SEDUCTIVE: A Contemporary Romance Anthology Read online

  He reached under her skirt and tore off her panties. At the same time, she unzipped his fly and pushed his underwear down, releasing him.

  He should slow down and make sure she was ready. He didn’t want to hurt her. But she grabbed his cock and wiggled forward so he rested against the entrance to her vagina.

  He groaned. She had told him without words exactly what she wanted. With one hard thrust, he was in her up to the hilt. She was warm and moist. Every muscle, every fiber of his being, was energized, as if he’d just plugged his dick into an electrical outlet.

  He lifted her up so she was completely impaled on him. She threw her head back and sighed as he slid deeper.

  He stepped back and dropped down into the office chair.

  She rotated her hips again, easing herself up until only his tip was still inside her, and then she slid down, taking every last inch of him.

  Oh, god. The sensation of her rising and falling propelled him closer to the edge. He wasn’t going to last. She had him by the balls…literally.

  He tore open her blouse. He wanted to touch her breasts, feel their weight, and enjoy her velvety skin. He recalled how much it excited her when he played with them. It was as though there was an invisible string that ran from her chest to her clitoris. All he had to do was strum it.

  He slipped her bra cups down and pushed the straps aside. He wet his lips at the sight of her small, round, perfectly pink areolas.

  She stopped, her breath coming in loud gasps. Her hair flopped over her face. He thought about brushing it aside, but flicked her nipple instead.

  The muscles of her inner wall clamped around his penis. He bit out a curse and then sucked her breast into his mouth.

  She moved then, pounding onto him. Hard and fast. He grabbed her hips, setting the tempo. He couldn’t stop and didn’t want to.

  She screamed as her orgasm hit and then he joined her, giving himself over to the overwhelming lust that only Sophia could awaken within him.

  Sophia eased herself up and off Mateo’s lap. She refused to look at his spent penis. His sperm dribbled down her leg. Oh, god. She hadn’t even been smart enough to use a condom.

  She wiggled her skirt down, tugged up her bra, and then clasped her shirt closed covering her breasts. Her hands were shaking so much she couldn’t manage the buttons. What was she thinking? She hadn’t been thinking, and that was the problem.

  She turned and headed for her private bathroom, not making eye contact. If he had a smug look on his face, she might kill him, and that was something she would regret, even more than the sexual encounter.

  “You can see yourself out,” she said as she closed the door, and was amazed at how calm and distant she sounded.

  She stared at herself in the mirror. Her skin was flushed from her neck up, her hair was in disarray, and she had the wild-eyed look of someone who had done something incredibly stupid.

  She would’ve liked a shower, but her bathroom was small with just a sink and a toilet. She waited until she heard him leave and then grabbed a handful of toilet paper and cleaned herself as best she could.

  Why was she so vulnerable to him? It was obvious he didn’t like her. Maybe it was like muscle memory… Yeah right…sex muscle memory.

  She washed her hands and then splashed some water on her face.

  She’d met him twelve years ago at the University of Montana when they’d attended a course about the philosophy of law. The program was dry and boring. The most exciting thing about the class was seeing Mateo. By the end of the semester, he asked her out. She’d ended up in his bed on their first date, and they had spent the weekend together. They’d lain entwined in each other’s arms, shared showers, and made love a dozen times.

  After that, they had been inseparable until the end of the school year when he attended the police academy and she went to law school. One evening they were sitting in their favorite fast food joint when he brought up the subject of their future. He’d imagined her working for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana. She’d had to set him straight. She’d always wanted to be a defense attorney, and nothing he said was going to change her goal.

  She’d tried to explain her reason for her career choice, but he refused to listen. No matter how much they argued, she couldn’t make him understand that the justice system only worked when the accused was allowed a free and fair trial. Even worse, he couldn’t forgive her for not agreeing with him. She had been in love with him, but he obviously hadn’t loved her in return. If he had he would’ve found a way to live with her career choice as a defense lawyer. Instead, he had stormed out leaving her sitting in the restaurant with a cold burger and a flat coke.

  That was the last time she’d seen him until two years ago when she had the opportunity of a partnership with a law firm in Granite City.

  Since the moment he had spotted her in court, he had been dismissive. Every look, every word, seemed to drip with disdain. Not that she had allowed his obvious contempt to bother her. She countered with her own brand of remote disapproval. If she thought a quirk of her lips, a glare, or an argument would annoy him, then she gleefully employed it. But she had never intended for it to lead to sex.

  She didn’t know how things would be between them now, but it would never lead to anything. He saw her as the enemy, and she hated him for it.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Mateo took a last sip of his coffee as he marched across the Granite City Square toward the law courts. He needed to talk to Sophia Reed. He’d lain awake half the night thinking about their encounter. He was shocked by his own actions. He’d always been vulnerable to her. How could he not, when she was still as smart and beautiful now as she had been all those years ago? He’d gone to her office to talk to her, but the moment he’d laid eyes on her, he’d lost his temper. That reaction had cracked through his self-discipline and allowed his unwanted attraction to surface. He’d let himself be seduced by her bewitching green eyes, fantastic body, and her intoxicating scent. She’d short-circuited his brain. Even now, as angry as he was at his own weakness, just thinking about her made his penis twitch.

  He’d witnessed her in court on numerous occasions. Cops practiced their testimony if they were to be questioned by her. She wasn’t bombastic or rude like some of her colleagues. She was sweet, intelligent, articulate, and could spot a lie from a hundred feet away. And she always went in for the kill. His department had lost too many cases because she had managed to prove reasonable doubt. She was right about Needham. The man was barely tolerable as a partner. He was arrogant, reckless, sloppy, and an idiot. That was a dangerous combination. Mateo only hoped that given enough rope, he would hang himself, especially if he underestimated Sophia in the courtroom.

  On the outside, she was plain with fine pale brown hair that always seemed a little messy, yet was so soft he itched to caress it. Her clothes never fit right. Her sleeves were too long and her jackets were always on the large side. But underneath the ill-fitting pantsuits and messy hair, she was a firecracker. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in her over and over again until…

  Damn it, he needed some self-control.

  Perhaps last night didn’t matter to her. There were people who could compartmentalize their feelings, although the Sophia he’d known twelve years ago wasn’t like that. There had been a time when he’d been careless in his sexual encounters, but not anymore. He’d matured, had relationships, been married and divorced. He knew the difference between love and lust. With Sophia, the lust was off the scale; it always had been. They’d dated for about six months when they were in university. That was before he’d discovered her plan to become Montana’s leading defense attorney.

  They’d seen each other in court a number of times, and she’d hardly acknowledged him. She simply gave him a slight nod of the head and then continued about her business as though he meant nothing. Although, he had to admit he was partly responsible for their coolness. He hadn’t gone out of his way to be friendly with her. He was a
cop, and she was a DA. He put bad guys away and she got them off. Their differences in ideologies were too wide to span. As far as he was concerned, she was the opposition. Her choice of career felt like a betrayal of everything he had worked to achieve. Yet there was something about her… A sweetness that had grabbed him and wouldn’t let go.

  Last night when they were alone, he’d sensed her vulnerability, as seductive as she was with her mind-blowing legs, exceptional breasts, and sexy lingerie. When he’d seen the passion in her eyes, it was like being hit in the stomach with a crowbar. She disturbed him on an emotional level, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  He hadn’t gone to her office for sex, or to argue. He’d wanted to ask her to defend an innocent teenager who was accused of arson. Now he had to hunt her down at the courthouse because the kid was still in trouble.

  Perhaps it would be better if he spoke to her on the street in public. It was a risk. He didn’t want anyone in the department to hear. Not that he was doing anything illicit, but his colleagues on the force wouldn’t appreciate him acquiring legal aid for a suspect. But he’d never sent an innocent to jail, and he wasn’t about to start now.

  He just hoped Sophia would agree to work for free because there was no way he could afford to pay her exorbitant fees.

  He spotted her running down the wide, stone steps of the courthouse. She was wearing a brown pantsuit, a white blouse, and a pair of flat, black pumps. The pants were okay, but the jacket was way too big. It was as if she was trying to hide her body, and maybe she was. A lot of creeps went through the court system. There was no way any sane woman would want to attract their attention. He pushed the thought aside as he quickened his pace so he could intercept her. This time they would talk without the distraction of sex.

  Sophia groaned when she spotted Mateo making a beeline for her. She was tempted to turn around and run back inside, but she didn’t want him to read her actions as a sign of weakness.

  Once again, he wore a gray tie, dark gray pants, and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. His police issue gun and badge were attached to his belt at his waist. She couldn’t decide if the clothes made him look sexy or if he would be just as hot without them. That thought made her imagine him naked. Her hands tingled with the need to touch him as her nipples hardened. She looked to the clear blue sky, praying she could control her physical response. It was an unwanted reminder of just how susceptible she was to him.

  He halted in front of her, blocking her path. “I need to talk to you.”

  She sidestepped, dodging around him, without making eye contact. “I can’t stop. I’m late.”

  That was true as far as it went. She needed to get to the bank before it closed for the weekend. There were bills due, and if she didn’t deposit the check from Harlen Squint into her pro bono fund, she wouldn’t be able to pay them.

  He grabbed her elbow, spinning her around, forcing her to look at him. “This isn’t about last night. It’s about a kid. He needs your help.”

  She looked at the ground as she thought about the ramifications of his words. He needed her services as an attorney. She raised her burgundy leather briefcase, holding it in front of herself like a shield. Not that it could protect her from anything, especially her own traitorous body, but it made her feel a little more secure. She schooled her features, refusing to let him see her self-doubt and hesitancy.

  “Why should I help you?” She hated how defensive she sounded.

  “You won’t be helping me. You’d be stopping an innocent fifteen year old from going to jail. Do all your defendants need large bank accounts before you’ll help them?” He curled his lip into a sneer.

  She stamped her foot and poked him in the chest. “Do you think your disgust matters to me? I neither need nor want your approval, but for the record, more than half my clients are pro bono.”

  He sucked in a deep breath and held up his hands in a show of surrender, obviously realizing if he wanted her help, he had to be at least civil to her. An inked rose peeked out of the shirtsleeve on his right arm. She hadn’t noticed his tattoo last night. She’d been busy, preoccupied with sex, and he hadn’t taken off his shirt. Did he have other tattoos? She dismissed the thought, knowing she needed her wits about her when dealing with him, and she couldn’t allow herself to be distracted by his physique.

  “I apologize.” He rubbed his temple as though he had a headache forming. “Look, this is about a kid’s life. All I’m asking is that you listen.”

  “You’ll have to walk with me. As I said, I’m late.” She sprinted past him, expecting him to follow.

  He easily matched her stride. “There’s this kid. He’s a snotty little jackass.”

  She gave him what she hoped was a withering look. “Which translates to mean he’s making your job hard and won’t admit to a crime he probably didn’t commit.”

  “That’s not… He’s not telling us the whole truth about what he was doing—”

  “What are the charges?” She cut him off, needing to get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible. The sooner he explained, the sooner he could be on his way.

  “Arson, causing deliberate homicide.”

  “That’s a hefty indictment, one which carries a minimum sentence of ten years. Luckily, as a minor, he can avoid a death penalty.”

  A bead of sweat appeared on Mateo’s forehead as he kept pace. “As I said, I don’t think he did it, but if detective Needham has his way, Ty Washburn will go down.” He met her gaze, seeming earnest and serious. His whole focus appeared to be on the accused. Last night hadn’t affected him at all.

  She would always be at a disadvantage where their relationship was concerned. That was just the way it was. He could have her over a barrel, under a table, standing, sitting…any way he wanted. It was only a small sense of survival that warned her to keep her distance.

  She was almost sprinting now as her body echoed her emotions. She wanted to get the information out of Mateo as fast as possible and send him on his way, but getting heatstroke because she was running in the late August sun wasn’t going to achieve anything. A tickle of perspiration dribbled down her back, and she slowed her pace.

  Once again, he matched her stride. She was pleased to see sweat stains had formed on his perfectly pressed white shirt. “Detective Needham is convinced that Ty set fire to his apartment complex. Two people died in the blaze.”

  “What sort of case does he have?”

  “The kid was seen arguing with the landlord, and the fire started in his family’s storage locker.”

  “Is that all?”

  “The building in question is a dump. It’s also in a part of town where property prices are going up.”

  “And you think the landlord could easily have set the fire and hidden the materials in the locker.”

  They had reached the bank. He stepped ahead of her and opened the door. “The landlord has an alibi, and there’s no evidence to prove he did it, but he could’ve hired someone. It isn’t rocket science.”

  He followed her into the cool interior. The bank was an old building that dated back to the beginning of the twentieth century with white granite walls that seemed to deflect the summer heat.

  She stopped, waiting for her eyes to adjust. There were very few windows, which meant the gloom inside was a stark contrast to the late afternoon sun.

  She nodded at the young receptionist, who sat at her desk near the entrance, and then hurried to join the lineup that was marked off by ropes attached to short free-standing poles.

  The spacious lobby was tastefully decorated in cherry-stained paneling. It also boasted a highly polished hardwood floor. The whole place reflected the opulence of a bygone era.

  Mateo stood next to her. His musky aftershave combined with his natural odor made her heart beat faster.

  She buttoned her jacket, hoping it would provide her with another layer of protection against him.

  His dark gaze snagged hers. “I need to know if yo
u’re going to take the case.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Of course, she would help Ty Washburn. The real problem was Mateo. The fact he had sought her out to help an innocent reminded her why she had fallen in love with him all those years ago. Above all things, he was a man of integrity, and in her experience, that was a quality in short supply. Would taking this case put her in close proximity to him? Was that something she wanted?

  The disturbance Mateo caused within her was like a thunderstorm. One part was the heat of sex and the other the cool distance of their interactions. When they clashed, there would be nothing but trouble. The whole situation left her feeling off-balance, and she wasn’t sure how much she could take.

  She observed the other patrons, giving herself time to consider the best course of action. There were ten people ahead in the lineup. They all appeared to be focused on the three staff members, intently waiting their turn. All accept for one white-haired person who stood off to the side, filling out a form. Sophia couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. They wore unisex sweatpants and sweatshirt. The longer white hair suggested a woman, but their square shape seemed to be that of a male. Sophia shook her head. It didn’t matter who the patrons were, and how they were dressed was none of her business.

  A short, solid middle-aged man in a wrinkled suit left his corner office and headed for the front door, keys in hand. Sophia assumed he was the manager planning to lock the doors.

  There had never been any doubt she would take the case. She’d only hesitated because of Mateo. But that probably wouldn’t be an issue. He would want to distance himself from her and the indictment so as not to appear conflicted.

  She turned to him. “I will help this child because…”

  He ignored her, watching the entrance. He didn’t even blink. He seemed to be fascinated by the manager at the door.