“We were preoccupied—”
“For 168 hours? And you’re still alive? How?”
“Why am I talking to you?” I grumbled.
“Because I’m the person that will judge you the least. Just wait until I tell Bethan how her big brother isn’t so righteous anymore,” he teased.
“I hate you. I truly hate you,” I muttered, pitching the bridge of my noise.
I am Levi Black and my record was spotless; I didn’t mess around with students, I didn’t lose cases, and I sure as hell didn’t air my dirty laundry in public. It was because of that reason that I was everyone’s go-to. Senators, governors, celebrities, I was the guy that powerful people called in to clean up their mess, no matter where they were in the world. The only way I could do that was to not have any messes of my own. Thea Cunning was… well, I don’t even know where to begin!
“It was just supposed to be sex.”
“For a week.”
“It kept getting better and better. She’s like a Venus flytrap, once you’re in, you’re in, and there’s no getting out.”
“Ahh, man,” he groaned.
“That’s not what I meant!”
“Look, if it’s bothering you that much, just kick her out of your class. Isn’t there some clause in your contract that allows you to take on as many students as you want?”
He was right. I had taken on teaching when I had just opened my own firm, in the hopes of stealing the best graduates for myself. Six years later, I was still here, even though my firm had as many capable associates as we needed.
“I know. But I only get rid of the weak, and weak she is not. She stood up to me today. It usually takes my students a few weeks, but she did it on the first day.”
“Are you sure this was just sex?”
As I was about to formulate my answer, a loud knock interrupted my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called to the door, and to Tristan, I said, “Tristan, I gotta go.”
“Is someone really there, or are you trying to avoid the question?”
“It was just sex, and it’s over,” I muttered into the phone as quickly as I could. “I don’t do relationships, you know that. And someone really is here. Enjoy your day off, we might have a big client by the end of the day.” I hung up just as my secretary came in, her lips were drawn into a hard line. Her eyebrow rose as she handed me a file.
“Good afternoon, Betty, how are you?”
“Umm hum.” She shook her head at me. “Mr. and Mrs. Archibald will be coming in at two, then a phone conference with the governor at five, followed by six messages to return… all from your ex-wife,” she added.
“Tell Mr. and Mrs. Archibald I will be meeting with them at their home shortly. The press must be going crazy by now and it would be best if they stayed inside. See if you can push the call with the governor to six, and if my ex-wife calls again, hang up.”
“Then she’ll come here.”
“Call security?”
“Really? And if the media finds out that Boston’s top defense attorney had his ex-wife thrown out of his office, what do you think will happen?”
“I will get a round of applause.” And rightly so, I thought, because my ex-wife was, for want of a better word, borderline insane.
“Mr. Black, I am sixty-five years old, do you think I want to deal with your ex-wife?”
“Good point. Forward all her calls to one of the associates to handle. It’s not like they do much of anything anyway.”
She shook her head and turned around.
“Thank you Betty!” I called out cheerfully.
Betty had been with me since the very beginning. I had left my firm six years ago with nothing but a box of awards, which meant nothing to anyone anymore, and an album full of pictures, that I later burned.
They all said I was a fool for walking out, that I should have just stuck it out. Betty was the only person that came with me. Six years later, I still took immense pleasure in stealing their clients and beating their asses in court. It was the little things in life.
Reaching into my bag, I searched for my proposal, but I stopped when I felt the lace at the bottom. Opening it wider, I saw the pair of teal lace panties that she had worn the first night we spent at her place, with a note from her:
For the long trip home, it was fun.
Thea.
Just the mere sight of them caused something deep within me to awaken, and as I felt the texture of the material against my fingertips, I could feel myself growing hard.
What sort of a mess had I gone and gotten myself into?
CHAPTER FOUR
P A S T
D A Y 2
THEA
Brushing my teeth for what had to be the eighth time, I spun around, observing myself in the mirror, and dusting off the yellow button down shirt, and black skirt that I’d decided to wear.
I was so excited that I was shaking.
I was twenty-three, damn it. I should be past shaking like a schoolgirl at the thought of a guy coming over.
It seemed that no matter what I tried on, nothing looked good enough. My hair didn't look right, and I felt like if I ate or drank anything, I would need to brush teeth again. Plus, I was sure that I’d gained weight.
Get it together Thea. It’s not like you both haven’t done this already. Your clothes are fine. Your hair looks nice. And you’ve only gained a pound but that could just be stress…Right?
“I should change,” I said to my reflection, as I turned and moved over to the closet. Before I could give my appearance another thought, the doorbell rang.
Shit.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to not give in to my absurd urge to bolt down the stairs. Pausing, I looked myself over in the mirror that stood in the entryway, and I rubbed my finger over my teeth relishing the clean squeak they gave off. Eighth time’s the charm, I supposed. Then, taking a deep breath, I opened the door to what would prove to be the most pleasurable week of my life.
“Wow,” he whispered.
“Now that’s how you say hello.” I beamed, taking in the sight of him. He wore a pair of casual, dark jeans and a blazer. His hands were behind his back and he rocked back and forth on his toes, grinning mischievously. I suspected that he was hiding something behind his back, but before I could question him about it, his grin widened as he brought forward a chilled bottle of wine for my inspection.
“You didn’t have to bring anything,” I told him, as I took the bottle from his hands.
“What type of house guest would I be if I showed up with empty hands? Besides, you just moved in, right?” he asked, as I made room for him to enter.
“Yeah. I moved most of boxes into the other rooms. It was just too much for me to sort through alone.”
“If you need help, I’m great with a box cutter—shit, that sounded awful…”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. One moment he was overtly sexual, and the next, he was so cute and sweet, that it was hard to believe.
“It’s fine,” I told him. “Have you eaten? I ordered pizza because I felt that making dinner would be a little too—” I paused and made a face.
“Too relationship—y?” he finished with a grin. “Pizza’s good.”