bury beneath short-term affairs and one-night stands.
She blinked a couple of times and then pushed his hand from her hair.
“What do you want from me?” she asked.
“I already told you.”
“Are you only doing this because of the past?”
He looked into those wide blue eyes, and saw the future and the past converge. And knew that he had to decide how important his revenge on Sophia was.
“I’m not sure anymore.”
SOPHIA DIDN’T TOUCH the rest of her wine. She needed a cold glass of water…splashed on her face and overheated body. She’d settle for getting out of the bar fast. Anything to clear her head and shake off the languid feelings he’d evoked.
What she really wanted to do was take his hand and lead him to an empty elevator. Once inside she wanted to hit the emergency close button and finish what that kiss had started while they were secluded and alone. She wanted to make him come so hard that he forgot all his plans about her. Because she saw beyond his arousal to the cold calculation.
But that would be really stupid. Despite her present predicament, Sophia was rarely a victim to her own whims. But her body argued that Mitch was a known quantity and dallying with him wouldn’t be stupid and her heart agreed.
Her mind…her mind said if she was going to listen to those two she needed a plan to protect herself. Only a fool would start anything with a man she had once betrayed without planning for the fallout. Because no matter what Mitch felt physically for her, sooner or later the hormones were going to ebb, and he was going to start thinking again and remembering.
“Do you want to talk about the past?” she asked. She kept repeating herself but she was still in a haze of arousal from his kiss.
Ultimately that was why she’d sabotaged Mitch years ago. He’d held a power over her that she doubted he had even known he had. But she’d known. She’d felt it every time they were together and more sharply when they were apart.
Not a day went by that she didn’t relive their last moments together and wish she’d been a different woman. One who could have blended both her professional and personal lives and not sacrifice either one.
“Do you?” he asked in that cocky way of his that made her want to smack him.
“Only if it will make you go away,” she said. Which was honest. But she hoped he wouldn’t go away. Until that basket of beer had landed on her desk she hadn’t realized she’d been substituting court wins for real excitement.
He laughed. “Babe, I’m not going anywhere.”
Big surprise. This was her penance and semigood Catholic girl that she was, she’d do it. “I was afraid of that.”
“Fear can be a good thing.”
Their lovemaking had always had an aura of danger around it. Mitch was very dominant and had used that to master her completely. She hadn’t minded it in the bedroom, but outside she’d found herself getting lost in the image of what Mitch saw instead of who she really was. “Maybe from where you’re sitting.”
“The view’s very delicious from my seat,” he said, eyeing her breasts.
She glanced down and saw that her nipples were plainly visible beneath her silk shirt and lacy bra. Her first impulse was to cross her arms over her chest and hide from him. But hiding wouldn’t do any good, so she just thrust back her shoulders and let him look his fill.
“Are you here to ruin my career?” she asked, while he was distracted.
“Babe, don’t give yourself too much influence over my actions. I’m here for my client.”
That cut her, which wasn’t surprising since she’d never really gotten over Mitch. There had been no natural end to their affair. Only that abrupt ending that she’d forced on them. “Why did you send me Corona and Stevie Ray, then?”
“I thought we covered that?” He rubbed the back of his neck and stretched in the too-tight space. Was he a workaholic like her? She hoped not. She hoped he had a balanced life. And she’d always wished that he’d started the family he’d wanted with a nice girl.
“Exorcism?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
She thought about what Mitch wanted from her. She was tired of staying home by herself and though self-pleasure worked as a temporary ease, she needed a man. Not just any man but Mitch Hollaran. She needed to find the bridge between the passionate woman she’d once been and the cold one she’d become.
“I’ve got a deal for you, Mitch,” she said. She thought of that tub of Coronas in the car and the bag of limes and how years ago she’d always let him set the tone of their encounters. It hit her that she needed to find something of herself she’d lost. Something that her recent affairs had lacked. Something she suspected she’d given away when she’d betrayed Mitch.
“What kind of deal?” he asked. The waitress brought his second beer and he took a swallow.
“One weekend of love slavery.”
There was a sparkle in his eye that told her he liked her plan. It had been a long time since she’d had this kind of fun—this kind of sexual excitement in her life.
“Who gets to be the master?” he asked. His hand fell on the back of her neck and she prayed he wouldn’t move it. She was still aroused from that one kiss. One damned kiss and her panties were damp and she was ready to lie down for him.
“Me,” she said. She needed to be the master. She needed to control him and use him as her sex toy for a weekend. Then maybe she’d reclaim what she’d lost and be able to move on.
“I don’t think so,” he said, caressing the side of her neck.
Of course he didn’t. Mitch had never been malleable. Why would he suddenly start now? “What do you propose?”
“That we let our prowess decide.”
His caressing finger was distracting and she decided two could play at that game. She dropped her hand to his thigh, kneading the firm muscle under the taut fabric of his pants. “Meaning?”
“Whoever wins in court is the master. Whoever loses the slave.”
A vibration started in the center of her body and spread outward. “Will that satisfy you?”
IT WOULD TAKE MORE than a weekend to satisfy him, but his plans for vengeance might be quenched, or at least assuaged. He wanted her to feel the way he had. He didn’t care if that was right or fair. And a weekend with Sophia was a good start.
“Counselor, you’ve got a deal.”
First thing tomorrow morning he was going to be all over Florida case records like a rash. He’d have to have Deke and a couple of assistants come out from L.A. to help. But he was going to put together an airtight case. Not just to save Spinder’s ass but to win this side wager.
He
