Captivate her: Laws of Seduction Book 1 (15 page)

“Oh my God. Lecherous Larry. I spent the entire symposium avoiding him. I feel sorry for the women working in his firm. I’ve never met a man like that. I swear he had the arms of an octopus.”

James raises his eyebrows in silent question. “An octopus?”

“Yea, he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. It amazes me that he hasn’t had some kind of sexual harassment case brought against him.”

James bristles. “Did he touch you?”

I shrug. “Just enough for me to know to stay out of his way. I was sitting at the back of the auditorium during your talk so that I could avoid him.”

“The next time I run into Tucker he’s going to wish he had kept his hands to himself.” I can’t help smiling at his disgruntled tone.In the late afternoon, we head back to the marina. Monday morning is approaching quickly. I try to push back the Sunday night blues which are trying to spoil my good mood.

All too soon we are sitting in James’s car on our way back to Manhattan. James hands me his iPod and asks me to pick out some music. I am looking for something upbeat when my cell phone rings. Pulling it out of the bag, I see that it is my brother Jett, who lives in Taiwan. “Hi.”

“Hey, counselor. How’s it shakin’?”

I roll my eyes. My brothers, Jarod and Jett, constantly tease me about becoming a lawyer like the both of them. “Everything’s good. What time is it there? Isn’t it kind of early to be so cheerful?”

“It’s about 7 am. I just got up, so I’ll probably hit the gym before heading out to work. I guess it’s evening there.”

“Yes, I’m just coming back from the Hamptons.”

“With Mark?”

 Although it is a simple question, the way he enunciates the k at the end of Mark’s name makes it
sound like an insult. “No.”

“With someone new then?”

I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “Yes.” Brothers can be such pains I think while waiting for the teasing to begin. There is a beat of silence, but then, luckily, he changes gears.

“Oh well, I don’t want to interrupt your romantic getaway. I just called to let you know that it looks like I will be in New York for work for a couple of weeks in September.”

“Really? That’s great. I would love to see you. Do you need a place to stay?”

“Thanks for the offer, but they are putting me up in a hotel. It should be pretty swanky.”

“That sounds nice.”

“So, how are they treating you over there at Houghton Mills?”

“It’s good.” I give James a sidelong look. I don’t want to talk about work with him sitting there. “I can let you know all the gory details when you get here.”

He laughs. “I remember my first job. It can be pretty intense with the workload. Don’t let them give you any shit, and my advice is to push back when you feel like it is too much. They should be able to work with you, and besides, they will be lucky to keep an asset like you.”

I didn’t know what to say to this uncharacteristic compliment. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“You’re in the big leagues now, baby. My little sister the lawyer.”

“You sound a bit incredulous,” I say affronted.

“Not a bit. Just proud.”

I harrumph into the phone and Jett laughs. “No need to be so sensitive. Listen, I’ve got to get going if I’m going to make it to the gym. I will just e-mail the dates and details of where I will be staying. Maybe we can get Jarod to drag his ass to the city one weekend, and we can have a little family reunion.”

I smile. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll look for your e-mail. Bye.”

We hang up and I glance over at James, who seems tense. Looking through the windshield, I note that although there is a lot of traffic moving back to the city,
 
it is moving steadily. He’s not mad because I took a call, is he? “I hope you don’t mind that I took that call. It was my brother, and he doesn’t call often, so I wanted to be sure there wasn’t some kind of emergency.”

I watch as James’s jaw relaxes, and he turns his head briefly to flash a smile at me. “Do you have many siblings?”

“I have two older brothers who are both lawyers and one younger brother.”

“That’s a lot of brothers.”

“Well, my family is not that typical. My older brothers were a result of my father’s first marriage, and they are ten years older than me. My little brother is with my father’s current wife.”

“Which wife was your mother?”

“She was wife number two. He’s on wife number four now. How about you? Do you have any siblings?”

“Nope. I’m an only child.”

I nod my head in understanding. “I was like an only child in many ways, since my brothers were older. They also spent more time with my father, since their mother was pretty much out of the picture. During my father’s third marriage, they preferred living with my mom and me. Wife number three wasn’t that well liked. She also didn’t last all that long.” I pause and take a deep breath. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to ramble on and on. It’s all very dysfunctional, and I could spend hours explaining it all.”

“So your brother’s visiting you?”

“Yea, Jett works for CB&G in their Taiwan office. They are sending him here for a few weeks in September.”

“Your brother’s name is Jett Hart?”

“Yes, I am the only one not stuck with a J name. My brothers are Jarod, Jett, and Jake.” Looking over at James, I am startled to see his jaw tensed again. I am surprised at his moodiness, since he appeared so relaxed the whole weekend. Maybe it is the stress of having to start work again in the morning.

I realize that we haven’t made any plans to see each other again, and my spirits sink. If we are keeping our relationship quiet at work, we probably won’t be seeing much of each other. To dispel my gloomy thoughts, I pick up James’s iPod and choose some music for the rest of the trip back to Manhattan.

The miles speed by. Before I am ready for the weekend to end, we are pulling up in front of my building. As soon as we stop, James hops out of the car to retrieve my luggage. Since it is getting late, I decline his offer to carry my bag up, but once inside my apartment I wish that I had taken him up on his offer. I am feeling oddly deflated after our rather impersonal goodbyes.

CHAPTER 18

The next morning comes too soon. Although I am excited that it is Friday, I can’t help but compare this Friday to last. I have my doubts that this weekend will live up to the glorious weekend I had with James. Thinking about James depresses me further, and I am determined to have a good time on my date tonight. I shower before heading into the kitchen to find Sam pouring two cups of coffee. We rush around frantically trying to get ready on time. We leave at the same time, and it is nice to have company on my commute. We hoof it to the subway and then pack ourselves into overcrowded subway cars. Luckily, I only have to ride for a couple of stops. I give Sam a wave as I get off at my stop with her advice of rebound sex ringing in my ears. She plans on spending a lot of time with Dylan this weekend, but she makes me promise to call and let her know how my date with Davis goes.

The morning goes well. I even manage to get a fair amount of work done. I am thinking about going down to the deli to grab a sandwich for lunch when I feel a presence at my desk. I glance up to find James standing there. Looking around furtively, I see that there is no one else around. “What are you doing here?” I hiss at him ungraciously.

He ignores my outrage and places both hands on my desk, leaning in more closely with his body. “Lainey, I need to talk to you.”

I am speechless, flabbergasted really. Who does he think he is? He ignores me the entire week, flirts with other women, and then comes over to my desk and demands that we talk. He must have sensed my fury, because he straightens away from my desk. 

I take a deep calming breath and pin him with a furious glare before hissing, “This is not a good time.”

James looks around the office before grabbing my arm and pulling me up out of my chair and down the hall into his office. I am relieved that there is no one around to witness this spectacle. James lets go of me to turn back and close the door. I fold my arms over my chest and glare at him. He stands in front of me eyeing me speculatively. Finally, I crack. “Well, now that you have me in here what do you have to say to me?”

“I can’t talk to you when you are like this,” he states calmly.

“What? Pissed off?” I fling at him. His cool composure in the face of my fury just makes me madder, and I tap my foot with impatience.

Before I realize what is happening, James grabs my crossed arms and twists them behind my back before slamming his mouth onto mine. I shake my head back and forth to dislodge him. He tightens one of his hands around my wrists and brings his other hand up to hold my head still. I open my mouth to try and say something, and he takes full advantage, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I struggle at first, but then my body betrays me. His kiss feels so right, and I have missed his mouth on mine. I find myself responding with a wildness that shocks me. He releases my hands to touch me everywhere his hands can reach, and I arch my back into him. Finally, he pulls back from the kiss, although his arms stay wrapped around me. “Jesus, Lainey.”

I take a deep shuddering breath at the tenderness I hear in his voice. “Why did you do that?”

“I wanted to calm you down.” He reaches down and grasps my hand. His beautiful blue eyes search mine, but I refuse to buckle under his sexual magnetism and charisma.

I step back shrugging out of his arms. My body is telling me to jump back into them and make love to him like never before, but I firmly squelch the impulse. I close my eyes briefly to regain my equilibrium then look back up at him. “What is it you would like to talk about?” I ask him as calmly as I can manage.

James shoves his hand through his hair and looks pained. “Us.”

I scoff. “There is no us, and I certainly don’t want to discuss anything with you in the office.”

“I know.”

I swear my heart skips a beat. Is he referring to there being no us or that we shouldn’t discuss things in the office? I am afraid to ask. “I’m going back to my desk now.”

At first I think he is going to object. After a slight hesitation, James acquiesces. “Alright.” He opens the door and I walk out passing Dennis Belinsky, who steps past me into the office. James closes the door behind me. I cannot help myself from standing there as I hear Dennis’s loud voice through the door. “That girl is fucking hot. I wouldn’t mind tapping that. Did you see her ass?”

I am
 
shocked at Dennis’s crudeness. Curiosity has me rooted to the spot and straining to hear James’s response. It is much fainter: “You need to watch your mouth. You could get fired saying shit like that.”

Then I hear Dennis’s louder voice again. “When did you become so uptight?”

I know that I cannot linger in the hallway any longer, but I stay just long enough to catch James’s next response. “Just forget about it – and her, asshole.”

I am sure my face is burning – along with my ears – as I straighten my blouse and walk away. When I reach my desk, I pick up my bag and head for the elevators. It is Friday afternoon and I have a date to get ready for.

Dear Readers,

I hope you enjoyed Captivate her. The story is just heating up so click her for Book Two, Beguile her.

A quick thank you for the wonderful romance writers that have come before me Georgette Heyer, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Jennifer Cruise, Sylvia Day, and E.L James, to name but a few. They and many more were my inspiration.