Devin-2 (9 page)

Caroline had told him Ronnie had been at the office when she had gotten to work at eight-fifteen. Once she had shown Ronnie her new office, she had not come out once. Caroline had checked on Ronnie a few times and had found her on the floor with several of the new law books he had purchased for her spread out all around her. Ronnie had been crawling from one to the next.

Caroline also told him that she liked Ronnie and thought they would suit as partners. When she winked at him, Devin wasn’t sure if she meant law partners or personally. He decided not to ask.

Then when he had shown up just as Ronnie was leaving, Caroline had handed him two of the four cases he had coming up and relayed what Ronnie had told her about the information she had found for each case. He wondered, not for the first time, why everyone assumed that he was always the bad guy.

Veronica had gone over each case, made extensive notes in her neat handwriting, and put all the case references on sticky notes about previous rulings and case studies. They were meticulous and orderly. Her notes were concise and, with them, he knew he would have no problems winning both cases.

When she graduated, she was going to be a foe to contend with, he thought, already realizing she would not work for him. He smiled when he thought about being on opposite sides with her and knew that he would have to be on his best game when he did. If he was not, she would rip him to shreds.

Devin got up and threw another log on the fire and thought about the flames that had sparked from her eyes when she had come the other night. His cock hardened at the thought of her screams as she released and the way she had laid on his shoulder sated.

Her body was so responsive and she held nothing back when she came. He had gotten the most pleasure he had ever had with a woman watching her, her face flushed with need, her nipples poking hard against her blouse. When he had nuzzled her breast and found it unfettered from a bra, he had nearly thrown her on the seat and ripped the material from her skin. Biting her had made her fall over the edge and watching her shudder and spasm over and over had nearly been the end of him as well.

But her face was what had captured him; her eyes had darkened to almost black and her cheeks had flushed to a bright red. The sweat trickling down her cheek had even been sexy to him. He wished then that he had tasted her, ran his tongue deep into her heat. He wanted to know if her cream was as delicious as it smelled, heavy and spicy wet.

Christ, he thought, he was hard again and no relief in sight unless he wanted to take care of it himself. But he knew that it would be less than satisfying, a relief short lived, and that was all. He wanted to bury himself inside of her, deep, hard and slow. He wanted her to come over his cock, this time so that he could feel her juices flow over him. Devin groaned when he thought about her body, her small frame, long legs, full breasts and hard nipples. His cock ached and he had to adjust himself again before he sat down and hurt himself.

At one-thirty in the morning, he went up to bed. He thought about taking a cold shower, but simply went to bed instead. It was a long day tomorrow and a shower did not sound very conducive to getting to sleep immediately. So Devin went to bed disappointed, hard, and pissed. He tossed and turned most of the night when he was not dreaming of a beautiful woman with deep purple eyes and pouty, full lips.

~CHAPTER 9~

Thanksgiving preparations were in full swing when Devin finally stumbled downstairs at noon. His mother gave him a reproachful look, but said nothing as he poured himself some coffee and waited at the counter for the caffeine to kick in. But his brothers were not so kind.

From the time Spencer started digging him until just before dinner Devin was the subject of every jibe and poke they could think of. He had been in a horrific mood before he had come down, and by night, he was ready to murder any and all of them.

When Nicky leaned over as he was fixing a plate for his son and asked Devin about his plans for the charity event the next evening, Devin nearly snarled at him, but one look from his mother and he decided that he had better hold his tongue.

“Shit! I forgot about it. I guess I have to go stag. Mom is going to make me pay for this by making me spend more, isn’t she?” Devin groused.

“Oh yeah. Remember that first year I went alone? I think I ended up spending nearly ten grand before she would smile at me. I resolved never to let that happen again.” Nicky looked over at his wife and winked. Devin avoided looking at Morgan for fear of what she may say about his waitress.

~~~

Ronnie stood in front of the large antique mirror and stared at herself—or at least the woman reflected back at her in the glass. Ben had not let her see her dress until he had presented her with it today, having made it especially for her to wear tonight. The dress was beautiful and it made her feel like she could be as well.

Without any straps, the gown molded and formed to her body like a glove.

The bodice was tight and pushed her breasts up, giving them a fuller look, and the single snowflake necklace she wore on a gold chain hung just above her ample cleavage. At her ears hung snowflakes that matched the one at her throat.

Turning slightly, she looked at the back.

The back of the gown was low and had laces that started at her spine and worked up to just under her shoulder blades. At her hips, the black material flared into a filmy froth of silk and lace that rested just on top of her toes in the black high heels. The front of the dress had been beaded with black and white seed pearls and shaped into snowflakes that shimmered in the light of the bedroom and would be dazzling in the ballroom. Turning back around, she looked at what Ben had done to her hair and wondered with a grin if he would be willing to do that every morning for the rest of her life.

He had pulled most of her hair into a large pony tail at the back of her head and then taken all the surrounding hair and braided it around her head in a thick, continuous plait. When he had finished with that, he had taken the rest of her hair and had rolled it into intricate curls that hung down her back to the middle. Before he let her see it, tiny snowflakes that had been hand made for her had been stuck into her braid and the curls, giving her a sexy, Christmassy look.

Finally, her hose and shoes.

The stockings were thigh-highs that, while black, also shimmered with sparkles and made her legs look twice as long. The heels were a simple black, but at the toe was a bejeweled snowflake that peeked out when she stepped. Smiling and feeling good for the first time in weeks, she grabbed her wrap and tiny purse and walked to the living room to see what her men thought.

“Christ, Ronnie. I could almost become heterosexual if all women looked like you. Honey, you look amazing,” Austin told her.

“Isn’t it beautiful? Ben, you did such a wonderful job. Everyone is going to wonder where this came from. And I can’t wait to tell them. I feel like a million bucks.”

She swirled around again and let them see her stockings, which she thought were the cutest thing.

“Ronnie, please tell me that you don’t have a gun attached to your leg.

Honey, I doubt very much anyone is going to try and...you know, maybe you’re right. Dressed like that, you will probably need it to keep the men off you without me there to protect you.”

She blushed, knowing that Ben was teasing her. They were both trying to cheer her up and she loved them all the more for it.

The limo pulled up at ten minutes till five o’clock and the both she and Austin went to the door. She wished that Ben could go with them, but with his leg in a cast, he wanted to stay home. Ronnie was sure that he had worn himself out helping her get dressed today, but she also knew that he had enjoyed dressing her as much as she loved him helping. He had even done her makeup for her, tsking the whole time about dark circles that he hoped the light makeup could hide.

The ride to the Polaris Center was about an hour long, but it seemed to fly by for the couple in the car. Austin had told her stories of past events and the reasons why he no longer attended such things. He had been ostracized by the art communities because of his sexual preference and had not returned until this year.

“Why now? I mean, not that I mind going with you, but why this event this year?” she asked him.

“There’s someone here I want to meet. I’ve been following his work for years and I’ve heard that one of his premier pieces is going to be auctioned off this year. I have some of his other pieces and I want this one. It’s said to be one of his best works yet.”

“You brought one of your own with you, I noticed. Why?” She knew which piece he had brought. A painting of a young woman lying in a field of heather that he had painted quite a few years ago. It was a gorgeous painting and she liked it.

Austin was a world renowned painter himself and his work went for thousands of dollars on the open market. The resale value of some of his earlier work went for tens of thousands of dollars both in the United States and abroad.

But she could understand his passion and his love for art. He had taught her a great deal in the years she had lived with them.

“I hope to be able to donate it tonight to be auctioned off. I have in the long past made donations, but have not done it for a very long time. And this is for a good cause and I can’t help but want to contribute. You of all people know how much this particular charity means to me.”

She did too. The fight against child abuse was very dear to the three of them—her more than the two of them.

The limo slid to a smooth halt in front of the well lit building and Austin was helped out by the driver. Then Austin reached in for her. She was so nervous that she could feel her palms sweating inside her elbow length gloves. Reaching for his hand, she let him pull her out of the car and into the limelight of the night.

Cameras were everywhere, flashing and pushing in front of them. Reporters were asking questions of them—who they were, why they were there. But neither of them said anything. Ronnie smiled at them and waved as Austin made arrangements with the driver to have someone bring his painting inside and put in the dining area where the auction was being held. Finally, they were moving inside and she was glad for his arm around her waist.

The room had been turned into a fairytale Christmas story. There were several trees around the room all decorated with shiny ornaments and pretty packages with big bows. Each tree had a theme. She could see three of them from where they stood and they each depicted a different Christmas tale. The one directly in front of them was the Nutcracker Suite and the trees were filled with all the characters from the play. The one just beyond was decorated with old fashioned ornaments that looked like something out of the Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol. When she saw the tiny crutches and the large geese hanging there, she knew she had guessed correctly.

The tables were round with eight chairs around it. Each table had a small tree in the center that had been decorated as well, including lights and a tiny star atop. Every place setting was marked with a name plate that was attached to a large candy cane and a festive ribbon.

There were waiters and waitresses dressed in black pants and red and white striped shirts seating everyone as they came in. Ronnie could see a large open area and thought it was for dancing later. She forgot to be nervous for a while and just simply enjoyed the atmosphere.

Their table was near the front. She had overheard someone say that the more someone donated, the closer to the front they were. She had no idea how much Austin had given, but she knew that it had been more than she made in the past year.

Most people assumed that she lived with them for free. She probably could, but she did not. She’d paid them rent every month since she had turned eighteen. And aside from the occasional loan to help her with books or fees, she did not take anything from them nor expect it. They would gladly have paid for her education, but this was something she wanted to do on her own.

Ronnie had worked her way through college on her own, odd jobs, and even taking on a couple of tutor jobs to help out. She had gotten a few grants and had won a partial scholarship, but law school was expensive. It was costing her almost fifteen thousand a year to go to school and she was determined that she would not owe anyone anything when she graduated. By this April, she would have her results back from taking her bar exam on January sixth and then she could finally not go to class for a change.

Dinner had just been cleared away with the announcement that the auction would begin in an hour and an area had been cleared the way for the band to start playing. Neither Ronnie nor Austin danced, but they both enjoyed watching the others on the floor. Ronnie was impressed by all the colors of the women’s dresses and the men dressed in tuxedos.

“Darling, have I told you how lovely you look this evening? You do, you know. Spectacular, as a matter of fact.”

Ronnie turned to look at Austin and grinned. She knew that he wanted something and she would make sure he got it, no matter what it was. There was very little she would not do for either of them.

“Yes, you have. Now tell me what it is you need for me to do for you.” They both laughed.

“You’re not going to like it, but I would consider it a huge favor to me if you did. You know I don’t like to meet people, so I was wondering if you could go find my artist for me? I’ve seen his name on the list, so I know he’s here. Please, Ronnie, it would mean so much to me.”

“Of course. You don’t need to beg, though you do it very nicely. Who is it and where is he seated?”

He flushed and she suddenly knew that something was up. She just realized that all the times she had asked about the mystery artist, he had never mentioned his name. She knew that she was going to regret it as soon as he would not look her in the eye.

“His name is Grant. Byron Grant. I believe he is related to your Devin Grant somehow. I thought I could go and find him, but I just can’t, love.” Ronnie turned away from him and looked at the brightly lit tree. It seemed not quite so bright now, but it could have been the tears in her eyes. She heard Austin say her name, but she waved him off for the moment.