Our gazes locked. Understanding shone in her green eyes. It was strangely comforting.
“Do you want me to stay for a while, Fee? Ride out the storm together?”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
I huffed and shrugged off my jacket. “You know what? I’m starving. I’ll order food, and we can eat. I’ll leave once the worst is over. We’ll both feel better. Okay?” I met her gaze, imploring her silently to agree. To accept this small gesture from me.
“Okay,” she agreed. “I would like the company.”
“Great.”
Fee surprised me and ate the dinner I ordered. She had a bottle of wine in the fridge, and I poured us each a large glass, encouraging her to drink while we waited for the Chinese food to arrive. It helped her relax, and she actually laughed at some of the silly stories I told her of odd cases I had handled over the years. I tried to divert her attention from the storm raging outside, even going so far as to play cards with her.
I couldn’t remember the last time I had played cards. I discovered a competitive streak in Fee. She made me laugh when she would change the rules to suit herself, and more than once, I caught her peeking at cards in order to win. I was certain Go Fish had never been played as aggressively as it was between us.
I couldn’t remember the last time I enjoyed an evening so much. Despite the weather and the reason I was there with her, I liked it.
Once the storm calmed and I could see she was tiring, I picked up my jacket, slinging it over my shoulder. I stood in her doorway, hesitating.
“It’s going to be okay, Fee.”
“I know,” she stated simply.
“Really?” I asked, surprised.
She nodded. “I have Hal Smithers on my side.”
Without thought, I wrapped a hand around her waist and drew her close. I leaned down and brushed my mouth over hers. “Yes, FeeNelly, you do.”
She cupped my cheek, and our eyes locked. The air around us sizzled with the tension. I could feel her breath on my face, light puffs of air that drifted over my skin. She moved her fingers restlessly on my skin, and I tightened mine on her hip. One small dip and my mouth would be on hers again. That was all it would take. I cleared my throat, knowing there was a line I didn’t dare cross.
“If things get scary again, call me. I can be here in five minutes,” I told her, my voice husky.
“Thank you.”
Then she leaned up and kissed me.
Hours later, I was still pacing. There would be no sleep for me tonight, and I hadn’t even bothered trying. My mind was racing, my body tense. All I could think about was Fee. The way she felt in my arms. The taste of her when her lips were against mine. How her heat had soaked into my skin, warming me, her scent surrounding us.
The kiss had been sweet, brief, and fucking shattered my mind.
I had left immediately. It was either walk out the door, or I’d have her on the bed in the small apartment, naked and pleading in five minutes.
Jesus, I was still hard.
I wanted her on so many levels, I couldn’t even separate them.
Physically, my draw to her had grown. Morphed and intensified. I realized how often I watched her. Listened to her. I knew where she was in the office every moment I was there with her.
And she was fucking everywhere.
I sat on the edge of my bed, holding my head in my hands.
How had this happened?
Fee was a client. That was all she was supposed to be.
But there was something—a sense of more with her. I didn’t understand it.
I didn’t like it.
My phone buzzed and I grabbed it.
Fee: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kissed you.
Hal: I’m not sorry—and for that, I am sorry.
Fee: You’re twisting your words, counselor.
Hal: It’s what I’m good at.
Fee: You’re good at much more than you give yourself credit for.
Hal: If you knew how much I wanted to show you how good I am, you would fire me and walk.
Fee: I don’t want to fire you, but I have a question.
Hal: Ask me.
Fee: Do you want me because it would piss off Scott?
Hal: This has nothing to do with Scott. How I feel has everything to do with you, Fee. It’s all you.
I paused, then added, And it fucking scares me.
Fee: Would it help if I told you I felt it too and I don’t understand it?
Hal: Yeah, FeeNelly, that helps. But we can’t. It’s that simple.
She didn’t respond.
Hal: It’s late. You should sleep.
Fee: The last time I slept was in your arms.
I groaned, dropping my head, thinking of how I slept beside her. How great it felt to rest and wake up beside her soft body.
Hal: Fee, if you were in my bed, I promise you, sleep would have to wait. For a long time.
It took a few moments for her reply to appear.
Fee: I would be okay with that.
Hal: We can’t, Fee. You deserve so much more than me. You deserve the world. I’m not a forever kind of guy. I’m Mr. In the Moment.
Fee: I know. Goodnight, Halton.
Hal: Goodnight, Fee.
I tossed my phone beside me and flopped back on the mattress. I stared at the ceiling, unable to stop thinking about her. With me. Under me. Tucked beside me. Buried inside her. Listening to her laugh and being able to touch her the way I wanted. Everywhere.
I ran my hand over my eyes and scrubbed at my beard. I slid my hand down my chest to my aching cock. But it wasn’t right. It wasn’t my hand I wanted.
My phone buzzed, and I looked at the screen.
Fee: Maybe I want to live in the moment.
Then I heard the knock on my door.
Fiona
Halton flung open his door, his gaze intense. Bare-chested, black boxers hugging his hips and showing off his impressive bulge, he was sexy, stern, and barely hanging on to his control. He curled his hand around the door, his grip so tight, his knuckles were white. His breathing was labored, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession. He pinned me with his eyes, so dark, they were almost black.
“You might regret this.”
I shook my head, trying not to let him see how hard I was shaking. “No, I won’t.”
“How can you be sure?”
I lifted my chin. “Because I’m making the decision. For me. Only me.”
“I can’t give you what you want, Fee.”
“Right now, I want you.”
He released the door and grabbed me, dragging me into his condo. In seconds, my coat was pushed off my shoulders, leaving me in my tank top and cotton sleep pants. I hadn’t even bothered to change, not giving myself time to talk myself out of this. He lifted me into his arms, cupping my ass, wrapping my legs around his waist. His cock, his thick, massive cock, ground against my core, making me whimper. His mouth was hard, possessive, claiming. He kissed me as if he were a dying man and I was his oxygen. He stroked his tongue over mine, sliding it in deep, his taste consuming me. He buried his hand into my hair, yanking the clip loose and tossing it over his shoulder. I heard the sound of it hitting the wall as he wound his fist into my hair, tugging my head back and licking and biting his way down my throat over the juncture of my neck.