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“And yet you haven’t reacted to your attack, not until tonight.”
“The attack—I just put it in that box, but I don’t remember making that decision. There were other things to face. Other things to worry about.”
“You mean me.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s in the box, Lori. It’s going to come out.”
“It’s not. If I’m honest, it made me feel out of control, so I dealt with it. I shoved it aside, but I wasn’t hurt or raped or anything like that. It’s solidly buried.”
“Lori,” I begin but she leans forward and kisses me.
“If it does come back,” she says, crawling onto my lap, straddling me, her hands on my face, “I’ll tell you right away. I promise, but you have to give me room to breathe. When you’re nervous, I get nervous, too. When you hold on so tightly, I feel like I need a shield. I don’t know how we balance this out.”
“Together,” I say. “We need to talk like this. We need to do it together.”
“Together,” she whispers, and I decide I’ve cracked that wall, even if I haven’t fully lifted it, while she’s reminded me that I have to control my demons that I know are feeding hers.
I unbutton my shirt that she’s still wearing, sliding my hand up her back, molding her to me. “I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere.” Our lips collide and this time we make love, passionate, gentle, but no less fierce. We kiss, we touch, we repeat and when I enter her, her body rocking with mine, I feel her right there with me, all of her. I’m going to make damn sure it stays that way.
Morning comes too early considering I want to keep Lori in bed, but after showering together, her light mood and eagerness to dive into work, hunt down a new case, and get us back into the swing of things, is contagious. We’ve stopped in a coffee shop, waiting on our order when she turns to me, her glossy pink lips inviting me to kiss them. “About that book Cat wants us to write,” she says.
Now I just want to take her home, fuck her, and make her forget that damn book and this case that has become hell. Instead, I say, “You really want to do it, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she confirms. “You say I buried my attack. Maybe you’re right, but this book about this case, our case, won’t let me. It makes me, and us, face the attack and get beyond it. I think it’s good for both of us, but I know this affects us both, so I won’t move forward if you’re wholly against it.”
I resist my need to just get her, and us, the hell away from a trial that lead us to so damn much torment, but she’s right. This keeps her, and us, from burying something in a box that will later come back and haunt us. “Do it then,” I say. “I’ll help where you need me, but you and Cat write the book.”
She gives me a beaming smile, pushes to her toes and kisses me. “I’m excited about doing this. Cat and I are good together. She brought me to you.”
“Well then,” I say, my hand molding her closer, “I owe Cat a thank you I haven’t given her.”
We arrive at the office to find Ashley sitting at her desk, the flowers she’d received from her ex nowhere in sight.
“What happened to your flowers?” Lori asks.
“I had them delivered to a retirement community who won’t see a bastard when they look at them.”
Ouch, I think, when Lori softens her voice and leans on Ashley’s desk. “How are you?”
“I have Smith as my hot bodyguard,” she says, her voice strained. “How can I not be fine?” She glances at me. “Thank you for that by the way.”
“No thanks needed,” I say. “I’m always happy to supply my assistant with a hot bodyguard.”
That earns a tiny laugh from her and a bigger one from Lori, but everyone sobers quickly. “We’ll get answers today,” I promise.
“You have about ten prospective clients to deal with,” she says. “You don’t have time for me and this.” She holds up a file. “I put together notes on all of them.”
Lori accepts the file and glances at me. “I’ll do this.” She looks between us and then focuses on Ashley. “Then Cole can help you.” She doesn’t wait for an answer, but rather glances at me. “I’m going to my office. I’ll let you know if there’s anything important to deal with.” She takes off, and I try really damn hard not to watch her leave, but she’s in that damn pink dress that hugs her backside just right.
Forcing my attention back to Ashley, I get back on task. “I need to speak to Alexander Montgomery. Hunt him down for me, will you?”
“Alexander Montgomery? Are you working a case with him?”
“More like a business proposal and you can tell him that.” I soften my voice. “We’ll handle this,” I say, and then head to my office.
I’ve just settled behind my desk when Royce calls. “The FBI wants to talk to Ashley. I’ll sit in and host the meeting here at my office.”
