank to her knees in front of him, her mouth watering in anticipation.

“Suck me, sugar.”

She took him in her hand and dusted the swollen head with her breath, marveling at the contrast of silky skin over rock hard flesh. His hips bucked and her touch grew bolder, following the veins from tip to base, hefting his balls in her palm. She breathed in his scent—musk and soap and the essence of male.

“I’m not going to last if you keep playing.” He clasped his hand around the base of his heavy shaft, and brushed the swollen tip over her lips. “Open for me.”

She parted her lips and his cock slid into her mouth. As she closed her mouth around him, her fingers curled into his buttocks, drawing him closer so she could take him deeper.

Too deep.

She choked. Gagging and coughing, she pulled back and then dipped her head, letting her hair sheet over her flaming cheeks.

Mark threaded his fingers through her hair, tugging her head back until she was looking up at him.

Katy’s eyes watered. “Sorry. I’m not…very experienced.”

“There’s not much you can do wrong. Relax, sugar. Slow down. I like everything about your hot, wet little mouth.”

He reached for her hand and placed it around the base of his shaft. Palming her head, he drew her forward. This time she couldn’t resist circling all around the pearly tip with her tongue. He tasted salty and sweet, decadent. Her belly clenched and her own need rose. She moaned, her lips vibrating against his head.

“God, Katy, you’re killing me.” He tightened his grip on her hair. “Open wider.”

His guttural demand sent shivers down her spine. Fingers splayed around the base of his shaft, she relaxed her throat and tried to take him deeper than she had before.

His groan of pleasure delighted her. Steven had rarely been interested in oral sex. She had always thought the problem had been her lack of skill, but maybe the problem lay with him.

She ran her tongue across the underside of his shaft and then set up a steady rhythm with her mouth. He grunted and stiffened. The muscles of his thighs grew rigid and his back arched.

The taste of him made her hot, wet and hungry. She snaked her free hand down between her legs, spreading her moisture around the swollen tissue. Her juices flowed between her thighs and she struggled to hold on. She wanted to give him the pleasure he had given her. But she knew she couldn’t take much more.

“Condom,” she rasped, pulling away.

Mark froze. “I’m all out.”

“Lucky for you, Trixie stuffed a handful of samples in my purse. She said Carpe Noctem had a storeroom full of freebies.” She retrieved a condom and rolled it gently over Mark’s hardened length.

This time she didn’t tease. She took him in as far as she could in one long, hard slide while her hand drifted down between her legs to deal with her own need for release.

“Christ,” he muttered, as he watched her fingers glide through her folds. “That’s it, sugar. Touch yourself. Come with me.”

His fist closed on her hair and he pumped into her mouth with rapid, deep strokes. She moaned in delight and dragged her fingers over her swollen *.

He pulled back and then thrust forward, tightening his fingers in her hair. “F*ck.” The word came out in a roar as his cock became impossibly firm. He came fast and hard with a sharp jerk of his hips and a deep, low groan of pleasure.

Pleasure she had given him. Satisfaction and a last flick over her * sent her over the edge. A shower of stars tingled through her veins and she moaned her release around his shaft.

He slowly withdrew and looked down at her, his eyes warm with a hint of humor. “That was damned amazing, but you’re a very naughty girl.”

“Did I do something wrong?” The question trembled from her lips.

He cupped her cheek and his face softened. “The pleasure of touching you is mine, sugar, and I’ll be wanting that pleasure again before the night is out.”





“Is that Tony sleeping in there?” Katy buttoned up her suit jacket to hide her torn shirt.

Mark snorted at the sight of his friend asleep on the couch in the hallway. “I can’t believe we put him to sleep.”

“He was here? Listening? The entire time?” Katy grabbed his sleeve and worry creased her forehead.

Mark put his arm around her. “He was worried about you. He thought I’d lost control.”

“Did you?”

He didn’t answer right away. He didn’t want her to know the lawyer famous for his control had lost it in his own boardroom. And he didn’t want her to know he regretted the loss.

What the f*ck had he done? How had he let it go so far, so fast? Why hadn’t he stopped after the first time? He should have moved slowly, taken the time to get to know her, decide if he could risk exposing himself to the pleasure and pain of loving and losing all over again.

Instead, he had succumbed to raw need and the overpowering desire to possess his beautiful, fiery opponent, body and soul.

Now in the dim light of the empty hallway, he knew he’d made a terrible mistake. He was back on the road he had resolved never to go down again. He wasn’t ready. Not by a long shot. He couldn’t take what he couldn’t give.

What a f*cking disaster.

Katy followed him into the elevator. The doors slammed closed and they hurtled down to the main floor.

“Mark?”

His heart stuttered when he looked down at her worried face. Lips, swollen from his kisses. Hair, a sexy tumbled disarray. He could drown in the depths of her azure blue eyes and die a happy man. But what about her? She deserved more than he had to offer. She deserved better than him. She deserved to find someone who knew how to love.

He pulled her into his arms and brushed his lips softly over the lines creasing her forehead. Now is not the time for admissions. “Shhh,” he whispered.

Katy drew in a ragged breath but mercifully didn’t press him for an explanation for his silence.

He walked her out to the street and they waited for the cab he had called before they left. At this late hour, few people were around, but he didn’t want to take the risk of pulling her close, although he ached to feel her body snuggled against him. Not now.

“Since you’re off the case, the next time I visit your office, I’ll come prepared and forgo the panties.” She gave him a half smile, but she couldn’t hide her anxiety. She knew something was wrong.

He sucked in a breath, knowing he had to tread carefully. “There won’t be a next time.”

Confusion flashed in her eyes and she brushed imaginary fluff from her jacket. “You’re right,” she said cautiously. “It was inappropriate. Maybe somewhere less risky?”

His pulse raced as if he were trying to pick his way through a mine field…blindfolded. Images of Claire flitted through his mind. Claire laughing in her kitchen. Claire crying as she walked away. Claire dead in an alley. Because of him. Because he hadn’t loved her enough.

“Katy. I—” He choked on the words he knew he should say.

“I don’t understand.” She bit her bottom lip and her face grew taut and still.

Tension grew thick between them. He still had a chance to diffuse the situation. But maybe this was better. End it before she got hurt. Before he led her down the same path that had led Claire to her own destruction.

The cab approached, and Katy whirled around to flag it down. She opened the door and turned back to face him. The devastation in her eyes sliced through him, piercing his heart more surely than any words could have done.

And then she was gone.