To Do List (3 page)

“You really should rethink this vacation, Annabelle. It doesn’t look right, a junior partner taking this much time off. You’re at a very important point in your career.”

Said the man who took three weeks in Aruba just two months before. He could kiss her booty because she wasn’t going to make excuses for taking a mere fraction of her accrued vacation.

Belle smiled tightly and pushed her way past. “I’m aware of that. I need to go, David. Enjoy your ski trip. I’ll see you next week.”

He grabbed her arm and she looked up at him sharply, pulling back. “I think you’ve done a great job on this case, Annabelle, but you’re needed here. You can’t just hare off to bumfuck nowhere to play family for five days! No one but senior partners do that sort of thing.”

She knew what this was really about. He’d hit on her repeatedly and she’d said no.

He was married for goodness sake! And he was a butthead to boot.

“First of all, don’t put your hand on me again. Let me be clear with you—I’ve put in my time and more. I lead in billable hours for this entire year. I’m at
double
the highest average for last year. Do you know what that means? I’ve been here eighty hours a week for pretty much this entire year. I have not had a single day off since January. I missed my mother’s birthday. I missed my dad’s birthday and my sister’s baby shower. I am www.samhainpublishing.com

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taking this time. Period. The project is finished. There are no motions left to file, the final judgment will come back in early January. Have a nice holiday.” She narrowed her eyes at him. He sighed heavily and she darted past him quickly, heading toward the elevators.

“Don’t cry to me when you don’t get top pick of cases next month,” he called out and she didn’t let her breath out until the doors closed behind her and she headed away from the toxic pit her life had become.

As she finally got through town and headed east, the chest pains began to ease. This was so
not
how she’d envisioned her life would be after the back-breaking universe of law school and then clawing her way up and into a junior partner spot at Hansen, Petelman and Gruber.

Making matters worse, the freaking blowout had happened. She’d sat on the side of the road for ten minutes, finally giving in to tears she’d been saving up for many frustrated months.

No doubt about it, her life was a mess and she hated her job. The real question was what she would do.

“I should have sex with Rafe, that’s what I should do.” Instead, she got out of bed and began to make a list.

He heard her muttering and tapped on her door. When she opened it, she stood there tousled and holding a legal pad and three different colored pens.

“Hi.”

“Hi there. You want to come in?” She stood back and he took the bottle of tequila and the shot glasses in with him.

“You look stressed. I say we do a few shots, make out a lot, you let me get to, oh say third base and we call it a night.”

Her brow furrowed and the cutest little line etched between her eyes. “Really?”

“Belle Taylor, I know you’re not offended. You get a totally different look on your face when you’re offended. Why are you confused?” He put the bottle and glasses down before tossing himself on the bed.

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She put the pad on the desk on the far side of the room and lined her pens up, horizontally, one by one, in a neat and orderly row. Then she exhaled and pursed the lips he knew tasted like heaven.

“I’m confused because you’ve always treated me like Brian’s pesky little sister and tonight out of the blue you kiss me and then tease me and talk about sex and show up in my room and suggest third base!”

“I did indeed. I’d suggest more but I want to drag that out. At least for another day or so.” He laughed, loving the way she snorted at him.

“I
could
use a drink. Move over. Jeez, you’re a bed hog.” She smoothed out the blankets before she sat. “What? No salt or lime?”

“If I had it, you could lick it off my belly.” Wait, that wasn’t a tease, that sounded just fine to him as a matter of fact.

“Well do you?” One of her regal eyebrows slid upward and her mouth struggled against a smile.

He sat up and filled both glasses with the tawny liquid. “Go on, you first. God knows you look like you could use it.” He could too after her little tease.

She took the glass and drained it, her eyes watering a bit as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand very uncharacteristically.

“Belle Taylor, did you just wipe tequila off your mouth with the back of your hand like, oh I don’t know, like me?” He laughed before doing the same thing and refilling their glasses.

“When does the kissing start?” Her eyes widened and she quickly drained the next shot. “Crap, I can’t even blame that on the alcohol yet.”

“You want another?”

“Why not?”

Belle let the heat of the alcohol settle into her, bringing a languid fluidity to her muscles. She sighed and looked at the man in bed with her.

“You’re really gorgeous, you know that?”

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“I like it when you’ve been drinking, Belle.” He winked and she snorted.

“Whatever. You were going to tell me why you’re suddenly interested in my bases after giving me sweaters for Christmas for the last dozen years.”

He grabbed her ankle and yanked, pulling her down as he rolled on top of her. Wow, he was good.

His mouth met hers, insistent, wet and hot. It was just the two of them, no worries about someone walking into the hallway. She let go of her control and gave in, sliding her hands up his arms, over his shoulders and into his hair. Soft, so soft and cool against her skin.

Heat licked at her insides when his tongue confidently invaded her mouth. When he rolled his hips, she moved, wrapping one of her calves around his ass, opening herself to him and holding him in place.

He broke the kiss, and looked into her face. “Just making sure you’re still with me. I think about your bases a lot. I have for several years now. I told myself it was stupid to give in but you taste too good to resist. You’re here, I’m here and we’re both adults who know and like each other.”

“I’m still with you, although you’re not feeling me up or anything, which if I recall correctly, is part of the bases thing, right? And how long? God, you’ve wanted to kiss me and…” she shivered violently when he trailed fingertips up her belly, against her bare skin under her tee shirt, “…do that? You just kept it to yourself when I’ve like had the dirtiest fantasies ever about you?”

He tweaked a nipple then as he appeared to have to make a lot of effort to breathe.

“Christ, Belle, I can’t believe you just told me you had dirty fantasies about me.” He leaned down and sucked her nipple right through her tee shirt, leaving her no alternative but to hold on and enjoy it.

“I do. I did. All the time. You have no idea how good you look. Or crap, maybe you do. Should we get under the sheets?”

He laughed, breaking free of her nipple and looking at her again. “Honey, it’s killing you to muss these blankets isn’t it?”

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“Well, the coverlet will get wrinkled and…oh my…” She lost her ability to think when he reached between them, into the waistband of her loose cotton pants and stroked over her pussy through her panties.

“You’re so wet and hot I can feel you through your panties.”

“Fuck the coverlet. Let me touch you! Why do you keep moving away?” she demanded.

“First things first. No fucking tonight. I want us to be totally sober when that happens so I can take my time and make you fuck drunk instead. I will make you come though because I have to see it. I’d invite you to sleep with me tonight but I have to be up at four-thirty and you need your rest. Tomorrow night you
will
tell me all your naughty fantasies though.”

She blew out an exasperated sigh. “Whatever it takes to get you to let me touch you.”

He laughed and she thought he’d never looked sexier. Rolling away a moment, he pulled off his jeans and shorts while she made quick work of her clothes too. When he turned back to her he groaned.

“Belle, you’re beautiful. A glorious invitation to sin right there wrapped in velvety pale skin.” As he moved to touch her, they both gasped at the shock of pleasure from bare skin meeting bare skin.

His mouth touched every part of her. The spot just below her ear, the hollow of her throat, the sensitive skin just beneath her breasts, her nipples, the backs of her knees. All the while, his hands touched wherever his mouth didn’t.

But he wouldn’t let her do much other than receive pleasure. “No, Belle, if you touch me I won’t last. Please, let me love you.” A lock of hair fell over his forehead, obscuring his right eye.

She managed a shaky nod, needing him so ridiculously bad she couldn’t speak.

However, that was nothing compared to the way it felt when he slid down, between her thighs and shouldered them wide open.

Belle watched, fascinated by the way he drew his tongue over the seam where thigh met body. He stopped, breathing her in and she knew somewhere in the back of her mind www.samhainpublishing.com

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she should be embarrassed but all she felt was utterly turned on and wildly flattered by the possessive action.

And then his mouth was on her pussy and she fell back against the pillows with a gurgled gasp of pleasure. Over and over, his tongue flicked, licked and teased every inch of her pussy until she thought she’d explode.

Her nipples throbbed, her skin tingled, her toes pointed and still he drove her relentlessly higher. He devoured her with avarice, devastated her with the way he seemed to crave her cunt. No one had ever gone down on her like this.

Finally, he drew her clit between his lips, gently scraping his teeth over it while at the same time sliding three fingers into her gate. It was too much and she lost it, falling hard into an incredibly intense orgasm.

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Chapter Three

Belle awoke with a headache but still, all in all, felt very good. Until she remembered the night before and realized she’d come and fallen asleep without taking care of Rafe.

“Ugh. Selfish!” A glance at the clock told her it was already eight-thirty and she needed to be at her parents’ house in half an hour. “Yikes!” Rolling out of bed, she saw the thermo-carafe of coffee and a note from Rafe.

With a smile, she poured herself a cup and headed toward the bathroom while reading.

If I know you, and I do, you’re feeling guilty about last night. Don’t. You have no
idea how much I enjoyed it. I’ll tell you, in detail, when we’re alone next. You can make it
up to me later on. We have time. I had to get out of here early. Hope the coffee is still hot.

I’ll see you tonight.

Rafe

PS. Your tire situation should be taken care of well before you have to leave this
morning. Brian and Scott arranged for it first thing.

Wow. She jumped in the shower still smiling and clutching her coffee. Being taken care of felt very good and being with Rafe felt very right. Scarily so.

Her mother waited for her as she walked into the house wearing a grin and feeling more relaxed than she had in ages.

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“Good morning, Belle. My, you look pretty today. I take it you got a good night’s rest last night. Sit down with Chelsea and I’ll bring out breakfast.” Her mother shoved her toward the kitchen table and she grabbed a mug for her coffee on her way.

Dropping a kiss on her sister’s cheek, Belle slid into a chair and poured a cup of coffee from the carafe on the table. “Good morning, how’re you?”

“Just gestating. You?”

“I am so ready to brave the hordes and shop today. Even the insanity of shopping four days before Christmas isn’t enough to stop me. I haven’t shopped in so long. Is Nana coming?”

Her mother chose that moment to slide a plate heaping with food before her and another in front of Chelsea.

“Mom! There has to be an entire pig on this plate.”

“Don’t argue with your mother. Eat.” Brian strolled into the room.

“I totally chose the wrong profession. Doctors seem to have a lot of free time to hang out and freeload off their parents. By the way, thanks for taking care of my tire, loser.”

Brian passed her the hot sauce for her eggs and potatoes and poured himself some coffee. “Don’t hate, Annabelle. We can’t all be brilliant.”

“Yeah, so you became a doctor and Belle a lawyer. Leaving all the brilliance to me,”

Chelsea said around a mouthful of potatoes.

Chelsea
was
brilliant. Her weavings were works of art and she sold them as such.

They hung on walls and were used on beds and other places all over the west. Her husband ran an art gallery and turned out to be a really clever business manager so Chels was able to stay at home with their children and still create art.

“Your grandmother is meeting us for lunch. She wanted to stay here with the kids this morning. Right now they’re out with your dad and Kevin. Gabe Bettencourt promised a tour of the dairy later in the week, they’re in heaven. And don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to put that bacon on your brother’s plate, Belle. Eat it.”

No one messed with Rita Taylor. The former Miss New Jersey had met Gil Taylor when they’d been nineteen and she’d been visiting Sacramento and that’s all there’d been 24

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to it. She’d transferred to UC Davis and had finished school while Gil had worked his family’s farm. They’d married when she graduated and had Brian within a few years and the rest of them had followed. She ruled the family with an iron fist, being the disciplinarian while their father had been the big softie. Belle got her ambition from her mother, along with her drive and her unending will to succeed.