In Your Corner (23 page)

“No.” I shake my head. “I’m not leaving.”

“’Manda. Please go,” Rampage says quietly. “It will be easier for everyone.”

“What do you mean easier?” I spit out. “I’m not part of this equation. Drake knows where he stands with me, and Jake…he said I don’t belong with him.”

Rampage frowns and scratches his head. “Doesn’t matter what he says. What matters is what he does. And what he’s doing right now is saying you’re his.”

His?

He ruffles my hair and gives me a half smile. “Looks like you’re the last one to figure that out…again.”

RUN, TEAM, RUN

Pick up the phone. Put it down. Pick it up. Dial Jake’s number. Put it down.

He doesn’t need me to call and check up on him. I have Rampage’s text telling me the two miscreants were bruised and battered but neither of them needed a hospital visit. Still, after Rampage’s comment in the parking lot, I want to call.

I pick up the phone. Dial. Hit SEND.

My heart pounds. His phone rings. And rings. And rings. Then it goes to voice mail. I hang up. A fitting end to a horrible day.

Twenty minutes later, I’m changed and cozy in my bed. Head on the pillow. Covers tucked up to the chin. A soft breeze blows the curtains in the window, caressing my cheek like the touch of Jake’s lips. I close my eyes and imagine his kiss at Redemption, the taste of his lips, the scent of his soap, the rough fabric of his gi. My breasts swell and my panties dampen. Need coils tight in my belly. I slide my hand down my body, between the valley of my breasts and over my abdomen. And suddenly it is Jake’s hand resting on my mound, his fingers sliding over my aching clit, his voice in my ear.

The phone rings. Half asleep, my body soft and heavy in the darkness, caught up in my fantasy, I answer it, knowing in the back of my mind it has to be him.

“Amanda.”

“Jake.” My voice is a breathy whisper of need. “I just…called to see if you were okay.”

His voice drops to a low, husky growl. “Gimme a sec. I’m just gonna close the office door.”

A thump. A slam. Another thump. A squeak. The rustle of clothes. My heart drums against my ribs. One last chance to hang up the phone. One last chance.

“Why are you at the office so late?”

His deep voice is a delicious murmur in my ear. “I was just about to leave. We had an emergency board meeting about another offer for the company. This one with a deadline. Usually I just tell them where to go with the offers because that’s what my dad wanted me to do, but tonight…” He sighs. “What I did in the parking lot was just stupid. Made me think about what you’d said about not treating every confrontation like I’m in the ring. I decided to listen to the board about the offer this time so I could discuss it with my father and maybe convince him selling is actually the best thing for everyone. ”

My hand slides into my panties as he talks in his delicious, deep voice, telling me about the board and how relieved they were that he’d finally decided to hear them out—girly panties, sexy panties. Jake loved my panties. He would love these.

The ache in my center becomes an ache in my heart. Emptiness claws at my chest, a dark void needing to be filled. As familiar as the scars on my knees from the day I tried to teach myself to ride a bicycle. I have spent a lifetime trying to fill it, poured in caresses and kisses and fumbles in the dark, sweaty hands on my body, cocks and toys and kinks and perversions. But it hungers still.

I know only one way to make the ache go away. Throwing back the covers, I lie back and with a soft gasp, I sink two fingers into my wet, swollen center. Alone in the dark, I imagine Jake is here, touching me, caressing me, and then deep inside me, showing me he cares with actions I understand, not words that confuse me.

A soft moan escapes my lips. Immediately, I slam my lips shut, but I’m not fast enough.

“God, baby. I know that sound. Talk to me.” Thick with desire, his voice alone almost sets me off.

Mortification at being caught gives way to longing and desire, hope, and the fact I have nothing left to lose. My back arches as my finger spreads my wetness up and around my sweet spot, close but never touching, drawing out the pleasure. I breathe into the phone, short, panting breaths of need. “Panties, pink, silk, ruffles on the edges. Soft. Wet.”

“Take them off.”

My body flames as if his words lit a spark inside me. I furrow my brow. Dampen the heat. My game. My rules. My pace.

“Not yet.”

“Now.”

I suck in a sharp breath, my body quivering at the unyielding tone in his voice. Maybe this is why I called.

Betraying fingers drop to my hips, easing inside the elastic. I tell myself I am taking off my panties because I want to do it. And I want it now.

“Okay.”

“And the covers.”

“They’re already on the floor.”

“You were hot for me already, weren’t you, baby?” My heart squeezes in my chest. Was Rampage right after all?

Goose bumps scatter across my body as the cool air dances over my heated skin, bringing with it the lush, heady scent of honeysuckle from the garden. “Yes,” I whisper.

“Were you touching yourself when I was talking to you?”

My body trembles in horrified anticipation. For all the crazy things I’ve done, my own private pleasure has always been that…private.

“Amanda…”

Breath catching at his warning tone, I whisper, “Yes.”

He groans softly and then his chair squeaks. Feet thump. I hear the click of a lock and then the rustle of clothing. Flesh slides over flesh and his breathing changes from smooth and controlled to rough and uneven. “Touch yourself now.”

Oh God. My blood rushes downward, filling tissues, flaring nerve endings, until my sex throbs and my core aches. I slick my fingers through my folds and then up and around my clit, then down to dip into my core, the sensation so exquisite I moan.

“I need…”

“I know what you need.” His breath catches in his throat. “But you started without me and now you have to wait for me to catch up. I promise it won’t take long. Hands on your breasts, cup and squeeze. Tell me, how do they feel?”

My hands are already sliding over my body before he finishes his words. “Soft, hot, silky, swollen.”

Another groan. I imagine him in his office in his suit, pants undone, and his cock hot and heavy in his hand. My sex clenches and I writhe on the bed.

“Now your nipples, pinch them, roll them between your thumb and forefinger until they peak, ready for me.”

Already hard, the tingle in my nipples becomes a deep ache as I imagine Jake’s mouth sucking and nipping until I am frenzied with lust. A whine escapes my lips, so soft I don’t think he can hear.

But he does.

“Good girl. Are you wet for me?”

“So wet.”

“Are you hot for me?”

“So hot.”

“I’m so hard, baby, so damn hard for you. When you go off, I’m coming with you.”

“Now?” I tremble with need.

“Now. Two fingers in your pussy. Tell me how you feel.”

I exhale a relieved breath, and my fingers slide through the wetness between my thighs. I dip two fingers deep inside my throbbing center. “Wet, slick, tight.”

A growl tears from his throat and his breathing becomes raw, ragged. “Thumb over your clit. Slick that wetness around. Pump your fingers.” His voice cracks, breaks. “Tell me when.”

My body tightens as I ease my thumb around my swollen clit. Need coils tighter and tighter until I am only one touch away.

“When,” I whisper. I slide my thumb over my clit as my orgasm rips through me like a firestorm. Back arching, core pulsing, desire unwinding, I scream my release into the phone.

“Christ. Fuck. Oh God, baby.” Jake chokes back his own release, as my orgasm washes through me, rippling down to my fingers and toes.

Sated, wrung out, limp, and desperately lonely, I press the phone to my ear. “Jake?”

Silence.

“Jake?” My voice wavers this time, and a sliver of fear works its way through my chest.

“Someone’s at the door. I gotta go. Fuck. We shouldn’t have…I don’t want…you’re just… Fuck.”

A bruise of sadness forms in my chest, and I steel myself to pretend nonchalance. “Hey, it’s not like only one of us was involved. It was…fun. After a stressful night, we both needed to blow off some steam.”

More silence. And then he says, “I don’t want you to think my feelings have changed.”

My breath leaves me in a rush as he drives the sword home and it takes me a minute to get myself together. “Sure.”

We say good-bye.

In the end, I did have something left to lose: the chance to tell him how I really feel. I love him.

I know that now. Too late.

***

“Ah, there’s the quitter now, draggin’ her sorry ass into the office ten minutes late.” Ray rattles his newspaper as I walk past Penny’s desk and over to the coffee pot.

“If you’re going to insult me, Ray, do it to my face. I had a bad weekend. Normal people do. And when they have a bad weekend, sometimes they’re late for work. Normal people don’t get up at four am, run a marathon, eat a healthy breakfast, then work out for two hours, do all their work, and then swan into the office to laze around reading the paper.”

His eyes flash with amusement. “Mornin’, quitter.”

I pour my coffee and then settle myself on the blue couch across from him, inhaling the rich, buttery aroma of Ray’s favorite Columbian roast. “That’s nice. Just what I need when the world is dumping on me and I’m facing Evil Reid in court this afternoon. I’ve been trying to dig up some dirt on Farnsworth with discovery requests for HR and personnel files, and they’ve blocked me at every turn, so today I’m taking my requests to a judge. How about giving me your unequivocal support? Rah, rah. Go, team, go.”

“More like ‘Run, team, run,’” he says evenly. “Isn’t that what quitters do?”

The blue couch, now returned to its rightful place front and center in my corporate office, is damned uncomfortable. Hard as nails. How the hell does he sit on it for so long? I shift on my seat and then put my feet up on the coffee table to distribute my weight just as Penny shuffles into the office.

“Another one late.” Ray huffs through his nose. “No wonder you’re throwing in the towel. Can’t run a viable business when no one gets here on time.”

I glance over at Penny, but she’s already sitting down and hidden behind her giant computer screen.

“How was your weekend, Penny?”

“Fine.”

Curious at her unusually quiet tone of voice, I round her desk. “You don’t sound like it was really fine. Last week when you said ‘fine’ it was in a completely different tone of voice.”

She turns to look at me, her face hidden behind an enormous pair of sunglasses. “Really. It was fine.”

A chill races through my veins and I drop my voice to a whisper. “Why the sunglasses?”

“Screen’s too bright.”

I gently tug the sunglasses off her face, knowing before they slide into my hand what I will see. My stomach clenches at the sight of her eye, bruised and swollen. Gently, I tug at the scarf around her neck only to gasp at the sight of finger-shaped bruises around her throat. My vision turns red. But because Ray is across the room, I keep my voice low. “Who did this to you?”

She shakes her head and snatches the sunglasses away. “Walked into a door.”

Glancing over my shoulder at Ray, directly behind me, I whisper, “You know the community legal center is partnered with the battered women’s shelter. I’ve seen bruises like this before. You’ve assisted on those files. So you know that excuse doesn’t cut it with me. Was it Vetch?”

Penny’s shoulders sag and her eyes glitter with tears. “He’s different when he’s not around the band. He’s really sweet and kind, and we have a good laugh together. It’s just when he’s with the band, he has to keep up appearances and things get a bit crazy. But he’s always sorry, and this time he was appalled when he saw my eye. He promised it would never happen again. He even bought me a…”

“Ray will go crazy.” I interrupt her with a warning shake of my head. “You know he’s got a protective streak a mile wide.”

But I’m too late. The couch creaks and I spin around, perching on the side of Penny’s desk to keep her completely hidden from view.

“Why you sittin’ there staring at me?” he says from behind his paper as if he has X-ray vision.

“Nothing better to do.”

He lowers his paper and glares. “Don’t give me that lame-ass excuse. Never once saw you with nothing to do. What are you hiding?”

Penny gives a squeak of fear and I slide off the desk. “Nothing. I just need Penny in my office for a minute.” I cover for her as she slips out of her chair and heads to my office.

“Stop right there, Penelope Ann McDonald,” Ray barks.

But Penny doesn’t stop. She runs into my office and slams the door.

Ray’s eyes slide over to me. “What’s going on? A man can’t get any peace at your office. A man likes peace first thing in the morning. Man like me, more.”

“It’s a woman issue.”

Ray snorts a laugh. “Amanda, you can’t lie for fuck.”

“Watch your language,” I snap. “This is a law firm, not…”

He cuts me off. “Was a law firm.”

My lips tighten. “It’s not closed yet. I have to finish the Redemption case, make my court appearance today, and deal with the pro bono files. I can’t just wave a magic wand and shut everything down. I also have all the legalities to deal with.”

“Humph.” His eyes flick to my office door and back to me, and then his voice softens. “He hurt her, didn’t he?”

I open my mouth to cover for her, but the planned lie doesn’t come out. Instead, a wave of anger washes over me. Poor Penny. I may have spent a lifetime looking for love, but I never once thought I was unworthy of it.

Ray pushes himself off the couch and grabs his leather jacket from the coat stand. “Got someplace I need to be. Something I need to do.”

“Ray…” I follow him out the door. “Can I come with you?”

His eyebrows lift. “Thought you weren’t a fighter.”

“Maybe I was wrong.”

A smile spreads across his face. “Good to hear, but I can’t let you—”

“There’s more than one way to fight. You do what you do outside, and I’ll do what I do inside. I need to go to the courthouse and then to the police station and then the community law center. Talk to a few people. Collect a few documents. Then I’ll sit down with Penny and see if she wants to go ahead with civil or criminal prosecution.”

Ray scratches his head. “Guess I should leave him alive then.”

“Yeah, Ray. I guess you should.”

***

“Westwood. Good to see you. Ready for a beating? I thought for sure after you got all those applications you would run away with your tail between your legs.”