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  Without even thinking twice, I knelt down and grabbed her thighs, draping her knees over my shoulders to open her to me. She was so light that I barely registered her weight. Then again, it could've just been that I was far too enamored by what I had in front of me.

  She was open now...exposed...beautiful. I licked her cunt, teasing the sensitive skin with my tongue. She gasped and writhed, but I held her hips tightly. After flicking my tongue across her clitoris, I caught it between my teeth and tugged. She keened, her head thudding back against the wall with a hollow sound.

  “Come, Dena,” I ordered, suddenly needing to see her come apart. “I want you to come now.”

  She did.

  And before she even finished screaming out my name, I shifted us both, catching her behind the knees as I lowered her to the floor. I drove inside her even as I stretched over her. We both moaned at the sensation, and I started to pull back, wanting to take her harder and faster than I'd wanted anyone.

  Before I started to move, however, it hit me.

  No condom.

  I stopped.

  Frozen, my cock wrapped in the sweetest, tightest, wettest heat I could ever imagine, I stared down into her eyes. “Fuck, Dena...”

  “Need you,” she whimpered as she arched her hips and tried to work herself against me.

  I grabbed her hip, fingers tightening until she stopped. “No. Not...Dena, don’t. I forgot the condom.”

  “Hurry up, then, you son of a bitch.”

  I gave her a strange look as I went up on my knees, my cock throbbing painfully. “I thought you’d be mad.”

  “I am! I’m that close to coming again and you stopped.” Her hips rolled restlessly as though she could still feel me inside her. Hell, I could still feel her wrapped around me.

  Mother fucking...

  Hands fumbling, I managed to take the condom from my pants pocket, tearing it open and dragging it into place before going back to her. It took less than two minutes, but I felt like it'd been an eternity since I'd been inside her.

  She whimpered as I stretched back out over her, my throbbing cock brushing against her flat stomach. Both of us moaned as I worked my way back inside her clenching pussy. She was so tight, the pressure was almost painful.

  “You’re so close,” I said with a grunt, sweat beading on my forehead with the effort of controlling myself.

  “I told you.” She arched her back, thrusting against me, her nails biting into my neck as she reached up and grabbed me. “Need you.”

  Working a hand between us, I found her clit. It was swollen, pulsing against my fingers.

  I stroked it once, twice–

  She came with a scream, her nails clawing at my skin.

  Unable to hold back, I thrust into her again, burying myself deep. She cried out again, her voice cracking. She clung to me as I pummeled her, driving into her with all the strength I had in me, bruising her, hurting her, but she never asked me to stop, never used her safe word.

  And I was pretty sure she kept coming even as I found my own release.

  Perfect. She was fucking perfect.

  And I was falling way too hard.

  Way too fast.

  ***

  It was midnight when I finally left the club.

  Dena left nearly twenty minutes earlier, and judging by her somewhat reserved attitude, I think she’d picked up that something had changed between us.

  “Something?” I almost punched a wall as I waited to hail a cab. There was no something to it. Everything had changed, even if neither of us said a word.

  It was just now hitting me how much I wanted her, and how much of it had to do with ways that weren’t entirely sexual.

  Sex was one thing, and even that hadn't been simple tonight. Fuck, I hadn’t even remembered to use a condom until I was inside her. It didn’t matter that I realized it right away. All it took was a few seconds for pregnancy, or worse. Granted, I knew I was clean, and Dena didn't seem like the kind who'd be involved in this lifestyle and not do regular testing. And someone with her obvious control issues would most likely be on the pill.

  But it wasn't just about the consequences. It was the fact that she'd made me lose enough of myself that I'd forgotten.

  And then there was how I'd gone down on her.

  I had no problem performing oral sex on my partners, but the woman was the one to go down on her knees. Not me. I was always on top.

  But Dena...I suspected she could put a man in that position easily enough.

  I hadn’t given her enough credit.

  She hadn’t even tried to put me on my knees.

  I’d just gone there.

  Maybe it was the fact that it didn’t bother me that was making my stomach hurt.

  Maybe it was everything.

  Brooding, I spent the ride back to my place in silence. Dena had written her phone number down while I was in the bathroom, but when I’d come out, I’d already been in a mild state of panic, and I hadn’t even looked at it.

  I’d left it behind.

  Now that my head was clearing, I realized I was being an asshole. Still panicking, but an asshole. So what if I didn’t know how to handle this? I didn’t know how to handle a lot of things, and I did them anyway. Hell, being a lawyer sort of mandated it.

  That’s what this was, another of those things I hadn't done before but needed to do. I had to figure out how to balance a relationship for the first time in my adult life.

  “Fucking pussy,” I muttered to myself.

  The man sitting in the front slanted a look at me as he pulled alongside the curb in front of my building, but he didn’t say anything. I swiped my card and left him a decent tip. He hadn’t been the talkative type, and I hadn’t wanted to talk, so it'd worked out well.

  I was still kicking myself for forgetting her number, so much so that I was almost tempted to tell him to take me back to the club, but I was fooling myself. The room we’d used would have already been cleaned up, the phone number thrown away.

  I’d have to wait until I saw her again.

  And this time, I would do whatever was necessary to make sure I didn't leave until I knew for certain that I could contact her again.

  Chapter 10

  Dena

  Staring into my tea, I replayed the events from the night before in my head. Over and over, trying to figure out just what I could have done to make Arik start acting weird when we'd said our good-byes. Half-way through, I made myself stop, because why in the hell did it have to be what I had done?

  So I shifted to the circumstances.

  Then I went back to being stupid and looking at what I could have done.

  Something had gone wrong, that was for sure.

  Even though for me, it had seemed like all sorts of things had been going right. I'd been completely and utterly satisfied...until things had turned weird.

  It wasn’t news to me that men and women often spoke different languages. Two of my best friends were madly in love, but it wasn’t like their relationships had come easy to them. I remembered the circumstances both of them had gone through to get to where they were.

  Arik and I were just...

  “What are we?”

  My whisper, so quiet, seemed awfully loud in my little nest. Staring out over the streets from my balcony, I wondered when I’d started to feel this alone. Yeah, I’d been alone for a while, but I’d never felt this way before.

  I didn't like it.

  The ringing of my phone caught me off-guard and I sighed as I reached for it. I almost ignored it when I saw who it was. The last person I wanted to talk to right now – well, next to Arik – was my boss.

  I didn't want to talk to Arik until I knew if I wanted to ask for an explanation or tell him to kiss my ass, but I couldn’t avoid talking to Bethany.

  Bracing myself, I answered. “Dena Monroe.”

  Bethany didn't even bother with a greeting. “We’ve got a problem.”

  Translation – I have a problem, and I’m abo
ut to make it yours.

  I made a face and wondered what sort of problems it would cause for my career if I just told Bethany that I quit. Right there. Just said the words and hung up the phone.

  I’d have trouble finding another job as an ADA, that much was certain.

  But it wasn’t like this was turning out to be my dream job. I hadn’t gotten to do anything hands on, and it wasn't like I was learning anything more than how to shove work off on other people.

  “There’s been some sort of mess over at Leayna Mance’s place.” Bethany sounded bored.

  Off in the background, I heard another voice, lower, deeper. A man. And I was pretty sure I knew who it was.

  Bethany said, “A moment, Monroe.”

  There was a muffled, quick discussion, one that wrapped up with a sharp, “This is how we’re doing it, so just deal with it.”

  I couldn’t make out anything else and then Bethany was back on the line a moment later. “So here's what we’re doing. I’m in the middle of something urgent and Pierce is tied up as well.”

  I wondered if I should read more into those words, but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. “And you’re calling me because...?”

  “For fuck’s sake, Dena. Don't act like you haven't been chomping at the bit to get involved. Here's your chance. Get over to the defendant’s residence. You’re going to oversee everything while the police come in and do a report. I’ll text you Mance's new address. Don’t fuck up.”

  “Why are the police–?”

  But she’d hung up. Unfortunately, it hadn't been in time for me to not hear a man's guttural groan.

  Disgusted, I shoved my cell phone into my pocket and braced my hands on the railing.

  I’d wanted something to distract me. My less than competent boss hadn’t exactly been what I’d hoped for, but it was something.

  Besides, if I went over there, I could talk to the woman myself. Make sure there weren't any additional 'missing' reports.

  I lingered long enough to finish my coffee, then I headed back inside. I hurried through a shower and dressed in what should pass for casual dress.

  It was, after all, Sunday.

  I couldn't be expected to be completely official, could I?

  ***

  A security guard from the building rode up in the elevator with me, his expression a mask of cool, polite hostility. It was something that had to be taught to those who served the wealthy elite, I was sure of it. I’d been on the receiving end of it before. There was nothing off about the look, nothing that I could complain about, but I could guarantee he didn’t like me.

  There was something extra there, too. He did like the defendant. He liked a woman accused of murdering her husband better than me.

  Perfect.

  I almost sighed. I'd known Bethany was concerned about the character witnesses the defense was sure to call because most people liked Mrs. Mance, but I hadn't experienced it until now.

  The elevator glided to a stop and the doors slid open. A low murmur of voices greeted my ears as the security guard stepped out with me.

  “I can find my way. I’m sure you have other duties,” I said, trying a smile.

  “I’m to stay with you until you leave the building.” He nodded politely. “I can wait at the door if there’s a chance I’ll get in your way, but I was told to stay on this floor until you’re ready to leave.”

  I didn’t bother to argue.

  Instead, I just followed the commotion. “Are you friends with her?”

  He didn’t respond right away, but after a moment, he shook his head. “It’s discouraged to have personal relationships with the residents, but I've spoken to her. There was...” He stopped, a mental debate taking place.

  I stopped too, curious. I had yet to meet Leayna Mance, and I had a feeling that this would tell me as much about the woman as a conversation with her would.

  Finally, he looked at me. “Two years ago, I was hit by a car. One of the other residents was drunk, and he came over the curb in his car. I couldn’t get out of the way in time. I was out of work for two months. She heard about it, arranged for food delivery, and paid my rent for one of the months. We would have been evicted if she hadn’t helped. We’d just had a baby.”

  He stopped again, but this time, he gestured toward the door in front of me. Processing what he’d told me, I moved past him and into the apartment.

  My phone chimed, letting me know I had a message. I glanced down as I pulled out my phone, intending to turn it off. Bethany's name flashed across the screen, so I opened the message and read it.

  I hope to hell you're there. Defendant’s house was tossed. Stay there until the cops and her lawyer are done. Take pictures if you can. She’s going to use this as a ploy for sympathy. Call me ASAP when you’re done.

  Irritated, I silenced my phone and shoved it into my pocket.

  If you want to know so badly, you should have crawled out from under Pierce and been here, I thought, annoyed. I didn't get paid enough to get pulled out on a Sunday for something like this.

  “Ma’am, can I help you?”

  I looked up at the officer stationed next to the door, then flashed my DA's badge. “I’m with the DA’s office.”

  “Bethany, glad you could–”

  That voice.

  I jerked up my head and found myself staring into a pair of all-too-familiar emerald eyes.

  My voice came out a rasp, practically trapped in my throat. “What are you–?”

  A pretty woman with chestnut hair appeared behind him. She had hollow cheeks and pretty green eyes. She barely glanced at me before turning to Arik. “Arik, can I...am I allowed to lie down?”

  “Just a moment, Leayna, okay?” He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

  I found myself staring at that, at the way he touched her. The protectiveness of the gesture.

  As if sensing my gaze, his eyes came back to mine. “Ma’am, I’m not sure what you’re doing here, but you need to leave. This is a crime scene,” he said, his voice flat.

  Hard.

  Cold.

  Ma’am.

  He’d called me ma’am. Like he hadn’t been deep inside me not even twelve hours ago.

  Fine.

  The bastard.

  And then it hit me. His hand. His perfectly pressed suit. The manner in which he'd just spoken.

  His eyes studied mine closely as pieces fell into place.

  Ma’am.

  Yeah, fine. We’ll go with that, I thought dully. Maybe he had his reasons, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to hurt.

  “Again, ma’am,” Arik said, taking a step toward me. He spoke a little louder, enunciating the ma’am. “This is a crime scene. You can’t be here.”

  I gave him my best bitch look, pulling on the steel I'd relied on for so many years. The steel that was part of what made me a good Dom.

  “Oh, I’m aware of where we are, but I'm not going anywhere.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “I’m with the DA’s office.” I put out my hand as I prepared myself for the fallout of my next sentence. “Dena Monroe, assistant district attorney. Nice to meet you.”

  Continues in Unlawful Attraction Vol. 3

  Unlawful Attraction Vol. 3

  Chapter 1

  Arik

  “Arik!”

  I hadn’t been inside the door more than thirty seconds before Leayna flung herself at me. I gave her a quick, reassuring hug before easing back. She would've clung to me if I’d given her the chance, but the last thing I needed at the moment was for word to get back to the ADA that something inappropriate was going on between me and my client. Granted, there wasn't, but a rumor didn't need proof to cause damage.

  Tucking a handkerchief into her hand, I squeezed her shoulder as I looked around her apartment. It had been an elegant living space just a few days ago. Now, it was trashed. I felt for the woman next to me. She'd already been through so much, with her husband's murder, the arrest and false allegations.r />
  “Thank you for coming,” she said, her voice hitching a little as she struggled to bring her emotions under control.

  “You were right to call me.” While there was always a possibility that a considerate cop would've notified me, if she hadn't called, I might not have heard about what happened until I read about it in the paper.

  Looking up, I saw an officer come around the corner, hands encased in protective latex gloves. “Officer.”

  He looked over. “You with the DA’s office?”

  “No.” Frowning, I glanced over at Leayna. She paled, her throat working.

  “The DA?” she whispered.

  “Yeah. I just got a call from the department. Apparently, they don't trust us to do our jobs.” The officer scowled. “If you’re not with the DA–”

  I interrupted, “I’m Arik Porter, Ms. Mance’s attorney.”

  The frown furrowing his brow cleared and he nodded, although he clearly wasn’t happy. “Going to be lousy with lawyers, then. My chief called. The DA is sending somebody out too. High profile and all.”

  I mentally cussed a blue streak, but kept it all inside as I nodded. Aside from being unprofessional, I didn't want to let them know I'd been caught off guard. “Alright. Is it okay if we take a look around?”

  “Be my guest,” he said with a shrug. “Just don't touch anything.” His mouth tightened. “I’ve been trying to get Ms. Mance to help us determine if anything’s been stolen, but...”

  Leayna shivered a little. “I’m trying.”

  The cop didn’t roll his eyes, but I was pretty sure he wanted to. I knew Leayna needed hand holding, but she'd been through a lot. Some compassion wasn't uncalled for. I took her arm and resisted the urge to glare at the cop. Defense attorneys weren't generally well-liked as a rule, so the last thing I needed to do was antagonize him.

  “Come on, Ms. Mance. Why don’t you and I take a look? We’ll see what we can find.” Leaving the cop behind, we moved deeper into the apartment. I kept talking to her and tried to ignore the way she leaned into me. “It will be okay, Leayna. Just take a deep breath and focus on here and now. Look around, remember where things were, what you need to check on.”