“Oh, Brent, you don’t have to give up anything for us to have a relationship. We lead busy lives, but I see no reason why we couldn’t fit each other into our schedules.”
“I don’t want to fit you into my schedule.”
Her heart contracted. She cared way too much for this complex man.
“I want to fit my schedule around you. I don’t want our relationship to consist of stolen moments once every month when I don’t have rugby commitments. I want to be there when you get home from work and listen to your day. I want to go to bed knowing you’ll be in my arms until morning and not have to leave in the middle of the night to go to your own place.”
Her throat clogged up and she drifted toward him, settling between his legs and pulling his head to her.
“So what are you saying?”
“Will you move in with me?”
Samantha tried to keep her face serious and not betray the ecstasy his words ignited in her body.
“I won’t give up my house.” She wiggled her pussy against his growing erection.
His body shook with suppressed laughter. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Hmm, what do I get out of this deal?”
He twitched his eyebrows. “Your eternal sex slave?”
She laughed. “Oh, so you think the sex is that good? I think I still have to be convinced.”
“You will be. But seriously, will you think about it?”
She nodded. “If we can work the logistics, yes.”
“Yes you’ll think about it or yes you’ll move in with me?”
She traced the outline of his lips with her tongue. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”
“Great.” He pulled at the knot of her bikini top.
“Brent’s Law?”
He frowned and she smiled. “What Brent wants, Brent gets.”
His eyes twinkled. “If it means I get you, then Brent’s Law rules from now on.”
“It suits me just fine, honey.”
She dipped her hand under the water and proceeded to show him just how well it suited her.
Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:
Legal Maneuvers
Jenna Byrnes
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Those boobs were bought and paid for with her divorce settlement.” Gina Miller eyed their well-developed co-worker with a haughty glance.
Brittany Newman smiled, though she sensed a touch of jealousy in the remark. Her friend Gina was pretty, with long, blonde hair and a good figure, but the unknown employee with flame-red hair had a set of knockers that made everybody sit up and take notice. The men in the room were certainly giving her enough attention. Hell, even some of the women were. She and Gina included. “So, is everyone who works for this law firm divorced?”
“Almost.” Gina gazed around the room. “Seems that way, at least. Maybe because we have access to good legal advice.”
“Maybe.” Britt sipped her sparkling water thoughtfully. In her case, the sharp legal mind had belonged to her husband of twenty-five years. When he’d made up his mind to divorce her, Britt hadn’t been able to do anything but go along for the ride. She’d hired Donna Belamy, one of the junior partners of Grinder, Fielding and Associates, and had got pretty much everything she’d asked for. Justin really hadn’t tried to screw her. He’d done that when he’d taken up with his secretary, a woman half Britt’s age.
Britt pushed the depressing thought from her mind and took another sip of water. Drinks were free at the after-hours cocktail party put on by the law firm, her employer for the past month. She was new but not stupid, and chose not to drink in order to keep her wits about her. She liked her job so far, and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it.
She didn’t need to work, financially, thanks to Justin’s ‘guilt settlement’ as she liked to call it. But when Donna had mentioned the opening in the reception area of her firm, Britt had jumped at the opportunity. With a dual degree in Business and French, Britt had been snapped up by the human resources director of the firm. She was over-qualified for the job and they both knew it, but Britt was bored, and it pleased her to have a new reason to get up in the morning.
“There’s Grinder.” Gina nodded toward a silver-haired man by the bar. “Have you met him yet?”
“No.” Britt studied his face, trying to remember the important people. The lawyers didn’t come and go through her area so she didn’t see them much, if at all.
“He only works three days a week now,” Gina went on. “A nicer man would be hard to find.”
“Interesting.” Britt had her eyes on the man joining Mr Grinder at the bar. One of them said something funny and they both laughed.
The new arrival had a gorgeous smile. It caused a few creases around his eyes, but Britt admired that. She’d much rather see a face with wrinkles than someone suffering from ‘plastic face’—or too much plastic surgery. His dark, wavy hair had a touch of gray at the temples. “He looks nice,” she commented.
Gina followed her gaze. “That’s Rod Fielding, as in ‘Grinder, Fielding and Associates’. Sheesh, haven’t you met anybody?”
Britt rolled her eyes. “Apparently not. The big wigs don’t use the front door, and Mikki in HR didn’t bother to parade me, the new receptionist, through their offices upon my hiring. I’m counting on you to fill me in.”
“Gotcha.” Gina grabbed another Mimosa off the tray of a passing waiter and deposited her empty glass. “Want anything?”
“No thanks.”
Gina elaborated as she worked on her second drink. “Fielding’s an okay guy. A little arrogant, but what lawyer isn’t?”
Britt thought about that. “They have to be outgoing and assertive, that’s for sure. But they don’t have to be an ass.” Justin popped into her mind again. Her ex-husband hadn’t started out as an ass, but at some point he’d turned into one. She thought of any other lawyers she knew. “Donna’s nice. I really like her.”
“Donna is great,” Gina agreed. “Most of the junior partners are. Uh-oh, look out. Someone has his eyes on you.”
“What?” Britt turned to see what Gina was watching.
Rod Fielding had been surveying the room, but paused when his gaze met Britt’s. He studied her for a moment, then smiled.
Caught off guard, she turned away quickly.
“He’s coming over,” Gina said through her plastered-on smile.
“No!” Britt panicked. “I don’t want to meet him here.”
“Tough luck, chickie.”
“Stay and talk to me.” She fumbled for small talk. “How often does the firm throw events like this?”
“Usually twice a year, a ‘we appreciate you’ kind of thing. Then there’s the Christmas party with a really nice dinner. In the summer there’s an office picnic, a family thing with games and prizes.”
“Wow.” Grinder and Fielding was a larger firm than the one Justin worked for, but his company had never done anything like that. They’d have an office Christmas party—at the office—for employees only.
Perfect for lawyers who wanted to have flings with their secretaries.
Gina whispered, “Fielding got stopped by someone.”
“Good. Maybe he won’t make it over here.”
“Chicken.” Gina grinned. “So you weren’t at the Christmas party this year? It was in early December, and really nice.”
“No. I started working December fifteenth.”
“Just missed it.” Gina downed her drink.
“What did she miss?” A voice from behind had both women turning around.
Rod Fielding stood next to her.
Brittany blinked, startled. For a second she’d forgotten about him.
“Hi, Mr Fielding.” Gina offered a smile. “This is Britt’s first office event. She was telling me she was just hired on in mid-December, and missed the Christmas party.”
“Oh, that.” He rolled his eyes playfully. “Probably just as well. Grinder had a few too many and tried to get everyone to do the Harlem Shake. Reminiscent of the Macarena years, if you recall.” He feigned a shudder.
Gina laughed. “I do.”
He focused his attention on Britt. “What department do you work in, Miss—?”
“Britt. Brittany Newman,” she stammered. “I’m in reception.”
“Brittany,” he repeated. “Well, I must say, you make a delightful first impression for our firm. I’m Rod Fielding. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He extended his hand and they shook.
His palm was warm, the grip tight. She tried to pull back, but he held on an extra moment before releasing her hand and offering another smile.
She felt the heat of a blush spread upwards from her chest to her cheeks. “Thank you, Mr Fielding. I’m enjoying the work immensely.”
Gina stood behind him and batted her lashes in an exaggerated manner. “These drinks are running right though me. I’m off to find a powder room. If you’ll excuse me.”
“Gina—” Britt called after her, but her friend took off, leaving her standing with their boss in a room full of mostly strangers.
Fielding waved a hand. “She’ll be back. Have another drink and tell me all about yourself.” He flagged a waiter and exchanged his empty glass for a full one. “What would you like?” he asked Britt.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
He shook his more firmly. “It’s a party and you’re standing there with an empty glass.” He examined the choices on the tray. “How about this one? A Sea Breeze?” he asked the waiter.
“Yes, Sir.”
Fielding took the glass with pink colored liquid and handed it to Britt. “Here, try this. I think you’ll enjoy it.”
She gave her water glass to the server and accepted the drink. “Thanks.”
As the waiter walked away, Fielding leaned in to her. “Honestly, a few drinks are the only things that make these parties bearable.”
“Really? I think it’s a very nice idea. More than—” she started to mention Justin’s law firm but reconsidered, “some employers would do.”
“Where did you work before, Brittany?”
She inhaled and let out the breath. “Actually, I haven’t worked for a long time. I got my degree, then life happened. I spent the next chapter of my life raising our son.”
He raised his brows. She saw his gaze flicker to her left hand and back again. “You’re married?”
“Not anymore. Recently divorced. So recently, that I forget to call Danny ‘my son’.”
He seemed almost relieved. “You’ll get used to it. It takes a while, but eventually you’ll adapt to the role. Believe me, I know about which I speak. I’ve been divorced for twenty years. My boy went from ‘our son’ to ‘my son’ and finally ended up as ‘her son’ because I’ve been such a lousy dad.”
“Oh, I doubt that.”
He shrugged. “Kid turned out all right, though. He’s twenty-seven. A computer tech. He’s forgotten more than I’ll ever know about the damn things. I have to call him to reprogram my smartphone whenever I screw something up.”
Britt laughed. “I can sympathize with that. There are days I think my phone is smarter than I am. I’m sure my son feels that way as well.”
He smiled at her over the rim of his glass before taking a drink. “Ah, technology. Can’t live with it, can’t live without it.”
“We used to say that about men.”
Fielding heaved a great guffaw. Sexy when he smiled, he was even hotter when he outright laughed.
About the Author
Ylette Pearson flavors her writing by drawing from her own experiences as Public Prosecutor, Magistrate, Commissioner of the Children’s Court and admitted attorney in South Africa. She loves to travel to remote locations on the African continent with her husband of more than twenty-five years.
She currently resides on a small vegetable and sheep farm in the Highveld of the Mpumalanga Province. When not in the veld, she can be found reading or writing in the shade of a tree with her three Jack Russels at her feet.
Email:
[email protected]
Ylette loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.totallybound.com
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