Lust Page 3

  She was close—closer than any other woman had been in weeks since I had been swamped with work—and my body responded instantly. My mind spun with all the things I could do to her body right here, but I could only settle on one specific thing at that moment.

  “Meela,” I whispered, and she looked up.

  She was smiling, her lips full and begging me to taste them even if she didn’t realize it. I couldn’t control the urge, and my fingers slipped into her hair, pulling her mouth to mine.

  She made a startled sound when our lips touched, and her palms pressed into my chest. I knew her instinct was to push away the stranger that had so boldly taken advantage of this entire situation, but she didn’t.

  Instead, her hands moved up my chest, her arms circled my neck, and her fingers dug into my scalp. She lifted herself up onto her toes, putting her entire body in the kiss. It was the most erotic fucking kiss I’d had with all my clothes on.

  She tasted sweet and dangerous, and as I devoured her mouth and took all I could, she leaned into me and moaned in pleasure.

  It was unexpected. She was unexpected.

  Innocent.

  Trouble.

  Meela.

  Tucked behind her confusion and anxiety was a passionate woman begging to be released from her confinement, and I was more than willing to be the one to set her free. She would be furious—holy fuck was she going to be—but lucky for both of us, I knew exactly how to unruffle those pretty little feathers. She was young. It was one loss, one case.

  By tonight, Meela Davis would be coming in the palm of my hand.

  Three

  Meela

  He was kissing me, and it was amazing.

  Amazing or not, why was I letting him kiss me?

  Even better question … why was I kissing him back?

  As his lips moved over mine, I felt the tension in my body slowly melt away. And when his tongue slipped into my mouth, I told myself that I was only allowing this because I was hyped up on adrenaline and lust.

  That wasn’t entirely true, though.

  I had let him in because stopping him wasn’t an option.

  The feel of him.

  The taste of him.

  It was intoxicating.

  And even though the elevator beneath my feet was completely still, I had the distinct feeling I was falling—plummeting into something headfirst—and unable to come up for air.

  I pushed into him, feeling like I couldn’t get close enough, and his fingers teased the bottom of my skirt.

  A tiny voice in the back of mind whispered that I should stop him, but my body refused to listen. As if the heavens were answering for me, the elevator shook hard, knocking me away from him. It was then that I realized the elevator was moving again.

  My stomach felt like it was dropkicked to the floor as gravity kicked in and we began to rise. Catching my breath, I moved my eyes to his, taking him in completely as I tried to decide what my next move should be.

  He was breathing hard, his eyes flickering from my eyes to my lips as if he contemplated moving in for another kiss. I couldn’t lie to myself. I wanted him to, but as soon as he moved closer, I shot my hand up to stop him.

  “No, please,” I begged, and then the elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

  Fresh air flooded the tiny space, and light from the wall of windows in front of the elevator shined brightly, making me squint.

  With the light and fresh air came a wave of embarrassment.

  What the hell did I just let happen?

  I was not the kind of woman who made out with a strange, attractive man on broken elevators.

  He stared back at me as if he was waiting for me to make the next move. His nostrils flared with each breath as a hazy veil of desire radiated from him.

  He wanted me.

  I could see it in his eyes, and I understood that desire more than I cared to admit.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but before the words came out, a throat cleared outside the elevator. Looking up, I could see a group of people standing there unsure if they should get on the elevator with us or not.

  My eyes gazed at the floor number.

  Seven.

  That was my floor.

  “Are you guys okay?” It was the superintendent who asked.

  “We’re fine,” Reed answered for the both of us.

  I spotted my dropped phone and bag, collecting them in my arms and clutching them to my chest.

  “Sorry it took so long. The damn earthquake took out the power to the entire building. Are you sure y’all are all right?”

  Unless he had something to take away the burning hot embarrassment I was feeling, I didn’t need anything.

  “Are the courts still in session?”

  “Some of the judges are still here. There wasn’t enough damage to shut the whole building down.”

  I nodded. “Thank you,” I told him, and then my eyes found his across the elevator. “Thanks.”

  “For what?” he asked, his brows pulling.

  “For the distraction.”

  And then I stepped off the elevator and fled to the closest bathroom without looking back.

  I would probably never see him again, and strangely, that realization made me feel a bit empty. I shook that feeling off and stood in front of the restroom mirror. I was already late for court, but I figured an earthquake was a good enough reason to be late, and I wasn’t about to go in there looking the way I did.

  My hair was messy, my face flushed, and my lips felt swollen and thoroughly kissed. The top button on my white shirt had come undone, and my pencil skirt had shifted around my hips slightly. I adjusted myself quickly, refreshed my makeup, and patted my hair into some sort of order.

  Within minutes, I was out of the bathroom and on my way to the courtroom. My heels clicked against the flooring as I speed walked to court.

  When I got to the double doors leading to the courtroom where I belonged, I paused for a second and took a deep, revitalizing breath.

  I could totally do this.

  I would win this case.

  But the minute I threw the courtroom doors open and stepped inside, I knew that was no longer true. My case was considered lost the minute I saw Reed Pierce sitting behind the table of the opposing counsel.

  My face dropped as confusion settled over me like a wet blanket.

  “How nice of you to join us, Ms ...?” Judge Wilks asked as she peered over her thick black glasses at me.

  “Ms. Davis,” I answered as I walked to the front.

  My eyes shifted to Reed once again, and red flags and alarms went up and off in my brain. He smiled back at me, and it was then that I realized the smile he was giving me now was completely different from the one he had given me in the elevator.

  In the elevator, his smirks and grins were loaded with flirtatious innuendo, but as I walked past him to approach the bench, his smile was full of regret and sorrow. He was apologizing for what we both knew he was about to do.

  I looked away and spoke to the judge.

  “I’m sorry I’m late, your honor. The elevator I was on got stuck for a quite a while after the earthquake.”

  Judge Wilks removed her glasses and for a second she looked less intimidating.

  “So Mr. Pierce has informed me. We’ve gotten the all clear to continue with court today, is that something you’re up too?” Everyone’s eyes were on me as they waited for me to respond. I swallowed hard, and nodded. There was no point in delaying what I already knew was coming. She nodded, placing her glasses back over her eyes. “Good. However, Ms. Davis, as I said, Mr. Pierce was also on this the faulty elevator, yet he managed to get here quicker than you did.”

  Her eyes shifted from me and then to Reed. “Even if he is poorly dressed.” She shook her head.

  Pierce.

  Reed Pierce.

  And then my memory shifted into place and nausea settled into my stomach.

  I did know him.

  I had never actually seen his
face until today, but the name was one I should have remembered instantly.

  He was one of the best. He had taken the court system by storm even at his young age and was now one of the top paid lawyers at his firm.

  I cursed myself and tried not to burn him with my eyes.

  He had definitely fooled me.

  Reed grinned up at her, his regretful smile gone and his flirtatious one back in place for the judge.

  “My apologies, your honor. Mrs. Gibson had a last-minute emergency with her son. I was brought on to this case at the very last minute, and I didn’t have time to change. I was hoping my attire could be overlooked just this once.”

  His arms spread wide, and he smirked at the judge. And to my utmost surprise and dismay, Judge Wilks swooned right before my eyes. She sighed and grinned down at Reed, a slight blush covering her cheeks.

  It was disgusting to watch him work her over so easily. It was even more disgusting that I had acted the same way only fifteen minutes ago on an elevator I thought I was going to die on, during an earthquake that never happened.

  “Very well, Mr. Reed, but only because I know you’re usually properly dressed,” she flirted.

  My mouth popped open.

  The bastard.

  I was being punished for being later than him because I had the audacity to run to the restroom and make myself presentable, and he was basically being praised for not doing the same.

  My jaws ached with anger as I clenched my back teeth together to keep from speaking out against her blatant flirtation with Reed. Thankfully, she looked away from Reed and back to the people of the courtroom.

  “Shall we get this over with?”

  An hour later, I had officially lost my case.

  Reed had done the unimaginable and used the words I had spoken in a moment of fear against me.

  We were minutes into the court proceedings before he openly told everyone that my client had slept with her husband’s brother. The room and my client had gasped at the accusation, and when I looked down at my client, I could see in her eyes that she knew I was the one who had opened my mouth.

  She left the room as soon as the judge dropped the gavel on any chance of her getting alimony, and I was left alone behind the table to pick myself up off the ground.

  All the confidence I had on the way to the courtroom was gone, replaced with embarrassment and shame that embedded itself deeply. A good lawyer wouldn’t have openly spoken about her case with a stranger. Maybe I wasn’t as good as I thought I was.

  “You win some, you lose some,” Reed said at my side.

  I slammed the case folder shut before daring to look up at him.

  “Did you know who I was in the elevator?” I asked, sure that he was aware I was his opposing counsel.

  His bright eyes dimmed, and his shoulders stiffened.

  “You did, didn’t you?”

  He sighed. “Not at first. It wasn’t until you mentioned your case.”

  “And so you let me tell you all about it, so you could steal the win from me?” My voice rose, grabbing the attention of a few stragglers in the courtroom.

  “No, of course not. Once you started talking about the case, I tried to change the subject.”

  “You expect me to believe that blatant bullshit?” I snapped, and my outburst took him by surprise. “I feel like an idiot. I should have known better. I know exactly your type.”

  His face shifted in curiosity. “And what type is that?”

  “You think your witty banter and telltale smiles will get you anything you want.”

  My words affected him, and there was a glint in his green eyes when he leaned toward me. “I can’t say that I disagree with you, counselor. It got me the win, didn’t it?”

  “Being an asshole got you that. Congrats, counselor.” I grabbed my stuff to leave.

  “Wait.” He held up his hands. “Look, would it make you feel better if I apologized?”

  I seethed. “You want me to go to jail, don’t you?”

  “Let me make it up to you. Drinks, dinner,” he said, resuming his flirtation with a vengeance. “Show you I’m not a complete—”

  “Dick?”

  “For the lack of a better word.”

  “Oh, I can keep going.”

  “And I want to hear all the dirty things you have to say. Tonight.”

  I stared at him, completely speechless by the massive size of his ego.

  I was furious with him and with myself to the point that I wanted to cause him bodily harm. I couldn’t believe I kissed him and actually wanted it. He had used his sex appeal and flirty tactics to get his way, and I had foolishly let him.

  What happened on the elevator was never going to happen again.

  I backed away, my lips tight with distrust and anger.

  “Do us both a favor and stay the hell away from me,” I practically growled and bolted out the doors.

  Once I left the courtroom, reality came crashing down on me.

  My first official loss.

  I tried to ward off the tears until I made it to my car.

  Once I was in the lobby, I started toward the doors of the courthouse, but before I could pull the door open, Reed called out my name.

  I refused to stop, pulling open the doors and darting down the courthouse steps. I didn’t get very far before Reed caught my arm, stopping me. I nearly ripped it out of the socket pulling from his grasp.

  He held up his hands in surrender.

  “Easy.” He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Look, let’s not let it end this way, okay? The fact is, we both know I would have won whether or not you had so carelessly given me all your ammunition. If anything, you should be thanking me instead of being so obviously upset with me.”

  His grin was stiff as if he knew his words would piss me off.

  They hit the target. I wanted to kick him where it hurt.

  “I should be thanking you? You can’t be serious.”

  “Think of this way, Meela. You’re new to this, and today, I taught you a very valuable lesson.”

  “Oh, really? And what lesson would that be?”

  He moved in closer, causing me to stiffen. The smell of his expensive cologne moved all around me. The hair beside my ear shifted as his breath brushed it.

  “Never trust anyone.”

  Four

  Meela

  “Objection, your honor!” I yelled, jumping to my feet. “He’s doing it again.”

  “Doing what exactly, Ms. Davis?” Judge Peterson asked with a frustrated sigh. Her body slouched against the edge of her bench, and I knew her patience was wearing thin.

  “What Mr. Pierce always does. He’s trying to confuse the situation with his smooth talking and manipulative ways, your honor.”

  I was seething.

  The room and everyone in it were colored a murderous shade of red as I let Reed Pierce work his way under my skin again. I fell into his carefully crafted web, and it was my own fault. The stupid smirk that perfectly tilted his lips to ensure he got what he wanted was enough to make me want to cause bodily harm.

  A year later, and my first loss to Reed still burned deep and raged a war of indestructible hate toward him.

  I watched as Pierce wiggled his finger at me and mouthed, “Tsk, tsk, tsk,” as he motioned his head in the direction of the judge. Forcing myself to look away, I met the judge’s scowl and bit my tongue a little too late. If I wasn’t careful, I would lose this case because of my big mouth.

  “Your honor—” I started, much more calmly, but Judge Peterson was quick to talk over me.

  “I must be really unsystematic, Ms. Davis. Because it sounds to me like you just said I’m easily confused and manipulated.”

  “Of course not, Judge Peterson,” I said, trying to soothe the feathers I had ruffled. I took a deep breath. “I merely meant to point out that Mr. Pierce’s current argument has nothing to do with this case or my client’s innocence.”

  “Excuse me, alleged innocence,” Pi
erce blurted, holding up a finger and giving the courtroom his famous grin. “After all, your client was found with the gun in question in his possession at the time of his arrest.”

  “You mean the gun that mysteriously went missing from evidence at precinct fifty-one not more than forty-eight hours prior to my client’s arrest?”

  “Mysteriously? Your client was brought in for questioning the day before. You see where I’m going here, Meela?”

  I wanted to scratch his eyes out. He knew damn well I hated when he called me by my name. “I see where you’re trying to go.” I turned to face the judge. I was giving Reed exactly what he wanted.

  “There’s no proof to support my client was anywhere near the evidence room, your honor. Nor were there any reports to say he went missing during his questioning. I find it even more ridiculous, Mr. Pierce, that you’re even using this absurd excuse as the foundation for your argument. Honestly, it’s a little lazy of you, but with just the right amount of underhandedness.”

  He casually chuckled as if we weren’t in the middle of a trial. While I was determined to keep my focus on the judge, I could feel Pierce’s eyes on me out of the corner of my eye.

  “So let me get this straight, I’m lazy and underhanded now? Why don’t you tell us how you really feel, Ms. Davis?”

  “Because I don’t want to be held in contempt,” I snapped.

  “Counselors,” the judge intervened, annoyed. “I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, nor do I really care, but it’s been going on far too long. Over the past year, I’ve had you both in my courtroom several times, and it’s like this every time.”

  Embarrassed and angry that I’d let Reed affect me so much, I apologized to the judge and my opposing counselor followed suit.

  “Now, what exactly are you asking for, Ms. Davis?” Judge Peterson asked.

  “I’m asking that the case is dismissed, your honor.”

  “Dismissed?” Reed shouted.

  “Behave yourself, Mr. Pierce,” Judge Peterson said, looking over the top of her glasses and giving Reed a warning look. “On what grounds, Ms. Davis?”

  “Although Mr. Pierce would like to make us think he has a case against my client, facts are facts, your honor. With no concrete proof against my client, the only fact that remains here is he does not have a case. All Mr. Pierce is doing is wasting your time and mine. If he had something, he would’ve shown his cards by now.”