Ryan moves his gaze from his laptop to me. "They specifically requested you. You do have a certain reputation."
I offer him my best
I don't a damn what you think
smile. "I'd rather focus on making the clients I have happy."
"It's perfectly good business. You need a better reason than that to turn it away." He holds a stare. It's a business stare, cold and emotionless, and so very Ryan. He never gives anything away. He never even raises his voice.
"If we dissolve the firm, you can take on all the clients you want," I say.
"Out of the question," he says. "We have a reputation, and I do all the work to maintain it. I do seventy percent of our billable hours."
Asshole.
But I swear, if I look closely, I can almost see a sign of weakness. I can almost see some little hint of how much it hurt him to lose Alyssa.
So I offer him a smile, a real smile this time. "When we decided to start this business, we agreed we'd work reasonable hours."
He narrows his eyes, his brow furrowing. I'm sure Ryan regrets asking me to start Lawrence and Knight. I know I regret getting into business with him. But it made sense at the time. He was the only competent person I knew who wanted to specialize in divorces and he was willing to actually run the firm so I could devote my attention to actually practicing law.
"You need to start pulling your own weight." It's as calm as it could possibly be. He flips through a file on his desk. "Starting with your latest client, Mrs. Pike. She can't afford the kind of aggressive negotiation you outlined, and there's no way she's going to get full custody. Convince her to take a more reasonable offer."
I fold my arms. "No."
Ryan looks at me with pity, like I'm an idiot for being so idealistic. "I appreciate that you can sell the hot, hopeless-romantic divorce lawyer. It attracts clients. Hell, it's your best asset. But you need to be reasonable. She'll never get full custody. And her daughter is a teenager. Any sane judge will let the daughter decide. You're only wasting her money and getting her hopes up for nothing."
I grit my teeth. "I will continue to run my cases my way. If you'd like to run things a different way, we can dissolve the firm."
He raises his voice. "That's out of the question."
"Then so is me taking on these new clients."
I turn to leave but Ryan clears his throat. When I bring my gaze back to him, he's wearing a shit-eating grin.
"How is Alyssa?" he asks.
"She's great."
"I've been meaning to ask her to dinner." He smiles and folds his hands in his lap. "We were best friends for years. I'm sure she'd like to get back in touch."
My stomach drops and my head flashes with all sorts of sick images of Ryan on top of Alyssa, thrusting away in missionary while she tears her hair out in boredom.
"I need to get back to work," I say.
"Yes, you have two briefs to finish. You don't want to work too late. She gets lonely."
I clench my fists. He's trying to get a rise out of me. It's not going to work.
CHAPTER THREE
It's almost nine when I arrive at Alyssa's place.
She puts her finger to her mouth in a
shh
gesture. "Laurie is sleeping one off, so..." She creeps to her bedroom, opening the door slowly.
There's a sound from Laurie's room. She's up.
Alyssa bites her lip, shaking her head. She motions for me to follow her into the bedroom. Mouths
now
.
This has got to be good.
Laurie pulls her door open and bounces out of her bedroom. She looks at Alyssa, then at me. "Damn. I didn't hear the mating call." She laughs at her joke, then brings her attention back to me. "Are you coming to the premiere party?"
A guilty look creeps onto Alyssa's face. She knows she's been caught. I try to hold her gaze but she stares at the ground.
"What party?" I ask.
Laurie puts her hands on her hips and raises her voice. "Alyssa Summers! You promised me you informed Luke about this party. You promised he was coming."
Alyssa groans.
"You're not getting out of this," Laurie says.
Alyssa looks at me like she's begging for a lifeline. Her voice is low and soft. "I'm sure Luke has other things to do."
"Like hell I do." There's no way I'm missing a party celebrating the premiere of Alyssa's show. I'd celebrate it every minute if I could.
Alyssa glares at me, but it's a mock glare, an
I hate but I really love you
glare. "I have other things to do."
Laurie shakes her head. It's Laurie's show too--she's the head writer. It's how she and Alyssa became friends. "What other things?"
"Anything except for watching the premiere." Alyssa looks at the ground.
This is really bothering her.
I offer Laurie a smile. "We'll be there."
"You better, or I'll throw your Kindle in the ocean."
I laugh. "That's not going to convince her." I squeeze Alyssa's hand. "But we will be there."
Laurie nods, satisfied, and she goes back to her room.
I follow Alyssa into Laurie's spare room. I suppose, by now, it really is Alyssa's room. It's been hers for a few months even if it lacks any of Alyssa's touch.
She sits on the bed, pulling her feet towards her crotch. Her eyes are turned down, her lips pressed together. "Are you mad?"
My heart sinks. She's always terrified of disappointing me.
I shake my head. "Of course not. But I wish you'd told me."
She sighs and bites the skin on her thumb. "I was going to ditch it at the last minute. When Laurie was too drunk to notice."
"And where was I in all this?"
"You were going to pick me up and take me far, far away. To somewhere with no TV."
I kneel next to the bed and take her hands. "You worked so hard on that show. Aren't you proud of your accomplishment?"
Her eyes are on the bare white wall. "It's too nerve-wracking. People are going to have opinions. I know it's cable, but I'm going to be recognizable soon." She shakes her head. "Let's talk about something else."
"Are you sure?"
Her brow furrows, her forehead scrunching. She even makes stress look adorable.
"Positive." She squeezes my hand. "How was work?"
"You're telling me you want to talk about Ryan?"
She shrugs as if it's no big deal. As if she could not care less that I still work with her ex-fiancé. As if she loves nothing better than talking about Ryan. "Sure."
I move closer, until her legs are at my hips and my head is at her chest. "Fine except for part about Ryan being there."
She runs her hands through my hair. It's sweet and affectionate, like she's already released a lot of her stress. "Why don't you sell?"
Tension knots in my shoulders. "I have a dozen clients in some stage of a divorce. If I leave them, Ryan will botch their settlements."
She brings her hands to my shoulders. "Can't you sell then finish up with your clients?"
My throat constricts. "He won't accept anything other than my immediate resignation." I look at Alyssa, into her clear, blue eyes, and some of my tension eases. "This is how he gets his revenge."
"You did steal his girl."
"You wanted to be stolen."
"I wanted to be with you." She runs her hands over my suit jacket. "You were working late."
It's sincere, like she's concerned. But Alyssa doesn't need to worry about me. I can handle it.
"How about we don't talk about work at all?" I offer.
She nods and drags her fingertips across my cheek, stopping at my lips. "I have to ask you something."
"Anything."
She bites her lip. She's even more nervous about this than she was about the party. "It's not a big deal."
"Nothing is a big deal to you. You have no awareness of what is or isn't a big deal."
"This isn't a big deal."
"What is it?" I ask.
She sighs, squeezing my hands tighter. "I have this assignment from my therapist. To do a food challenge."
"Oh yeah?" I try to underplay my enthusiasm. This sounds like a big deal. Like a huge deal.
"Have you heard of it?" Her voice is soft, needy.
"No." I say it as softly and sweetly as I can.
"It's not a big deal." She shakes her head like even she doesn't believe that. "I eat a small portion of something that would normally be off limits. One cookie or one scoop of ice cream or something like that."
I rub my thumb against her fingers. "That sounds like a big step."
"It's easy in theory." She bites the skin of her thumb. "Well, not easy, but simple. I eat the food and I sit there and I don't binge or purge."
There is so much need in her eyes. I can help her. I have to help her.
"All you have to do is babysit." She pulls her hands to her lap, shifting like she's uncomfortable. "Sit there with me. Keep me distracted if I start freaking out."
I brush my fingertips against her cheek. "Of course, Ally."
My body is lighter than air. She's asking for my help. Finally. She's always so tight-lipped about this, but she's asking for my help.
"It's not a big deal." She bites her thumb again, her eyes on the floor.
"Okay." I nod. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For asking... for telling me."
"Luke..." Her voice is shaky.
"What?"
"Don't make it a big deal, okay?"
I nod. It's clearly a big deal, a huge deal, but she's scared. Arguing is only going to make that worse.
Alyssa brings her eyes back to mine. The unease falls off her expression. She bites her lip, her eyes lighting up. "So..."
I know the sound of that so. That's a
so will you please rip off my clothes and touch me until I'm purring
kind of so.
"So?" I hold her expression, raising my eyebrows as if I have no idea what she's talking about.
"You're going to make me ask, aren't you?" She laughs nervously, her cheeks flushing red.
This conversation is as good as over, and touching her would be such a perfect way to keep her face flushed.
"Ask what?" I play dumb.
She shakes her head. She's not going to ask. She scoots towards me, until her chest is only six inches from my mouth, until her knees are pressed against my hips.
Damn, her tank top is so thin. It's straining against her chest and she's not wearing a bra. And those boxer shorts--my boxer shorts--are riding up her legs, exposing every inch of her thighs.
Her eyes connect with mine, and she slides my jacket off my shoulders and down my arms.
I let it fall on the floor behind me and I scoot closer to her, until there's only an inch between my mouth and her chest.
Her fingers brush my neck. "Luke."
"Mhmm?" I slide my hands over the soft skin of her shoulders.
"Do you think... Could we..." She digs her hands into my hair.
I pull her straps off her shoulders. Down her arms. Her tank top pulls with it. It slides over her chest, slowly revealing her breasts.
My cock constricts. Her tits are fucking perfect, and they're begging for my hands. I cup her breast and bring it to my mouth, brushing my lips against her nipple. Her skin tastes so good, like Alyssa. I trace it with my tongue, as slowly as I can.
She groans, tugging at my hair. It's a plea to move faster. But I want to savor this. It feels too good, watching her face contort in pleasure, hearing her groan, feeling her body shake.
I slide her tank top to her waist. She shudders, her legs wrapped around my hips. I lick her again, and she arches back, shifting her breasts into my mouth.
Her fingers slide over my neck. Then they're on my collar. She flutters her eyes open, looking down at me like she needs me more than she's ever needed anything.
She tugs at my tie, pulling me closer. I press my lips into hers. Her tongue plunges into my mouth. She needs this now. No more teasing.
I dig my hands into the waistband of her boxers and slide them to her feet. She's wearing pink panties, soft cotton things that look divine against her skin. This is my Alyssa, in, well, out of her pajamas. No pretenses.
Nothing but desperate need.
She unknots my tie and tosses it aside. Her eyes are on me. She looks me over slowly, her eyes filling with more and more need.
"You're wearing so many clothes." Her voice is heavy, strained.
I slide her panties to her knees. She squirms as she kicks them off.
Her eyes find mine. She tugs at my collar, working her way to my buttons. She undoes the first, then looks at the rest of my shirt like it's an impossible challenge.
"How the hell do you wear this thing every day?" She shakes her head and undoes the next button. Then the next. The next.
Her eyes go wide as she pushes the shirt off her shoulders. She drags her fingertips over my shoulders and chest. Another button. Another button. Then the last.
I shrug the shirt off. She slides her fingertips down my stomach, her teeth sinking into her lip. Her eyes stay on mine as she unbuckles my belt, unzips my slacks, and pushes them off my ass.
"Still too many clothes," she says.
She groans as she traces the waistband of my boxers. She stops at my front, her hand inches away from my cock.
Her lips curl into a smile. She slips her hands into my boxers, sliding her fingers over my tip.
Damn. Warmth rushes through my body.
She grips me firmly and strokes me, her eyes still on mine. I groan. No more waiting. I need to be inside of her and quickly.
"Ally..."
She moves her hands back to my waistband and slides my boxers off.
"Mmm," she groans. "That's much better."
I run my fingertips over her hips, down her thighs, to the back of her knees. I stand and I lift her legs, pushing her onto the bed so she's flat on her back.
She shakes, and I pull her legs apart.
"Luke..." She throws her head back, her teeth sinking into her lip.
I shift closer, until my tip is straining against her. She gasps and digs her hands into the sheets.